This is good news overall. Regulations usually start out as stringent, especially if the one imposing them doesn't know much about what they are regulating yet. Eventually, as the government spots the areas that don't require regulating, the resistance will finally start to subside until it's easier for everyone.

I just realized that cryptocurrency is going through the same ordeal as "hemp". The plant is illegal in most parts of the world because of its psychoactive effect. I can't wait for governments to realize that they can get rid of the 1 substance causing the psychoactive effect and take advantage of the 99 other substances that have proven medical benefits.

Whatever it is that's scaring some governments from legalizing cryptocurrency is slowly diminishing. I just hope to see mass adoption in my lifetime.

  

Even banks don't refund everything when they get bankrupt. In my country, account holders can only recover up to 500K no matter how much balance they have when their bank collapses. Exchanges probably have a worse policy when it comes to refund.

There are already tons of resources online that people can use. Even in this forum alone, there are many posts that provide an easy guide to learning cryptocurrency. I won't recommend having all info consolidated in a textbook because that's quite difficult to access. An ebook perhaps. But, like studying any other complex subject, there are multiple ways to learn cryptocurrency. We can all start by understanding the basics then go separate ways as we dive deeper. In other words, studying a single textbook might not be the best idea. Online materials are more than enough.

Between avoiding the risk of losing everything and the chance of gaining 8% APY (which btw I can earn from other sources), I'd choose the former. I'll keep coins on exchanges, too, but not more than what I can afford to lose. I think a better advice would be to use both channels wisely. There's no point in choosing between one and the other.

What specific service did you hire them for? And how did they destroy your ranking? I believe Upwork has a way to penalize bad service providers. Don't worry about ranking; the moment you start again and hire a better company, it can recover. Unfortunately, if what they did affected your reputation, it'll be a bit harder to recover, unless you do some sort of reputation management, which is an entirely different digital marketing service.

I wonder what sort of regulatory requirements forced them to stop operating in those countries. I understand that some countries openly denounce crypto so they implement really strict regulations. I just hope that someday, these countries will have enough safety nets to manage whatever risks they are so afraid to take just to cut crypto some slack.    

Even if I have regrets for not getting into crypto earlier, I still feel lucky to be in it before it takes off in terms of mass adoption. Most likely, whoever owns that business is investing in bitcoin and that tells a lot about how they find their investment lucrative. I hope more businesses in my country start doing the same. The little promotion could give bitcoin adoption an extra push.

Finally, a major government has actually shown its confidence in cryptocurrency (or have I read the news wrong or it's just another ponzi scheme?--please correct me if I have). The last I check the coins are for sale at YuanPay Group and will eventually be offered in every crypto exchanger worldwide. I wonder how this will affect bitcoin's price moving forward (if this is true). As I understand it, a coin's price normally skyrockets during the first few days of launch. In the words of business magnate Sir Richard Branson, "Every time a major corporation announces even a small partnership with an individual cryptocurrency, that coin's value skyrockets." Overall, this is a big leap for crypto I suppose (if this is true).  

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Turns out it's a scam (thanks for confirming).

Obviously, they don't have any plans on adopting cryptocurrency. And pinaka-objective nila ay gamitin ang blockchain technology para makagawa ng sarili nilang "regulated" digital currency. The last thing they want is to lose what they protect the most--control--which is what Bitcoin is trying to dismantle. Hopefully, magbago ang perspective nila at magfocus sila sa pagtulong kung paano mareregulate ang use ng bitcoin without changing its core aspects.  

Okay naman ito kasi it helps educate people of how digital currency works. Ang problema lang this "digital currency" is regulated by the central bank. Eh 'di ba bitcoin is created to help people move away from banks, let alone the "central bank"? It is created to decentralize the financial system. So, even if it is "digital" like bitcoin, I don't think it offers the same solution. Ang mangyayari niyan regulated pa rin, hindi maaalis yung mga major extra steps sa transaction process.

Manghinayang or malungkot kung nag-invest ka, oo, kasi maghohodl ka na naman. Pero magulat? I don't think so. We already know how volatile bitcoin is. It's just a matter of making the right choice when the opportunity comes. Kahit sa ibang currencies naman ganoon din ang kalakaran. Medyo mas mababa nga lang ang risk sa mga iyon kasi hindi gaanong volatile.

I read in today’s news that Lithuania’s Central Bank will soon launch its state-backed cryptocurrency called LBCOIN in the wake of the pandemic, which we all know is hurting the global economy so bad. They said that this is meant to encourage people to turn to cashless payments. The trial of blockchain technology and digital currencies started in July and is entering its final phase. It’s a project that Bank of Lithuania (BoL) has been developing since 2018.

It was also mentioned that these developments are encouraging central banks from all over the world to adopt a central bank digital currency.

Excerpt:

“There is no doubt that other countries will be following this experiment closely as the race for a central bank digital currency (CBDC) is accelerating. In a report published on July 2, the Bank of Japan announced moving towards a testing phase aiming at introducing a CBDC eventually.

A survey conducted in January 2020 among 66 central banks by the Bank for International Settlements showed that more than 80 per cent of them were developing a central bank digital currency.”

There’s even a three-paragraph section that vaguely explains how the blockchain works.

There are two things I don’t understand:

1.   Why can’t they just adopt Bitcoin?
2.   Isn’t CBDC just a digital form of “money” and not really a cryptocurrency (because it’s still regulated by a central bank)? How would the blockchain apply there?

In my opinion, this move is quite shady in terms of promoting cryptocurrency. I mean, cryptocurrency is a threat to central banks because its primary purpose is to dismantle the “centralized financial system”, so why are central banks trying to promote cryptocurrency this way now? And how can they confuse cryptocurrency with CBDC so easily? Can someone enlighten me, please? There are a lot of things I don’t understand.

If the site seems new and starts asking for money before you even get to explore it, it's most likely a scam. They usually target newbies in trading because most of them are still easy prey. That's why it's important for anyone new to bitcoin and exchanges to join forums like this where we get to read tips from experienced members. 

I understand that bitcoin's value may affect its adoption since more people will be interested to use it if its price keeps on shooting up. But how high does it have to go before it becomes ripe for mass adoption? And how low does its price have to drop before we start getting worried?  

I understand that cold storage wallets are the safest form of bitcoin wallets because they are completely independent from the Internet.

I also understand that a cold storage wallet may come in the form of a piece of paper, a hardware device, or simply a memorized seed phrase. I’d prefer using a hardware wallet because I’m more familiar with it and it's apparently the most durable of the three. Of course, I’m still going to use my web and desktop wallets but it would be nice to have a hardware wallet as early as now.

Someone told me that it’s best to buy a hardware wallet directly from a manufacturer to avoid getting a tampered product. Is that always true? How risky can buying from a reseller be? Can you recommend a good brand or manufacturer? And how much do hardware wallets usually cost? Thanks in advance for your answers and tips.

May bagong announcement ang Facebook kahapon lang yata o noong isang araw. Mas strikto na raw sila ngayong October. Pwede na raw silang mag-alis ng mga post na pwedeng ikapahamak ng Facebook. Siguro dahil na rin ilang beses nang pinatawag sa kongreso si Mark Zuckerberg para magpaliwanag. I believe this change has a lot to do with misinformed or misleading posts and ads like that freely circulating within their website. And it's a good move kasi hindi naman iyan issue ng press freedom. Press freedom or freedom of expression doesn't cover defamation or misinformation. Sana pati Google at iba pang malalaking sites, hindi lang socmed, ay maging mas mahigpit na rin para patas sa lahat. Bitcoin's reputation has suffered enough from these click-baits.  

Two things anyone thinking of trying cryptocurrency should know before going for it--1.) It's a risky form of investment, and 2.) It's not created to make you rich. By knowing that it's risky, you'll be cautious and you'll invest time and effort to understand it. By knowing that it's not created to make you rich, you'll approach it with a different perspective, and that leads you in the right direction. One of the most common lines I read and hear about investing in cryptocurrency is "invest only what you can afford to lose", which works on all kinds of investment, not just crypto. Therefore, your success in cryptocurrency depends on how you manage the risks surrounding it. Accumulating knowledge can help you make the right decisions.   

Different people answer other people's questions about Bitcoin differently. And different people asking about Bitcoin take other people's answers differently as well. To claim that we are making it complicated to say this and that may not be entirely accurate. It can be complicated for some, but it can also be a life-saver for others, especially when they get an answer or explanation that teaches them a secure option, such as a hardware wallet. I think a better way to put it is to mention both the basic and the complicated aspect of each information you are sharing. For instance, if someone asks you what the safest wallet is, invest a little more time to show at least three options and their pros and cons.     

The first step to bitcoin adoption is to accept that it's a currency. After all, it's competing against fiat money, which is also a currency (in terms of the goal to decentralize the financial system). Imagine inventing the time machine, but after introducing it to the public, it was accepted and used as a teleportation machine instead. That time machine will never serve its purpose. 

I saw this amazing tutorial video about bitcoin trading that says the word "hodl" came from a typographical error in a post by someone from this forum. That instantly became one of the reasons why I joined here. I was so intrigued by the fact that such a tiny mistake (or possibly intentional) is now accepted and widely used as an official business term across the Bitcoin space. I thought this forum must be so influential that it can freely input new terms in the Bitcoin dictionary if it wants to and no one would argue.