Warning: mysqli_query(): (HY000/1021): Disk full (/tmp/#sql_2fa_2.MAI); waiting for someone to free some space... (errno: 28 "No space left on device") in /home/forge/blog.coinspectator.com/public/wp-includes/wp-db.php on line 1924 CoinSpectator Blog - Page 33 of 53 - Cryptocurrency insight and everything in between.
Warning: mysqli_query(): (HY000/1021): Disk full (/tmp/#sql_2fa_2.MAI); waiting for someone to free some space... (errno: 28 "No space left on device") in /home/forge/blog.coinspectator.com/public/wp-includes/wp-db.php on line 1924
Warning: mysqli_query(): (HY000/1021): Disk full (/tmp/#sql_2fa_2.MAI); waiting for someone to free some space... (errno: 28 "No space left on device") in /home/forge/blog.coinspectator.com/public/wp-includes/wp-db.php on line 1924
The Cointrade team clearly sees the imperfections of existing crypto exchanges and will create a new generation exchange, which will adhere to the highest standards of quality, comfort, and security.
The analyst team of Cointrade has highlighted the main issues of existing crypto trade platforms which stand as serious barriers for the inflow of significant investment volumes to the industry from the masses.
High commissions
Unreliable storage of personal data
Risks of storing funds
Lack of trading pairs
Difficult to understand interfaces
Vulnerable to hack attempts
Unstable exchange operations
Collectively, all of these problems create an impassable barrier, making large investment volumes into the crypto industry inaccessible. The Cointrade team will eliminate these issues by adhering its product to the highest standards of quality.
Solutions offered by Cointrade:
A friendly and easy for anyone to understand interface will be developed, alongside with educational materials and videos. The platform can even be used by people who have never tried themselves in trading before.
Special attention will also be placed upon the development quality and testing of the platform, the maximum amount of potential errors will be worked through and resolved. Additional, platform stability will be guaranteed thanks to an advanced DDoS protection system.
Cointrade will offer maximum security for assets and user personal data. The project team has eliminated all possibilities of hacker attacks and will protect user funds. Cointrade will use Blockchain and smart-contract technology to protect user data, automate trades, and to increase trust in the platform.
Around the clock, multilingual support will help satisfy client needs in real time, increase loyalty and trust in the platform.
Cointrade will reject all types of hidden commissions and will decrease fees twofold in comparison to competitors.
The widest range of trade pairs will be available, users will not have to pay double commissions in order to execute trades in pairs that interest them.
The listing of new assets on the platform will be simplified and made transparent.
The system will be split into a few independent components, which will allow for maximum reliability to be achieved.
About the ICO and token
The Cointrade token (CTT) complies with all necessary ERC20 standards, there will only be 236 110 000 CTT tokens released. The platform plans to attract a considerable amount of investors who have not previously had the opportunity to fully invest their funds, the platform will grow as well as demand for the token alongside with the platform’s audience.
About Initial Coin Offering
Base price: 1 CTT = 0.24 USD
Pre-ICO
Start: 1st April, 2018
End: 20th April, 2018
Pre-ICO price: 1 CTT = 0.20 USD
Main ICO
The main ICO will start in July 2018
ICO price for CTT will vary between 0.22 and 0.24 USD depending on the stage.
With new ICO’s being launched everyday the industry is thriving but it is becoming harder and harder to identify high quality, sustainable and investor friendly projects.
This has been compounded by the general bearish trend that has surrounded the space since the Decembers bull run where virtually every coin reached new all time highs (ATHs). The main reasons for this recent downward trend however have included: China confusion, hacks, Tether woes, Binance fud and more recently the dumping of roughly 35,000 Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash onto the market by the Mt. Gox trustees which correlated perfectly with the drops we can see on the charts.
Image riverflop Reddit user.
With the market now showing signs of stabilization this is the perfect buy-in opportunity to invest in high quality projects at a fraction of their worth.
So without further ado check out our top upcoming ICO’s and cryptocurrencies we think will provide a good return on investment throughout 2018.
P.s Why listen to us? Because we have a proven track record in recommending high quality, very profitable projects. Take a look for yourself here and here.
XYO Network
XY, the firm behind XYO Network have built and currently expanding one of the worlds largest decentralised location tracking protocols with GPS beacons and Bluetooth.
The result? Tagging and monitoring the movement of physical objects (including humans) anywhere in the world.
For example in the future governments and agencies could potentially use the technology to ensure everyone is registered and able to move around legally and freely through selected jurisdictions with no additional need for verification, passports etc. It can also help with realtime tracking of lost, missing, wanted people or objects.
Another use case would be ecommerce. Given the amount of parcels that go missing with no resolution/ accountability companies can use the tracking to manage their shipping and supply chain needs resulting in full transparency and accountability. For example an ecommerce store only takes payment once an item has been received by the customer.
XYO Network powers the service through its mining kits and enables anyone with a location tracking device such as Bluetooth, GPS, LPWAN (LoRA), Low Earth Orbit LEO Satellites to contribute. As referred to in the Whitepaper these Sentinels, Bridges, Archivists and Diviners are also rewarded with XYO Tokens based on their interactivity/ helpfulness.
XYO Network will be running a token sale this March. Whitelist restrictions apply and you can take part by visiting their website.
Data ownership has become a hot topic these last couple of years with many unaware that corporations, governments and other 3rd party entities are profiting from what many consider to be their personal data.
According to research studies in 2017 digitally generated data amassed roughly $1 trillion dollars in revenue last year, none of which is seen by the individual whom it concerns.
Blockchain startup Essentia wants to change this by developing a way for everyone to decide and control who has access to their data, what it can be used for and receiving a fee for its use.
The infrastructure model can be split up into three sections. These are:
User Data
Essences – This is the container that holds and controls the flow to the users data
Essentia Network – This is the decentralised network that manages the Essences in a clean, interoperable and secure manner.
Third parties and dApps can easily access user data as pluggable oracles based on what information users wish to release. Developers can also build on top of the Essentia framework to create data management tools, identity solutions, data exchanges, decentralized CRMs etc.
For example using Essentia’s eLogin users can authenticate and login to compatible websites without the need for any password. This move away from insecure and sometimes cumbersome passwords means more security, privacy and a cleaner interface to manage identity and authentication across every service that the user wishes to use.
The firm has an impressive advisory board which includes:
European Commission and certified business coache Erik van der Staak
Thomas Graham who is a managing partner at crypto advisory firm TLDR;
Francesco fusetti who raised $19 million with his charity project AidCoin
Yann Marston with 20 years experience in business, he is responsible for strategic sales at Motorola Solutions.
Esentia is running an initial coin offering to raise funds enabling investors to purchase ESS tokens which will power the technology. The price is set at 1 ETH = 15000 ESS and they aim to raise $31,900,000.
HOQU aspires to be the world’s first decentralised marketing platform enabling affiliates and merchants to work together directly without the need for a middleman. This ensures both parties are treated fairly with all actions completed through transparent smart contracts.
The global advertising industry is estimated to be worth some $200 billion dollars per year with the USA, China and United Kingdom dominating the market. HOQU hopes that a large proportion of these transaction will be running on their blockchain in the near future.
It’s no secret that this industry is centralised with the affiliate networks controlling a large number of merchants and affiliates. In doing so they are able to set high fees and low commissions, all the while enforcing unjustified and overpriced account maintenance charges.
Startups are also often priced out of joining the networks with insanely high barriers placed in their way. HOQU removes these barriers with smart contract technology and fair fees for all.
This technology creates a win win scenario for both merchants and affiliates by reducing fraud, ensuring fair payouts and lower all round costs. All whilst streamlining the whole process.
HOQU’s Initial coin offering raised $18.7 million and at the time of writing HOQU (HQX) was trading at $0.083164 on IDEX and ForkDelta.
Gems is a decentralised mechanical turk powered by blockchain technology. It builds on the shortcomings of traditional Mechanical Turks such as Amazons MTurk and Crowd Flower.
A traditional MTurk is a crowdsourcing Internet marketplace which enables individuals and businesses (also known as requesters) to hire others to perform microtasks that computers are currently unable to do.
However current providers are very inefficient, implement costly verification techniques (consensus by redundancy), charge exorbitant fees and are unavailable to a large portion of the workforce who don’t have access to bank accounts.
By using blockchain technology Gems is able to eradicate all these issues.
Gems is currently being advised by a range of industry heavyweights that include Medium and Twitter co-founder Biz Stone, Augur co-founder Joey Krug, reCAPTCHA co-founder Ben Maurer, Aragon co-founder Luis Cuende and co-founder of NEO Global Capital Roger Lim.
At the time of writing Gems is trading at $0.018616 on Gate.io and IDEX for both USDT and ETH pairs.
Peer-to-peer file sharing is a phrase most of us are familiar with. It was once one of the most popular ways to share files across the internet and through the use of torrents still is even today.
It is however starting to show its age and limitations. One of the biggest being a massive disparity between file downloads and availability ratio.
This is due to the lack of seeders who have no incentive to share content other than as a hobby or possible notoriety.
Upfiring tackles the root cause of this problem by offering seeders compensation (payment in UFR) for their contributions.
By adding incentivisation in to the mix seeders rise to a higher calibre and become more abundant, resulting in faster access and downloads for users.
The process is as follows:
A seeder shares a file through the Upfiring network
The file is encrypted by the platform
A downloader requests access to the seeded file but can only download once they have paid using the currency of the network which is UFR tokens.
Once downloaded and paid for in full the file can be decrypted.
UFR is currently trading on various exchanges including Cryptopia, Stocks.Exchange, IDEX and ForkDelta at roughly $0.30 and has been tipped by many as a coin that should at least rech $5 by Q4 of 2018 due to the attractive market cap.
It would be almost criminal to end the article without mentioning Cardano. This is by far one of the most exciting (albeit adventurous) projects that we will be following over the course of 2018/2019.
Founded by Charles Hoskinson, a former co-founder of Ethereum and Jeremy Wood, operations manager at Ethereum, the project takes all the best bits from previous generation blockchains and rolls them in to a peer-reviewed, institutionally backed decentralised public blockchain and cryptocurrency. In essence Cardano wants to be Ethereum but usable day-to-day e.g far more scalable, sustainable, and interoperable.
Born out of scientific philosophy with experts contributing from all over the world not only helps Cardano develop a solid, research-backed foundation but will also simplify government and legal approval when that time comes.
Their detailed roadmap can be found on the website with upcoming events such as Ledger support and the opening of a new research and development center that focuses on the Cardano blockchain Ho Chi Minh city.
p.s Last year with tipped HelloGold, Cindicator, VeChain, TRON, Request Network and Utrust. All of which not only increased in price but reached significant roadmap goals, formed partnerships and are starting to make real change across many industries with their Blockchain technology.
Zero Edge Raised 5 million USD from Private Investors
Zero Edge is set to fully revolutionize the online casino industry with its brand new cryptocurrency-based online gambling model. In its run up to Pre-ICO and ICO, Zero Edge has already attracted widescale global investment, giving it the impetus it needs to push through with their plans to turn the online gambling industry inside out.
At the time of writing, the Zero Edge online gambling model, which includes a unique cryptocurrency-based money system known as Zerocoin, has raised in excess of 5 million USD from a broad cross-section of private investors. However, more is predicted to stream in on the heals of pre-sale demand and an ever-increasing global interest in the Zero Edge 0% house edge casino model.
Zero Edge Revolutionary Model Explained
ZeroEdge.bet offers 0% edge Casino games. World first 0% edge games attract demand for Zerocoin, because of this, its value rises. Players can play 0% games while Zerocoin price rises. Simply put, the ultimate solution to the problem is creating a platform where playing games is “free”. Players are not required to pay any fixed amount of money to be able to play at the casino. This can only be achieved by creating a closed loop economy with its own token where players purchase the token with fiat or crypto. Since the supply of ZERO is limited, its value is directly proportional to demand.
Blockchain & Smart contract technology allow to create a fully transparent and truly fair gambling environment where players have more opportunities to participate, can completely trust the platform, and have a real chance of winning while at the same time being a part of a bigger community which fosters social inclusion and mutual values.
Pre-ICO is Live with 79% discount & low hard cap – 1500 eth!
Zero Edge is introducing its own unique cryptocurrency known as Zerocoin, the only way that gamblers will be able to participate in true 0% house edge online casino games through the Zero Edge online casino network. The value of Zerocoin is set to rise rapidly, as more and more people flock to Zero Edge to enjoy true 0% house edge games.
This is also the perfect opportunity to learn about the pre-ICO or Initial Coin Offering which is set to start on the 28th of February 2018, closing out on the 15th of March 2018. During the Zerocoin pre-ICO, Zero Edge are presenting a no soft cap,while the hard cap is initially set at 1500 ETH. https://tokensale.zeroedge.bet
Zero Edge is taking the revolution in online gambling worldwide with their latest event to be held in one of the top hotels in Macau, China. The event, which is set to run until the 21st of February 2018, is sure to be an eye opener for the Asian gambling market, introducing (among other things) the benefits of blockchain based casinos.
Leading experts in online gambling as well as cryptocurrency combine forces in the inspirational seminar on how blockchain is going to impact online gambling industry. The cream of the crop in Asian gambling, including top level managers and other high-level executives within the industry will learn all about how the new crypto currency casinos will operate. This includes learning about the ever-expanding network of online casinos that will be utilising Zerocoin cryptocurrency tokens in order to offer 0% house edge casino games to the masses.
Zero Edge & Blockchain Create a Buzz in the Gambling Industry!
Fresh from successful showcase events held in Cyprus, Kiev, Abu Dhabi and Dubai, the Blockchain event rolls into Macau. The events leading up to Macau have shown time and again how vital a shake up in the online casino industry really is. The concept that Zero Edge are bringing to the online casino industry is not only revolutionary, it is long overdue!
“We have already received a lot interest and good feedback from the industry professionals. It is only natural that we want our community to grow even bigger and for that reason we are organising an event to promote our project in Asia and grow our presence there. We also want to educate people about the advantages of the blockchain technology and its possible applications in the gambling industry for making it more efficient and customer-oriented” explained Adrian Casey CEO at ZeroEdge.Bet
Essentially, Zero Edge Casino is a network of online casinos that offer players the chance to play top casino games including roulette, blackjack, video poker, and slots, all with a guaranteed 0% house edge. This means that, unlike traditional online casinos where they enjoy an advantage over the players of up to 10%, gamblers at Zero Edge casinos will actually have a truly fair shot at winning.
The concept has already taken Europe and the Middle East by storm and is set to do the same for Asian online gambling. Essentially, Zero Edge are turning the industry on its head by introducing a different way for the casino to make a profit, which doesn’t exploit the customer, but instead focuses on the increasing value of digital assets through wider adoption and utility.
Learn About Zero Edge In-Depth in Macau
If you happen to be in Macau over February, you can enjoy the opportunity to learn about the Zero Edge online casino model in-depth and first hand. The Zero Edge team will be presenting their revolutionary model to an eager Asian gambling public, where casino gambling is the number one pastime. The event will be held in one of Macau’s leading luxury hotels and is certainly not to be missed.
This is also the perfect opportunity to learn about the pre-ICO or Initial Coin Offering which is set to start on the 28th of February 2018, closing out on the 15th of March 2018. During the Zerocoin pre-ICO, Zero Edge are presenting a no soft cap,while the hard cap is initially set at 1500 ETH. https://tokensale.zeroedge.bet
The blockchain technology has become quite popular these days. Almost every firm in the world wants to employ a blockchain system – some of them for no apparent rhyme or reason. However, there are some industries and sectors where blockchain based solutions can actually be quite beneficial. Small and Medium Enterprises, popularly known as SMEs have an immense untapped potential when it comes to application of blockchain technologies. A proper blockchain system can help solve a number of issues that SMEs face, including invoice related issues.
Invoice Financing is one of the most popular means of businesses to get some quick cash, especially in the Western regions such as the US and European Union. It is also getting popular in Japan, Australia and some parts of Asia. For those who are not aware about what this process is, invoice financing is basically the process of selling off invoices that debtors owe to the company in exchange for some quick cash.
For instance, a debtor owes $5,000 to a business. However, the business is in an urgent need of money for some repair work and they need instant cash. They can sell off their invoice to a third party finance firm for a discount (for example, $4750), and the finance company would then collect the $5000 from the debtors – making a profit of $250.
However, when it comes to invoice financing, there are a number of complications. While the example above deals with one business, one debtor and one financer – at times businesses have multiple debtors and multiple financers and managing the paperwork becomes quite complex. This leads to invoice frauds and tampering of data – which causes one (or more) parties involved a loss.
Such a problem can be solved with the help of blockchain based solutions. While this is a very niche markets, there are some companies which are catering specially to their needs. Invox Finance is one such platform which brings in blockchain based systems to invoice financing.
Blockchain systems help in easy management of invoices as they ensure that all the data stored in the system is tamper proof. No changes can be made to the data without the permission of all the partners involved in the deal – making any fraud virtually impossible! Moreover, blockchain systems ensure that invoices remain in permanent record even after the deals are done and payments are settled so that there are no disputes in the future. These are hack-proof systems and ensures a better safety and an easier, simpler system of managing invoices.
Invox Finance, with their platform – is bringing in the blockchain revolution into the world of invoice financing. Interested investors can invest into the Invox ICO and token sale at https://invoxfinance.io. Once they have access to the Invox Tokens, users can make use of the Invox Platform to buy invoices or fragments of invoices from multiple businesses, helping out the businesses as well as making a profit in the process.
Cryptocurrencies are getting mainstream with every passing day. What was once limited to a group of techies and finance experts has now blown off the roof and is now available for everyone to invest in. Cryptocurrency investments have now reached the everyday investor – and massive volumes of money is being pumped into cryptocurrencies with every passing day.
There are two types of people in cryptocurrencies – the first, who generate their own cryptocurrencies (Cryptocurrency Miners) and the second, who buy and sell cryptocurrencies (Cryptocurrency Traders). With cryptocurrency prices rising, cryptocurrency mining has been becoming increasingly popular.
Mining, in the most simple words, is the consumption of electricity to solve a complex mathematical algorithm. Groups of computer work together to mine for cryptocurrencies and use their collective computing and electric powers to solve these algorithms. When all the computers reach a consensus, the mining activity is completed and new cryptocurrencies are generated and distributed among the miners. There have been a number of developments in the way the world of technology has been adapting to cryptocurrencies and mining too is evolving with time.
The biggest allegation against cryptocurrency mining and cryptocurrency miners has been that of the fact that mining is causing a rise in the global electricity consumption levels. This allegation is quite true, to some extent. There has been a sharp spike in electricity consumption in global levels. All cryptocurrency mining operations combined tend to consume electricity as much as some small countries do!
Renewable Mining Australia, in a time like this, is coming up with a unique solution. It is offering an eco-friendly mining mining solution. Renewable Mining Australia (RMA) was acquired by KPR Medical Solutions (KPRMS) and the two companies merged on the 2nd of October last year. RMA claims to be the first ever eco-friendly mining company in Australia.
KPR Medical Solutions intends to become a leader in Australia’s medical marijuana supply. Together, RMA and KPRMS have now launched an Initial Coin Offering which will help KPRMS get investors for their KPR Coin. The company aims at raising a total of $30 Million in Ethereum investments from interested investors. Details of this Initial Coin Offering can be seen in detail here: https://www.kprms.com/
With the $30 Million that the companies raise, they intend to acquire the land needed to start off with the medical marijuana growth. Moreover, the company also intends to set up a mining Bitcoin operation with the help of RMA, which will be setting up a number of Antminer S9 ASIC machines in the mining farms. These Bitcoin generated here will be given away as a reward to some VIP investors, and will also be used to make this farming operation self-sustainable.
The cryptocurrency industry is currently unregulated and uninsured, making it a haven for digital bandits to plunder and pillage. While there are techniques to safeguard against hacking and theft, some unprotected accounts are still exposed to breaches.
Only a few weeks ago, a Japanese digital exchange was hit with what has been described as the biggest hack in cryptocurrency history. Coincheck Exchange admitted to halting sales and withdrawals of the currency, NEM, after hackers reportedly stole 58 billion yen (£385 million).
According to the exchange, it would be paying back 46.3 billion yen (£305.7 million) to investors. This massive heist is coming at a time when security against crypto-currency thieves is a major cause for concern among many investors. The question remains, how careful should you be?
The importance of internet security cannot be over-emphasised. Security pundits continue to stress it every day. To illustrate its necessity, here is a list of the major cryptocurrency hacks in world history.
1. Bitstamp Hack (January, 2015)
Following the hack of Mt. Gox exchange in the previous year, one of Bitstamp’s storage wallets was raided. The amount stolen was $5.1 million in Bitcoin. Officials who led an investigation into the case attributed the incident to the work of a phishing scam.
The Slovenia-based company also admitted that hackers had stolen 19,000 bitcoins the previous day. While the CEO, Nejc Kodric tried to reassure investors by accepting liability for the breach, he also maintained that most of the company’s bitcoins were in cold storage and safe from fraudsters.
Phishing scams are still a popular method of retrieving user information from a site and modern anti-virus systems are designed to prevent them.
A weakness in the Decentralised Autonomous Organisation (DAO) code saw the theft of Ether worth $50 million. It accounted for the significant dip in Ethereum that happened in 2016. The victims were investors in DAO. The company’s unique system of running things included allowing anybody with an investment have a say in which company DAO would fund.
DAO was built on the foundation of Ethereum; a system developed for building decentralised applications. Its system of a democratic financial institution is still relevant today and the company has since set up procedures to prevent financial breach in future.
3. Steemit.com Hack (July 2016)
A month after the DAO hacking, Steem, a social media blockchain was attacked and 260 Steemit accounts were affected. About £85,000 worth of Steem and Steem Dollars were cleared from users’ account. While some investors may think this amount is small in comparison to the other hacks, hackers don’t usually take only money but personal information too.
The company informed its partner Bittrex which worked consistently to investigate the breach and refund customers. Steemit is a block-chain company based on the concept of social media networks. Users who post quality content, comment and vote are paid in Steem cryptocurrency.
4. Bitfinex Hack (August 2016)
The year 2016 was generally bad in cryptocurrency history. Few months later in August, Bitfinex was hacked and Bitcoin worth $72 million was stolen from the Exchange. The breach occurred through a vulnerability in one of the multi-signature wallets in Bitfinex.
Customers felt the main brunt despite having certain features in place like the two-factor-authentication system. Conversely, monies transferred to the exchange after the hack were announced as secure. The exchange later released details to expectant customers as well as the terms for refund.
The price of Bitcoin diminished so much during the period that it was attributed to the Bitfinex Hack. The value of prices fell by 20%, plummeting as low as £480 USD before it recovered on its term.
5. Coin Dash Hack (July 2017)
Coin Dash started off badly in 2017 when a hacker convinced users on their website to exchange Ether for their Coindash tokens. By manipulating an address, he was able to get them to reroute their cryptocurrencies to a phony address.
They (hackers) got away with Ether worth $7 million. According to Crypto Coin Judge, the problem was caused by the negligence of cyber security at the time.
Startups like Coin dash, at the time, build on blockchains and raise sufficient funds in exchange for tokens that allow buyers to access their network when it is launched. CoinDash was hoping to raise $12 million but the sale only generated $6.4 million.
6. Parity Hack (July 2017)
Parity was hacked in the same month Coin Dash was attacked. The hacker discovered a loophole in the Parity Multisig Wallet and exploited it. The access got the hacker into the ICOs of Casino, Edgeless, Aeternity and Swarm City blockchain. Incidentally, “white hackers” use the opportunity to mop up what was left of users’ funds while protecting their accounts.
The total amount they stole was $32 million worth of Ether. The Exchange operates as a community and asked users to investigate when activities appear unusual, including when a user appears to access certain parts of the accounts meant for authorised users.
Following the events of January 2018 between Tether, and audit firm Friedman LLP, concerns around Tether’s USDT token continues to be on the increase. This is ruining the trust of users as chances to prove that USDT is backed by real dollars, and show that the company is running a legal operation continues to be on the decline. This situation doesn’t seem to be getting any better.
Following user speculations that Tether is pumping the market through artificial manipulations, it is believed that Tether is not just creating USDT without real dollar backing.
In order to understand the controversies surrounding tether, it might help to understand what tether is.
What is Tether?
Created in 2015 with the brand name “Realcoin”, Tether is supposedly backed on a one-to-one ratio with the US dollar and EURO. This means that for every USDT or EURT, the company claims to keep one USD and one EURT respectively. According to Icotokennews.com, Realcoin is just one of many hundreds of cryptocurrencies being released in the latest cryptocurrency fad.
Tether was created with the intention of being a stable coin, with its value pegged to the USD, thereby preventing it from having volatility like other crypto coins. It was meant to be used as a means to enter or exit onto exchanges (a way to keep stable digital assets without the stress of converting cryptocurrency into fiat currency).
However, over the past couple of months, there’s been growing concerns that Tether might not be backed on a one to one ratio by the USD as claimed by the company. The company, however, insists this is mere speculation, claiming their audit is in order.
Release of Freshly Minted Tokens
Despite these controversies, and without clarifying the current issues, the company has released new tokens which are pegged to the US dollar and the Euro. These newly minted tokens are stored up in two Ethereum wallets. The plan is to use this to significantly increase trading services on the Ethfinix trading platform.
If this is to be compared to the USDT and EURT currency supply, the amount of freshly minted tokens appear to be much less with around 86.3 million Euro pegged EURT and 60.1 million dollar pegged USDT as it appears on the Ethereum block.
It is not clear at the moment how much new tokens the company is planning to mint, as sufficient information regarding that is not yet available. How the Ethfinix exchange plans on introducing these freshly minted tokens, and the trading pair which they intend on using is not yet clear. The tokens are even yet to be listed on coinmarketcap.com. Currently, the only thing investors have is the brand’s promise to introduce ERC20 Tether tokens, which has been promised would be traded on Ethfinix.
The announcement in part noted that: “Tether have now collaborated with Ethfinex on the development of the first Ethereum-based Tether, compatible with the ERC20 standard. The ERC20 Tether allows for tokenized USD to be exchanged on the Ethereum network, enabling interoperability with Ethereum-based protocols and DApps whilst allowing users to transact with fiat currencies across the Ethereum Network.”
Against the backdrop of the current bullish trend in the market, market analysts predict that the freshly minted tokens might receive an enthusiastic acceptance from hopeful investors. Although with the trading limitations existing on the Ethfinix platform, the exchange might not be considering activating the new tokens anytime soon.
However, it can be seen that Ether is having a notable influence on the market with about 2.2 billion USDT in circulation. There’s currently an increased demand for ether in the trading market, with more than $3 billion traded in Tether volumes recently. Tether is presently second only to Bitcoin if trading volume is to be considered, with Bitcoin trading to about $8 billion.
Meanwhile, another outside observer is warning about the potential dangers that tether poses to the smooth operation of exchanges. Weiss Ratings, an independent U.S based agency, which publishes letter grades for crytocurrency brands, in an attempt to enlighten investors on the risks of tether, issued an alert highlighting common fears about USDT; a cryptocurrency which claims to be covered by the U.S dollar reserves.
As Weiss analyst, Juan M. Villaverde noted, “The big issue: There’s never been an audit, and the folks behind Tether have been quite shady when asked. They have continuously claimed their tokens are backed 100% by actual dollars, yet they have failed to present any evidence to support this claim.
“On social media, there appears to be consensus that what Tether is actually doing is running a fractional reserve system. In other words, most observers claim they DO NOT have the dollars to back up all those Tether coins. I tend to agree. It’s just too suspicious.”
Weiss goes further to explain the importance of USDT to the ecosystem of cryptocurrency exchanges such as Binance, which uses the coin as a digital version for real dollars in trading. This makes the coin among the most traded cryptocurrencies, and the only digital money to exceed its market cap on a near regular basis.
It is only natural for these exchanges to be dependent on Tether to provide liquidity, and this as well puts investors at risk should the government decide to stop its printing. This has a high likelihood of happening under the U.S law.
Providing further analysis, Juan said, “The consequences of hanky-panky could be far-reaching. What happens if Tether does turn out to be fraudulent? Or what happens if a major government determines that cryptocurrencies like Tether are being used by exchanges to avoid regulations?
“What if this large source of liquidity suddenly evaporates? Conceivably, it could cause exchange failures. It could drive investors to liquidate their positions, causing sharp declines in market prices.”
Tether last month announced that they had plans to abandon the Bitcoin core and adopt Ethereum based tokens following the hack which happened last year. This could be the possible explanation as regards their bold move to issuing Ethereum-based tokens despite unresolved controversies.
Australia based MoxyOne is a startup which is all set to solve the biggest problem of cryptocurrencies – a proper payments infrastructure. While an increasing number of merchants are accepting cryptocurrency payments, the number is still too low. MoxyOne intends to change the way we know cryptocurrency payments to be. MoxyOne plans to build a platform where cryptocurrency payments can easily be made, just like how one would make fiat payments.
`Cryptocurrencies have been around for less than a decade. While they have been seen as a viable investment option, their use as a payments token is yet to realize its full potential. The biggest reason for this is that there’s no proper payments infrastructure. MoxyOne’s technologies will help build that payments infrastructure that will allow users to pay in cryptocurrencies just like how they make fiat payments using Debit Cards.
Payments made on the MoxyOne platform will be powered by the SPEND cryptocurrency tokens, which are native to the platform. MoxyOne also plans on bringing forward a number of other features and services. Let us take a closer look:
Understanding MoxyOne’s Plans:
MoxyOne’s platform offers the following features and services you can look out to:
Debit Card: The primary offering from the MoxyOne platform is that of a debit card which can be used at retail stores similar to a regular Debit Card which is used for fiat payments. Basically, upon swiping it at the store, this card makes use of your cryptocurrencies – converts them into fiat and pays them to the seller.
SPEND Tokens: For those wondering how the MoxyOne Debit Card pays the merchant in fiat currency while using your cryptocurrency balance – it is powered by SPEND tokens. SPEND tokens are native to the MoxyOne platform. Basically, the cryptocurrencies that you pay are first converted into SPEND tokens – which are then sent to the merchant. These SPEND tokens then get converted into fiat currencies and are paid out to the merchant.
Instant Fiat Conversion: Another feature of the MoxyOne Debit Cards is that they can be easily used at ATM machines to withdraw cash!
MoxyOne Wallet: The MoxyOne platform also offers the users with a wallet where they store their cryptocurrencies. It is from this wallet that the currencies can be fetched and transacted. It is a multi-token wallet which supports multiple cryptocurrencies to be stored.
MoxyAI: The MoxyAI feature is basically an AI system built into the wallet which judges which is the best cryptocurrency to use for a transaction. It compares the prices of all cryptocurrencies stored into your wallet – and then judges which of them has the highest price. This means that you spend the least in cryptocurrencies and get the most in fiat value!
MoxyOne Token Sale and ICO:
The MoxyOne token sale will allow users to invest into the platform and get SPEND tokens. However, before you invest into the platform, you will need to go through a KYC procedure and provide some private details. MoxyOne has set a goal of a minimum of 4,000 ETH tokens – if they fail to reach that level, the money will be refunded. Users who participate in the ICO would get a referral link which can be used to earn some extra coins if their friends sign up and participate using the link. For more details, visit https://moxy.one.
Singapore 5 March 2018 – Blockchain company BitCar.io has announced a gear change in its business model, giving BITCAR token holders the chance to trade their way to full ownership of the platform’s top-end exotic vehicles.
Similar to some other cryptocurrencies, BitCar uses a dual token system, meaning people can buy BITCAR tokens and then use this to acquire CAR tokens representing individual exotic cars on the BitCar platform.
The BitCar platform is designed to allow CAR token holders to peer-to-peer trade their tokens with others at any time, which BitCar hopes will grow into a large live marketplace over time.
The ‘trade your way to a whole exotic’ model development has been introduced due to strong user feedback – where numerous users said they would love the ability to eventually wholly own an exotic car.
“When a new platform car is on-boarded, its CAR tokens will each be pegged to one US dollar, fractionalising the title of the car into the CAR Blockchain currency. Each vehicle will have its own unique ‘CAR’ tokens assigned to it, which can be traded,” said BitCar Executive Charles Kilborn.
CAR token holders will have access to several third party indexes, spot prices and future value estimates, along with other valuable data such as a ‘leaderboard’ of token holders and so can make their trading decisions based on their view of this data.
“Buyers in the BitCar marketplace, who over time want to own one of these exotics outright – can seek to acquire more tokens in it, by making offers to existing CAR token holders,” said Mr Kilborn.
CAR token prices are designed to be much less volatile than other cryptocurrencies, and so holders should benefit during times of crypto volatility to benefit from their greater stability compared to other cryptocurrencies.
They can also trade tokens with peers. But fundamentally, in a world first, BitCar will allow those that want to own CAR tokens to gain exposure to exotics that appreciate over time.
“The platform is designed so that users can automate trading criteria, shift between different CAR tokens, auto bid, or opt to accept transactions per their set criteria,” said Mr Kilborn.
Every five years, the ownership of the car will be examined. CAR token holders who own all or a majority of the tokens of a vehicle can take possession of the vehicle (drag-along provisions will apply), which burns the CAR specific tokens. Alternatively they could chose to put their CAR tokens back onto the platform.
The BitCar token sale is currently in round three of its ICO and has raised over SGD 9 million already.
XY, the firm behind XYO Network have built and currently expanding one of the worlds largest decentralised location tracking protocols with GPS beacons and Bluetooth.
Data ownership has become a hot topic these last couple of years with many unaware that corporations, governments and other 3rd party entities are profiting from what many consider to be their personal data.
HOQU aspires to be the world’s first decentralised marketing platform enabling affiliates and merchants to work together directly without the need for a middleman. This ensures both parties are treated fairly with all actions completed through transparent smart contracts.
Gems is a decentralised mechanical turk powered by blockchain technology. It builds on the shortcomings of traditional Mechanical Turks such as Amazons MTurk and Crowd Flower.
Peer-to-peer file sharing is a phrase most of us are familiar with. It was once one of the most popular ways to share files across the internet and through the use of torrents still is even today.
It would be almost criminal to end the article without mentioning Cardano. This is by far one of the most exciting (albeit adventurous) projects that we will be following over the course of 2018/2019.
