_interesting facts

[Anita]

Five reasons for the sharp increase of litecoin
One of the popular cryptocurrencies, litecoin, surprised experts by its price growth during the current week. The details are in our photo gallery
During the last week, litecoin showed a sharp growth, surging by a record-high 333%. Last Thursday, 7 December, the cryptocurrency grew in price by 38%; and on Sunday, it increased by already 29%. On Monday, 11 December, it was followed by a meteoric rise of 73%. At the moment, litecoin costs more than $300. Experts tried to figure out what was behind that incredible boom.
Bitcion appreciation and the beginning of futures trading
The high inflow of users to Coinbase
Customers become more attentive to litecoin
Casual customer
The importance of social networks and mass media

[dushk]

Сhallenges of the cryptomarket 2018: what should investors prepare for
According to experts, last year there was a boom in cryptocurrencies, in particular, in bitcoin. The current situation in the market of digital means of payment cannot be called stable. Having analysed the situation, specialists offer to take a look at the challenges that await investors in this sphere.
Risks to bitcoin
Boom in other cryptocurrencies
Financing of major blockchain startups will change
States will make their stances on cryptosphere clear

[Anita]

Five advices to improve business with blockchain
The current market of cryptocurrencies dictates its terms to enterprisers. In order to get more income, it is necessary to harness the innovative blockchain technology.
The market participants' widespread use of the blockchain technology, for example, when working with cryptocurrencies, somehow makes us understand it, taking account of the technicalities related to the innovation. Experts believe that the proper use of the blockchain technology would greatly help in business. They offer a number of advices for those who wish to improve its performance in the market of cryptocurrencies.

Systematize client management

According to some analysts, client-oriented approach is of utmost importance in the business development. The SAP Leonardo platform helps enterprisers to build the system of relations "businessman-client" based on user needs. Such companies as Deutsche Telekom and Benjamin Moore operate with SAP to create innovative solutions on the basis of the blockchain technology. Penny Delgadillo, the Vice President of Marketing for SAP, notes that blockchain is changing business processes. We consider the technology from the point of view of a complete cycle of client management.

Issuing tokens is not a goal but a means of achieving the result

The popularity of cryptocurrencies contributed to growing the blockchain technology. Its role as a digital public database of transactions was a major reason for the success of bitcion. However, it should not be forgetten that token is a function of blockchain, not a stand-alone product. Experts warn that it is impossible to build a successful business without a specific product, but only with virtual money. Tokens, like bitcoin, can be used to pay for goods and services, but a unique product, or a creative solution is required to operate the business.

Start a business where tokens serve a function

Analysts believe that enterprisers should focus on solving real problems instead of trying to make money from ICO. Business based on blockchain should concentrate on problems, which require the specificity of distributed databases to solve them. It works well in such spheres as delivery chain management, or pharmaceutical industry. Controlling the authenticity of the products with the help of blockchain helps to reduce the number of counterfeit goods.

Primary rounds of ICO financing should not be changed

According to experts, primary token supply, that is, attracting funds through cryptocurrencies, turned the world of venture capital investments upside down. However, experts warn that ICO should not be considered an alternative to the traditional ways of attracting capital. The note point out that bitcoin is not a business, but a protocol. And when building an activity based on the blockchain technology, you need to be forward looking and to create an innovative company within the blockchain parameters.

Take more care of the existing business, and less of ICO

Experts do not advise to concentrate too much on the primary distribution of tokens, but to pay more attention to the real business. It is important not to miss the right moment for carrying out the ICO. In so doing, there is a need to enhance knowledge and to find as much information on the blockchain technology as possible.

[Anita]

Bitcoin after futures: Three plausible outcomes

After the announcement of the program providing opportunity to work with bitcoin futures, experts forecasted three plausible outcomes.
CME Group announced plans to offer a bitcoin futures contract this year. This brings it in line with Cboe Global Markets, which announced similar plans in August, and LedgerX, which began trading in bitcoin options and day-ahead swaps two weeks ago. These contracts are important steps toward integrating bitcoin with the global financial system. All three exchanges are regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Experts see three possible scenarios in this situation.

The first option entails that the SEC digs in its heels and institutional money stays leery of bitcoin. In some ways this makes bitcoin more valuable, but only to a subset of people, says analysts. The cryptocurrency will likely remain illiquid and volatile.

According to the second scenario, the SEC relents and global regulators start treating bitcoin like a commodity, but there isn't interest from long-term, passive investors. As the result, Bitcoin becomes like a penny stock, subject to pumps and dumps. CME and Cboe would lose interest.

The third option, as the first one, implies that the SEC relents. There will be $50 billion flows in from long-term, passive investors over the course of 2018. Bitcoin prices might go up or down as a result, but the new prices would be real in a way the current prices are not. Stability and liquidity lead to more use, which leads to more stability and liquidity. Bitcoin becomes a standard financial commodity, and a useful part of the global financial system.

[dushk]

Five reasons why Bitcoin is not a bubble

Some experts, unlike most of their colleagues, are not inclined to consider the world's leading cryptocurrency - Bitcoin - a "bubble" in the financial market.

The digital currency bitcoin rallied by over 300 percent since the start of the year. Unsurprisingly, many financial markets pundits consider such a sharp rally the creation of an asset bubble. However, analysts are confident that Bitcoin has very different fundamentals than early internet stocks and a much more promising growth trajectory.

Means of exchange enshrined in law

One of Bitcoin's biggest challenges so far has been acceptance by lawmakers and financial regulators due to its decentralized nature and its unfortunate association with criminal activities carried out on the dark web. However, Bitcoin's “official” acceptance is on the rise. In April 2017, Japan announced that it would officially begin accepting Bitcoin as a legal payment method. In the near future, many countries will come to this decision, experts are sure.

Increasing merchant adoption

In the early years of Bitcoin, merchant adoption was limited to a few brave ecommerce stores, usually run by early-stage Bitcoin enthusiasts. This, however, has changed substantially as leading tech companies and ecommerce platforms have chosen to accept Bitcoin as a payment method. With bitcoin's sharp price rally, increased media coverage and newfound acceptance in some countries, Bitcoin merchant adoption is on the rise and this trend will likely continue.

Bitcoin is increasingly acting as a store of wealth in distressed economies

Another reason why Bitcoin is most likely not a bubble is that is has a much-need real world application in economically distressed countries. In places such as Venezuela, Bolivia and Zimbabwe, for example, bitcoin has been acting as a store of wealth and as an alternative spending currency as local currencies are weakening into worthlessness. This can be witnessed by increasing bitcoin trading volumes that are negatively correlated with the performance of local currencies and economic growth in distressed regions.

Bitcoin has only just gone mainstream

You could say that 2017 has been the year in which Bitcoin has finally gone mainstream. In 2016, not too many people knew about it and cryptocurrencies. Now that Bitcoin has become mainstream, the buying potential from new investors is immense, especially as institutional investors have started to open up to the idea of investing in bitcoin and other digital currencies.

Bitcoin's supply is limited

One of the key reason why Bitcoin has become so valuable is that its increasing demand is met with a fixed limited supply. Because of the way Bitcoin was created, only 21 million coins can ever be mined. Furthermore, the rate at which new coins are created slows down over time. Experts note that the increasing demand for the digital currency is not only met with a limited total supply but also with a continuously slowing supply.

[Be Honest]

Next year, Bitcoin will celebrate the 10th anniversary from the establishment date.
In October 2008, Satoshi Nakamoto announced the creation of a "peer-to-peer e-cash system" by Bitcoin. The history of birth begins with the words: A purely peer-to-peer version of electronic money will allow sending payments directly from one party to another without using a financial institution."

January 12th is a historic day in the bitcoin history books. On this day in 2009, Satoshi Nakamoto sent 10 bitcoinsto Hal Finney. Ever since that time, the Bitcoin network has significantly grown and evolved into a massive peer-to-peer payment system.

The first exchange of virtual currency for national money was made in September 2009, when Marti Malmi sent 5050 bitcoins under the nickname NewLibertyStandard and received 5.02 dollars to his PayPal account.

The first sale of cryptocurrency was carried out on April 25, 2010. Then, 1000 bitcoins was sold at a price of $0.3 per coin.

On January 3rd in 2009, Nakamoto mined the first 50 Bitcoins himself and these were called the genesis Block.

Blocks are mined every 10 minutes, on average and for the first four years (210,000 blocks) each block included 50 new bitcoins.

Currently, the mining process creates 25 bitcoins every 10 minutes. Every four years, the number of coins that can be mined will be halved, until the capped limit of coins is reached in the year 2140.

According to the experts, the total computing power of the Bitcoin network surpasses the combined power of the 500 most powerful supercomputers in the world.

At the same, time Chinese mining pools control more than 70% of the bitcoin network's collective hashrate.

The bitcoin transaction fees are at an all-time high, up by 1289% since March 2015. The Bitcoin transactional volume has gone up by 173% over 2015, equaling 3 transactions per second. It is impossible to make a return of the transaction using cryptocurrency.

Almost 90% of the cryptocurrency account for 0.8% of the total number of wallets.

Besides, 64% of all Bitcoins have never been in circulation and remain dormant in user accounts.

Almost 90% of all Bitcoin addresses have little or no real value at all.

Nearly 69% of banks in the world are studying the possibility of using the blocking technology.

According to experts, the potential savings of financial institutions from the use of this technology may amount to about 8-12 million dollars.

The largest Bitcoin transaction was made back in 2013 when the Bitcoin gambling service SatoshiDice was acquired for $11.5 million by an unnamed buyer.

In 2013, one individual won 11,000 bitcoins on a Bitcoin gambling site, a sum of $1.3 million at that time. The man, known as Nakowa, sparked an Internet debate centered on whether or not he was a cheater, a genius or lucky.