Hello fellow investors and influencers and welcome to our channel if you are watching our videos for the first time! I am Maura, the Last Black Unicorn from Coin Info News and I would like to take a closer look into EcomToken, The Gate of Cryptocurrencies to the Real World
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Using Blockchain for Distributed Data to advance Artificial Intelligence Frameworks
Let’s assume that we're able to give a super intelligent AI orders and it follows those orders; it may just take the quickest and easiest route to solve them. Just because we make a super intelligent AI, that doesn't mean that it's going to be wise.
There's a difference between intelligence and wisdom; Intelligence is more about making mistakes and acquiring knowledge and being able to solve problems through that. Wisdom, on the other hand, is about applying the correct knowledge in the most efficient way. Wisdom reflects on being able to see beyond the intelligence gained and being able to apply that to other things, hopefully, in a productive way. If we give AI an order to solve world hunger, the easiest way to solve world hunger is just to kill all life on the planet and then nothing would ever be hungry again.
The solution of such a problem comes down to Data and how we crunch the right Data to feed Artificial Intelligence concepts.
Nowadays Data and the way it’s distributed is one of the key fundamentals on which new solutions are built. Blockchain is clearly the buzzword of our age, and yet, few actually easily understood the principles behind it; especially how it differentiates itself from a traditional distributed database.
There is much confusion as to what a blockchain is and its dichotomy with a database. A blockchain is actually a database because it is a digital ledger that stores information in data structures called blocks. A database likewise stores information in data structures called tables. However, while a blockchain is a database, a database is not a blockchain. They are not interchangeable in a sense that though they both store information, they differ in design. There is also a difference in purpose between the two, which is perhaps what is not clear to those who want to understand why blockchains are needed and why databases are better suited for storing certain data.
Distributed Databases
A traditional database is a data structure used for storing information. This includes data that can be queried to gather insights for structured reporting used by entities to support business, financial and management decisions. Government also make use of databases to store large sets of data which scale to millions of records. Distributed databases have the goal of maintaining a consistent copy of a particular dataset across a number of nodes.
Blockchain
A blockchain (referring to the original Bitcoin whitepaper published by Satoshi Nakamoto) stores information in uniform sized blocks. Each block contains the hashed information from the previous block to provide cryptographic security. Blockchain uses a distributed network of nodes that is decentralized. Decentralization means that all nodes on the network store a copy of the blockchain. The nodes either store a full copy (full nodes) of the blockchain or perform mining operations or they can do both. There is no administrator to validate a block of transactions. Once the block has been added to the blockchain, the information is immutable and transparent to all. Blockchain transactions are non-recursive, meaning they cannot be repeated once validated in a block. A blockchain is highly fault tolerant since if one or more nodes are down, there will always be other nodes available that will run the blockchain. Another advantage of decentralization is that it can be permission-less and trustless, allowing people who don’t know or trust each other to transact. What the blockchain does is provide that trust through transparency by recording the transaction and providing a cryptographically secure way to exchange value. There are many types of blockchain solutions already in production mode, offering different attributes and variables, but will not go that deep.
The difference between Blockchain and Distributed Databases
These terms are often used carelessly, and, more often than not, incorrectly. Both blockchains and distributed databases have a similar goal of maintaining a consistent copy of a particular dataset across a number of nodes. Maintaining consensus on the data that is stored, as well as keeping redundant copies of this dataset, are the major similarities between the technologies. On the surface, their fundamental technology is quite similar, but that’s as deep as it goes. The core value of blockchain technology is not to provide rudimentary data services (like the decentralized database), but to build a new ecosystem of digitized data assets and automated trust services. The global blockchain updates its state autonomously, and data is traceable to its source. On the other hand, the core value of distributed database is to provide data storage and access services to business systems. The database is designed to provide operational-support, mainly for business products and development projects, with the data being stored with a focus on supporting analysis and retrieval. Public blockchains are a collaborative creation, with their ultimate goal being to create a world that is completely decentralized, and where the ownership of digital assets is protected and transferable at all times. On the other hand, distributed databases are centrally managed by a service provider. Their goal is to create a logical center, that can provide efficient, low cost services with great scalability. Both technologies face technical trilemmas, which is referring to the difficulty of optimizing a technology while balancing tradeoffs. For example, the blockchain trilemma is concurrently achieving high security, decentralization and scalability.
Let’s talk about Artificial Intelligence (AI)
We’re overwhelmed with information, articles and opinions on AI and Blockchain. Experts and non-experts alike, are attempting to envision a future driven by the rise of this exponential technology. Because of the constant flow of information on AI, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to pinpoint what exactly AI is. Few of us are able to actually define Artificial Intelligence. Many of us make the mistake of using it synonymously with other buzzwords, like “robots”. AI is not a single technology, but a diverse set of methods and tools continuously evolving in tandem with advances in Data Science, Chip Design, Cloud Services and End-User Adoption. The most common examples of AI methods and tools include Natural Language Processing (NLP), Machine Learning (ML), Deep Learning (DL), Computer Vision, Conversational Intelligence and Neural Networks. You can think of Deep Learning (DL), Machine Learning (ML) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) as a set of Russian dolls nested within each other, beginning with the smallest and working out. DL is a subset of ML, and ML is a subset of AI, which is an umbrella term for any computer program that does something smart. In other words, all ML is AI, but not all AI is ML, and so forth.
Data as an Asset
Over the past decade, almost all aspects of how we work and how we live – from retail to manufacturing to healthcare – have become increasingly digitized. The internet and mobile technologies drove the first wave of digital, known as the Internet of People. However, analysis carried out by PwC’s AI specialists anticipates that the data generated from the Internet of Things (IoT) will outstrip the data generated by the Internet of People many times over. 7 of the 10 most valuable public companies in the world are using Deep Learning and AI at the heart of their operations. Most of them are in the process of reimagining every aspect of their operations, their business, their products, their services to deepen customer relationships, to grow new capabilities, or design better products. And nothing can help make a product or a service better, than data. That allows a company to attract more customers, more users, and better outcomes; Of course, that results in more data, and the cycle just repeats. Now companies are starting to use AI, ML, IoT, Neural Networks, Quantum Computing to crunch all that data more effectively. So bottom line, if AI is our rocket ship, Data is the fuel for this rocket. The more data we have, the more accurate AI, better learning, inference and better outcomes. When we get this right, it turns into what we call, Data Capital, and it becomes one of the most valuable assets. In this case, blockchain it’s just the right vehicle to drive Data Capital.
Data Architectures and Frameworks
AI & Data is emerging as one of the most potentially disruptive themes in the digital world. As the world’s data grows exponentially, AI capabilities are tracking close behind, the far-reaching implications of which are becoming clearer every day. AI powered by the current Data Architectures, will lead to a strong increase in labor productivity (by up to 40 %) due to innovative technologies enabling more efficient workforce-related time management. Secondly, AI will create a new virtual workforce – described as 'intelligent automation' in the report – capable of solving problems and self-learning. Third, the economy will also benefit from the diffusion of innovation, which will affect different sectors and create new revenue streams (EPRS, 2019). In the near-term, the biggest economic potential uplift from AI is likely to come from improved productivity. This includes automation of routine tasks, augmenting employees’ capabilities and freeing them up, to focus on more stimulating and higher value-adding work. Capital-intensive sectors such as manufacturing and transport are likely to see the largest productivity gains from AI, given that many of their operational processes are highly susceptible to automation. AI technologies differ significantly on the opportunities and risks they create, and therefore it’s important that organizations consider what type of AI is appropriate for their particular use case. Before starting an AI project, organizations should ensure that the following four conditions have been considered and met to the degree required for their specific use case: Ethics - The AI system needs to comply with ethical and social norms, including corporate values. This includes the human behavior in designing, developing and operating AI, as well as the behavior of AI as a virtual agent. This condition, more than any other, introduces considerations that have historically not been mainstream for traditional technology, including: moral behavior, respect, fairness, bias and transparency. Social Responsibility - The potential societal impact of the AI system should be carefully considered, including its impact on the financial, physical and mental well-being of humans and our natural environment. For example, potential impacts might include workforce disruption, skills retraining, discrimination and environmental effects. Accountability and Explainability - The AI system should have a clear line of accountability to an individual; Also, the AI operator should be able to explain the AI system’s decision framework and how it works. This is about demonstrating a clear grasp of how AI uses and interprets data, how it makes decisions, how it evolves as it learns and the consistency of its decisions across sub-groups. Reliability - The AI system should be reliable and perform as intended, this involves testing the functionality and decision-framework of the AI system to detect unintended outcomes, system degradation or operational shifts - not just during the initial training or modelling but also throughout its ongoing operation. Trusted AI frameworks emphasizes four attributes necessary to sustain trust: Bias: Inherent biases arising from data, the development team composition and training methods are identified, and addressed through the AI design. The AI system is designed with consideration for the need of all impacted and to promote a positive societal impact. Transparency: When interacting with an AI algorithm, an end user is given appropriate notification and an opportunity to select their level of interaction. User consent is obtained, as required for data captured and used. Resiliency: The data used by the AI system components and the algorithm itself is secured from unauthorized access, corruption and adversarial attack. Governance: Track emergent issues across social, regulatory, reputational and ethical domains to inform processes that govern data sourcing and management, the integrity of a system, its uses, architecture and embedded components, model training, and monitoring.
Conclusion
Amazon, Google, Apple and Facebook all used very different business strategies to gain their current market dominance and global influence, but their common success is arguably their foresight in understanding the value of data and positioning themselves early. They worked from the inside out, placing continuous emphasis on capability building, alongside developing, testing and deploying the top technologies internally. They have opted for a freeware model for most of their services, for which we all pay in return with all our data. The value of our data is hard to be monetize within a personal business model, but we hope that it’s used in such a way to fuel cognitive technologies to deliver trust and future advantages for our society. Creating trust in AI will require both technical and cultural solutions. To be accepted by users, AI must be understandable, meaning its decision framework can be explained and validated. It must also perform as expected and be incorruptible and secure. We have endless amounts of data to compute and power the most creative minds and with an AI presence it sounds like an absolutely glorious future, but is it? With every promise of a breakthrough technology also comes the looming threat of widespread unemployment and job loss. In the past you could hedge against this, you could go to school, get a master's degree, PhD, you could also specialize by getting skills learn a trade, get a certification, but this time it's bit different. Algorithms and their computers can process thousands of images and hours millions of rows, of text, and minutes, and hundreds of millions of lines of data in seconds, so in a world already out read, out processed, out memorized and out analyzed by computers and their algorithms, and their chips, how do we differentiate ourselves from our silicon counterparts? As we have the historical data and we are constantly creating and updating it, we should focus on harnessing the power of AI and all its subsets to help people. On this note, the value of data that we own is priceless, and the main idea isn’t to replace people with machines, but to supplement human capabilities with the unmatched ability of AI to analyze these huge amounts of data and find patterns that would otherwise be impossible to detect. Using Blockchain to drive Data Capital and secure the right Data, is one of the right means to harvest best outcomes for AI solutions.
Andrei Popescu
Co-Founder of COSS.IO & SCX Holdings and Seasoned Blockchain Tech Start-Ups Investor/Advisor.
Vision-driven entrepreneur with career-long record of business growth and innovation.
Andrei helped in building great companies in Singapore, Austria, Italy and Romania with extraordinary people, while seeking continuous intellectual stimulation through a broad set of experiences in dynamic, challenging, and high-intensity environments. He has been engaged on helping organizations that evolve in challenging markets to break down the barriers that prevent them from reaching their potential, which operate in Scandinavia, Eastern Europe, China and Asia-Pacific.
Andrei is an active participant in the FinTech sphere, Crypto & Alternative Assets Class Ecosystems and the Blockchain/DLT communities in Southeast Asia, Europe and the USA; who attends meetups regularly, speaks at the conferences and advises on Blockchain/DLT/IoT/AI/Alternative Investments & FinTech Projects.
As an Alternative Asset Class management, Andrei is bridging new FinTech instruments, with traditional world’s best corporate and institutional investors, where alternative FinTech assets are still in an early, immature, evolving stage of their existence.
Andrei believes that the introduction of Alternative FinTech Assets into the financial services sector, will not only stabilize the investment landscape, but will radically disrupt old-school ways of the financial world.
Thanks to the increasing offer of FinTech solutions, the segment of alternative investments is opening up the trading sphere to assets that, until now, could not be traded quickly and easily, also will enable us to create faster and more cost-effective financial instruments.
His focus and interest are on Strategic Investments in Disruptive Technologies & Innovations, FinTech, Financial Innovations, Blockchain, DLT, Crypto Asset Trading Systems, Digital Markets & Trading Platforms, Data Science, Data Capital, Artificial Intelligence (ANI, AGI, ASI, ML, DL) Applications, AI based Automated Trading Strategies, Business Strategy Implementations via AI systems.
Chest Thumping Supremacy Between Programmed Bots And Creative Humans
Verolian Opiyo
From self-driving vehicles joining the growing city taxi force to digital support booking restaurants reservations, Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology is stamping its authority continuous in our daily lives.
Therefore, it’s perhaps no surprise to you that these incredibly powerful bots are now being primarily used as auto trading robots in the cryptocurrency market.
Scores of people are lured to the markets by hopes of earning easy tokens through trading robots. Trading bot or robot is an automated trading program that runs on your computer and trades on your behalf in your account. They operate using various signals and indicators, such as moving indices and averages.
Selling bots online has become a massive business, but before you dive into the idea, there are things to factor in:
The concept is simple: to assist customers in generating tokens/ money in the markets, while not consuming most of their time. The underlying notion is that computers are much better at trading as opposed to human because trading is all about complex calculations of probability and mathematics.
While this may either be true or false, it’s hectic to find real performance reviews of trading softwares. Besides, anecdotal evidence intends to suggest that several traders either don’t outperform the markets or lose money. This is actually true in the crypto-space, where there are no easily accessible strategies to outwit the market, making price booms is the only feasible option.
Investing in cryptos isn’t for the faint-hearted, because there’s often the shortcoming of losing cash, especially when you lack in-depth knowledge of the market. Sometimes, even seasoned and professional traders lose their hard-earned cash on some trade since it’s really hectic to gain money every time. For instance, Wall Street Hall of Famer Warren Buffet lost approximately $23 billion during the 2008’s financial crisis.
In short, humans aren’t flawless when it comes to trading. It’s becoming notorious nowadays for individuals to invest cash into trading robots, but how effective is this method?
First, let’s dive into some of the features that fuels hostility between the two rivals.
24/7 Economy
While ordinary stock markets are only actively operational during the daytime, the crypto market operates 24/7, every day. This indicates that with a robot, you can maintain impressive trading into your working or sleeping hours.
Whereas changes in price for outdated markets can be down to fractions of a cent, fluctuations in price in crypto space can be significantly more dramatic-24 hours a day. For traders, the best cryptocurrency trading bot provides a platform to stamp authority on the market around the clock. It also secures their assets if they’re away from their place or are asleep.
While it’s true that bots can help you make good cash, it’s also true that it can make you lose money based on the trading strategies you incorporate.
Unpredictable Emotional Issues
Crypto trading can cause mixed reactions of emotions that might sometimes interrupt your progress.
For instance, fear catalysed by negative news may trigger one to emotionally trade at a loss instead of holding onto it for a lengthy period until the markets stabilize. Alternatively, making a rushed decision fueled with greed and fear of missing out may influence an individual to invest in just a single token or coin heavily.
It’s public knowledge and always advisable not to put all your eggs in a single basket regardless of how flashy the basket appears. So you perhaps shouldn’t place all your cash on Bitcoin, or whatever attractive altcoin is booming right now.
Speaking of unpredictable emotional issues, there’s no doubt that bots shut doors for absolute psychological or emotional pressure of trading. Although, individuals using bots still need to understand when to intervene and when to relax, which is always a mental skill or strength.
Time Conservation
Trading becomes monotonous with all it’s price verification and button clicking or pressing.
A trading bot can handle all those tasks with countable clicks. You can issue your bot some instructions before you take a nap and find that a few positive trades have been conducted when you wake up.
Bots react faster than human beings. When a trade signal appears (to enter or exit), there is no delay on the side of the bots. Humans, on the other hand, may question or freeze the trade. The lightning-fast period of the bots is advantageous in a fast-moving market environment.
Automated robots can access far broader markets than a human can. At any moment, a human can only effectively access a few markets, but bots can access hundreds. Once released, bots can seek opportunities in all the markets it’s designed to access; hence, taking more chances than a human can.
Paradox of Choice
There’re hundreds of cryptocurrency bots out there and finding the perfect one may be confusing. In other words, it requires the same amount of mental and emotional labour as you would when purchasing you’re next laptop or phone. Furthermore, as with everything crypto, there’s a chance that the bot you’re evaluating may be a scam.
Bots differ widely in terms of user fees or costs. Some of these bots are free, while others charge substantial subscriptions every month based on the number of features a client requires. Some such as Gimmer and Gekko are free to use, but might not provide the standard of convenience you need for your investment strategy. Others such as Cryptotrader would be more advanced but command a fee to use.
What makes a piece of software unique is the number of exchanges on which trades can be made, its usability, and the standard of analysis it provides to traders.
When done correctly, bots can be software that assists crypto traders to remain on top of the curve when it comes to market trends. They can either conduct transactions focused on the parameters of traders or developers themselves. Some bots also offer the opportunity to imitate/ emulate more established analysts and traders- and monitor their track record in full.
Heavy Maintenance
The trades are focused on analysis as opposed to emotions, and this can be advantageous for traders to influence to the odd bout of panic purchasing. All these require heavy maintenance to function correctly.
Off-the-shelf bots often operate based on set algorithms which are usually configured by developers. As a result, their performance often depends upon the designers understanding of how the crypto globe works.
The devices can sometimes be confusing for advanced traders who have their own understanding of the market, as individual pieces of software have a limited stretch for personalisation. Bots can’t purchase from a guess or suspicion as humans can. They purchase after evaluation with the technical indicators. If your selected indicators portray a purchase opportunity, it will accompany them blindly if designed to do so. Unless you connect your bot to a different professional trader, which is possible, you have no option but to learn how to conduct technical analysis yourself.
When it comes to trading, the sales of the coins can be ignited when the profit margin is attained, or a “stop-loss”-where cryptos are automatically traded. However, those tokens must elapse a stipulated value or a pre-defined figure of percentage points.
Besides, they also utilise other features such as “trailing stop-loss,” which monitor the price of a position upwards. If after a particular level of profit, the token starts to decrease, the bot will automatically sell it in profit.
The advantage of a bot is that it can maintain both a tight and rational appearance at all the present investment. At the same time, it can hunt for the latest opportunities using professional indicators. However,
greed usually hinders a trader from selling on time, a situation which a bot can avoid easily.
The bot’s potential to successfully generates profits has, however, been restricted by the notion that market movements usually depends on developments in the news. Or a single tweets from cryptocurrency influencers.
Given how bots are relying on historical performance and raw data, expecting these softwares to act upon trending events can be the stuff of a tall order.
Strategy limitation
Crypto bots can’t factor in crucial insider knowledge, breaking news, fundamental analysis, and a multitude of other factors that drive markets movement. In other words, techniques on offer could be somewhat simplistic. For instance, the bot could just be conducting arbitrage.
Arbitrage is concurrently purchasing various tokens of different exchanges to take advantage of distinct prices for the equal asset. So the bot may buy for you some ether at an affordable rate and sell it back at a higher cost at a different exchange automatically. However, the standard profit margin for this appears to be slightly lower than 1%.
While arbitrage is beneficial, one may question whether this is actually the perfect technique to maximise profits. For instance, would you be contented if you can make only a 2% return on $1000, but you have to control the investments yourself? Instead of only gaining less than $10 daily, you could be earning $20.
Will Trading Bot Outsmart Humans One Day?
There is no doubt that machine learning and AI assist trading bots in developing and evolving continuously. But there’s still an uphill task to outsmart human instinct.
It’s doubtful if a bot will ever be able to predict a catastrophic danger to the crypto space or weigh the implication of emerging technologies. Furthermore, if everybody were to utilise the same measures set up by a trading bot, no one would have all vital edge which leads to profitable scenarios.
In fact, some custom-developed bots are being built with the potential of searching social media for news utilising keywords. Although this could assist flag up a significant development to an investor, it would be risky for the bot to function on its own. The situation can worsen when the mentioned post turns out to be “fake news”- or even over-optimistic contention from an emerging startup.
As a result, specific bots are attempting to attain the best of both platforms. Services such as Cryptohopper allow investors to trade automatically utilising professional indicators, the primary type of technical analysis.
This bot also offers access to third-party technical analysts, who spread out alerts concerning promising investments that the bot can operate upon automatically on behalf of the users. This opens more room for the human touch that’s needed for critical analysis. It could be debated that such a hybrid can offer a much-required edge in terms of speedy transactions.
The Bottom Line
Because of all that can be gained by either using trading bots or humans, the cryptocurrency trading market has continued to thrive and grow. However, doing your homework and due diligence can be a crucial indicator of whether particular trade will fail or succeed.
Therefore, it’s crucial recalling that past performance isn’t often a precise indication of what will occur in the future. It’s always essential to have an open mind concerning the cryptos you invest in and monitor the latest activities in the market.
Lastly, it’s imperative to follow the trend on the performance reports of analysts before you take the initiative to trade a particular token.
Genuine traders will often issue well-researched details of their previous results, including how they’re performing currently. Some individual websites are highlighting their strategies and features regarding the technology that underpins their trading assessments.
Verolian Opiyo is a former teacher of English turned content strategist. He specialises in writing about FinTech and Next-generation technology.
What is an Exchange Rate and What Does It Mean?
This article was originally published by SendFriend
The exchange rate is defined as “the value of one nation's currency versus the currency of another nation or economic zone.” For example, the value of $1 US is the equivalent of £0.80 British.
Exchange rates change day to day, and for anyone traveling or working abroad, the exchange rate can have significant impact on your living expenses and budget. For many people, however, the exchange rate is somewhat opaque. Understand the exchange rate to maximize your earnings and get the full value of your money each time you need to convert one currency to another. Here’s what an exchange rate means and how it can impact your budget.
Types of exchange rates
There are two broad categories of exchange rate: flexible and fixed.
A flexible exchange rate is the biggest category and the most likely type of exchange rate you will encounter when traveling. A flexible exchange rate rises or declines on a daily basis, based on a variety of economic factors and market forces. These dips and peaks are incremental from day to day, but can impact your budget over time. For example, in 2018 the Euro to USD conversion rate peaked at 1.2508 (meaning, one Euro was worth approximately $1.25) in February, 2018. But, in November 2018, the rate hit an year-long low of 1.1226. If you were traveling in November versus February, your US dollars would have been worth a whole lot less.
A fixed exchange rate is an alternate option that some governments use in lieu of leaving their currency exchange exposed to macro-economic market forces. Some nations choose to control the exchange rate of their currency “against outside monetary units.” For example a Cuban Convertible Peso is fixed to equal one American dollar. Another term for this is a “currency peg”; the Chinese government “pegs” their currency against the US dollar, seeking to maintain a stable, consistent exchange rate by controlling how much a foreign currency is worth.
Other variations on exchange rates include onshore v. offshore rates, in which an exchange rate can change within the same country. Broadly speaking, a better exchange rate is the “onshore,” rate within a country’s borders. Some exchange rates have a “spot rate,” a cash value which is the current market value. This is the opposite of a forward value, a value based on the expected fluctuations based on interest rates in one country versus another.
The main exchange rate types you need to know about are the fixed and flexible exchange rates. Here’s how they work.
Who sets the exchange rate?
A fixed exchange rate is set by the national government that issue the currency. A flexible, or floating exchange rate, is determined by a foreign exchange market (forex). These markets set and regulate the prices that investors purchase one currency than another. The goal of a forex is to make more money when a nation’s currency gains strength.
Flexible exchange rates between currencies are determined by a foreign exchange market, or "forex" for short. These markets regulate the prices by which investors are purchasing one currency with another, with the hopes of making more money when that nation's money gains strength.
There are three key factors that influence an exchange rate. The first is the “interest rate paid by a country's central bank is a big factor. The higher interest rate makes that currency more valuable.” Therefore, an investor seeks to exchange their currency for the one with the higher paying interest rate.
The second influence on an exchange rate is money supply, or the amount of cash in circulation. If the government prints too much money, that can lead to inflation; this devalues one currency versus another.
Lastly, a country’s economic growth and financial stability affect its exchange rates. When a national economy is growing and strong, investors see an opportunity to buy more of the country’s good at a lower risk profile. They will need more of it’s currency to do so, driving up the value of the currency versus another currency.
How to get the best exchange rate
Though there isn’t much you can do to control for these macro-economic forces that impact exchange rates, there are some ways to exchange currency that are better than others.
Overall, experts recommend exchanging currency at your bank or credit union: there may be a small fee, but it’s often better to exchange at a financial institution than at an airport kiosk. Some banks have no foreign transaction or ATM fees, allowing you to withdraw cash straight in the currency of the country you’re visiting. Make sure you let your bank know before you travel abroad to ensure they don’t lock your card for seemingly fraudulent charges. Try to avoid using airport kiosks, as they will add on fees and are not likely to give you the best rate.
Exchange rates and money transfers
If you’re seeking to send money home, do a little research on how a money transfer agent considers exchange rates. A transfer agent like OFX, for example, has an exchange rate markup of less than 1% – in comparison with MoneyGram, which can charge up to 4% on exchange rate markups. A good alternative is a blockchain money transfer option, which doesn’t rely on banks to send money faster and at a lower cost. Shop around to find the best transfer option that won’t take advantage of an exchange rate to bill you more.
Against All Odds – The Rise of Crypto Based Investment Opportunities
The concept of arbitrage is one that has been around for ages, and thousands of gurus have made a career out of making hedged trading decisions on these price differences which appear on different exchanges and markets.
A quick search for Cryptocurrency Arbitrage on Youtube will result in many video results, on excellent channels such as explainers on Bitcoin for Beginners, Bitcoin Wednesday, Crypto Wizards & Bitcoin Trading Challenge.
These videos serve to explain the mechanics and workings of turning a profit of cryptocurrency arbitrage trades.
I then searched and scoured the web for anyone providing Cryptocurrency arbitraging classes and came across one platform, Jubilee Ace, which was not only involved in crypto arbitrage but also in other various arbitraging also. I contacted the Marketing Team and went ahead to see for myself.
Here’s my 2 cents worth on the Jubilee Ace Project.
1. Go and See for Yourself
As with any investment platform out there, the internet is filled with both positive and negative news about any opportunity. The best banks have had their products thrown out the window by supposed dedicated flaming sites whose sole purpose is to generate traffic to their sites by preying on the fears of the general public.
Yet I see entirely different, incredibly positive reviews from Japanese fans who have been to their seminars and seen the live demonstrations and are diehard supporters of this technology.
Verdict: See for yourself and make your own decision. I was fortunate enough to get my own Binance account to them for the live demo and I have seen for myself that this bot of theirs works.
2. Make an Informed Decision
My friends are split two ways regarding my quest to seek out and find for myself an interesting way to invest.
I have a group of friends who are saying how they missed the rise of Bitcoin and are doing day trading to make some profits, and that arbitrage is definitely doable but time consuming for the everyday life. This group of friends support my exploration to the Jubilee project but are asking me not to throw my life savings into it, but to use a comfortable 5000 to 10000 bucks only on this.
My other group of friends are telling me to just buy Altcoins and HODL because these altcoins are priced cheaply and we stand to make many times the capital when these prices rise.
Verdict: Why not do both? I am going to allocate 70% of my small capital into Jubilee Ace and use the tools they provide to learn the business, while keeping 30% to do some trading for myself.
3. Platform or Tokens
One interesting conversation I had was whether to invest in just a few tokens that I like, or to invest with platforms such as Jubilee Ace or Bitfinex Funding.
My OG group of crypto friends are telling me to continue to read and evaluate teams, whitepapers, the credibility of tokens and their teams, and just to buy and hold good tokens for the long run.
I however prefer not to be overly attached to one, two or five tokens. At the end of the day, all cryptocurrencies are digital assets with a risk of their plans not taking off. If I were to allocate my funds, I would very much prefer to go with a platform like Jubilee Ace or Bitfinex, firms who have a clear game plan to me, a game plan that they have demonstrated to work to me, instead of just buying and holding tokens and leaving every execution and progress to the management team’s hands.
Verdict: I guess this is a personal preference, but I would rather be near the action with trades and arbitrages happening every day, instead of buying and holding a token and waiting for the token price to rise.
What do you think? Do you have any interesting crypto based investments to share?
Hit me up and let’s take this discussion further, together.
Written by Amit Gupta
[VIDEO] Wortheum, the first DPoS based News Platform
Hello fellow investors and influencers and welcome to our channel if you are watching our videos for the first time! I am Maura, the Last Black Unicorn from Coin Info News and I would like to take a closer look into Wortheum, the first DPoS based News Platform.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6AoAb9rMfGw
[VIDEO] Slothee, the World’s first Business Networking mobile app on Blockchain
Hello fellow investors and influencers and welcome to our channel if you are watching our videos for the first time! I am Maura, the Last Black Unicorn from Coin Info News and I would like to take a closer look into Slothee, the World's first Business Networking mobile app on Blockchain.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5B7hvFx0yac
[VIDEO] Four tips to identify a SCAM ICO
Hello fellow investors and influencers and welcome to our channel if you are watching our videos for the first time! I am Maura, the Last Black Unicorn from Coin Info News and I would like to raise awareness over a topic that might help you in this uncertain market.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jr8lo7XW10MAs the crypto industry is slowly heading towards mass adoption, people become more and more interested in investing in new blockchain based projects. However, the hype around this industry fueled by those who got rich overnight came with additional risks, such as scammers and hackers that take advantage of the lack of worldwide regulations and existing loopholes. Newcomers need to be aware of the dangers that can be found in the crypto industry and be extremely careful how they choose to invest their money, especially because in the past years, so many blockchain projects sadly turned out to be scams.
If you like this video, don’t forget to hit the “Subscribe” button and press the notification bell. You can also join our “Telegram channel” https://t.me/CoinInfoNews and keep up with the latest news about blockchain and cryptocurrency!
[VIDEO] What are ICO, STO and IEO?
Hello fellow investors and influencers and welcome to our channel if you are watching our videos for the first time! I am Maura, the Last Black Unicorn from Coin Info News and I would like to help you better understand a few terms that you’ve probably heard about in the past months.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mgKR_j4O8zEThe crypto industry has experienced a few changes in the past year that enabled the emergence of new methods to support new blockchain projects. Thus, projects undergoing ICO (Initial Coin Offering), STO (Security Token Offering) and IEO (Initial Exchange Offering) are gaining more exposure in the industry.
If you like this video, don’t forget to hit the “Subscribe” button and press the notification bell. You can also join our “Telegram channel” https://t.me/CoinInfoNews and keep up with the latest news about blockchain and cryptocurrency!
The Rise of Careers in Blockchain and What You Should Know
In this fast changing time, technologies such as Blockchain have completely changed the face of the tech industry. There is a high demand for people with the skill set of this emerging technology.
According to the Upwork report, the growth of Blockchain technology has raised to 2000% for the three consecutive quarters. Companies and big startups are looking for people with the skills and experience of Blockchain technology.
With this rapid emergence of these technologies, Blockchain has received endorsements from the global leaders of the tech industry, and the rising entrepreneurs. There is a high scope of Blockchain jobs and careers in the present day world and future.
This article highlights the career dynamics in blockchain technology and how what you should know about this.
Diverse Career Option in Blockchain
Blockchain, which was first developed to account for Bitcoin, is one of the most emerging technologies today. It is a new job career path which is as innovative and experimental as the technology itself.
There are diverse career options in the blockchain tech field one could opt for. Here are the top Blockchain Jobs and Careers you should know about.
1. Blockchain DeveloperThe boom in the blockchain has led to the high demand for the role of Blockchain developer. The people with the skill set of blockchain developing programming can make handsome money both as a freelancer or full-time employee of any company.
Proficiency in mathematics and algorithms, C++, Java, HTML, and Github are important for this role. The technical role skills requirements include Solidity, Go language, AJAX, SQL, XML, JQuery which is very useful for executing an agreement called smart contracts. They have the expertise to help the companies and the startups to develop blockchain platforms.
2. Entry level Blockchain jobsFor the people who have just stepped in this industry, there are ample of entry-level blockchain jobs. People with skills in HTML, Solidity, Java, Truffle, Go Restful, NodeJS, and C++ have high chances of getting a good job in this industry.
The companies are in the phase of distributed ledger technology (DLT.), so these positions require developing pilots. The pay of the entry level blockchain jobs is expected to be 15 to 30 USD per hour, which is not as high as of other blockchain professionals, but quite good for starting out.
3. Blockchain Quality EngineerThe responsibilities of Blockchain Quality engineer is to test and ensure the quality of the areas in the blockchain environment. They have the specialty of testing and automation in different frameworks for blockchain.
The block quality engineers develop quality standards and also devise strategies for the testing of load performance. To apply for this role, a candidate with an engineering degree should be well-versed with the basics of environment and testing standards.
4. Blockchain Product ManagerProject Manager is the one who is responsible for the success and the failure of any project. They are the intermediary between the business professionals and the blockchain developers.
The job of the Blockchain project manager is to handle all the business needs. He will be the person who connects a tech person with the non-tech one. So, he must have strong managerial skills. The person applying for this job role should be capable of converting technical terms into simple language and should have strong communication skills with the complete knowledge of the blockchain industry.
5. Blockchain Web DesignerThe blockchain is now expanding to a variety of industries. Many businesses are turning towards blockchain for the payment process, so there is a high need for customer-centric websites to let the customers know about what the businesses offer and how they can get benefited with their services.
For a career as Blockchain designer, one should have knowledge of HTML, CSS, Java and various designing tools like Sketch, Illustrator, PS, Figma etc. These websites should work on both desktop and mobile web applications.
6. Blockchain Legal ConsultantThe blockchain is a new industry, so there are many legal challenges involved in the business. This means there are great career options for legal consultants. They advise people on how to put money in initial coin offering, how to build legal partnerships and contracts and much more.
A person applying for this job role should have complete knowledge of blockchain technology and a law degree to make understand the business owners about the legal terms.
7. The rise of Freelance and Middle Management JobsLarge companies are planning to boost their middle management as they focus on Big Data, blockchain technologies.
Blockchain technology is the hottest skill in the freelancing world today. It has been growing more than 6000% from the last year and will continue to emerge according to the Upwork report.
A blockchain freelancer earns an average rate of $65 per hour which can be as high as $250 per hour.
Blockchain Technology Skills You Should Know About
The skills required for making a career in the Blockchain industry differs as per the job title. Some of the common skills set for the blockchain market which you must know are:- Knowledge of Computer Science background
A computer science degree or similar qualification with the technical environment is the important requisite for the blockchain market. This will help you in better understanding and work in the world of technologies.
- Basics of Blockchain Technology
If you want to make a career in the blockchain world, then you should have comprehensive knowledge of the basics of blockchain programming along with smart contracts, cryptocurrency etc.
- Knowledge of Data structure and cryptography
As security is the primary concern of the booming blockchain industry, so, you must know about the basics of the data structure and data security.
- Expertise in C++, Solidity and various programming languages
You must be proficient in writing and understanding of the coding in the blockchain development environment. You should have knowledge of C++, Solidity and various programming languages.
From education to real estate and supply chain to healthcare, the blockchain is used in all the spheres. When skilled people join these industries, the power and true potential of the technology gets amplified.
If you have the skills then what to wait for. Step into the arena of the blockchain industry and enjoy a bright future.
Aarif Habeeb is a content writer and an SEO expert in Jaipur. He is a Founder of SEOTrainingClasses – provide SEO Training in Jaipur. He is responsible for brand-building via content and social media for his agency. His success lies within his originality and hands on experience in editing and writing. Aarif lives in Jaipur and loves his early morning filter coffee, dessert gazing and reading newspapers. Follow him on Twitter and LinkedIn.
Tools for testing Blockchain application development
Blockchain applications are developed widely today and we will discuss the tools required for testing blockchain applications in this blog.
In 2008, a person came with a mask of anonymity and unleashed a powerful tool into the world: Bitcoin. Or rather, Cryptocurrency in general. It was met with raised eyebrows and suspicion.
Ten years down the line and thousands of other cryptocurrencies later, the buyer of bitcoins made gold mines out of it and when this was publicised, the frenzy began and the common man’s obsession began.People dug deeper into the technology behind bitcoins and found out a new treasure trove - ‘blockchain’ technology.
Huge amounts of money is being drained by companies worldwide into harnessing blockchain technologies into main line business world.Blockchain applications are developed these days to serve many purposes, ranging from contracts to notaries and bookkeeping. As with software development, blockchain development also need testing.
In this blog, we shall discuss about the tools required for testing Blockchain Applications.Key Testing Types 1. Functional testing This includes the evaluation of the functional parts of a blockchain, like smart contracts.2. API testingAPI tests interaction between the applications in the blockchain ecosystem. The tester also ensures that API requests and replies are handled properly.
3. Performance testingAny bottlenecks or lags in performance are identified and methods for fine tuning the system suggested and reviews are given if the application is ready for launching.
4. Node testingAll the heterogeneous nodes in the network are tested independently to ensure smooth co- operation between the nodes.
Agile practices are followed in testing blockchain applications., out of which the shift left approach to testing is fast gaining popularity. A series of tests are carried out as early as possible in the development cycle so that occurrence of defects can be minimised which could otherwise pop up in the later stages of application development when it can affect the business in a much more grave manner.
Blockchain testing tools- Ethereum Tester
Ethereum is the most widely used platform for developing blockchain applications and testing them. Ethereum tester is API, Web3 Integration, backend, smart contracts and several other blockchain tests.
- Ganache (previously TestRPC)
This testing tool is used to test Ethereum contracts locally. A stimulated blockchain is created which allows anyone to use various accounts for testing. The results will be satisfactory, but not completely perfect since the testing results are obtained from a simulation and not a live event.
- Hyperledger Composer
This tool is beneficial for testing blockchain features before they are launched. The main areas of application are interactive, automated system and automated unit testing.
- Exonum Testkit
Exonum Testkit tests the operation of the entire service . it enables the testing of API, transaction execution in the synchronous system devoid of the involvement of network operation and consensus algorithm.
There are various other tools in the blockchain environment include BitcoinJ, Corda Testing Tools, Manticore, Populus and many more.
Testing of blockchain ensures that there are no defects in decentralised ledger. The selection of the right type of blockchain testing tools would depend upon your development strategy and the types of tests that your app would need for smooth functioning.
Author Bio - I am a Senior Content Writer at Infinite Open Source Solutions, one of the leading direct selling software companies in India. I am a voracious reader and enjoy a broad spectrum of subjects ranging from romance and fiction to the latest technology. My one of the well known blog is - https://infinitemlmsoftware.com/blog/top-10-inspiring-mlm-success-stories You can connect with me at email, isha@teamioss.com or on the website https://ioss.in
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Bitcoin Tax Calculator
If you are a U.S. resident that invested in Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies in 2017, you may have recently received a tax document from the trading platform or cryptocurrency exchange you use and may need to pay taxes. While there is currently very little guidance on the taxation of cryptocurrency, one thing is clearly defined. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) views cryptocurrency as property for tax purposes. That means you likely received a tax document because you either experienced a capital gain on that virtual investment in 2017 or received cryptocurrency as compensation, which is seen as ordinary income to the IRS.
For practical purposes, the IRS has issued guidance defining cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin and Ethereum as virtual currencies. This guidance is subject to interpretation, but for most people the main things to consider from a tax perspective are:
- How long you held your Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies from purchase to sale? If held for less than a year, any profit may be liable for short-term capital gains tax. If held for longer than a year, any profit may be liable for long-term capital gains tax.
- What is your tax filing status and taxable income? That will determine your tax bracket and the tax rate on any Bitcoin profits.
- What is your state tax rate? That will determine how much you may owe in state taxes.
Bitcoin Tax Calculator Instructions
Part 1: Enter Your Personal Details
Step 1: Select the tax year you would like to calculate your estimated taxes.Step 2: Select your tax filing status.Step 3: Enter your taxable income excluding any profit from Bitcoin sales. For most people, this is the same as adjusted gross income (AGI).Step 4: Enter your state’s tax rate.Part 2: For each Bitcoin sale within a tax year
Step 1: Enter the purchase date and purchase price. The purchase date can be any time up to December 31st of the tax year selected.Step 2: Enter the sale date and sale price. Make sure the sale date is within the tax year selected.Step 3: Repeat for all Bitcoin or cryptocurrency sales within the tax year selected.Bitcoin Tax Calculator
Example Bitcoin Tax Situation
This example calculates estimated taxes for the 2018 tax year for a person that made two sales. All values are in USD.Person A Tax and Finance Details2018 Taxable income – 80,0002018 Filing Status – Single2018 State tax rate – 5%Transaction #1On Feb. 1, 2018, Person A sold Bitcoin for a total of $10,000. That Bitcoin was previously purchased on June 1, 2017 for $5,000. Since it was held for less than a year, the $5,000 profit is subject to short-term capital gains tax rates. Based on Person A’s filing status and income, the taxes are calculated as follows:- The first $2,500 in profit is taxed at the 22 percent federal tax rate.
- The remaining $2,500 is taxed at the 24 percent federal tax rate.
- The entire $5,000 taxed at the 5 percent state tax rate.
- The entire $7,000 is taxed at the 15 percent long-term capital gains tax rate.
- The entire $7,000 is taxed at the 5 percent state tax bracket.
Article written by TaxAct