Oh, come on, Bitcoin will surely survive the next 10 years. Therefore, I'm going all-in for bitcoin because it is more profitable than gold.

Saving money in the bank is basically worthless because the bank only gives interest which is a joke compare to bitcoin profits. I think investing money in bitcoin is more smarter than just saving money in the bank. Also, if you invest your money into bitcoin you can make more profits compare to saving money in the bank where you can get only interest.

Forks in the Road: 2017 Bitcoin Forks



2017 has come and gone, shaking up the cryptocurrency world with a swathe of newcomers interspersed with stellar highs and some sobering price corrections.

Bitcoin ended the year having grown over 1,000 percent in value over 12 months. However, that didn’t stop the community forking away from the preeminent currency.

These forks had varying degrees of success, as they looked to solve some of the major shortcomings of the original Bitcoin protocol.

This mainly comes down to the size limit of Bitcoin’s blocks. As it stands, the size of each block on the Bitcoin Blockchain is 1 mb, which limits the amount of transactions processed each second.

Over time, that limit has caused transaction speeds to decline, while payment fees increased as users were forced to pay more to miners to prioritise transactions.


Segregated Witness

The cryptocurrency community as a whole grew increasingly frustrated with the issues plaguing the Bitcoin protocol and different solutions have been proposed over the past two years.

Segregated Witness grabbed headlines in 2017, proposing two-fold changes to the Bitcoin network. The soft-fork, which was activated in August 2017, cuts a Bitcoin transaction data in two, moving the signature or ‘witness’ data to the end of the transaction, effectively reducing the size a transaction takes on a block which speeds up the network.

The second proposed change, which was ditched at the eleventh hour, is known as SegWit2x. This is a hard-fork, which would see block sizes increased from 1 mb to 2 mb to allow a greater number of transactions to be stored on the Blockchain.

Many of the original signatories of the New York Agreement, which comprised of the world’s largest exchanges, miners and wallets, weren’t comfortable with the hard fork coming so soon after SegWit’s activation. That led to the eventual postponement of SegWit2x.


Bitcoin Cash

The decision to drop SegWit2x inevitably caused a rift between two parties. The ‘big blockers’ who were adamant that an increase in block size would further solve scalability, and ‘Core’ who strongly opposed the hard fork solution.

This led to the creation of Bitcoin Cash, which forked away from the original Bitcoin Blockchain on Aug. 1, 2017.

Bitcoin Cash has been the subject of much debate, as the literal fork has been mirrored by unending debates by parties for and against.

The likes of early Bitcoin investor Roger Ver maintains that Bitcoin Cash is the ‘real Bitcoin.’ saying it stays true to Satoshi Nakamoto’s original whitepaper.

Nevertheless, Bitcoin Cash is nearing six months of existence and fears of a pump and dump situation have subsided.

There are clear differences between the two cryptocurrencies, nevertheless it’s support on exchanges like Coinbase prove that the cryptocurrency is growing in popularity - even amid controversy of it’s launch on GDAX in December 2017.

It seems increasingly clear that Bitcoin Cash is here to stay and it’s survival could well end further debate of a proper SegWit2x revival on the Bitcoin Blockchain.


The other forks

Bitcoin Gold champions the cause of the everyday mining enthusiast, who dreams of making a steady income mining cryptocurrency with high powered graphics cards (GPU). As their website states, Bitcoin Gold aims to making ‘Bitcoin mining decentralised again.’

By simply diverging from Bitcoin’s proof-of-work algorithm SHA256 to equihash, individual miners using GPUs can mine Bitcoin Gold easily, with mid-range GPUs. The fork took place in October 2017.

Bitcoin Diamond is another hard fork from the original Bitcoin Blockchain which took place in November 2017. Created by mining pools Team EVEY and Team 007, BCD will have a total of 210 mln tokens, 10 times as many as Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash.

Bitcoin Diamond mining uses the X13 hashing algorithm, which favors mining using GPUs much like Bitcoin Gold, opposing ASIC miners needed to mine Bitcoin, which are expensive.


Trash?

Almost tongue in cheek, Chinese Blockchain investor Chandler Guo announced the launch of Bitcoin God in December. Claiming charitable intentions, holders of Bitcoin would receive their holding of 17 mln tokes, while the remaining four mln tokes of the 21 mln cap would be donated to charity, according the the website. It was ironically due to fork on Dec. 25, 2017 - Christmas Day. We’re taking this one with a pinch of salt.

Another intriguing, albeit sketchy fork is the so-called revival of SegWit2x. A completely new set of developers have reworked the original SegWit2x code, and the hard fork was announced on Dec. 28.

The group have admitted that they have no affiliation to the original developers, and the new fork has made some outlandish promises to supporters of the fork. As this writer reported, the project seems far-fetched and it’s progress will be monitored with skeptical eyes over the next couple of weeks.


The list goes on

While we’ve narrowed our focus to the four major Bitcoin forks of 2017, namely Bitcoin Cash, Bitcoin Gold, Bitcoin Diamond and Bitcoin God, there are many more hard forks to mention.

The list is extensive, including Bitcoin Clashic, Super Bitcoin, Bitcoin Hot, Bitcoin X, Oil Bitcoin, Bitcoin World, Lightning Bitcoin. There are more, with at least 14 forks in December 2017.    

It’s hard to believe that many of these forks will survive or provide any real value to the wider cryptocurrency community. However, the discourse and ideas generated by developers looking to improve cryptocurrency protocols will inevitably benefit the community and drive the evolution of Blockchain technology into the future.

Source: https://cointelegraph.com/news/forks-in-the-road-2017-bitcoin-forks

Blockchain Redefines Emerging Markets: Capital, Assets and Securities



Less than 0.001 percent of global venture technology funding went to African startups in 2016. It is no secret that entrepreneurs in emerging markets have a harder time coming by capital funding than do their counterparts in developed markets. Among the many reasons for this are inefficient capital market systems that create obstacles for entrepreneurs in emerging markets, who face barriers to cautious investors.


The ‘leapfrogging’ phenomenon

Thankfully, tokenized equity and initial coin offering (ICOs) strategies can redefine capital markets and how startups issue securities and create corporate structures in emerging markets. Entrepreneurs and governments can leapfrog inflexible capital market systems created by developed market economies and instead create entirely new tokenized, flexible and accessible capital markets.

From virtually no access to a flexible capital markets system, entrepreneurs in emerging markets can benefit from a new generation of democratized and tokenized investments in private companies, and this could be made possible by the implementation of ICO strategies.

Tokenized capital markets in emerging markets can accelerate a leapfrog effect for growing startup ecosystems by placing young entrepreneurs and their businesses at the center of their countries’ growth. He notes that despite the potential, ICOs still have their training wheels on and need to find a meeting ground between existing conventional equity/debt systems and new and innovative tokenized ones.

There are two major ways that ICOs can transform capital markets and leapfrog economic growth in emerging markets.


Digital incorporations

Digital Blockchain-enabled capital markets will bring a wave of necessary innovation around private company incorporation and management. It is expensive, slow and inefficient to incorporate and manage a corporate structure in most emerging markets. In Nigeria, it can take $19,400 and two months to incorporate a private company. Whereas in Canada, it costs CAD$200 and takes 24 hours. After incorporation, the company management, fees and reporting requirements are all paper-based and can balloon administrative costs, time and filing requirements.

By creating digital corporate incorporation and management software that rely on Blockchain technology and smart contracts one can securely create, manage and track a startup activity. Digital corporate structures are a natural precursor to digitized tokenized securities and could significantly lower the barrier to entry for entrepreneurs in emerging markets. This could save resources and securely store intellectual property in corporate structures. Digital incorporations could transform the ease of doing business in emerging markets. As a real-life example, the Republic of Georgia recently made top 10 in the ease of doing business ranking thanks to its recent innovations, including a more efficient land titles system.

Imagine if Nigeria created a similar corporate registry system, where companies could be incorporated in a few minutes, at the click of a button and for little cost? This is the leapfrog effect: a sudden opportunity to lower barriers to entry into the economic system.


Tokenized securities

According to Savills Global Research Report “Trends in Global Real Estate Market in 2016,” the total market cap of global real estate is approximately worth $217 tln. This roughly equals 2.7 times of global GDP, 36 times of global gold mining worth (six tln) and accounts for 60 percent of global main assets, hence rendering real estate the top saving and investment choice for countries, corporations and individuals.

Smart contract and distributed accounting technology enable the connection of assets and financial institutions effectively. This technology allows a system where large assets can be split and distributed to multiple financial institutions through the smart contract, enabling users, through these financial institutions to invest in smaller fractions of real estate. This technology ensures the non-tampering of processes once they are initiated.


A more versatile system

Traditional transactions are a series of corporate steps, well-drafted contract templates and tons of paper. As such, they are rigid and create illiquid capital structures for investors and entrepreneurs. Tokenized securities represent an evolution to a flexible securities system, where share issuances can happen with the click of a button.

Blockchain and tokens know no borders, and tokenized securities could form the backbone of a decentralized global stock market. This is an especially added benefit to emerging market entrepreneurs, where local angel and venture capital groups are more scarce. Tokens empower entrepreneurs with access to backers from around the world, democratizing access to finance for their products.


True financial inclusion

Financial inclusion is about more than bank accounts and stores of value. Capital markets and the ability to easily incorporate and manage a company can ease barriers to entry for entrepreneurs and make it easier for them to build their businesses. Blockchain technology and tools like smart contracts, decentralized oracles and tokens create the possibility to create a new kind of capital markets system throughout emerging market countries.

Source: https://cointelegraph.com/news/blockchain-redefines-emerging-markets-capital-assets-and-securities

Total Crypto Market Cap Hits New All-Time High Over $700 Bln



The total market capitalization of all cryptocurrencies reached a new all-time high today over $700 bln. The overall market cap was around $713 bln at press time. The previous record high for overall market cap was $654 bln on Dec. 21, 2017.




Bitcoin beware

The major growth in overall market cap has largely been spurred on by recent rises in altcoins. The demand for Bitcoin (BTC) has been waning recently, moving prices lower in the weeks leading up to Christmas.

Bitcoin dropped as low as $11,833 on December 22. The leading cryptocurrency rallied back up just a day later, but was followed by a week of volatility.

Yesterday, however, the coin got a boost after news that Peter Thiel’s San Francisco-based venture capital firm had made substantial investments in the leading cryptocurrency, propelling prices back up over the $15,000 mark.

Overall dominance of Bitcoin among all cryptocurrencies has decreased to all time lows, reaching 34.97 percent on Tuesday.



This dominance shift has followed massive price increases by altcoins such as Ripple, Ether, and Stellar, as well as lesser-known Tron, all of which have posted more than 20 percent gains over the past week.

Ripple in particular has seen a huge market cap growth, with the cryptocurrency moving into second position behind the dominant Bitcoin. The increase in value was largely the result of increased demand on the South Korean market.


Source: https://cointelegraph.com/news/total-crypto-market-cap-hits-new-all-time-high-over-700-bln

South Korea Law Firm Fights New ‘Unconstitutional’ Crypto Trading Regulations



Seoul-based law firm Anguk Law Offices announced Tuesday that it had filed a constitutional appeal on Dec 30 over the South Korean government’s recent cryptocurrency trading regulations, calling them an “infringement of property rights”, The Korea Times reports.

The appeal argues that the latest government regulations of cryptocurrency trading released last week, which seek to make trading of virtual currencies in South Korea non-anonymous, are “unconstitutional”.

Anguk Law Offices argues that since cryptocurrency is not officially considered a currency or financial instrument in South Korea, there is not an applicable financial law in place to govern the trading of them.

Jeong Hee-chan, a lawyer at the law firm, told reporters that the status of virtual currencies -- whether it’s property, a commodity, or another kind of asset -- must be decided before regulations are put in place:

    "We agree that regulations are necessary. But regulation should come after related laws are implemented. The petition is also a request for the government to respect people's property rights and introduce regulations after reaching a social consensus."


Recent regulations

On Dec. 28, the South Korean government announced its plans to ban the use of anonymous virtual accounts for cryptocurrency trading in an effort to “curb virtual currency speculation”, local news agency Yonhap reported.

According to The Korea Times, most crypto exchanges in South Korea currently use virtual accounts linked to their bank accounts, as they make it easier for exchanges to manage clients’ money. 

Starting as early as Jan. 20, clients will have to use only real-name bank accounts and accounts at cryptocurrency exchanges must have matching names in order to be used for deposits and withdrawals, the publication reports.

FOMO-drive “cryptocurrency mania” in South Korea was credited with Ripple’s notable growth in the past week, which propelled the altcoin to become the second largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization.

Source: https://cointelegraph.com/news/south-korea-law-firm-fights-new-unconstitutional-crypto-trading-regulations

Which is not going to happen, anyway! What most people doesn't understand about bitcoin is it just too big to fail. Bitcoin is no longer a $100 million market it reaches up to $280 Billion market. 

Yeah, there are several things that affected bitcoin price due to the level where it was in the past, from market correction to over-congestion on bitcoin network - Too many users that leads to jamming the bitcoin network which causes paying high transaction fees and experiencing very slow transaction speed. Yet, bitcoin managed to survive the recent market correction and once the lightning network is implemented over bitcoin network, bitcoin will be faster and smoother than ever.  

Bitcoin price will grow to reach $100k in this year 2018 not only $25k. The only things that are holding bitcoin down at the moment are transaction issues. And the Lightning network is here to solve these problems. Once the lightning network is fully implemented the bitcoin is going to be faster and smoother than ever. With LN implemented bitcoin will continue it nonstop journey to the moon and this time we're dominating 80% of the cryptocurrencies market, no mercy.

No doubt, the only problem with bitcoin currently is the higher transaction fee and very slow transaction speed. Once these issues are fixed bitcoin will continue its journey from where it stopped. And bitcoin Lightning Network is about to solve the bitcoin transaction problems because it will speed up the bitcoin transaction speed with zero transaction fee. Once the lightning network is fully implemented bitcoin is going back to the track to retain it title, the king of cryptocurrencies.

Nothing surprising about the bitcoin price going down in the past because whenever the price of bitcoin hit the highest level, there is what is called market correction that will come in to balance the bitcoin price in the market. And only newbies and beginners are worries too much about the market correction because once the correction is over the bitcoin price will recover and even get to another level by setting the new record all-time high in price.  

Great observation, bitcoin price went down to $11k that was the lowest dip about week ago, and many people were even saying bitcoin price will go back to $8k or $5k because of that many people failed to buy at $11k and now the bitcoin started getting out of the correction. Bitcoin already reached $15k since yesterday, now it is on the way to $20k again. 

During that time in November there were so many good stuffs in preparation for bitcoin from hard forks, to bitcoin futures by major exchange options around the world. e.g. Square cash bitcoin futures, CME and CBOE bitcoin futures all in December.

Firstly, I know bitcoin will never DIE at this moment because bitcoin is just too big to fail and there is no way bitcoin price will go back to $10k or below like $6000, $3000, or even $1500. Therefore, the only thing that will make me sad about bitcoin reaching $100k while i'm still trying to buy in.

Bitcoin went through what is called the market correction in the last few days, probably a week or two. Bitcoin was in correction because whenever the bitcoin price hit the highest level in the market there must be a correction that will come to balanced the bitcoin price in the market. And it currently appears the correction period is over since the bitcoin price already started recovering. Bitcoin price normally recovers within the first two to three weeks after correction period. 

That is no longer a problem, once the bitcoin lightning network is fully implemented the bitcoin price will start shooting to the sky again. Bitcoin price was down due to the recent bitcoin transaction problems, such as users paying high transaction fees and very slow transaction speed. thus, the lightning network is here to speed up the bitcoin transactions with ZERO fee. Very soon bitcoin will be back again faster and smoother than ever.

Yeah, me too, I think bitcoin will go back to $20,000 by the before the end of January 2018. And once the Lightning Network is implemented the sky is the limit for bitcoin. No doubt, we are going to $100,000 this year.

No... Bitcoin was at 66% market domination before it started dropping to 36% market domination. Bitcoin lost the market domination because of the transaction issues such as high transaction fees and very slow transaction speed. And now Bitcoin Lightning Network is here to speed up the bitcoin transaction speed with ZERO transaction fee. Very soon bitcoin will be back on the track and this time no mercy bitcoin is going to dominate 80% of the cryptocurrencies market.

All these altcoin will soon go down once the bitcoin Lightning Network is fully implemented. Many of these altcoin become famous due to bitcoin transaction issues and Lightning Network is here to speed up the bitcoin transaction SPEED with ZERO transaction fee. Bitcoin will soon be back on the track running faster than ever.   

That was what i'm thing too, how can only $15-$20 million boost bitcoin price adding up to 13.8% increase in value yesterday? there is no way only $20 million will boost bitcoin price to such level. Perhaps, Mr. Thiel's investment into bitcoin attracted many other investors to bitcoin.