Persystic Token (PSYS) is the cryptocurrency used on the Persystic platform, a community-driven decentralized social media network that is the first of its type. Persystic was created to resolve the many issues affecting social media today, including unfair monetization policies, privacy and security concerns, and more. Persystic employs advanced security measures to ensure that user data remains safe from bad actors such as hackers.

Persystic Token (PSYS) vs Traditional Social Media

Social media platforms are integral to how we live our lives today, however, the existing market is dominated by a relatively small number of platforms in which the creators and owners have become very powerful.

This has led to issues such as a lack of democracy and transparency in how the platforms are run, with a disproportionate amount of benefits going to advertisers and partners rather than the community of users.

For example, social media networks like Facebook have come under fire for a lack of fairness and transparency in their monetization policies. Creators do not own their content on these platforms, and rather sign away their rights to the content in return for access to the platform and its community of users. In addition, creators cannot monetize their content on many of these platforms.

On the Persystic social media platform, creators have full ownership over their content. This includes the right to monetization, meaning that users can earn from the content they produce. This mechanism is also used to incentivize the creation and generation of authentic content with Persystic Token (PSYS) rewards.

Privacy has been a rising concern with traditional social media networks. Many argue that the measures in place for protecting the privacy of users are insufficient and that these platforms are exploitative of users data which is then sold to and shared with third parties such as advertisers. Often users accept the mandatory terms and conditions required for accessing these platforms without fully reading or understanding the policies.

There is also a lack of right to erasure mechanisms, meaning that content published on these platforms is stored on the company servers indefinitely and users have no course of action to take for removing them.

On Persystic, user privacy is of the utmost importance and the platform has been created in a way that does not steal or share user data with unwanted third parties. Additionally, users can request that their content is permanently removed from the platform in line with EU right-to-be-forgotten laws.

What is Persystic Token (PSYS) used for?

Persystic Token (PSYS) is a BEP20 cryptocurrency built on the Binance Smart Chain and it is used for utility in the Persystic ecosystem. Its primary uses include sending and receiving cryptocurrency transactions between users, trading with users for other cryptocurrencies and fiat currencies, as part of the rewards mechanism for incentivizing content creators, and purchasing content licenses.

In total, 3 billion Persystic Token (PSYS) will be minted.

Token distribution model:

Disclaimer: This is a paid post and should not be treated as news/advice.

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Persystic Token (PSYS): The social cryptocurrency - AMBCrypto News

Over the past 24 hours, Monero's XMR/USD price has fallen 3.68% to $161.5. This is opposite to its positive trend over the past week where it has experienced a 3.0% gain, moving from $157.87 to its current price.

The chart below compares the price movement and volatility for Monero over the past 24 hours (left) to its price movement over the past week (right). The gray bands are Bollinger Bands, measuring the volatility for both the daily and weekly price movements. The wider the bands are, or the larger the gray area is at any given moment, the larger the volatility.

Monero's trading volume has climbed 54.0% over the past week, moving in tandem, directionally, with the overall circulating supply of the coin, which has increased 0.01%. This brings the circulating supply to 18.15 million. According to our data, the current market cap ranking for XMR is #31 at $2.94 billion.

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This article was generated by Benzinga's automated content engine and reviewed by an editor.

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Cryptocurrency Monero Decreases More Than 3% Within 24 hours - Benzinga

Ive been writing about cryptocurrency for my entire career. In that time, one point Ive always stuck to is simple: dont listen to me for investment advice. Today, I want to quantify why.

Bitcoin was created in 2009, while I was in my first year at university. As an economics student and massive nerd it sat squarely at the intersection of my interests. By my final year of uni in 2011, the original cryptocurrency was experiencing its first boom and bust cycle. It rose from a low of $0.30 to a high of $32.34 that summer, before crashing back down to less than $3 when Mt. Gox, the original bitcoin exchange, was hacked. (This will become a theme.)

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That was also the year the Guardian first covered the currency, with Ruth Whippman warning: Its critics in the political sphere fear that it could give rise to an online Wild West of gambling, prostitution and global bazaars for contraband.

I was very much on the outside looking in, though. Not being a regular drug user (cf massive nerd), the mainstream use of bitcoin getting pills or weed delivered by post from the Silk Road passed me by, so I found it more of an intellectual curiosity than anything else.

This is perhaps in part because the first thing I remember hearing about bitcoin was a tale, probably apocryphal, of someone using their gaming PC to mine the currency in their dorm room in a heatwave. The air conditioning failed, the user reported in a forum post, and heatstroke left them with mild brain damage. You can see why I was unimpressed.

By the second major boom, I was covering economics for the New Statesman. And thats where the trouble starts.

In my first published piece using the word bitcoin the first time the New Statesman had covered the topic I confidently declared: This is what a bubble looks like. At the time, bitcoin was trading at around $40 a coin.

It has never gotten that low again.

I was right that there was a bubble in the offing: the price of bitcoin had doubled in two months, and would double twice more before it popped less than a month later. But the crash, which would have been huge for any other normal asset, was a reduction of around half, taking bitcoin to the lows of three weeks prior.

A decade on, the memory of this bold claim still haunts me, and I refuse to make predictions about the future of any cryptocurrency. In fact, Ive taken to joking that the best way to make money, historically, is to do the opposite of what I say.

So I put it to the test.

The Alex Hern bitcoin investment strategy

Obviously, I dont give actual investment advice. So I reviewed every article Ive ever written that mentions bitcoin, and sorted them based on whether or not a reader would think they were good news for the crypto, or bad news. Theres an element of value judgment to this, of course: you might disagree with my decision that a story about the Winklevii launching a bitcoin price tracker in 2014 is broadly positive; or that a story about Mt. Gox reopening after a hack (another hack) is broadly negative. My hope is that the disagreements average out.

Then, I paired the stories against the price of bitcoin on the day they were written, and asked a simple question: if youd bought $10 of bitcoin every time I wrote something that seemed like bad news, and sold $10 of bitcoin every time I wrote something that seemed like good news, how would your investment have performed?

The bottom line: you would have spent a net of $420 on bitcoin, and have a crypto wallet containing around 1.1 bitcoin as a result worth, at todays market value, a little over $22,000.

Oof.

Going over the specifics, though, gives me a bit of cheer. Well over half that gain comes from a total of just seven pieces written in 2013: six negative and one positive. At the end of that run, youd have spent $50, and own 0.7 bitcoin. Those articles have an outsized influence on the over-calculation, due to how much bitcoins value has increased in the nine years since they were published.

Bitcoin had two boom and bust cycles in 2013. The first, in April, took it to a high of $266. The second, in December was bigger much bigger. The price of a coin spiked at $1,238, and fell to a low of $687. The rush of pieces I wrote about the currency when I started at the Guardian, through late 2013 and the first half of 2014, contribute much less to the bottom line, even though there were more of them.

It was also the period with the most positive stories for bitcoin. In 2014, the potential of the currency was still untapped: the idea that bitcoin or the blockchain might prove revolutionary wasnt a hackneyed promise, but something that might be just around the corner. In that boom, I wrote as many positive stories as negative.

For every article about bitcoin hitting an all-time high of $269, there was another about a 1m hack of a payment processor. For every long feature asking if bitcoin was about to change the world, there was a warning from a Dutch central banker that the hype was worse than tulip mania (and he should know).

The timing of the pieces didnt quite balance out, though, and by the end of that boom you would have turned your 0.7 bitcoin into 0.9 while cashing out as many dollars as you put in. And in that period, those bitcoin would have gone from $100 to more than $500.

From 2014 to the most recent boom, however, the money you put in would start being drowned out by the bitcoin you already own. $10 at the beginning of 2014 bought you around 0.01 bitcoin, and so 10 negative pieces from me would have sizeably increased your position.

Three years later, it would take 30 negative pieces for you to acquire the same amount of bitcoin. That meant the impact of the ICO boom the first of the great expansions of the sector from a handful of cryptocurrencies to a whole ecosystem of shitcoins was muted compared to what came before, despite stories about Iceland becoming a miners paradise and Kodak bringing out a branded cryptominer, leading to a flurry of buying and selling.

And three years after that, at the beginning of 2020, a $10 investment in the cryptocurrency would get you just 0.001 BTC. Thats good news for our theoretical investor, because 2020 marked my most positive reporting on the currency. Stories such as the US government seizing bitcoins used in the Silk Road were a sign of the growing professionalism of the sector and, for the first time, bitcoin was enough of a fixture of the tech scene that even in a comparative slump the Guardian was still covering it.

On to the latest boom and bust cycle, where finally the investor starts to lose out and I claw back some of my reputation. From its peak at $69,000 earlier this year, bitcoin has fallen by a third. Ive diligently covered the collapse, which has been by far the most brutal the sector has faced. That means the tracker has sunk almost $200 into bitcoin, and even as the overall value of the holdings has plummeted from a high of $50,000 in March to its present number.

What next?

The question going forward, of course, is whether the pattern holds up. Will you continue to make money if you buy when Im grumpy about crypto, and sell when Im optimistic? Obviously see above Im not about to make any strong predictions, but I doubt well ever again see as sharp an increase in price as we saw in the last decade, which means Ill never make a call that plays out as badly as the ones in those initial pieces from 2013.

Which is not to say I cant make other terrible calls. Remember Dejitaru Tsuka, the shitcoin that was sold with my name? I broke my rules, and warned readers: I do not think you should buy this shitcoin, nor any others. Well, if youd bought 10 worth of Tsuka when I said that, youd now have 4,000.

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TechScape: Im no longer making predictions about cryptocurrency. Heres why - The Guardian

WASHINGTON (AP) A bipartisan group of senators on Wednesday proposed a bill to regulate cryptocurrencies, the latest attempt by Congress to formulate ideas on how to oversee a multibillion-dollar industry that has been racked bycollapsing pricesandlenders halting operations.

The regulations offered by Senate Agriculture Committee chair Debbie Stabenow and top Republican member John Boozman would authorize the Commodities Futures Trading Commission to be the default regulator for cryptocurrencies. That would be in contrast with bills proposed by other members of Congress and consumer advocates, who have suggested giving the authority to the Securities and Exchange Commission.

This year, crypto investors have seenprices plunge and companies craterwith fortunes and jobs disappearing overnight, and some firms have been accused by federal regulators of running an illegal securities exchange.Bitcoin, the largest digital asset, trades at a fraction of its all-time high, down from more than $68,000 in November 2021 to about $23,000 on Wednesday. Industry leaders have referred to this period as a crypto winter, and lawmakers have been desperate to implement stringent oversight.

The bill by Stabenow, a Democrat from Michigan, and Boozman, of Arkansas, would require all cryptocurrency platforms including traders, dealers, brokers and sites that hold crypto for customers to register with the CFTC.

READ MORE: Cryptocurrency meltdown is wake-up call for many, including Congress

The CFTC is historically an underfunded and much smaller regulator than the SEC, which has armies of investigators to look at potential wrongdoing. The bill attempts to alleviate these issues by imposing on the crypto industry user fees, which in turn would fund more robust supervision of the industry by the CFTC.

Our bill will empower the CFTC with exclusive jurisdiction over the digital commodities spot market, which will lead to more safeguards for consumers, market integrity and innovation in the digital commodities space, Boozman said in a statement.

Sens. Cory Booker, D-N.J., and John Thune, R-S.D., are co-sponsors of the bill.

Its critical that the (CFTC) has the proper tools to regulate this growing market, Thune said.

The legislation can be added to the list of proposals that have come out of Congress this year.

Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., in April introduced legislation, called the Stablecoin TRUST Act, that would create a framework to regulate stablecoins, which have seen massive losses this year. Stablecoins are a type of cryptocurrency pegged to a specific value, usually the U.S. dollar, another currency or gold.

Additionally, in June, Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., and Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo.,proposed a wide-ranging bill, called the Responsible Financial Innovation Act. That bill proposed legal definitions of digital assets and virtual currencies; would require the IRS to adopt guidance on merchant acceptance of digital assets and charitable contributions; and would make a distinction between digital assets that are commodities and those that are securities, which has not been done.

Along with the Toomey legislation and the Lummis-Gillibrand legislation, a proposal is being worked out in the House Financial Services Committee, though those negotiations have stalled.

Committee chair Maxine Waters, D-Calif., said last month that while she, top Republican member Patrick McHenry of North Carolina and Treasury SecretaryJanet Yellenhad made considerable progress toward an agreement on the legislation, we are unfortunately not there yet, and will therefore continue our negotiations over the August recess.

President Joe Bidens working group on financial markets last November issued a report calling on Congress to pass legislation that wouldregulate stablecoins, and Biden earlier this year issuedan executive ordercalling on a variety of agencies to look at ways to regulate digital assets.

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New cryptocurrency oversight legislation arrives as industry shakes - PBS NewsHour

Aug 02, 2022

Nearly 75 percent of retailers plan to accept either cryptocurrency or stablecoin payments within the next two years, according to Deloittes Merchants Getting Ready For Crypto study.

The survey of 2,000 U.S. retail executives was taken in the first two weeks of December 2021, just before valuations on digital currencies collapsed.

According to Barrons, Bitcoin, the dominant token, continues to trade at around one-third of its November 2021 all-time high, with the market capitalization of the overall crypto space also tumbling.

Deloittes study, done in collaboration with PayPal, found retailers bullish on the digital assets potential:

Survey participants saw the top barriers to adoption to be security of the payment platforms, cited by 43 percent; followed by the changing regulatory landscape, 37 percent; and the instability of the digital currency market, 36 percent.

Cryptos crash has been dramatized by the meltdowns of stablecoin Terra, crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital and numerous crypto lending platforms, although risky assets overall, including tech stocks, have been battered inside the broader bear market.

Gucci, Balenciaga and Tag Heuer are among those this year joining Whole Foods, Nordstrom, PacSun and Crate & Barrel in accepting cryptocurrencies. American Eagle Outfitters drew attention for deciding not to accept crypto payments while recently launching an NFT apparel shop. Craig Brommers, American Eagles chief marketing officer, said at CommericeNext 2022, When we thought about our 15- to 25-year-old customer, the reality is they were not ready for cryptocurrency.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: Have you become any more or less confident about the value of cryptocurrencies as a form of retail payment since the start of the year? Have the barriers to adoption changed?

"Accepting cryptocurrency is a great business plan as long as you treat it as you would any foreign currency."

"At this point, cryptocurrency is not the norm in any circles outside of criminal activity."

"It will take some time for cryptocurrency to become mainstream, but there are already many early adopters in the market."

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Should the cryptocurrency crash scare retailers? RetailWire - RetailWire

The largest cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH), were trading in the green on Thursday morning, while Solana emerged as the top searched coin.

The global crypto market capitalisation went up by 1.93 per cent to $1.08 trillion as of 8.50 am. However, the global crypto volume was down by 14.45 per cent to $66.18 billion, according to Coinmarketcap data.

The trading volume in the decentralised finance coins section is about $6.03 billion or 9.11 per cent of the total crypto market 24-hour volume. The volume of all stable coins is $60.62 billion or about 91.6 per cent of the total crypto market volume in the last 24 hours.

As of 8.50 am, Bitcoin was up by 1.43 per cent at $23,139.53 and currently commands a 41.04 per cent dominance in the crypto market.

The CEO of MicroStrategy, the worlds largest corporate Bitcoin holder, Michael Saylor, said that he will be stepping down from his position and serve as executive chairman to better focus on buying Bitcoin. "I believe that splitting the roles of Chairman and CEO will enable us to better pursue our two corporate strategies of acquiring and holding Bitcoin and growing our enterprise analytics software business. Phong will be empowered as CEO to manage overall corporate operations, he was quoted as saying by Investing.com

It seems that Bitcoin holders have taken this news with mixed feelings as the price of Bitcoin rose from its low of $22,835 on August 3 to $23,560 and then started inching downwards and finally settled at around $23,100. Around 5.04 am, Bitcoin price hit an intraday low of $22,808 on August 4.

The price of Ethereum (ETH) this morning was $1,653.85 and it was up by 2.74 per cent.According to a recent report by Nansen, about $2.7 billion was spent by Ethereum holders on minting non-fungible tokens (NFT) on the Ethereum blockchain. The Nansen report also found out that 10,88,888 wallet addresses that minted NFT on Ethereum were unique.

Regarding price analysis, Ethereum made no significant moves. Ethereum was $1609 on August 3, 8.50AM and touched a high of $1677 on 5.54PM and then dropped to a low point of $1608 on August 4, 4.05AM. Its trading volume was down by 17.82 per cent at $16,515,110,881.

Solana (SOL) seems to be todays most searched coin on Coinmarketcap as of this morning. The price of Solana was up by 0.6 per cent at $39.31.

Just 4 hours ago it was reported that nearly 8000 Solana wallet addresses created on third party wallet app Slope were drained. Solana researchers clarified that although thousands of wallets were drained, the exploit was confined to one Solana wallet and they are actively investigating the matter, reported Cryptobriefing.

Cardano (ADA) rose by 1.27 per cent at $0.5069. The 24-hour trading volume for ADA was down by 24.36 per cent at $513,564,797.

Binance (BNB) was up by 6.84 per cent at $302.11. Its 24-hour trading volume gained 20.83 per cent at $2,177,333,667.

Dogecoin (DOGE) was up by 0.85 per cent at $0.06703. Its 24-hour trading volume was down by 19.82 per cent at $265,045,974.Shiba Inu (SHIB) recently launched its NFT gaming service, giving its holders one more use case for the token. Shiba Inu (SHIB) was up by 1.37 per cent at $0.00001193.

Yearn.Finance (YFI) was up by 2.08 per cent at $10,889.01. Its 24-hour trading volume was down by 34 per cent at $99,234,994.

Avalanche (AVAX) rose 3.47 per cent at $23.69 and its 24-hour trading volume fell 4.7 per cent at $574,540,355.

Aave (AAVE) was trading with a gain of 3.74 per cent at $97.27 and its 24-hour trading volume was down by 4.2 per cent at $213,889,120.

Continued here:
Cryptocurrency Prices And Updates: Bitcoin, Ethereum Up, Solana Most Searched Crypto Today - Outlook India

This week, the Chamber of Deputies in Brazil might approve a cryptocurrency bill introduced earlier this year. According to the leader of the Federal Government in the Chamber, Ricardo Barros, the bill is set to be discussed, but there are still no reports on a possible vote as the Chamber is set to also discuss other time-sensitive bills.

Brazil is getting closer to regulating cryptocurrency assets and virtual asset service providers (VASPs). The cryptocurrency bill, identified with the number 4.401/2021, is set to be addressed this week, alongside other time-sensitive bills. The report was made by the leader of the Federal Government in the Deputy Chamber of Congress, Ricardo Barros, who stated that the bill can be voted on this week.

However, Brazil is in pre-election mode, with the presidential ballot set to happen on October 2. As such, the congress might not discuss delicate matters to avoid swaying the electorate towards one side or another. However, if the cryptocurrency bill is finally voted and approved, it would have to be remitted to president Jair Bolsonaro for its final sanction. The Deputy Chamber is also set to discuss other significant laws this week, including a remote work bill.

According to local media, the cryptocurrency bill might be presented this weekend to be reviewed by the Deputy Chamber. This project has had a somewhat complicated history in Brazilian institutions. The current bill is the result of the combination of two different projects as part of the work of its proponents, who wanted to approve a crypto-centric law this year.

The project was approved by the Brazilian Senate in April and seeks to regulate cryptocurrency exchanges by creating a single regulator to deal with the issue. In the same way, the project legalizes cryptocurrency mining, and establishes tax exemption rules for mining institutions that present green projects using 100% renewable energy for the establishment of mining farms.

In earlier interviews, the deputies behind this cryptocurrency bill project have stated that one of the biggest motivations behind the law is to punish cryptocurrency scams in the country. For this purpose, the project also defines a new kind of crypto-related crime and establishes harsh penalties for individuals and companies involved in this kind of crime.

What do you think about the possible approval of a cryptocurrency-centric bill in Brazil? Tell us in the comments section below.

Sergio is a cryptocurrency journalist based in Venezuela. He describes himself as late to the game, entering the cryptosphere when the price rise happened during December 2017. Having a computer engineering background, living in Venezuela, and being impacted by the cryptocurrency boom at a social level, he offers a different point of view about crypto success and how it helps the unbanked and underserved.

Image Credits: Shutterstock, Pixabay, Wiki Commons, Diego Grandi / Shutterstock.com

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. It is not a direct offer or solicitation of an offer to buy or sell, or a recommendation or endorsement of any products, services, or companies. Bitcoin.com does not provide investment, tax, legal, or accounting advice. Neither the company nor the author is responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in this article.

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Brazil Might Approve Its Cryptocurrency Law This Week Regulation Bitcoin News - Bitcoin News

"Well right now there is kind of a downturn in the crypto market," said James Beauchamp with MOTRAN.

MIDLAND, Texas West Texas has ties with cryptocurrency mining using natural gas from things like flares to power machines that mine bitcoin.

In the past month or so, the cryptocurrency market has seen a dip.

"Well right now there is kind of a downturn in the crypto market." Said James Beauchamp with MOTRAN. "Weather you like cryptocurrency or don't, from a Permian Basin perspective it's very unique because your using a product that's fairly expensive to capture and collect and to get into a normal system where you would sell your natural gas in a lot of cases and your providing a secondary market for it."

Here in the Permian basin, oil and gas is used to power cryptocurrency mining. This type of cryptocurrency mining is also important because it doesn't put a strain on the states power grid, especially in these hot summer months.

"I think one of the big concerns from a statewide perspective on cryptocurrency has always been if we already have an overtaxed electric grid, and we do if you're mining crypto off of that grid then that's just another burden in an already overburdened system," Beauchamp said

Mining cryptocurrency does have benefits for both groups.

"It's not just the fact that your utilizing natural gas or for the end user gathering the accumulation of the cryptocurrency they're mining for but also the carbon credits as we talk about air quality issues of that nature," Beauchamp said. "There are a number of credits out there, tax credits so again I think its another way we can be proactive and show our industry and our area is proactive."

From here, things are up in the air but for the Permian Basin things are looking up.

"Where's it going to end up?" Beauchamp said. "Nobody really knows, but at the same time not knowing there's some benefits in the Permian Basin. The good part is even if all the rest of it goes downhill in certain way the Permian wins at least in short term."

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A downturn in the cryptocurrency market and the impacts on West Texas - NewsWest9.com

This summer, Ethereum (ETH 0.94%) is arguably the most exciting cryptocurrency in the world. And for good reason -- its upcoming Merge has enormous implications, not just for the future price of Ethereum but also for the future direction of the broader crypto market. The only problem is that, unless you already have an Ethereum position in your portfolio, you've missed out on this crypto's stratospheric price appreciation. Over its lifetime, Ethereum is up an astounding 155,584.06%.

The good news is that there is another crypto -- Solana (SOL 2.02%) -- that could be just as attractive, if not more so, than Ethereum. And much of the easy money in Solana has not yet been made, with this crypto still trading around $40 right now. While Ethereum has a total market capitalization of almost $200 billion, Solana has a market capitalization of just $14 billion.

Just like Ethereum, Solana is a Layer 1 blockchain, meaning it is a cornerstone of everything being created in the blockchain world right now. In nontechnical terms, it means you can build on top of Solana, just like you can with Ethereum. Ethereum has NFTs (nonfungible tokens) and NFT marketplaces, and so does Solana. Ethereum has smart contracts, and so does Solana. Ethereum has decentralized finance (DeFi)apps and exchanges, and so does Solana. You get the idea: Anything that Ethereum can do, Solana can do also.

Image source: Getty Images.

The only difference, of course, is that Solana is faster, cheaper, and more efficient than Ethereum.You see, while Ethereum is converting from a proof-of-work blockchain into a proof-of-stake blockchain, Solana already has a proof-of-stake blockchain.

The difference between "proof-of-work" and "proof-of-stake" might sound like a minor technical distinction, but it has very important consequences for transaction speeds and transaction fees. It's the reason why Ethereum has gone "all-in" on the Merge. Proof-of-work requires mining, is very energy-intensive, and simply is not scalable for the future. On the other hand, proof-of-stake uses a consensus mechanism for verifying transactions called "staking" and is not energy-intensive at all. There is no need for mining.For now, Solana is superior to Ethereum in just about every regard.For that reason, mainstream media publications routinely refer to Solana as an "Ethereum-killer."

Quite simply, developers and users would rather use a cheaper, faster, and more efficient blockchain. If you've ever used Ethereum, for example, you've probably heard about the onerous "gas fees" associated with just about any transaction. If you're buying an NFT you might pay more in gas fees than for the digital asset. Solana doesn't have those same high crypto gas fees, and that is why Solana is gaining so many new adherents in the world of NFTs.

However, since Ethereum is so entrenched as a dominant market player, many people may not have heard of Solana. That's the perfect situation to be in if you've missed out on Ethereum and are now considering Solana. It means you can gain access to a blockchain upstart with arguably the same prospects as the market leader, all at a discounted price. The time to get in is now, before everyone else figures out why Solana is superior to Ethereum in many ways.

Right now, the Internet is still in its Web 2.0 phase. You can think of this as the era of the big Silicon Valley social media giants. But we are about to enter into a brave new phase of development known as Web3.This is the era of completely decentralized apps running on top of the blockchain. It will likely lead to new social experiences, new gaming and entertainment experiences, and new ways of transferring value across the world.

Obviously, the blockchain that becomes the go-to platform for Web3 is going to get a tremendous boost in the crypto market. Right now, Solana is showing that it can lead and spearhead this new buildout of Web3. Most notably, Solana is going to deliver the first-ever crypto phone soon. This is going to be a mobile device that is completely optimized for the world of crypto and blockchain. And Solana has completely revolutionized the world of blockchain gaming with the move-to-earn game STEPN, which rewards users in crypto for physical exercise.

If you missed out on Ethereum, no worries. Solana could eventually provide the same kind of upside when it comes to price appreciation. If Solana ever becomes the Ethereum-killer that everyone thinks it will be, then you'll be glad you waited for this opportunity to get in.

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Missed Out On Ethereum? Buy This Cryptocurrency Now - The Motley Fool

Scammers have been taking advantage of blockchains decentralized and immutable nature to swindle crypto investors since the advent of the technology.

And, according to the latest FBI fraud report, fraudsters are using fake crypto apps to steal money from unsuspecting crypto investors. It highlights that American investors have lost approximately $42.7 million to swindlers through fake apps.

The schemes reportedly take advantage of heightened interest in cryptocurrencies, especially during bull market runs, to beguile crypto users.

Fake crypto app scammers use myriad techniques to entice investors. The following is a breakdown of some of them.

Some fake crypto app scammer networks use social engineering strategies to entice victims.

In many cases, the fraudsters befriend the victims through social platforms such as dating sites and then trick them into downloading apps that appear to be functional cryptocurrency trading apps.

The scammers then convince users to transfer funds to the app. The funds are, however, locked in once the transfer is made, and the victims are never allowed to withdraw money.

In some cases, the scammers lure victims using outlandish high-yield claims. The ruse comes to an end when the victims realize that they cant redeem their funds.

Speaking to Cointelegraph earlier this week, Rick Holland, chief information security officer of Digital Shadows a digital risk protection firm underscored that social engineering remains a top strategy among crooks because it requires minimal effort.

Relying upon the tried-and-true method of social engineering is far more practical and lucrative, he said.

The cybersecurity manager added that social engineering makes it easy for scammers to target high-net-worth individuals.

Some fake crypto app scammers have resorted to using recognizable brand names to push fake apps because of the trust and authority that they wield.

In one case highlighted in the latest FBI crypto crime report, cybercriminals posing as YiBit employees recently hoodwinked investors out of some $5.5 million after convincing them to download a bogus YiBit crypto trading app.

Unbeknown to the investors, the actual YiBit crypto exchange firm ceased operations in 2018. Fund transfers made to the fake app were stolen.

In another case outlined in the FBI report, phishers using the Supay brand name, which is associated with an Australian crypto company, swindled 28 investors out of millions of dollars. The ploy, which ran between Nov. 1 and Nov. 26, caused $3.7 million in losses.

Such schemes have been going on for years, but many incidences go unreported due to the lack of proper recourse channels, especially in jurisdictions that shun cryptocurrencies.

Recent:How NFTs can boost fan engagement in the sports industry

Besides the U.S., investigations in other major jurisdictions such as India have in the recent past uncovered elaborate fake crypto app schemes.

According to a report published by the CloudSEK cybersecurity company in June, a newly discovered fake crypto app scheme involving numerous cloned apps and domains caused Indian investors to lose at least $128 million.

Fake crypto app scammers sometimes use official app stores to distribute dodgy applications.

Some of the apps are designed to collect user credentials that are then used to unlock crypto accounts on corresponding official platforms. Others claim to offer secure wallet solutions that can be used to store a diverse range of cryptocurrencies but pilfer funds once a deposit is made.

While platforms such as Google Play Store constantly review apps for integrity issues, it is still possible for some fake apps to slip through the cracks.

One of the latest methods used by scammers to accomplish this is registering as app developers on popular mobile app stores such as the Apple App Store and Google Play Store and then uploading legitimate-looking apps.

In 2021, a fake Trezor app masquerading as a wallet created by SatoshiLabs used this strategy to get published on both Apple App Store and Google Play Store. The app claimed to provide users with direct online access to their Trezor hardware wallets without needing to connect their Trezor dongle to a computer.

Victims who downloaded the fake Trezor app were obligated to submit their wallet seed phrase to start using the service. A seed phrase is a string of words that can be used to access a cryptocurrency wallet on the blockchain.

The submitted details allowed the thieves behind the fake app to loot user funds.

According to a statement provided by Apple, the fake Trezor app was published on its store through a deceptive bait-and-switch maneuver. The app developers are alleged to have initially submitted the app as a cryptography application designed to encrypt files but later on converted it to a cryptocurrency wallet app. Apple said that it was not aware of the change until users reported it.

Speaking to Cointelegraph earlier this week, Chris Kline, co-founder of Bitcoin IRA a crypto retirement investment service said that despite such incidents, major tech companies in the space were resolute in fighting fake crypto apps because of the potential damage to their integrity. He said:

That said, the fake app problem is more prevalent in non-official app stores.

Fake cryptocurrency apps are designed to resemble legitimate apps as closely as possible. As a crypto investor, one should be able to discern between legitimate and fake apps to avoid unnecessary losses.

The following is a breakdown of some of the things to look out for when trying to ascertain the authenticity of a mobile crypto application.

The first step in ascertaining whether an app is legit is checking out the spelling and icon. Fake apps usually have a name and icon that looks similar to the legitimate one, but something is usually off.

If the app or developer names are misspelled, for example, the software is most likely phony. A quick search about the app on the internet will help to confirm its legitimacy.

It is also important to consider if the app has a Google Editors choice badge. The badge is a distinction provided by the Google Play editorial team to recognize developers and apps with outstanding quality. Apps with this badge are unlikely to be fake.

Counterfeit apps usually request more permissions than necessary. This ensures that they glean as much data as possible from victims devices.

As such, users should be wary of apps that require off-center permissions, such as device administrator privileges. Such authorizations could give cybercriminals unfettered access to a device and allow them to intercept sensitive data that can be used to unlock financial accounts, including crypto wallets.

Intrusive app permissions can be blocked via a phone systems privacy settings.

The number of times that an app has been downloaded is usually an indicator of how popular it is. Apps from reputable developers typically have millions of downloads and thousands of positive reviews.

Inversely, apps with just a few thousand downloads require greater scrutiny.

If unsure about an application, contacting support through the companys official website could help to avoid financial losses due to fraud.

Furthermore, authentic apps can be downloaded from a companys official website.

Related:Crypto contagion deters investors in near term, but fundamentals stay strong

Cryptocurrencies are underpinned by relatively new technology, so it is only natural that there are teething problems when it comes to use and adoption. Unfortunately, in recent years, black hats have targeted nave crypto enthusiasts using fake crypto apps.

While the problem is likely to persist for several years, increased scrutiny by tech companies is likely to temper the issue in the long run.

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The rise of fake cryptocurrency apps and how to avoid them - Cointelegraph