One thing I have noticed is, you have to do good amount of research on what a particular token is before you invest in it, and you need to find the right investment in order to multiply your investments. For example: Ripple (XRP) was $ 0.01 in March 2017. By December 2017, it was trading at $1.2, a person who found it, trusted it in March has definitely multiplied his/her investments by 100 times. The key here is to invest what you can loose (your life or peace of mind should not be disturbed even if you completely loose the money you invested in.) choose the right crypto by doing enough research about it, HODL (Hold On for Dear Life) as long as you can.

I cannot predict the exact value but I can share my views. TRON is a steal at the current price ($ 0.042) as I write the answer today. Before you think about jumping on the ship, (one easy way listed at the end) do your research, risk only what you can afford to loose. I am listing out the points that I have observed, read from various sources online.

From their website: TRON is a blockchain-based decentralized protocol that aims to construct a worldwide free content entertainment system with the blockchain and distributed storage technology. The protocol allows each user to freely publish, store and own data, and in the decentralized autonomous form, decides the distribution, subscription and push of contents and enables content creators by releasing, circulating and dealing with digital assets, thus forming a decentralized content entertainment ecosystem. Peiwo App with over 10 million users will become the first TRON-compatible entertainment APP.

I believe the concept of TRONIX would be a great move if the net neutrality is curbed. It is created for distributed storage and allowing the content creators to be the actual owners of the content and they would be having the control over the content. The current content holders/hosts like facebook and google kind of own the content created by the creators and they decide who is going to wantch what and influence the public, once TRON network succeeds, The internet would be a free place with proper owner ship of the content being given to the actual creators. Plus the Founder of TRON, Justin Sun has many projects and news lined up. You can watch the video over here. Having said that, I believe TRON(TRX) is going to be huge but not overnight. It has shown promising raise in the value within its first few weeks. Once the decentralized TRONIX Network is deployed and used by everyone, I believe it is going to change the internet as we know it today. Justin Sun also mentioned in the video call that they might be implementing some coin burn as well which would in turn reduce the number of coins in circulation. Looking at all these, TRX might be $1 one day but you got to hold on for a while.

•   BUYING—AND SELLING—PROPERTY WITH BITCOIN
ByBeckie Strum Jan. 4, 2018 11:04 a.m. ET

When luxury brokerage Sotheby’s International Realty announced in September it had facilitated one of the first U.S. home sales for bitcoin, the dollar value of a single bitcoin equaled $3,429.

Since the sale of the home in Austin, Texas, for which the sales price was never disclosed, the value of a single bitcoin—a cryptocurrency backed by an online ledger called the blockchain—has quadrupled to over $14,600 and turned a swath of early adopters into millionaires in a matter of months. At one point in December a single bitcoin was worth as much as $19,200.

One of the first purchases people make with their bitcoin windfall: A home, experts say.

"Real estate is the first impact I see for this nouveau riche," said Joe Kelly, who co-founded Unchained Capital, a startup that allows bitcoin owners to borrow against their cryptocurrency.

The process is fairly straightforward for the homeowner involved in a blockchain currency transaction. It’s the buyer who faces more nuance as he or she weighs the tax implications and other considerations before trading their coins in for square footage, experts say.

•   SELLING FOR BITCOIN
In Miami, for example, a financier is seller a 950-square-foot Miami condo with a price of about 60 bitcoins, said Douglas Elliman broker Dean Bloch.

"My seller has been in finance for the past 25 years and he’s decided to sell this place just for bitcoin," Mr. Bloch said.

The seller owns three other homes and is using the sale of the Miami condo as a way to acquire cryptocurrency, the agent said.

Once they get a suitable offer, the transaction works like an all-cash purchase, but instead of using bank accounts, the buyer transfers bitcoins to the seller’s digital "wallet," which takes about 15 minutes.

The seller would also need a lawyer at the closing—who might accept fees only in dollars rather than bitcoin—and/or find a title insurance company to underwrite the sale, Mr. Bloch said.

A home in the Ponce Davis area of Miami is selling for $6.499 or the equivalent in bitcoin.
A home in the Ponce Davis area of Miami is selling for $6.499 or the equivalent in bitcoin. ILLUSTRATION: BROWN HARRIS STEVENS
A two-bedroom condo traded hands in December for 17.741 Bitcoin, or the equivalent of $275,000 in what Brown Harris Stevens agents Stephan Burke and Carol Cassis said on social media was the first "bitcoin to bitcoin" real estate transaction in the U.S. In past sales that involved bitcoin, the buyer converted the cryptocurrency to fiat through websites like Coinify or Bitpay before closing the sale.

Sellers accepting bitcoin, however, should keep a sharp eye on the daily fluctuations in the currency’s value due to its volatility. They can hedge against potential devaluation by adding a bitcoin premium to the asking price.

•   BUYING WITH BITCOIN

By contrast, the nouveau riche looking to get something tangible out of their cryptocurrency investment have a bit more to consider.

If a seller won’t accept bitcoin outright, then a buyer needs first to sell to a third party for U.S. dollars, euros or another fiat currency.

Property site Redfin reports that its brokers have facilitated a number of deals where buyers sold bitcoins to make the down payment. For instance, one buyer sold two coins, each for over $7,400, to make the down payment on a home in Carlsbad, California.

Not every exchange has gone so smoothly, however. Redfin agent Carina Isentaeva, based in San Francisco, saw a deal for a luxury home in Silicon Valley fall through when the client couldn’t sell bitcoins in time to make good on his offer.

Even a direct exchange of property for bitcoins holds tax implications a buyer should consider, said Robert W. Wood, a San Francisco-based tax lawyer.

The U.S. government recognizes bitcoin as property and officially under the new tax law starting Jan. 1, 2018, anyone trading cryptocurrency would trigger a capital gains tax.

Mr. Wood compared buying property with cryptocurrency to trading IBM stock for a new home. The home buyer would pay roughly 20% in capital gains tax and another 3.8% net investment tax on the amount their bitcoins had appreciated since they first bought or mined for them. That could be one doozy of a tax bill if the trader got into the crypto game when infant bitcoins were worth less than a dollar.

•   LOANS FOR BITCOIN

A better option that would avoid triggering a pricey tax event would be to pay for the home using a loan collateralized by bitcoin, Mr. Wood said.

"A loan is also better in the sense that you are unlocking some of the value of the bitcoin but you’re not disposing of the asset," he said.

These days, Austin-based Unchained Capital is one of the few startups offering bitcoin owners loans backed by the cryptocurrency. Unchained allows bitcoin owners to borrow up to $1 million with interest rates between 10% and 14%. The company has gone all the way up to $5 million in rare instances, said Mr. Kelly, the co-founder and CEO.

Loan lengths range from three months to three years, with the principal due at the end, Mr. Kelly said.

"We can do longer term, but it’s pretty rare," he said.

The lending startup has seen many clients use their loans for home purchases, though it makes the most sense when it comes to buying second homes, where traditional mortgage rates start to average around 10%, Mr. Kelly said.

"We do see a lot of people getting cash for a downpayment," he said.

While bitcoin traders have many tools they can use to evaluate the cryptocurrency market, one of the most tried-and-true methodologies is what's called technical analysis. Using this approach, traders can get a better sense of market sentiment and identify key trends, and, with this information, make better-informed predictions.

Technicians (sometimes called 'chartists') take a practical approach, looking at a security's history (using price charts) and applying various analytical tools to get a better sense of how the market feels about that particular security.

While 'fundamental analysis' - the counterpart to technical analysis - is more interested in determining what a security 'should' be worth, technicians are only concerned with a security's actual price movements. By looking at bitcoin's price history, technicians attempt to identify well-known patterns such as 'support' and 'resistance'.

•    LAYING THE FOUNDATION

To get a better understanding of technical analysis, it is important to grasp the basic concepts of Dow theory, which has provided the foundation for this practical method for evaluating securities.

Dow Theory provides a few basic assumptions:

          1. The market discounts everything. All past, current and even future information is already factored into existing asset prices. In the case of bitcoin, this would include variables such as past, current and future demand, as well as any regulations affecting the digital currency.

The current price reflects all existing information, including the knowledge and expectations of all market participants. As a result, technicians seek to interpret what the price is saying about market sentiment to make educated predictions about what prices will do going forward.

          2. Prices movements are not completely random. Instead, they frequently follow trends, which can be either short-term or long-term. Once a security forms a trend, it is more likely to follow that trend than go against it. Through technical analysis, technicians seek to identify trends and profit from them.

          3. 'What' matters more than 'why'. Technicians focus more on a security's price history than the specific variables that have created this price movement. While any number of factors could have caused a security's price to move in a certain way, technicians take a more direct approach by looking at supply and demand.

         4. History has a tendency to repeat itself. Market psychology is predictable, and traders often respond the same way when provided with similar stimuli. Digital currency markets, for example, have frequently provided bullish responses to key events such as news evidencing rising adoption or greater visibility.

•    IDENTIFYING TRENDS
Identifying trends, or the general direction in which a security is moving, can be very helpful for bitcoin traders. However, singling these trends out can be a challenge. Digital currencies can be highly volatile, and looking at a chart of bitcoin's price movements will likely show a series of highs and lows.

However, technicians know that they can look past the volatility and identify an uptrend when they see a sequence of higher highs and higher lows. In contrast, they can single out a downtrend when they identify a string of lower lows and lower highs.

There are also sideways trends, in which a security experiences little in the way of upward or downward movement.

Traders should know that trends come in many lengths, including short-term, intermediate, and long-term.

•   MOVING AVERAGES

One technique bitcoin traders can use to more easily identify trends is to use 'moving averages', which help smooth out a digital currency's price fluctuations so market participants can get a better sense of where the price has been going.

The most basic kind of moving average is the 'simple moving average', which is determined by calculating a security's average price over a specific time period. Traders might look at what bitcoin has done over a five-day or 20-day period, for example.

A similar tool that bitcoin traders can use is the 'exponential moving average', which gives greater emphasis to more recent price values when calculating an average.

By analyzing moving averages, traders can get a better sense of when momentum shifts. For example, if a five-day moving average falls below a 20-day moving average, this development could point to a bull market turning bearish. Should the opposite take place, with the shorter average rising above the longer average, the converse is true.

  Chart 1: A five-day moving average (SMA 5) repeatedly surpassing a 20-day moving average (SMA 20):
               https://media.coindesk.com/uploads/2017/02/chart-5-day-SMA-rising-above-20-day-SMA.png

•   SUPPORT AND RESISTANCE
Another crucial tool is the analysis of support and resistance levels. By identifying these levels, bitcoin traders can help get a better sense of the supply and demand surrounding the digital currency.

The support level is effectively the price at which a large number of traders are willing to buy a security, since they believe it is 'oversold' (ie sold at a price below its perceived true value). As the security approaches this price, market participants step in and purchase it, creating a 'floor'.

For example, if bitcoin prices trade above $1,000 for several days, any retreat to this price level might prompt market participants to believe the currency is oversold and therefore start buying.
     Chart 2: Support level (in green): https://media.coindesk.com/uploads/2017/02/chart-support.png
                  The counterpart to support is resistance, which is a price level where a large number of traders are motivated to sell a security because they think it is 'overbought' (ie overvalued due to many traders buying at excessively high prices).

For example, if bitcoin prices trade below $1,000 for several sessions, moving toward $1,000 might prompt a significant number of traders to enter sell orders for the security, thereby creating resistance.

     Chart 3: Resistance (in green): https://media.coindesk.com/uploads/2017/02/chart-resistance.png
     Bitcoin sometimes fluctuates between levels of support and resistance, which work together to create a range. This is called 'rangebound trading', and creates opportunities for traders to buy bitcoin when it is near the bottom of the range and sell when it is close to the top.

     Chart 4: Ranges of support and resistance: https://media.coindesk.com/uploads/2017/02/chart-rangebound-trading.png

However, should bitcoin prices exit a trading range, this can result in robust trading activity, significant volatility and a new trend.

For example, if bitcoin prices break through a price level that previously served as resistance, this price frequently ends up serving as a support level. Alternatively, the opposite could happen, with the digital currency's price falling below support, resulting in this level becoming a new resistance level.

•   VOLUME'S KEY ROLE
Bitcoin traders should keep in mind that volume plays an important role in evaluating price trends. High volume points to strong price trends, while low volume indicates weaker trends. If bitcoin prices experience a large gain or loss, traders should be sure to examine volume.

For example, if bitcoin enjoys a long uptrend and then declines sharply one day, it is worth checking out volume to get a better sense of whether this downward movement represents a new trend or simply a temporary pullback.

Generally, rising prices coincide with increasing volume. If bitcoin prices enjoy an uptrend, but the currency's upward movements take place amid weak volume, this could mean that the trend is running out of gas and could soon be over.

     Chart 5: Volume rising as the price climbs:https://media.coindesk.com/uploads/2017/02/chart-volume.png
Criticisms of technical analysis

•       CRITICISMS OF TECHNICAL ANALYSIS
While technical analysis can be a valuable tool in a bitcoin trader's arsenal, those considering using it can benefit from being aware of the criticism brought against this particular approach. Much of this criticism comes from the 'efficient market' hypothesis, which is the idea that market prices reflect all available information.

If this assertion is valid, then there is no value to be had from conducting analysis in an effort to determine when securities are undervalued or overvalued. Efficient market hypothesis has both its critics and advocates, and arguments can be made either for or against the idea.

At the end of the day, it is up to each individual bitcoin trader to consider both sides and determine what they believe.

•   KEY CONSIDERATIONS
By leveraging technical analysis, bitcoin traders can gauge market sentiment, identify trends and potentially make better-informed investment decisions. However, there are a few key variables they should keep in mind.

For starters, technical analysis is a very practical approach, looking only at a security's price and volume.

As a result, relying on technical analysis could potentially cause a trader to either miss out on opportunities to buy bitcoin when it is undervalued or, alternatively, purchase the digital currency when the price may be inflated, at least according to the fundamentals.

To manage this risk, bitcoin traders can potentially combine fundamental analysis with technical analysis. For example, if a bitcoin trader concludes that technical indicators and patterns are telling him to buy, he can help affirm this by evaluating some fundamental data, such as the approaching SEC ruling on the Winklevoss ETF.

Alternatively, a bitcoin trader could leverage fundamental analysis to determine whether bitcoin is undervalued or overvalued and then harness technical analysis to calculate the best point to either buy or sell the digital currency.

Wow. Thank you very much for your information. I totally agree with you about this. For me, trading is a combination of entertainment, richness and a few thrills. However, If you want to be rich, I think you need some intelligence, fotune as well as some ability to predict.
Good luck!!!

What Kind of Impact Do Robots Make on Humans?
by Leslie Bloom; Updated March 15, 2018

The future of business may be robots, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. While it is true robots are replacing some human jobs, many processes are becoming more efficient with the help of robots. Robots are most commonly integrated into the manufacturing processes of large corporations. There, they can increase output and productivity, keep labor costs down and improve reliability in manufacturing by removing human error. As automation advances, a growing number of small businesses will use robots to improve their own processes. This can have a significant impact on the human labor force.

***A Robotic Workforce
Robots are a manager’s dream. They are fully autonomous, are programmable for many tasks and are always on time for work. And they are becoming a growing part of the workforce.

The number of robots in industrial use increased fourfold between 1993 and 2003 in the United States and Europe. By 2017, there were an estimated 1.5 million robots working on those two continents alone. By 2030, automation may account for nearly 40 percent of jobs in the United States.

While there are benefits to industry, an increasing number of robots in the workplace means an increase in the unemployment rate of humans and a decrease in wages.

***The Human Factor
One of the biggest arguments against using robots in business is that they lack basic human traits. A human brings to their jobs a personal touch, empathy, communication and creativity. These are traits that are highly valued by most business owners and employers.

If you are a small business, the importance of developing long-term relationships with customers may mean that you never use automated technology. Doing so may cause you to lose relationships that your team has developed and nurtured over the years.

Remember that just because the technology exists, it doesn’t mean you have to use it. There are many factors to consider before you use robots in your business, including the importance of the human touch, cost and long-term impacts.

***Industries Using Robots
When you think of robots working in a business, you may think of them on the assembly line moving products from point A to point B. While they are widely used in manufacturing, robots are increasingly being used in other areas of industry.

Some malls and retailers use robots for security, or to provide customer service. A robot can help a customer find something on a shelf or take them to the nearest bathroom. A robot can also patrol parking lot aisles, malls and hallways to look for any suspicious activity.

Robots in warehouses pick orders, package and ship them. They can help a worker or customer find anything in a warehouse and help managers track inventory.

The hotel and customer service industry are using robots to help guests with luggage, clean rooms and deliver laundry. The agriculture industry is even using robots to help harvest vegetables.

***Incorporating Robots into Small Business
Despite the increasing use of robots and automated technology, human workers will still be in demand. Robots may be used to enhance the work of humans, but there are still some jobs that a robot cannot do.

Robots are not suitable for jobs that are creative or require thinking outside the box. They are programmed for defined, repetitive activities. Robots also are not suitable for jobs that require human interaction, such as mental health or interactive teaching.

If you are a small-business owner considering incorporating robots into your business, think about how they can integrate into your current structure to help your existing team work more efficiently. You don’t have to lose human staff to incorporate automation. See how other businesses in your industry are moving toward automatic intelligence and think about your future plans.

Nobody gave Bitcoin the chance to become as phenomenal as it is today. During its nascent days, there were doomsday warnings of how the cryptocurrency is going to crash. Fast forward to the present, and Bitcoins fortune has changed. It is the hottest topic in the financial world and with Blockchain disrupting the industry.
FUTURE CHANGES IN REGULATION

It is unlikely that bitcoin becomes widely accepted as a currency any time soon. Its decentralized nature makes it difficult to regulate, taking away the central banks’ authority. In Satoshi Nakamoto’s 2008 paper that created blockchain and subsequently bitcoin, this was the main advantage of cryptocurrency, but they won’t relinquish their control over money supply. There are lots of arguments for either side of legalizing bitcoin, but we cannot tell what will happen in the future, merely wait and watch as the events unfold.

To the east, Asia and countries in Oceania also have some form of regulation regarding bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, again, just to prevent financial crimes. Bitcoin regulation has always been contentious in Russia, but the country’s central bank has finally put in place regulations that consider the cryptocurrency as an asset.

Thank you for your information, I will give some more information about this
By Jake Frankenfield | Updated February 1, 2018 — 6:00 AM EST
 
Since its inception, there have been questions surrounding Bitcoin’s ability to scale effectively. Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency that exists within a network of computers, within the blockchain. This is revolutionary ledger-recording technology. It makes ledgers far more difficult to manipulate for a couple of reasons: The reality of what has transpired is verified by majority rule, not by an individual actor. And this network is decentralized; it exists on computers all over the world.

The problem with this technology is that it’s slow. Like, really slow, especially in comparison to banks that deal with credit card transactions. Visa processes 150 million transactions per day, averaging out to roughly 1,700 transactions per second. And their capability far surpasses that, at 24,000 transactions per second.

How many transactions can the Bitcoin network process per second? Seven. Transactions take about 10 minutes to process. And as the network of Bitcoin users grows, waiting times will get longer, because there are more transactions to process without a change in the underlying technology that processes them.

The latest debates around Bitcoin’s technology have been concerned with this central problem of scaling and increasing the speed of the transaction verification process. There are two major solutions to this problem, either to make the amount of data that need to be verified in each block smaller, making transactions faster and cheaper or to make the blocks of data bigger, so that more information can be processed at one time. 

*** The Difference Between Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash
In mid July 2017, mining pools and companies representing roughly 80% to 90% of Bitcoin computing power voted to incorporate a technology known as a segregated witness, called SegWit2x. SegWit2x makes the amount of data that needs to be verified in each block smaller, by removing signature data from the block of data that needs to be processed in each transaction, and having it attached in an extended block. Signature data has been estimated to account for up to 65% of data processed in each block, so this is not an insignificant technological shift. Talk of doubling the size of blocks from 1mb to 2mb in November has ramped up, and is expected. This would also go some ways in improving Bitcoin’s scalability. In mid-October, Bitcoin scientists from Bitcoin Unlimited revealed they had mined the world's first 1GB block, 1,000 times bigger than the normal size.

Bitcoin Cash is a different story. Bitcoin Cash was started by Bitcoin miners and developers equally concerned with the future of the cryptocurrency, and its ability to scale effectively. These individuals had their reservations about the adoption of a segregated witness technology, though. They felt as though SegWit2x did not address the fundamental problem of scalability in a meaningful way, nor did it follow the roadmap initially outlined by Satoshi Nakamoto, the anonymous party that first proposed the blockchain technology behind cryptocurrency. Furthermore, the process of introducing SegWit2x as the road forward was anything but transparent, and there were concerns that its introduction undermined the decentralization and democratization of the currency.

On August 1st, some miners and developers initiated what is known as a hard fork, effectively creating a new currency: Bitcoin Cash. Bitcoin Cash has implemented an increased block size of 8mb, to accelerate the verification process, with an adjustable level of difficulty to ensure the chain’s survival and transaction verification speed, regardless of the number of miners supporting it. This has raised concerns about the security of Bitcoin Cash.

(For more on cryptocurrency, read: Does Crypto Have Intrinsic Value? It Depends (https://www.investopedia.com/news/does-crypto-have-intrinsic-value-bitcoin-ethereum/)

These are some best telegram channels list in 2018

There is a huge amount of telegram channel available on market but below write best telegram channels category, which is simple to access and also all, are the top Telegram channels link to join for best contents.

    #Telegram News (https://t.me/telegram)

Member:-86k+

Info: -This channel is official. in this channel get an idea about for news of Telegram.The News is the best medium to grow your knowledge. So don’t forget to connect this telegram channels. The telegram news is the best telegram channels about telegram related topic.

     #Telegarm geek (https://t.me/geekschannel)

Member:-22k+

Info: -Join the Telegram Army!, Known the more about the Telegram geek and its friend’s list.The geek channels are the 2nd position of best telegram channels. If you join, find the eccentric person telegram channel list.

     #Bot news (https://t.me/BotNews)

Member:-14k+

Info: -This is very awesome channels to find the telegram bot list. The official source for news about the Telegram Bot API.Do you know what telegram bot? If no then check best telegram bot list. A bot helps you to anything when need. The telegram bot also a best telegram channel and give tips about bots.

     #Full music album (https://t.me/FullAlbums)

Member:-37k+

Info: -In the channels provided upcoming music series and also send the direct download link of favorite music albums for free.Are you love to listen to music ?, In fact, 80% of more people in the World loves to hear music on their mobile devices. The Music is a type of feelings in which we are silent but feels the real situations. You can listen to songs online on Spotify, and other apps or lots of websites are available.

     #Sick Mind’s Media (https://t.me/SickMindsMedia)

Member:-34k+

Info: -SMM is against any mental or physical stimulation by the Music.There are 5.5% of people are the physical handicap in the world. Some are affected by Mental retirement. If your one parents or family member affected the above addicted the sticks mind media best telegram channels is very useful.

     #GIF Channel (https://t.me/GIFsChannel)

Member:-36k+

Info: -The full form of the gif is “Graphics Interchange Format”. The GIF is an image file format which commonly used for images on the web and social media. This is also the best telegram channels list because it sends continuously new gif image for telegram user. Here you will find a lot of Gif, update, Funny image and video update on this channel so friends don’t still late do quickly to join this channel.

     #Programmer Jokes (https://t.me/programmerjokes)

Member:-36k+

Info: – This is a special initiative channel will serve you daily programmer jokes. Feel free to laugh.The owners powered by a group of popular English Jokes channel.On Social Media and the web, most traditional things are Jokes & Funny the ng because lots of people get involved in these type areas. If you are one of them and likes to Read Jokes and Watch Funny videos, here is the best English jokes best telegram channels for you.

     #Memes (https://t.me/bestmemes)

Member:-29k+

Info: -Are you search on the web to To find cool memes? then don’t waste your time.This memes telegram channel is daily sent amazing memes because it is the best telegram channels for memes.

     #Tech Guide (https://telegram.me/TechGuide)

Member:-21k+

Info: –  This is Share the Android, Windows, iOs, Computer related Tips, Tricks, Guide.It is the best technology inspire Channels.  If you want any Suggestion & Support: »Contact: @techzac.
 
     #AndroGaмєr (https://t.me/AndroGamers)

Member:-21k+

Info: – A lot of Android smartphone user found in any country. Most of the time of a day we spent for using Android smartphone. Some people are love to play the android game, and manage the lonely life with it. So the android game is a type of friend us. If you a telegram user then must be joined Android gamer, because of it best telegram channels for game lover. Send the download link to Android Games and Pro  Apps for free.

Twice as many men own or have owned bitcoin and are almost three times as likely as women to buy bitcoin in the next five years. Men also have a more positive view of bitcoin (17% versus 7%).

Take a look around the crypto community, both in meatspace and online, and it would be fair to say that the majority of participants are male. This is borne out in a recent survey of 2,000 Americans which shed light on the makeup of the bitcoin space, highlighting a stark gender divide. In fact Google Analytics data estimates less than 4% of bitcoin users to be female. The question is, why?

Why So Few Women in Bitcoin?
Tech industries are inherently male-dominated for reasons that include boys being introduced to gadgets at a younger age, leading to just 16% of computer science undergraduates being female. Despite initiatives designed to encourage more girls to code, the number of female computer science undergraduates in the UK has actually dropped in the last 10 years. Attributing other reasons to the absence of women in tech is highly contentious, as fired Google engineer James Damore discovered to his peril this year.

Thank your for your information.
I will give some more information about this.

***Reasons For Monero Speculation

Monero has managed to generate a degree of widespread adoption in the crypto-world, surging more than 250% in some cases.  It has experienced sharp gains this year as the Cryptocurrency space draws in more profit-hungry investors. There are several points to consider regarding so much hype and Monero speculation around its future.
   - Fungibility and Widespread Adoption: Fungibility is the main feature that makes Monero a better option. Fungibility results from a high level of privacy and results in every individual unit capable of being substituted with another. In other words, every coin has equal value. Merchants and other companies like VeraCrypt have thus started accepting Monero because of its transactional anonymity.
   - Adoption by Exchanges: As mentioned earlier, Monero’s fungibility feature has resulted in a lot of demand for this currency. Because of Monero’s widespread adoption by merchants, investors and traditional traders, many exchanges in Asia and some in the west, such as Kraken, Bitfinex, Poloniex etc, have started allowing Monero trading. The decentralised anonymity features have also attracted some illegal or “dark web” marketplaces, where they are readily accepted, adding to the popular Monero speculation and demand. Among the dark web market places, the Monero adoption of AlphaBay and Oasis has generated quite the media storm in recent times.monero speculation
   - Monero’s Regulatory ComplianceMonero’s Market Scope: The market scope of Monero is expected to grow exponentially in the coming months, prompting investors to pour significant funds into the Cryptocurrency. Exchanges like Bitfinex and Poloniex have paved the way for widespread adoption by allowing eight separate currency pairs associated with Monero trading. This allowed several Cryptocurrency traders to take part in active trading.
   - Monero’s Working Principle: The mechanism behind Monero is seen by many specialists and investors to be safe and foolproof. Like other currencies, Monero can be mined by interested parties, either individually, or by joining a mining pool. This allows any individual with a computer to actively take part in Monero mining, helped more by the fact that it does not require any specific hardware like ASICs. Another feature that attracts investors greatly and has helped fuel the recent Monero speculation storm is its Proof-of-Work algorithm. It allows access to a wide range of processors, which ensures mining is achievable by different individual parties and not just by a big mining pool.
monero card

***Monero Speculation For 2018

Because Monero’s price volatility has caught the eye of many market observers, they still do not consider Monero to be credible enough.  However, the sharp price fluctuations like the ones experienced in 2017 will provide more opportunities for profitability. Another Monero speculation outcome would be investors using it as a hedge for other cryptocurrencies since it can be bought with several fiat currencies and other cryptocurrencies. It has also generated in underground sectors like multiple dark web marketplaces, which in turn makes it less speculative.  All of this is welcome news for Monero and its investors for the coming year.
monero chart

***Closing Thoughts

Supply and Demand are predicted to be the eventual influencers for Monero speculation in the near future. While supply is still growing, the degree of demand cannot still be explicitly found out. This can be favourable for investors who can take the opportunity to speculate on its future value for strong returns generation. Now that you have read about Monero speculation for 2018, you may consider reading about Ripple speculation.

This is a survey conducted recently
Cryptocurrency markets stabilized on Saturday after a violent sell-off saw billions of dollars wiped off the value of many digital coins.

Still many of the cryptocurrencies were well off their all-time highs.

Bitcoin hit $8,997.91 on Saturday morning New York time, according to CoinDesk data. CoinDesk's bitcoin price index tracks prices from digital currency exchanges Bitstamp, Coinbase, itBit and Bitfinex.

Meanwhile ethereum hit a high in the day of $945.21 and ripple traded as high as $0.89.

Bitcoin was up around 7 percent in 24 hours, while ethereum and ripple were significantly higher.

The rebound in prices follow a severe sell-off on Friday which saw over $100 billion of value wiped off the cryptocurrency market and sent bitcoin below $8,000 for the first time since November.

Cryptocurrency markets have been hit with some bad news of late, particularly worries over tighter regulation

India's Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said the country wants to "eliminate" the use of digital currencies in criminal activities, signaling tighter regulation in the country.

Meanwhile, there are also lingering fears about a cryptocurrency called tether and its ability to collapse the bitcoin market.

Despite the small rebound on Saturday, some virtual currencies are still off their all-time highs. Bitcoin hit a record $19,000 in December 2017.

These are my considerations for holding Ethereum instead of Bitcoin:

 - Congestion and scaling issues haven’t hurt ETH prices despite a lack of solutions to them for the past couple of months in memory. It’s not as bad as the ones plaguing BTC, and ETH is handling a helluva lot more transactions than BTC is: see this and this
 - Both have a problem with a solution on the horizon, but not yet here - Casper and sharding for ETH, Lightning Network for BTC
 - BTC tx fees and wait times are hurting would-be investors. ETH still feels quick to me
 - Ergo, in terms of how it feels to use as a trader, ETH beats out BTC for now
 - ETH has yet to receive the full force of mainstream media hype the same way BTC did - indirectly, yes, but not as the main subject of discussion
 - As newbie investors start to actually do their homework, ETH has a broader, grander narrative that’s easy to pick up (ETH is the company selling shovels during a gold rush, quote unquote)
 - People will still buy into ETH expecting it to be bullish, either through anticipation of upgrades, anticipation of dapps/use case increases, whatever
 - In terms of how much hot air or hype can be generated, BTC feels overexposed and worn while ETH remains to be exploited

Again, these are just my personal opinions. I’m pulling these out of my emotional ass, and I suspect that my true reason for hodling ETH is simply because I’ve made the most from it before.

Of course, I’ve become a bit wary of ETH now that the market is trying to figure out how it feels about its recent rocket, and I’ve softened up a bit about BTC since its correction to $USD 13,000. It can go either one of two ways, or so I’ve been told - a sharp crash followed by a skyrocket to the dream of $USD 20,000, or just a straightforward upwards shoot. Whatever the case, I am of the (unsubstantiated) belief that modest profits can be made in the medium term for those with strong hands either way.

If you’re looking to buy ETH or BTC with $AUD, $NZD or even $USD on a smaller exchange, you can use Independent Reserve (http://www.independentreserve.com/?invite=FQUVGN). Signing up with this link sends 50% of your brokerage fees in the next 90 days to me instead of IndRes, which is nice for me and nice of you.

If you want to get into altcoins, because screw the blue chips amirite? - you can do so at Binance (https://www.binance.com/?ref=18230786), here. Same deal with this link too, et cetera, nice for me and nice of you. You’ll need BTC, ETH or USDT (Tether) anyways to trade, as Binance doesn’t take fiat.

***Disclaimer: I am not a financial advisor and this does not constitute financial advice. I am not responsible for the results or consequences of any actions taken due to, or in part due to this answer. This is purely a reflection of my personal opinion. Do not invest what you are not willing to lose.

I absolutely agree with you. That's the we should do.

I have some more ways to legalize bitcoin

 1. Give away Bitcoin
What I've always found to be a great idea is to give people free money. It doesn't have to be much but most people won't pass the opportunity for free money even if it is in a strange new currency to them. There are a lot of different ways to do this but what I normally do is when I'm talking with friends about bitcoin I'll ask if they want some free Bitcoin, then I'll ask them for their phone and download Coinbase and transfer some to them. I always use Coinbase because later if they go home and research Bitcoin and want to buy some, there is a quick button right in front of them to make it easy.

 2. Set up a Poster
I understand that not everyone has as much time to go around promoting insane ideas and trying to completely change the world, but one of the easiest ways of passively spreading the world is to get on Photoshop, or modded paint.net if your poor like me, and design a quick poster. It doesn't even have to be something nice, just add some explanation of blockchain technology and a few stock images and see what you can come up with. This is one I spent about 15 minutes with and I literally just picked up two random images from google and gave some basic insight into bitcoin.

 3. Educate People
A lot of people associate bitcoin with either a lot of buzzwords that nobody seems to understand or an overly simplified way of saying it, "it's internet money,"and it really draws them away from the space. What we need to do is draw people by telling them how interesting Bitcoin really is, and there's not just Bitcoin there's an entire market where you can make thousands in a day by just making smart investments. If you have the time and courage, go do a class at your community college, if you don't that's fine. Just think of some great way to promote great technology.
So these are some easy ways that you can promote Bitcoin in your community, thanks for reading, don't forget to upvote.

In my opinion, I as well as many people investing bitcoin are afraid being stolen from hackers attacks.  

***So, How Bitcoin Gets Stolen
The cryptocurrency exchange and mining marketplace NiceHash reported on Dec. 7 that it had been hacked, with more than $60 million in bitcoin — NiceHash's entire bitcoin "wallet," or holdings — stolen.
At the same time, phishing attacks against Bitcoin exchanges and private Bitcoin holders have mounted along with the price of bitcoin. The phishers are looking for administrative passwords or Bitcoin private keys, either of which would give them access to Bitcoin wallets.
Another concern is phony cryptocurrency apps. Last week, an iOS app that masqueraded as the official app for the MyEtherWallet exchange (which trades in the Ethereum cryptocurrency) appeared in the iOS App Store for several days. In November, fake Android apps for the cryptocurrency exchange Poloniex showed up in the Google Play Store.
People who installed the phony apps and thought they were legitimately connecting to the exchanges might have given up the passwords to their accounts. (Neither exchange was itself actually compromised.)

***Secure Your Devices to Secure Your Holdings
As with any other type of online financial transaction, ensuring that your money remains safe and secure has to be a top priority for both you and those with whom you trade. And as with so many other types of online dealings, cryptocurrency security isn't always something you can control.
"The security risk for any cryptocurrency is with the Bitcoin wallet and how secure the owner keeps it and any systems they use to make transactions," said Joseph Carson, chief security scientist at Thycotic, an information-security firm based in Washington, D.C. "When using cryptocurrencies, you need to make sure you take extra security to protect your wallet, keep it secret, add multifactor authentication and use encryption."
In other words, you need to take the same precautions with cryptocurrencies as you would use to protect other personal assets, such as your Social Security number, bank accounts and credit cards. Install and run antivirus software on your Windows PC, Mac and Android devices. Screen your emails carefully, and set up two-factor authentication on every online account that lets you. Encrypt your hard drives and mobile devices, and make regular backups of them.

***It's All About Protecting the Private Keys
How can you best safeguard your cryptocurrency holdings? The answer lies in the private key, a 256-bit number that unlocks a cryptocurrency wallet. That sensitive data, that investment, is all tied up in your private keys. You need your private keys to spend your bitcoins, so if someone gains access to your private keys, they can (and will) spend your bitcoins, and your bitcoins will be lost to you.
"Bitcoin hacking is a popular criminal enterprise, because holding bitcoin requires maintaining confidentiality of a bitcoin address's private key," said Andrew McDonnell, president of AsTech, a San Francisco-based security-consulting company. (The address is another number, derived from a private key, that establishes ownership of a unit of bitcoin.)
"If that key is compromised, the attackers can send all of the victim's bitcoin to themselves or an intermediary, or simply delete the key and digitally eliminate the bitcoin," McDonnell said. "Without the private key, as there is no central bitcoin authority by design, there is no way to claim ownership of a set of bitcoin."
Once you ensure that your private keys have a layer of protection, you need to safeguard your cryptocurrency wallet. A wallet is both a collection of one or more private keys and the software you use to interact with the cryptocurrency protocol.
"I would consider the same standards of safeguards for a Bitcoin wallet as I would for a mobile banking app," said Jared Nishikawa, director of immersive programs at SecureSet, a Denver-based cybersecurity academy. "Strong passwords, two-factor authentication, unlock code for the phone ... It is rare to hear about wallets being compromised if the private keys are not stored online somewhere."

***Trusting the Exchanges
To trust cryptocurrency exchanges requires an understanding of how they work. There are two different types of cryptocurrency exchanges.
A centralized exchange means that you trust the exchange with your cryptocurrency funds and your private keys, and you trade with the exchange for what basically amounts to IOUs. You allow the exchange to manage the security of your funds on your behalf. That can be beneficial if your own computer gets hacked or its hard drive dies, but it also makes exchanges prime targets for cybercriminals.
Centralized exchanges let you withdraw units of cryptocurrency and convert them to dollars or other "real" currencies, and also transfer units of cryptocurrency to your own privately held addresses of bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies. The exchange will generally charge between 0.1 and 0.25 percent of a traded amount.
Decentralized cryptocurrency exchanges allow for simple and direct peer-to-peer trading of cryptocurrencies. At no time is the exchange in control of your funds. The decentralized exchanges are less convenient and more difficult to use for the average user than centralized exchanges are, but they often don't charge a brokerage fee.
More importantly, decentralized exchanges have no access to your private keys. If a decentralized exchange gets hacked, there would be no immediate way for the hackers to steal your private keys, said Nishikawa. But if your own machine gets hacked, your money is gone.
As for trusting a cryptocurrency exchange, whether it's centralized or decentralized, Nishikawa said you need to do your homework first by researching the exchange's reputation and history.
"I don't see a huge problem with using a decentralized exchange, but I would probably stay away from centralized exchanges," he advised. "However, if I had to use a centralized exchange, I would withdraw frequently to a private account not connected to the exchange, making sure not to leave a significant amount of money in the online account if I didn't have to."

***Retrieving Stolen Currency
Unfortunately, once cryptocurrency is stolen, it's gone for good. Remember, said Nishikawa, cryptocurrencies are digital and largely anonymous; therefore, the only things worth stealing are the private keys. Once those keys are stolen, the currency is almost always immediately spent.
Both consumers and businesses using and investing in cryptocurrency need to ensure that they can adequately protect and secure private keys and establish the integrity of any exchange involved in their transactions. After all, as Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies continue to increase in value, you can count on cybercriminals following the trend.

 

 
Bitcoin has been running through another of its volatile periods recently. After climbing from around $3,000 in September to around $7,850 more recently, the price of the currency fell back, reaching as low as $5,600. It's since recovered some of its lost ground but for anyone with large bitcoin holdings, the movements have been large enough to strike some serious fears.

It wouldn't be the first time. Between June 11th and July 16th, the price of bitcoin fell by a third from just over $3,000 to a little under $2,000. At the start of September, it was worth about $5,000; two weeks later, you could buy a bitcoin for $3,226.

So when the price of bitcoin takes a dive the first thing to remember is that this is normal. Investing in a cryptocurrency isn't like buying a government bond. There are no guarantees and no regulations. The price moves all over the place--and just as it can drop like a rock, it can also rise like a rocket. And often in quick succession.

The second thing to do is to look for the reason for this movement. The fall in mid-November came after a specific event. A group of developers and miners called off a plan to hard-fork the currency again. Segwit2x would have created a new form of bitcoin that allowed for larger blocks. In effect, it would have created faster and cheaper transactions. When the plan failed, some people moved their money into Bitcoin Cash, a faster form of bitcoin created from a previous fork. The coin shot past Ethereum to hit a market capitalization of $30 billion. The value of Bitcoin Cash doubled in 24 hours.

That's a good reason for a decline. Bitcoin Cash has some advantages that bitcoin lacks. Some investors would have been holding out for the fork so when it went through they bought what was available. Analysts expected the price of bitcoin to flatten out at around $5,000.

There's no way to know whether they're right, of course. No one can predict which way the market will go--no matter how well-versed they are on cryptocurrencies--so you just have to make your own predictions. Deciding whether to stick or bail, or even buy and hope that the market rises again is always going to be something of an intelligent gamble. Once you've found the reason for a sudden price drop, you'll have to decide whether you think that reason has a price floor or whether it's fatal enough to send the price even lower.

There are no easy answers when investing in bitcoin. Just understand that the ride is always going to have some scary moments, and when those moments strike, ask yourself whether a ride this rough is really for you. If you're prepared to hold on through those dips, and if you can afford to lose your investment, then don't sweat the falls any more than you should get too excited about the sudden rises. But if you do need that cash, you might want to look at those dips as a warning to find somewhere more stable to keep your savings.

^^ I like your ideas. I have the same ones with you.
And these are 10 reasons why I love bitcoin:

1) You don’t have to physically carry it around. You can ditch the paper or plastic and free up your precious pocket space.
2) More people and places are starting to accept it, from coffee shops, to real estate owners, this is a currency gaining traction and seems to be gaining worldwide acceptance.
3) Bitcoin was created by software people who wanted to hack the financial world and create a better system after the market collapse in 2008.
4) It’s decentralized, no need for any 3rd party to babysit your transaction and take a piece of it.
5) Bitcoin is like a bank that’s never closed, this currency is moving and available 24/7.
6) In developing nations, this technology is enabling more practical applications that will enable transparency and combat corruption in governments.
7) The Bitcoin community has quality meme and gif game.
As a Bitcoin HODLer you feel a camaraderie with this type of savings vehicle.
9) The community has backing from the smartest in the world, from top notch developers to successful VCs — the brightest minds are excited about the application, design, and future of Bitcoin.
10) The price keeps going up and to the right!

Thank you very much for your information!!!
I will give some ways to promote bitcoin:

 - 1. Start a local Facebook group
Facebook is the world’s third most popular website after Google and YouTube. In Africa alone, Facebook has more than 150 million active users. The majority of African elites and educated people are Internet users and you can tap that potential. Facebook groups are easy to create, and once you do that, invite your friends. On the forum, you can guide them on the basics and benefits of using bitcoin over fiat currency and as a new alternative investment asset class. One of my favourite bitcoin facebook groups is the very active Bitcoin Traders Kenya group. I highly recommend you check it out!

 - 2. Hold local bitcoin meetups or talks
No marketing strategy can beat one-on-one conversations. You can start evening bitcoin classes for beginners or monthly local meetups in your area.  Not only will you meet people interested in learning more about bitcoin but you may also find new friends or potential business partners.

 - 3. Start a blog that focuses on bitcoin awareness in your city/country
Launching a bitcoin awareness blog specific to your country or city is a great way to spread the word locally. In fact, that was the primary reason why BitcoinAfrca.io was launched in the first place.  According to Internet Live Stats, at least 13.5% of Africans have access to the web, which means there is a huge market for you to tap into and spread the bitcoin gospel.

 - 4. Write about bitcoin for your local newspaper as a guest writer
Newspapers have a broad audience and about 30% of the African population relies on newspapers for information. If you have an opportunity to contribute to publications, then you can use the moment to make bitcoin attractive. Most newspaper readers, for instance, are curious about news and you can tap into that as a guest writer. Many local newspapers have a ‘readers digest’ section that publishes articles from the audience. That would be a good place to start.

 - 5. Leverage social gatherings
Africans are known to be social. They converge in churches, schools, and cultural meetings. If you get a chance to speak at such meetings, it is an opportunity to introduce bitcoin as a smart way of investing and making payments. Anytime you have an opportunity to talk; you can explain a little about cryptocurrency and then refer them to your Facebook group, meetup or relevant forums for more information. That way, you will convince someone to become a bitcoin user.

There are many ways you can promote bitcoin. You do not need to be Satoshi Nakamoto or Garvin Andresen to spread the bitcoin revolution. Instead, you only need to talk to a few people about it to make a difference.

If you have a $1000 to invest, you can make money a variety of ways. But there are some methods that trump others. The play here is speed. We're not talking about long-term buy-hold strategies. Those are terrific if you're looking to invest your capital over at least a two-to-five year period. We're talking about ways you can make money fast.

Even when it comes to markets that might take time to move or have longer cycles, investments can often turn into realized profits and quick gains by leveraging the right strategies. What's the right strategy? Sure long term works. Real estate and other time-intensive strategies will eventually get you there.

Raghee Horner of Simpler Futures says that "long term interest rates are the next big trade," while Jim Cramer of Mad Money says that "there are tons of people who are late to trends by nature and adopt a trend after it's no longer in fashion." By jumping in and out of long-term investments like that you're far more likely to lose your shirt than if you time your short-term plays just right. 

It's not so much about trying to catch the latest trend. It's not about becoming a webinar guru like Jason Fladlien or Liz Benny, or even building out sales funnels or optimizing your conversions. Investing your money is more about paying careful attention to indicators that can really move the needle in the short term as opposed to the longer term. It's also about leveraging and hedging your investments the right way without putting too much risk on the line.

That doesn't mean that you don't need a long-term strategy. You definitely do. But if you're looking to create some momentum and generate some capital quickly, in the near-term, then the following investment strategies might help you do just that.

1. PLAY THE STOCK MARKET.
Day trading is not for the faint of heart. It takes grit and determination. It takes understanding the different market forces at play. This isn't something intended for amateurs. But, if learned, and learned well, it is a way where you can quickly -- within the span of hours -- make a significant amount of money with a relatively small investment.

There are also ways to hedge your bets when it comes to playing the stock market. Whether you play the general market or you trade penny stocks, ensure that you set stop-loss limits to cut any potential for significant depreciations. Now, if you're an advanced trader, you likely understand that market makers often move stocks to play into either our fear of failure or our greed. And they'll often push a stock down to a certain price to enhance that fear and play right into their pockets.

When it comes to penny stocks, this is further exaggerated. So you have to understand what you're doing and be able to analyze the market forces and make significant gains. Pay attention to moving averages. Often, when stocks break through 200-day moving averages, there's potential for either large upside or big downside.

Related: What's a Cause of Stock Market Crashes? Too Much Testosterone, Science Says. (https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/298934)

2. INVEST IN A MONEY-MAKING COURSE.
There are loads of money-making courses on the internet. The hard part is choosing the right one. While many of the gurus might follow you around on social media platforms like Facebook, not all courses from all gurus are created alike. Spend the time doing the due diligence and research to choose the best one that's right for you.

However, investing in yourself is one of the best possible investments you can make. While you might not be able to pinpoint an actualized return on investment, there's no money that's better spent. Invest in yourself. Invest in your education. Learn. Adapt. Grow. And discover what you're passionate about.

When it comes to picking up a money making course, there are plenty you can invest in. From ebooks to social media marketing, search engine optimization and beyond, the choices and the possibilities are endless.

Related: Mark Cuban's 3 'Smart Money Moves Everyone Should Make' (https://www.entrepreneur.com/slideshow/306475)

3. TRADE COMMODITIES.
Trading commodities like gold and silver present a rare opportunity, especially when they're trading at the lower end of their five-year range. Metrics like that give a strong indication on where commodities might be heading. Not always. But usually. Carolyn Boroden of Fibonacci Queen said, "I have long-term support and timing in the silver markets." because silver is a solid hedge on inflation. Plus, commodities like silver are tangible assets that people can hold onto."

The fundamentals of economics drives the price of commodities. As supply dips, demand increases and prices rise. Any disruption to a supply chain has a severe impact on prices. For example, a health scare to livestock can significantly alter prices as scarcity reins free. However, livestock and meat are just one form of commodities.

Other commodities include things like metals, energy and agriculture. To invest, you can use an exchange like the London Metal Exchange, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and many others. Often, investing in commodities means investing in futures contracts. Effectively, that's a pre-arranged agreement to buy a specific quantity at a specific price in the future. These are leveraged contracts, providing both big upside and a potential for large downside. So be extra careful.

Related: What Starbucks Teaches About Marketing Commodity Products (https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/270439)

4. TRADE CRYPTOCURRENCIES.
Cryptocurrencies are on the rise. While trading them might seem risky, if you hedge your bets here as well, you could limit some fallout from a poorly-timed trade. There are plenty of platforms for trading cryptocurrencies as well. But before you dive in, educate yourself. Find courses on platforms like Udemy, Kajabi or Teachable. And learn the intricacies of trading things like Bitcoin, Ether, Litecoin and others.

While there are over 3,000 cryptocurrencies in existence, only a handful really matter today. Find an exchange, research the trading patterns, look for breakouts of long-term moving averages, and get busy trading. You can use exchanges like Coinbase, Kraken, Cex.io, along with many others, to make the actual trades. 

Which cryptocurrency should be trading at the end of the day? Etherium and Litecoin. While all the buzz is in Bitcoin, these two cryptocurrencies are established and are holding steady, without the frenzy. Will the frenzy hit them next? Possibly. But the only way to find out is to get in on the so-called ground floor.

Related: 6 Cryptocurrencies You Should Know About (and None of Them Are Bitcoin) (https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/293053)

5. USE PEER-TO-PEER LENDING.
Peer-to-peer lending is a hot investment vehicle these days. While you might not get rich investing in a peer-to-peer lending network, you could definitely make a bit of coin. Which lending platform do you use? Today, there are loads. But the most popular ones include Lending Club, Peer Form and Prosper.

How does this work? Peer-to-peer lending platforms allow you to give small bursts of capital to businesses or individuals, while collecting an interest rate on the return. You get more money than you would if you placed it in a savings account, plus your risk is limited because much of the algorithms are doing the work for you.

Once you identify the offer, you can dig in and do some research, and on most platforms, either take the deal or don't take it. You'll have your risk evaluated based on proprietary algorithm that includes employment and credit history, and you'll be able to make the decision to invest based on a variety of well thought out data.

Related: Why Peer-to-Peer Lending Could Be a Good Investment Choice (https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/225475)

6. TRADE OPTIONS.
When it comes to options, Tom Sosnoff at Tastyworks says, "trade small and trade often." What type should you trade? There are loads of vehicles like FOREX and stocks. The best way to make money by investing when it comes to options is to jump in at around 15 days before corporate earnings are released. What type should you buy? Money calls.

The optimal time to sell those money calls is the day before the company releases its earnings. There's just so much excitement and anticipation around earnings that it typically drives up the price, giving you a consistent winner. But don't hold through the earnings. That's a crapshoot and a gamble you don't want to take if you're not a seasoned investor, says John Carter from Simpler Trading.

Related: 2 Strategies for Making Money Day Trading With a Bit Less Risk (https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/278184)

7. FLIP REAL ESTATE CONTRACTS.
Making money with real estate might seem like a long-term prospect. But it's not. There are ways you can take as little as $500 to $1000 and invest it in flipping real estate contracts to make money fast. How? Use a system like Kent Clothier's REWW to first understand how the market works, then provide you with the data and tools to identify vacant homes, distressed sellers and cash buyers.

While most people think that real estate is won by flipping traditional homes and doing the renovations yourself, the fastest money you can make in real estate involves flipping the actual contract itself. It's arbitrage. Identify the motivated sellers and cash buyers, bring them together, and effectively broker the deal.

It might seem odd on the first go. But once you get the hang of it, you can become a mini-mogul in the real estate industry by simply scaling out this one single strategy. It works. And it's touted by some of the world's most successful real estate investors.

Happy trading!!!

Bitcoin falls accelerate as currency collapses in 2 hours – but you can still make money from it.
The following article, outlines personal views and is not intended to provide investment advice.

In the past day Bitcoin fell from above $14,000 to $11,300. But given the cyber-currency is still up 1200% in a year, is this just the beginning of the fall?

Ten years ago Bitcoin didn’t exist. Five years ago they cost $12 each. 12 months ago they were almost $857 and just last month they were worth almost $20,000 each.

Then they crashed.

Since December’s high Bitcoin’s price has dropped more than $7,000 – in the past day alone almost $2,000 has been wiped from the price according to figures from Coinbase.

Mirror.co.uk has published a story about the fall of Bitcoin, That’s a fall of over 14% in a day, 20% in a week and more than 40% in the past month, according to Coinbase figures.

In just two hours this morning the price dropped $2,000, for context it originally took the cryptocurrency more than five years to add that much to its worth.

Since then there’s been a small rise, but at the time of writing, it’s still thousands down on its mid-December peak.

SEE ALSO:   https://smartereum.com/1893/ethereum-predictions-2018-high-can-price-ethereum-eth-price-fri-mar-30/
But is this the beginning of the end for the cryptocurrency or just a blip on its ascent???

THE BEGINNING OF THE END OR THE END OF THE BEGINNING?
The good news for people who believe in the future of Bitcoin is that this is a pretty classic price drop.

When traditional shares or currencies rise over time, there are points where people who’ve bought them to make money sell some of their holding. It’s called “profit taking” and tends to happen at key price levels.


 
Two months ago Bitcoin broke through $10,000 (£7,421) and the people looking to cash in some of their growth took money out.

The price fell for a bit as a result, then surged on again to$18,000 – when people started taking money out again and dropped the price to $15,500.

After that, it soared to an all new record – almost touching $20,000 almost exactly a month ago.

Since then it’s dropped down to below $13,000 three times, and risen above $16,000 three times too.

SEE ALSO:   https://smartereum.com/4744/bitcoin-price-analysis-bitcoin-to-reach-29500-by-the-end-of-2018-fri-mar-30/
But it’s now fallen further than at any time since December’s peak.

Neil Wilson, senior market analyst at ETX Capital, said: “Has the bubble finally popped? It’s hard to see the bell tolling just yet.

“Large price swings have become so normal that it’s hard to decide – we can easily see this market bounce back in very short order.

“Whilst there have been some hacks, public infighting in the mining community, lots of rumoured forks and regulatory pressure building on some fronts, this is likely to be a simple bout of risk-off selling as investors rebalance towards year-end.

“It looks like it’s time to cash in the gains and spend the winnings on a bumper Christmas.”

The bad news is that this collapse might be something else entirely.

BITCOIN, ETHEREUM AND ALMOST EVERY OTHER CRYPTOCURRENCY IS PLUNGING
According to TechCrunch Article, The crypto market suffered huge loses right before Christmas last month although most valuations had recovered since, such is the volatile nature of the space. That could yet happen following today’s slump. Indeed, some financial market watchers predicted prices could jump this week as Wall Street bankers collect their bonuses.

SEE ALSO:   https://smartereum.com/3097/a-potential-amazon-cryptocurrency-exchange-everyone-is-wondering-about-this-move-fri-mar-30/

*** In my opinion, this April, Bitcoin will hit the bottom, which results in the Ethereum and Altcoins reduce, too. After reaching the bottom, they will gradually recover and by 2019 will return to the highest peak of btc 19k $ and eth 1k $.

BITCOIN INVESTMENT STRATEGY: LONG-TERM (HODL) VS SHORT-TERM (TRADING)

https://steemit-production-imageproxy-upload.s3.amazonaws.com/DQmVJFNCaMShZmHTP2XzpQooY6Miw2oGDbsigVd3km6bqKV

 - Introduction
From my observations on Reddit, lots of people seem to have undefined or vague goals/investment strategy when it comes to their cryptocurrency investments. I've drawn up this post (quickly) as an attempt to help others devise reasoned and thought out goals and subsequently improve decision-making. I'll cover the characteristics of the long-term (i.e., the hodl) and short-term (i.e., trading) investment strategies, then outline what I personally do.

 - Long-term Strategy
First off, you have the long-term strategy, which is sometimes referred to as 'hodling' (for origins, see here and here. This is where you:

Invest in one-off or regular sums of bitcoin, or other favoured cryptocurrencies.
Secure and hold the investment for a long-term period (e.g., 1+ year), or until another condition is met.
This is the lowest effort and easiest strategy to adopt and is based on the assumption that the price of bitcoin (or your other favoured cryptocurrency) will see a rise in real-value over long-term time periods, for whatever reason. This is despite all the volatility which plagues the marketplace in the short-term. Once you've set yourself up, this is a passive investment strategy.

Despite its simplicity, it shouldn't be goal-less. Consider:

What cryptocurrencies are long-term winners? Amongst these winners, how do you want to allocate your investment(s)?
How are you going to invest? Will it be at specific times (e.g., payday) or when the value of target currencies hits certain boundaries which you consider 'cheap' or 'reasonable'?
What are your conditions for pulling gains out? Is it time-based, or value-based? What percentage, or what fiat value, would you draw out? Or are you intending to hold all of your capital in these cryptocurrencies indefinitely?
Are you prepared to lose all of your investment? If not, what conditions would you force yourself to sell-out (some, or all, of your position)?
Once you answer these questions, you have some semblance of a plan. Great!
You might choose this because you:

Just want to invest in the space in the easiest and simplest manner.
Don't have the time or motivation to invest actively.
Aren't confident in your technical analysis ability (or don't have any).
Have confidence that your investment choices are long-term winners.

 - Short-term Strategy
Then, you have the short-term (i.e., trading) position where you:

Invest sums in bitcoin, or other cryptocurrencies.
Hold the investment for short to medium-term periods (e.g., anything between minutes, hours, or months).
This is the highest effort approach which embraces the volatility of the marketplace, as it offers the opportunity to profit from drastic changes in prices over short to medium time periods. This is the opposite of the long-term strategy I defined above, which looks to evade the short-term volatility.

Some key characteristics (negative first) of this strategy are:

It can require a significant time investment.
It can be stressful if price movements go against your expectations/plans.
Requires some level of technical analysis ability.
Offers an opportunity for high percentage gains quickly.
The primary advantage is, as noted above, the potential for high percentage gains on your investments over short-term periods due to price movements. But, this is at the cost of a higher time investment and (probably) more stress.

If you're taking this approach, goals become even more important. Consider:

What cryptocurrencies have short and medium-term potential? Are there specific criteria which you'll set for any investment you make (e.g., volume, market cap., coin purposes, etc.,)?
What are your conditions for pulling gains out? What percentage of return do you desire when making your investments? Is that realistic?
What are your conditions for accepting losses?
Do you have a daily, weekly, or monthly target for profits? Is this worth your time compared to passive investment?
Defining these ahead of time gives you general guidelines, which you might break or bend under certain circumstances if you see an opportunity.
You might choose this because you:

Are confident in your technical analysis ability.
Want to generate returns quickly.
Have time which you're willing and able to invest - consistently.
Have a decent amount of capital which can be leveraged to generate sizable gains from percentage movements (which make your time-investment worthwhile).
Last Word
I don't think either approach is wrong. What is right depends on your circumstances, motivations, and goals. What's right for one person is the exact opposite of what another should do.

With that said, what's my approach? Put short, I hold about 70% of all my investments passively in currencies that I think, from my own research, have long-term potential and are 'safe' bets. Whatever happens for the next 1-2 years, I won't touch it. With the other 30%, I make short to medium-term bets on coins which are undervalued or volatile. If I think the market is overvalued, I might take everything out and keep it liquid - so that I can take advantage if/when the market corrects. Some people might actively trade all of their assets, but I don't have the inclination or time for that.

I personally follow these tenants:

I don't invest more than I'm willing to completely lose.
I write down my goals, plans, strategies, and targets. This helped me a lot.
I track everything, especially the performance of my active trading against bitcoin's passive performance. If I can't beat the passive performance of bitcoin, then I should just go 100% passive instead. What's the point in getting less reward for more work?
I don't always pull my profits out of winning cryptocurrencies. Instead, I mentally move the profits to my passive allocation and just pull out the initial investment.
I'm willing to adapt my strategy, but only after substantial thought and a mandatory cooling-off period.
Please do share your thoughts, as well as anything I might have missed!

 ***Additional Notes
I strongly recommend that you use a hardware wallet such as the Ledger Nano S or a Trezor for long-term storage of the most popular cryptocurrencies, such as bitcoin. I personally use a Ledger Nano S and think it's 100% worth the money for peace of mind.