Most people see Bitcoin as an investment tool than a currency. They believe it will always go up no matter what. While the halving promises to reduce Bitcoin's block reward (effectively making it scarcer), it's not a guarantee market prices will go higher than they were before. Everything will depend on the rules of supply and demand. If there's a lot of demand for BTC while the supply is low, prices will skyrocket at a very fast pace. Otherwise, not. With how the global economy is performing, it's very unlikely Bitcoin will reach a new ATH in price soon. Not even the halving will save it. What it could only do is make Bitcoin rise a little bit in price, but not to a point where it crosses its latest ATH of over $68k per coin. Only an end to the current economic crisis will make it happen.

At least, Bitcoin is still alive despite rising energy costs and geopolitical uncertainty. That shows us how resilient the cryptocurrency is compared to traditional Fiat. The latter is bound to collapse due to exorbitantly-high inflation rates. I don't think rising interest rates would be of any help, as the Russo-Ukraine war continues to disrupt the global supply chain. If Fiat collapses, then it would be a huge win for Bitcoin. Who knows if 2024 would turn out to be BTC's luckiest year yet? Just my thoughts

The Merge was never about reducing network fees or improving transaction confirmation times. It was all about reducing carbon emissions, effectively resulting in a 99.9% energy-efficient blockchain network. Subsequent network upgrades will target ETH's scaling issues more thoroughly. While the initial phase of The Merge resulted in heavy centralization, things are bound to improve for the better as Vitalik planned some fixes to help address the problem. He said there will be some upgrades that will help tackle the MEV issue to reduce the chance of censorship on the blockchain. There's no designated timeframe for this, but at least we know ETH won't stay centralized forever.

Compared to other chains, I think ETH is still the best option out there after Bitcoin. It's still going strong as the world's second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap despite centralization issues. I'd trust ETH more than BNB, Solana, or XRP which are heavily-centralized "shitcoins". Who knows how far ETH will go? Just my opinion

I don't think he will dare to add Dogecoin as a micropayments tool on the platform, as it will attract unwanted attention (either from the regulators or hackers). Would you imagine Twitter being under heavy scrutiny due to allegations of people using DOGE for money laundering and tax evasion? Even if Mr. Musk only adds the option for verified users (those with the blue tick), that won't stop regulators from weighing in. Twitter is neither a bank or a money service business (MSB). It doesn't even have a license for that, so don't count on DOGE being added to the platform anytime soon.

All Elon Musk wants is fame and fortune. He's already rich, but somehow he wants more money than what he has (greed). By "pumping" Dogecoin, he will be able to multiply his investment in no time. No one knows what's in his mind, leading me to wonder what will he come up with next? Just my thoughts

Litecoin is one of those good-old coins that are as solid as Bitcoin itself in terms of decentralization and censorship-resistance. It's fast, dirt cheap, with an extremely-limited supply of 84m coins. If inflationary cryptocurrencies like BNB and ETH went all the way to the moon, then LTC can do better. The problem with Litecoin is that development progress is quite slow compared to other cryptocurrencies being traded on the market. Not only that, but the project is weak on the marketing/promotion side. If the team would've done a better job in this regard, Litecoin would've been among the top 5 coins in market cap.

Impressively, the coin hasn't vanished yet as many exchanges are still supporting it. There are a lot of trading pairs for LTC, so it's likely the coin will be with us for a very long time. As much as I'd like to see LTC rise in price, I think it's a lost cause. After all, people are focused on big players with shiny-new features (mainly smart contract platforms like BNB, Cardano, Avalanche, and Polygon). At least, Litecoin is a usable cryptocurrency. Who knows how far will it go? Just my opinion

Thanks for the tip. It's best to trade with more than one person to help diversify the risks of loss as much as possible. I've tried AgoraDesk, but I was about the get scammed by someone who had positive feedback. The person wanted me to wire him the money to a bank account, even though the listing stated "Bitcoin to PayPal". It could've been that his account on AgoraDesk was hacked or something else (that was quite a few months ago, btw).

I've read a lot about Bisq, so I'm going to give that platform a shot to see what happens. It's my best bet to sell BTC for cash without leaving any trace. With ever-increasing regulations on the crypto industry, it's better to be safe than sorry by avoiding centralized exchanges altogether. Can you imagine if someday the government uses info about your trades performed in a CEX against your own will? Staying anonymous (under the radar), would prevent many headaches in the long run.

I've thought so. HDD mining would be so resource-intensive (on the CPU side), that only large datacenters would be able to afford maintenance costs. I think HDD mining encourages greater centralization over the Blockchain, than it's the case with GPU mining. At least, it's not as bad as staking. There doesn't seem to be any news surrounding Chia or Burst coin anyways, so it's likely HDD mining will become dead in the future. Most miners are looking to make a quick buck, so they would go for the PoW algorithm that gives them the best bang for their buck. GPUs and ASICs are all there is to make a return on your investment in no time. Who knows what the next big thing in the mining industry will be? Just my thoughts

That's what I've thought. But if governments are keen into pushing digital payments, then they're going to have to provide the necessary tools to make it happen. I believe the transition from physical to digital Fiat will be a slow one as not everyone is used to credit/debit cards or even in-app purchases. As you've said before, there are many people without access to the Internet. Not only that, but there are old people who don't like to use anything else other than paper money to pay for goods and services. Governments who issue CBDCs are going to have to experiment with it for a while before the transition is 100% complete.

We have to say that digital money is unavoidable, thanks to the ever-rising popularity of Bitcoin and its derivatives. Exactly when will the whole world go cashless, is an excellent question. I'm in no hurry of seeing CBDCs in action, especially when paper money brings greater privacy benefits to the end user. Once everything goes digital, you can say goodbye to your privacy for good. Who knows how the future will look like with CBDCs and crypto in play? Just my opinion

Yes. But Binance was still considered FTX's biggest contender in the crypto/Blockchain space. Merging FTX into Binance would make the latter much more powerful than what it is right now. Imagine if Binance keeps buying other exchanges until the becomes the sole player in the industry. It would pose unnecessary risks crypto was meant to avoid in the first place (single points of failure). If Binance goes down, you can expect the whole crypto market to crash all the way down to rock bottom. It'll be hard if not impossible for prices to recover within the short term.

Consider how Cryptsy (a now defunct exchange) caused a severe blow to the crypto market prices as it was one of the biggest exchanges in the world. Just like it happened with Cryptsy, it could happen with Binance at some point in the future. I believe regulators should step in to help prevent Binance from becoming a monopoly. Only then, there will be healthy competition which results in greater decentralization in the long run. It looks like the merger won't happen anytime soon (Binance backed down after it saw FTX's books), so we should have nothing to worry about. Just my thoughts

I'm looking for the fastest smart contract platform in the world that's based on Ethereum's EVM. I've tried Polygon (MATIC) and BNB, and I have to say they're extremely fast. But could there be another contender which is faster? Something like instant transaction confirmation times and zero gas fees while using the same "engine" as the ETH blockchain would definitely do the trick.

Any suggestions? Your input will be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

There are talks among the world's major central banks to begin the creation of their own digital currencies (Central Bank Digital Currencies for that matter). The launch of Bitcoin, and the widespread popularity of "De-Fi", has led governments to act fast before they're left behind the game. They know they can't beat Bitcoin, so they will try to be in-par with it by launching digital currencies of their own. The average person won't notice any difference with the new digital cash system, as everything would be the same as using a credit/debit card.

I'm beginning to question whenever CBDCs will be able to replace paper money for good, or will it co-exist with the old system? After all, credit/debit cards didn't manage to replace paper money when they launched. For being in the 21st century, I'd say paper money should be phased out as soon as possible. Everything should turn digital, as we live in a digital society.

How long do you think it will take for paper money to be phased out for good? Will CBDCs be able to replace not only paper money but also credit/debit cards? Your input will be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

The crypto industry is becoming more centralized by the day, as major industry players comply with strict government regulations. People who want to get access to crypto will find it almost impossible to do so without providing their personally-identifiable information. This would make crypto no different than traditional banks. There are some platforms where you can sell Bitcoin for cash anonymously, but you'd face the risk of getting scammed easily.

What would be the safest way to sell your BTC without KYC? Please feel free the share your methods here for the benefit of all. Thanks.

Binance has been a moving force in the crypto industry for quite some time, making it one of the biggest exchanges in the world. While there are many competitors striving to take Binance's "throne", but none have been able to succeed so far. Most recently, Binance offered to buy FTX for a hefty sum of money. If the deal goes through, that means Binance will become more powerful than what it is right now. After all, FTX is the second-largest crypto exchange in the world. That's a dangerous play because Binance would be one step closer towards becoming a monopoly. Imagine if Binance buys everything, and becomes the sole player in the industry. A hack, a government shut down, or any other undesired situation would destroy the crypto market completely. That's why I think it's important to have competition for the good of the industry. I can't imagine how high BNB's price will go if Binance gets to control all of the crypto market.

What are your thoughts? Do you think Binance is (or will become) a monopoly? If not, why? Do you think purchasing FTX is a good idea? Your input will be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

There used to be a lot of hype back then when Chia was the "new kid in town". Many people rushed to buy HDDs (Hard Disk Drives) just to mine Chia for profit. Before Chia launched, there was a coin called "Burst" which was also based on HDD mining. This old coin didn't turn out to become much of a success unlike its successor (Chia). For quite some time now, there's been silence regarding the HDD mining industry. The whole crypto space is focused on PoS coins that are centralized by design. It makes me wonder whenever the HDD mining hype is over or if there's a possibility of a comeback? After all, HDD mining is much more accessible than staking.

What do you think? Is the HDD mining hype is over? If so, do you think there will be a comeback? Why mining with HDDs isn't as popular as mining with GPUs or ASICs? Your input will be greatly appreciated. Thank you very much.

Did you mean "how a project can be decentralized when it is created by people with publicly-known identities?" If that's the case, then you're absolutely correct. No project can be truly decentralized if the persons behind it (developers, founder) are widely known to the public. They need to stay anonymous to help protect censorship-resistance at all costs. When identities are known, governments can prosecute the persons behind the project to get what they want. That's not possible with projects whose creator or developing team are unknown.

Consider how no one has been able to stop Bitcoin because the creator decided to remain anonymous. If Satoshi decided to reveal his identity, it would've been game over for Bitcoin. Web 3.0 can still have a future if developers decide to step up to the game to help defend censorship-resistance for good. Getting out of centralized infrastructure is the first step towards true decentralization. Unfortunately, most developers want to attract investors into their projects so the only way they can do that is by revealing their identities to the public. Otherwise, investors will think the project is a scam. Web 3.0 is just starting to blossom, so let's give it some time to see what happens. Just my thoughts

Ethereum may be turning centralized, but other coins are faring worse (with the exception of Bitcoin). I believe that what's happening now is only temporary, since "The Merge" is in its very beginnings (it's only been around 2 months since the upgrade materialized on the ETH blockchain). Give it some time, and you'll see more validators hop in. I think with the upcoming scaling upgrade (which will integrate Sharding into the ETH blockchain), the network's centralization problems will come to an end.

I'm hopeful that will be the case for the good of "De-Fi". It would be quite disappointing to see ETH turning centralized, after being the pioneer of Web 3.0. After all, ETH always promised to be the platform for "unstoppable applications". That could only be a achieved with a decentralized and censorship-resistant blockchain. Many competitors come and go, but I believe ETH will last thanks to the solid foundation built upon it. The future is unpredictable, so we can only hope for the best. Just my opinion

Solana is its own independent Blockchain network with its own set of tools and programming language for smart contracts. There's no other platform that's as fast and cheap as Solana (someone correct me if I'm wrong). However, it's also one of the most unreliable blockchains in the world. The network often experiences outages, while competing chains like ETH and ADA have been running smoothly without these kinds of issues. I guess that's what happens when the project sacrifices decentralization in favor of high performance and cost-efficiency. Developers don't seem to care about fixing outages, as they're only focused on the money. The announcement of a new phone powered by the Solana blockchain, tells us just that. For some reason, whales are keeping SOL among the top ranks in market cap. Most people want convenience these days, so they wouldn't care using Solana even though network outages are the norm on the Blockchain.

Ultimately, the market will decide whenever Solana will stay at the top or go all the way down the drain. As long as decentralization wins, there should be nothing to worry about. Just my thoughts

Couldn't agree more with you, mate. $20 sounds unrealistic right now, especially when MATIC has a large supply of coins in circulation. At first, I've thought MATIC would reach $20, as the "De-Fi" and NFT hype would make it go all the way to the moon. But now that the hype is somewhat over, we're beginning to see a realistic market valuation based on utility. The only way MATIC would ever get to $20 is if BTC continues to soar like crazy. Other than that, it will have a hard time getting past $2 anytime soon.

Don't get me wrong, MATIC is still a good cryptocurrency with blazing-fast transaction speeds and dirt-cheap gas fees. I think this is the reason why major companies like Disney and Coca-Cola decided to join the Polygon blockchain. Compared to other competing chains, Polygon is secured by the ETH blockchain. That means it's as strong and resilient as ETH. I'd say prices are pretty cheap these days, so it wouldn't hurt to buy some more just in case it "explodes" in price. Just my opinion

I hate to break it to you, but mining coins on a phone is a complete waste of time and money. You'd just do it for fun, rather than profit. There were tons of CPU-mineable coins which turned out to be a failure in the long run. Electroneum was one of them, followed by Pi Network and several others. Back then, there was a coin named "Magi", but the original developer abandoned the project some time ago. The community has taken over it, but it's not the same as the good-old days. What I like most about the coin is that all miners are equal on the Blockchain. There's an algorithm which penalizes big miners by reducing the block reward. So you'd have to mine with very little hashrate to get the most rewards out of a block.

If other CPU-mineable coins copied Magi's model, they would've been much more decentralized and equitable by now. You can still mine Magi (XMG) on a phone, but don't expect to get rich anytime soon. With GPUs and ASICs being extremely profitable these days (although energy costs are increasing at a fast pace), less people will be inclined to mine crypto on their phones. Just my thoughts

I'm not surprised. With rising energy costs worldwide, it's expected most countries will turn their stance against PoW mining. That means Bitcoin will have a smaller network hashrate in the future, resulting in lesser security against external attacks. Unless all of the miners switch to alternative energy sources, don't expect things to get better anytime soon. I just hope the US doesn't join Canada and the EU in banning PoW mining, since most of the network hashrate comes from there (as far as I know).

Imagine how disastrous would be for Bitcoin if a global superpower like the US decides to ban PoW mining to pursue its "green energy" agenda. That would influence more countries to do the same. ETH and other major cryptocurrencies have turned themselves to PoS, so we're going to have to see whenever Bitcoin will remain PoW for long or at least switch to a hybrid consensus algorithm (PoW + PoS). No one knows what's going to happen in the future, so we can only hope for the best.



To explain it simply, PoS is VERY bad for Bitcoin and shouldn't be adopted by the community in the first place. A hybrid approach (PoW + PoS) would be better as it would allow Bitcoin to remain decentralized while also being friendly to the environment. It would be just like how Peercoin (PPC) is today. You can see how destructive PoS or any of its variants can be (such as DPoS) when only a few control a large portion of the cryptocurrency's circulating supply. A PoS-only blockchain network would make big exchanges like Binance and Coinbase more powerful then what they are right now. These companies would use customer's holdings to make key decisions on the Blockchain. Instead of a person being the "shareholder" of the company (in this case, the Blockchain), the wealthy would be able to do as they wish with their money. It's a terrible concept that leads us back to the traditional world of banking.

Unfortunately, ETH has lost its luster by defecting to PoS. Most of the altcoins have abandoned PoW, so it seems that Bitcoin would remain as the sole PoW cryptocurrency in the world. I wouldn't mind about this as long as decentralization wins in the end. Just my thoughts

TRX may be extremely fast and dirt cheap, but it lacks a wide number of quality dApps and tokens compared to leading smart contract platforms. Developers aren't that interested in building dApps on the TRON blockchain, simply because there are far better options out there on the market. It's all about Cardano, Ethereum, BNB, Polygon, and Avalanche these days, since that's where the money is. The day stablecoins abandon TRX completely, would be the day most people will stop using the TRON blockchain for good.

Unless the team ramps up the project's marketing/promotion efforts, I don't see TRON going anywhere soon. At least, the cryptocurrency is being actively traded across exchanges. Who knows how long will it last? Just my opinion