[Sticky] Blockchain

4 Advantages of Investment in Cryptocurrency: A new, secured investment alternative

Are you interested in understanding new investment avenues which are secured and reliable? Then you must have heard about the term cryptocurrency. But, you don’t know what exactly it means; what are the advantages and disadvantages. Don’t worry. I will throw some light.

After adopting digital transactions or payments, we all are now well-informed with reliable payment methods like credit and debit cards, bank transfers, Apple Pay, etc. The new arrival in the digital transaction industry is cryptocurrency.

Cryptocurrency is the virtual or online currency that allows the customers to perform transactions for purchasing goods and services. Cryptocurrency is secured using cryptography which is the technique of storing and transmitting data in a specific format that can be read-only by those who have permission to read and process it. Blockchain technology is used for storing cryptocurrency data in the form of immutable blocks in a public ledger of transactions. 

Bitcoin is the first and trendsetter cryptocurrency launched in 2009. After that, many other cryptocurrencies like Ethereum (ETH), Polkadot (DOT), Litecoin (LTC), etc., are launched in the cryptocurrency industry. Let us discuss why the cryptocurrency is gaining popularity.

In recent years, many organizations are adopting cryptocurrencies as a promising payment and viable investment option. Due to the surge in awareness about the advantages of the cryptocurrencies like security and autonomy, quality speed, individual ownership, global access, protection from fraud and inflation, relatively low transaction cost, etc., the popularity of cryptocurrencies is increasing. 

Are cryptocurrencies reliable and safe investment options?

The crucial point is that no investment is a hundred percent safe, which applies to cryptocurrencies too. Still, cryptocurrency investment is a lucrative investment for many investors these days. These factors can be summed as follows:

• Many Options not available: One of the lucrative factors in its popularity is that it is not a complex process to invest in cryptocurrencies than the stock market investment, where many stocks are available.
• Third-Party Not Involved: Another crucial advantage of cryptocurrency is the contract of the promise of transfer of funds is made directly between two transacting parties, eliminating the need for trusted third parties like credit card companies or banks. 
• Secured with Key: These transactions are secured with the help of private keys and public keys and various incentive systems like Proof of Stake or Proof of Work.

In recent times cryptocurrencies, the user’s wallet or account address is enabled with a public key, whereas the only owner knows the private key necessary to sign transactions.

• Low Processing Fees: Another crucial advantage for the investor is the low processing fees, which is advantageous for the investor against high street charges incurred by banks and other financial institutions for wire transfers.

If appropriate safety measures are taken, cryptocurrencies are a safe investment option; otherwise, they are prone to the risk of hacking.

If the investor understands the process of buying and selling cryptocurrencies thoroughly, they can minimize the risk associated with the investment. 

Numerous cryptocurrencies are available in the market, but all are not safe. Therefore, it is mandatory to take a certain amount of precautions while investing in cryptocurrencies. It is essential to perform thorough background research for coin creators, whether the screening process is rigorous, whether the coins are affiliated with well-established brands, whether they are traded in safe exchanges, etc.

Due to the rise in the popularity of cryptocurrencies, they are vulnerable to attacks of cybercriminals. Therefore, it is always advisable to adopt the best practices for coin management to safeguard against the risk of hackers. Many cryptocurrency owners either have lost their coins in the last few years or could not recover their losses. The only solution for protecting this threat is storing the cryptocurrency in an offline device like a cold storage device.

For holding the cryptocurrency tokens offline, cold storage is considered the best way which protects them from theft. The use of an external drive or a paper wallet is the most basic way of cold storage. For accessing the data of a particular currency, a key is required. 

The user should access the cryptocurrency and other relevant information only at the trading time, and the account must be disconnected after use. This way of accessing the cryptocurrency account can minimize the risk, ensuring the reliability and safety of the account.

Conclusion: Cryptocurrencies are a revolution in the digital transaction sector and acquired conventional payment method status. This technology is a relatively new one and needs robust systems and regulatory clarity for ensuring security and safety. We can minimize the risk associated with this form of investment only if we are knowledgeable about the best practices to prevent our coins from fraud and threats.

In this article, we have understood an overview of the concept of cryptocurrency. If you have some doubts, please write to us in the comment box. We will solve your query and stay tuned for more information about cryptocurrencies in upcoming articles.

Written By: Shubhada Pande, Blockchain Writer and Digital Writopreneur

Edited by: Rajinder Soni, Writopreneurs Coach, Digital Writopreneurs Hub & Academy

3 Main Features and benefits of Blockchain In Fintech Company

Summary: Does blockchain fascinates you? What is the role of blockchain technology in fintech? If yes, here are the salient features and benefits of blockchain technology that disrupts the fintech industry.

Introduction: Fintech is a much-hyped term in the financial service industry, and everyone from infant startups to corporate companies wants to get involved in it. We can describe fintech as a technology or a program supporting or enabling banking or financial services. This technology can shake the traditional financial markets and can become a game-changer. Blockchain plays a crucial role in fintech, but these terms are not the same in a precise manner. Let us discuss this in more detail.

After the evolution of the Internet, the term fintech stands for technology that is interfering with traditional financial services, including money transfers, loans, fundraising, mobile payments, and asset management. Every time we do online financial transactions or use tools for managing our investments or expenses, we use financial technology or fintech.

Fintechs are the established and startup businesses that aim to improve and modify financial services. On the other hand, a blockchain is a reorganized and distributed ledger for maintaining a permanent and immutable record of transactional data chronologically. This digital ledger stores transactional data on a real-time basis, which is a list of documents called blocks. Blockchain technology uses cryptography to link and secure these blocks.

Let us discuss the benefits of blockchain adoption:

Every blockchain comprises a “hash.” of the previous block when a new block is connected. The local copy of the database gets updated while validating the block. Hence, no one can take out the block in a blockchain without destroying it completely. This structure ensures an unchangeable digital report of actions. The most notable gain of blockchain technology is the incredibly high level of security. Apart from the security, other advantages of the blockchain are

1. User empowerment
2. Elimination of requirement of higher authority
3. Speedy transactions
4. Operational cost reduction
5. Transaction transparency.

Blockchain is regarded as the backbone technology in the revolution of the fintech industry. The financial experts or institutions must understand the role of the blockchain in fintech to take advantage of the revolution in the finance industry.

Trust is the biggest challenge in front of the fintech industry. Blockchain adoption is the most economical option for any fintech company to gain trust as it permits the organization to maintain track of all financial transactions in a lifecycle. Blockchain technology has given a chance to create safe, secured, and innovative financial products in the financial sector.

The main features of blockchain can be classified as follows:

• Decentralization: It is a decentralized network that operates on a peer-to-peer basis. It eliminates the risks associated with the data stored at the centralized location as it saves data across its network.
• Distributed Ledger:  It allows sharing a ledger activity such as arbitrary data or virtually anything of value between multiple parties. To ensure transparency and avoid single-point failure, every computer in the distributed network maintains a copy of the ledger. All the prints are updated and validated simultaneously.
• Immutable record: Blockchains resist the modification of data by design itself. Particular protocols have been observed to validate the new blocks. The consensus of the network majority is necessary for the conversion of the data recorded in the block.

Now, why is blockchain a powerful tool? The key to this question lies in two main features explained above: namely, decentralization and distribution.

Before adopting fintech in the financial service markets, the trusted third parties were involved in all transactions. The transactional data were stored at a centralized location with the help of these third parties. In those days, the threat of corruption by third parties was in existence. Blockchain removes the role of middleman, minimizing the risk associated with corruption and giving the ownership of the assets to the transacting parties.

The distributed infrastructure enables the blockchain to share the information in a secured format called ‘unalterable data transfer.’ This feature of the blockchain strengthens the trust of the business and consumers as many functions of the centralized third parties are taken over in a secured manner. This feature is relevant to the financial service industry as it relies on the trust of third parties involved in the transaction.

If you are a company owner or a part of senior management, you should plan to adopt blockchain technology for your business model.

For example, E-commerce giant Amazon has implemented blockchain technology to ensure fast and reliable syncs, secured networking, encryption at the transport and rest, durable storage of ledger data, etc., to the customers.

It will take some more years for blockchain technology to become a part of the mainstream financial model. As this technology is emerging, it is in a growing phase and has some challenges. It is crucial to keep updated with the recent development and transform our financial processes in our day-to-day life. If you are a business owner or personnel from the senior management of a company, please share your pain area of converting into blockchain technology in the comments. We will provide the best solution.

3 Benefits of blockchain technology and how it works

If you are interested in financial technology, then you must have gone through the term blockchain. But, if you don’t know much about this technology, in this article, we will see what blockchain and various elements of a blockchain deal with.

The term blockchain looks complicated, but the central concept is that it is a database. Blockchain is a data or a system of information recording in a particular manner, making it impossible or difficult to hack, change, or cheat the system. This ledger is immutable and shared, that aids transaction recording and asset tracking process in a business network. Now the question arises why blockchain is gaining importance. Let us see.

There are two types of assets: tangible assets like cash, land, home, etc., and intangible assets like patents, intellectual property, branding, copyrights, etc. Blockchain is that network on which anything having value can be traded for minimizing the risk and reducing the overall cost involved. 

Speedy and precise information plays a crucial role in the success of any business. Blockchain is the most appropriate option as it instantly delivers shared and completely transparent information stored in an immutable ledger. This network can track payments, orders, production, accounts, etc., and transacting members can view all the transaction details instantly.

Now we will discuss the critical elements of a blockchain system.

• Distributed Ledger Technology: The access to the distributed ledger is given to all network participants, which is an immutable transaction record. The transactions are recorded only once in this shared ledger, eradicating the chances of record duplication possible in any other business network.
• Smart Contracts:  A smart contract, i.e., a set of rules, is stored in the blockchains, which speed up the transactions as they are executed automatically.
• Immutable records:  The transactions recorded in the blockchain cannot be altered or tampered with by anyone. In case of an error in a transactional log, a new transaction entry is necessary to reverse the record, and both transactions would be displayed in the shared ledger.

Now we will see how the blockchain works.

1. Each generated transaction data is recorded as a “block.” : Each transaction pertaining to the asset, whether tangible or intangible, is stored in the block. The data block records information based on the parameters like who, when, what, how much, where, the condition of the product, etc. 
2. All blocks are interconnected:  All the blocks are connected to the previous and the next block. The chain of the data in the form of blocks moves as the ownership changes hand or from place to place. The exact sequence of the transactions and time is recorded in every block, which links the blocks securely, eliminating the risk of alternation or insertion of new blocks between two existing blocks.
3. Blockchain: An irreversible chain of stored transactions The verification of the previous block becomes complicated with the addition of each new block. This feature awards the blockchain a strength of an immutable and tamper-evident network. This feature also minimizes the possibility of data tampering due to malicious activities and builds a ledger of the transaction all transaction members can trust.

Now we will see the benefits of blockchain technology.

Organizations often waste their efforts in maintaining duplicate records and on third-party validations. The third-party record-keeping system is constantly exposed to cyberattacks and fraud. The transaction process also slows down due to limited transparency. After the adoption of IoT, the transaction volume has increased significantly. The adoption of blockchain is the best solution to overcome these drawbacks. The advantages of the blockchain are as follows:

1. Trust:  Blockchain is a member-only network that enables users to receive accurate and timely data. The members can trust that their blockchain records will be shared with the network members with granted access.
2. Higher security:  The data stored on the blockchain network is immutable and permanent as all network members must give their consensus and validate every transaction. The data cannot be deleted by anyone, not even the system administrator.
3. Efficiency:  There is no time wastage in record reconciliation as the data is stored in a distributed ledger shared among all the transacting parties. The speed of the transactions can be enhanced by adopting a set of rules, termed an intelligent contract, that is executed automatically.

Conclusion: Blockchain technology helps maintain the most secured, shared ledger for recording transactional data. With the rise in IoT adoption in various industries like the amount of data generated has increased. Appropriate data management and efficiency in transaction dealing can be ensured using blockchain technology. This technology is a boon in the industries like healthcare and supply chain, Government, retail, oil and gas, financial services, telecommunication, etc. 

We will discuss the application of blockchain in other industries in upcoming articles. You can reach out to me at shubhadapande for your queries.

Written by: Shubhada Pande, Blockchain Writer and Digital Writopreneur

Edited by: Rajinder Soni, Writopreneurs Coach, Digital Writopreneurs Hub & Academy

4 Step guide for investing in Cryptocurrency for new investors

Are you curious about investment in bitcoin, but you don’t know how to invest? Then you are at the right place. This article will show you how to invest in bitcoin and earn profit while securing your investments.

Since the release of the first cryptocurrency bitcoin in 2009, it was never missed by speculators and investors. Some experts have predicted that cryptocurrency will slowly replace sovereign currencies like the euro and the U. S. dollar. But, now, the speculators have entered into the market for cryptocurrencies that do not glance at the fundamentals. Speculators jump into the market when they notice a sudden and dramatic price rise irrespective of the asset type. 

This article will help the new investors who want to start investing in cryptocurrency. The forward march of cryptocurrencies may continue for the next few years. Let us see what cryptocurrencies mean and how they function.

Blockchain technology is used in cryptocurrencies, a chain of registration and distribution of information, without any particular institution’s control. This technology works independently of central banks like a digital transaction record. The most significant cryptocurrency feature is the exclusion of the middleman like a bank, allowing direct buyer and seller negotiation with each other.

Due to this one-to-one transaction facility, the transaction cost is lower than other investment alternatives. In almost all major financial media, the bitcoin price is tracked regularly due to its popularity. But, hundreds of cryptocurrencies in the market have already come and gone.

The primary reasons for the popularity of cryptocurrency investments are as follows:

• Anonymous ownership and use
• Investment is subject to price explosion, an opportunity to earn significant profits on the investment.

As the cryptocurrency market operates within its network and virtually unregulated, investment in this market is different from traditional investment through financial institutions. So, now we will see the detailed guide to investing in cryptocurrency.

1.  Predetermine a small percentage of portfolio for cryptocurrency investment: It is always advisable to allocate a small proportion of your portfolio to be invested in cryptocurrency. It would be, of course, your decision about portfolio allocation. It is advisable to vary investment between five to ten percent. The logic behind this investment portion is that cryptocurrencies are not designed as a form of investment; they are intended to be the medium of exchange and a strong alternative for sovereign currencies like the euro, yen, dollar, etc. But, till this point, cryptocurrencies have not achieved their original intended purpose as only a few merchants accept cryptocurrencies. 
2. Cryptocurrency selection: One of the real complications in cryptocurrency investment is the availability of hundreds of cryptocurrencies in the market, which might be more than a thousand. Still, in 2021, bitcoin is leading the cryptocurrency market as it is constantly drawing the most attention and dollar investment. The second position is grabbed by Ethereum, followed by Zcash, Dash, and Ripple.

Due to the prominent position in the global market, bitcoin is considered the most reliable investment option. Often the term bitcoin is used synonymously with cryptocurrency. Though the media keep track of bitcoin’s price fluctuations, some cryptocurrencies are performing better than Bitcoin. 

It is advisable to set aside a significant proportion of your portfolio in bitcoin and a smaller portion in other cryptos. The simple reason behind this allocation is that the price volatility and speculation are more in other cryptocurrencies than in bitcoin. In the past decade, many cryptocurrencies have disappeared from the market entirely or flatlined. This trend indicates that your investment can come to zero with very little notice due to tremendous price volatility.

     3.Selection of trading platform for buying cryptocurrencies: The point to be noted here that you cannot purchase cryptocurrencies in usual financial places. Banks or investment brokerage firms offer them. Dedicated crypto exchanges are available for buying, selling, and holding cryptocurrencies. Some of the top cryptocurrency exchanges are Coinbase, Binance, Kraken, Gemini, Bittrex, Unifimoney, etc.

     4.Cryptocurrency Storage: A cryptocurrency wallet is typically used for storing the cryptocurrency, which is either a cold or hot wallet. The public and private keys to your blockchain are stored in the cryptocurrency wallet. The public key refers to your cryptocurrency address that other transacting parties see in the transaction, whereas a private key is solely recognized by the transacting party. It is necessary to use both keys for completing the transaction and unlocking your cryptocurrencies on the blockchain. A digital wallet also provides a transaction record stored on the blockchain.

You have to choose the digital wallet for your cryptos to balance between convenience and security. Some cryptocurrency exchanges also provide the facility of digital wallets for the cryptos.

Conclusion: Before deciding to invest in cryptocurrencies, you must be prepared for the instability and fluctuations in the price due to speculative activities. It is difficult to predict the price volatility of cryptocurrencies as compared to the traditional investment options. If you have any questions, please share them in the comments and stay tuned for more details about the cryptocurrency investment.

#finance#Cryptocurrency#investorguide#

Written by: Shubhada Pande, Blockchain Writer and Digital Writopreneur

Edited by: Rajinder Soni, Writopreneurs Coach, Digital Writopreneurs Hub & Academy

Cryptocurrency: The New Mode of Exchange

   Summary :

Are you fond of cryptocurrencies and want to know about them? This article will help you know about crypto and some interesting facts about cryptocurrency. You will also know about different types of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, etc.

   Introduction :

A cryptocurrency, also called crypto is binary data designed to work as a medium of exchange and its records are stored in a ledger existing in form of a computerized database to secure transactions records.

The cryptocurrency was invented in the year 2009, and bitcoin was the first crypto designed by a programmer or group of programmers under the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto.

Unlike traditional currencies, these digital currencies are based on blockchain technology that works as a public financial transaction database.

There are different types of cryptocurrency other than Bitcoin, like Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, Dogecoin, Ripple, Cardano, Litecoin, etc. But many investors consider bitcoin to be the original cryptocurrency. Cryptocurrencies are decentralized networks that do not owe to one person or a government. Each crypto has a different algorithm and the controlling process under a distributed ledger is enforced by a disparate network of computers.

   5 Popular Cryptocurrencies excluding Bitcoin

1. Litecoin (LTC)

Litecoin is an open-source, global payment network that has no central authorities. It is a replica of bitcoin and built using the blockchain of bitcoin. The purpose of creating LTC is to solve issues with bitcoin like scalability.

LTC was developed in 2011 by Charlie Lee, an ex-Google engineer.

2. Ethereum (ETH)

Ethereum was developed in 2015. Unlike Bitcoin, Ethereum is a platform that allows users to develop dApps (Decentralized Applications), tokens, and smart contracts. This cryptocurrency has Ether or ETH value.

Ethereum completes the transactions within few seconds, unlike bitcoin which takes 10 minutes for transactions.

3. Bitcoin Cash (BCH)

Bitcoin Cash emerged from Bitcoin in 2016 to solve some of the existing problems of Bitcoin, especially regarding scalability and transaction fees. Due to the disagreement in the developers’ community regarding the changes required in bitcoin’s code, that gave birth to BCH.

4. Ripple (XRP)

Ripple is known as a bankers’ coin due to its heavy focus on International Payment Transfers. The prime purpose of creating XRP was to make transactions cheap and fast.

Ripple works faster than traditional banks in processing transactions. If traditional banks take a week to complete an international transaction, XRP will complete it in few seconds.

5. Stellar (XLM)

Like Ripple, Stellar also focuses on money transfers. Stellar’s network is designed to make cross-border payments faster and more efficient.

Stellar is different from other cryptocurrencies as it runs on a non-profit motive, so it doesn’t charge its users or institutions for using its network. It aims to uplift the developing economies that may not have access to traditional banks and investment opportunities.

   Pros of Crypto investment

1. Crypto investment has the potential for high returns.
2. It has protection from payment fraud. Bitcoins are just like digital cash that hackers can’t get their hands on in any way.
3. It leads to immediate settlement and completion of international transactions.
4. The great thing about BTC is that it gives users complete power over it, as well as the ability to keep their coins safe and stable.
5. Bitcoin can’t be regulated or valued by any government or central bank. They can’t be stolen or seized by the government

   Cons of Crypto investment

1. Bitcoin prices are extremely volatile, rising and falling at a rapid rate.
2. Cryptocurrency laws differ from country to country, so a lack of regulations, unfortunately, can lead to fraud and scams.
3. Cryptocurrencies especially bitcoins will be effectively lost if the hard drive crashes or a virus corrupts the file.
4. There is no refund if the cryptocurrency is lost due to any reason.

   6 interesting facts about Cryptocurrency

1. They are taxable:  It means the tax agency of the respected country collects taxes from the earning made by crypto investment according to their norms.
2. China is the biggest cryptocurrency miner: They have power over 70% of the mining crypto which is a process of verifying huge transactions of money.
3. There are 5000 different currencies in the world. A lot of people’s desire to invest in it has lead to the creation of so many currencies.
4. Cryptocurrencies can’t be judged: Many of the existing cryptocurrencies are useless and worthless but people still invest in them as the value of particular crypto may increase at once.
5. Cryptocurrency can’t be banned physically: Many countries have discussed and planned to ban this currency so that the economic condition of a particular may not get affected. It is impossible to ban it physically because anyone can own a crypto wallet digitally.
6. Cryptocurrency is limited: Many people think they can buy an endless amount of cryptocurrency but that’s not true. Crypto is limited which is why all these currencies keep increasing in value as there is less supply.

Conclusion :

Unlike traditional currency, cryptocurrency is a digital currency whose value varies with time and demand and not by region. According to researchers, cryptocurrency may replace complete traditional currency within the next decade.

Finally, crypto investment should be done wisely. Carefully consider your risk tolerance before moving forward and make sure investing in digital assets is appropriate for your investment strategy.

Readers are kindly requested to give their feedback and share any other information about the cryptocurrency not mentioned above.

Thanks for reading.

Written by: D.Vamsidhar, Content Writer and Digital Writopreneur

#dvamsidhar #rajindersoni #writingarticles #cryptocurrency #blockchain #bitcoin #ethereum #litecoin #ripple #stellar #bitcoincash #cryptoinvestment  #interestingfactscrypto #prosandconsofcryptoinvestment

Great solution! Thanks for this interesting info!

Define Your Goals and Target Audience: https://mlsdev.com/blog/how-to-build-a-fintech-app Start by clearly defining the purpose of your fintech app and identifying your target audience. Determine what specific financial services or features your app will provide.