Bx3 Co-Founder Tapped as VIP Advisor to TokenMatch Kyle Asman to Serve as Key Advisor for Select Initial Coin Offerings

Kyle Asman, co-founder of Bx3, a business advisory firm for the blockchain and cryptocurrency space, has been chosen to be a VIP Advisor for TokenMatch, a program designed to introduce promising new Initial Coin Offering (ICO) projects to investors.

In this role, Asman is responsible for reaching out to ICOs on joining TokenMatch events, and for providing these projects with the services they need to start a viable business, including with regards to tax, legal, finance, compliance, and marketing.

Asman has extensive experience helping clients raise capital in the finance, banking, and regulatory consulting segments and most recently, has developed complex international tax structures in the tax advisory space. He has held investment banking, regulatory consulting, and transfer pricing roles at Liquidity Energy, Duff and Phelps, and Ryan LLC, a global tax firm. He is also a Venture Capital investor in multiple startups.

At TokenMatch, an elite group of ICO teams present to small groups of investors that have the capacity and mandate to deploy capital. Investors come by invitation only and ICO teams are preselected through a rigorous process. For those who want to allocate capital, their job is to find investable, credible projects related to blockchain and cryptocurrency. Investors review 21 separate projects, and listen to a new pitch every 20 minutes. Set in a boardroom, the small size is the ideal setting to interact, provide and receive feedback, negotiate, and close deals in one day.

“TokenMatch has devised an innovative model by creating an intimate environment between those who want to seek capital and those who want to allocate it,” says Asman. “This as a much more efficient way to vet projects since it eliminates a lot of unnecessary travel and time since investors don’t have to schedule three days over numerous cities to see some of the best programs in the industry.”

The program also serves as an ideal networking event for blockchain startups, as it allows ICOs to learn about each other and form partnerships. To date, TokenMatch events have been held in New York, Hong Kong, and London.

In a similar role, Asman was chosen earlier this year to be an advisor for Daox, an ecosystem for ICOs, where he provides weekly guidance on the ICO process in general.

OSA Token Sale Has Finally Begun!

The highly anticipated OSA Token Sale has finally begun!

OSA DC continues to unite consumers into a single powerful community, giving them power over the manufacturers and retailers of consumer goods, so that consumers can determine what products they really want, when, where, and at what prices. OSA DC is continuing to receive international media attention and receive high ratings.

After a long wait and a private pre-sale, the OSA Token sale finally begun and it will last until the 21st of August or until tokens are sold out. We started the sale with more than 15 795 registrations from 141 countries and new ones have kept on coming ever since. A soft cap was reached and we are proud to announce that $12.81 million was raised. OSA DC innovations have attracted attention from top Asian, world blockchain, and AI leaders. Our sales team participated at more than 57 huge events, representing OSA DC among industry leaders, contributors, and leading media!

More than 80,000 participants joined the OSA community and now the time has come! Together we will each contribute to the platform, giving us the necessary tools for our own data usage, in order to lower prices, encourage retailers to provide better product quality, better delivery, better service, and ultimately, a better shopping experience!

You can find more information on how the sale is going and sign up to buy OSA tokens on the official website.

What has OSA Token achieved so far?

We understand that people cannot put their faith in a new cryptocurrency if there is no solid proof of a strong company behind the token which will push it to the top.

The OSA DC platform provides consumers with transparent product information and online assistant services. OSA DC’s AI-powered ecosystem gives manufacturers and retailers the chance to collaborate effectively and optimize their business strategies.

Our goal is to use the capital raised in the token sale to support and develop the existing solution with image recognition models and a comprehensive product master data catalogue. We will implement it on our AI-powered, decentralized blockchain platform and scale it accordingly, beginning with the largest markets: The United States, China, Japan, and South Korea, and eventually, worldwide.

Consumers will be able to use OSA tokens to pay for B2C services, receive exclusive promotional offers and, of course, purchase groceries at major supermarket chains in Europe, North America, and the Asia-Pacific region. Managers at partnering supermarkets agree with OSA’s founding team of data scientists that cryptocurrencies, including OSA tokens, will be a standard, widely-accepted form of payment at grocery stores and other retailers worldwide.

Existing Business

The platform has developed services that have already helped more than 20 European retailers and manufacturers, including eliminating product waste to drive revenue. It has already been implemented with some of the biggest retailers and manufacturers to eliminate product waste that accounts for over $800 billion in lost sales and discarded goods each year.

Since the company’s founding in 2015, OSA DC has generated more than $1 million in revenue by partnering with 20 retailers. The company provides services to major international brands including Coca-Cola, Mars, L’Oreal, Nestle, and Metro Cash & Carry.

Now we are seeking to disrupt the $25 trillion global Retail industry.

Establishing the world’s first decentralized, AI-driven data marketplace, OSA DC will provide business-to-business and business-to-consumer solutions for Retail.

New Partnerships

TaaS partners with OSA DC to support the company in building its global smart consumer platform.

OSA DC is creating significant developments for the Retail industry with a global data marketplace and practical, real-time solutions for retailers, manufacturers and consumers. This is certainly worth the support of TaaS, who focuses on supporting blockchain projects that disrupt global industries.

This long-term partnership will bring value to the decentralized and Retail industries alike, as both organizations work to enrich OSA DC’s solutions for the benefit of the international community.

Dalongpay – Fiat Payments are Accepted by OSA DC During Token Pre-Sale and Sale

OSA DC has established a partnership with DalongPay, a payment platform bridging the gap between crypto and traditional currencies. Approximately 15%-20% of current ICOs use fiat for contributions. The service will be greatly beneficial to the OSA DC community, as they can now easily purchase OSA tokens with fiat currencies using the platform.

It’s the first step OSA token sale participants can take towards becoming smart consumers on the OSA DC platform. They will enjoy easy access to liquidity and a reliable way to participate in the ecosystem, even without prior cryptocurrency experience.

Benrui Capital

Benui Capital is jointly established by blockchain industry technical experts, professional investors, VC/PE practitioners, etc., focusing on technology-driven investment banking services in the blockchain field. At present, there are more than 10 investment and service blockchain projects. There are branches or strategic partners in Singapore, Japan, and Silicon Valley. OSA DC is partnering with Benrui Capital for better technology development.

Magnit

The non-profit retail industry cooperative Efficient Consumer Response Europe (ECR), Russian retail giant Magnit, and some of the world’s leading retail manufacturers have partnered with OSA Hybrid Platform. The project will be installed in 100 retail outlets in Moscow, and the system’s alert signals will be processed by each store’s own employees. It will allow its users to detect the absence of on-shelf goods in-real time, and they can transmit this information to merchandisers in stores to correct these situations. If the test results are satisfactory, Magnit will implement the technology throughout the territory of Moscow and the Moscow region for its grocery stories, family stores, and hypermarkets.

Advisors

We are proud of our advisor team!

Mikhail Myagkov, PhD Game Theory and Data Science Advisory Board Lead

Paolo Tasca, Blockchain Advisor for EU Parliament and the UN

Gary Fowler, US Business Development Advisor

Don Swann, Vice President of Walmart, 50 years at Walmart, Retail Industry Advisor

MVP

We have a working B2B product in the OSA Hybrid Platform. The platform has proved its efficiency and has been successful in delivering services to over 20 retailers and manufacturers.

Watch the demo of user cabinets here:

Office Interface

In-Store Interface

Consumers will be able to use OSA tokens only within OSA platform in a variety of ways:

– Pay for B2C services

– Receive exclusive promotional offers

– Purchase groceries

30 days after the token sale ends, OSA Tokens will be distributed to contributors.

JOIN NOW! Become a participant of this revolutionary change in the consumption industry.

Join a truly innovative and powerful consumer community!

Learn more more about OSA in our new video

Why Blockchain Should Break Free From Cryptocurrencies

For those outside the FinTech sector, blockchain is known simply as the thing that makes Bitcoin happen, if they know about it at all. Blockchain is indeed the technology that powers cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, but they’re not the same thing, and that distinction is important to recognize.

Blockchain has far more to offer than just securing cryptos; distributed ledger technology (DLT) can actually provide the foundation for any number of applications. Blockchain enables end-to-end data encryption for the highest level of security and can streamline processes by eliminating the need for third party verification of transaction. Any industry can benefit from these capabilities.

Additionally, Bitcoin and other cryptos are still in the bubble stage; value has been volatile, the market has been flooded with new ICOs in the last couple of years and most financial experts are wary of the concept.

For instance, billionaire investor Warren Buffet recently stated that Bitcoin offered no intrinsic value and that buyers were “speculating” rather than investing. Jamie Dimon, CEO of J.P. Morgan Chase, has also expressed his doubts about Bitcoin.

However, Buffet’s BSNF railroad company joined the Blockchain in Transport Alliance (BiTA,) a group comprising over 200 freight and logistics organizations interested in incorporating blockchain across their industry. Dimon has emphasized that despite his opinion of Bitcoin, he does believe that “the blockchain is real,” and in October, J.P. Morgan Chase launched a blockchain-based system designed to reduce transaction times.

Buffet and Dimon’s fellow titans of industry are all recognizing the benefits of blockchain outside of cryptos, which is important when bringing it to the mainstream.
A recent IBM study found that one-third of C-Level executives are using or considering blockchain technology in their organizations. Global spending on blockchain technology is predicted to reach $2.1 billion this year alone, according to IDC.

Healthcare, real estate, government, arts, energy, cloud computing, ridesharing—you name the industry and you can bet it’s experimenting with blockchain. Faster processing, better data security—what company wouldn’t want those gains?

While some are working on developing their own proprietary blockchain offerings, many of the major tech companies and VC firms are backing the concept of shepherding other companies through the process of adopting blockchain. Companies like Amazon and IBM are partnering with blockchain-as-a-service (BaaS) providers to create white label solutions that handle the heavy lifting of implementation for their customers. With the buy-in and sometimes backing of the tech giants, BaaS companies like DragonChain and Kaleido are perfecting blockchain models and creating interchain capabilities to get more and more companies on board.

Blockchain has already proven itself as useful apart from cryptocurrency. In fact, in the very near future, look for more pure play blockchain offerings aimed at issues beyond payments and coins. In fact, with over 1500 coins on the market, most emerging ICOs are going to be less valuable currency and more a means of funding. Investors should do their due diligence on this in particular, lest they prove Mr. Buffet’s “speculation” comment true.

Ultimately, the growth arc of blockchain will bend toward building this best in class standard of security and trust directly into systems by using blockchain, rather than relying solely on methods like marketing and customer service to build trust with customers. End-to-end encryption, decentralization and consensus—these things will become the default in the post-blockchain era. Even when/if the crypto bubble bursts, blockchain will not only stand on its own, but define the next generation of data management.

By David Metzler CEO, WaterChain

Hacks Continue to Rock Cryptocurrency Exchanges, Hardware Wallet Firms Can Benefit from the Chaos

Image Source: Coin Suggest

Cryptocurrencies are essential money in digital form and one of their key selling points is that they provide a level of pseudo-anonymity to users. Their digital nature however means that if they are stolen, it is often practically impossible to find out who stole them. In addition, the blockchain based nature of cryptocurrencies ensures that transactions can’t be reversed – this includes illegal transactions in which cryptocurrencies are stolen.

Many cryptocurrency users are content to keep their coins and tokens with exchanges – it is cheaper, easier to access, and the onus of keeping the coins secure falls on a company who has more resources and economies of scale to invest in high-tech security systems. However, in the last couple of years, cryptocurrency exchanges have been victim of many high-profile hacks and heists. The centralized nature of cryptocurrency exchanges and the huge funds that they hold makes them a magnet for hacks and heists. This piece examines some of the biggest cryptocurrency exchange hacks and how companies producing cryptocurrency hardware wallets might benefit from the chaos.

The biggest cryptocurrency heists by the numbers

Cryptocurrencies started 2018 with losses straight out of the gate – customers of Coincheck however suffered double losses when hackers succeeded in breaking into the exchange and making away with NEM coins worth more than $534 million. Coincheck did own up its mistakes of not taking proactive measures to ensure the safety of customers’ coins and the firm promised to reimburse customers for their losses. Nonetheless, the hack has gone down in history as the “biggest theft in the history of the world.”

The second biggest cryptocurrency exchange hack happened in the heydays of Bitcoin in 2014 when cybercriminals successfully breached Tokyo-based Mt.Gox. The hackers successfully stole 750,000 BTC belonging to customers and about 100,000 BTC belonging to the company – all worth about $473 million at the time of the hack. Apart from the fact that Mt Gox wasn’t proactive about the security of its exchange, the company didn’t manage the bad news properly, and it went on to file for bankruptcy – both its funds and customers funds gone forever into the coffers of cybercriminals.

The third largest cryptocurrency exchange hack also happened earlier this year when the Italy-based exchange, BitGrail fell victim to cybercrimimals. Hackers made away with as much as $195 million worth of NANO from the cryptocurrency exchange. The revelations made in the days following the hack revealed that BitGrail was guilty of storing its customers’ funds in hot wallets – these are wallets connected to the Internet and it was quite easy for hackers siphon the funds away.

Hardware wallets to the rescue

As cryptocurrency exchanges continue to suffer hacks, data breaches, and losses, the value proposition of hardware wallets is becoming increasingly obvious to users. A cryptocurrency hardware wallet allows users to store their private keys offline on encrypted devices. The fact that the coins are stored offline means that they can’t be stolen via hacks.

A USD wallet could set you back some $35 and premium devices could cost upwards of $100, you’ll still need to climb a steep learning curve to know how to use Trezor, Ledger, KeepKey, Pi or other wallets correctly. However, once, you’ve mastered the art of storing your coins correctly; you don’t have to worry about the theft of your coins and even if you lose your wallet, you can easily use the recovery seed to rebuild your wallet on a new device.

Researchers at Mordor Intelligence reported that the global hardware Wallet Market was valued at $227.5M in 2017 and that the industry will grow by a CAGR of 36.6% to $1.60B by 2023. Of course, a using a hardware wallet costs a little bit more money than storing your cryptocurrencies on an exchange. Interestingly, USB wallets are still more most popular form of hardware wallets accounting or more than 88% of the total market share, probably because they are cheap. Europe currently has the largest number of hardware wallet users with a 26% market share and most of the companies producing hardware wallets are based in Europe.

Nonetheless, the fact that investments in cryptocurrency investments have surged from $18B on January 2017 to about $800B in January 2018 suggests that cybercriminals have an incentive to find ways to conduct hacks and heists to steal cryptocurrencies. Going forward, the demand for hardware wallets will continue to rise as cryptocurrency enthusiasts start taking responsibility for keeping their wallets safe.

Trilliant ATMs: The Darwinism of the Financial Sector

In a world where financial transactions are becoming increasingly simple and transparent, accessibility is key. This is precisely what leading cryptocurrency business, Trilliant, intends to do – make cryptocurrency accessibility for all.

In what many are viewing as the evolution of the sector, Trilliant are to launch their own next generation ATM terminals across Europe later this year. Beginning in Autumn, 2018, the world’s first two-way cryptocurrency ATM terminals will be installed in selected locations across Europe.

Manufactured by Crypto Capital AG, Trilliant has chosen to focus their blockchain enterprise on creating the infrastructure to support the cryptocurrency sector. With the ever-increasing professional and layman knowledge of cryptocurrency – resulting in fervent belief traditional currencies have grown archaic – this infrastructure will prove pivotal to the forecasted growth of different types of cryptocurrency.

Each of Trilliant’s cryptocurrency ATM terminals will afford users greater usability that ever before. Currently, there are 2,700 cryptocurrency ATMs in the world. As pleasing as this is to investors, these terminals only facilitate one-way transactions, meaning users can only purchase coins. What has become clear is that ATM terminals must have greater fluidity to support investor transactions. This is exactly what Trilliant’s ATMs provide.

Trilliant’s innovative terminals can facilitate two-way asset handling. Investors can deposit and withdraw their cryptocurrency assets at the touch of a button. Supporting the growing popularity of the sector, Trilliant’s ATMs also make it easy for users to exchange traditional currency assets for tokens and allow users direct access to ICOs.

The ATM terminals come equipped with a state-of-the-art touch screen, card reader and PIN pad. It is this function that users can use to make cryptocurrency purchases directly from their credit or debit card.

As further evidence of Trilliant’s commitment to building a sustainable infrastructure to support the evolution of the financial sector, their ATMs have comprehensive in-built security features that include a front-facing camera, known as KYC or know your own customer for optimal recognition and security.

Founder and CEO, Sebastian Korbach has stated, ‘Our aim is to have 500 ATMs operating by 2019. He continues, ‘In the long run, we want our machines visible on every corner, creating greater awareness for cryptocurrencies in general.’

Mr. Korbach is a serial entrepreneur, with more than 15 years’ experience in financial markets and payments. He has worked across the globe in Germany, Switzerland, Brazil and Columbia. With more than 3 years’ experience in the cryptocurrency sector, Mr. Korbach is confident that cryptocurrency will play a significant part in the global financial landscape in the years to come.

Trilliant has mapped out a long-term strategy to make cryptocurrency accessible to everyone. Through their Fractional Ownership Program, investors can purchase a share of Trilliant’s network of terminals and earn dividends from their investment.

Calculated at 2% of the total transaction fee revenue of Trilliant’s network of ATM terminals, these Fractional Units can be purchased on Trilliant’s website using their unique TRL Token.

A mere modest investment affords investors the opportunity to receive an income from this profit sharing agreement – and allows Trilliant to reward customers who have shown belief in their service.

It’s safe to say that Trilliant ATMs are indicative of fiscal Darwinism. Trilliant is changing the face of cryptocurrency investment and accessibility. Soon it will be more accessible than ever before, allowing greenhorn and novice investors to reap the rewards of aligning their fiscal assets to the direction that the financial sector is surely heading.

Learn more about Trilliant by clicking the link here and reading their Whitepaper.

Stratis Debuts Secure ‘Stratis Identity’ App for iOS Devices.

Stratis announces their ‘Stratis Identity’ mobile application is available to download for iOS devices.

Unprecedented enterprise data leaks and hacks in recent years have compromised hundreds of millions of people’s sensitive data. Stratis not only imagines a world where data breaches cease to happen, it’s working hard to deliver a solution.

The free Stratis Identity app allows users to manage their identity and imprint it upon the Stratis blockchain, allowing for secure and verifiable identity sharing experiences without compromising sensitive personal data. Stratis Identity will also open up the potential for enterprises to securely manage customer identities using cloud-based or Internet login services.

“Mass adoption of blockchain will only come through simplicity, and Stratis Identity offers a streamlined way to verify one’s identity through popular social media accounts, using pre-existing Microsoft, LinkedIn or Google account information,” explains Stratis CEO Chris Trew. “Once one’s true identity is established through our app, a Stratis Identity can be shared securely without ever exposing any specific user’s sensitive personal data.”

Stratis Identity creates a permanent, unique record of a person, company or organization’s identity while simultaneously providing layered, permission-only access to the information. Each online social media profile has information linked to it (username, e-mail, job title, etc) stored by the account provider.

Stratis Identity processes basic information returned (email address and name) and makes sure it corresponds to the information provided for a social media account. Stratis calls this verification process “attestation.” After a successful login attempt, non-sensitive metadata retrieved from the social networking site is securely stored and timestamped on the Stratis Platform.

Two things happen on the Stratis blockchain when you create and attest your credentials with Stratis Identity. First, a unique, immutable address belonging to you is created on the Stratis blockchain. Second, any confirmation of your information is encoded as a custom, hashed transaction. Only a string of numbers and letters is placed on the blockchain, no personal information is stored — just metadata linking to your Stratis Identity.

The Stratis Identity app integrates into Microsoft’s Identity and Cloud Management solutions (Azure B2C Active Directory) and the Xamarin framework to provide an additional blockchain layer of trust to any identity certification procedure. This opens the door to unparalleled customer and employee identity management in the cloud, making Stratis Platform the platform of choice when implementing blockchain-based identity solutions for large enterprises.

Key features of the Stratis Identity app include:

Creation of a unique Stratis Blockchain ID, registered and secured on the Stratis blockchain
Attest your identity by logging into a selection of social media accounts, such as Microsoft, Google or LinkedIn
Proof of ownership of online accounts via viewing and sharing of unique public addresses and transaction hashes
Validate other Stratis Identities using the built-in verification tool

Future integration with other Stratis applications will permit single sign-on engagements to interact with smart contracts deployed on the Stratis blockchain.

A key strategy to Stratis is releasing proof-of-concept apps that can easily be customized into full-blown products for developers in C# .NET framework. The idea is to prove how simple building blockchain apps is using the Stratis Platform, while also providing useable basic elements to quickly succeed with any Stratis blockchain implementation.

“Stratis Identity’s proof of concept enhances blockchain opportunities for Microsoft partners and customers currently exploring blockchain options for their business. It’s an invaluable tool to show how decentralized blockchain apps work and how they could transport existing business processes light years into the future,” Trew concludes.

The free Stratis Identity mobile app is available for iOS devices using the download link below:

Stratis Identity iOS Release

Bitcoin: Wildly accepted, but not widely accepted

There is no denying Bitcoin’s place as a mainstream currency. It is transferable, legal, accountable, and valuable. Yet, it is not money. This might strike some as odd given that over the course of human economic history everything from eggs to potatoes and whiskey to cigarettes have, at various times, been considered to be money. So why not, then, the virtual currency?

An acceptability dilemma

Bitcoin’s shortcoming – and that of every other cryptocurrency – is its acceptability. To be money, bitcoin would have to become a generally accepted medium of exchange for goods and services. Although the explosive demand for cryptocurrencies in recent years has, at times, been frantic, the subsequent buyers might still have struggled to buy a pair of shoes, or a bunch of bananas, with their digital coins without first passing through an intermediary. Bitcoin was wildly accepted, but not widely accepted.

Cryptocurrencies please all holders some of the time, like in December 2017 when practically all cryptocurrencies reached record highs in US-dollar terms. They also please some holders all the time, for instance, shoppers, diners, gamers and sportspeople, who know they can always use digital coins in their favourite establishments. But satisfying all holders, all the time has proved elusive. This is a primary reason why cryptocurrencies are not more widely accepted.

Central banks to the rescue

Counter-intuitively for crypto-aficionados, the solution to the acceptability dilemma might lie at the gates of those institutions that have often fuelled demand for private virtual currencies – central banks. After spending years admonishing cryptocurrencies, shutting down exchanges and strangling bitcoin start-ups, financial authorities around the world are now looking into issuing digital currencies of their own.

These central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) could be designed to be transferable between individuals, peer-to-peer, and could even be made anonymous. This anonymity would preserve the privacy enjoyed by parties to cash or cryptocurrency transactions. CBDCs would also be backed by monetary authorities, so one could recover any digital coins that happened to get lost or stolen. These coins would be legal tender, which would mean they must be accepted as full and fair settlement of any debt. The acceptability hurdle would be overcome at a stroke.

However, CBDCs would also be like any other central-bank-issued note or coin in circulation. They would have to carry the same interest rate as any other central-bank money, and the central bank would be able to ‘create’ as many CBDCs as it likes. One should not forget that it was the fear that monetary authorities would debase money through excessive money printing and ultra-low interest rates that catalysed the demand for cryptocurrencies in the first place

Build it and they will come

Still, the introduction of CBDCs might not be bad news for cryptocurrency holders. This is because the acceptability hurdle is partly due to the huge psychological leap that consumers must make when switching from notes, coins and credit cards to virtual currencies and digital wallets. For many, this gap is simply too great to bridge. If the central banks built this bridge, and encouraged the public to use its virtual currency, the subsequent shift from CBDCs to private digital currencies, like bitcoin, would be far easier for the public to make.

Bitminer Factory Launches ICO on July 21, 2018 with 12% Discount

After launching their Presale on July 1st, 2018 which ends July 20th, 2018, Bitminer Factory today announced their ICO will start July 21st, 2018 with limited time 12% discount. Their startup makes the Blockchain sustainable by using renewable energy to mine cryptocurrencies and shares the benefits with token holders. Crypto fans, Miners, and other investors will profit from the exponentially growing demand for energy to power worldwide crypto-mining activities.

Presale ends – 20/7/18

ICO starts – 21/7/18

Tokens to sell – 100,000,000

Presale (currently active)
Dates – 01/7/18 to 20/7/18
Discount – 18% to 20/7/18

Lockup – 3 months
Token price – $1.00 USD

ICO
Duration – 26 days (21/7/18 to 15/8/18)
Discount tier 1 – 12% to 20/8/18

Discount tier 2 – 6% to 20/9/18

Token price – $1.00 USD
Soft cap – $0.5M USD
Hard cap – $100M USD

Energy needs for the global crypto-mining industry have increased fivefold in less than a year and are expected to double over the coming year. Bitminer Factory investors will profit by taking part in the radical transformation underway in the energy sector, switching from fossil-based to zero-carbon.

Gabriele Angeli said, “Our tokens represent a mining contract that allows anyone to benefit from the production of our mining and renewable energy plants.” Further, he added “We’re so confident we’ll succeed, we’re offering a Buy-Back plan for our tokens every three months where investors can sell back their tokens at an increasingly higher price.”

Bitminer is a startup from Angeli’s Group, constructors and energy producers for 40 years. With more than 20 collaborators and more than €3M revenues, they are the largest industrial crypto-mining group in Italy. Gabriele Angeli, Founder, has longstanding experience as a general contractor in the Oil and Gas and renewable energy industry, where his family business, Angeli Group has been working for large corporates worldwide for over 50 years.

Can Metronome Save Cryptocurrency?

While bitcoin continues to be the buzzword when it comes to alt-money, it is actually one of many that are lumped together as generic cryptocurrency. In fact, the world of cryptocurrency embraces a vast amount of different ways to pay, with many already being adopted by various vendors and retailers and even some governments as legal tender. One that should have the attention brought to it is the Metronome altcoin. Describing itself as the ‘built to last cryptocurrency’, Metronome are clearly disassociating themselves from the flaky nature of bitcoin and the volatility that clouds its place on the markets. But what is Metronome, or MET?

What is Metronome?

Metronome cites its differences as being able to offer “greater decentralization.” Indeed, a benefit of any cryptocurrency is the decentralization, and seeing as the tide is still questioning the alt-currency, offering more of one of the major pulls of cryptocurrency seems like a way to differentiate. Moreover, Metronome promises to deliver “institutional-class endurance,” which sounds like another way to break away from bitcoin and any misgivings people may have about it. The endurance as a cryptocurrency is what Metronome promises and it claims that this will be achieved through three key areas: self-governance, reliability, and portability.

The Benefits of Metronome

The team at Metronome promote the virtues of self-governance and reliability as a standout reason that makes them noticeably different from other cryptocurrencies. Indeed, in such a saturated market, where little can be changed in the basic functionality of blockchain – which in fact is almost a commodity – changing how the system for buying, selling, and owning the altcoins is more important. So, it’s no surprise that the marketing efforts are focusing on positioning Metronome as extolling these virtues.

Self-Governance

When it comes to cryptocurrency, self-governance away from the powers of centralized banks is absolutely imperative. Metronome further promise that the founders won’t tamper once it’s launched – which offers an intriguing possibility that whoever uses it fully owns it. Greater ownership could be a key area in which people may be swayed to using and investing in cryptocurrency. The auction-style ownership model also allows for greater self-governance, and the entire process is 100% auditable, which provides a higher degree of trust and reliability. There is also public access to all sale opportunities, which takes away the esoteric nature that some fintech start-ups inadvertently create.

Reliability

In terms of reliability, Metronome promises unchanging issuance and supply of the cryptocurrency. This provides a safety blanket for potential users, but also speaks to some criticisms of going with a cryptocurrency. The reliability also stems from the MET being minted daily indefinitely, with 2,880 MET per day or an annual rate equal to 2.0000% of the then outstanding supply per year. This reliability offers something that other altcoins don’t and helps bridge a huge gap that potential adopters may have with blockchain.

Portability

Finally, Metronome promises portability – that is against central lenders and even different blockchains. In the digital age, portability is a sure-fire way of promising to keep up with the trends and where the future of digital is leaning. Being able to exit chains for any reason without question helps potential adopters to feel less of a commitment to taking up Metronome. The cross-blockchain import and export potential also helps position MET as being more fluid in society than its alternatives and competitors. The fact that the blockchains can migrate gives greater long-term reliability in the altcoin. As technology improves, the blockchain technology can adapt with it and won’t be held back by becoming obsolete as a cryptocurrency.

Source: Pixabay

Altcoins vs Tokens

Both coins and tokens are considered cryptocurrency, regardless of whether the coins function as currency. Altcoins refer to native bitcoin-derived blockchain (Namecoin, Litecoin, Dogecoin) and native blockchain (Ripple, Omni, Ethereum), whereas tokens are a form of cryptocurrency in and of themselves. Altcoins are alternatives to bitcoin using the same protocol of derivation, but changing it slightly to create a new strand. Tokens can be placed on blockchains and can represent anything from loyalty points to commodities. With tokens, the code doesn’t need to be modified. Tokens are released through an Initial Coin Offering (ICO), which is essentially crowdfunding. Both are useful in terms of discussing cryptocurrencies and crucially possess their own major reasons for choosing, despite being part of the larger umbrella of cryptocurrency.

What are Cryptocurrencies Used for?

The lines as to what exactly cryptocurrencies can be used for, aside from forex and investment, are still blurred and many are still unclear on exactly what they can spend their altcoins and cryptocurrencies on. Around the time that bitcoin really gained mass market interest, vendors and retailers were eager to show their willingness to move into the future and were offering many uses for bitcoin as a way to purchase things. Flights and hotels can be purchased with bitcoin – through Expedia, CheapAir and Surf Air specifically. Musicians are using blockchain technology to offer music downloads through a special blockchain relationship. Imogen Heap uses the Mycelia programme that takes the positives of blockchain cryptocurrencies and uses them to mitigate against the real world issues that musicians face. Under certain circumstances, Subway accept bitcoin – and Germany and Japan accept cryptocurrency as legal tender in various forms. It is fairly clear that cryptocurrencies are the way of the future and the culmination of a more digital world, but there are still detractors from the overall cryptocurrency phenomenon.

Possible Limitations of Cryptocurrency

As well as the fact that some people still treat cryptocurrencies with wariness, some cite the fact that cryptocurrency payments are so permanent as a reason not to use them. Indeed, once a payment is sent through with bitcoin or an altcoin, there is no way to reverse it. Some also cite the fact that multiple payments cannot be made at once. The digital world has created the Lightning Networks, which offers some semblance of compromise and a show of dedication to ensuring that facilities are in place in the wider world for a stronger widespread adoption of cryptocurrencies. Some also claim that cryptocurrencies are volatile, but this is largely due to the fact that the monetary system as people know it is facing its first real challenge – one that looks to be putting up a good fight.

The Future of Metronome

The team behind Metronome also boast credentials and expertise in the emerging fintech and blockchain industries – including advisors attached who were involved with the Ethereum Project – and offer a transparent view of the structure of the people behind the cryptocurrency. The first 8 million Metronome tokens were available on auction from June 18 for one week. The price per token will be 2 ETH (Ethereum). The Descending Price Auction helps give a fairer distribution of tokens and a greater degree of price discovery. Following the initial auction, the 2,880 MET will be auctioned daily until the 2% mintage rate is reached. After this, the amount of MET available will reflect this rate.

Whether the Metronome altcoin fulfils its promises is still to be seen, but it is a huge step for the world of cryptocurrency. Healthy competition helps stoke industries, and with so many new blockchain based currencies emerging, it can only presage good things for the industry as a whole.

Binance exchange complete review & guide 2018

Considering Binance? Read thew review below for our expert opinion

With so many cryptocurrency exchanges recently launching finding the right one for you can be challenging. Some trading platforms don’t have the trading volume to buy or sell, others have limited features and slow trading engines that often timeout when executing orders, some have very slow verification processes etc.

Malta-based company Binance is a very popular cryptocurrency exchange not just with China but it’s also used heavily international due to its high user volume, competitions and extensive number of features.

Whilst the company is still young, Binance does still have an extremely good track record in crypto exchange services and is on its way to a $1 billion dollar profit in 2018 alone. This is largely in part due to the impressive number of Initial Coin Offering listings the exchange adds to its platform, easy to use submission process and low trading fees.

In this review we will try and outline everything you need to know about the Binance cryptocurrency exchange, including things like how it works, what coin/ token pairs can be exchanged, trading fees/ limits, how to secure your exchange and customer support information.

Visit Binance here: https://www.binance.com/

How the exchange works

When first visiting Binance you will notice how the platform offers two modes of digital currency trading – basic and advanced. To decide which works best for your needs a basic understanding of what cryptocurrencies are, how trading platforms work in general and what tools/ data you need access too when making buys and sells.

The main difference between the basic and advanced modes is the increased level of technical analysis and graph options available in advanced mode. These are not available in basic mode as they can over complicate/ overwhelm a new user who simply wants to submit simple buy or sell orders.

The basic view looks like this:

The basic view has three easy to follow columns and the design is simple to navigate. Buy (green) and sell (pink) prices can be found in the left column. Graphs and order boxes in the center and trade history along with trading pairs to the right.

The advanced view looks like this:

By default the advanced view uses a dark mode and the trading charts are more prominent. The layout also differs in that the prices are are shown to the right with the buy/ sell boxes below them. You will notice in the graphs there are more graph options and trading engine views/ algorithms.

Regardless of which view you prefer buying and selling is quick and easy with Binance where others are more complicated.

Binance Signup and Login

Before using the exchange an account needs to be created. This is a simple process where up on registration you gain immediate access with Level 1 verification. This offers a withdrawal limit of 2 BTC per day. Users can submit additional information such as photo ID to increase the verification status and lift restrictions. For example with Level 2 the daily withdrawal limit is increased to 100 BTC.

Approval time can vary depending how busy the platform is. It is very important that you verify for the appropriate level asap to ensure you can quickly moves funds around when the time comes. It is also recommended you verify before depositing large funds.

This might also be a good time to increase your account security and set up 2FA. SImply follow the on screen instructions to set this up.

With the account set up you are ready to go ahead and fund your binance account. To start with it is recommended that you stick with more popular currencies such as BTC and ETH.

To fund your account click the Funds > Deposits at the top of the page. Then select the coin you wish to transfer INTO your Binance account.

Once selected, a box will be displayed with a deposit address. Simply send your funds to this address to begin trading from your personal off-exchange wallet. Depending on the currency being transferred in the time and and require conformations can vary. For example currencies like Ethereum are faster than Bitcoin which can take a while. Binance notifies you via email once the deposit is in your account.

How to Trade on Binance

Binance makes it very easy to get started with trading, especially with the Basic Mode. Once your funds are deposited in the account simply click Exchange > Basic in the top menu.

At the top of the right column you will see options for trading pairs in BTC, ETH, BNB and USDT. These indicate what coin you wish to purchase your new currency with. In our example we deposited BTC in to our account and will use the BTC pair to buy a new currency. Click it.

We then choose the new currency we would like to buy. In this case we will use ADA (Cardano) as an example so click ADA/BTC.

Once you have clicked the currency in the right column the middle column will be updated to reflect this.

Now to place a buy order, use the middle column below the graphs to buy/ sell ADA. In this case we wish to purchase currency so will use the buy box to do so.

You can manually enter a price you wish to purchase at, but a more efficient way is to purchase using the presets (25%, 50%, 75% and 100%). For example if you click 100% it will use all your BTC balance to purchase the new currency. If you click 25% it will only use 25% of your BTC balance etc. Then click the buy button.

Once the order has been placed it will show below in the Open Orders section. It will remain here until it has been filled (completed). Once filled you can then confirm that you have purchased the currency by clicking Funds > Balances in the top menu.

The selling process would be exactly the same only you would use the sell box instead of the buy one.

If you would like to withdraw your currency from Binance and move it to a different wallet you would click Funds > Withdrawals in the top menu. Select the coin you wish to withdraw, add the wallet address you wish to send to and the amount to transfer. The click submit. It is advisable to try a small test to ensure the address is correct and all is working as expected.

Supported Crypto Currencies

Binance is a very popular option amongst users for its wide support for currencies. Many traders use the platform for multiple digital currencies, including, but not limited to Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Bitcoin Gold, Ethereum, Ethereum Classic, EOS, Dash, LiteCoin, NEO, GAS, Zcash, Dash, Ripple and more. Binance also supports a very large number of tokens, as part of ICO listings.

The platform is regularly praised for its efficiency in supporting new coins and tokens. As previously mentioned they currently offer trading pairs in BTC, BNB, ETH and USDT and very soon Euro and possibly GBP sterling.

Binance ICO & BNB Coin

As well as operating the exchange Binance also launched its own ICO and token – Binance Coin. This can be used to pay your transaction fees on the platform and thus reducing fees. The token will also play a large role in their Decentralised Exchange where it will form one of the key base currencies.

Purchasing the Binance coin will likely be a good investment for the future as the exchange plans to use their profits to buy back a portion of the coins every quarter and destroy them. This will result in a decreasing supply, making them more valuable for holders.

Binance Fees & Limits

At the time of writing Binance charges an average fee of 0.1% on each trade made through the platform. However those who wish to pay these fees in Binance Coin (BNB) receive a 50% discount on the trading fee.

With regard to withdrawal fees these change from currency to currency and can easily be checked by going to the withdrawals section and choosing the coin to withdraw. The current fee is then displayed.

Binance has 3 levels of verification. As previously mentioned account withdrawals are restricted based on the level of verification however deposits are not. You can deposit any number of coins into the platform without limitations.

At the time of writing the withdrawal limits are as follows:

Level 1 (new default user) – 2 BTC
Level 2 – 100 BTC
Level 3 – Contact

The verification process requires users to provide Binance with their full name, country, gender, a photo of passport/government-issued ID card, and a selfie with the passport.

Binance Competitors

Although there are a number of great exchanges one unique feature to Binance is the regular competitions and prize draws. Many of which include coin giveaways. In the past these have included Waves and Tron.

The waves competition gave away 20,000 Waves to traders based on how many trades they have made of this currency.

They also gave Tron (TRX) participants the chance to win a Maserati, Mercedes Benz, a Macbook Pro or a iPhone X. Again, the winners were the people with the highest trading volume of this currency.

Some of Binance’s competitors you may want to consider include Bittrex, Kraken, Cryptopia, IDEX, and Bitfinex.

Is Binance Safe?

Although Binance is one of the newer cryptocurrency exchanges it is still considered one of the best. It has quickly managed to move up the ranks and gain high levels of user trust and community approval. However, the exchange does not provide users with enough information on how funds are being secured. Two-factor authentication is also available to secure individual accounts. It is however known that the platform offers a multi-tier and multi-tier system architecture, possibly multi-signature where many parties must sign the transaction to withdraw or move large funds.

Although we think Binance is a fairly secure exchange, nothing is un-hackable so we recommend if you are not actively trading and holding your cryptocurrency for a long time to store them in a hardware wallet, you can see our Trezor Vs Ledger Nano review for choosing one of the two wallets we consider the best you can buy right now.

Update: In March 2018 Binance suffered a hacking attempt.

In March 2018 a 3rd party tried to pull off a hack, however it was caught and thwarted by automated systems in place at the exchange. For months the hackers had been accumulating people’s login credentials via a phishing website and secretly installing API access on the affected accounts. They then struck, converting all the victims altcoins to BTC and purchasing Viacoin, pumping the coin to a huge price and then selling their own supply of Viacoin at the highest point, before then withdrawing the BTC to their own wallets. Thankfully no one lost funds as the hack was caught and the only people to lose out were the hackers, whose funds will be donated to charity.

As this hack was only made possible by users falsely entering their credentials on a fake phishing website, this was not directly the fault of Binance. You should always make sure you are on the correct Binance url before logging in. We recommend you bookmark the site and only use that to access it, never click links from emails, Twitter, Telegram etc.

The way in which this issue was handled by Binance has done a lot to instill confidence in the platform. Not only did their automated processes catch the attempted hack before anyone lost any funds, but the team have also since offered a $250,000 bounty to anyone who can help catch the hackers. Throughout this event, Binance acted exemplary and have been praised for their swift action in mitigating and resolving this hacking attempt.

Binance Customer Support

For any exchange to be successful it needs to have great communication and support in place for customers. Once that can answer questions, fix problems and given crypto trading advice in a timely manner. While the support can always be better the team is responsive and capable of offering professional aid to users. Support tickets are submitted via an online form featured on the website, and responses are provided via email. There is currently no live chat support, nor a phone number where customers can get in touch with the support team.

There is also an FAQ’s page which offers information on some of the more common questions users may have.

Binance Moving to Malta?

In March 2018, Japanese Newspaper Nikkei reported that Binance was trading in Japan and not following their official regulations. This caused some turbulence in the markets until Binance made an official announcement that they were moving operations to the crypto-friendly island of Malta in Europe, most recently a whole new bunch of laws have been voted into the country securing the exchanges future.

This is good news for the company and the community and they even received a warm welcome from the Prime Minister of Malta on Twitter. Binance also announced that they were in talks with Maltese banks with the goal of providing Fiat pairs. This would mean they can offer access to fiat to crypto transactions in future along with fiat trading pairs on the exchange.

More good news for Binance, it seems as their profile and reputation within the industry continues to from strength to strength.

Another key area Binance will most likely improve on is with the banking situation, its suggested that the exchange will provide deposits and withdrawals from a Maltese bank in Euros and Sterling meaning lighting fast transactions if the bank is in the SEPA network.

Launching a Decentralized Exchange?

Binance also recently announced that they would be loaching launching their own Decentralized Exchange (DEX) and BNB holders will benefit from this greatly.

The BNB digital asset, now an ERC-20 token, will migrate as the native token of that network and be used for paying the trading fees on the new exchange.

Binance Conclusion

Binance is currently one of the most used exchanges with a growing portfolio of supported currencies making it a big contender for anyone trying to break the market. The exchanges matching engine is capable of processing approximately 1.4 million orders each second, making it one of the fastest exchanges available on the market. Additionally, the exchange works on a wide range of devices devices, including web, Android, WeChat, and HTML5. Non-English speakers will be happy to know that Binance also offers multiple-language support in Chinese, English, Korean and Japanese.

Pro’s

Trading engine is extremely fast
High volume for selling & buying
High number of assets/ cryptocurrencies supported
Good customer support

Con’s

Exchange is not decentralised
Binance Coin is expensive to buy
Large share of the trading volume, if hacked could tumble the crypto market significantly
Security and support may be a problem when

Thanks for reading our review of Binance, if you would like to download the iOS app please see here: https://www.binance.com/ios-install.html for further support on Reddit see here: https://www.reddit.com/r/BinanceExchange/ to login please visit binance.com only to avoid phishing attempts.