Finding the ‘Goldilocks’ Zone’: Striking the Balance Between Regulation and Innovation in the Digital Currency Space

That is a great article Chris!  Congratulations!

Article here on 'bad conduct' in a widely used cryptocurrency market could have an impact on fiat. Ignore the title, it's worth a read. DNotes holistic approach will help alleviate some of the problems mentioned in this article, without any entity requiring 'power' or 'control'. It won't be easy, it will take dedication and perseverance.

Research: Federal Reserve Needs Power Over Bitcoin

The Federal Reserve and European Central Bank should be given a mandate to monitor threats bitcoin and digital currency systems pose to the broader financial system, a new report from a Suffolk University researcher argues.

Entitled "$=€=Bitcoin?", the report speculates as to the potential dangers that the more widespread use of bitcoin as a digital money with no government backing, analyzing how circumstances arise where this threatens national and international economies.

The paper follows a February 2014 statement from Federal Reserve chairwoman Janet Yellen, who said that the US central bank does not have the authority to regulate digital currencies. Further, the European Central Bank published a report last year that, while largely dismissive the technology, indicated the bank is monitoring developments.

More broadly, the report argues that the mandate is necessary given that the general population is not aware of central bank boundaries, meaning the central bank could "bear responsibility" for a systemic crash should it affect either or both markets.

The report reads:

"Even if the central bank had no mandate to regulate virtual currencies, a failure of a widely-used virtual currency could imperil confidence in the central bank, which could adversely affect its ability to govern the more traditional money supply and payment systems."

The author argues that the decentralized nature of bitcoin suggests government action will be necessary should any "bad conduct" materialize in the market.

"The result is likely to be an increased need for ex-post intervention, and it would be preferable if the intervention plan were well thought-out, rather than a messy, ad hoc plan developed in the heat of a crisis," it continues.

Overall, the author makes the plea for action to be taken to address how governments should respond in times of digital currency crises before they become more widely used as a store of value and payment method.

Elsewhere, the full paper explores the definitions of money, while providing detailed overviews of the history of bitcoin, the US dollar and euro, as well as the variations in responsibilities between entities such as the Federal Reserve and European Central Bank.

Source: http://www.coindesk.com/research-federal-reserve-needs-power-over-bitcoin/

Holy Toledo Smokey!!!! Thats some serious work!!!!

Yes, Willy Danenberg and Alan see eye to eye and hold no illusions regarding whats to come.

I believe truly that the Danenberg introduction might be what will define my place in Crypto after 4 years of struggle and mediocre at best results combined with more errors than I can count.

" A wise man once said that an error only becomes a mistake when you refuse to correct it" John Fitzgerald Kennedy

I look forward to bringing Lionel by here to meet you all. Willy Danenberg is his father and Lionel is PayServices CEO and one of the top coders in the world. A very impressive young man who like his father, cares about the future, society and person Freedoms and our right to choose as individuals our own financial futures.

We will be chatting again, thats for sure. :-)

~Norcal

It's difficult to determine what is a opinion and what isnt, and even more difficult to write without forming a written opinion. The most compelling and thought provoking reading, at least to me, is when the writer can present the case, often identify the sides or opinions, and leave it up to the reader to make judgement.

When you have to form an opinion, qualify it, make sure it is clear to anyone.

Completely unbiased may not be possible.

I think we have to be careful here.  None of us want fluff and filler, but if we keep shortening the content, we will end up with no story and nothing to grab the reader.  Without some outside info, there may not seem like any urgency in what we are trying to promote.  For example, letting the reader know that there is more student debt in the US than there is credit card debt (1.2T vs. 900B) gives urgency to the CRISP For Students and probably even the CRISP For Kids. Every writer wants to write a story (even if it is short and to the point) and a talented one can take a couple powerful facts and turn it into a 'must read'.  They also like to have their opinion heard so I would tread lightly on that one.   We also may get some fantastic outside opinions on things that we never thought of.  The joy of paying for articles and choosing the ones we like best, is the that if the opinion is off the wall, we don't have to print it.

Just had some ideas I had to write down before I forget, not sure if useful or not. I'm doing this from an iphone at the moment...

Possible slogans for DCEBrief:

"Just the information, without the opinion..."
"Just the facts, no conjecture..."
"Unfiltered facts, figures and information."
"Crypto Industry info without fluff and filler."
"DCEBrief, just the facts..."

Looks like the forum was down for most of the day. Was that everyone?

Holding out #1 position on Cryptsy at 46268 votes, but as RJF has mentioned, we should continue to create a larger gap between us and the next on the list. Thanks again everyone for voting.

Guys, you know I don't post economic stuff willy nilly here. I suggest you read this one:

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/08/19/us-china-markets-idUSKCN0QO0CO20150819

Good day everyone,

I just wanted to share this with the general users here as a reminder of what Bitcoin and cryptos (DNOTES) are all about. While there are a many of us that are here for profits (and there is nothing wrong with that), I wanted to share this video as a reminder that LTC, BTC, DNOTES and any other legitimate currency are really here in order to overcome the atrocities that bankers have done to us. It is a 30 minute video, but it will open up your eyes as to what is really going on with the government, the federal reserve, and banking in general. I encourage everyone to watch this!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iFDe5kUUyT0

There is great speech of a coach addressing his football team moments before the crucial game starts. I can't remeber the name of this movie nor the actor on the coach shoes, but this is a well known piece because of it's inspiration. well, I've already said this about your words, and I say this again: wonderful text

I haven't seen or heard of them before, looks interesting though. As far as I can tell, they provide money services for business including a payment card credit and exchange, websites, web hosting, product catalogs, a proprietary secure browser.

I've shortened the brief to match the length of the other ones posted (thanks TeeGee).  And after reading RJF's post on executive briefs, realized that the second sentence in the first paragagh should be eliminated.  I also tried to get the important info in the first few paragraghs.  Mati suggested the bank comparison subject. I also put the links at the end of the article.  Please let me know if there is anything else this needs.

Thank you Alan, Joe, Mati, TeeGee, and RJF for the input.  It was an enormous help!!


CRISP For Kids - The Cryptocurrency Investment Savings Plan is Born

Brief:

CRISP for Kids is an unstructured and self directed cryptocurrency savings plan for children using DNotes.  Their long-term investment horizon and the early stage of the digital currency industry allows for significant capital appreciation.

There is little chance that traditional investments and low yielding bank accounts will be enough to provide for a child’s future. They will need to seek alternative investments like DNotes for a portion of their portfolio in order to have a realistic chance of accumulating enough money to meet their goals.

Article:

The CRISP For Kids program began as a joint pilot project of DNotes and CryptoMoms in July 2014.  It was designed to evolve around CryptoMoms, a currency neutral site dedicated to encourage women's participation in cryptocurrency.  All CRISPs are unstructured and self directed plans, using DNotes as the investment vehicle.  Re-occurring savings, in any amount, may be added at any time.

The DNotesVault, providing secure offline cold storage and a 100% deposit guarantee, makes signing up for a CRISP easier than than setting up a bank account.  The combination of operating under the helpful CryptoMoms umbrella and the simple to use DNotesVault allows for easy participation of family and friends.

After the launch of the CRISP, it soon became evident that parents and grandparents from around the world are genuinely concerned about the financial well being of the children in their families.   They realize there is little chance that traditional investments and low-yielding bank accounts will be enough to provide for a child's future.  They will need to seek alternative investments such as DNotes for a portion of their portfolio to have a realistic chance of accumulating enough money to meet their goals.  Many of the children currently in the program were signed up by their grandparents who gave them a gift of DNotes to get them started.

Children are great candidates for a long term savings plan in digital currency.  Their long term investment horizon and the early stage of the digital currency industry allows for significant capital appreciation.

Anyone can set up or contribute to a child's CRISP, giving this program the potential to help children around the world.  A teacher could establish CRISPs for every student and at the same time start teaching the class about digital currency.  Cryptocurrency can be a powerful lesson tool and what is new and evolving today will be the norm for them in the future.

The funds from the CRISP can be used by the child for their education, travel, their first home, as well as many other things.  By the time the children are old enough to withdraw the DNotes, they will be very grateful their parents or grandparents had the foresight to take early advantage of an investment in digital currency.

Everyone at CryptoMoms is very proud of the CRISP For Kids program and it is a delight reading the posts of the proud parents and grandparents as they share a little bit about each child.  Some have left messages that will outlive the writer and it is starting to have almost a time-capsule feeling.

CryptoMoms and the DNotes team are dedicted to helping anyone interested in starting a CRISP for any child.  Please visit:  http://cryptomoms.com/forum/cryptomoms-com/5/kids-with-a-cr-i-s-p/530

http://www.dnotesvault.com/

http://cryptomoms.com/

Executive Brief and Executive Summary are basically the same thing. Check out the advise from "Inc." below: (geared towards business plan summaries but still useful.)

How to Write an Executive Summary

When you're trying to sell an idea to a potential investor, you'll need to craft the pitch-perfect executive summary. Here's how to write one that will get your business plan read and your foot in the door.

Whether you've put together a business plan or an investment proposal, you're going to need an executive summary to preface your report. The summary should include the major details of your report, but it's important not to bore the reader with minutiae. Save the analysis, charts, numbers, and glowing reviews for the report itself. This is the time to grab your reader's attention and let the person know what it is you do and why he or she should read the rest of your business plan or proposal.

The executive summary is also an important way for you, as the entrepreneur, to determine which aspects of your company have the clearest selling points, and which aspects may require a bit more explanation. Akira Hirai, founder and CEO of Phoenix-based Cayenne Consulting, a firm that helps entrepreneurs develop business plans and financial forecasts, says the process of distilling the essence of your business down to a page forces you to think hard, decide what's important, and discard things that aren't essential to the story line. "By doing this," he says, "you develop a better vision of what your business is all about, and you become better at telling your story."

Why Write It?

Investors, lenders, executives, managers, and CEOs are busy. Always. That means the executive summary is an essential gateway for your business plan to get read. Think about it this way: If you had an endless list of things to do, and someone handed you an 80-page document and said, "Read this!" you'd probably first want to know why.

"The most important reason to include an executive summary is that in many cases, it is the only thing the reader will read," says Pablo Bonjour, founder and CEO of Katy, Texas-based SMG Business Plans, a company that offers entrepreneurs assistance in writing business plans. According to Bonjour, investors will read the executive summary to decide if they will even bother reading the rest of the business plan. It's rare for an investor or lender to read an entire business plan, at least in the initial stages of analysis and consideration for funding, so having a strong executive summary is key.

When you're writing your business plan, your goal is to get your foot in the door and face time with the investor. "Assuming that your business is a good fit for the investor, a strong executive summary will get you invited in for a meeting," Hirai says. "A poor executive summary will leave you standing in the cold."

The First Paragraph

Just as a movie might begin with a fight scene or a magazine article open with a funny anecdote, you'll need a strong hook for your executive summary.

"The most important part of an executive summary is the first paragraph that clearly explains what the company does," according to Dave Lavinsky, president of Growthink, a Los Angeles-based company that helps entrepreneurs develop business plans and raise capital. "Most business plans start with a story that tries to create excitement, and this doesn't always work."

One way to think about it, says Hirai, is that your executive summary needs an executive summary. The first paragraph needs to compel the reader to read the rest of the summary. Perhaps you have a compelling aha! moment, so you might start with that. If you've identified a problem in the marketplace that isn't being adequately serviced, you might start with that.

The Nuts and Bolts

There is no set structure for an executive summary, but there are guidelines you must follow to ensure your business plan or investment proposal gets the attention it deserves. First, think about your core strengths. Use bullet points to present your ideas, and make sure you always use concise language.

"You need to match your story to your audience, your business, and your desired outcomes," says Hirai. "If you have an exceptional management team, you might start with that."

Ask yourself what's unique and exciting about your company. After you've explained what your company does, it's time to sell why you believe you're uniquely qualified to succeed.

Lavinsky recommends addressing these questions when putting together your executive summary:

• Do you have a unique partnership?

• Do you already have customers and traction?

• Do you have patents or technology?

• Is your marketing plan special in some way?

Depending on your audience, you can also try a more rigid approach to the executive summary. After the first paragraph, Bonjour says one effective structure is to summarize each section in the same order in which the items are presented within the full business plan. To make the structure as relevant as possible for the reader, typically an investor or a lender, he suggests considering these categories:

• A Company Description Summary

• The Problem

• Your Solution

• Why Now

The Why Now category is one of the most important questions to answer, because it makes your executive summary timely. The last thing you want is to leave the reader feeling like there's plenty of time to act. Chances are, if there isn't any urgency to your executive summary, your business plan won't get read.

After describing the elements above, the executive summary should also have a brief financial summary. For your financials, Bonjour suggests including the valuation of the deal, so that the reader knows right away what the risks are, and what the returns can be.

Strictly Professional or Humorous? What's the Tone?

This depends on who your readers are. Do your research. If you're presenting your plan to investors, make sure the language of the executive summary caters to their backgrounds. For example, if you know your investor has a degree in chemical engineering, your language might be different from that in the executive summary presented to an investor who studied philosophy.

In other words, "use language that will resonate with your target audience," says Hirai. Don't be afraid to change your executive summary when you present it to different investors. Consider creating different versions for each audience, he says, but make sure that it's always kept professional, crisp, and free of any embarrassing errors. Another good tip he gives is to use personal pronouns (e.g., "we" and "our") over general nouns (e.g., "the company"). Your reader will feel a stronger personal connection with you, your brand, and your idea if you can relate to the reader in the first person.

Don't forget to be confident, either. If the writer does not clearly believe in this company, says Bonjour, why should the reader believe in it? Put yourself in your reader's shoes, and ask yourself why you would want to invest in a company. "Think about it like a job interview or asking a girl out on a date," he says. "If you are not confident and don't act like you want it, chances are you won't get anywhere."

The Length

Remember, every executive summary is--and should be--unique. Depending on the size of the business plan or investment proposal you're sending, the executive summary's length will vary. However, the general consensus is that an executive summary should be between one and four pages long.

Think logically. A two-page summary can be printed on the front and back of a single page, which can feel like a professional brochure. And if you can't tell the essence of your story in a page or two, says Hirai, then you probably haven't thought things through well enough.

Echoing this thought, Bonjour asserts that "you can cheat a bit by using smaller fonts, widening your margins, shrinking images and tables, but ultimately you need to summarize everything contained within the executive summary. After all, it is called a 'summary' for a reason."

What to Avoid

"The reason most business entrepreneurs get executive summaries wrong is that they believe the goal of the executive summary is to get the investors to give them a check," says Lavinsky. "The goal of the executive summary is to get the investor to read the business plan or to meet with you."

With that in mind, clear your vocabulary of any superlatives, clichés, or claims that can't be backed up, he adds. Avoid using terms like "the best," "groundbreaking," "cutting-edge," and "world-class." "Investors see those words day in and day out," he says, "and eventually they lose meaning."

Note:

The only thing I don't agree with is the "one to four pages", thats way too long for our purposes. They are mainly talking about summarizing business plans where being brief can be 4 pages long. I think, for our purposes, a 300 word cap would be appropriate.

I think this calls for worldwide industry initiated education campaign (like the one DNotes has started). 

The banks are not doing this for the benefit of the consumer or to help people around the world to be included in economic prosperity.  This is 100% about getting rid of a few jobs in the middle and increasing their profit margins. 

Perhaps we shouldn't focus the campaign on what the banks will be able to do, but rather on what they will never be able to do.  For example, if they will also have lightening fast transaction speed, we shouldn't focus so much attention on that.  They will NEVER put people first with the opportunity to share in the profits and other opportunities of a global currency.

Spring! At night at present, you can smell this blossom all the way into the house. The emu's name is 'Number One.'

Mark, Unicup, Western Australia