Secret Network (SCRT) Review

Since its creation, cryptocurrency has had a difficult task: balancing transparency and privacy. Once upon a time this balancing act was easy – transactions were publicly viewable but the people behind the addresses making those transactions were anonymous.

Today, there are dozens of firms which specialize in analyzing these transactions. Some governments are even on the cusp of making it mandatory to tie your personal identity to your crypto wallet. This degree of regulatory overreach has been rightfully seen as unacceptable by many in the crypto space.

However, the fact of the matter is that some degree of oversight is necessary if large institutions and the public are going to fully embrace cryptocurrencies. With privacy coins like Monero at one extreme and fully compliant cryptos like Stellar at the other, Secret Network is a cryptocurrency project that seems to have found the middle ground everyone has been looking for.

A brief history of Secret Network

Secret Network has its roots in another cryptocurrency project called Enigma. Enigma was founded in 2014 by MIT graduates Can Kisagun and Guy Zyskind. Enigma was a layer-2 scaling solution for Ethereum which added privacy to smart contracts.

Guy Zyskind was a research assistant in the MIT Media Lab prior to founding the Secret Network. He was the author of all the Secret whitepapers (which have over 2,500 academic citations) and remains as the CEO of SCRT Labs.

Can Kisagun has extensive experience in the business sector, having founded several companies of his own before co-founding the Secret Network.

What is Secret Network?

Secret Network is the first cryptocurrency blockchain to offer completely private smart contracts. This means that all smart contract inputs and outputs are completely encrypted. Transactions made on Secret Smart Contracts cannot even be viewed by the nodes running the Secret Network blockchain.

That said, Secret Network’s native SCRT coin is not a privacy coin. All transactions made in SCRT are publicly viewable just like those on Bitcoin or Ethereum. By contrast, Secret tokens issued on the Secret Network preserve privacy by default like Monero.

Secret Network believes that this balance of transparency and privacy is what is required for cryptocurrency to achieve mainstream adoption. It also unlocks multiple use-cases for cryptocurrency that were previous unavailable due to their transparent blockchains which could reveal sensitive information.

How does Secret Network work?

Secret Network was built using the Cosmos SDK. As such, it uses the Tendermint Byzantine Fault Tolerant consensus mechanism – delegated proof of stake.

Like Cosmos, Secret Network has a block time of 6-7 seconds and can process close to 10,000 transactions per second.

Secret Contracts

Secret Contracts are privacy preserving smart contracts built on the Secret Network. These are coded in Rust and compiled using WASM. All Secret Contract transactions are made inside Trusted Execution Environments (TEEs).

Secret Tokens

Secret tokens on the Secret Network can be made using the SNIP-20 standard. As you may have guessed, this token standard is like Ethereum’s ERC-20 token standard except that all Secret tokens have their privacy preserved by default (balances and transactions). Secret tokens are used in Secret Contracts.

Secret token holders will have access to something called a Viewing Key which can be given to third parties to prove ownership of their secret tokens if necessary. This is to make it possible to comply with regulators if need be. The first Secret token is secretSCRT (recall SCRT is public by default).

Secret Network Staking

Staking on the Secret Network can be done in two ways: as a validator or as a delegator. Validators on the Secret Network only need to stake 1 SCRT token to participate. However, there is currently a limit of 70 validators on the Secret Network. As such, to be a validator you must stake enough SCRT to rank among those top 70.

Secret Network Governance

Everything about the Secret Network can be changed through community vote wherein 1 SCRT equals 1 vote. Each voting period lasts 2 weeks and occurs in two stages: proposal and voting. To table a proposal, 1000 SCRT worth of votes must be locked during the first week of voting.

For that proposal to pass, more than 33.4% of all SCRT must participate and at least 50% must vote in favor during the second week. Delegators can choose to vote differently than the validator they are staking on but will vote in the same way as the validator by default. All SCRT in vetoed votes are burned.

Secret NFTs

Secret users can create and issue NFTs. NFTs (non-fungible tokens) are unique to other cryptocurrencies in that they can represent a singular asset. Notably, there are millions of NFTs in the market today. They represent real estate to digital art and everything in between.

Secret NFTs are private and blockchain verifiable. The added level of privacy also makes Secret NFTs ideal for use as restricted access tokens. Content creators can distribute these tokens and then host private events, concerts, gatherings, and giveaways. This flexibility enables creators to connect with their fans on another level.

VERDICT

Secret Network may just be one of the most important projects in the cryptocurrency space. This is because they have developed a protocol that has found that balance between transparency and privacy. To understand the significance of this, we must take a step back and consider the bigger picture.

If you want to preserve your privacy in the cryptocurrency space, how do you do it? Using a privacy coin like Monero and others which hide transaction histories and balances by choice or by default. Almost every other cryptocurrency has a completely public record of all transactions and balances.

The problem is that this privacy extreme is not ideal since transparency is necessary to get regulators and institutions on board. However, those same institutions and regulators are not too keen on entirely public blockchains either because they too want to be able to maintain some degree of privacy.

How to Mine Ethereum Coin – Ethereum Mining Pools

Ethereum is the largest altcoin on the market to date. Besides its different uses as a platform, it can also be very profitable for you. This article will lead you through the process of how to mine the Ether by providing you a step-by-step tutorial. Choosing the proper hardware and learning to set up and configure your mining equipment.

If you don’t want to deal with hardware and configurations, there is another, easier alternative. You can also mine Ethereum making a cloud mining contract.

What is Ethereum?

Back in 2012, Vitalik Buterin, at age 17, his father proposed bitcoin to him. Besides, Vitalik is very interested in its technology. However, he started writing for Bitcoin Magazine and proposed improvements to the Bitcoin platform. But, when he didn’t make that improvement, he decided to make his own cryptocurrency instead. The Vitalik idea was Ethereum, and it went live in 2015.

Ethereum is created to enable developers to build and publish smart contracts. Simultaneously, it can be used without the risks of downtime, fraud, or interference from a third party.

However, Ethereum calls itself “the world’s programmable blockchain.” It distinguishes itself from Bitcoin as a programmable network that serves as a marketplace for financial services, games, and apps. These can be paid for in Ether and are safe from fraud, theft, or censorship.

How to Mine Ethereum

The first thing to consider is the consensus algorithm that Ethereum uses. In fact, the algorithm is called Ethash. However, Bitcoin mining often uses ASICs. Besides, ASICs are computers built to mine crypto in a cost and energy-efficient way. Therefore, Ethash, as engaged to Bitcoin’s mining algorithm, is ASIC resistant.

For the miner, this indicates that a computer with a GPU graphics processor will work most and the special ASIC hardware. This technology is made so those specific users can mine Ethereum.

Both variants use complex calculations to do math problems. However, a block reward, Ethereum tokens, is put into the miner’s Ethereum wallet. Notably, this can then be traded, changed on exchanges, or sent between other Ethereum wallets.

Future variants of the algorithm are more ASIC resistant. In addition, there is the chance of the ProgPOW change, which will give GPUs an even bigger advantage.

Either way, you will require a computer with a suitable GPU or an ASIC machine to mine. Most home miners will have a GPU. The greater the hardware, the higher calculations the machine can do. The more calculations the computer can do, the more possible it is to solve a block reward problem.

How to Mine Ethereum on Android

Since 2018, various Android users have used the Minergate app to mine Ethereum on their Android phones. However, Google banned crypto-mining apps. Besides, it is still possible to mine Ethereum on Android by using cloud mining apps.

How to Mine Ethereum With a Computer

Most users would be more suitable for mining Ethereum on a PC. Moreover, this way is the most profitable way to mine Ethereum and add value to your Ethereum wallet.

Know the challenges

You’ll need to do some research to ensure this productively in the country where you live. Notably, electricity costs fluctuate wildly around the world – and in some developed nations. The electricity bill you’ll get every month could far exceed any returns you make. It’s also worth watching the levels of hardness that are associated with Ethereum mining.

According to Etherscan, they stood at only 0.121 Terahashes in July 2015. But it soared to a staggering 3,784,431 Terahashes by December 2020. Aside from electricity expenses and difficulty, you’ll need to invest in hardware that’s up to the task of completing the Ethereum mining pool. Plenty of computing hardware is required to solve the complex mathematical puzzles that subsequently validate a block – but if you are successful, the rewards can be handsome.

At present, 2 ETH rewards offer those who manage to add a block to the chain towards the end of 2020. This had a cash value of about $1,500. Miners will be given the total of the fees generated from transactions within the block, too. This is showing to be a more important source of income for miners – and congestion on the network brought about by the surge in DeFi protocols caused fees to reach record highs in 2020.

Buy the equipment

The next step in your Ethereum mining pool journey will involve investing in reliable graphics cards that have a high hash rate – and, as you’d expect, you’ll want this to be as high as possible. One of the more recent and desired players on the market has been Nvidia’s GeForce range, but getting your hands on one of these GPUs is easier said than done because of the unique level of demand among gamers.

Another suggested brand is AMD, and some claim that this company’s cards are better. Online, you’ll find a calculator where you will be able to get an estimate of ETH mining profitability. The estimations received are based on the current difficulty factor in the Ethereum ecosystem, your GPU hash rate, the block reward offered at present, the current trading price of ETH/USD, and your electricity costs.

Furthermore, don’t forget you’ll also need a powerful computer, ideally running on Windows or Linux. Make sure it will support your graphics cards as you begin to build a mining rig. GPUs are a crucial element of your setup because they are hundreds of times faster than conventional CPUs.

Once you update the drivers for your graphics cards, it’s time to install an Ethereum wallet. Next, you can open an account and download the blockchain. Lastly, you also need to perform research on the best Ethereum mining software for your machine.

Join a pool

Although your new rig will be flowing power, it’s frequently more efficient to enter an Ethereum mining pool. In fact, several miners combine their resources – increasing the chance to select on the validate blocks. The rewards produced are then distributed proportionately, based on how much power was provided by each member.

As an alternative to establishing your rig, you might also want to consider cloud mining. This process effectively involves leasing hardware based in a data center where electricity prices are a lot more competitive – and, generally, these savings will outweigh the cost of hiring these services in the first place.

Although cloud mining does have its advantages – as it means that you won’t have to worry about maintenance issues – you must select a reputable provider, as you may end up in an inflexible contract.

How to Calculate Ethereum Mining Profits

Accurate Ethereum mining calculator patronized by millions of crypto miners. Best Ethereum mining profitability calculator with difficulty, hash rate, power consumption (watts), and kWh preloaded for 2021.

The Ethereum mining calculator gives it simple and easy to quickly see Ethereum mining profitability based on hash rate, power consumption, and costs. Default inputs are loads with the latest Ethereum difficulty target and Ethereum mining hash rate for the best Ethereum miner.

Ethereum Mining Pools

Three factors usually categorize Ethereum Mining pools. Firstly pool size, larger pools have more chance of finding a block but offer smaller payouts. Secondly, fees, how much the mining charges miners in management fees. Lastly, payouts, the number of payouts, and how often they should be expected.

Ethermine

The number one choice is Ethermine. The best and the most common Ethereum mining pool between the Ethereum miners. With over 200k miners, it is one of the biggest Ethereum mining pools, contributing more than 100 TH/s, more than 20% of the overall network hash rate.

Ethermine uses a real-time PPLNS payment scheme and charges a 1% fee on each reward that you receive. It also allows you to set the payment threshold needed to receive your rewards. You can set your point to 0.05 ETH minimum to a maximum of 10 ETH.

Moreover, Ethermine pool does not require you to pay the transaction fees. Instead, it mines your transaction on their blocks, saving you the transaction fees and is advantageous for small miners.

Flexpool

Flexpool is small but a fast-growing Ethereum mining pool. It appears under the top 15 Eth pools that provide a little over ~6 TH/s. Even though it is a small mining pool, it has got a lot of attention among the Ethereum mining community. To bring in more profits to miners and be highly transparent.

Moreover, Flexpool profit is similar to Ethermine’s but is way more profitable than Nanopool and few other ETH pools. It has the lowest fees of 0.5% and uses the PPLNS payment system, which is excellent for long-term miners.

However, the difference between Ethermine and Flexpool is that Flexpool doesn’t avoid the charge of transaction fees when you withdraw funds. Anyway, you get the choice to set the maximum payout so that you can wait for a lower gas payout. The minimum payout is 0.01 ETH. Besides, you can set the min pay to 0.2 ETH or higher to offset the cost of the transaction fees. But remember, you’ll have to wait until you gather enough ETH needed for the payout.

Whether you are a small miner or one with a lot of hash power, Flexpool is one of the best Ethereum mining pools available for mining. Moreover, it would be best to see that joining a small pool supports decentralization and is healthy for the network.

Paxos Gold Review: Tokenized Gold Issued on Ethereum

Gold has been a popular commodity as a store of value since the dawn of time, but it has several issues.

Even though it’s beautiful when used for jewelry, and super shiny even as a rock, it isn’t easy to move or store in any quantity, and it’s very difficult to divide into smaller units. In fact, most of the gold trading being done on exchanges is trading in derivatives without any actual physical gold ever changing hands.

With the development of blockchain technology some forward thinking folks decided that making gold a digital asset would be a good idea. Paxos was one of the companies which digitized gold on the blockchain. Let’s see how they did it and how their Paxos Gold (PAXG) token functions as a blockchain asset.

Who are Paxos?

Paxos was founded in 2012 as a privately held company that’s working on rebuilding the infrastructure of finance in a decentralized manner. As their website proclaims, they want to “make it possible to move any assets anywhere, instantly – and therefore democratize access to a new, global, frictionless economy.” And they’re accomplishing this by digitizing assets, including gold.

After launching the itBit cryptocurrency exchange in Singapore soon after the creation of the company they were awarded a limited purpose trust charter by the New York State Department of Financial Services, making them the first company approved and regulated to offer crypto products and services. Soon after that they became regulated qualified custodians, enabling them to branch out from stablecoins to digital gold.

What is Paxos Gold (PAXG)?

Paxos Gold was created as an ERC-20 token on the Ethereum blockchain and with it Paxos is looking to solve the fundamental problems with physical gold and the traditional gold markets. Namely, that in the traditional market, investors have no access to a high-quality gold product that easy to purchase, transport, store, and trade.

In the traditional markets investors can certainly buy as much physical or allocated gold as they like, but along with the purchase comes the high risk of physical gold. This risk is due to the size and weight or larger gold bars, the expense of storing it safely, the inability to divide it into smaller units easily, and the fact that because it can be difficult to transport it can also be difficult to sell, trade, or use.

How does Paxos Gold work?

Paxos is using blockchain technology to improve the distribution, storage, and ownership of gold. Because PAXG is a blockchain asset it is decentralized, immutable, and highly resistant to malicious attacks or theft. Paxos Gold is as good as gold, but without the problems of storage, transportation, and the risk of theft.

The PAXG token is an ERC-20 token at the time of writing, but the whitepaper does not specify that this platform is necessary, and Paxos could reissue PAXG on a different platform in the future.

The PAX Gold asset is fully regulated by the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYSDFS). There is no unallocated gold included in the PAXG backing, instead it is fully-collateralized by physical gold at the ratio of one troy ounce (roughly 31 grams) of a gold bar complying with the London Good Delivery standard, to one PAXG token.

Why use Paxos Gold?

Paxos is best known for its stablecoin called Paxos Standard, which is a fully-collateralized U.S. dollar stablecoin. That was launched in September 2018. Just one year later in September 2019 Paxos launched Paxos Gold (PAXG) a fully-collateralized digital asset that represents one fine troy ounce of a London Good Delivery gold bar.

These bars are securely stored in professional vaults, and anyone who owns PAXG has rights to a corresponding amount of the physical gold. Because PAXG is a direct representation of physical gold its value is also tied to the actual price of gold in real-time on the spot markets.

Where to buy Paxos Gold

When Paxos Gold was first launched the only place to purchase PAXG tokens was through the portal on the Paxos website by creating an account, or through the itBit exchange that is owned by Paxos. Since that time Paxos Gold has grown tremendously, and it is now the 122nd largest altcoin by market cap, with a market cap of over $76 million and daily trading volumes well in excess of $1 million.

VERDICT

Digital gold is an idea that makes a lot of sense. It avoids the problems that have been associated with purchasing, holding, and trading physical gold. It even creates the opportunity to generate interest on what has always been a yield-less asset. With Paxos Gold the team at Paxos have created a digital asset for the future.

So far only $75 million in gold has been digitized by Paxos, but gold is said to be a $7.3 trillion market. That leaves massive room for growth in the space.

The real hurdle at this point is blockchain adoption. Once people become more comfortable using blockchain assets in general it will be a logical leap for them to use digital gold rather than physical gold. After all, digital gold is far more portable, liquid, convenient, and it can even be used to generate interest payments.

The integration with Paypal should give Paxos a boost, and could significantly advance the movement towards digital assets being used by everyday people for all sorts of purposes – including investing in gold.

Stablecoins: What is USDT?

Since the emergence of stablecoins, cryptocurrency trading has become more accessible to traders for the simple fact that they now have a fiat point of reference for these internet assets. And the Tether (USDT) is just one of the many.

For some, it’s the rockstar of stablecoins. For others, it’s a suspicious printing machine meant to manipulate cryptocurrency prices. 

But all opinions aside, let’s see really what is Tether (USDT) all about.

What is Tether (USDT)?

In the cambridge Dictionary, tether refers to a rope or chain used to tie, generally an animal, to a post or other fixed place. However, it also means using a mobile phone as a wireless internet connection to which you can connect other devices.

And the second definition is closer to what Tether means in the cryptocurrency space.

Tether is one of the first stablecoins and currently the most popular, having the highest liquidity. The concept promoted through USDT as a stablecoin is that every token is backed by one US Dollar. Hence, the 1 on 1 ratio between USDT and USD should almost always stay at the same level.

This way, traders can use in their activity a cryptocurrency ‘tethered’ to the real world US Dollar. 

It was initially launched as RealCoin in July 2014 and rebranded as Tether in November by Tether Ltd. After the rebrand, Tether started trading in February 2015.

In June 2020, it surpassed XRP in terms of market cap and climbed to the third position, right behind Ethereum and Bitcoin. Although throughout 2021 other cryptocurrencies ascended over USDT in terms of market cap, in terms of 24h trading volume, Tether has constantly kept the first position.

Because of the one-on-one connection to the US Dollar, USDT allowed users to keep their funds in a cryptocurrency that retains the same value as the fiat currency.

The benefit of it comes in the fact that cryptocurrency traders didn’t have to pay additional fees for fiat transactions and stopped waiting days for their funds to reach a destination. Additionally, since 2018-2019 governments started applying income taxes on cryptocurrency profits. However, the taxes mostly apply at the moment a trader exchanges his cryptocurrency to fiat. So, with stablecoins like Tether, traders can retain and move their funds at a fixed value without exchanging their cryptocurrency for fiat.

What are Stablecoins?

or daily trading and spendings, the cryptocurrency community came up with stablecoins – cryptocurrencies that can be used without worrying about price volatility.

These days stablecoin are usually launched with one of these two main goals in mind. Either to become a widely used stable cryptocurrency, or as a marketing channel used by cryptocurrency exchanges to attract more users to their platforms.

Either way, these companies have to maintain their stablecoin’s peg by gaining trust. And usually, they do this by showing a form of collateral and/or through algorithmically manipulating the supply.

Collateral Pegging

The Collaterals have the role to prove that a said stable cryptocurrency is worth what the company behind it says it is.

There are three main types of collateral that grant stablecoins value:

Fiat

Assets

Cryptocurrency

Fiat Collaterals

Stablecoins backed by fiat are pegging a mainstream currency like USD, Euro, or Japanese Yen. So, every stablecoin that says it’s worth 1 USD is equal to one coin/token should have a corresponding amount of fiat currency funds in the company’s bank account.

Asset Collaterals

The most common asset collaterals used to back stablecoins are Gold, Silver, and Oil. In the same way as the fiat-backed stablecoins, companies providing cryptocurrencies pegging assets have to own an amount of that asset that corresponds to the value their token is worth.

Cryptocurrency Collaterals

Stablecoins can also be backed by one or more cryptocurrencies. This form of collateral comes with the main advantage that the collaterals can always be checked on the blockchain.

Algorithmic Pegging

In order to better control the price of a cryptocurrency, companies providing a stablecoin set up rules to manipulate the supply of coins as the demand goes up and down. 

So, when there are a lot of people to buy into the cryptocurrency, the algorithm will increase the number of units to make sure that the coin doesn’t overappreciates and destabilizes. And in the same manner, the algorithm will reduce the number of coins when traders are selling out in order to prevent depreciation.

How is USDT stable?

At its core, USDT doesn’t have its own blockchain. It operates as a second-layer digital token on the Bitcoin (on Omni and Liquid Protocol), Ethereum (as an ERC20 token), EOS, Tron, Algorand, and OMG blockchains. 

All tethers are secured in their respective blockchains and pegged at 1-to-1 with a matching Fiat currency, such as 1 USDT to 1 USD, being backed 100% by Tether’s reserves.

What other Stablecoins are out there?

Besides USDT, there are other stablecoins that come to serve the crypto market. Whether they come with a goal to be better than Tether or simply to draw more users into an exchange, they provide a steady price and a safe medium of exchange for crypto users.

USDC

USD Coin (USDC) is one of the largest stablecoins by market cap and it currently stays in the top 10 cryptocurrencies on CoinMarketCap. It is an ERC20 token built on the Ethereum Blockchain, and it was launched in 2018 by Center Consortium, a collaboration between Circle Internet Financial and Coinbase. 

Since 2018, USDC has seen significant growth. And because it’s an ERC20 token, it can be easily integrated with smart contracts. 

USDC is backed by a one-to-one fiat currency reserve which is regularly audited to confirm that the funds are available in the company’s accounts. 

BUSD

Binance USD (BUSD) is to not be confused with the BNB token. BNB is a utility token, while BUSD is a stablecoin.

BUSD is developed by Paxos in partnership with Binance, with Paxos being the USD custodian and issuer of BUSD. 

The BUSD is backed by USD on a 1-on-1 ratio and neither Binance nor Paxos charge a fee for the purchase or redemption of the stablecoin.

DAI

DAI presents itself as the only decentralized stablecoin available on the market. It was built by the MakerDAO development team on the Ethereum Blockchain. However, the coin isn’t controlled by the development team nor by any other centralized authority.

DAI is not backed by any fiat currency but uses a multi-collateral script in which the coin is created when a collateralized debt position is created, locking Ethereum into a smart contract. The contract holds the staked coins, which can be unlocked at a later time using DAI.  

5 Best Bitcoin Gambling Sites 2022

Introduction

The latest crypto craze helped many people realize that online casinos can be made even better by introducing Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies in the equation. So now, we have the ultimate gambling experience conveniently stacked in some of the best Bitcoin casinos.

Bitcoin casinos have managed to provide what conventional online casinos were lacking — speed, safety, and instant access to your funds and winnings. And with such benefits at play, traditional online casinos have suffered a significant setback.

So if crypto gambling has managed to spark your interest, keep on reading, as we have carefully scouted the internet to offer you the safest and most reliable sites for the best Bitcoin casinos.

1. Stake

Stake is a popular option for betting crypto on sports and casino games for many reasons, including their neat user interface, and the variety of sports/games they offer.

While they do not offer a welcome bonus, they are one of the best crypto gambling sites around in terms of VIP perks, cashback, and bonuses.

2. Cloudbet

Cloudbet is a sports-focused gambling site that also offers casino games. The site offers a wide selection of games and sports to bet on. 

It offers anonymous play. The site is also very secure with SSL and two-factor authentication.

Cloudbet has received some complaints about slow payouts and poor service. Most of the complaints they have received were quickly resolved. 

3. Sportsbet

Sportsbet offers a superb sportsbook as well as a nice assortment of casino games. Their three core principles are Fun, Fast, and Fair.

While you can register on Sportsbet with just an email address, they reserve the right to require KYC and will lock your account if you provide inaccurate information.

Sportsbet has an excellent reputation among gamblers. They respond quickly and fairly to complaints.

4. BetOnline

BetOnline is an online casino with higher than average betting limits. It offers sports betting, poker, casino, esports, and lots of bonuses throughout the year.

It does not offer anonymity. You must provide your country, postal code and phone number just to open an account. 

BetOnline has a fair reputation depending on who you ask. They offer a wide variety of betting options but there are also many complaints against them.

5. Bitcasino

Bitcasino is an online casino and sportsbook platform. Founded in 2014, the brand stands out with innovative features and accepts crypto deposits. 

Bitcasino doesn't offer anonymous gambling, and players are required to input their age before registration.

Bitcasino has a good reputation in the market and players can find many positive comments on the site and its features.

Market Wrap: Altcoins Outperform as Geopolitical Concerns Fade

Most cryptocurrencies traded higher on Tuesday as tensions between Russia and Ukraine eased.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said during a news conference on Tuesday he is “ready to work further” with the West to de-escalate tensions over Ukraine. Russia also decided to partially pull back troops from military districts bordering Ukraine.

Equities and cryptocurrencies rose, while traditional safe havens such as gold and the U.S. dollar declined over the past 24 hours.

Alternative cryptocurrencies (altcoins) led the rally on Tuesday, indicating a renewed appetite for risk among crypto traders. ETH was up 8% over the past 24 hours, compared with a 4% rise in BTC over the same period.

Still, trading volume in the bitcoin spot market remained weak relative to previous price jumps on Feb. 4 and Feb. 10. That could point to limited gains around $46,000-$50,000 BTC according to some technical indicators.

Bullish sentiment wanes

The bitcoin Fear & Greed Index dipped back into "fear" territory as traders reacted to macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainty. The current reading of 46 is neutral, however, which means there is no strong bullish or bearish bias among market participants.

The Fear & Greed Index can oscillate between extreme lows and highs for many months, similar to the erratic signals during the 2018 crypto bear market. Frequent shifts in sentiment could signal short-term opportunities for buyers and sellers, while those who are more committed to a trading position would rely on smoother indicators such as cycles and trends.

Altcoin roundup

GALA jumps 20%, leads metaverse index gains: GALA, the eponymous token of blockchain-based gaming platform Gala Games, surged as much as 20% in the last 24 hours, outpacing other major metaverse tokens as well as Meta’s stock. The move came after Gala Games said it plans to deploy $5 billion within the next year to bolster its non-fungible token (NFT) offerings by buying intellectual property rights and building a theme park, according to CoinDesk’s Sam Reynolds. Read more here.

JPMorgan is the first bank Into the metaverse: JPMorgan, the largest bank in the U.S., said it has become the first lender to arrive in the metaverse, having opened a lounge in Decentraland, a virtual world based on blockchain technology. As well as the unveiling of the Onyx lounge (the name refers to the bank’s suite of permissioned Ethereum-based services), JPMorgan also released a paper exploring how businesses can find opportunities in the metaverse, according to CoinDesk’s Ian Allison. Read more here.

NFT Marketing Guide | Top 5 NFT Marketplace Platforms

Believe it or not, the rise of the Non-Fungible Tokens gave birth to a new type of marketing – NFT marketing. And in some aspects, it’s nothing new, yet in others, it’s something completely different.  

Think of it like this: from an outside perspective, NFTs look like nothing but a bubble with hyperinflated prices. Most of them have no intrinsic value and no real utility.  

Yet, that’s the case for many products in the mainstream markets, not just artwork.  

However, in a free market, value is determined by supply and demand, which makes the whole economy run efficiently.  

And like in most products, a carefully crafted strategy, brand identity, and communication can gather an entire community around an NFT collection, which will start putting value to it. 

An NFT is a cryptocurrency token unique in value that is not interchangeable with any other NFT, even if it belongs to the same collection.  

In essence, NFTs are unique assets that can consist of works of art, ownership titles, and of course, collectibles. But the true value of non-fungible tokens comes from the ability to store the data regarding ownership over an asset, so their potential goes far beyond a picture on a blockchain. In the online games’ world, it’s not rare for a game to close down, reset, or make a change leading to users losing their hard-earned (sometimes even bought) items. And problems as such can be easily prevented through NFTs.  

But aside from games, Decentraland has shown the crypto world that real estate can be tokenized just as well. Yes, Decentraland is a virtual world, but it is only a matter of time before some clever real estate developers and agents will realize they can create NFTs for the property they’re selling. And thanks to how much smart contracts have evolved, you can even include in them the data from the purchasing contract.  

Speaking of smart contracts; although in the beginning, Ethereum’s ERC721 token standard was the main type of smart contract used in creating NFTs, now more and more networks support their creation and the transaction. Some of the most popular alternatives are Solana, Polygon, and Crypto.com.

Top 5 NFT Marketplace Platforms

The creation and distribution of the NFT collection are more straightforward than ever, thanks to the NFT marketplace platforms.   

Not only can you get right to selling your NFTs from the start, but many marketplaces even allow lazy minting. That means that you don’t have to write a single line of code but simply upload your NFTs and pay the transaction fees (minting included) the first time you sell them.  

However, although the most popular platforms have the most traffic and activity, not all of them may suit your plan. So, it’s important to check which one of those hot marketplaces best suits your project’s needs.

OpenSea 

OpenSea is the leading NFT marketplace offering a listing of over 20 million assets. Besides art NFTs, OpenSea offers a wide variety of utility, VR, and music NFTs, even domain names.  

From Bored Apes to Decentraland parcels, almost any NFT is available there.  

The platform currently integrates 3 chains: Ethereum, Polygon, and Klaytn.   

However, you can only lazy mint collections on Ethereum and Polygon.  

Connecting to OpenSea is quite user-friendly as well. There isn’t a complex sign-up process but a simple connection with your wallet to read the token attribution. There are 13 wallets supported, including Metamask, Coinbase Wallet, Wallet Connect, and Fortmatic.

Crypto.com

At base, Crypto.com is a payment, trading, and financial services company that offers a cryptocurrency trading mobile app and web application built on top of its own decentralized, open-source blockchain.  

The platform has grown exponentially and now is one of the top competitors in the market, even as an NFT marketplace.  

The Crypto.com DeFi Wallet supports Crypto.org Chain NFTs on the Crypto.org Chain, as well as ERC721 and ERC1155 NFTs on the Ethereum network.  

However, the Crypto.com NFT platform is quite exclusive. First, you have to create a dedicated account, verify your identity, then submit an application.  

After the application, if you become an approved creator, you’ll be notified by email. Yet, Crypto.com does not guarantee a response to your application, as they will only respond to successful candidates.

Axie Marketplace 

Axie Marketplace is the platform where players and investors buy/sell any NFT related to the Axie Infinity video game.  

The game, as well as the NFT marketplace, runs on Ethereum. And although Axie Infinity is an account-based platform, access to the Axie Infinity Marketplace is also facilitated through other applications and platforms, such as MetaMask and Binance.  

The NFTs do have certain utility in the game, making them easier to sell, yet you can’t just go on the Axie Marketplace and decide to sell your own personalized collection. The whole marketplace is centered around the game, so customization goes as far as the environment’s parameters allow. 

KnownOrigin 

KnownOrigin is one of the fastest-growing Ethereum NFT marketplaces out there. You can simply connect to the platform through one of the wallet browser extensions accepted by the website.  

Currently, the most recommended option is MetaMask.   

It’s important to notice that KnownOrigin is an art-focused NFT marketplace, so you can start buying NFTs as soon as you connect your wallet to the platform.   

Yet selling is a bit more complicated.  

To upload and sell NFTs there, you have to create an artist account. To do that, after creating a profile and verifying your social media, you must submit an Artist account application in order to get your account enabled.  

Once enabled, you can upload and sell art without a problem in the primary market. Also, it’s important to keep in mind that KnownOrigin requires that the art be your own, and you mustn’t upload it on any other marketplace. 

SuperRare 

SupeRare is another Ethereum digital art marketplace where artists can sell their collections.  

The platform integrates with the Metamask, Fortmatic, and Wallet Connect extensions, yet you have to create an account associated with the wallet address manually.   

Also, you must submit an artist profile before you can upload and sell NFTs. 

And like KnownOrigin, SuperRare also requires you not to upload your art on other marketplaces.

Key takeaways 

A Non-Fungible Token is a cryptocurrency token that is not fungible. That means that the token is unique in value and is not interchangeable with any other NFT, even if it belongs to the same collection.  

Some of the most notorious NFT marketplaces are OpenSea, Crypto.com, Axie Marketplace, KnownOrigin, SuperRare.  

In order to succeed with your NFT project, you should choose the right NFT platform, create a profile and a brand, structure your collection wisely, raise the floor price, and ultimately draw in your audience.  

To effectively draw in your audience, you can use airdrops to stir up activity, use influencer marketing, employ social media communication & community building tactics, launch advertising campaigns, publish guest articles, and set up your SEO. 

How Do Cryptocurrency Lending Platforms Work?

The cryptocurrency sector has been growing rapidly over the past few years. 

One of the newest products in the market is crypto lending, which allows investors to borrow against their digital assets. 

Well-organized platforms give loans in exchange for interest, with some providing a high loan-to-value ratio of up to 90% while allowing borrowers to use various digital coins as collateral.

In a nutshell, these platforms lend out crypto that has been invested by others who earn interest. To make economic sense, they lend at a higher interest and give investors a slightly lower interest while the difference is their profit. At the end of the day, everyone using these platforms gets a win.

How Cryptocurrency Lending Platforms Work

1. Open an account with the platform

Before you can apply for the loan, you need to open an account and get a platform wallet to deposit your collateral. This is also the wallet where you will receive your loan before you can withdraw it.

2. Deposit your collateral

This is where things get interesting. The platforms accept different coins as collateral, giving borrowers a wide range of options. Whether you are comfortable using Bitcoins, altcoins, or stablecoins, you will find a platform that accepts any of these as collateral.

3. Applying for the loan

At this point, it is crucial to use a loan calculator to know how much money you will get against your collateral and other fees involved. The most reputable platforms approve loans instantly and aim to reduce any inconveniences to borrowers who might need the money urgently. You will typically get your loan already converted into fiat currencies such as USD or EUR unless you have specified otherwise.

4. Withdraw and use your money

As soon as the loan is approved, you can withdraw it into your bank account. Some people also decide to buy cryptocurrencies using their loans for trading. The latter is possible through an integrated exchange platform.

Benefits of Borrowing from Crypto Platforms

Have you ever tried to borrow money from a traditional bank? If yes, then you probably know the hassle involved. This new product of borrowing from crypto lending platforms solves many of the hitches experienced in traditional banks.

Easily accessible loans

Anyone can borrow from crypto lending platforms that are reliable as long as they can afford collateral. The issue of credit score no longer matters. 

You will not be required to give personal information such as bank statements and social security numbers to qualify for a loan. These requirements would lock out many needy borrowers, but because they are not needed in this case, crypto loans have become very accessible to borrowers.

According to crypto lenders, these platforms will soon provide the most accessible loans, which is crucial to shaping the decentralized finance (DeFi) sector. Fortunately, many borrowers are looking for accessible funds to expand their investments in digital assets.

Loans with flexible terms

Compared to traditional banks, cryptocurrency lending platforms have more flexible loan plans, interest rates, and repayment periods.

According to the website of one of the best crypto lending platforms, Youhodler, borrowers get a lot of options when applying for a loan. Apart from getting customized interest rates and repayment periods, they also have a flexible loan to value ratio (LTV), a choice of collateral, and the fiat currencies they want to receive their loan in.

The terms and conditions make these platforms very flexible, providing minimum loans, minimum monthly repayments, and more. So, when hunting for an appropriate platform, these are the things to look for.

Fast loans

The application and approval processes are super-fast. Believe it or not, you can get your loan instantly, something you will rarely find in a traditional bank setup. Whether you are new or not to a crypto lending platform, the process of opening an account, adding collateral, receiving your loan, and withdrawing it is pretty fast.

The most incredible thing is that reputable lending platforms approve loans within seconds or minutes. If it has to take longer due to global time differences, internet hitches, or other technical delays, the process will not take more than 3 hours.

And since everything happens from your device, there is no time wastage at all. Investors and entrepreneurs caught up in urgent need of money can rely on this method to take care of their emergencies.

Borrowing in a safe environment

Most people are scared of losing their money to hackers and fraudsters. That’s why it’s important to research the platform you will use thoroughly. 

Make sure your collateral is safe on the chosen platform and check that they use secure websites for transactions and save your collateral in secure environment cloud databases.

Liquidity providing, savings accounts, and earning interest

Enjoy High Liquidity

Creating liquidity pool and pool balancing is a significant role of trusted crypto lending platforms in the current world. They solve major user experience (UX) challenges in traditional peer-to-peer lending platforms. Therefore, borrowers and investors are allowed more flexible withdrawals at any time without having to wait for long.

According to experts, most of these platforms maintain a certain amount of crypto coins. They regulate the amount back to the normal threshold every time it gets lower or higher.

They Provide Crypto Savings and Interest-Earning Accounts

Apart from lending crypto, these platforms also allow investors to save while earning some interest. 

This is how they get crypto coins to lend to borrowers. There is an agreed interest for different digital coins or fiat currency that you save. What’s even better is that some reputable crypto lending platforms accept savings of up to 50+ cryptos and fiat currencies.

The interest rate is usually lower than their lending rates. But for investors who have crypto that they want to save and earn passively, this is a great opportunity. The interest rate ranges from 1% annual percentage rate (APR) to 10% APR in most cases. 

Once you save, you are allowed to control your money because of the high liquidity levels of these platforms.

Enjoy lower borrowing rates and fees

The last benefit to enjoy from the cryptocurrency lending platform is lower rates. 

Although the borrowing interest rates might go as high as 17%, the terms are flexible, which means it is possible to get an affordable interest rate of even as low as 8%. 

On the other hand, the processing fees are lower and affordable, averaging at 2%.

Crypto.com Exchange Review

Crypto.com: A Top-Rated Cryptocurrency Platform 

Crypto.com is a top-ranked crypto platform that allows users to buy, transfer, store, and exchange more than 90 cryptocurrencies, according to its website.

Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Litecoin (LTC), CRO, and other cryptocurrencies are among them. On the site, you can also utilize over 20 fiat currencies (e.g., GBP, USD, EUR, etc.).

The company offers a flexible debit card that allows customers to spend cryptocurrencies anywhere Visa is accepted. Furthermore, Crypto.com's CRO tokens provide consumers with a stunning 8% cashback incentive.

Crypto.com Features and Products 

Crypto.com remains best known for its great MCO Visa card, which makes cryptos conveniently mainstream. The company offers a wide range of features and services. Many customers are surprised to find out that the platform also provides access to:

Crypto Pay

Crypto.com app

Crypto Earn

Crypto Credit

Crypto.com exchange

Crypto.com DeFi wallet

CRO Token

The Crypto.com App

The Crypto.com app allows you to sell and buy a growing number of cryptocurrencies at real-time exchange rates. This program can also be used to store, receive, and send cryptocurrency. The ability to buy and sell bitcoin at genuine cost has been the app's standout feature. It's worth mentioning, though, that if you want to save money, you'll have to pay with a bank transfer rather than a credit card.

How You Open a Crypto.com Account 

Head to Crypto.com to get started. There, you'll find links to download the mobile app for Android and iOS. Remember that you must be at least 18 years of age or older to sign up.

From there, you'll need to either go to the app store links or scan the QR code on the home page. Download the app to your phone and then start the app. Follow the prompts needed to verify your identity, and you're good to go.

How to Pay with Crypto.com

When you go to your store's payment method page, select "Crypto.com" from the establishment's drop-down menu. Agree to the Website Terms of Use and Terms and Conditions and then click the button that says "Crypto.com Pay" to head to the checkout.

Next, you'll see a popup page with a QR code. From there, open your Crypto.com app and select the shopping bag icon located on the Home Screen to gain access to "Crypto Pay." Or you may click on the "Pay"' button on the dashboard.

Look for the "Scan" button and click on it to scan the QR pay code you now have. Follow the prompt to choose a digital currency you'd like to pay with, and then click "Continue to Review." Finally, you'll review the payment and click "Confirm."

Is Crypto.com Safe to Use?

We've already discussed in this review that Crypto.com takes security and safety seriously. Nevertheless, your account won't enjoy the same insurance protections (FDIC or SIPC). Of course, this is true of cryptocurrency exchanges and platforms across the board.

You should also bear in mind that Crypto.com is not a US-based enterprise. Instead, it's headquartered in Hong Kong where financial regulations prove quite different.

The platform relies on a Secure Software Development Lifecycle. These software analysis tools keep a constant eye on the code. It's quality controlled and peer-reviewed by a full-time staff.

The software also gets audited by external certifications via Certik and Quantstamp for smart contracts. It's worth noting that Crypto.com started with a mixed reputation in its early years.

From 2017 to 2019, some people even accused the company of being a scam. Since these early, difficult years, Crypto.com has worked hard to prove it's a legitimate platform.

Dash (DASH) Review

What is a DASH Coin?

DASH Coin has been adopted by many online services, and you can now use it to make payments on more than 120 websites and over 150,000 stores. Since its release, the DASH network has been improved significantly. In this overview, we will cover the unique aspects of the coin, as well as the benefits of the network.

History of DASH

The white paper of DASH cryptocurrency was released in January 2014, and the coin was launched at the same time. The coin was created by Evan Duffield and was a fork of the Bitcoin protocol. It was originally known as XCoin and would later be rebranded to Darkcoin.

Like other early cryptocurrencies, it was commonly used for dark web transactions. In its early years, the coin was subject to pump and dump speculations, but it would prove to be a legitimate cryptocurrency.

In 2015, the coin would finally rebrand to its current name, and this was meant to be a portmanteau of the name ‘Digital Cash.’ The altcoin is used all around the world, and it was even noted to be the most popular cryptocurrency in Venezuela in 2019.

How Does the DASH Network Work?

DASH was forked from the Bitcoin protocol and uses two different tiers for enhanced efficiency. The first tier of the network is the proof of work system, where miners have to solve complex mathematical problems.

Whenever the miners solve the problems, they are rewarded with a small number of digital Dash tokens.

The second tier of the network is the masternodes. Individuals who own large sums of Dash coins can run the masternodes, and they are allowed to run the Instant Send and Coin Join features of Dash. Masternodes are also able to vote on issues like governance and funding proposals.

Whenever miners solve mathematical problems, they will be able to keep 45% of the newly minted coins. Another 45% of the new coins will be given to the masternodes, and the other 10% will be granted to the governance budget of Dash.

Buying and Selling with Dash Coin

If you want to make purchases with Dash, you can use the Dash Direct Application. It can also be purchased on different crypto exchanges, and you will just have to look for the Dash symbol. Here are some of the crypto exchanges where you can purchase Dash Coin:

Coinbase

Binance

BitMart

BTCC

Digi Finex

Coin Trade

Coinbase Pro

Coin Tiger

Bitfxt

Bitfinex

Bitci

BuyUCoin

In order to store your Dash coins, you will have to use a cryptocurrency wallet. The wallets have different features and security standards, and they work on different devices. Crypto wallets are generally classified into hot wallets and cold or hardware wallets.

Hot wallets are simply pieces of software that can be installed on a desktop or mobile device, and cold wallets are physical objects that work just like flash drives. Here are some of the most popular crypto wallets for Dash:

Dash Android

Edge

Coinomi

Dash Electrum

Jaxx Liberty

Exodus

Bitnovo

Dash Direct

Guarda

Ledger

Dash vs Bitcoin

BTC was the first cryptocurrency to be released. It was released in 2009, just as the recession was coming to an end. On the other hand, DASH was released in 2014 and was meant to improve certain aspects of Bitcoin.

While Bitcoin uses the SHA-256 mining algorithm, DASH uses the X11 alg. The DASH mining algorithm requires less processing power, uses less energy, and keeps the mining hardware cooler.

The main problem with BTC was that it preferred smaller block sizes, and this means that transactions take very long to process. At the moment, BTC transactions are completed in 10 minutes, and Dash coins can be sent within an average of 1.85 seconds. The quick transactions are made possible by the Instant Send feature.

Another key difference between Dash and BTC is the transaction cost. With Dash cryptocurrency, you will only need to pay a fee of $0.01 to $0.02. On the other hand, Bitcoin transactions will cost you $1 to $30.

The transaction speeds and low fees make DASH a great option for online transactions, especially those which require high levels of privacy. On the other hand, Bitcoin is best used as a store of value.

Is Trading Dash Cryptocurrency Worth It?

Dash cryptocurrency offers lots of benefits in the cryptocurrency community. These include the high transaction speeds, the low fees, and the high levels of security. Although the altcoin suffered some negative press in the past, it has been able to gain a good level of popularity.

It attained its all-time highest price in December 2017, and it is still very far from reaching this price again. However, the altcoin has been rising in price over the past few years and is likely to be a great investment.