Altcoins to Watch in 2022

This year has had a rocky start for cryptocurrency investors. In November, many major cryptos hit new all-time highs, then suddenly fell by around 50%. Although altcoins are expected to surge this year, it’s essential to keep in mind that they may not replicate the massive gains of 2021. Due to the current economic climate, many investors are shying away from cryptos, which could take a long time to recover.

However, there remains strong potential and long-term gains for taking many promising altcoins. Here are just a few to watch.

1. Avalanche (AVAX)

In 2021, altcoins like Avalanche gained over 3,000%. Its fast processing speeds and low fees make it an attractive alternative to Ethereum.

According to DeFi Llama, 176 projects were running on Avalanche’s network at the time of writing, and it had a total value locked of $10 billion. It’s currently in fourth place.

2. Polygon (MATIC)

Instead of building a new blockchain, Polygon is an aggregation of layer 2s that make Ethereum faster and cheaper. Despite the upgrade to Ethereum’s network, which is expected to be completed in 2023, most developers still prefer to stay on the existing network instead of migrating to a new one. Some of Ethereum’s popular projects are already using Polygon.

Although Ethereum’s upgrade may not be completed in 2023, Ethereum’s founder Vitalik Buterin still holds that layer 2s will be useful in the future.

3. Enjin (ENJ)

Enjin is a platform that lets people create and sell NFTs — an industry that has seen rapid growth. It has a robust community, a reputation, and several proven use cases. Enjin is a project that focuses on non-fungible tokens, more commonly known as NFTs. They are digital certificates stored on the blockchain and used to purchase digital items.

The biggest threat to Enjin is the sustainability of NFTs. Although it had some surprising sales in 2021, it is still expected to see solid use cases once the hype dies down.

4. Cardano (ADA)

Due to its slow-and-steady development, Cardano has become a controversial project. Its supporters are disappointed with its approach to development, as it only released its smart contract functionality in September 2021.

So, what’s the bottom line? Looking for the next big altcoin is attractive but often a high-risk venture, as it’s prone to fraud and poor thought-out projects. While some altcoins may offer promising returns, many will fail. Instead of searching for coins that will surge in the short term, try investing in solid cryptocurrencies that will help you build wealth over time.

All cryptocurrencies are subject to risk, and it is wise to only invest in a few at a time. It avoids getting caught up in the inevitable technical issues and regulations that could affect the industry.

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Originally publishes on EtienneKiss-Borlase.net on March 2, 2022

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Why Ether is on Bitcoin’s Heels

Bitcoin has been the world’s most popular cryptocurrency for years. It is, at this point, nearly impossible to avoid hearing about bitcoin. However, other cryptocurrencies are quickly gaining ground on it – one of them being Ether. This blog post will discuss why you should pay attention to Ether and what makes it unique.

About Etherium

Ether is a cryptocurrency that serves a very different purpose than bitcoin. It’s better to think of it as fuel for a decentralized platform rather than an alternative currency. Ethereum was developed by Vitalik Buterin and went live in 2015 with about 12 million pre-mined coins (Ether). The price per coin started at $0.311 and rose to $19.42 by January 2017, making it the second-largest cryptocurrency behind bitcoin (with a current market cap of over $28 billion as of December 23rd, 2017).

Ether is used to “pay” for things within Ethereum’s platform, such as transaction fees or intelligent contract execution. Ether can be bought or sold using other cryptocurrencies or fiat currencies. It can also be used to “codify, decentralize, secure and trade just about anything.”

Ether is mined similarly to bitcoin. Ether mining uses proof-of-work, which makes it attractive for miners because there is no dedicated ASICs currently available on the market (and may never be due to the design of Ethereum). Ether is mined using graphics cards and general-purpose CPUs.

Ether can also be used as a “fuel” for other cryptocurrencies, such as Litecoin or Bitcoin Cash (to name two examples) that run on top of Ethereum’s blockchain. These tokens get their value from the network they’re built on.

Ether is traded on multiple exchanges, including Binance, Kraken, and Coinbase (to name a few). It can be bought with fiat currencies such as USD or EUR through online wallets like Coinbase or GDAX. Ether’s popularity has been increasing steadily since it launched in 2015 – but recently, there have been some significant developments that have helped boost its profile.

Bottom Line

Ether is on bitcoin’s heels for several reasons. Still, the two most prominent are: Ethereum has been used by many companies to launch new cryptocurrencies and raise money through issuing ICOs (initial coin offerings). Ether was added as the second cryptocurrency supported by Coinbase, behind only bitcoin. These both add significant value to ether in the eyes of investors.

The Various Blockchain Technologies to Know

There has been a surge in the number of enterprises starting their blockchain technologies after the success of Bitcoin. By 2022, it is expected that 60% of CIOs will launch their blockchain projects. Although the technology behind the blockchain network is the same, the end product is driven by the expected user experience. There are four types of blockchain technologies each one having features that solve a specific set of problems. 

The efficiency of blockchain technology has improved a lot in the last decade. For instance, the first-generation blockchain had numerous problems such as scalability and efficiency. This article will discuss the different types of blockchain technologies.

Public Blockchain

This was the first-generation blockchain technology. Its features allow any user with an internet connection to join the network and do transactions. For public blockchain to work, the transactions must be validated by the participating nodes. A public blockchain becomes nonfunctional if the peers required to solve transactions through participation are not available. The advantage of using this type of blockchain technology is that it does not require intermediaries, which means that anyone can join the network.

Private Blockchain

A private blockchain works in a restricted network or a closed environment. In this type of blockchain technology, permission to join the network is granted by the organization in control of the network. Most organizations prefer to use a private blockchain because it only grants permission to join the network to selected participants. A private blockchain provides its users with similar features as a public blockchain. The only difference between the two networks is that you need to get permission to join a private blockchain while a public blockchain has no joining restrictions.

Consortium Blockchain

A consortium blockchain is best described as a blockchain that combines the features of a public and a private blockchain. This type of blockchain technology allows organizations to make some of their aspects private while others remain public. Preset nodes are used to control consensus procedures in this type of network.

Hybrid Blockchain

Although there are some differences, a hybrid blockchain works in a similar minor to a consortium blockchain. The only difference between these two blockchain technologies is that different organizations can use a decentralized network to collaborate in a hybrid blockchain. The major benefit of using this type of network is that it offers huge scalability compared to other types of blockchain technologies.

Bitcoin and Real Estate

Blockchain technology has resulted in the creation of many kinds of cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin might be the most famous, but Ethereum and others are making names for themselves. It wasn’t that many years ago that Bitcoin mining seemed like a fringe thing, but blockchain tech and the resulting cryptocurrencies have seen expansive acceptance around the world. Consequently, they’ve disrupted many different industries.

Payments and remittances have certainly been impacted. So, too, has the forex sector. Initial coin offerings are now rivaling stock offerings for attention and capital. What you might not know is how blockchain technology is impacting the real estate industry.

One such way that blockchain is influencing real estate is by taking some of the human element out of it. The real estate industry has traditionally been very reliant on face-to-face interactions and personal meetings. Buyers are connected to sellers, or renters are connected to landlords.

Blockchain technology has allowed for the digitization of many properties. The financial ownership of a particular property might be tokenized so it can be traded just like a stock on an open market. The rental profits collected from a leased property can be paid as dividends to the various shareholders of that token.

The real estate industry has also had a long-time reliance on intermediaries between buyers and sellers, including agents, brokers, lawyers, and bankers. Blockchain technology can be applied to streamline and facilitate procedures and communications between buyers and sellers in a secure fashion. This means they can cut out the middlemen for faster transactions while keeping more of their money by not paying commissions and fees that used to be standard costs of doing business.

Some of the impact of blockchain technology on the real estate industry is very subtle but very significant. For starters, blockchain technology can mean that real estate is no longer an illiquid asset. Tokenized properties can be cashed in for fiat currency at the owner’s discretion.

Secondly, tokenization of property ownership can mean fractionalized ownership. Instead of one person owning an entire property, it could be split up between two or more owners. This even opens up the possibility of someone’s share of a property going up over time so they don’t have to wait for a sale to be finalized to become an owner of something that they are interested in.   

7 Countries That Don’t Accept Cryptocurrency

Being a cryptocurrency enthusiast can be hard. Some people don’t know what it is, and there are places that flat out won’t accept it as payment for goods or services. It might seem like an uphill battle to convince some of these countries to start accepting crypto payments, but the following list should give you hope. These seven countries have either banned cryptocurrencies outright or refuse them as a form of legal tender.

1) Bolivia

Bolivian President Evo Morales has been vocal about his opposition to digital currencies, saying they’re a “ploy and financial manipulation.” The Bolivians are particularly worried that cryptocurrencies might be used as tools for laundering money or evading taxes. They’ve even gone so far as to ban Bitcoin mining in the country.

2) Ecuador

Ecuador is another country that has seen the downside of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Its central bank banned them in July 2014 but reversed its decision a few months later after realizing how difficult this would be to enforce. Nowadays, there are some places you can spend digital currencies within Ecuador, such as BitBolete for shopping and BitPagos for hotels.

3) Iceland

Iceland has some of the most expensive electricity globally, which is why so many cryptocurrency miners have set up shop there. However, this obsession with mining has caused one Bitcoin to cost around $20,000 more than it does elsewhere. These inflated prices prompted Icelandic officials to consider a ban on virtual currencies as early as April 2018.

4) Vietnam

Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc took a hard line on cryptocurrencies in June 2018, saying they’re illegal. While it’s unclear whether he meant the ban is temporary or permanent, his statement definitely didn’t help promote the country’s widespread adoption of digital currencies.

5) Kyrgyzstan

If you’re looking to make investments in Kyrgyzstan, avoid putting any money into cryptocurrencies. Cryptocurrency exchanges are banned within the country as of July 2018. The government justified its decision by saying that digital currencies lack a legal entity and pose risks for investors and citizens alike.

6) Colombia

There are still some businesses in Colombia that accept cryptocurrency payments. However, the central bank of Columbia has repeatedly warned its citizens about their dangers and risks—and even went so far as to ban Bitcoin mining within the country back in early 2018. It’s unclear whether this will remain a permanent ban or if there is any hope for Colombians to make crypto investments.

7) Bangladesh

In early 2018, Bangladeshi officials declared that trading or holding cryptocurrencies were considered illegal within the country. The decision came after a man in Bangladesh tried to use cryptocurrency as payment for ransom money. While there’s no indication that this ban will be lifted anytime soon, some speculate it might change if other countries start accepting crypto payments.

4 Tips for Strengthening Your NFT Assets

NFTs, or Non-Fungible Tokens, are a new digital asset that can be used in various ways. They are often traded on the Ethereum blockchain, and they have many uses. NFT assets are unique because each one is different from all others like it. This means that you cannot simply copy someone else’s token to make your own. We will discuss four tips to strengthen your NFT assets and increase their value.

1) Stake Your Tokens

One way to increase the value of your NFT assets is simply by staking them. Staking means locking up several tokens for a period of time to receive some reward from whatever dApp or platform issued those tokens. This method works best with games, such as Cryptokitties, that have a built-in staking system.

The more tokens you stake and the longer they are locked up for, the higher your rewards will be when it is time to release them from their lockup period. If you do not need many NFTs to play, try this strategy with smaller amounts. The current reward system for Cryptokitties is fairly simple and can be found on their website.

2) Take Advantage of Airdrops

Airdrops are a common way that blockchain projects spread their name or promote new features. They give users tokens for free after completing some task, such as staking certain amounts on the network. If you have been holding NFTs from an ICO, you should definitely consider taking part in an airdrop. There are two benefits of taking part in this type of NFT promotion plan; you receive new tokens from the project, and your current tokens may appreciate because more people will learn about them as they take advantage of free coins.

3) Be Patient

This is especially true in the case of initial coin offerings (ICOs). The market for NFTs and crypto-assets can be very volatile, which means that you may not see your investment grow right away. If you hold several hundred or even thousands of tokens, it could take months before they appreciate enough to make it worth selling. Many projects do not even release tokens for months or years after the ICO. This means that you can wait and accrue value over time without having to worry about a sudden price drop.

4) Watch the Markets

Another way to increase your NFT investment success is by watching market prices. Many exchanges, such as Coinbase or Binance, offer mobile applications that allow you easily check current token values while on the go. This can help keep you up-to-date with the latest changes and trends in the industry so that you can take advantage of them. If you are looking to sell some NFTs, watching market prices is a great way to find the best time and maximize your value.

How to Cut Crypto Taxes

The following are nine ways you can use to cut crypto taxes in some situations:

1. Hold Gains Longer: Holding short-term gains until they turn into long-term gains might be one technique you can use. Capital gains rates change based on the length you hold a particular cryptocurrency. Patience can pay off if you hold crypto for a minimum of a year before selling since you might get a lower tax rate.
2. Use Capital Losses to Offset Your Gains: There are limits to this particular technique, but you might be able to subtract losses you suffer on your crypto assets if you sold them during the same year you generated taxable gains via cryptocurrencies or even other investments appreciating in their value.
3. Sell During Low-Income Years: If you have a low-income year, then consider selling it, so you get tax relief on both short- and long-term capital gains. Moving into a lower bracket or just staying low keeps your income tax rate lower, so take advantage of it.
4. Minimize Your Taxable Income: Scour the entire tax code for any credits or deductions you can use to minimize your taxable income. Expensive medical procedures might be one, as are contributions to certain 401(k) and IRA plans. Charity donations and health savings accounts also usually qualify.
5. Use a Self-Directed IRA: Some Individual Retirement Accounts can be self-directed for particular investment angles, and cryptocurrency is one of them. An SDIRA can be tax-free or just tax-deferred based on its particular creation, and that might let you enjoy lower tax rates at the time of distribution.
6. Give Family Members Assets: The IRS allows you an annual gift, per family member, of as much as $15,000 without any tax consequences. Recipients might earn such a low income that they pay no taxes for appreciated property if they sell it. They might also just pay fewer taxes than if you sold it yourself.
7. Make Charitable Donations: This isn’t the aforementioned tactic of cash donations for tax deductions. Rather, you can donate appreciated cryptocurrency to a charity. You’ll avoid capital gains tax but also possibly get serious tax deductions to claim on your annual tax return.
8. Move to a New State: State-level income taxes can be a double whammy on top of federal taxes. However, there are certain states that have no income taxes. Keep more of your cryptocurrency gains by living in a state with no or low taxes on investment gains.
9. Bequeath Things to Your Estate: This one can be risky, given volatile cryptocurrencies can be over time, especially if you have a lot of years left.

Cryptocurrency Scams to Watch Out For

People should watch out for these four cryptocurrency scams.

Fake websites

Investors buy bitcoin by using a cryptocurrency exchange. There are scammers out there who try to replicate these websites as much as possible. They create imposter websites with the same colors and fonts. The website address may just be one letter off from the original. Scammers collect login information when an unsuspecting user enters his username and password. The scammers can now access the investor’s real account and withdraw funds. The whole process can be instantaneous. Scammers can bypass two-factor authentication by creating a prompt on the imposter website. The prompt will ask the victim to enter the passcode sent to his phone from the real cryptocurrency exchange. Therefore, investors should carefully check every letter of a website address when they want to use a cryptocurrency exchange.

Emails

In addition, scammers try to steal people’s cryptocurrency by sending malicious emails. The emails may have an attachment. When a user clicks on the link, a virus will begin to download on his computer. The virus may freeze the user’s computer and demand payment in bitcoin. The virus may also keep track of every letter the victim enters on his keyboard. This is how scammers can eventually learn people’s login information for every website.

Fake mobile apps

Scammers also try to target people on their mobile phones. They create apps that look and feel like the apps of legitimate companies. The apps may have the same logo and user interface. Scammers collect passwords when people try to log in using their real information.

Hype

Anyone can create a cryptocurrency. There are numerous tutorials online, so people can simply pick one tutorial and follow the instructions. Naturally, some cryptocurrencies have greedy founders. They may own a significant portion of the cryptocurrency’s total volume. Scammers create hype around their coins by spamming message boards all over the internet. They will pretend to be someone else. The price will go up when other people buy the cryptocurrency. The founder will then cash out by selling his stake. As a result, the price will plummet. Average investors will get hurt. People can avoid this scenario by only investing in the most popular cryptocurrencies.

Overall, investors must be careful when buying cryptocurrency.

The Future of NFTs

To understand what the future of NFTs is or what the future holds for them, it is better to understand what NFTs are.

What is NFT?

Non-fungible data or NFT is a unique set of data or information stored on a digital ledger. This combination is also called a blockchain. The blockchain aids the data in being interchangeable and makes it unique through genuine certification.

Hence, the owner is provided with the proof of ownership and has copyrights too.

Storing any data on the NFTs, whether photos, information, videos, barcodes, digital files, etc.

The Future of NFTs

A powerful profit-sharing earnings.

In upcoming years, NFT can become a real, genuine, and potent profit-sharing system. For brands looking forward to flourishing in e-commerce specifically, NFT can be an excellent source of profit earning for them. In addition, NFT can make the profit-sharing process more accessible and reliable for both the customers and companies both.

In addition, artists and companies use NFT to gain profits directly every time it increases in value.

A Great Source of Development For Websites

The process of development never stops, especially the cycle which is linked through e-commerce. As day by day people tend to explore and get to know things better. NFT is an extension of a development system, just like the development observed in the internet browsers.

It will be a completely changing development process for the brands in e-commerce, such as fashion and clothing.

Reliable Transaction Process: Safety

NFT is incredibly potent in ensuring safety for the customers. As the whole transaction process is recorded on a blockchain, hence there are rare chances of fraud. Moreover, the information cannot be altered in any case allowing NFT to convert the value of money into tokens.

The NFT craze may seem like it is temporary to many because of the extreme speculation in the short term. But it is essential to note that NFT’s provide value in several ways, and it will find use in various markets over the near term. From real estate to art, authenticity, transparency, and recordability add real value overall. The fact that they are easily accessible and simple to implement, making them a force for innovation over the next few years.

The Benefits of Using Cryptocurrency in Your Business

Companies are increasingly starting to use cryptocurrency to conduct business. If you’re a business owner, you might find that the hassle of using cryptocurrency is way too hard compared to using cash or credit cards. However, some of these business owners might also tell you that it’s worth the hassle.

Once you understand that it can be worth your time, you need to understand exactly how cryptocurrency can help you conduct business. Check out these benefits businesses are finding when they use cryptocurrency.

Investing

It’s never easy to get someone to invest in your business. However, some businesses have found that cryptocurrency has given them more investment opportunities than ever before. This is because various cryptocurrency holders have been interested in seeing what their currency can do for businesses that need it.

You should remember that businesses can convert any of their cryptocurrency for cash, making it easy to use that currency for anything they might need. Business owners should look more into how cryptocurrency can help them get the investments they need.

Transactions

The goal of a business is, often, to get customers to purchase products and services no matter what. That means meeting customers between the middle ground of a hassle and convenience to them. For some, the most amount of convenience they can get is by supporting cryptocurrency for transactions.

By supporting cryptocurrency, you’re ensuring that you get a bigger customer base that might have not been ever interested in your business otherwise. So think about supporting cryptocurrency in transactions so you can make more money.

Money Transfers

If you run a business, you might have noticed that it can take quite a long time to transfer money between bank accounts. This amount of time can create a huge hassle, especially if you need to pay off something important for your business. Cryptocurrency helps solve this issue of waiting too long for a money transfer.

Depending on the type of cryptocurrency you’re using, you might be able to transfer money between accounts in just a couple of minutes. This can make it much worth your while, especially if you’ve had issues with traditional bank accounts in the past. Make sure you use cryptocurrency if you want to transfer money more quickly.