Tuesday, July 31, 2018

DASH Crypto Could Serve as the New PayPal

dash crypto

[Originally published on GoldStockBull.comhttps://goldstockbull.com/articles/dash-crypto-new-paypal/]

When a new industry booms, it always has to face the most fundamental challenge of finding a feasible payments system. For the internet in the late 1990s and early 2000s, that method turned out to be PayPal. PayPal is an easy, convenient, secure, and affordable way to pay online.
Don’t get me wrong, PayPal is great. But PayPal is still a third-party payments system. All kinds of things can potentially go wrong when you have a third-party handling payment. It doesn't matter how safe and secure they pretend to be.
For example, just a few months ago, in May 2018, a vulnerability in third-party software used by Mexican banks allowed hackers to steal hundreds of millions of pesos from at least five different banks in Mexico. Attackers routed fiat to fake accounts. They then made numerous cash withdrawals from dozens of bank branches across the country.
Could thieves ever accomplish such a thing if a blockchain payment system like DASH were being used instead?
Definitely not.
Today, there is a new industry searching for an appropriate payment solution.
With more than half of all states in America now recognizing cannabis as a legal, recreational substance for adults, a new marketplace has opened up.
DASH could wind up becoming the PayPal of the pot industry.
Payments using DASH crypto can be integrated into a merchant’s mobile app or website in just a few minutes with an easy-to-use, decentralized API. There will be no more relying on third-party payment providers.
Fundamental Features of DASH Crypto
DASH can process transactions must faster than bitcoin, or almost any other cryptocurrency, for that matter. DASH transactions can confirm in one second or less, making DASH crypto an ideal choice for an industry with massive payment needs like the cannabis industry.

dash crypto

There are already a large number of merchants accepting DASH as payment. In fact, there are so many that they are listed by category on the DASH website. Some of the categories include business services, gift cards, games, web hosting, web stores, and VPN providers.
There’s even one company called “Living Room of Satoshi." this company allows you to pay any Australian bill with DASH, Bitcoin, Litecoin, Dogecoin, and a handful of other cryptocurrencies. Australia ought to be prepared for an influx of crypto enthusiasts.
DASH has one of the largest and fastest-growing peer-to-peer networks in the world. With over 4,100 master nodes, the DASH network continues to become more secure and more scalable, with a greater potential for ever-larger numbers of users.
DASH has the stated goal of making crypto so simple that “your grandma would use them.” In fact, they even use PayPal as an example of how easy it will be to use DASH in the near future. 


dash crypto

Number of active DASH master nodes since 2014.




The next phase of the DASH ecosystem will be known as “DASH Evolution.” DASH Evolution aims to let you access the balance in your DASH wallet from anywhere, on any device, just like PayPal. Evolution will provide a unique kind of secure light wallet that will connect directly to the DASH network while being compatible with most web browsers.

— DASH (@Dashpay) June 23, 2018
The cool thing about DASH Evolution is that it even plans to incorporate a rating system. Every merchant that signs up for DASH Evolution will be visible on the blockchain, and customers will have the option to rate purchases in an attempt to help other customers figure out which merchants provide the best products and services.
DASH Crypto a Good Buy
The DASH token appears to be significantly oversold at current levels. As of July 2018, DASH is at a one-year low in terms of DASH/BTC. There hasn’t been a better time to exchange BTC for DASH in the last twelve months.
With a market cap of nearly $2 billion USD (reaching as high as $12 billion at one point), it’s a safe bet that DASH will continue to be in the top twenty cryptocurrencies by market cap.
dash crypto


For the privacy feature alone, DASH is a good long-term bet. When combining its potential for privacy with its utility value as currency, or “digital cash,” as DASH brands itself as, DASH may be one of the few coins that become a feasible medium of exchange over the long-term.

In addition, DASH might be one of the most undervalued coins with a market cap in excess of $1 billion USD at present. The world has yet to realize the full potential of DASH. To most, DASH is simply another privacy coin. It was the first true privacy coin, having once called itself “Dark coin.”
But at its core, DASH is a super-fast payments system with a privacy option. The privacy option doesn’t have to be activated for every transaction unless the user wants it to be.
DASH Crypto Summarized
All things considered, DASH is poised to become a leading payment gateway for the cannabis industry and beyond. People no longer want to rely on third-party payment providers and their long list of potential vulnerabilities and inconveniences. Crypto is the cure to the ailment of third-party payments.

You can now buy #Dash at 400 Post offices in Austria with cash #bitpanda #digitalcash #crypto https://t.co/LJduXwX66W
— DASH (@Dashpay) June 26, 2018
Having a potential privacy option alone gives DASH a lot of value. At current levels, July 2018 appears to be a prime buying opportunity for those who want to acquire some DASH for themselves.
And the good news is you may never have to sell that DASH for any other crypto or fiat currency. If current trends continue and DASH becomes the payment method of choice for more and more merchants, you will soon be able to spend DASH directly on the things you want and need.

While many crypto enthusiasts believe that the time is coming soon when a wide range of cryptocurrencies can be used to purchase almost any good or service, this reality has yet to materialize. With DASH crypto, however, the world has already gotten closer than many people realize.

[Originally published on GoldStockBull.comhttps://goldstockbull.com/articles/dash-crypto-new-paypal/]

Tuesday, July 17, 2018

Three of the Best Crypto Exchanges


When it comes to selecting the best crypto exchange, the options are seemingly endless. But not all crypto exchanges are created equal.

In addition, the process can be somewhat intimidating for newcomers. While most traditional investment avenues involve third-parties like brokers, cryptocurrency exchanges are decentralized and have no intermediary.

Avesta will be available to trade on exchanges as early as Q4 2018. Using account numbers rather than tokenized addresses will make the experience of using Avesta more user-friendly than that of other cryptocurrencies. We expect the result to be increased adoption of crypto and crypto exchanges.

The Two Types of Crypto Exchanges

When talking about the best crypto exchange, it’s important to differentiate between the two types of exchanges. There are crypto exchanges that only deal in crypto-to-crypto trades and those who deal in fiat-to-crypto trades.

Poloniex and Binance are pure crypto exchanges – they allow users to trade different cryptocurrency pairs.

Coinbase allows users to link a bank account and convert fiat currency to a Bitcoin or a handful of large-market cap altcoins.

Poloniex

Poloniex is one of the oldest and most reliant crypto exchanges out there. It advertises itself as “one of the largest most active cryptocurrency exchanges in the world.”

Founded in 2014, Poloniex supports many of the largest coins by market cap including DASH, DOGE, NEO, Stellar, BitShares, Ethereum, Litecoin, and many more.

Poloniex lost many customers after struggling to accommodate a surge of new users during the early-2017 crypto rush. Since then, they have been acquired by Circle and Goldman Sachs. Many people believe that this acquisition will only improve their services.

Binance

Binance is the largest crypto exchange by trading volume. They even have their own cryptocurrency – Binance Coin.

As the largest crypto exchange in the world, Binance supports many different languages including French, Russian, Chinese, Japanese Korean, French, and English.

Binance does not support some smaller coins like DOGE, for example. But they do have a very large selection and support many of the largest coins by market cap.

Coinbase and Coinbase Pro

These two are listed as one because they are two sides of the same company.
Coinbase is the largest U.S.-based fiat on-ramp for cryptocurrency.

Most Americans (and citizens of many other countries as well) get their first Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ethereum, or Bitcoin Cash through Coinbase. Coinbase also plans to introduce a fifth crypto – Ethereum Classic – in the near future.

We are pleased to announce our intention to add support for Ethereum Classic (ETC) on Coinbase in the coming months. Coinbase (@coinbase)

Coinbase provides a simple, user-friendly interface and is the best option for those who are new to cryptocurrency.  
Coinbase Pro (formerly known as GDAX) is for institutional investors and big-time day-traders. The minimum account requirement is a whopping $10,000 USD.

Notes About the Best Crypto Exchanges

It’s important to note that it’s not safe to keep large amounts of coin on any exchange. While held in an exchange’s wallet, the private keys to your coins are not your own. If the exchange gets hacked or doesn’t have the liquidity to cover your balance, you lose your funds and have no recourse.

Many early bitcoin enthusiasts learned this lesson the hard way in 2013 when Mt. Gox went belly up.

For long-term holdings, cold storage is the only option. You can invest in any number of quality hardware wallets available on the market today. This is the only way to be in control of your keys and store your coins in a manner that is nearly impossible to compromise.

In the end, the best crypto exchange for one person may not be the best crypto exchange for another. It depends on your personal preferences and circumstances. Poloniex, Binance, and Coinbase/Coinbase Pro are three of the best crypto exchanges. Most users will find at least one of them to be useful.

Thursday, July 12, 2018

Blockchain and the Decentralized Revolution

Why was Bitcoin created?


decentralized revolution


This is an important question that often goes unasked in most modern discussions about Bitcoin. But to answer this question is to peer into the very heart of the decentralized revolution and to discover the meaning of crypto’s true value.

According to the Satoshi Nakamoto whitepaper, the Bitcoin protocol was invented in response to the financial crisis of 2008/2009. The crisis of 2008 saw the global economic and financial system brought to its knees by international banks.

In the eyes of the person or group who wrote the Bitcoin white paper, a new method of conducting financial transactions was necessary in the wake of this epic financial calamity. And many would agree with this premise.

Given that banks have trillions in derivatives on their books and only have a tiny fraction of capital to fall back on should those derivatives go bad, there needs to be a better way for individuals and institutions alike to store and exchange value.

decentralized revolution


JPMorgan Chase Bank alone has over 56 Trillion US dollars-worth of derivatives on its books. This is one of many problems that are fueling the decentralized revolution.

The Problem with the Existing Financial System

As we saw in 2008, the traditional banking system fuels fraud and corruption. Banks can be leveraged thousands of times over,  creating exponentially more systemic risk than if they were solvent institutions.

Banks are inherently insolvent. What this means is that by their very nature, banks, as we know them today, do not have anywhere near the number of assets that they need to cover their liabilities. The reason for this lies in the method that banks use to manage their assets – fractional reserve banking.

The term “fractional reserve” refers to a financial entity that only holds a portion of its assets in reserve. The rest of its assets are loaned out in order to earn interest. Today, banks typically hold about 10% of their deposits on-site. The remaining 90% is not really there.

This system works just fine so long as depositors don’t decide they need their money all at once. When this happens, the event is called a “bank run.” Bank runs cause banks to collapse. They cannot handle the demands placed on them as they do not have the assets necessary.

The concept of a bank run illustrates not only the fraudulent nature of fractional reserve banking but another perhaps more important feature of the financial system. You do not own the assets you hold in a bank. They are not really yours. They belong to the bank the moment you deposit them.

Financial Ownership in the Decentralized Revolution

With cryptocurrency, on the other hand, you are the sole owner of your cryptographic coins. You can store them in any manner you please. Transactions can be made independent of any third-party and can be done in private.
While this is certainly a giant leap forward for finance, the Bitcoin blockchain has run into its fair share of difficulties.

The most notable and often discussed difficulty is the ability to scale. Bitcoin was not built to handle large amounts of transactions or process them quickly.

As a result, Bitcoin has become more of a store of value than anything else. But other platforms promise to take its place as a medium of exchange and financial utility.

Avesta and the Decentralized Revolution

Avesta represents the next evolution of the decentralized revolution. With Avesta, financial transactions can be accomplished with ease, rapidity, and at low cost. The utility value is not limited as it is with other cryptocurrencies.

Avesta capitalizes on the intrinsic value of crypto to create additional ways to transact on the blockchain. Entertainment, banking, e-commerce and more can all be accomplished using Avesta.