It seems that during these times of turmoil, Bitcoin's prices are increasing at a slow and steady rate. Since the mainstream economy has been on a downfall, people have been resorting to Bitcoin as a store of value. This gives Bitcoin "hodlers" greater spending power than before in terms of Fiat. You can now buy more things with Bitcoin than you did before COVID-19.

What would be the right thing to do during COVID-19? Should I spend Bitcoin or should I just "HODL" it? The more Bitcoin's prices increase on the market, the more tempting it is to spend one's Bitcoin holdings. But at the same time, you want to "HODL" your Bitcoin for the next ATH in price. What would you do?

Any advice, recommendations, or suggestions will be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

For long, politicians have been skeptical about crypto/Blockchain tech as it provides an "escape route" from the existing monetary system controlled by governments worldwide. Some of them have seen the benefits of this emerging industry, showing their support for crypto. In the US, a presidential candidate named "Andrew Yang" publicly expressed his support for crypto/Blockchain technology. Other politicians have touched the subject lightly. All of this is good since it helps Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies grow in the mainstream world. The same politicians supporting this emerging industry, could perform legislations to make crypto/Blockchain tech more legitimate in the mainstream world. Yet, the number of politicians supporting crypto is very small compared to those who don't.

Which politicians support Bitcoin? Do you think world leaders will embrace crypto/Blockchain tech at its fullest? Or will they go against it? What impact will mainstream politics have in the future direction of Bitcoin? Your input will be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

2017 began as a bullish year for Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies on the market. I remember when BTC went from $1k to almost $20k in just 2017 alone. That's a massive price increase never before seen in the history of crypto. During that time, new projects started to rise with ambitions to make our world a better place. ICOs where a big hit, followed by Bitcoin-based forks like Bitcoin Cash and Bitcoin Gold. Many who invested prior to the bull market of 2017, have made exponential gains in a short amount of time. It was crypto's best moment as it went into the mainstream so quickly.

Once 2018 started, prices for major cryptocurrencies went all the way down the drain. Governments imposed heavy-handed regulations against ICOs, reducing the demand for ETH and its tokens on the market. At the same time, some countries banned crypto from being used by their citizens. Many negative events happened in 2018, which stifled crypto's growth in the mainstream world. Then came 2019 that was almost the same as 2018, and now it's 2020 where people are starting to buy crypto once more because of the negative effects of COVID-19 on the mainstream economy. Yet, Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are still behind their latest ATH  (All-Time-High) in price. With BTC's Third Halving , prices should've been within the $15k range by now. Still, crypto is not the same as it used to be back in 2017.

Do you think that 2017 was the "Golden Year of Crypto"? Or is the best is yet to come? Your input will be greatly appreciated.

As of late, crypto has become extremely popular due to the negative effects of COVID-19 in the mainstream economy. People are starting to consider crypto to be a safe-haven against the traditional monetary system empowered by banks worldwide. Yet, the vast majority still relies on Fiat for day-to-day transactions because of its price stability and widespread acceptance in the mainstream world.

With the advent of privacy coins, people can enjoy true financial freedom like never before. Privacy coins can become attractive tools for illicit activities because of their untraceable blockchain ledger. Despite all of the benefits privacy coins provide, criminals still rely on Fiat for all of their nefarious actions. I'm starting to wonder why, since Fiat (physical cash) is not as anonymous as one thought it would be. Privacy coins are truly anonymous (especially those that are private by default like Monero and Grin), as there is no central authority behind them. Maybe criminals prefer Fiat because of its high level of adoption in the mainstream world? Or maybe because Fiat has an easier learning curve than crypto?

If by any means criminals start adopting crypto in mass (especially privacy coins), we could expect a full government crackdown on the entire industry. Which is why I think it's best for criminals to continue using Fiat for the sake of the crypto/Blockchain industry's growth worldwide. But we'll never know what will happen in the future. Thoughts?

According to an article on Cointelegraph, the US taxation agency (the IRS) is offering an attractive reward for anyone able to break the world's biggest privacy coin, as well as, Bitcoin's Lightning Network.

In a world where nothing is perfect, existing technologies have their own flaws. With this government initiative, the probability of compromising the XMR blockchain and the LN "Layer-Two" scaling solution becomes higher than ever. Of course, this is if someone is able to successfully crack into the aforementioned blockchain networks. Developers can easily counterattack government's efforts via a hard fork or something similar. However, by the time a fix is implemented, the government would've already exposed some users on the network. This raises some concerns, since it could threaten the privacy of people in crypto land.

Do you think the IRS will be able to find someone that will break into Monero and the Lightning Network? Or will it be impossible to achieve? What will be the outcome of crypto once it becomes compromised by government agencies? Your input will be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Dash is one of those old privacy coins with unique features not found elsewhere. For instance, the project has adopted a mechanism dubbed "ChainLocks" to protect the Blockchain against 51% attacks. It also has instant transactions (InstantSend) and privacy features (CoinJoin) baked into its protocol. Yet, Dash has been under the radar of many investors and traders alike sitting around $70 per coin. With a proven track record of development and innovation, Dash should've been in the top 5 cryptocurrencies in market cap by now.

Do you think Dash is undervalued? If not, why? Your input will be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Last time I've checked, fees in ETH (gas) for withdrawing tokens from a "De-Fi" platform were well above $100 (in USD). I have around $110 worth of DAI sitting on Compound without being able to withdraw it because of the ridiculously high fees on the ETH blockchain. If the trends continues, "De-Fi's" adoption in the mainstream world will stifle. No one will want to use "De-Fi" platforms for borrowing or lending money if costs aren't negligible. Scaling towards ETH 2.0 is an option, but it may take quite some time before we're able to experience a steep reduction in fees. There are alternative smart contract platforms like EOS and TRON, but the number of "De-Fi" platforms on them are extremely limited.

As of late, Vitalik has been patronizing "second layer" scaling solutions in order to remediate the issue in the short term. It'll be up to "De-Fi" platforms' developers to switch from the main ETH blockchain to a "Layer-Two" scaling solution like OMG or ZkSync. Migration might be a challenging task but not impossible. Sooner or later, ETH will need to scale its own Blockchain network with the adoption of sharding and PoS.

Any thoughts?

Most recently, ETC Labs have discussed the possibility of regulating mining rental platforms like NiceHash to prosecute malicious actors performing 51% attacks on the Ethereum Classic blockchain. They've decided to go towards the "regulation route" instead of implementing a mechanism to protect against such network disruptions. I believe that regulating miners goes against the ethos of crypto/Blockchain tech. I wouldn't be surprised if someday, crypto startups and companies come with the idea of imposing KYC on mining entities themselves. This would undermine the privacy and decentralization of Blockchain technology as we speak.

Do you think that mining rental platforms should be regulated? Will this prevent 51% attacks on most cryptocurrencies with a small network hashrate? If regulation is not ideal, what do you think should be the solution? Will governments be willing to require NiceHash to expose miners' identities? Your input will be greatly appreciated.

I'm looking for the easiest and most profitable cryptocurrency to mine with a smartphone right now. I have some spare Android devices (mainly phones) with a Quad-core CPU. I've been mining some XMR on them, but it takes forever to make some real money even with high-end phones. Electroneum could be an option, but the coin's price on the market is ridiculously low (and getting even lower over time). If I can put multiple Android phones to mine an specific cryptocurrency, I might be able to make some decent income along the way. I've downloaded "AAMiner" for Android which is an extremely convenient mining app with several PoW algorithms to choose from. I don't care about the phones' reduced lifespan as long as they're able to make me a steady amount of crypto daily.

Can anyone recommend me of the best coin to mine on a smartphone right now? Any help, suggestions, or recommendations will be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Just like the ICO boom of 2017, the "De-Fi" space seems to be heading towards an ever-rising hype cycle. It shouldn't be long enough before scams start "kicking in", making governments regulate the space in their entirety. If they impose heavy-handed regulations like they did in ICO's early days, "De-Fi" might no longer be the same.  Imagine developers being held liable for creating and launching a "De-Fi" platform on the Blockchain. The growth of the industry will stifle because of fierce regulations from mainstream governments. After what happened with ICOs, new denominations have emerged (namely STOs and IEOs). These new kind of ICOs have built-in mechanisms to comply with government's regulations such as seizure of assets and more. Something similar might happen with "De-Fi" if governments decide to start cracking down on the entire industry.

What do you think the outcome of "De-Fi" regulation will be? Will governments be successful at the task like they did with ICOs? Or not? Your input will be greatly appreciated.

According to an article found at CoinTelegraph, cryptocurrency intelligence firm "CipherTrace" has developed a tool that can track & trace Monero transactions. Imagine this company being able to track every single XMR transaction on the Blockchain. It would be disastrous to people's privacy. After all, "CipherTrace" will be working closely with the US government using this surveillance tool. I'm sure XMR developers will find a way to strengthen privacy of the Blockchain after this recent news. But while we're at it, current on-going transactions' privacy can be compromised as we speak.

Do you think CipherTrace's surveillance tool will be able to successfully trace & trace every single XMR transaction performed on the Blockchain? If not, why? Do you think they're lying in order to scare people off Monero? Your input will be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

I want to get started with Grin, but it's totally different from the average cryptocurrency. Unlike Bitcoin or Ethereum-based cryptocurrencies, there are no public keys to send coins to. All I get is the ability to send GRIN via a File or an HTTP Listener. I want to know how to send coins using the "File method" but I often find it quite challenging to understand.

In layman's terms (ELI5), can anyone explain me how to use GRIN cryptocurrency? I'd like to be able to buy coins from an exchange and send them to my own wallet. It's so hard to understand how GRIN works and how to use it if you come from traditional cryptocurrencies in the Blockchain space (eg: BTC and ETH). Some guidance will be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

According to CoinMarketCap, there are 6,588 cryptocurrencies being traded on the market right now. Almost every day we see new ambitious crypto projects being listed on major crypto exchanges, but only a select few are useful for the mainstream world. We already have Bitcoin and Ethereum, which are the most prominent cryptocurrencies on the market. Most (if not all) cryptocurrencies' code are based on either the Bitcoin or Ethereum blockchains. If we put aside additional features and base ourselves on the core blockchain protocol, then Bitcoin and Ethereum may be the only cryptocurrencies humanity needs to participate in the decentralized economy. I think that there are way too many cryptocurrencies and tokens on the market these days, considering that not everyone uses all of them for daily payments. Some developers launch new cryptocurrencies with no real use cases for the mainstream world just to make a quick buck.

Do you think the crypto market is saturated? If not, why? Your input will be greatly appreciated.

Once COVID-19 took the world by storm, the world's economy has been on a constant decline. Crypto has largely benefited from this, as the market experienced new gains in such as short amount of time. There's now a stablecoin and "De-Fi" craze making many ERC-20 tokens, stablecoins, and even Ethereum extremely popular in the mainstream world. Their prices have increased at a fast pace, leading many wondering what will come up next after the demise of COVID-19. If the world's economy starts recovering at a slow and steady pace, crypto's gains might not last for long. Maybe everything will return back to the way it was before the deadly disease? Or maybe crypto prices will remain stagnant on the market?

Whatever happens after COVID-19, there's no denying that crypto is a resilient alternative financial system in times of need. In a first of its kind, crypto has remained "impervious" from negative events in the mainstream world. My guess is that crypto will continue to go higher in price even after the demise of COVID-19, as people's trust in the banking system will diminish. The premier cryptocurrency (Bitcoin) will be officially recognized as a true alternative of Gold, proving itself as a store of value in times of need.

Thoughts?

Litecoin has been under the radar these days as all of the attention is on "De-Fi" apps and stablecoins. Both Bitcoin and Ethereum have enjoyed steady gains since the advent of COVID-19. But Litecoin has been often "overlooked" by many investors and traders alike. The development team has proposed a nifty privacy feature called "Mimblewimble" for the Litecoin blockchain, yet it's price is relatively the same or lower than it was before. It's quite surprising to see this since Litecoin is a scarce cryptocurrency like Bitcoin with only 84 million coins that will ever be mined. Maybe if Mimblewimble is released next year, Litecoin will perform better on the market?

Do you think 2021 will be the year of Litecoin? Will it have it a higher price by the next halving? Or will everything remain the same? Your input will be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Many (if not all) smart contracts offering banking services to the unbanked (De-Fi) are usually hosted on centralized web servers. While it's possible to interact with smart contracts by running their code on the ETH blockchain network, this involves a steep learning curve to the end user. The average person would interact with De-Fi apps on centralized infrastructure, as convenience/ease of use is put on top of everything else. For "De-Fi" apps to be 100% decentralized they'd need to be hosted on a P2P network like IPFS or even ZeroNet. But I guess that people don't care about "De-Fi" apps' decentralization as long as they're able to make profits in the shortest amount of time possible.

Do you think that "De-Fi" is not as decentralized as its proponents claim it to be? Does it need improvement? Your input will be greatly appreciated.

I'm looking for the easiest way to make old people understand Bitcoin more thoroughly. I want to let the elderly know about the "Bitcoin revolution", yet I find it quite challenging to explain it to them in a way they can understand how it all works. There are some wallets that have a "user-friendly" interface, but even the basics of sending/receiving Bitcoin can have a steep learning curve for the older people. A Bitcoin wallet with built-in accessibility features, could help even elder people with vision or hearing problems to use the pioneer cryptocurrency in their daily lives.

If you happen to know of a way to make old people understand Bitcoin easily, please let me know. Any suggestions or recommendations will be highly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

It's been a long time since I don't invest in old coins that have been tried-and-tested over the years. I remember when Primecoin and Namecoin used to be a hit within crypto's early days. But XPM's development has stalled (AFAIK) leaving it with very low trading volume/activity. The same thing has happened with NMC and some other old coins on the market. There are still good-old ones that are actively being traded on the market like Dogecoin and Litecoin. Yet, I'm looking for the best performing old coins on the market right now that will serve as an ideal long-term investment.

Do you happen to know of the best performing old coins on the market? Any suggestions or recommendations will be highly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

It's been around 3 years since Bitcoin adopted SegWit and the Lightning Network in order to become more scalable for the mainstream world to use. Right now, people can enjoy the benefits of lower fees by interacting with native SegWit addresses. The benefits are even greater with the use of the Lightning Network which provides near-instant transaction processing times and ridiculously low fees. While most wallet providers, and exchanges have adopted SegWit, not everyone uses it on the main BTC blockchain. Even worse, LN's adoption is in the ground despite being actively promoted by its supporters.

Is there something I'm missing here? Why is adoption for SegWit and LN on Bitcoin still low today? I'm sure that if everyone started using these solutions more thoroughly, the BTC blockchain wouldn't be so bloated nowadays. Thoughts ?

There are many "De-Fi" (Decentralized Finance) apps out there in the crypto/Blockchain space, each with their unique features and offerings. The most popular one is Compound.Finance which provides loans and also lets lenders earn from attractive interest rates. So far, "De-Fi" apps have been widely successful providing "Banking to the Unbanked". With stablecoins mimicking traditional Fiat currencies, people can enjoy banking in a completely decentralized manner. The emergence of COVID-19 in the mainstream world, has accelerated adoption of "De-Fi" apps and stablecoins by a large rate.

If "De-Fi" apps become extremely popular and work as intended, do you think the industry will replace traditional banking in the future? Or does it have a long way to go?

Your input will be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.