Jaide’s Blog

[jaideb18-blog]

Moved to Medium

Hi Guys I’ve switched my blog from Tumblr to Medium.

Thanks for following me here - my new blog link is 

http://medium.com/@jaide

Check it out :)

[jaideb18-blog]

Bakkt to cause a boom

Bakkt is a new company that will leverage Microsoft cloud solutions to create an open and regulated global network for digital assets. It will be the world’s first physically settled Bitcoin futures exchange. It will provide a safe place for investors to get into the cryptocurrency market. Every bitcoin futures contract will be held in Bakkt Warehouse and then cleared by ICE Clear US. Every contract requires delivery of one bitcoin also held in Bakkt Warehouse.

The Intercontinatal Exchange (ICE) owns and will operate Bakkt once it launches. ICE already owns and operates many exchanges around the world, including the New York stock exchange. This experience provides confidence to investors and legitimacy to the cryptocurrency space.

A crypto payment system will also be offered by Bakkt which will allow retailers to accept payment in the form of cryptocurrency. Starbucks has announced that they will use Bakkt in their stores worldwide. This will allow newcomers to familiarise themselves with crypto spending and feel safe doing so. Other major retailers are expected to follow suit.

At this stage Bakkt has not yet launched. The date keeps getting pushed back. It expected to get the go-ahead by The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) in early 2019. Approval would make Bakkt an absolute game-changer for the cryptocurrency market as it will accelerate increased adoption worldwide. It is probably one of the most anticipated launches of the year.

It will expedite mainstream adoption and increase funds entering the market.

CFTC approval will also provide an enormous amount of assurance. After experiencing a painful market correction last year, investors need to rebuild their confidence. Regulation and a major increase in demand and volume from institutions could very quickly cause a mental shift.

Bakkt will trade Bitcoin futures. It is expected that the price of Bitcoin will get a much needed boost and alt coins will be ride the wave with it. This could be exactly what the crypto market is needing to reignite again.  

[jaideb18-blog]

All about Elastos

The Elastos blockchain is a completely decentralized peer to peer network that can run DApps, issue smart contracts and digitize assets, just to name a few. It is important to note that it is simply a network and not a cryptocurrency. It uses blockchain technology to operate a self-sufficient ecosystem. One of the key benefits is their run time. The run time can use the computing power from other underlying devices and run on top of an android or ios operating system. Elastos can intergrate with other systems rather than having to replace them.

The Elastos network differs from others by separating tasks like running DApps and transferring value or data. They are separated with the decentralized networking OS running the main blockchain at the same time that DApps run on a side blockchain. Other projects run everything on their main network. This reduces the strain on the main network and speeds up the run time.

By separating tasks, Elastos is also able to offer its users stronger security and a more stable environment. DApps don’t communicate directly with the main network which secures them from unauthorised access or manipulation. This is of particular benefit to those using commercial or enterprise-grade applications. In addition to the safety of running on a side network, all DApps require a decentralized ID. This is verified by the Elastos network whenever the internet or main network are accessed. This added layer of security protects against identity theft and other attacks.  

The Elastos team are one of the strongest in blockchain space. Rong Chen used to work at Microsoft and was one of the leaders behind windows vista and XP. He left Micosoft to create Elastos. Da Hongfei was the leader behind Neo, he is now one of the key advisors on the Elastos team. Ziheng Zhou is another advisor. Before joining the team he was a member of the academic committee for the Alibaba Research Institute. There is also impressive backing from several well-known organizations such as Foxconn and Tsinghua University of China. There are many more impressive names on the list which make the team highly experienced and capable of maintaining a stable and efficient network. Elastos is an exciting newcomer that is really pushing the boundaries of blockchain technology.

[jaideb18-blog]

Is Malta the Crypto Hub?

For blockchain and cryptocurrency enthusiasts looking to relocate for tax and legal reasons, Malta is one possible location to consider. A country with warm weather year round, beautiful beaches, amazing architecture, good food, friendly people, not too many tourists and conveniently located close to some popular vacation destinations, it all sounds very inviting.

Currenty Malta is the first and only country that has introduced an organised framework for the use of cryptocurrency. As of November 2018 companies operating in Malta are now required to obtain licensed certifications. Every part of existing decentralized blockchain technology must be censored and monitored by local authorities.

Three bills have now been signed into law which are outlined below.

The Virtual Financial Assets Act  - The act lists certain conditions that must be met by any cryptocurrencies operating within Malta and by other cryptocurrency function facilitators. All cryptocurrency issuing firms must provide a whitepaper and other documentation.

Innovative Technology Arrangement and Services Act - This act classifies blockchain projects into different categories, based on their individual characteristics and activities. It provides the framework by which all blockchain-utilizing firms are appropriately recognized by the law.

Malta Digital Innovation Authority - in charge of regulating the overall blockchain sector in the country. It issues approvals for any business or individual carrying out any cryptocurrency related activity including ICO funding.

By making Malta blockchain and cryptocurrency friendly, the Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat hopes to strengthen the economy and create jobs. Binance, OKEX and Huobi are basing their exchanges in Malta and blockchain firm Neufundand The Abyss has also relocated from Berlin. It is expected more will follow, maybe even Tron. With the arrival of these companies many jobs have already been created.

Depending on the success of the new laws in Malta other countries may follow their lead. However by getting a head start Malta has the opportunity to become the headquarters to many exchanges and blockchain companies. This could give them the momentum needed to really cement themselves as the crypto hub.

[jaideb18-blog]

Why I Like Ravencoin

Ravencoin has only just celebrated its first birthday and it has already made the top 70 coins. It currently sits in 93rd position. It has gained a large amount of attention, particularly around the time of its recent bull run in late 2018. It’s now available on Binance and it’s been floating as low as 1 cent. It is a coin I am very excited about that I believe has huge growth potential.

The Ravencoin blockchain differs from the majority of other coins as it specializes only in the creation and peer-to-peer transfer of assets. There are no other intended uses for the coin, it simply focuses on what it was created for. You can exchange assets over other blockchains, such as Bitcoin and Ethereum, however it’s not their intended purpose. Ravencoin overcomes issues such as the slow and overly complex ledgers currently used for publicly traded assets.

Asset digitization is a very promising area of blockchain technology. Essentially a physical asset is represented on the blockchain. Ravencoin was designed to meet the demand for assets and securities to be tradable across borders.

Ravencoin is a fork of Bitcoin. It has a much larger supply of coins and is faster. The total supply of Ravencoins is 21 billion and of course we all know there will be 21 million bitcoins at their supply capacity. Ravencoin is 10 times faster than Bitcoin with a block time of just 1 minute. The developers have stated that Ravencoin is more energy efficient because it can be scaled to 1000 times the capacity and block reward of bitcoin. When it started there was no ICO and it started without a pre-mine. There is also no founders pool.

The developers of Ravencoin made the cryptocurrency an open-source project which gives users the ability to declare their virtual assets on the network. The network is transparent, decentralized and secure.

Any users of the Raven protocol are able to issue tokens on the Ravencoin blockchain. Tokens can be based on any asset and do not require mining. The properties of the token are determined by the user who issues it.

Tokens are transferable and work much the same way as Bitcoin. Most assets can be tokenized on the Ravencoin platform such as land deeds, gold bars, jewellery, art, cars, boats, silver coins etc.

Users are required to burn some RVN tokens and provide a unique token name  to create an asset token on the platform. Then, token properties are determined. These include number of tokens, number of decimals, and whether the supply is fixed or can be increased in the future.

Currently Ravencoin is only up to stage 3 of its 6 stage plan. It’s exciting times ahead for the cryptocurrency as it plans to add the ability to issue payment of rewards or dividends to asset holders, message token holders and implement token-based voting systems. When the market turns again and Ravencoins potential is reached it could jump right up into the top 10. When Binance listed it late last year the coin shot up 250% in under 2 weeks. There will be plenty more exchanges following suit and adding Ravencoin in the near future. This one’s definitely a coin to watch.

[jaideb18-blog]

Is Crypto Dead in China?

To date the Chinese population is 1.42 billion. This equates to 18.41% of the world population. Simply due to its size in numbers Chinas involvement in cryptocurrency has a massive influence on the market. If you think back to the start of September 2017, ICOs and crypto exchanges were banned in China. The market literally lost half its value within a day. Since then the Chinese government have been continually cracking down even further as they fight to keep maximum control of the money flow in and out of the country. Can the government keep this control or will cryptocurrency eventually become accepted and wake this sleeping giant?

On the 10th of January 2019 there was further tightening from the Chinese government as they released new laws relating to blockchain. These laws come into effect on the 15th of February 2019.

The laws stipulate that it is only legal to provide or use blockchain technology if the Chinese government is able to control the data on it, including being able to remove data from it. Therefore centralized or private blockchains may still be used if the network is controlled by the Chinese government.

The new laws also state that blockchain/cryptocurrency users cannot be anonymous.

Will China be able to effectively enforce these new laws or will people be able to get around this level of control?

Facebook, google and instagram are all banned in China yet they are still widely used. People always seem to find a way to get around the firewalls. There are however much more popular social media and search engine alternatives in China such as Wechat and Baidu. Could crypto go the same way and the government introduce their own cryptocurrency that can be centralized and controlled or will users break the law and find a way to remain anonymous and use decentralized blockchains?  

Technically there is nothing from stopping people continuing using international wallets anonymously. If users can get past the firewalls which they’re used to doing by now, they would be able to still set up accounts on foreign trading platforms.

The next hurdle would be depositing money into their account. An individual can transfer up to US$50,000 per year and no more than US$2,000 per day. They would then need to open an international bank account to transfer their money into. From this account they could deposit their funds into their crypto trading account.

Another way of buying crypto is via the underground banking system. This is essentially a network of money brokers that trade cryptocurrency for cash to help Chinese nationals get their money out of China. This way there is no limit to the amount a wealthy individual could get out of the country.

Since the government cannot fully stop people from buying cryptocurrency they are looking at creating their own centralized currency that they can control. The People’s Bank of China has registered 78 digital currency patents since 2016. They have also been hiring developers and economic specialists for its digital currency institute with the intention of distributing a blockchain-based currency.

So it looks like cryptocurrency is still alive and kicking in China. Now I want to know which will be more successful. A centralized private currency controlled by the government or existing coins?

[jaideb18-blog]

Stellar or Ripple?

Those new to the crypto world or unfamiliar with Stellar and Ripple may find it hard to differentiate the 2 coins. They have some similarities but some fairly distinctive differences.

Let’s start by looking at what they have in common. Both coins cannot be mined. They are focused on cross-boarder payments and have established impressive partnerships with large corporations. Ripple is currently the number 3 cryptocurrency and Stellar the number 7. Stellar is however the newer of the 2, launching in 2014. Ripple launched in 2012.

Ripple aims to improve the efficiency of international transactions between banks, financial institutions and other corporates. Stellar is more focused on providing access to low-cost financial services for those in developing worlds. It also has a decentralized exchange and a platform that enables ICO launches. Ripple is considered a more centralized network than Stellar which has caused some criticism within the crypto community.

Ripple is a privately owned blockchain company that offer their technology to other companies such as banks and large financial institutions. Ripples technology allow their partners to make cost-effective international transfers and currency conversions. The banks however do not necessarily pass of these costs savings to their customers.

Stellar on the other hand are a non-profit organisation that are more focused on providing their services to individuals who do benefit from the cost savings. Their goal is to allow a more inclusive global payment system.

The future of the 2 coins will be interesting to watch because of their supply to the market. Ripple has a maximum supply of 100,000,000,000 whereas Stellars supply is unlimited. The total supply of Ripple will actually decrease over time while Stellar has a fixed inflation rate of 1% per year. Ripples supply will decrease because in every single transaction on their network a small amount is destroyed.  

Ripple is available on more exchanges than Stellar however it’s only a matter of time before Stellar catches up. Ripple has been around longer and has attracted a lot of attention both within the cryptosphere and mainstream media from its partnerships and strong financial backing.

Even though both of these coins are focused on cross-boarder payments they have different competitors and hurdles they will face as they grow and gain wider adoption. The fact that Stellar runs on a decentralized network is definitely an advantage as it is the future. Ripple however has more partnerships, funding and experience which have proven to be strong since its inception. Both coins seem to fluctuate in price at the same times which may indicate that people havn’t decided which crypto they prefer and are buying both to ensure they don’t miss out if 1 takes off. What are your thoughts? Which coin do you think has the brighter future?

[jaideb18-blog]

How blockchain is changing the real estate industry

Blockchain technology is revolutionizing the real estate industry. Both the residential and commercial real estate industries are now experiencing the changes that blockchain is bringing. Are traditional real estate agencies about to have an Uber moment? Let’s have a look and see.

I’ll start by talking about smart contracts. These allow us to record transactions on an online ledger of the movement of any kind of asset from one owner to the next. There are no charges to record transactions. The online ledger is public which ensures the integrity of the transactions and ownership. State of the art cryptography is used so that once information is recorded, it is virtually impossible to change it without the original passcode or key.

The speed, efficiency and cost savings from using smart contracts alone is impressive. Once a smart contract is signed by all parties it is uploaded and recorded on the blockchain straight away. Settlement statements are also recorded on the blockchain the same way. Posting hard copies of contracts and the time wasted in do so will be a thing of the past.

Currently there are high costs for the title registration, title insurance and legal fees involved in a property transfer. Migrating to the blockchain would make this information easily accessible and free.

Speed and cost savings can also be benefited from when it comes to sending and receiving payments for the sale or purchase of property. Cryptocurrency can be used to transfer funds within seconds between buyer and seller rather than waiting days. There are also no large transaction fees charged to transfer funds. You no longer need a bank to make a transfer. You no longer need an escrow account to buy a home or even a real estate agent to broker the sale.  

Combine the use of smart contracts and cryptocurrency payments and think about how this will open up the sale of a house to buyers worldwide. The process becomes streamlined and easier for anyone around the world to understand. As our trust towards the online ledger builds people will feel more secure knowing their contracts and purchase are recorded where they can search it at any time. They will also feel comfortable knowing that the ledger can’t be altered. They are putting their trust in the technology rather than a corporation or government. Sending money around the world will be something we do on a daily basis and not such a daunting prospect. With increased understanding and confidence the general mentality to buying real estate in another country will change.  

There are real estate blockchain companies already making an impact. Propy is one example of a company dedicated to solving the problems of purchasing property across boarders by using blockchain technology. A property can be listed on their platform from anywhere in the world with or without a broker.

When a buyer is found smart contracts along with disclosures, title records and settlement statements are all uploaded on the blockchain. Currently a buyer is able to pay in US dollars, bitcoin or ethereum. Once all closing documents are uploaded to the ethereum blockchain, the title deed is generated and the buyer is the new home owner. The blockchain address can be used to retrieve any non-sensitive information at any time.

It will be interesting to see the changes within the industry unfold. Technology is once again showing its ability to replace jobs, speed up processes, save money and provide solutions to current inefficiencies. Will real estate agents be forced to lower their fees? Will they use blockchain technology to their advantage? Only time will tell, it’s certainly a space worth watching.

[jaideb18-blog]

Why I’m Buying Tron

I want to share my thoughts on Tron and why I am buying at the moment.

Tron can be compared to other coins such as Ethereum, Basic Attention Token, EOS and Substratum.

The benefits I see are its speed, cost efficiency and scalability potential. With 3 of these 5 in the top 10 coins it shows the demand and purpose of this technology in the near future.

It’s safe to say people are already finding value in Tron with over 1,000,000 transactions recorded. I believe the transactions will gain momentum much the same as the crypto market at the end of 2017. It will be an exciting space to watch.

Tron is helping the shift from web 2.0 to web 3.0 which will create the decentralization of the internet using the blockchain. Having acquired BitTorrent last July, Tron will be one of the major players to revolutionize the internet to web 3.0. The future of the internet involves the peer-to-peer platform for users to create, store and distribute content more efficiently. Centralized platforms will essentially become redundant.

We will soon see the unveiling of ‘Project Atlas’ - The Tron blockchain network will combine with The BitTorrent P2P network which will essentially create an infrastructure for a decentralized content distribution platform.

The Tron protocol is free to use and is an open network controlled by those who populate the marketplace. It’s free from corporate control. Users that create data will retain ownership once published and will be fairly compensated for their work.

Millions of people worldwide currently earn their living from platforms like youtube and other social media apps and yet they don’t actually own their own content. This is just astounding. For this very reason alone there will be a huge shift from content creators who want to retain ownership of their work and increase their earning potential at the same time.

Tron has over 50 DApps (decentralized applications) available of which the usage has started to outpace that of both EOS and Ethereum. Tron is a smart contract protocol. Which means that the value of Tron comes from the ecosystem of DApps and active users on the platform.

Currently Tron is in stage 2 of their 6 stage plan. DApp creation and content compensation is the focus of stage 2. This indicates the huge growth potential ahead.

Let’s not forget that the ease of buying a coin plays a huge role in the potential for price growth. Tron has been active in creating partnerships and to date can be traded on many large exchanges such as Bitrex, Bitfinex, Coinbase, OKEx, Kraken, Yobit, Huobi, Bitpay, Bitflip. This is huge for attracting newcomers to the crypto space into buying Tron. If a coin is not easily available buying opportunities will be lost.

I personally feel that Tron has reached the bottom and I’m excited to jump on it right now. 12 months ago Tron was valued at 25c which was it’s all time high. Along with the rest of the crypto market it toppled throughout the remainder of 2018. I think we’re all happy to ring in the new year and wait for the market to turn and bulls to come out and play. 2019 is set to be a huge year for crypto.