What Could Trigger the Next Cryptocurrency Alt Season? – Dash News

Bear market-weary cryptocurrency traders often ask when moon/lambo or other representation of their fortunes turning around. In particular, though, Ive heard the concept of alt season often repeated recently by traders invested in projects other than Bitcoin, which has fared significantly better to date than most other cryptocurrencies since the 2018 crash. What are the signs that the markets will turn back towards the rest of the sector? I can give you one tried and true metric to watch: Bitcoin scaling.

Bitcoins absolute market dominance has slowly, and unsurprisingly, trended down over time

Since the inception of what has come to be known as the alt sector, Bitcoins percentage of the total value of all cryptocurrencies and related digital assets has slowly declined. This is no indictment of Bitcoin and should come as no surprise to anyone that the first of its kind and overwhelming industry leader would gradually lose its omnipresence as the space diversifies and grows. New projects enter to fill specific use cases improperly served by the one-size-fits-all model, and still more projects target purpose completely outside of Bitcoins scope. Rather than being attributable to any concept of alt season, this is simply the natural progression of the space.

When you look at the Bitcoin dominance percentage chart, youll see exactly that: a slow decline as more and more market share goes to the rest of the rapidly-growing field. This is the natural process of diversification and maturity in the industry, and is a great and expected sign that we should expect to continue consistently over the next several years.

The timing of 2017s alt season was no coincidence

Now, if you looked at the above chart, youll see something that doesnt look quite so natural: a giant tumble in the dominance percentage starting in early 2017, clearly breaking the gradual trend seen previously. Of course, economies are complex, and many different factors (such as Ethereums surge) may contribute to an event such as this, but the timing seems eerily coincidental to the time of the first serious Bitcoin scaling issues. Around that time, the demand by users seeking to access the network far exceeded the supply of available space in the blockchain. Naturally, one effect of this is to drive up the prices of transactions, but another was to cause consumers to seek other avenues for transacting in cryptocurrency. And, of course, in order to use a cryptocurrency you first have to buy some. Hence the great alt season of 2017.

This congestion issue paired with surging consumer demand caused the valuation of all other cryptocurrencies combined to spike versus Bitcoin, with Ethereum even coming close to dethroning it as the most valued cryptocurrency. Since then, the bear market has taken a lot of the demand out of the market, and many actors moved off of Bitcoin to other chains permanently, allowing the space to return to the previous trend line as Bitcoin became usable again. But this incident nonetheless shows exactly what can happen if such a situation were to be replicated.

All it takes is another run on the banks to kick off the flippening

Now, years into the ongoing bear market after the incredible surge of late 2017, were primed for another explosion in user demand. And just like last time, Bitcoin scaling has still not been solved. Just recently, we saw a massive spike in the mempool of unconfirmed Bitcoin transactions. While this very likely did not represent a sudden growth in consumer demand, it filled up the network regardless, with extreme ease. If something like this were to happen again at a time when the demand for cryptocurrency was rapidly growing, we could easily see another massive spillover to other chains, and a corresponding flip in valuations as alt season begins.

Dont ask when alt season? Watch for clear indicators. One of them may be the Bitcoin mempool.

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What Could Trigger the Next Cryptocurrency Alt Season? - Dash News

This cryptocurrencys price just pumped 7,000%, but why? – Decrypt

While most of the cryptocurrency market is experiencing mild to moderate losses, one obscure cryptocurrency, known as Blockv (VEE) is defying expectations after pumping by more than 7,000% in the last day. The recent surge now makes Blockv the 33rd largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, just behind Decred (DCR) and Zcash (ZEC).

According to the website, Blockv is a platform that is a platform that allows developers to create digital objects on the blockchain. However, despite launching almost two years ago, the platform failed to gain much momentum, while the VEE token has been on a near-constant decline throughout much of its existence.

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So, how did this pump come out of nowhere? Well, it currently appears that almost 100% of its minor $240,000 in daily trade volume can be attributed to a single South Korean exchange known as ChainX. The VEE/KRW trade pair on this exchange recently saw a colossal spike in activity. When volume suddenly spikes on a coin with a very low trading volume, it can send the price rocketingas we've seen before. So that was likely the cause.

This isn't the first time Blockv has witnessed such a meteoric surge. Back in December 2017, shortly following its token generation event (TGE), the cryptocurrency managed to climb from around $0.018 up to $0.326equivalent to gaining more than 1,700% in just five weeks. But it was short lived. Since then it lost 99.5% of its value.

And, with such low volumes this time around, the coin will find it hard to stay in the top 40.

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This cryptocurrencys price just pumped 7,000%, but why? - Decrypt

Crypto-corruption In 2018, a major Russian cryptocurrency exchange lost $450 million in Bitcoin. Now, the exchange’s founder is saying he transferred…

The BBC Russian Service has released a new report arguing that $450 million in Bitcoin that went missing from the Russian cryptocurrency exchange Wex may have been transferred to wallets owned by Federal Security Service (FSB) employees. After those funds were lost in 2018, an embezzlement case was opened to investigate their disappearance. BBC reporters who examined the documents associated with that case found that the Bitcoin may have been transferred to FSB accounts by Wex founder Alexander Bilyuchenko himself.

The Wex exchange was founded as a successor to BTC-e, which had become the largest Russian-based forum for cryptocurrency transactions since its founding in 2011. U.S. government officials alleged that at least $4 billion were embezzled from BTC-e in the course of its existence. In 2017, a warrant from the United States led to the arrest of Russian citizen Alexander Vinnik during a visit to Greece. Vinnik was thought to have benefited financially from the exchange. Meanwhile, the btc-e.com domain was frozen by the FBI.

Wex promised to return some of the funds its clients had lost in their dealings on BTC-e. The new exchange was founded by Alexander Bilyuchenko, who was Vinniks business partner, along with Dmitry Vasilyev, who was among BTC-es highest-volume clients. Vasilyev was named Wexs official owner.

In the summer of 2018, Wex clients wallets were suddenly frozen, and funds could only be removed from them at a 90-percent loss. It then came to light that an amount of cryptocurrency worth more than $400 million had disappeared from the exchange. Wexs Russian clients began submitting complaints to the police en masse, leading Russian law enforcement officials to open an embezzlement investigation. After the summer 2018 scandal, the exchange was sold to the family of Dmitry Khavchenko, a former separatist fighter in the self-declared Donetsk Peoples Republic who is reportedly close to the oligarch Konstantin Malofeev.

According to the BBC Russian Service, Bilyuchenko and Vasilyev contacted Malofeev as early as the beginning of 2018, when they were on the hunt for influential patrons for their exchange. At the time, Bilyuchenko and Malofeev agreed to use Wex as a foundation to build a new exchange that would serve as specialized accounting infrastructure to protect the financial and economic sovereignty of the Russian Federation.

Bilyuchenko later testified that he was contacted by FSB agents around the same time as his negotiations with the oligarch and was even called in for questioning at the agencys headquarters in Moscows Lubyanka Square. In April of 2018, Bilyuchenko said, an individual named Anton demanded that the cryptocurrency exchange founder hand over a flash drive containing encrypted Wex assets. Anton allegedly said that the cryptocurrency in the exchange would go to the account of the FSB of Russia. The BBC described Anton as a former FSB employee; whether he was still working for the agency at the time of his conversation with Bilyuchenko is unclear. In any case, the exchange head said he was placed in a holding cell and kept under guard until he agreed to transfer an amount of cryptocurrency valued at $450 million.

Even then, according to Bilyuchenkos testimony, the FSB did not stop exerting pressure on the exchange: Agents asked him to turn over Wexs user database. The BBC Russian Service obtained a recording of a telephone conversation that presumably took place between Bilyuchenko and Malofeev in the summer of 2018. In the recording, someone with a voice identical to Malofeevs says that Bilyuchenko is suspected of holding back some of the money he promised to transfer. Theyre letting you stay afloat because Ive been telling them youre mine and Im answering for you, the voice explains, adding that youll have to hand over the database in any case.

Story by Andrey Zakharov for the BBC Russian Service

Summary by Grigory Levchenko

Translation by Hilah Kohen

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Crypto-corruption In 2018, a major Russian cryptocurrency exchange lost $450 million in Bitcoin. Now, the exchange's founder is saying he transferred...

The cryptocurrency market update: Bitcoin and major altcoins pass the time in ranges – FXStreet

Cryptocurrency market traders are sitting on the fence, waiting for new catalysts. Bitcoin and major altcoins are somewhat directionless during early Asian hours. The total cryptocurrency market capitalization is $233 billion, unchanged from this time on Sunday; an average daily trading volume dropped to $56 billion. Bitcoin's market share settled at 65.9%.

BTC/USD is locked in a tight range limited by $8,500 on the upside and $8,400 on the downside. At the time of writing. the first digital coin is changing hands at $8,465, mostly unchanged both on a day-to-day basis and since the beginning of Sunday.

BTC/USD, 1-hour chart

Ethereum, the second-largest digital asset with the current market capitalization of $19.8 billion, has settled above $181.00 after a short-lived dip to $177.05 on November 15. ETH/USD has stayed unchanged in recent 24 hours amid low trading activity. The further recovery is limited by the upper line of 1-hour Bollinger Band at $183.30 followed by Saturday's low of $183.45.

Ripples XRP is moving within a side channel, in line with the general trend on the cryptocurrency market. The coin bottomed at $0.2525 on November 15 and settled at $0.2615 by the time of writing. XRP/USD is the third digital coin with the current market value of $11.4. The coin may be vulnerable to further losses if fails to recover above $0.2620 (SMA50 1-hour) and $0.2630 (the upper line of 1-hour Bollinger Band) any time soon.

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The cryptocurrency market update: Bitcoin and major altcoins pass the time in ranges - FXStreet

Switzerland gets another Bitcoin bank that holds cryptocurrency for customers – The Next Web

A Swiss bank set up to handle both traditional financial products and new digital currencies has been given the go-ahead by the countrys regulators.

SEBA, the Swiss-based cryptocurrency bank, is now officially operational, The Block reports.

The bank reportedly shared a statement with The Block yesterday that said its Swiss clients can now open accounts with the bank. This goes for corporate businesses, asset managers, and professional private investors.

Launched earlier this year, the bank received its banking license from the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) in August.

SEBA says its trying to bridge the gap between traditional and digital assets, whilst maintaining high levels of security. At the moment, the bank supports five cryptocurrencies: Bitcoin, BTC Ethereum, Stellar, Litecoin, and Ethereum Classic.

Customers will be able to manage their asset accounts through an app and online banking. According to the statement, users will be able to convert cryptocurrencies into traditional currencies and back again all within these online services.

According to SEBAs road map, the next phase is to roll out its offering to international customers, before expanding its product offering. However, there are no dates attached to this timeline so theres no knowing how long either of those developments will take.

Its a bit of a politically conflicting situation depending on your perspective.

Many cryptocurrency and Bitcoin businesses have struggled to work with traditional banks. Regulatory uncertainty, and Bitcoins checkered past have led banks to tread cautiously when dealing with cryptocurrency businesses.

SEBAs offering could open a few doors for crypto companies that have so far struggled to get a foothold in the traditional banking system.

However, a bank holding your Bitcoin in custodial storage? While that might prevent you from losing your private key, it comes with a number of obvious sacrifices.

SEBA joins competitor bank Sygnum AG, which received a license from FINMA back in September.

Switzerland has been one of the more progressive nations when it comes to cryptocurrency businesses. Last year, it allowed blockchain startups to apply for a FinTech license that would let them handle deposits of up to $100 million.

Published November 13, 2019 09:49 UTC

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Switzerland gets another Bitcoin bank that holds cryptocurrency for customers - The Next Web

How Crypto and Blockchain Are Influencing Geopolitics – Cointelegraph

The world is a constantly changing place and from an economic standpoint, things are dramatically shifting, too. Two major superpowers, the United States and China, are embroiled in a dramatic trade war where tit-for-tat tariffs have been placed on goods breeding uncertainty for consumers and businesses alike and making everyday products more expensive. The United Kingdom is still embroiled in a messy divorce from the European Union, and Russia is ratcheting up tensions with its neighbors in the West.

All of this geopolitical drama has two effects. Firstly, it can wreak havoc on the markets, wiping billions of dollars off the value of major companies and affecting employment rates in the worlds economies. Secondly, it is prompting some enthusiasts to passionately advocate for crypto and blockchain taking a bigger role in the economy. They say it could help bring down borders, making international payments faster and less expensive, while encouraging trade between nations.

That said, crypto and blockchain are also creating new geopolitical challenges. North Korea has faced allegations that a sophisticated group of hackers are launching cyberattacks on major exchanges in neighboring South Korea and other parts of Asia. Millions of dollars have been lost, with each incident shaking consumer confidence to its core. India has also been resolute in its decision to push ahead with a crypto ban. This could have ramifications for the likes of Facebook, which is hoping to launch a stablecoin that would benefit the unbanked. The Libra project is also creating tensions around the world, with many countries the U.S. and the EU among them concerned that the cryptocurrency could undermine traditional payment infrastructure and overtake the dollar and the euro.

A major thing thats holding cryptocurrency back is the disjointed, fragmented approach to regulation around the world. While some countries like India are taking a hardline approach by proposing jail terms for anyone found handling these coins and tokens, the likes of Japan and Canada have been far more laidback encouraging innovation, enabling taxes to be paid using Bitcoin, and creating so-called regulatory sandboxes where new crypto products can be tested on a small portion of the population before being rolled out.

There is a real and pressing divide when it comes to the attitudes surrounding crypto and blockchain. In some countries, there is incredible caution surrounding this technology amid fears it could have a detrimental impact on vulnerable consumers. That said, there are politicians out there who are appalled by the negative attitude thats being espoused towards the industry people who believe in its potential and believe their country should be at the forefront of innovation.

In part, this desire for a pro-crypto stance lies in fears that certain countries may be getting a headstart on developing their own central bank digital currency, establishing early dominance. One such country is China which is already set to embark on a rapid acceleration of blockchain usage at the behest of President Xi Jinping.

Reading the tea leaves to figure out what the future holds for crypto and blockchain is a challenge. Will China achieve dominance and launch a central bank digital currency? Will India be successful in its quest to ban cryptocurrency? Will Russia succeed in its quest to enable law enforcement to confiscate Bitcoin, and is this even possible?

With so many unknowns, conferences have gained popularity as a way of hearing valuable insights from some of the best-known practitioners in the crypto and blockchain industries. One of them is theCrypto Finance Conference, which is taking place from Jan. 15 to 17 in St. Moritz, Switzerland.

Organizers of the conference say that they are determined to cater each session to the individual needs of attendees. To that end, some of the events main speakers are going to be taking time to answer questions both onstage and offstage. Extensive networking opportunities are also on offer, giving delegates the chance to delve into areas of particular interest and establish meaningful contacts.

The program is still under development but already, there are a series of sessions that will interest those who are keeping a close eye on geopolitical developments in the industry. The first day will explore the global impact of crypto and blockchain, and offer predictions for the future. Theres little doubt that the talk on the evolution of central banking will explore the attitudes that countries worldwide are adopting when it comes to everything from Bitcoin to Libra. Tales from the global regulatory frontline are also going to be shared.

With crypto and blockchain constantly hitting the headlines and battles being fought on many fronts, theres going to be plenty to discuss as business visionaries descend on one of Switzerlands finest resort towns.

Disclaimer. Cointelegraph does not endorse any content or product on this page. While we aim at providing you all important information that we could obtain, readers should do their own research before taking any actions related to the company and carry full responsibility for their decisions, nor this article can be considered as an investment advice.

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How Crypto and Blockchain Are Influencing Geopolitics - Cointelegraph

Creativity and Value Will Win the Cryptocurrency Exchange Wars – newsBTC

The American gold rush was marked by a host of hard times and a few sudden millionaires. Men gave up everything to travel to California in hopes of striking it rich. But the man who really struck it rich during the gold rush was Levi Strauss, a simple tailor who made tough cotton pants for the miners.

In the 21st century, the digital gold rush has begun with the creation of cryptocurrencies, and particularly Bitcoin. Early adopters owned thousands of Bitcoin, and these few devotees are now massively wealthy.

As the market has grown, however, the major winners in the space have been companies and individuals who offer services to the Bitcoin faithful. Among these service providers, cryptocurrency exchanges are some of the most lucrative.

However, where profit can be made, competition is sure to follow. As the digital gold rush continues, some question exists as to who will win the war to dominate the cryptocurrency exchange market. A number of exchanges have sought to take a bite out of the market. The key, to date, has been a focus on creativity and value.

Creative conquerors

Creative offerings and marketing strategies have already appeared to work in bringing attention to exchanges. Consider, for example, the creative approach Binance took to bring attention to their exchange platform.

The company offered YouTube influencers a $100K prize for those who could create the best and most helpful video about how to trade on the platform. The result was a massive number of new traders, and a substantial number of videos, all of which focused on bringing new traders to Binance.

The traction from this simple but creative marketing plan produced a huge amount of news time, and subsequently, new users. Binance trading numbers increased dramatically with the increased traffica sure signal that creativity in the market will produce results.

Other smaller companies are offering creative solutions as well. For example, Nominex, a newcomer to the exchange world, is creating a referral program that will drive business in a similar way.

The Nominex Affiliate Program allows users to share a referral link with friends or spread the word about Nominex through media and community. Each referral receives a bonus, and theres no limit to the number of referral levels users receive bonuses from. This is unlike any other exchange where those numbers are generally limited to 2 to 3.

Value proposition

Beyond creativity, as the number of exchanges on the market explodes, cryptocurrency traders are increasingly looking for genuine value. Beyond simply fast trades and low fees, traders are seeking a value proposition that moves beyond the simple offerings of early exchanges.

Again using Nominex as an example of a relative newcomer, the company has offered a series of token distributions for early adopters. First, for a month after the opening of the exchange, all users will receive 100% cashback on all trading fees, paid in NMX, the Nominex native token.

Second, after this first phase, the company will continue returning a portion of trading fees as a pool paid to users each day. These bonuses will be paid on a percentage basis of total transaction volume. For example, if a user had 1% of all transactions on a given day, he would receive 1% of the pool.

Other larger exchanges are seeking to create similar value propositions as well. Again, turning to Binance, the company has begun offering up to 8% interest on its BNB native token for those who use the platforms credit card.

Whats more, the company has also offered to pump certain tokens and companies for free. The main incentive for Binance is to bring a larger user pool onto the site, and the smaller companies (like the recent addition of Perlin) benefit from having the juggernaut crypto exchange on their side.

Junk or jeans?

The future of the cryptocurrency exchange market is still up in the air. But the reality that the market will continue to grow and change cant be denied. Nevertheless, the power for growth in the market must come from creative marketing concepts and genuine value propositions for users.

Just as in legacy financing options, companies must begin finding ways to differentiate themselves. Whether through referral programs, incentivized marketing, or bonuses on their respective networks, the future winners of the digital gold rush will be like Levi Straussselling the best products and the best prices.

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Creativity and Value Will Win the Cryptocurrency Exchange Wars - newsBTC

Beware of cryptocurrency gurus like Dr Ruja and her OneCoin cult – Jim Duffy – The Scotsman

Hey! Have any of you seen a Bulgarian-looking woman who has a reputed magnetic personality and has just scammed thousands of investors out of 3.5 billion? No? Me neither. And were not likely to any time soon as the FBI are on her case.

Its no wonder folks steer clear of cryptocurrencies when scammers like the missing crypto queen turn up, sell snake oil, then disappear. Today, with so much regulation across continents, one would think that this kind of scam could never happen. But it has, and victims have lost their hard earned cash and savings.

Imagine the scene: a big event at a posh hotel or well known fancy gig. Youve seen an advert in a newspaper telling you that the hottest investment in town is coming. Shes a doctor with a super high intelligence quotient who is currently making her investors shed loads of bread. You do a bit of digging and find out that Dr Ruja Ignavota is an Oxford-educated serial entrepreneur. Its all starting to look very credible.

Her new invention OneCoin is going hell for leather, a rip-roaring success that is taking the world by storm. Her disciples and advocates are standing on stage in awe of her, now that they have made so much money on their initial investments. Its showtime and the fear of missing out is just palpable. Its now or never and shes convinced you to transfer your cash into OneCoin, her new digital currency.

Investments into thin air

Now youre part of the OneCoin cult. You wake up every morning and watch your investment rise. You flick to the OneCoin bookmark every few hours on your mobile phone. Then last thing at night, yep, its all looking good. You tell your friends and family about this once in a lifetime opportunity to get in fast before the whole world does. Still your investment goes up and up. But, unlike proper investments, your money is invested in thin air.

The story of OneCoin is one that I still cannot fathom. How did this nobody suddenly become a crypto guru conning people out of their cash. And where is she now?

Cryptocurrency is a dangerous beast. Bitcoin appears to be the safest bet. But, I wouldnt advise anyone to invest in it. Albeit it has some form of pedigree, but no fundamentals. Only this week Bobby Lee, a massive crypto bull stated that he believes Bitcoin will indeed surpass gold as the best place to invest cash in the future. Lee, who is launching a new cryptocurrency wallet for the less technically minded, has plotted that Bitcoin will hit $1m (780,000) after two more Bitcoin bubbles. The language itself is scary however, in using Bitcoin via Coinbase or Gemini, there is a piece of code that one actually owns on the blockchain.

Prevalence

Unfortunately, Dr Ignavota scammed OneCoin investors with no sign of a blockchain anywhere. There are heartbreaking stories of UK citizens losing big time as a result of investing in OneCoin. By March 2017, more than 3.5bn had been invested in the OneCoin system from 175 countries. It is thought around 100m of that came from the UK. That is a staggering amount of cash, leading to questions of how this could happen on such a scale. But the cult-like magnetism and selling tactics of OneCoin guru Ignavota meant that people were duped. Weve seen it all before and will no doubt see it again. But with the advent of mind blowing tech, it could become even more prevalent.

Its easy to rig up a credible website with logins, secure-looking banking software and fabulous graphics to hook you in. Some clever social media and a front man or woman and there is the structure of an investment vehicle. Oh, and dont forget the videos of disciples who have also invested and wax lyrical. That is just how quickly and effectively scammers can build an audience and cash piles to feed the frenzy. Of course, the investments are financial chimeras rigged to look real.

Dr Ignatova will resurface somewhere, but the damage has been done. I just wonder if the Bitcoin enthusiasts will suffer the same fate.

- Jim Duffy MBE, Create Special.

READ MORE: PureLiFi raises $18m to roll out LiFi-enabled phones, tables and laptopsREAD MORE: West Lothian entrepreneur puts six-figure sum into HR app

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Beware of cryptocurrency gurus like Dr Ruja and her OneCoin cult - Jim Duffy - The Scotsman

China to reward troops with cryptocurrency bonuses – Express

The unique incentive scheme would be a world first, as well as a remarkable turnaround in attitude towards digital currencies from a country that up until two weeks ago categorically stated it had no interests in bitcoin and its stablemates.Instead, Beijing insisted its interests were in the blockchain technology used to underpin cryptocurrencies after Chinas president Xi Jinping had seemingly endorsed cryptocurrencies while addressing a meeting of the Chinese Communist Partys Central Committee.

Reports of his comments appeared to send bitcoin into overdrive as the worlds largest crypto headed towards $10,000.

However, that run was dramatically halted when state-run news outlets responded with a new narrative that said China had no interest in cryptocurrencies just the technology behind them.

The rise of blockchain technology was accompanied by that of cryptocurrencies, but innovation in blockchain technology does not mean we should speculate in virtual currencies, affirmed a leader in The Peoples Daily.

Everything changed just a matter of days ago, though, when Beijing-based newspaper Xinhua ran a front page article exclaiming the hot topic of bitcoin, holding it up as the most successful application of blockchain.

Given the uncomfortably tight restrictions on reporting such matters in China, the article marked a significant change of attitude from a country where cryptocurrency trading is still banned.

Now, set against the backdrop of uncertainty over the governments true feelings about digital assets, another newspaper is suddenly reporting on how the countrys 2.5m military personnel could soon be receiving bonuses in cryptocurrency.

Politics and economics aside, its an idea that has been greeted with nods of positivity from several military observers in the UK.

Lee Clayton a former Major in the Army Air Corps, but now an advisor to the Ministry of Defence labelled the move unusual but not something to be dismissed as a bad thing.

Chinas approach to many things is often something that attracts instant derision from the West, and this is certainly the case when it comes to this business of will they, wont they? in terms of cryptocurrency, he said.

Although I think most people with an interest in digital finance which, I promise you, is something many soldiers have an eye on, would say Beijings smoke-and-mirrors approach really exposes the fact they are very keen to embrace crypto soon.

Major Clayton added that he believed having a Chinese newspaper talking about rewarding troops with digital tokens supported the notion that China was entirely behind cryptocurrency.

Look, China has an enormous army, he explained.

That level of commitment towards a tokenised rewards system means your government has to be pretty serious about it.

That aside, I think it's worth noting that motivational incentives in the grown-up military world go beyond medals and stripes give a soldier a financial incentive and I promise he or she would give you a serious return on that investment.

Coin Rivetis a website bringingnews, information, analysis, opinion and insight from the fast-moving blockchain world.

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China to reward troops with cryptocurrency bonuses - Express

Cryptocurrency Exchanges Have Come a Long Way, and Thats Good for Users – CryptoGlobe

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Cryptocurrency exchanges are undoubtedly one of the main pillars of the cryptocurrency industry. They let new users buy crypto directly and bridge the gap between the traditional financial world and this nascent space.

Exchanges are now evolving to further serve users as the free market is forcing them to add new services to woo the competition and ensure they have good positioning in the market.

The first cryptocurrency exchanges to exist were rather simple: some simply connected users looking to conduct peer-to-peer trading, while others offered spot trading pairs for the top cryptoassets: bitcoin, ether, litecoin, and so on.

Over time, however, the cryptocurrency exchange landscape evolved as the market matured. To cement their positions exchanges are now adding new services on a regular basis and innovating with various products. One of the most widely-adopted ones is the exchange token.

Cryptocurrency exchanges like Binance, OKEx, KuCoin, CoinEx, and more have already launched their own token. Token holders received benefits from using the exchange, and these benefits can often come in the form of revenue share.

CryptoDiffer, a project review and trading website, noted that last month OKExs OKB token was the top gainer among exchange tokens, as the competition between exchanges intensifies.

These tokens are, in a way, a window into the innovations cryptocurrency exchanges are making and into how they are performing in terms of trading volumes, regulatory compliance, future prospects, and more.

Investors price the tokens according to the advantages they get by holding them, and according to the potential future gains they may see. The market is effectively helping users know where it may be safer to trade.

OKExs OKB likely saw its value surge in October thanks to an announcement from the cryptocurrency exchange detailing there are 14 new use cases for the token, including in network security, financial services, and lifestyle services.

In this case, competition between exchanges directly helped improve cryptocurrency adoption and grow the space. Moreover, OKEx Pool, mining pool of OKEx, which supports both proof-of-work and proof-of-stake cryptos, has been supporting the EOS community. As CryptoGlobe reported, it vowed to maintain the networks stability via a stable block production.

The new services being offered also including staking, allowing users to stake cryptocurrencies like TRONs TRX, EOS, and Tezos (XTZ) on exchanges, without needing any technical knowledge. Lending top cryptoassets such as BTC, ETH, and LTC to gain interest is now also part of the offering on various exchanges. OKExs ecosystem supports both, contributing to OKBs performance.

The first decentralized exchanges were launched on the Ethereum blockchain. Their native cryptocurrency was ether, which could be used to buy the various ERC-20 tokens in existence. Cryptocurrency exchanges are now, through their tokens, launching their own blockchain.

This means they can also launch decentralized exchanges on them, as well as various other decentralized applications. Using OKExs example, the firm has launched OKChain and one of the first decentralized applications its looking to launch is a decentralized exchange called OKDEX, allowing users to trade from their wallets without going through KYC or even registering.

Its worth noting decentralized cryptocurrency exchanges arent too popular in the space for the time being, because using them isnt as easy as it is using centralized exchanges, and the support they offer is often limited.

Cryptocurrency exchanges offering these platforms as an alternative are likely investing resources to make the user experience easier, and to avoid any potential loss of funds. Exchanges such as the Ethereum-based IDEX have to some extent, improved the experience when compared to the first decentralized exchanges.

As competition in the crypto exchange space keeps heating up, there are some key trends to look to in the future. The staking and lending trend is likely going to gain more and more traction, although only highly trusted platforms are going to gain users through this offering.

Another trend that may keep growing is that of profit-sharing schemes. Some firms distributed their revenue to token holders as encouragement, while others may distribute some of these profits according to trading volumes to offset fees.

Finally, in a bid to encourage cryptocurrency adoption, new trading baskets of various cryptocurrencies are to be expected. If exchange A can offer investors exposure to a specific sector via its basket, it may acquire some new users. Basket using cryptocurrencies that can be used for lending and staking may even give investors a yearly return.

Featured image via Pixabay

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Cryptocurrency Exchanges Have Come a Long Way, and Thats Good for Users - CryptoGlobe