Hi Platinum Crypto Followers,
Many crypto Investors/Traders are struggling to explain the sudden plunge in digital assets this week. The market volatility has always been an attractive quality.
Bitcoin is holding above the $8,000 level, currently sitting above $8472 with a market cap of over 152 billion and a market dominance of 68.3%. A breach below would test its 200-day moving average support, which sits around $7,000
As well as market volatility, there are other areas which are of high importance for cryptocurrency investing. Good online security, background research, market understand and the ability to review and to be objective with any opportunity
CRYPTO CURRENCY MARKET UPDATE
INVESTING ON CRYPTOCURRENCIES
A Cryptocurrency (or Cryptocurrency) is a digital currency designed to work as a medium of exchange that uses strong cryptography to secure financial transactions, control the creation of additional units, and verify the transfer of digital assets. It is highly secured software that employs the use of encrypted algorithms and cryptography techniques such as elliptical curve encryption, public-private key and hashing functions hence the term “Crypto.”
Cryptocurrencies are systems that allow for the secure payments of online transactions that are denominated in terms of a virtual “token,” representing ledger entries internal to the system itself (a Blockchain).
BITCOIN-THE FIRST CRYPTOCURRENCY
Bitcoin madeits debut in January 2009 having been released by an individual or group under the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto.
Nakamoto released the bitcoin software as open-source code. It became a significant success with 17.53 million bitcoins in circulation. Bitcoins’ success has spawned over 4000 Cryptocurrencies, “Altcoins” (Ethereum, Litecoins, Namecoin, etc.), with an aggregate market value of over $120 billion. Bitcoin currently represents 50% of the total amount. The future of Cryptocurrency looks good as more countries (the United States, Canada and parts of European Union) continue to adopt it.
Bitcoin is a peer-to-peer payment system meaning it has no physical existence. As such, it offers a convenient way to conduct cross-border transactions with no exchange fee incurred. It allows its users to remain anonymous and hides one’s personal information.
HOW DOES CRYPTOCURRENCY WORK?
Cryptocurrency is the equivalent of using PayPal or a Credit Card, except the numbers on the screen represents Cryptocurrency instead of fiat currency like a dollar. Transactions are mainly carried out through exchanges, unlike financial institutions (e.g Central Banks) and the stock market . Since Cryptocurrencies are governed through Blockchain technology instead of a single entity, every user is ultimately responsible for their Blockchain-based assets unless they pass through a decentralized system such as an exchange for example.
For one user to make a cryptocurrency transaction to another user, they need wallets. A wallet signifies that a specific person owns the cryptocurrency, but NO cryptocurrency is stored in the wallet, it is stored on the blockchain instead. The person creating the transaction uses the wallet software to transfer balances from one account (a public key) to another. To send funds, knowledge of a password (a private key) associated with the account is needed.
HOW BITCOIN TRANSACTIONS WORK (PROOF OF WORK)
Transactions made between peers are encrypted and then broadcast to the Cryptocurrency network and queued up to be added to the public ledger. Transactions are then recorded on the public ledger via a process called “mining.”
All users of a given Cryptocurrency have access to the ledger if they choose to access it, for example by downloading and running a copy of the software called a “full node” wallet. The transaction amounts are public, but who sent the transaction is encrypted (transactions are pseudo-anonymous).
Each transaction leads back to a unique set of keys. Whoever owns a set of keys, owns the amount of Cryptocurrency associated with those keys (just like whoever owns a bank account owns the money in it).
Many transactions are added to a ledger at once. These “blocks” of transactions are added sequentially by miners. That is why the accounting and the technology behind it are called “Blockchain.” It is a “chain” of “blocks” of transactions.
What Is Cryptocurrency Mining?
People who are running software and hardware aimed at confirming transactions to the digital ledger are Cryptocurrency miners. Solving cryptographic puzzles (via software) to add transactions to the ledger (the Blockchain) in the hope of getting coins as a reward is Cryptocurrency mining.
When a Cryptocurrency (Virtual currency) transaction is made, that transaction is sent out to all users hosting a copy of the Blockchain. These miners then try to solve a cryptographic puzzle (using the software) which lets them add a “block” of transactions to the ledger. Whoever solves the puzzle first gets a few “newly mined” coins as a reward (they also get transaction fees paid by those who created the transactions). Sometimes miners pool computing power and share the new coins. The algorithm relies on consensus.
If the majority of users trying to solve the puzzle all submit the same transaction data, then it confirms that the transactions are correct. Further, the security of the Blockchain relies on cryptography. Each block is connected to the data in the last block via one-way cryptographic codes called hashes which are designed to make tampering with the Blockchain very difficult. Offering new coins as rewards, the difficulty of cracking the cryptographic puzzles, and the amount of effort it would take to add incorrect data to the Blockchain by faking consensus or tampering with the Blockchain helps to ensure against Crypto crime.
How To Trade Cryptocurrency
Trading Bitcoin or Altcoin’s is not different and can be more straightforward as obtaining other currency. The portals which connect our world to the crypto-worlds are called “exchanges.” There are a lot of exchanges out there; however, before you choose to invest in one, there are certain things you need to lookout.
- Validity: Before you even do anything, first make sure that the exchange is available in your area. There are many different exchanges globally that provide the best exchange platforms to its clients. Exchanges like Coinbase, for example, are not available in some part of Asia.
- Reputation: Next thing that you need to check is the reputation of the exchange. Are people happy with their services? Has it been hacked recently? How secure is it? Have people complained about it? Social networks such as Twitter and Reddit are excellent sources for checking this.
- Exchange Rates: Make sure you are familiar with the exchange rates. Different exchanges have their exchange rates which may vary. Detailed research on the exchange provides a basis to starters and even pro crypto traders.
- Safety: Please always choose exchanges which need some ID verification from you. Even though they may take time, they are easily a lot safer and secure than anonymous exchanges. It is your hard-earned money, and so you must consider that extra step to keep it safe.
Creating an account: After finding a suitable exchange platform hit the sign up button and follow the prompts. This is done through KYC by providing your personal information and residence for clarity . Sign in your credentials and follow the security guideline to protect your wallet. These wallets will help in your day-to-day transactions. Below are the available wallet and security of such a wallet.
CRYPTO-WALLETS
Cold wallet: Unlike the hot wallet, the cold wallet stores the coins offline. This implies that the hackers do not have the internet connection to the wallet or private keys and cannot break-in.
Hardware wallets: You also have physical offline wallets like the Ledger Nano S or Trezor, which are known as hardware wallets. These are small finger-sized hardware devices that look like standard USB drives. These are physical devices that can be used to store and run transactions. Every hardware wallet is sold with a private key that provides the user with respective validation info. If you cannot get the Blockchain information, the coins will be inaccessible. Crypto tag provides the best solution to backup a hardware wallet through a permanent backup system of titanium. The Crypto tag is compatible with nearly all Crypto-wallets.
Paper wallets: This involves writing the crucial private code on a paper and securing it offline. Paper wallets, for example, have to be imported via their private keys into a “hot” wallet to be spent; this is why it is recommended to users to create a new paper wallet after spending one. You can use a different exchange to generate Bitcoin paper wallet and Ethereum paper wallet. An extra layer of security can be added to paper wallets by using a paper wallet generator that adds the option of encrypting the private key with a password.
Smart contracts: These are ATM like vending machines that enable crypto transactions like Bitcoin. These are the latest emerging inventories that ease crypto transactions.
NOTE: It is a security best practice to back up your private keys for all the wallets and securing them offline.
Cryptocurrencies exchanges giants like and Coinbase provide the best exchange platforms for Crypto market. Be sure to try them out.
INVESTING IN CRYPTOCURRENCY
Since 2013 the Cryptocurrency market has seen tremendous growth, investing in Crypto has been amazing — growth that has been hard to ignore. Such growth and market size can be compared to some of the very traditional retail markets, for example, the multi Billion mattress market (Casper or Nectar).
This market has experienced an immense growth of very similar to Bitcoin and Ethereum rising in the digital world. There are now more than 1500 different Cryptocurrencies, all created in less than five years.
2017 was the year Crypto blew up. The market cap of Cryptocurrencies grew by 4000%! The market cap of all Cryptocurrencies was around $21 billion in March 2017, whereas it is now over $454 billion.
Bitcoin has indeed experienced some rapid surges and collapses in value, reaching as high as $19,000 per bitcoin in December of 2017 before returning to around $7,000 in the following months.
It is difficult to predict the future of Cryptocurrencies, but what I do know is that the popularity of Cryptocurrencies is only increasing. One of the reasons why Cryptocurrencies are becoming more popular is because of Blockchain technology, which is the chief technology behind all Cryptocurrencies.
Blockchain technology is the next big thing – buying cryptocurrency is a secure, trust less technology that was first used by Bitcoin. You can’t learn how to invest in Blockchain, though. Instead, you can learn how to invest in the Cryptocurrencies that use Blockchain (which is all of them!) If you have already decided to invest in Cryptocurrencies, then it might be a good idea to start by investing in Bitcoin.
Hopefully, you have enjoyed today’s article. Thanks for reading!
Have a fantastic day!
Live from the Platinum Crypto Trading Floor.
Earnings Disclaimer: The information you’ll find in this article is for educational purpose only. We make no promise or guarantee of income or earnings. You have to do some work, use your best judgement and perform due diligence before using the information in this article. Your success is still up to you. Nothing in this article is intended to be professional, legal, financial and/or accounting advice. Always seek competent advice from professionals in these matters. If you break the city or other local laws, we will not be held liable for any damages you incur.
