This will provide one more pretext for global regulatory bodies to put the brakes on Bitcoin.  Nothing beats a 'clean n green' halo around one's head when they use this as a flogging stick to beat Bitcoin with.

On the other hand, even in terms of the Cryptocurrency world's own internal dynamics, this makes other coins more attractive vis-a-vis Bitcoin. All that they need is the luck of Bitcoin to proliferate wildly.

As long as there's even one successful ICO launch, we must necessarily believe in ICOs.

Blockchain is a distributed public ledger.

The word 'distributed' encompasses many of the features that the other posters are terming as 'democratic'. Additionally, it relates to the decentralised nature of the blockchain.

Here's an amusing take on the Consensus 2018 do in New York, that somebody termed as the 'Coachella of Bitcoin'!

https://mashable.com/2018/05/14/consensus-blockchain-cryptocurrency-conference/

This sounds very tempting. Only when you read the T & C do you realise that the discount tops at Rupees One Hundred max ....   

If you are not filing an ITR because your earnings are meagre or nil, even then you can now file online using the Saral form.  Since it's already that time of the year when we file and pay taxes, this wouldn't be too difficult.  The Saral form is easy and simple to fill. You will get the acknowledgement immediately. Hopefully, you've got a PANcard, and perhaps Aadhaar.

That should solve your refund worries!

I am rethinking this issue.

RCB has shown a remarkable turnaround.  But, can the passion of Virat Kohli suffice to power them to the trophy? Whatever, they'll need to first qualify in the top four to enter the playoffs.   

No, Sir, You are very much in the wrong over there.  Bitcoin is a commodity that is presented as a 'virtual currency'.  It may be used as money, but that's essentially barter. At its heart, it is no more than an in-game currency, User Points that command a premium for various reasons.

Just learnt via breaking news about the Central Government cabinet reshuffle; and CA Piyush Goyal is the new Finance Minister.

Does anyone on this forum know about his attitude toward Cryptocurrency in general, and Bitcoin and ICOs in particular? Whether from previous public discussions, press notes, or even informal conversation, anything would help.

Naturally, his official position would be dictated mostly by the bureaucrats in his ministry, but it will be useful to note his personal views on this issue that is critically important to all of us here on this forum.

One major obstacle toward Bitcoin's acceptance by the mainstream is its extreme volatility. Effectively, this volatility means that Bitcoin is more a commodity than a currency.

That being the case, if, and that's a big 'IF', we wish to further the cause of Bitcoin as a currency with mainstream acceptance, there needs must be a mechanism in place to 'dampen' the volatility.

Central Banks stabilise their International fiat currencies through some exchange rate mechanism, that prevents excessive volatility. Can a similar mechanism operate for Bitcoin?

But, who will be in charge of a setup that is not just intentionally decentralised, it is explicitly anti-centralised?!

Are these just the design limitations of Bitcoin that we have to put up with; or can Bitcoin evolve?


 

I am quoting from the article.  Only a limited number of characters fit into the title, so I've mentioned that its a quote in the start of the text. I'm also editing the title to add quotation marks.

So claims the (in)famous Dr Doom, Nouriel Roubini, thus termed on account of his scarily accurate prediction of the 2008 financial meltdown.

https://www.livemint.com/Opinion/lk9NVvcRGKPdO17QvcfiZI/Initial-coin-offerings-scams-by-con-artists.html

tl;dr:

81% of ICOs are scams created by con artists and swindlers looking to take your money and run.

ICOs serve little purpose other than to skirt securities laws that exist to protect investors from being cheated.

all cryptocurrencies as securities, with the exception of the first mover, Bitcoin, which he considers a commodity.

implication is that even Ethereum and Ripple—the second- and third-largest crypto-assets—are currently operating as unregistered securities.

the ICO charlatans would effectively take us—not to the futuristic world of The Jetsons, but to the modern Stone Age world of The Flintstones where all transactions occur through the barter of different tokens or goods.

Some strong stuff that! Dr Doom is never the one to hold back, but this is less of a slap, more of a frontal assault.

Oops, there goes his credibility!   

Even assuming his speech is laced with coherent facts and cogent arguments; he has forfeited the right to make extraordinary claims that can be contemplated seriously.

Reading through this thread scares me. I have no achievement(s) to speak of as of date.   

Maybe, someday I might write a book, start a social network, launch an ICO, write a sci-fi screenplay; and, talk of longevity and outer space like Elon Musk.

But, those are just like dreams for now.   

My solution is somewhat politically incorrect. Child labour occurs because of a poverty mindset over several, if not countless, generations. The parents, and indeed the entire communities, of children forced to work are conditioned to the mindset of thinking of them as miniature hands that can earn easy money.

In a 'proper' social-engineering country like China, the authorities would immediately remove these children from the guardianship of their parents.  In fact, the same would be the case in advanced Western countries. India tries to appease everyone, hence falls even deeper into the morass by the day.

Free elementary schooling with nutritious meals is a half way solution. The parents of child labourers entirely avoid sending them to school. The solution then is to make sure that they do not breed. Sanjay Gandhi experimented with this solution, but thereafter every politician was scared to touch this issue.

If such restrictions on procreation by the habitually offending groups are enforced, only then can the problem be solved. Else, its mayhem as usual in India: s.n.a.f.u.   

While it does seem alarming indeed, if I'm not mistaken, this kind of situation prevails in many other countries. The Zimbabwe Central Bank's stipulations might as well have been copy-pasted from a recent 'advisory' put out by India's central bank, (the Reserve Bank of India).

Perhaps, globally, the central banking institutions are doing their due diligence, and the output is influenced by the ideological flavour of those countries as well as the extent of control they desire over the influence of Cryptocurrency on their economy.

These are action-reaction sequences that might well extend over the next decade or more, until some unwieldy consequence forces a cascade of uncontrolled events, like the 2008 spiral that led to the birth of Bitcoin in the first place.  

The concept seems fine in principle. Nevertheless, before launching a real, live version, any sensible administration will need to do serious testing, and bounty hacking invites on those test versions, for several years.

We hear of frequent exploits on the blockchain apparatus, as when the exchanges reveal the weakness of this system. Imagine such a hack on a land record!

Paper trails and administrative oversight will continue for several more decades, until confidence in the blockchain setup is well established in other similar fields, for this application to land records and real estate to be considered a zero-risk venture, and suitable for live use.

Without followers nobody is going to pay you to post stuff.

So, how do you obtain followers?

First, You need to choose a specific niche. Find out what the other accounts are in that niche, and what they are posting. Identify their hashtags.

Make an Excel spreadsheet of the hashtags: #hashtag, number of pics (this info is available in IG), category, date when you entered this record. Okay, the date is not really important, but don't forget the others.

Decide on the grand strategy of your account.  What are you going to post, the topics you are going to cover, how you are going to source the pics for the posts, etc.

Then make your posts. You can add up to 30 hashtags.  Study what type of text clicks.

Remember, emotional content is key!

Write a solid bio, post a strong profile pic, and use the one link allowed in the bio.

After you build a goodish portfolio, people will follow you through the hashtags.  Now, check the followers of accounts in your niche and follow them.  Like their recent posts, and post some nice comments. Human nature causes them to see who their fan is, and if your account feels good to them, they will follow you back in return.

There's automated software on the net for this, but IG's algo can spot the uptick and suspend or ban you. So, best to test this out manually.  If it works, maybe you can take that risk off and on

You can also make a promotional carousel or video and through Facebook ads you will be able to push it across Instagram. Check the response; in the (unlikely and rare) event that it clicks, rinse and repeat, it's that simple!

Instagram rates are US $ 5 cpm, i.e., 5 dollars for one thousand impressions. Conversion rate is 0.60 to 0.80, so 6 to 8 of those will click/ convert.  Figure out the initial stats and estimates for your budgeting, and fine-tune based upon the response.

Now that you've got REAL followers, when you post relevant, emotional content expect lots of likes, and some comments.  If you have 100k genuine followers, a solid post should get 2k, 5k, max 10k likes; and 200+ comments.

Marketers will first examine your niche for relevance to their activities. Next, the number of your followers; and finally, and most importantly, the engagement on your posts, in terms of likes, comments, and the quality of those comments.

You can buy Fake followers. Some do so for the initial seeding of their account. You are more likely to follow an account with 5k followers than 500. But, there are some big accounts who are all fake, even 100k, 500k and million plus accounts!   

Also, people buy likes for their posts, and even comments to game the system, but you can verify the poor quality of fake accounts. Marketers always avoid such accounts.

Post quality stuff, and post consistently, at least 2,3 times a week. Fine-tune your approach to maximise engagement.

So, play honest, and in an year you'll be able to reap solid, if not handsome, gains. There are short cuts, but they fizzle out. Play the long game honestly, and you are sure to succeed, in direct proportion to your application.

Oh, and for the above, factor in one 3-4 hour session 5 times a week. When I started out (on what I thought would be a low tension part time activity) I thought it would be an hour at the most per day, but it surely takes more time than that. Also, figure out your Grand Strategy at the outset, or in the early phase. Because, guided action is most important.

I've written this longish essay because I'm reinforcing my own IG strat as I write. Its an instant recollection of all that I have learnt online w.r.t. monetising your IG account.

Now, You go ahead and apply these lessons. Write back to me when you launch, and also when you succeed.

Amazon has patented a way by which to identify otherwise anonymous bitcoin addresses.  More on that stuff here:

https://www.techspot.com/news/74246-amazon-granted-patent-tracking-bitcoin-transactions-selling-data.html

Perhaps, they are pursuing this track so as to remove the 'anonymous, hence illicit' stigma, and enable Bitcoin payments eventually.

Maybe the Aussies will go after the 'truly' anonymous coins like Monero, and Bitcoin will attain some respectability, if it manages its volatility, that is.

Currently, there's simply no way in which you can launch an ICO from India. Even if somebody did so, there are so many legal uncertainties, its guaranteed to end in tears.

Any ICO launch requires almost a couple of million US dollars. If you, and/or your investors commit this much money, why not add less than one hundred thousand more that relocating to Singapore/ Cyprus/ Malta/ Estonia may cost; especially when the outcome is peace of mind, and a proper sense of the regulatory space?!

That said, you can do a pre-launch from India, and attract traction and investment for a proper ICO launch later, based in any of these non-Indian locales, or tonier places like Switzerland, New Zealand, Australia, Canada, etc.

This pre-launch would need to be more in the form of a pre-token/ pre-coin, and more like 'User Points'.  Will affect your credibility a bit, but if you garner traction, there's always the rosy future of a proper ICO from a 'proper' ICO-friendly location.