Nothing in this crypto world i 100% safe! Especially those p2p lending platforms who are offering interest to the depositors. Smart contract doesn't really play any role in securing your money!

These kinds of business functions on percentage difference similar to the banks but they are more prone to market risks because they don't have backup from the venture capitals or any similar organizations. So if you are looking to earn some passive income, be very very cautious!

Banks are indeed fearing cryptos. There are many countries where bitcoin doesn't have a legal framework, but the banks have banned them. They are literally freezing accounts of crypto traders. If they aren't bothered about cryptos, why would they do that? Cryptos are essentially seen as a business threat by the banks! But after 11 years of existence, probably some banks re fed up with the battle and trying to adopt it! Given a chance, banking lobby would be the frontrunner in opposing crypto adoption!

Yes! But it's not jus Frace and Germany, even US government has raised concerns about this project which is definitely creating confusion among the partners and they are pulling out! Read the below article to know more about SEC's stance of Libra,

https://www.coindesk.com/facebook-libra-might-not-ever-launch-concedes-firm

The matter is only becoming complex day by day and we are nowhere close to resolve it. I seriously don't think Libra will be rolled out in 2020.

A society and an economy is always built on a mix of social issus. everything can't be great and everything can't be bad! A balanced mix is what always exists in all societies and in every economic scenario!

So crypto can't make things safer. A crypto based community will  have its own flaws and own problems. Which can either be different than the current scenario or be same! Crypto will only make financial transactions more convenient to the common mass and nothing else!

Obviously, different people will see this matter differently but that's my take on this matter!

That's a wrong take on gambling! If someone is gambling online to become rich, God bless him! It's just an entertainment for adults, at least according to me! Kids go to amusement parks, teens go to Football/Cricket/Baseball matches and Adults gamble! That's what the purpose of online gambling because it's available from the comfort of your home! You sit in front of a computer with a bottle of nice beer and relax. Some people watch movies and some gamble! It's simple as that!

It's not that people don't earn money in gambling, they definitely do! But if you look at gambling as a source of making money which can take care of your daily expenses, then it's a wrong way of looking at it!

I'm sure Celsius network is not a little known name in crypto community. I have seen people are actively promoting it through social media, telegram channels, Twitter etc. Their main business is lending money to the people with minimum/no paperwork at low interest rate. People can also keep their money into CEL wallet to earn interest against it which eventually goes up to 10% annually.

While it's providing a good earning opportunity but I am still suspicious about using it because we have recently seen Plus token scam which operated in a somewhat similar model (if not entirely)! So I am looking forward for the community to provide their valuable feedback on Celsius Network.

Thanks in advance!

That had to happen! Because ICOs and IEOs were floated to the market with same intention - to take money from people's pocket to their pocket. Even the operating structure is different, but the modus operandi remained same for both! The result we all can see now! A palace built on thin air will eventually have to fall!

The better alternative to ICO and IEO model is STO. It is a regulated crowdfunding model and has a complex legal procedure to take care of. A group of scammer won't take such route and eventually fall off from the league! STO model actually ensures the integrity and authenticity of a company and needs approval from SEC. So an investor will have some sort of assurance in place!

Let's compare this scenario with a real life example. A lot of countries now own nuclear/hydrogen bombs. We all are aware about the destruction power of such bombs and we all know that it can destroy the entire human civilization within minutes! Now how many countries have used it so far? Post the Hiroshima and Nagasaki incidents that happened in 1945, no country dared to use such weapons till date!

Same with quantum computer! If someone owns a weapon, that doesn't mean he will have to fire it to kill! If Google have achieved quantum supremacy, it's highly highly unlikely that it will be used to bring down bitcoin network! Chill!

I have actually tried to execute this plan! When I visited a car showroom to book my first car, I indeed asked this question while paying the booking amount! The cashier looked at me as if he is looking to an alien! It became very uncomfortable to me as I was about to pay a good amount as booking!

It's actually a good idea to make people intrigued about cryptos, but we need to take a great amount of caution before doing it, especially in those countries where bitcoin is banned or banking ban is on force! So my advice is not to go all out, rather see first and understand if there is no risk of doing it! Otherwise you may get unwanted attention!

It's everywhere! Moviepass may be a small known company, but there are other companies who are known to the masses have done similar things in the stock market. In my country, one of the prime examples is Adlabs Entertainment Ltd. They sold their IPOs at 180 INR/share. When it was listed in the secondary market, the listing price was around 167 INR and now the trading price is 3.87 INR/share! All that happened within just 4 years. 

You can understand the kind of manipulation happened at the background when they decided to go public! Not just underwriters, even merchant bankers also also very much affiliated with such mishaps! This is just one example and I can give 10 more example from my country's stock market. Finally our market regulators have decided to do line-by-line audit before any IPOs are live for public!

Theoretically you are correct but in reality, virgin bitcoins are more valuable than normal bitcoin. Technically, both are bitcoins but the virgin one is being sold at premium in the market. The premium ranges from 10% to as much as 30% in some cases. Read the below article,

https://medium.com/@official_83664/what-are-virgin-bitcoins-and-where-can-i-buy-them-d6eab0f669e0

Due to the transparent blockchain technology, it is easier for the regulatory agencies to track down the bitcoins that are used in illegal settlements! Probably a normal human being like you and me, won't be able to differentiate between these "blood bitcoins" to "virgin bitcoin", but there are companies like chainanalysis or Ciphertrace is pioneering such techniques! Slowly becoming a reason of concern!

I understand you are new here. But always post a link to the article that you want to discuss here! That will help people to understand and get a background knowledge about the discussion. I am not sure what exact article you are trying to point out here but I think the below article is a good fit,

https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/op-ed%3A-u.s.-cryptocurrency-regulation-faces-uncertainty-in-2020-2019-12-18

US indeed is trying to introduce harsher measures in crypto field and we have seen some significant changes in 2019. IRS has also designed a new tax form for individuals to declare the crypto holding of their citizens! But it is always better to have something than nothing! Majority of the nations don't have any regulations around cryptos and many other have banned it! At least it's not banned in US and people are still able to function!

Obviously the punishment could have been more severe! However, what's important is that such criminals are at least getting arrested and brought under the court of law!

It's about channelising your energy to the right direction. If a kid of 22 years is able to hack through Apple network, definitely he is no ordinary computer programmer! But instead of using his skills for right things, he used it in a wrong way! I am glad, he at least got some punishment while many others are still roaming free!

You need to learn how the market capitalization is calculated.

Let's assume the price of 1 bitcoin is $1000 and there is 500 bitcoins mined till date. So at this scenario, bitcoin's market cap will be,

($1000 x 500) = $500000

It's that simple! It doesn't really matter who is selling or buying bitcoin to whom! So the market cap of any coin is not 100% accurate and sometimes misleading as well!

Hope this helps!

Definitely it is not the only reason why ETH price is dropping. Rather it is probably the most prominent reason among others which is bringing the price down. I am not saying this! Chainanalysis has recently published an article on the same and you may read it below,

https://blog.chainalysis.com/reports/plustoken-scam-bitcoin-price

China police has arrested 6 people till date but many are still outside the reach of the law who were associated with plustoken!  With a whooping $2 billion they have stripped from the common people, it is very much possible to manipulate and bring down the price!

Plustoken was a real bummer of crypto market while the interest was growing among the common mass about cryptos! It's goodbthat China police was able to arrest 6 criminals but few more of them are still untouched. I have recently read an article from Chainanalysis which says that scammed cryptos are still moving between different accounts. Read it below,

https://blog.chainalysis.com/reports/plustoken-scam-bitcoin-price

They are also estimating that plustoken scammers are probably bringing the price down due to increased supply in the secondary market.

1. Yes! It is expected to see the halving during mid 2020 and the impact should start showing from the very beginning of 2020 as the profitability will be less for miners. So a price surge is probably around the corner.

2. That's not gonna happen in 2020. No matter how hard Facebook pushes for it, regulators will keep on raising new concerns before approving it to float in the market. 2020 doesn't look bright for Libra!

3. Tighter IRS tax norm is already in place which gets dedicated area for disclosing your crypto holdings.

4. True! We all love passive income. Crypto community is already HODLing a lot of ETHs as an investment. This new algorithm will allow all of them to earn a passive income for HODLing. Who doesn't love free money?

Frankly speaking, a crypto exchange is a far more complex business that a paid script can control. There are hell lot of crypto exchanges in the market but only a few are good. Majority of them are prone to hacking and they don't have a plan B in case anything goes wrong! Frankly, not everyone can become a Binance like exchange!

So if you are planning to build a crypto exchange based on a paid script that are available in the market for all, please don't execute that idea!

Go ahead with the planning of creating a crypto exchange only if you have a sizable funding behind you and you have a plan B in place if anything goes wrong!

Yes, to some extent! US tax authority IRS is taking harsh measures to stop bitcoin and its impact on the economy disguised as a friend! In US, bitcoin is considered as a property instead of a security. That's the reason why people are liable to pay capital gains tax if they want to sell off their holdings! Even crypto to crypto swap calls for a tax event! So you can easily fathom the complexity a day traders has to face while declaring their tax. However, professional help is also available to make things easier for you!

US was always clear about their tax related matters! While the tax rules are pretty strict which gives you a very little chance for hiding anything, but not very unrealistic! Having a proper legal framework is always better than living in a limbo!

I get the sarcasm behind it! But it's much more bigger than we can think off and much more complex than that! I agree there are whales who constructs pump and dump game to siphon out millions within a short period of time, but demand and supply also takes a crucial role in the entire volatility graph! It's not always the choice of sellers to sell at a lower price, rather it's a forced decision majority of the times!

The math is simple. Why would a seller sell their bitcoins at a decreasing price when selling at a higher price will make them richer?