Ask Any Crypto-Based Question

[paddyfield]

Great process.

As you mentioned above for quantum computing, does this mean the end of the cryptocurrency?
But I think quantum computing can also be used for encryption, which can make the cryptocurrency really impossible to crack.

Short answer, no.

It's perceived (from what i've known and read) that we are about anywhere from 20-100 years away from a usable, everyday, quantum computer. The essence of it, no one knows when this will occur, or if it can even be achieved in our lifetimes. This subject is pretty in-depth overall, and I'll briefly go over what exactly a quantum computer is and how crypto will ultimately benefit and (fail) due to this enormous milestone for humanity.

To begin with, a bit represents a 1 or a 0, the most fundamental way to interpret the very fabric of reality into machine (or digital language). Essentially, a 1 means on, and a 0 means off. Computers behave by interpreting data in this fashion, reading bits, or a string of 8 bits (a byte), in order to process information. 0 essentially means no information, or a gap, a 1 means some sort of information is present. Thus, stringing these values, will ultimately denote a character, or any piece of information desired.

A Qbit is a quantum entangled pair of particles. Entanglement is inherent in quantum mechanics, a phenomenon whereby 2 particles, no matter the distance, will react instantaneously inversely to the particle entangled with (spin, polarization..etc). A Bit is binary it can only occupy one state, a 1 or a 0, with a Qbit, it can occupy both a 1 and a 0, called superposition. As you can imagine, this has drastic implications on the amount of information that can be processed.

The problem is, the current quantum computers are very unreliable, unstable and require a temperature near absolute 0 to even function (superconductor). Coinciding with that, you need enough Qbits to compute anything reasonable (100-150 is the latest), therefore the power of a quantum computer right now, is virtually useless. To create a near-absolute 0 environment requires an enormous amount of energy, to remove energy from the system, it's impractical for all intensive purposes. The colder the temp, the less resistance, and you need virtually no resistance (superconductor) to handle a Qubit operation. (i encourage you to read further, I'm not expert on material sciences)


Leading into cryptography -

The implications of the amount of information that can be processed due to the Qbit will directly affect all forms of encryption as we know it. Bitcoin utilizes SHA-256 encryption, and to crack a Bitcoin key: "it takes on the order of 2^128 basic operations to get the Bitcoin private key associated with a Bitcoin public key." - Wiki. I should note, there can be 2^256 different variations of private keys, and it would take roughly 0.5-0.6 billion years to compute all the variations with a modern supercomputer. That's very roughly 1/28 or 2% the age of the observable universe. Not practical or feasible to even think about or attempt. But, a quantum computer theoretically crack SHA-256, obtain private keys, rendering Bitcoin's blockchain useless. I should note, that transacting Bitcoin and announcing your public key happens in seconds, so what is perceived if you have 1 address, it's still somewhat impractical to cracking your public key, to obtain the private-key, even with a quantum computer.

Now, there are a lot of cryptos that have mitigation against quantum computing already created. IOTA, NEO and Qtum, there are various of others. Each one of these blockchains handles quantum resistance differently from what i understand, IOTA with DLT, Neo with ECC and Qtum with QRL. Not going to go into the specifics.

Essentially, with our current understanding it's very feasible to create quantum resistant blockchains, and all cryptos already have some sort of resistance already built into them. As we move forward in the decades, cryptos will fork off into newer algos or will already have mechanisms in place to defend against these types of attacks. Bitcoin has essentially done this, first mined with CPU, GPU and now ASICs. The various of forks were to prevent a 51% attack, first from the threat of GPUs and then ASICs, ASICs representing the epitome of power for computing hashes p/s, today. The second is brute-forcing (as expressed above) is obtaining private keys from the public key. As you stated, quantum computing can be used not only as an attacking mechanism, but also be used to encrypt information itself. Thus, somewhat nullifying this entire discussion.

The problem is that everything is mostly theory (not quantum mechanics) in terms of prevention against quantum computing.  I don't and very few actually know the mathematics behind all this stuff. And because of that, this answer is going to remain somewhat incomplete, unless someone else wants to weigh in on this topic that's more well-versed in computer science and quantum mechanics.

I will ultimately say, the biggest issue will reside with a quantum computing machine from an unknown party. Governments are no doubt working on these things, and the biggest issue for cryptos is not if, but when a quantum attack will occur. The prevention against these machines will quickly follow. But, it will have a significant impact on the entire market, you will see (no matter what occurs) an enormous sell-off, because of the fear, uncertainty (negative sentiment) and threat they pose. I believe, once a quantum computer is stable enough to operate, the first target is cryptography and all forms of encryption held over the internet. I really do not believe public companies like Intel and etc. will be the first to build a practical, stable quantum computer; simply because there is too much at stake for a government not to be investing in this technology for cybersecurity purposes. You can see glimpses of what computing power is doing to nations, just look at how the U.S. is reacting and telling it's allies not to use China/Huawei's 5g network capabilities/infrastructure. What would a quantum computer mean for governments across the world? Power, whatever it means to have a nuclear capabilities, by multiply that by some large arbitrary large number for how much significance a quantum computer has. The world is not disconnecting from the net anytime soon, in fact we are in the beginning. The IOT is real, somewhere in the future (if humanity hasn't annihilated itself), i image our consciousness will be uploaded to achieve near*-immortality.  


If this topic interests you or anyone, i highly recommended just researching these field. There is so much information out there, and what was presented in the post above is really basic. Begin with the basics of Quantum Mechanics, then research further into the specifics of quantum-entanglement and superposition; Lastly, cryptography and encryption in general.

Thank you for your answer! Your knowledge is much larger than I imagined.

[tk808]

Great process.

As you mentioned above for quantum computing, does this mean the end of the cryptocurrency?
But I think quantum computing can also be used for encryption, which can make the cryptocurrency really impossible to crack.

Short answer, no.

It's perceived (from what i've known and read) that we are about anywhere from 20-100 years away from a usable, everyday, quantum computer. The essence of it, no one knows when this will occur, or if it can even be achieved in our lifetimes. This subject is pretty in-depth overall, and I'll briefly go over what exactly a quantum computer is and how crypto will ultimately benefit and (fail) due to this enormous milestone for humanity.

To begin with, a bit represents a 1 or a 0, the most fundamental way to interpret the very fabric of reality into machine (or digital language). Essentially, a 1 means on, and a 0 means off. Computers behave by interpreting data in this fashion, reading bits, or a string of 8 bits (a byte), in order to process information. 0 essentially means no information, or a gap, a 1 means some sort of information is present. Thus, stringing these values, will ultimately denote a character, or any piece of information desired.

A Qbit is a quantum entangled pair of particles. Entanglement is inherent in quantum mechanics, a phenomenon whereby 2 particles, no matter the distance, will react instantaneously inversely to the particle entangled with (spin, polarization..etc). A Bit is binary it can only occupy one state, a 1 or a 0, with a Qbit, it can occupy both a 1 and a 0, called superposition. As you can imagine, this has drastic implications on the amount of information that can be processed.

The problem is, the current quantum computers are very unreliable, unstable and require a temperature near absolute 0 to even function (superconductor). Coinciding with that, you need enough Qbits to compute anything reasonable (100-150 is the latest), therefore the power of a quantum computer right now, is virtually useless. To create a near-absolute 0 environment requires an enormous amount of energy, to remove energy from the system, it's impractical for all intensive purposes. The colder the temp, the less resistance, and you need virtually no resistance (superconductor) to handle a Qubit operation. (i encourage you to read further, I'm not expert on material sciences)


Leading into cryptography -

The implications of the amount of information that can be processed due to the Qbit will directly affect all forms of encryption as we know it. Bitcoin utilizes SHA-256 encryption, and to crack a Bitcoin key: "it takes on the order of 2^128 basic operations to get the Bitcoin private key associated with a Bitcoin public key." - Wiki. I should note, there can be 2^256 different variations of private keys, and it would take roughly 0.5-0.6 billion years to compute all the variations with a modern supercomputer. That's very roughly 1/28 or 2% the age of the observable universe. Not practical or feasible to even think about or attempt. But, a quantum computer theoretically crack SHA-256, obtain private keys, rendering Bitcoin's blockchain useless. I should note, that transacting Bitcoin and announcing your public key happens in seconds, so what is perceived if you have 1 address, it's still somewhat impractical to cracking your public key, to obtain the private-key, even with a quantum computer.

Now, there are a lot of cryptos that have mitigation against quantum computing already created. IOTA, NEO and Qtum, there are various of others. Each one of these blockchains handles quantum resistance differently from what i understand, IOTA with DLT, Neo with ECC and Qtum with QRL. Not going to go into the specifics.

Essentially, with our current understanding it's very feasible to create quantum resistant blockchains, and all cryptos already have some sort of resistance already built into them. As we move forward in the decades, cryptos will fork off into newer algos or will already have mechanisms in place to defend against these types of attacks. Bitcoin has essentially done this, first mined with CPU, GPU and now ASICs. The various of forks were to prevent a 51% attack, first from the threat of GPUs and then ASICs, ASICs representing the epitome of power for computing hashes p/s, today. The second is brute-forcing (as expressed above) is obtaining private keys from the public key. As you stated, quantum computing can be used not only as an attacking mechanism, but also be used to encrypt information itself. Thus, somewhat nullifying this entire discussion.

The problem is that everything is mostly theory (not quantum mechanics) in terms of prevention against quantum computing.  I don't and very few actually know the mathematics behind all this stuff. And because of that, this answer is going to remain somewhat incomplete, unless someone else wants to weigh in on this topic that's more well-versed in computer science and quantum mechanics.

I will ultimately say, the biggest issue will reside with a quantum computing machine from an unknown party. Governments are no doubt working on these things, and the biggest issue for cryptos is not if, but when a quantum attack will occur. The prevention against these machines will quickly follow. But, it will have a significant impact on the entire market, you will see (no matter what occurs) an enormous sell-off, because of the fear, uncertainty (negative sentiment) and threat they pose. I believe, once a quantum computer is stable enough to operate, the first target is cryptography and all forms of encryption held over the internet. I really do not believe public companies like Intel and etc. will be the first to build a practical, stable quantum computer; simply because there is too much at stake for a government not to be investing in this technology for cybersecurity purposes. You can see glimpses of what computing power is doing to nations, just look at how the U.S. is reacting and telling it's allies not to use China/Huawei's 5g network capabilities/infrastructure. What would a quantum computer mean for governments across the world? Power, whatever it means to have a nuclear capabilities, by multiply that by some large arbitrary large number for how much significance a quantum computer has. The world is not disconnecting from the net anytime soon, in fact we are in the beginning. The IOT is real, somewhere in the future (if humanity hasn't annihilated itself), i image our consciousness will be uploaded to achieve near*-immortality.  


If this topic interests you or anyone, i highly recommended just researching these field. There is so much information out there, and what was presented in the post above is really basic. Begin with the basics of Quantum Mechanics, then research further into the specifics of quantum-entanglement and superposition; Lastly, cryptography and encryption in general.

No Problem


For everyone else, there's a lot that's been answered in the past few pages; but i encourage you, if you have any questions to feel free to ask them!

[tk808]

Bump, been a while since I've answered some community questions. Although I've covered a wide-range of topics here and on my previous thread.

[Wenbing]

Between crypto investment and trading, which do you recommend for a crypto enthusiast with low capital?

Which of the coins should such person trade or invest in?..

[nutildah]

We are near contemporaries and I was happy to see you made a merit source, even if that was a year or more ago -- you're one of the few true heads who really stuck in out in Altcoin Discussion even after it became overwhelmed by spam. Here, let's try to test your memory:

What is one coin that you truly thought was going to moon, perhaps even rival bitcoin because you believed it was that awesome, but then sank into nothingness?

Most of us come across these types of coins every once in a while, but for you -- what coin's failure surprised you the most?

[Squezzi55]

1. Now that the court is demanding for users data from centralized exchanges do you think that users will stop using centralized exchanges and finally move to DEX? Are centralized exchanges going to lose their reputations after this?

2. Some new projects are still finding it very hard to use exchanges like binance to raise fund through IEO because of the cost, what could be the best solution for such young crypto projects?

3. If IEO have good hype presently will they perform as good as ICO did in 2017 when the bullrun and altcoin season are present?

[Antlia Protocol]

New Thread

Will the price of BTC ever go down in 2020?

[Lorokan]

Between crypto investment and trading, which do you recommend for a crypto enthusiast with low capital?

Personally; i think when you have low capital and you are an ethusiast; it is best to choose trading; by choosing trading you have an opportunity to learn and practice; you get an opportunity to develop and perfect a working strategy without feeling the impacts of losses or mistakes. Believe me, if with your little capital you are able to understand the philosophy and psychology and motives involved in trading; investment will come easiest for you.

Which of the coins should such person trade or invest in?..

I do not like to choose coins for enthusiasts; but if you are trading for profits or investment, bitcoin, litecoin and etherum comes handy if you can do your own research about them. Altcoins investment are superb too if you can find the right one

[tk808]

Between crypto investment and trading, which do you recommend for a crypto enthusiast with low capital?

Personally; i think when you have low capital and you are an ethusiast; it is best to choose trading; by choosing trading you have an opportunity to learn and practice; you get an opportunity to develop and perfect a working strategy without feeling the impacts of losses or mistakes. Believe me, if with your little capital you are able to understand the philosophy and psychology and motives involved in trading; investment will come easiest for you.

Which of the coins should such person trade or invest in?..

I do not like to choose coins for enthusiasts; but if you are trading for profits or investment, bitcoin, litecoin and etherum comes handy if you can do your own research about them. Altcoins investment are superb too if you can find the right one

This really depends on the reason's you're getting into crypto in the first place. It also depends on if your life depends on the capital you're expending and your experiences with investments and trading prior to crypto.

It's critical to understand that whatever capital you put into crypto, presume that you will never get a return or may lose a substantial portion of that investment or trade. If you make a profit, great.

For newcommers, I do not recommend trading, I recommend investing in the top 5-15 cryptos with substantial liquidity and a overall a solid presence. The further you go down the crypto market ranks, the more risk you incur.. for better or worse.


To Wenbing's point, trading is not as easy as some make it appear to be. Yes, if you become highly skilled in understanding the underlining psychology in crypto, are excellent with micro-managing and have a solid understanding of all the core principals of what makes a successful trader, then by all means. But trading is not for everyone and the vast majority who day trade, lose or on average, make as much return as someone who "goes long."

I do not personally trade, I do not have the aptitude or patience for trading crypto's anymore.

Will the price of BTC ever go down in 2020?

I do not speculate on crypto prices. There are hundreds of crystal ball readers who will be more than happy to give you their predictions. But just understand, never trust anyone or any authority on crypto prices. That's a ticket to disaster and massive losses. No one has your interest in mind but yourself, trust only yourself. Crypto is money and everyone is trying to do everything in their power to get that money. That's the rule of the game.


That being said, TA and etc. are all tools based on the history of crypto. Every prediction and analysis is where crypto has been and the current state of crypto, then one draws a conclusion for the future. The bottom line is no one knows anything or where crypto is headed. More importantly, it's fundamental to understand sentiment of people in crypto. More often than not, it's a significantly more potent tool than any TA can yield, but sentiment is very abstract area and nearly impossible to get a full grasp on without big data.

[tk808]

We are near contemporaries and I was happy to see you made a merit source, even if that was a year or more ago -- you're one of the few true heads who really stuck in out in Altcoin Discussion even after it became overwhelmed by spam. Here, let's try to test your memory:

What is one coin that you truly thought was going to moon, perhaps even rival bitcoin because you believed it was that awesome, but then sank into nothingness?

Most of us come across these types of coins every once in a while, but for you -- what coin's failure surprised you the most?

Thank you for the complements, I always try my best to give back to the crypto community. There's a lot of misinformation and manipulation on a regular basis. It's super important for people to try to continually bring integrity and non-biased (as much as humanely possible) to this field.


As much as I would like to answer your question, it really doesn't matter what coins I've invested in or what surprised me, unless you're genuinely curious. In reality, everyone has a coin that has disappointed them or did not live up to their full-potential or what they were marketed as. That's the nature of crypto. If you can dig in deep and filter the shit, the lies and the truth then you're way ahead of everyone else in this space. The golden word - research.

If anyone has been in crypto since at least 2017-2018, then chances are that the vast majority of those individuals invested in something that is now worthless or dead. If you somehow invested in a crypto that now resides in the top 50 today, then kudos to you, you're probably (and I'm guessing here), among the 5-10% of those who made a wise choice.


And sorry, I will not mention any specific crypto's I've invested in/traded in previously. Although, I may have mentioned somewhere else.

[articlecity]

New Thread

Ask a Crypto Question

I've been active within crypto for over 5 years now, and since the recent Bitcoin spike, there's been a lot of questions from newer community members in this alt-discussion forum. I've experienced and been in many of the situations you have, along with many of the other veterans of the crypto-world, that linger here. It's ultimately my passion to share what i know, and assisting others with wisdom and insight into all things related to crypto.


I invite you and anyone to ask any question pertaining to cryptocurrency and blockchain.
The only types of questions i will not answer, are those specific to a crypto, questions like "What do you think about Ethereum?" "What coin are you investing in?" ... etc.




This thread is open for anyone to ask questions, and anyone should feel free to answer them. The thread will be modded in-case of spam (from Google) and inconsistent discussions not pertaining to the topic.

This thread should not be used for investment/trading decisions or be declared as financial advice. Always DYOR and always invest/trade carefully.

What do you think will be the direction of the crypto market in 2021?
And what do you think of crypto mass adoption when it will be achieved?

[Lorokan]

Between crypto investment and trading, which do you recommend for a crypto enthusiast with low capital?

Personally; i think when you have low capital and you are an ethusiast; it is best to choose trading; by choosing trading you have an opportunity to learn and practice; you get an opportunity to develop and perfect a working strategy without feeling the impacts of losses or mistakes. Believe me, if with your little capital you are able to understand the philosophy and psychology and motives involved in trading; investment will come easiest for you.

Which of the coins should such person trade or invest in?..

I do not like to choose coins for enthusiasts; but if you are trading for profits or investment, bitcoin, litecoin and etherum comes handy if you can do your own research about them. Altcoins investment are superb too if you can find the right one

This really depends on the reason's you're getting into crypto in the first place. It also depends on if your life depends on the capital you're expending and your experiences with investments and trading prior to crypto.

It's critical to understand that whatever capital you put into crypto, presume that you will never get a return or may lose a substantial portion of that investment or trade. If you make a profit, great.

For newcommers, I do not recommend trading, I recommend investing in the top 5-15 cryptos with substantial liquidity and a overall a solid presence. The further you go down the crypto market ranks, the more risk you incur.. for better or worse.


To Wenbing's point, trading is not as easy as some make it appear to be. Yes, if you become highly skilled in understanding the underlining psychology in crypto, are excellent with micro-managing and have a solid understanding of all the core principals of what makes a successful trader, then by all means. But trading is not for everyone and the vast majority who day trade, lose or on average, make as much return as someone who "goes long."

I do not personally trade, I do not have the aptitude or patience for trading crypto's anymore.

 

I do agree with you; and this is one reason why we have to keep re emphasizing to newbies and ethusiasts who are just taking up a seat in the crypto space to never borrow to trade or invest in cryto currency. Start up capital for every newbie traders or investors, must be funds that we can survive without.

But also on the contrary; i think and believe that trading is easy; but the processes to have a good trade history is where the complications comes in. How many learning traders are willing to sacrifice time and patience  to follow up a process to the profitable end?
 

[nutildah]

As much as I would like to answer your question, it really doesn't matter what coins I've invested in or what surprised me, unless you're genuinely curious. In reality, everyone has a coin that has disappointed them or did not live up to their full-potential or what they were marketed as. That's the nature of crypto. If you can dig in deep and filter the shit, the lies and the truth then you're way ahead of everyone else in this space. The golden word - research.

...

And sorry, I will not mention any specific crypto's I've invested in/traded in previously. Although, I may have mentioned somewhere else.

Uh, OK, I wasn't necessarily asking about coins that you personally had invested in, just one that you thought was really going to make it big time and then didn't.

For example, for me personally I thought WAX (WAXP) was going to explode this year but it really hasn't. I am not (no longer) invested in WAX but given all they have going on, I'm surprised they're not at least 3x higher by this point.

[BillionaireWannaBe]

My cousin made in excess of 1 million usd following the suggestions of a member here. He started with less than 2000 dollars.
Those that he invested in previously sunk over 90% and he is buying them all over again?
Is that a sensible move? I am invested in some of those also but is it true regardless of the actual technical value or potential design excellence most investors are of the mindset that only the latest projects have a chance to make the top 10 or the big time.

Do you think marketing and hype sway investors more than the technical superiority due to many not being able to evaluate or understand the designs? And the advantages they offer?

[tk808]

As much as I would like to answer your question, it really doesn't matter what coins I've invested in or what surprised me, unless you're genuinely curious. In reality, everyone has a coin that has disappointed them or did not live up to their full-potential or what they were marketed as. That's the nature of crypto. If you can dig in deep and filter the shit, the lies and the truth then you're way ahead of everyone else in this space. The golden word - research.

...

And sorry, I will not mention any specific crypto's I've invested in/traded in previously. Although, I may have mentioned somewhere else.

Uh, OK, I wasn't necessarily asking about coins that you personally had invested in, just one that you thought was really going to make it big time and then didn't.

For example, for me personally I thought WAX (WAXP) was going to explode this year but it really hasn't. I am not (no longer) invested in WAX but given all they have going on, I'm surprised they're not at least 3x higher by this point.

Ah, Worldcoin back in 2014. I thought it was going to make it the big time, like overthrowing Bitcoin. I was pretty naive and new to crypto, turned out there was some scam or dumping that occurred, can't even recall. It was a much different era back then though.

- There was another coin called eMunie that was around 2014-2015, was in development for like a year or two. Thought that would be massive. Turned out to be a massive scam.
- Syscoin is another, but the Mintpal fisaco permanently damaged their reputation and prospects.

More recently, It's been me being surprised that X coin gained or moved ridiculously high and sustained, (recently, Band and Elrond), but I never invested in them.


To be completely honest, I have of course have my own portfolio (I don't directly invest in any crypto or trade though) and I've always been super bullish on every crypto I acquire (usually from projects/teams I work for directly), but nothing really surprises me massively anymore. I've seen crazy gains, crazy losses, huge fakeouts and etc.

I don't really see much potential in any crypto anymore to usurp the current status of the majority of coins. There will always be new gems, but chances are that we won't see them until they are massive, even I miss major crypto launches despite spending hundreds of hours per month researching and reading about old and new cryptos. I've been acquiring a more cynical view of cryptocurrency teams and new coins to launch in the past year. This is mainly due to DeFi shitcoins that flooded the environment and continue to do so, 2017 ICO boom all over again. Although, DeFi token launches now mimic the crypto climate in 2013-2015 rather than 2017-2018. Strange how cyclic things seem to be in retrospect.

[tk808]

1. Now that the court is demanding for users data from centralized exchanges do you think that users will stop using centralized exchanges and finally move to DEX? Are centralized exchanges going to lose their reputations after this?

2. Some new projects are still finding it very hard to use exchanges like binance to raise fund through IEO because of the cost, what could be the best solution for such young crypto projects?


3. If IEO have good hype presently will they perform as good as ICO did in 2017 when the bullrun and altcoin season are present?

1. Now that the court is demanding for users data from centralized exchanges do you think that users will stop using centralized exchanges and finally move to DEX? Are centralized exchanges going to lose their reputations after this?

No, CEX will not lose the confidence of traders or investors. I will even argue they will never be usurped by DEXes.

Let me be quite frank here, there are many negatives to centralized exchanges: centralization of crypto supplies, security vulnerabilities, monopolistic tenancies, hacks... etc. But, for an average person, a DEX will always be a niche.

If people are attempting to avoid or are afraid of the law, then I'm going to assume they are most likely doing something wrong or not according to their countries law. Does that make it bad? That's not really for me to judge. There are of course scenarios were there are legitimate reasons why someone would absolutely need to be off the radar, such as people from authoritarian counties, China and etc.

For the average person, a CEX will be the most convenient and in most scenarios, the safest option to invest/trade cryptos with.


Does this thought process strip away the ideals of what a crypto is. Yes. But, I'm talking reality here and tendencies of human behavior and what has transpired over the last years. Binance continues to be largest exchange because they consistently innovate, are the most convenient, safe and trusted. Binance is also the most centralized and monopolistic exchange in all of crypto, especially now that they fall under Chinese law since Hong Kong has been stripped of its democracy.

The biggest threat to crypto in the immediate future is Binance. But I've not seen any conversations, critiques or warnings of what a danger Binance poses to the entire crypto ecosystem. That's because no one really cares anymore. As long as investors and traders can make money, then any exchange that's not a scam will be sufficient.


2. Some new projects are still finding it very hard to use exchanges like binance to raise fund through IEO because of the cost, what could be the best solution for such young crypto projects?

A general rule of thumb is that the market dictates what a good and bad project is. This is determined on how experienced teams are, how balanced they are, what types of resources and connections they draw from.

There are hundreds if not thousands of teams who would love to make a crypto and have attempted to do so. The reason many fail is due to having various of issues, including poor communication, marketing, tech, bad ideas, useless ideas, etc etc. I could make an enormous list for you on why teams fail and can't raise funds. It generally means because the project is a failure.

A good team and good project will almost always succeed to raise funds and launch whatever they are launching. Bad projects can succeed too, often maliciously or by a miraculous mirage.



3. If IEO have good hype presently will they perform as good as ICO did in 2017 when the bullrun and altcoin season are present?

This is a highly speculative question. If you want to ask me a different variation of this question, I may answer it.

In summation, the general trend in crypto is that altcoin rises come on the heels of any major Bitcoin gains. Most altcoins don't follow Bitcoin's trail though, they follow Ethereum's gains. Ethereum follows Bitcoin. So, if you're waiting for an alt-season boom ever, then watch Ethereum. Eth generally dictates all the ERC-20 tokens and competitors.

But yes, Bitcoin booms generally coincide with altseasons, if Bitcoin doesn't dump too quickly.

[concept2]

What is the most underrated project in your opion? And can you explain it in an abbreviated way cause I dont have much time to read the newspaper

What innovation do Ethereum need to go further in the future?

Thank you

[Lorokan]

What is the most underrated project in your opion? And can you explain it in an abbreviated way cause I dont have much time to read the newspaper

What innovation do Ethereum need to go further in the future?

Thank you

To me, i feel that LTC AND Tron are a pair i feel are so underrated in the crypto currency space. i say this because when we compare the  relative characteristics of litecoin when compared to bitcoin in terms of speed of transaction amongst others; you will realize what am saying.

Also, when we compare Tron blockchain and etherum blockchain (i am not saying tron is better), we will realize that tron speed; smart contract relatively easy; and price solidity and volume; you would see that tron is underrated.

I am not sure how best to define the differences; if you can state better than this please help.

[Wenbing]

Between crypto investment and trading, which do you recommend for a crypto enthusiast with low capital?

Personally; i think when you have low capital and you are an ethusiast; it is best to choose trading; by choosing trading you have an opportunity to learn and practice; you get an opportunity to develop and perfect a working strategy without feeling the impacts of losses or mistakes. Believe me, if with your little capital you are able to understand the philosophy and psychology and motives involved in trading; investment will come easiest for you.

Which of the coins should such person trade or invest in?..

I do not like to choose coins for enthusiasts; but if you are trading for profits or investment, bitcoin, litecoin and etherum comes handy if you can do your own research about them. Altcoins investment are superb too if you can find the right one

This really depends on the reason's you're getting into crypto in the first place. It also depends on if your life depends on the capital you're expending and your experiences with investments and trading prior to crypto.

It's critical to understand that whatever capital you put into crypto, presume that you will never get a return or may lose a substantial portion of that investment or trade. If you make a profit, great.

For newcommers, I do not recommend trading, I recommend investing in the top 5-15 cryptos with substantial liquidity and a overall a solid presence. The further you go down the crypto market ranks, the more risk you incur.. for better or worse.


To Wenbing's point, trading is not as easy as some make it appear to be. Yes, if you become highly skilled in understanding the underlining psychology in crypto, are excellent with micro-managing and have a solid understanding of all the core principals of what makes a successful trader, then by all means. But trading is not for everyone and the vast majority who day trade, lose or on average, make as much return as someone who "goes long."

I do not personally trade, I do not have the aptitude or patience for trading crypto's anymore.

Will the price of BTC ever go down in 2020?

I do not speculate on crypto prices. There are hundreds of crystal ball readers who will be more than happy to give you their predictions. But just understand, never trust anyone or any authority on crypto prices. That's a ticket to disaster and massive losses. No one has your interest in mind but yourself, trust only yourself. Crypto is money and everyone is trying to do everything in their power to get that money. That's the rule of the game.


That being said, TA and etc. are all tools based on the history of crypto. Every prediction and analysis is where crypto has been and the current state of crypto, then one draws a conclusion for the future. The bottom line is no one knows anything or where crypto is headed. More importantly, it's fundamental to understand sentiment of people in crypto. More often than not, it's a significantly more potent tool than any TA can yield, but sentiment is very abstract area and nearly impossible to get a full grasp on without big data.

What a detailed explanation! You said we only know two things in crypto, which are; crypto past and crypto presence. But, there are traders and investors that have mastered the art of predicting the future prices, and almost always appear to be as they predicted.

What can one do to ensure that one's prediction of the future of crypto prices is accurate?

Between crypto investment and trading, which do you recommend for a crypto enthusiast with low capital?

Personally; i think when you have low capital and you are an ethusiast; it is best to choose trading; by choosing trading you have an opportunity to learn and practice; you get an opportunity to develop and perfect a working strategy without feeling the impacts of losses or mistakes. Believe me, if with your little capital you are able to understand the philosophy and psychology and motives involved in trading; investment will come easiest for you.

Do you mean i can only become better in crypto through experimentation? I should use the little capital i have to experiment. you know that every experiment has two sides; which are either you win or you loose.

What if i loose the little capital, how will i continue my experimentation in the journey of crypto mastery?


[moderator's note: consecutive posts merged]

[tk808]

My cousin made in excess of 1 million usd following the suggestions of a member here. He started with less than 2000 dollars.
Those that he invested in previously sunk over 90% and he is buying them all over again?
Is that a sensible move? I am invested in some of those also but is it true regardless of the actual technical value or potential design excellence most investors are of the mindset that only the latest projects have a chance to make the top 10 or the big time.

Do you think marketing and hype sway investors more than the technical superiority due to many not being able to evaluate or understand the designs? And the advantages they offer?

Yes, this is typically a wise move. But I wouldn't count on being as "lucky" or well positioned as the first time he/she invested. I really don't want to speculate any further on this matter.


It's a balance. There have been countless projects that have both technical superiority and have seen success and marketing-based projects that have seen significant success. I would argue, on average, a technical superior project often wins the long-race over marketing hype/sway over investors. This is at least true to a significant extent. The outliers remain once certain crypto's hit a "threshold," shitcoins like XRP, Bitcoin clones and etc, with hundreds of million or billions in volume.

Monero or Dash for example have held tightly in the top-50, their presence is solidified not based on hype, but the technical superiority they offer.


There are hundreds of examples and types of coins you can pick and choose from to argue both points, marketing or technical.


For new coins, it's a balance. At the start, new coins need significant hype and attention to achieve milestones or goals such as getting funded or etc. But, without sustained and continued improvements to technical foundations or continued innovation, they will eventually die out due to the lack of hype or excitement. The majority of marketing can't exist without a solid technical foundation or a tech team that is continually delivering on objectives. Marketing in crypto is at its core, communicating what the project is doing.


I can get much more detailed on this, since it really does pertain to what I work on with teams. If you want more information or want a more detailed explination, feel free to ask a more specific question.