Category Archives: Cryptocurrency

Bitcoin is the worlds biggest cryptocurrency but there are now close to 800 digital currencies work around $96bn total. Photograph: Alamy

Last Sunday a message posted on message board 4Chan started the rumor that Vitalik Buterin, the founder of cryptocurrency Ethereum, had been killed in a car crash. News of the 23-year-old, Russian-born programmers demise was soon proved false but not before 20%, or roughly $4bn, had been wiped from Ethereums soaring market value.

The hoax not only drew attention to Ethereum, the second largest digital currency after bitcoin, which had seen its value rise fiftyfold since the start of the year to $300 a coin, but also to the booming market in other so-called cryptocurrencies that could now be on the cusp of mainstream financial credibility.

Last week Barclays CEO for personal and corporate banking, Ashok Vaswani, revealed the lender had opened discussions with UK regulators about adopting digital currencies.

We have been talking to a couple of fintechs [financial technology companies] and have actually gone with the fintechs to the FCA [the Financial Conduct Authority, the UK regulator] to talk about how we could bring the equivalent of bitcoin, not necessarily bitcoin, but cryptocurrencies into play, Vaswani told CNBC at a conference in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Obviously [its] a new area, obviously an area weve got to be careful with. We are working our way through it.

Vaswanis comments came after several central banks from across Europe and Asia said they were looking into establishing digital-only currencies in addition to traditional denominations.

The Peoples Bank of China has reportedly run trials, while the Danish central bank is considering a digital-only e-krone.

On 19 June, the International Monetary Fund issued a staff discussion note stating that banks should consider investing in cryptocurrencies, saying: Rapid advances in digital technology are transforming the financial services landscape, creating opportunities and challenges for consumers, service providers and regulators alike.

At the same time, IBM announced it had made a deal with the Digital Trade Chain Consortium a group of seven European banks that includes Deutsche Bank, HSBC, KBC, Natixis, Rabobank, Societe Generale and Unicredit to build a digital trade platform that will run on IBMs cloud.

Andrew Levin, professor of economics at Dartmouth and co-author of a study on central bank digital currencies, told the Guardian that the concept of private institutions creating new forms of payment was not in itself new, but the greater need is for consumers and businesses to have access to money that has a stable value and is practically costless to use. We think theres a strong case for central banks to issue digital currencies that would be free to use.

Crypto- or cyber-currencies are digital-only currencies in which encryption and registry techniques, often called blockchains, are used to regulate the generation of units of currency independent of a central bank.

It is a booming, dizzying market. Since the start of the year, bitcoin, the worlds biggest cryptocurrency, has almost tripled in value to $2,565. By some estimates, the cryptocurrency business could be worth $5tn by 2022. There are now close to 800 cryptocurrencies worth, in total, around $96bn.

One of the newest offered to market is Tazos, backed by billionaire venture capitalist and early bitcoin investor Tim Draper of Draper Fisher Jurvetson. According to a prospectus, a total of US$893,200.77 worth of XTZ tokens will be issued on 1 July.

The best thing I can do is lead by example, Draper told Reuters last month. Over time, I actually feel that some of these tokens are going to improve the world, and I want to make sure those tokens get promoted as well. I think Tezos is one of those tokens.

Tezos founders, Kathleen and Arthur Breitman, anticipate their ICO will become a digital commonwealth or self-governing network. The couples background in finance speaks to the seriousness of the endeavor: Arthur worked at the high-frequency trading desk at Goldman Sachs; Kathleen at Bridgewater Associates, the worlds largest hedge fund.

We think our competitive advantage is in our ability to assign governance, Kathleen told the Observer. The thing about blockchain is its very interdisciplinary. You have to have an understanding of finance and economics, but also game theory, pure science and networking theory.

She concedes that blockchain complexity is also cause for investor skepticism. A lot of people struggle to understand its value proposition, because it offers something different to everyone. I like the idea of putting business logic in a decentralised network, and hopefully, it will help people to conduct business more easily.

Brock Pierce, managing partner of Blockchain Capital and a relative veteran of the ICO market, recently launched a tradeable, digital securities token called BCAP that he considers the next giant leap in the democratization of venture capital and liquidity where everybody has equal access.

Three days ago, Pierce launched the crowd sale of EOS, a blockchain coin (or token) offering thats already taken in $100m. This is a 340-day project thats already broken every record. Its 100% certain were going to surpass Bancor, the most successful ICO to date.

Pierce predicts that the underlying technology of blockchain essentially a public record of actions is going to impact our world more than the internet has.

He added: The implications are huge, and its going to have huge implications not only on venture, but private equity, real estate, digitizing currency. This is going to be the technology that democratizes the global financial system so everybody has equal access.

But such rapid increases in value is cause for concern. Five-year-old Ripple XRP, which is connected to 75 banks, including Bank of America and Royal Bank of Canada, has increased in value by 40 times this year alone. According to CNBC, 100 billion XRP are in existence, each priced 26 cents.

A lot of lessons will be learned and a lot of money will be lost, before a lot of money can be made, Peter Denious, head of global venture capital at Aberdeen Asset Management, told Bloomberg last week. Prices right now arent being driven by network usage, theyre being driven by speculation that tokens are going to appreciate. Its a gold-rush mentality.

But Les Borsai, an early investor in Ethereum, believes that what is under way is a re-ordering of the financial systems. At root, he argues, blockchain technology shows we dont need a centralized solution for anything. Its a liberated attitude and the implications are huge.

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Are cryptocurrencies about to go mainstream? - The Guardian

VIRTUAL currencies have been said to capture the imagination of some, strike fear among others, and confuse the heck out of the rest of us. What exactly are they? Should we invest in them? Where do we even start? Here are some of the most popular questions answered.

What is cryptocurrency?

Cryptocurrency is digital money created from code. Most cryptocurrencies are built on blockchain, an incorruptible digital ledger of all economic transactions made in virtual currency. The cryptocurrency economy is free of all government oversight and monitored by a peer-to-peer Internet protocol.

What are the major cryptocurrencies?

Bitcoin (founded in 2008), Ethereum (2015) and Ripple (2014).

How much are these worth today?

Let's just say anyone who's bought cryptocurrency before 2017 would have made astronomical gains (see graphs below).

Why invest in cryptocurrency now?

Cryptocurrency is said to be one of the best-performing assets in the last two years. Its market added nearly US$7 billion in value in just the first quarter of 2017, going by a CoinDesk report.

Bitcoin, whose price topped US$2,000 per coin for the first time in May, has arguably entered the mainstream. You can actually use it to buy stuff now, at retailers such as Microsoft, OkCupid and even Subway.

How to invest - where to even start?

First, there are two ways one can invest using cryptocurrency:

1. Buy and sell cryptocurrency. One can do this through platforms such as Coinbase, Coinhako and CoinMama using a credit card, debit card or bank transfer. Identity verification may be required for large transactions on some platforms.

Notably, a majority of cryptocurrency investors conduct only this form of investment, where they wait for prices of virtual currencies to appreciate before selling them.

2. Buy cryptocurrency, and participate in initial coin offerings (ICOs). One can do this on token markets or cryptocurrency crowdfunding sites such as TokenMarket or FundYourselfNow (Singapore-founded).

An ICO allows startups with innovative products to issue their own digital tokens that can be bought by investors or backers using virtual currencies. Digital tokens typically entitle backers to monetary rewards (such as profit sharing), or non-monetary rewards (exclusive products).

Notably, only a minority of cryptocurrency investors buy virtual currencies and participate in ICOs. The latter is considered a more speculative form of cryptocurrency investment, as it entails backing a young and thus high-risk company, and profiting only if the company succeeds.

How much to invest for the first time?

The rule of thumb is to not invest what you cannot afford to lose. The cryptocurrency market is uniquely unregulated and extremely volatile: prices can one day rise by 100 per cent and plunge 50 per cent the next day. Panic selling is very common.

One should therefore not invest in cryptocurrency if he or she is unaccustomed to wild price fluctuations.

Early adopters recommend S$4,000 as a good first amount to set aside for such investing, and to never let cryptocurrencies occupy more than 50 per cent of one's portfolio.

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Cryptocurrency: Funds of the future? - THE BUSINESS TIMES

Monster Byte Inc. owns a suite of long standing and profitable gambling websites that have been custom-built with proprietary technology owned by Monster Byte. Monster Byte is looking to raise additional funds to not only enhance their current consumers sites but also begin to resell their intellectual property and enter the B2B iGaming space. This ICO is unique because the company has been generating revenue, adding users and enhancing its products since 2013. Instead of wondering if you are buying vaporware with the ICO you have a chance to share in the growth and profits of an established company.

From Sports Betting to Provably Fair Games

Monster Byte owns and operates Peerbet.org, Bit777.com, and BitcoinRush.io. Bitcoin Rush offers sports betting and a provably fair casino all custom built and originally founded as casinobitco.in in 2013. The sportsbook currently offers highly competitive odds and a daily cashback system that is not available at any other bitcoin sportsbook. Peerbet was established in 2012 and offers 1% edge dice games and an on-site exchange for various cryptocurrencies. Finally, Bit777 was acquired by Monster Byte in 2014 from UltraPlay LTD and is a flash based casino with 49 different games.

What will the ICO funds be used for?

First and foremost, Monster Byte is hiring several functions, including additional developers, and community managers.

The BitcoinRush.io sportsbook will be updated with a new UI/UX model and implement a system that earns between 2-4% per bet regardless if the player wins or loses.

Peerbet.org will be relaunched with a new modern design that will be responsive for tablet and mobile device play.

BitcoinRush.io will start accepting more coins including Waves, Ethereum, Litecoin, Dash, and others in time for the next NFL season in September.

B2B syndication of its games and API access to both traditional fiat and cryptocurrency gaming portals. The new line of business will supplement existing revenue streams.

Telegram messenger betting support. People will be able to place bets from their telegram app.

What do token holders get?

Monster Byte Token will be issued exclusively on the Waves Platform due to the ability to easily trade tokens against other assets and cryptocurrencies all within the DEX, a very liquid decentralized exchange in the Waves LiteApp Wallet.

On a quarterly basis, all Monster Byte token holders are entitled to their share of the collective profit (revenue expenses) of Monster Byte. Dividends will be paid in bitcoin, and detailed quarterly reports will be published to provide full transparency on all operations. A dedicated Slack channel will also be created to follow the day-to-day operations and development progress with the team itself.

When is the ICO? I want in NOW!

The ICO pre-sale will begin on July 3rd, 2017 at 16:00 UTC, and extend until July 8th 16:00 UTC or whenever the pre-sale is sold out, whichever occurs first. During the pre-sale, 2,500,000 Monster Byte tokens will be sold at $0.08 USD, a 31.5% discount over the general sale. The general sale will open at July 8th at 16:00, and 7,500,000 Monster Byte tokens will then be sold at $0.11 USD.

Is there a cap?

Yes, in total, Monster Byte anticipates raising $1,025,000 USD which gives Monster Byte a $4.4M post-money valuation. They chose not to have an open cap as savvy investors should know exactly what they are buying into, with a well-defined capitalization model.

A unique opportunity

This is your chance to invest in one of the fastest growing industries. Sports betting and online gambling is one of the best use cases for cryptocurrencies. Currently, online gambling as a whole is a $46 Billion/year market. Depending on estimates, it is expected to be approximately $50 Billion/year by 2019. At the same time, due the benefits of both the player and operator, cryptocurrency gambling is going to eat into this market gradually year over year.

Based on Monster Bytes solid reputation and long-standing history in this young niche market, as well as their expansion into B2B operations this is an ICO that is sure to go quickly.

Visit our website and sign up for our newsletter to get the latest updates on the ICO and presale.

https://www.monsterbyte.io/ico

Slack https://monsterbyte.slack.com/

Bitcointalk https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1980482

This is a sponosored Press Release and does not necessarily reflect the opinions or views held by any employees of The Merkle. If you liked this article, follow us on Twitter @themerklenews and make sure to subscribe to our newsletter to receive the latest bitcoin, cryptocurrency, and technology news.

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Cryptocurrency Gambling Company Monster Byte Inc. Launches ICO - The Merkle

Over the past week, TheStreet has been covering names like Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (AMD) and Nvidia Corporation (NVDA) , as the stocks were tracking the price of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.

That's when Jim Cramer, manager of the Action Alerts PLUS charitable trust portfolio, pointed out why there is a correlation in the first place. He explained that because AMD and Nvidia make the necessary chips to mine cryptocurrencies, that demand for their products has been red-hot.

However, he also said investors who want to own these stock should consider other reasons. Growth in artificial intelligence, gaming, self-driving cars and data centers, among others, are reason enough to believe in the long-term outlooks. In addition, Cramer said the parabolic run in cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum will eventually fizzle.

Indeed, both currencies have pulled back from their highs, and we can't help but notice that Nvidia and AMD have as well. Perhaps the correlation is getting a little too close for comfort.

RBC analyst Mitch Steves revved up the conversation once more. Following numerous reports that say AMD and Nvidia will "launch mining chips specifically designed for cryptocurrencies," he reasoned that it's a fight Nvidia will win.

Steves says because Nvidia leads in several other markets, it will beat AMD when it comes to the cryptocurrency chip market as well. "Nvidia will win inthe long term," he reasoned. As a result, on Friday he maintained his outperform rating on NVDA stock. For the record, Steves is a bit of a stud when it comes to the analyst game.

Given the immense demand increase we've witnessed in the cryptocurrency market, one could argue that there's room for two winners. It now becomes a question of how much demand will there actually be, in terms of revenue for Nvidia and AMD, and how big will cryptocurrencies actually become.

Those will be the driving factors in Nvidia and AMD's stock and whether their correlation -- and volatility -- tightens or loosens over time.

AMD's shares fell 0.6% to $12.53 early Friday afternoon. Nvidia's were down 0.8% to $145.56.

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Here's Why Nvidia Will Pound Advanced Micro Devices in the Budding Cryptocurrency Race - TheStreet.com

Graphics chip makers Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) and Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) are both working on graphics processing units (GPU) specifically for processing cryptocurrency transactions, and RBC Capital bet on Nvidia to make the superior chip in their note Friday.

Every time a transaction occurs in one of the cryptocurrency markets a GPU speeds up the calculations needed to verify payments. Nvidia and AMD currently make GPUs for everything from video games to self-driving vehicles but don'thave a chip specifically for cryptocurrency, yet, RBC said.

AMD's shares fell 0.5% to $12.54 early Friday afternoon. Nvidia's were down 0.7% to $145.64.

What's Hot On TheStreet

Get ready Tesla fanboys: Tesla Inc. (TSLA) CEO Elon Musk said Friday there would be "news on Sunday" about the company's much anticipated Model 3. While that's all fine and good, what Musk won't tell people is how his electric car company may be speeding toward a monopoly.

Tesla's master plan may hold the key for saving the future of the auto industry, a Moody's Analystics researcher told TheStreet.

With the advance of self-driving vehicles, Tony Hughes, managing director at Moody's Analytics, argued it is not the cars themselves that could lead to the decline in the automotive industry but ride-sharing services like Uber or Lyft. The plan CEO Elon Musk has laid out to create a fleet of self-driving Tesla vehicles for ride-sharing purposes could be the way to save automakers from a demise.

A VIP gives his market outlook: Nobel Prize winning-economist Robert Shiller told TheStreet's Anders Keitz that U.S. equities markets are "quite high" currently but may go even higher in coming months, and that's why he's not exiting the market completely. Indeed there's another thing that could have an unpredictable effect on the market Shiller explains: The narrative around Donald Trump.

"Short-run forecasting of the market is very hard," said Shiller. "I think it's a time for caution, but it could go up substantially."

Apple iPhone 8 pictures leak: Apple's (AAPL) iPhone 8 looks kind of cool. That is if yet another photo leak is to be believed. Noted Apple information leaker Benjamin Geskin tweeted photos of an alleged iPhone 8 finished prototype on Thursday evening (head here to see). Suffice it to say, Apple is gearing up for the mother of all product launches. And consumers look ready to respond.

About 92% of iPhone owners say they are "somewhat likely or "extremely likely" to upgrade their smartphone in the next 12 months, according to a note from Morgan Stanley. The loyalty rate is up sharply from 86% one year ago.

Nike managed to excite Wall Street: After a major restructuring announcement, Nike (NKE) was able to boost Wall Street's views on the company's prospects. On an earnings call Thursday evening, Mark Parker, Nike CEO and board chairman, said its pricey new Air VaporMax sneakers drove sales in the quarter and that there will be new styles coming to the brand sometime this summer. There are also "a few more surprises along the way," Parker said.

As TheStreet's Lindsay Rittenhouse reports, Nike also confirmed that it teamed up with Amazon (AMZN) to sell certain products on the e-commerce conglomerate's site. The company is also selling directly to consumers via Instagram.

Apple is a holding in Jim Cramer's Action Alerts PLUS Charitable Trust Portfolio. Want to be alerted before Cramer buys or sells AAPL? Learn more now .

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Nvidia Could Have the Best Cryptocurrency Chip Out There...Soon - TheStreet.com

Genesis Mining

Nvidia and AMD are in a war.

The two companies both produce graphics cards and compete over PC gamers, self-driving car manufacturers and data center managers to prove that their technology is superior. Nvidiatends to be ahead in many of those markets and has seen its stock rise more this year because of it.

A new market is emerging though. The two graphics processing unit (GPU) companies are currently fighting over the cryptocurrency GPU market, and both are rumored to be releasing cryptocurrency optimized chips in the near future, according to RBC Capital Markets.

Cryptocurrencies are red-hot right now. Bitcoin is probably the most notable and has been around for years. But, recent explosive growth in rival currency Ethereum, has been making headlines. Recently, $100 million worth of GPUs were added to the Ethereum network in just 11 days.

The cryptocurrencies are made up of a decentralized network of users, and every time a transaction occurs in one of these currencies, it has to be verified by the whole network. People who help confirm these transactions are called "miners" and often use GPUs to speed up the calculations required to verify payments.

Previously, miners have used GPUs designed for gaming in their computers. This works, but isn't optimized for the task. Nvidia and AMD could release new cards that are optimized to draw as little power as possible and increase the speed of cryptocurrency specific tasks.

RBC reckons that when this happens, Nvidia's chip will outpace its rival AMD.

"Given Nvidia's performance lead across numerous categories (gaming and data center) we think the Company is best positioned to become the market leader in GPU based cryptocurrency mining if a new product is released," RBC wrote in a recent note to clients.

Details about the new cards are sparse, and their existence is only rumored for now. Considering only current GPUs, AMD has beaten out Nvidia because it has been faster at mining-specific tasks. RBC is betting this will change soon. When Nvidia has time to optimize their technology for mining, RBC thinks the company will be able to outpace AMD.

Previous domination in markets Nvidia has set its sights on is really the only information RBC is working with. Until the new cards come out or are officially announced, improvements are only hypothetical. RBC thinks Nvidia's work in data centers and high-end consumer gaming is enough to bet on the company winning the cryptocurrency market as well. Nvidia is certainly making waves in the self-driving car market, with a recent slate of high-profile partnerships.

Onlytime will tell. Nvidia is up 43.4% this year, compared to AMD's 10.24% increase and the general S&P 500's 7.17% increase.

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A Wall Street bank is betting Nvidia will win the cryptocurrency battle (NVDA, AMD) - Business Insider

Given the recent popularity of cryptocurrency ICOs, it was to be expected some things would be unclear to a lot of people. One of the most recurring questions is why all of these ICOs try to prevent US citizens from participating. There are many different reasons as to why this is the case, even though the countermeasures can be bypassed quite easily.

Anyone who has recently participated in a cryptocurrency ICO or pre-ICO may have noticed how these offerings are, in theory not available to residents in the US. Some projects even go as far as trying to dissuade residents from Singapore to participate as well. It is evident these two regions do not take kindly to cryptocurrency ICOs, mainly due to regulatory reasons.

To put this into perspective, the United States is quite strict when it comes to investment regulations. Only accredited investors can partake in private placements of securities. While some people would urge all cryptocurrency ICOs are tokens and not securities, regulators will have a very different opinion regarding this matter. A lot of the ICOs we have seen can be labeled as traditional sales of equity.

As is to be expected, the team organizing a cryptocurrency ICO cannot guarantee only accredited US investors will partake. They can take the necessary steps to prevent most US citizens from investing, although these measures can be bypassed. Right now, the ICOs tend to ask if you are a US citizen, but there is no verification of whether or not one speaks the truth. Some projects use geolocation to block US citizens, but those can be bypassed with a proxy or VPN. It is impossible to prevent US citizens from participating, but these measures have to be taken regardless.

Some of the bigger cryptocurrency ICOs will ensure they hire lawyers who can create a more workable environment for interested parties. If they would not take these steps, their entire token sale would be liable to criminal charges in the US. That is, assuming the SEC would ever decide to investigate a particular crowdsale for those specific reasons. It is highly unlikely that will happen, even though the SEC is looking to regulate ICOs moving forward.

Once the SEC will effectively intervene in cryptocurrency ICOs which is only a matter of time things will get very interesting, to say the least. A lot of previous ICOs didnt take the necessary steps to deny US citizens from investing. All of those projects and their teams are at the mercy of the SEC for the time being. Violating US securities laws is not something anyone wants to deal with. Additionally, these laws can also be enforced upon non-US companies, which makes it even more important to take countermeasures.

It is evident this unregulated space will be of keen interest to financial watchdogs all over the world in the coming years. The bigger question is how many companies will get burnt for not doing their due diligence. It is bad enough to know most of these projects may ultimately fail. Worrying about future criminal charges will certainly have a big impact on all of these crowdsales moving forward.

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Why Can't US Citizens Participate in Cryptocurrency ICOs? - The Merkle

A look at three cryptocurrencies that show tons of promise.

June 2017 has been a wild month for cryptocurrency. First, Bancor set the industry record for the largest-ever ICO at just over $150 million. A week later, Status.im (SNT) raised $275 million in under 3 hours during its ICO, contributing to an Ethereum flash crash.

And those are just two examples among many. Amid all the hullabaloo, it might feel hard to figure out which cryptocurrencies are worth investing in. So I sat down with Lucas Hendren, CTO of SimplyVital Health, to discuss the most promising cryptocurrencies to watch in July.

CoinJoker

Without a doubt, the name thats hot on every crypto-enthusiasts lips this month is Tezos, a new decentralized blockchain that governs itself by establishing a true digital commonwealth. With its ICO occurring July 1 (yep, thats tomorrow), the buzz of speculation is inescapable. Jeremy Epstein of Never Stop Marketing recently heralded its ICO as the Netscape of the blockchainin other words, the ICO that inflates the blockchain bubble by capturing the attention of the broader public. Naysayers point out that, while the ethos of Tezos is sound, it wont be able to hit critical mass in the face of a stronger and more established competitor. Proponents cite its robust security, capability to scale, and emphasis on true decentralization as natural next steps in the evolution of the ideas laid out (and arguably, confirmed) by Ethereum.

Tezos could theoretically have all the abilities of Ethereumbut in addition, its switching straight to proof-of-stake, said Hendren. The idea behind proof-of-stake is that its much less energy and time intensive, which would lead to faster transactions at a lower cost.

By launching the system with a proof-of-stake model from the onset, Tezos could sidestep some of the growing pains that have faced Ethereum. Furthermore, the governance system Tezos has built into its system gives it the capability to grow over time.

Tezos allows for a much easier way to upgrade and manage the system and insure that it has constant upgrades, said Hendren. If youve been following Bitcoin and Ethereum, a big problem theyve been having is how they go about upgrading. With Tezos, if you join part of that system, therell be a periodic vote to determine if theyre going to upgrade the system, and if so, what theyre going to upgrade it tothis is a massive simplification of itbut if a certain quorum is met and a vote passes, the entire system upgrades.

As to the Tezos vs Ethereum argument, Hendren expressed confidence in both, citing Tezoss upgrade-ability as a cause for genuine excitement.

Long-term it very well might be a competitor with Ethereum, but at the moment the space is so large and empty that theres room for both of them to grow, said Hendren. The main reason to be excited about it is that theyve potentially solved the problem of upgrading that many of the other blockchain networks have had.

Golem purports to be the new way the Internet will work, and when you start to look under the hood, you realize how and why they can make such a bold claim. (And if youve kept up with the latest season of Silicon Valley, itll sound eerily familiar).

The whole idea behind GNT is it allows you to sell your processing power, said Hendren. That basically means that you as an individualif you have, say, any laptop that you arent usingyou can sell your laptop as a server and make money from it. So you end up with this massive distributed computing network; it basically turns into the worlds largest supercomputer in a decentralized format. I think that is a very powerful idea that has a lot of potential.

GNT has already ICOed, but will entering its Alpha in very short time (very likely this month)and that Alpha is aiming to make high-intensity computing tasks like animation and CGI rendering much easier and cheaper.

Their Alpha will allow you to do CGI rendering and other animation rendering on their Golem network, potentially at a much cheaper cost than normal, said Hendren. And thats going to be released very soonmaking it something to watch right now. Theres a very high chance that GNT could gain a lot of value.

On the flipside of the computing equation, MaidSafe offers users the chance to sell their computers storage on the network.

MaidSafe allows you to safely secure your assets on a distributed network and distributed applications, said Hendren. So its similar to Golem but its more set up for data storage than it is for processing, and that is also a very useful, powerful idea.

The idea here is that theres tons of storage going to waste right now, and MaidSafe lets users sell this storage the same way one might rent out their apartment on Airbnb.

If you have a laptop, you can sell your storage space on this network, said Hendren. This is a simplified version, but: I have a laptop in my room Im not using at the momentI could load my computer up to this network and store data for other people for money.

For hopeful investors, Hendren explained that the next month will be the best time to get in early before MaidSafe enters its Alpha.

One big reason to watch it is that theyre releasing their Alpha on August 12, said Hendren. Whenever I advise tokens I usually advise you to go read the white paper and do your own researchbut if you want to get in early for this one, you have til August 12 to get in.

By letting users store encrypted data in a distributed format, MaidSafe effectively offers user privacy and autonomy in a way no current cloud storage solution does.

Hendren also advised newcomers to these markets to adopt two strategies when it comes to investing.

The main thing right now for everyone in there: in my opinion, you should try to avoid technical analyses, said Hendren. If you buy into something, you should plan on either holding for a long time or selling it at a certain point youve already planned out.

Why? Hendren references last weeks flash-crash as one example.

The reason for that is because this market is so young and immature, which is also some of the reason you can get great returns, said Hendren. There a few fish that have a massive amount of these currencies just waiting to sell that can basically move the market singlehandedly in any direction they want to. Any single event could have a massive influence on these things. My advice is not to be emotional, to buy in, sell out, buy in, and sell out again. Otherwise there are large sharks out there that will destroy you.

Disclosure: Damiani and Hendren have invested in GNT and MAID, and intend to participate in the Tezos ICO. Neither are professional financial analysts or advisors.

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The 3 Cryptocurrencies to Watch This Month - HuffPost

Published on June 29th, 2017 | by Derek Markham

June 29th, 2017 by Derek Markham

Solar electricity production + blockchain = a currency based on sunshine

Just as cryptocurrency has become a disruptive technology, so has renewable energy, and although those two distinct sectors havent really come into their own just yet, an innovative solar incentive program is incorporating both solar electricity production and the blockchain, with the intent of boosting and supporting one with the other.

Instead of a digitally mined product, this cryptocurrencys proof of work happens in the physical world, and those who have photovoltaic arrays can earn SolarCoin just for generating solar electricity. Its essentially a global solar rewards program, and is designed to help incentivize more solar electricity production, while also serving as a lower-carbon cryptocurrency than Bitcoin and similar alternative currencies.

We initially covered SolarCoin in 2014, right after it launched, and since then, the project has rewarded more than 10,000 solar installations for their electricity generation (totaling somewhere north of 200 megawatts). [As a side note, its actually somewhat surprising to me that the number is only 10,000 solar generators, considering that the currency is granted essentially for free to any solar producer that gets verified.]

This 90-second intro video explains SolarCoin in a nutshell:

SolarCoin is like airmiles for global solar electricity producers. Joseph Zitoli, The SolarCoin Foundation

This longer (5 minute) video explains where SolarCoin gets its value from:

As of January of 2017, more than 34 million SolarCoins have been put into circulation, with that figure growing by about 5,000 per week, and some 240,000 SolarCoins have gone to solar producers in 23 countries. In addition, two solar-focused crowdfunding platforms, Lumo and TheSunExchange, are now incorporating SolarCoin, the Belgian energy monitor company Smappee includes SolarCoin in its features, and in March 2017, the French collaborative energy supplier ekWateur became the first energy company to accept SolarCoin as a means of payment.

SolarChange, the SolarCoin Foundation platform that integratesthe SolarCoin Blockchain and incorporates a host of other monitoring and energy management features, was recently chosen to participate in the four month MassChallenge Israel accelerator program, which could help ramp up the solar currencys adoption.

The Goal for SolarChange in the MassChallenge program is to dramatically scale its AI-Blockchain interface solutions and Prosumer incentive capabilities from a Startup company to SME and expose its technology to utilities and the solar industry.

As far as cryptocurrecies go, SolarCoin (SLR) has a lot of growing to do, as it is shooting for an eventual $30 price but is currently hovering just over $0.20. Aside from getting a lot more solar generators onboard, there are also issues with scaling up its adoption as an alternative currency for both buyers and sellers of goods. The Swiss currency marketplace Lykke Exchange has added SolarCoin to its offerings, with Lykke CEO Richard Olsen (who ended up joining the SolarCoin Foundation advisory board) putting it succinctly, Our users can now convert sunshine directly into francs, euros or bitcoins.

Bringing the SolarCoin currency into the Lykke Exchange is a logical extension of our long-term plan. We are always looking for ways to expand market access and increase participation. Challenging conventional wisdom is what we do best, and we will be able to do it that much better with the passionate, forward-thinking SolarCoin community on our exchange. Olsen

A recent article in PV Tech by Florent Andrillon sums up the challenges facing SolarCoin, as well as a key selling point for the currency:

SolarCoins success will depend on the capacity to generate a large and robust ecosystem, and leverage social added value to differentiate from other cryptocurrencies.

In contrast to most other cryptocurrencies, its not just the financial value of the SolarCoin currency thats at the core of its strength. Sure, SolarCoin could be a legitimate investment option for those looking for a future return, but far more value may come from its incentivizing of solar energy production, which the project hopes to underwrite for some 40 years, to the tune of about 97,500 TWh of solar electricity.

And it is gaining acceptance, as IRENA and Solar Power Europe have endorsed the currency, but there are still many challenges to overcome:

Stakeholder engagement with power producers, investors, companies and individuals to convince, educate and reconcile on economic and financial and technical challenges is critical. Convincing power producers to share generation data is also a key challenge. At last, driving consensus among companies to promote SolarCoins depends on its liquidity and consumer attractiveness compared to other cryptocurrencies. Andrillon

Learn more at SolarCoin and SolarChange.

Hat tip: Karl Graves. Images: SolarCoin

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Tags: Bitcoin, Cryptocurrencies, cryptocurrency, SolarCoin

Derek Markham lives in southwestern New Mexico and digs bicycles, simple living, organic gardening, sustainable lifestyle design, slacklining, bouldering, and permaculture. He loves good food, with fresh roasted chiles at the top of his list of favorites. Catch up with Derek on Twitter, RebelMouse, Google+, or at his natural parenting site, Natural Papa!

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SolarCoin Is A Cryptocurrency Earned By Generating Solar Electricity - CleanTechnica

Rumors are swirling that Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) may soon launch dedicated graphics cards for cryptocurrency mining, which could unlock access to a market that's estimated to be worth at least half a billion dollars.

It could also spur an even greater rise in the chipmaker's stock, on top of the 37.8% its gained year to date, making it the best performing stock in the S&P 500so far this year. Shares of Nvidia fell more than 3% to $146.68 on Thursday, however, asinvestors continued a recent rotation out of tech stocks, dragging the FAANG stocks and other mega-cap tech names down further.

Shares of Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices Inc.'s (AMD) have gotten a boost recently thanks to a resurgence in mining of an alternative cryptocurrency called Ethereum. Mining is the process of verifying cryptocurrency transactions, at which point the transactions are added to the public ledger, called the blockchain. New cryptocurrency is created every time a transaction is verified, and those mining it make money whenever they do so.

Nvidia has yet to confirm that it will sell dedicated cryptocurrency cards, but product listings for chips using Nvidia-based and AMD-based GPUs recently appeared on Asus' website as part of a "Mining Series." Asus serves as a distribution partner for both chipmakers. Additionally, Christopher Rolland, an analyst with Susquehanna Financial Group, said he recently met with supply chain companies in Asia who confirmed that Nvidia plans to release two new graphics cards targeted for the cryptocurrency mining market.

If either company chooses to release a cryptocurrency-specific chip, Nvidia would be the clear winner, said RBC Capital Markets analyst Mitch Steves.

"Nvidia will win in the long term," Steves said. "They've historically been the best breed product for gaming and data center chips, so Nvidia will come out ahead. They have a product edge in general."

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This Is Why Nvidia Is Poised to Trample Advanced Micro Devices in the Cryptocurrency Mining Market - TheStreet.com