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Simple ways to buy and invest Bitcoin

What is Bitcoin?

Bitcoin is a decentralized, peer-to-peer, digital currency system designed to allow online users to process transactions through a digital unit of exchange known as Bitcoins. In other words, it is a virtual currency.
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The Bitcoin system was created in 2009 by an undisclosed programmer(s). Since then, Bitcoin has attracted much attention and controversy as an alternative to the US dollar, the Euro, and commodity currencies such as gold and silver.

Rise to popularity

Before 2009, Bitcoin did not get much attention in the world of business and finance. In 2011-2012, it gained popularity by gaining more than 300% in value. Bitcoin has gained 400% since last August. As a result, venture capital firms and investors around the world continue to pay attention to cryptocurrency.
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In the first half of 2014, venture capital firms invested $57 million in Bitcoin in the first quarter and another $73 million in the second quarter, a 50% increase from last year’s $88 million. This is in stark contrast to the scenario in 2012, when bitcoin firms raised a relatively paltry $2.2 million.

These statistics definitely prove that Bitcoin is worth your investment, and the question arises, how can you buy and invest in Bitcoin?

A guide for novice investors in Bitcoin

The easiest and least complicated way to invest in Bitcoin is to buy Bitcoins. There are many established firms, mostly in the United States, as well as abroad, that deal in the purchase and sale of bitcoins, abbreviated as BTC.

Coinbase

If you live in the US, Coinbase is the place to be. Coinbase provides BTC to its customers at a price around 1% higher than the current market price. US residents have the option to sync Coinbase wallets with their bank accounts. As a result, future payment transfers are made hassle-free. This company also allows you to buy bitcoins automatically from time to time. For example, if you want to buy $50 worth of bitcoins at the beginning of each month, Coinbase lets you set up an automatic purchase for that amount.

Remember the terms before you start using this service. If you are subscribed to an automatic bitcoin service, then you will not be able to control the price at which BTC is purchased each month. Note that Coinbase does not act as a Bitcoin exchange, meaning you buy and sell coins directly from the firm. Because the firm must acquire coins from other buyers, you may experience delays or interruptions in placing orders during rapid market movements.

BitStamp

BitStamp complies with the requirements of a regular bitcoin exchange. Bitcoin acts as an intermediary that allows trading with other users rather than with the company itself. Liquidity is higher here and you always have a good chance of finding someone willing to trade with you. There is an initial fee of 0.5% which can be reduced to 0.2% if you trade $150,000 within 30 days.

Alternative ways to buy Bitcoin

Local bitcoins

Exchange is not the only way to invest in bitcoins. Local Bitcoins are often used to buy BTC offline. The website is designed to connect potential buyers and sellers. Bitcoins are held in escrow from the seller and can only be released to buyers.

Buying bitcoins offline is not always very reliable or safe. So it’s best to meet with vendors during the day and have a friend tag along with you in case things go south.

Bitcoin is not just a modern trend. Venture capital firms consider Bitcoin a worthy substitute for regular currency in the long run. There are free ways for you to enter the Bitcoin investment sphere. As mentioned earlier, Coinbase, BitStamp and Local Bitcoins are the most popular channels to invest in bitcoin in the US. Do your homework and find out which prospect ticks all your boxes.

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How blockchain can enhance marketing strategies

Blockchain is an incredibly fast developing technology. When Bitcoin was launched, blockchain technology was limited to cryptocurrencies. Today, more and more industries are exploring the benefits of this technology. Marketing is one area that has benefited massively from blockchain. This technology solves the major hiccups faced by the marketing industry.
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Moreover, every business wants to create a strong online presence in today’s highly competitive digital market. Hence, businesses want to ensure that they are well prepared for their marketing strategies. This is where blockchain is launched as a technology that could transform the marketing and advertising industry. Blockchains can be programmed in most programming languages ​​of your choice, i.e. C/C++, Java, Python, Solidity, etc. If you want to learn these languages, you can find the best programming tutorials recommended by the community at Hackr.io. for example. Here are the best tutorials to learn Java. To know more about blockchain, you can always refer to some online blockchain tutorials and master it well. Read on to learn more about how blockchain can boost marketing.
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Understanding Blockchain

Blockchain is comparable to a database. A blockchain consists of many blocks that are linked together to form a chain. Each block contains data stored. The information stored in these blocks can be shared with desired users in a peer-to-peer (P2P) network.
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Blockchain is protected by using cryptographic technologies to prevent unauthorized persons from accessing data. Data stored in blocks follows a consensus-based algorithm. This means that once the data is stored by mutual agreement, no user is allowed to edit, delete or add data in the blocks.
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When a transaction is made, whether it is contractual agreements or the exchange of information or money, the transaction is done in blocks. A block must be confirmed by all users within the P2P network, and once confirmed, a permanent digital record is established. Once completed, the block is added to the chain.
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The technology behind Blockchain has made it completely auditable and transparent. It has no central point of authority and also no single point of failure or control. Thus, transactions using this technology are completely safe and transparent.
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Blockchain and the Marketing Industry

Blockchain technology has changed today’s marketing industry. Here are some ways blockchain can power your marketing strategies:
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1. Targeting and Attracting the Right Audience

When it comes to online advertising, although most advertisers have behavioral data, they struggle to target the right consumers. Most marketers have a lot of consumer data and still pay exorbitant fees to the middlemen who handle the advertising. Despite doing all this, they still fail to attract and target the right audience.
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Blockchain is an effective tool for targeting advertising to the right audience. Blockchain creates a decentralized search engine where advertisers can easily reach their target audience. Through blockchain, advertisers can compensate target customers using tokens when they provide their personal information to advertisers. Every time a person clicks on an ad, they get paid. People see only the ads they are interested in, so only the right audience is targeted and engaged.
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2. Prevention of Advertising Fraud

Ad fraud is an increasingly serious problem for marketers and advertisers. Paying for fake impressions and clicks is a common trend today. Therefore, ad fraud distorts analytical data, which affects marketing strategies and decisions.
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Blockchain technology is coming to display clicks on advertising platforms in real time. It also helps marketers by renting advertising platforms and driving quality traffic. In this way, clicks are verified, thus preventing ad fraud.
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3. Creation of reward systems and loyalty programs
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Customers never forget when they feel special. Loyalty programs work well with sales because they make customers feel special. Blockchain can be used to create an unforgettable experience for customers. Gift cards can be added to the blockchain, creating a secure platform for storing and issuing loyalty programs and gift cards.

If customers collect gift cards and cannot redeem or use them, they will have a negative experience with the brand. With blockchain, gift cards can be converted into digital wallets or coins, making it easier for customers to redeem or redeem them. Plus, different gift cards and coupons can be combined and redeemed in one transaction. This concept can save marketers thousands of dollars in marketing strategies.
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4. Crowdsourcing and data collection

Good data is extremely powerful for marketers. Despite having dozens of marketing tools and trying different marketing strategies, most marketers are still unable to obtain accurate and quality customer data. Only the customers themselves can provide accurate information.
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But how can a marketer get customers to share their data? This is where crowdsourcing and blockchain come in handy to encourage customers to share their data. In return, they get some compensation, which makes it a win-win situation for both parties. Thus, the information obtained is very relevant and original.

5. Decentralization of electronic commerce

Blockchain decentralizes how consumers buy things online. This technology can be used by marketers to create decentralized marketplaces where traders can sell their products or services directly to consumers without using expensive third-party platforms.
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6. Influencer marketing

Consumers tend to believe what other consumers say about a brand rather than what a marketer says. Blockchain makes it possible to benefit from influencer marketing. Through blockchain technology, marketers can verify the identity of influencers, verify their followers and guarantee their investment.

7. Eliminating the need for intermediaries

Marketing involves finance and that means transactions through banks. Blockchain technology comes with digital wallets and eliminates the need to conduct transactions through banks. Blockchain ensures smooth transactions and reduces costs associated with transactions through banks that act as intermediaries.

As competition continues to increase in the digital world, marketers must look for innovative ways to enhance their marketing strategies. Blockchain technology has proven to be an excellent tool that can improve marketing strategies. Although this technology is still new in the marketing world, it is already becoming a viable alternative to other marketing tools such as Google banner ads and pay-per-click. Unlocking its full potential can undoubtedly benefit markets by creating a transparent, authentic and secure customer experience.


Financial Stability Through Online Forex Market Investments

Of course, there must be a reason why online currency trading went from being just a trend to a popular phenomenon today. The market has become one of the most suitable options today as the number of investors who want to invest some funds in trading is increasing rapidly. It has been reported that even currency exchange websites have benefited greatly from this sudden surge of investors.

One potential reason is that forex trading has fewer regulations than traditional markets. This is because it is simply not grounded in one place. Investors from all over the world connect to the internet 24 hours a day, where a lot of buying and selling takes place over the internet. Restrictions are also less and investors are much freer than their counterparts in stock trading or share trading. The lack of these restrictions also makes it possible for virtually anyone with a computer and an internet connection to participate in currency trading.

With the availability of forex guides and websites with currency converter software, investing has become especially easy, even for stay-at-home moms or students looking for additional sources of income. There are various strategies that investors can implement or formulate to be successful in foreign exchange trading. One of these strategies involves leveraging the market.

Apart from all the obvious benefits and advantages that Forex offers to its shareholders, the basic support structure offered by brokers and brokerage houses makes it easier for beginners to find their way in the market in as little time as possible. Training programs encourage investors to go beyond the currency converter when working with currency pairs to trade. With a streamlined support system, trading currencies starts to seem as easy as paying your bills online, for example.

These training programs often come with mock accounts that you can use and manipulate to learn more about how the market is moving. By attending training educational programs and taking a hands-on approach through dummy accounts, it should be fairly easy for anyone to learn the ropes of forex trading easily. Likewise, brokerage firms and forex brokers have made it infinitely easier for people to access the latest information, latest market updates and technical analysis, tips, general rules and general market observations by making these documents available for online viewing on their sites. websites.

With all these benefits and advantages, what more could you ask for? While it is true that there are risks involved in trading like any other market, these risks can be avoided by simply mastering the concepts and principles that make the gears of forex trading or forex trading work. Without this knowledge, you will have to rely on dumb luck or fate, and unfortunately, this can only lead to many disasters.

The Five Laws of Gold

We live in impatient times and when it comes to money, we want more today, not tomorrow. Whether it’s saving for a mortgage or cleaning up credit cards that drain our energy after we stop enjoying the things we buy with them, the sooner the better. When it comes to investing, we want easy options and quick returns. Hence the current mania for cryptocurrencies. Why invest in nanotechnology or machine learning when Ethereum is locked in an endless upward spiral and Bitcoin is the gift that keeps on giving?

A century ago, the American writer George S Clason took a different approach. In the richest man in Babylon, he gave the world a treasure trove of financial principles based on what might seem antiquated today: prudence, prudence, and wisdom. Clason used the wise men of the ancient city of Babylon as spokesmen for his financial advice, but that advice is as relevant today as it was a century ago, when the Wall Street Crash and the Great Depression loomed.

Take, for example, the five laws of gold. No matter where you are in life, if you want to put your personal finances on a sound footing, these are for you:

Law #1: Gold comes happily and in increasing quantities to anyone who puts at least one-tenth of their earnings into creating wealth for their future and their family’s future. In other words, save 10% of your income. Minimum. Save more than that if you can. And that 10% isn’t for next year’s holiday or a new car. It is long term. Your 10% can include your pension contributions, ISAs, premium bonds or any high interest/restricted access savings account. Well, interest rates for savers are now at historic lows, but who knows where they’ll be in five or ten years? And compound interest means your savings will grow faster than you think.

Law #2: Gold works diligently and gladly for a wise owner who finds him profitable work. So, if you want to invest instead of saving, do it wisely. No cryptocurrencies or pyramid schemes. We focus on the words “profitable” and “employment”. Make your money work for you, but remember that the best you can hope for this side of the rainbow is steady income over the long term, not lottery wins. In practice, this most likely means stocks of established companies that offer regular dividends and a steady upward trend in share price. You can invest directly or through a fund manager in the form of a unit trust, but before you part with a penny, check out Laws 3, 4 and 5…

Law #3: Gold clings to the protection of a prudent owner who invests it with the advice of the wise who govern it. Before you do anything, talk to a qualified, experienced financial advisor. If you don’t know one, do some research. Check them out online. What experiences do they have? What kind of customers? Read the reviews. Call them first and get a feel for what they can offer you, then decide if a face-to-face meeting will work. Check their commission rules. Are they independent or tied to a particular company, under contract to push that company’s financial products? A decent financial advisor will encourage you to get the basics down before investing in emerging markets and space travel: retirement, life insurance, a place to live. When you’re happy you’ve found a counselor you can trust, listen to them. Trust their advice. But review your relationship with them regularly, say annually, and if you’re not happy, look elsewhere. Chances are, if your decision was a sound one in the first place, you’ll stick with the same advisor for many years.

Law #4: Gold moves away from a person who invests it in businesses or purposes that are not approved by those who do not know or are competent to keep it. If you have deep knowledge of food retailing, invest in a supermarket chain that is increasing market share. Likewise, if you work for a company that has an employee share ownership scheme, it makes sense to take advantage of it if you are confident that your company has good prospects. However, you should never invest in any market or financial product that you do not understand (remember Crash!) or fully research. If you are interested in trying your hand at forex trading or options trading and have a financial advisor, talk to them first. If they’re not up to speed, ask them to refer you to someone who is. It’s best to avoid anything you’re not sure about, no matter how great the potential returns.

Law #5: Gold avoids the person who seeks impossible profits or follows the attractive advice of tricksters and tricksters or relies on his own inexperience. Again, the fifth law follows the fourth law. If you start scouring the internet for financial advice and wealth building ideas, invest £999 in their ‘system’ to turn £1 into £1XXXXXX, your inbox will soon be full of ‘scammers and scammers’ promising you the world. Chicago Mercantile Exchange. Remember, it’s only the backhoe who makes money in the gold rush. Get the wrong shovel and you’ll quickly find yourself in debt. You won’t just pay through the nose for a system with no proven value; by following it, you will probably lose more than you paid for it. You should at least check the original reviews of the product. Never buy a system, investment vehicle or financial product from any company that is not registered by a national regulator such as the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority.

Advantages of Panaesha Capital Exchange (PCEX).

The cryptocurrency market boomed in 2017-2018; the total market value of cryptocurrencies reached $700 billion last year. With the huge market potential offered by cryptocurrencies, digital currency trading is booming and several cryptocurrency exchanges have been launched within a year and more are under development. Cryptocurrencies are platforms where traders can exchange cryptocurrencies for other cryptocurrencies or fiat money.

Panaesha Capital Exchange (PCEX) is a cryptocurrency trading platform that will be launched in Q3 2018. PCEX provides safe, fast, high liquidity and uses a broker channel for added security. The platform is a one-stop trading solution; offers both crypto to crypto exchange and crypto to fiat currency trading.

Advantages of PCEX

Multifunctional Exchange Platform

Many cryptocurrency exchanges, even well-known platforms, only support cryptocurrency trading, forcing traders to conduct their activities on multiple exchanges. Crypto-traders first buy cryptocurrency for fiat money on a specific platform and then distribute the currency across multiple trading platforms to ensure liquidity and profit. Traders have only a few platform options to convert digital currencies to fiat. PCEX is a comprehensive solution offering high liquidity; crypto-traders can conduct all their trades on one platform and at the same time they will be provided with significant returns.

High Liquidity

To promote the liquidity of digital assets on PCEX, the platform incorporates all the key attributes for a fast-moving exchange;

Easy user interface to simplify the transaction process. PCEX is structured in a familiar format similar to the National Stock Exchange.

Low transaction fees (PCEX charges very little for trading on the platform).

Sophisticated buying and selling procedure through superior matching engine. Trade orders will be matched quickly on the platform.

High Caliber Order Compliance

At PCEX, users are offered a limit trading procedure so that they can buy or sell assets at the price they set; the matching engine will try to increase sales by matching users’ trades to a better price for a limited time. The limit time will be set by traders, after which the trade order will be deleted from the platform. PCEX has the ability to quickly match orders through its superior order matching engine.

Affordable payments

To trade on PCEX, crypto-traders will pay only two fees: a transaction fee and a withdrawal fee. Transaction fees on PCEX are much lower than those on other platforms that offer similar services. A significant portion of transaction fees goes to PCEX brokers and sub-brokers; the platform will receive a smaller portion of the cut.

Broker and Sub-Broker Channels

Brokers and sub-brokers for crypto-trading are a unique feature of the PCEX trading platform. Traders on cryptocurrency platforms usually face poor customer support and slow response time. PCEX overcomes this shortcoming by deploying a fleet of brokers and sub-brokers to personally assist traders with each trade. At PCEX, a single point of contact will be established for traders who can be contacted at any time for assistance. No dark periods of unresponsiveness will be associated with PCEX.

Through the brokerage channel and exceptional services, PCEX aims to build long-term relationships with users. The broker channel also adds a layer of security to the platform.

High Security

By the way, PCEX has several levels of security. The platform features the Clark-Wilson Model of security architecture to ensure data integrity. The security system will check the receipt of data at PCEX so that data breaches are prevented all together. Secure operations on the platform require auditors to cooperate; devices and identities are available to protect the site. PCEX provides crypto-traders with an impenetrable level of security and protects traders’ identity and digital assets from hackers and accidental losses.

All users, brokers and sub-brokers on PCEX must complete the KYC/AML protocol; PCEX is preparing for any future regulations. Traders can also be assured of legal behavior on the platform.

The result

Cryptocurrency trading is a volatile atmosphere with prices peaking and falling almost daily. Price volatility can be caused by country or state regulations, security, vendor acceptance of digital currencies, major players, etc. it depends. Cryptocurrency trading provides a higher Return on Investment compared to the traditional stock market; early investors in cryptocurrencies made millions in 2017-2018.

To support the growing demand for digital currencies and digital currency trading platforms, PCEX adopts an advanced framework with full service tools. Everything a crypto-trader would require for smooth and hassle-free trading is available at PCEX. In fact, PCEX goes the extra mile.

Explore the new and exclusive cryptocurrency exchange at http://www.pcex.io.

Planning to trade Monero cryptocurrency? Here are the Basics to Get You Started

One of the main principles of blockchain technology is to provide users with unbreakable privacy. As the first decentralized cryptocurrency, Bitcoin relied on this premise to market itself to a wider audience that needed a virtual currency that was free from government interference at the time.

Unfortunately, along the way, Bitcoin has proven to be riddled with a number of weaknesses, including non-scalability and a volatile blockchain. All transactions and addresses are recorded on the blockchain, making it easy for anyone to connect the dots and unlock users’ personal details based on their existing records. Some government and non-government agencies are already using blockchain analytics to read data on the Bitcoin platform.

Such drawbacks have led developers to look at alternative blockchain technologies with improved security and speed. One of these projects is Monero, commonly represented by the ticker XMR.

What is Monero?

Monero is a privacy-oriented cryptocurrency project whose main goal is to provide better privacy than other blockchain ecosystems. This technology protects users’ data through hidden addresses and Call signatures.

A secret address refers to the creation of a single address for solo operation. Two addresses cannot be linked to one transaction. The received coins go to a completely different address, making the whole process ambiguous to an outside observer.

A ring signature, on the other hand, refers to mixing account keys with public keys, thus creating a “ring” of multiple signers. This means that the monitoring agent cannot associate the signature with a specific account. Unlike cryptography (the mathematical method of securing crypto projects), ring signature is not a new kid on the block. Its principles were studied and documented by the Weizmann Institute and MIT in 2001.

Cryptography has certainly won the hearts of many developers and blockchain enthusiasts, but the truth is that it is still an emerging tool that is underutilized. Monero has already distinguished itself as a legitimate project worth adopting because it uses the proven Ring signature technology.

Things you need to know before you start trading Monero

Monero market

The Monero market is similar to that of other cryptocurrencies. If you want to buy it, Kraken, Poloniex and Bitfinex are some of the exchanges to visit. Poloniex was the first to adopt it, followed by Bitfinex and finally Kraken.

This virtual currency seems to be mostly pegged against the dollar or cryptocurrencies. Some of the available pairings include XMR/USD, XMR/BTC, XMR/EUR, XMR/XBT and more. The trading volume and liquidity record of this currency are very good statistics.

One of the good things about XMR is that anyone can participate in its mining, either individually or by joining a mining pool. Any computer with reasonably good processing power can mine Monero blocks in a few hiccups. Don’t bother going for ASICS (application specific integrated circuits) which are currently mandatory for Bitcoin mining.

Price volatility

Despite being a huge cryptocurrency network, it is not that special when it comes to volatility. Almost all altcoins are extremely volatile. This shouldn’t bother any avid trader because this is what makes them profitable in the first place – you buy when prices are falling and sell when they are in an uptrend.

In January 2015, XMR was going for $0.25, then in May 2017 it ran up to $60 and is currently bowling above $300. Monero coin recorded an ATH (all-time high) of $475 on January seventh before starting to fall to $300 along with other cryptocurrencies. At the time of this writing, almost all decentralized currencies are in a price correction, and Bitcoin is climbing to $10-11k from its spectacular ATH of $19,000.

Fungibility and adoption

Due to its ability to offer reliable privacy, XMR has been adopted by many people to easily exchange their coins for other currencies. Simply put, Monero can easily be traded for something else.

All bitcoins on the Bitcoin Blockchain are recorded, and therefore, when an event such as a theft occurs, every coin involved is disabled, rendering them immutable. With Monero, you cannot distinguish one coin from another. Therefore, no seller can reject any of them because it is associated with a bad event.

The Monero blockchain is currently one of the trendiest cryptocurrencies with a significant following. Like most other blockchain projects, its future looks great despite impending government crackdowns. As an investor, you should do your due diligence and research before trading any Cryptocurrency. If possible, seek help from financial experts to get you on the right track.

Which cryptocurrencies are good to invest in?

This year, the value of Bitcoin has risen, even surpassing an ounce of gold. There are also new cryptocurrencies in the market, which is even more surprising considering that the value of cryptocoins is more than a hundred billion. On the other hand, the longer-term cryptocurrency outlook is somewhat murky. There is controversy among its core developers about its lack of progress, which makes it less attractive as a long-term investment and payment system.

Bitcoin

Still the most popular, Bitcoin is the cryptocurrency that started it all. It is currently the largest market cap at around $41 billion and has been around for the past 8 years. Bitcoin is widely used all over the world and it is not easy to exploit the weakness of the way it works until now. As both a payment system and a store of value, Bitcoin allows users to easily receive and send bitcoins. The concept of blockchain is the foundation upon which Bitcoin is based. To understand what cryptocurrencies are, you need to understand the concept of blockchain.

Simply put, a blockchain is a distributed database that stores each network transaction as a chunk of data called a “block”. Each user has copies of the blockchain, so when Alice sends 1 bitcoin to Mark, everyone on the network knows.

Litecoin

Litecoin, an alternative to Bitcoin, seeks to solve many of the problems holding Bitcoin back. It is not as stable as Ethereum with its value mainly derived from solid user adoption. It should be noted that Charlie Lee, a former Google employee, leads Litecoin. It also practices transparency in what it does with Litecoin and is quite active on Twitter.

Litecoin was second fiddle to Bitcoin for a while, but in early 2017, things started to change. First, Litecoin was accepted by Coinbase along with Ethereum and Bitcoin. Next, Litecoin solved Bitcoin’s problem by adopting Segregated Witness technology. This allowed him to reduce transaction fees and do more. But the decisive factor was that Charlie Lee decided to focus all his attention on Litecoin and even left Coinbase, where he was the Director of Engineering, only for Litecoin. For this reason, the price of Litecoin has risen in the last few months, the strongest factor of which is that it can be a real alternative to Bitcoin.

Ethereum

Vitalik Buterin, a superstar programmer, envisioned Ethereum that could do everything Bitcoin could. However, its purpose is primarily to be a platform for building decentralized applications. Blockchains are where the differences between the two lie. Basically, Bitcoin’s blockchain records a type of contract that states whether funds are transferred from one digital address to another. However, there is significant expansion with Ethereum because it has a more advanced scripting language and has a more complex, wider range of applications.

As developers began to see its better qualities, projects began to sprout on top of Ethereum. Through token crowd sales, some have even raised millions of dollars, a trend that still continues today. The fact that you can build cool things on the Ethereum platform makes it almost like the internet itself. This caused the price to skyrocket, so if you bought a hundred dollars worth of Ethereum earlier this year, it wouldn’t be worth nearly $3,000.

Monero

Monero aims to solve the issue of anonymous transactions. Even if this currency is perceived as a method for money laundering, Monero aims to change that. Basically, the difference between Monero and Bitcoin is that Bitcoin has a transparent blockchain where every transaction is open and recorded. With Bitcoin, anyone can see how and where money is being transferred. However, Bitcoin has somewhat imperfect anonymity. In contrast, Monero has an opaque rather than transparent transaction method. No one is sold on this method, but as some people love privacy for any purpose, Monero is here to stay.

Zcash

Unlike Monero, Zcash also aims to solve the problems that Bitcoin has. The difference is that, rather than being completely transparent, Monero is only partially public, blockchain-style. Zcash also aims to solve the problem of anonymous transactions. After all, not everyone likes to show off how much they spend on Star Wars memorabilia. So the bottom line is that there is indeed an audience and demand for this type of cryptocoin, although it’s hard to say which privacy-focused cryptocurrency will ultimately come out on top of the pile.

Bancor

Bancor, also known as a “smart token”, is a next-generation cryptocurrency standard that can store multiple tokens. Basically, Bancor seeks to facilitate the trading, management and creation of tokens by increasing the level of liquidity and enabling automated market pricing. Bancor currently has a product on the front end that includes creating a wallet and smart token. The community also has features such as statistics, profiles and discussions. In short, the Bancor protocol enables the discovery of an internal price and liquidity mechanism for smart contract tokens through an innovative reserve mechanism. Through a smart contract, you can instantly liquidate or buy any token in Bancor’s reserve. With Bancor you can easily generate new cryptocoins. Now who wouldn’t want that?

EOS

Another competitor to Ethereum, EOS, promises to solve Ethereum’s scaling problem with a more robust set of tools for building and running applications on the platform.

Thesis

Tezos, an alternative to Ethereum, can be developed consensually without much effort. This new blockchain is decentralized in the sense that it governs itself by creating a digital real community. It facilitates a mathematical technique called formal verification and has the security-enhancing features of the most financially sensitive, sensitive smart contract. Definitely a great investment in the coming months.

Judgment

It is quite difficult to predict which Bitcoin will be the next superstar on the list. However, when it comes to cryptocurrencies, user adoption has always been one of the key success factors. Both Ethereum and Bitcoin have it, and while each cryptocurrency on the list has plenty of support from early adopters, some have yet to prove their staying power. Nevertheless, these are the ones to invest in and watch out for in the coming months.

Forces and Trends in Business

The corporate environment is characterized by a number of variables: competition, dynamism, turbulence, complexity and change. All organizations must develop ability to continuously and consciously transform themselves and their contexts. Such contexts include restructuring for optimum effectiveness, reengineering key processes and streamlining functions that are able to provide a source of competitive advantage. The aim is to adapt, regenerate and most important, survive. (McLean, 2006).

For a company to thrive today, strategists must find ways to increase the organization’s ability to read and react to industry and market changes. They must know their goal to boost the company’s strategic flexibility by recognizing disruptions earlier and responding faster.

Strategic flexibility or adaptability can be defined as the organization’s capacity to identify major changes in its external environments, quickly commit resources to new courses of action in response to such changes, and to recognize and act promptly when it is time to halt or reverse existing resource commitments. Being adaptable means leaders must not get stuck in a too-rigid way of looking at the world. The organization must view change as an inevitable and essential part of an organization’s growth, in order to achieve this adaptability.

When there is uncertainty or unpredictability in the environment, managers tend to focus almost all their energy on successfully executing the current strategy. What they also should be doing is preparing for an unknown future. Flexibility stems from the ability to learn; managers tend to overlook the negative and emphasize the positive. They need to understand not only what led to the positive outcomes but also what led to the negative ones. This will optimize their learning experience. According to Ford (2004) four points to foster and maintain adaptability include challenging complacency, giving all employees a voice, encouraging participative work and driving fear out of your group.

The companies chosen for this task vary by industry: a famous automobile manufacturer (Ford) a bank going through a merger (Compass) and a start-up software company (DawningStreams). Ford and Compass have been in business for a long time; it is likely they have changed their strategic plan based on changing forces and trends. DawningStreams is new (established in 2005 and incorporated in 2007). Even though they have not had their first sale and have no staff, the owners have devised several iterations of their strategy.

There is a diversity of stakeholders all that are interested in the activity of business organizations. Emphasis must be placed on their adaptability in strategic analysis and their adaptability in strategic management of business organizations. The organization must have a strategic management model.

Each company might scan the same areas, but for different reasons. Considering technological advances, Ford would prepare itself to lead the market by having various electronic equipment in their vehicles, as well as robotic equipment with which to build them and the supply chain technology to keep all in check. Compass Bank is going through a merge and expanding globally; therefore they will need to keep abreast of communication technology. DawningStreams is a software company; they will need to monitor those companies who would be their competition to ensure their product offers better functionality. All three companies would make sure potential customers would be able to get good information from internet websites and advertisement, which encompasses yet another area of technology the organizations may need/want to scan. In this instance, many members of the organization must be enrolled: upper management and finance, who will determine budgetary factors; the IT department, who will be responsible for the implementation and maintenance of some of the technology; the staff who must be trained to use the technology; a sales force who will sell the technology.

To the outside observer, it may seem unnecessary for any but Ford to scan the (actual) environment when it comes to issues such as emission control, fuel efficiency and hybrid cars. That is true however; Compass Bank and DawningStreams can plan a strategy to be friendlier to the environment (and their pocketbooks) by practicing paper reduction (through the aforementioned technology). Lastly, DawningStreams’ product may be useful as a file sharing service to environmental groups.

With regard to the legal environment, all three must be acutely aware of laws, which affect their respective industry among others. To Ford, legal applies, among other areas, to environmental protection laws and department of transportation safety laws. To Compass Bank, they would abide by the rules of the Federal Reserve (www.federalreserve.gov) and the Federal Insurance and Deposit Corporation (www.fdic.gov). DawningStreams must follow laws as they pertain to the transfer of files, which have intellectual property and also the export of products, which have algorithms. All three companies are global and will need to monitor those laws in other countries, which could effect the strategic planning.

At one company after another–from Sears to IBM to Hewlett-Packard to Searle, strategy is again a major focus in the quest for higher revenues and profits. With help from a new generation of business strategists, companies are pursuing novel ways to hatch new products, expand existing businesses, and create the markets of tomorrow. Some companies are even recreating full-fledged strategic-planning groups. United Parcel Service expects to spin out a new strategy group from its marketing department, where strategic plans are now hatched. Explains Chairman Kent C. Nelson: “Because we’re making bigger bets on investments in technology, we can’t afford to spend a whole lot of money in one direction and then find out five years later it was the wrong direction.”

In such a world we need a planning model that allows us to anticipate the future and to use this anticipation in conjunction with an analysis of our organization–its culture, mission, strengths and weaknesses–to define strategic issues, to chart our direction by developing strategic vision and plans, to define how we will implement these plans and to specify how we will evaluate how well we are implementing these plans. The fact that the world is changing as we move forward in the future demands that the process be an iterative one.

Ford Motor Company – Socio-cultural

Ford Motor Company embraces the socio-cultural changes taking place to allow the company to move in the right direction with respect to attitudes in the society. Two areas that stand out in terms of socio-cultural attitudes would be that of fuel economy and smaller cars. The growing concern by the public for better fuel economy has influenced the company’s introduction of the Ford Escape Hybrid and Mercury Mariner Hybrid. The organization is committed to the hybrid to improve fuel economy as a global strategy to meet customer demands. The increased demand in society for such environmentalism has assisted in the decision for Ford Motor Company to look forward to adding the hybrid feature to the Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan and continue in such a strategic planning direction.

The customers that use these vehicles get a substantial break on their insurance in many states and a tax credit as well while enjoying the increased mileage of a vehicle that runs on gasoline and capabilities for 100 percent electric power. The environmental scanning by Ford Motor Company has allowed the company to be knowledgeable of the fact that the people in the United States are buying more small cars today than any other type of vehicle segment. The lifestyles changes have been monitored and there is good data that shows that such a trend will continue in this direction and the expected growth in this segment will continue. The company has redesigned the inside and outside of the Ford Focus to set the car apart from the competitors in the small car segment while increasing upgrades and features to experience positive outcomes. The direction that the company is taking is based on a competitive advantage and being a leader in the industry. The vehicle line has both a sedan and a coupe to attract targeted markets including younger buyers at an entry level to build upon brand loyalty and customer retention. Ford Motor Company will continue to use the socio-cultural factors to drive the business and enjoy future success.

Ford Motor Company – Legal –

Ford Motor Company with regard to the Environmental Protection Agency adheres to the legal aspect of environmental scanning. Ford Motor Company accepted an award in March 2007 from the Environmental Protection Agency called the Energy Star 2007 Partner of the Year Award in Energy Management. The company is the first automaker to have ever been awarded the award two years in a row. The award has come to be presented due to the commitment made by the company to increase energy efficiency and to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions from all of the facilities in the company.

The organization is committed to the responsible use of resources and energy efficiency. The leadership realizes that the environmental protection laws are of great importance and use the environmental scanning to move in the right direction to obtain future success in the company. In 2006 alone the company has improved the energy efficiency in the United States operations by five percent and saving approximately $25 million with enough energy saved to equal 220,000 homes. The effective energy management protects the environment and reduces the greenhouse emissions. Some of the actions taken by the company include replacing lighting fixtures that use 40 percent less energy and using different low-energy, long-lasting compact fluorescent lamps in the properties to include the plants, corporate offices, distribution centers, and research and development campuses. Due to the environmental scanning that takes place at Ford Motor Company the company will use the information that is collected and continue in this direction. New projects for the company include Fumes-to-Fuel that is a system that converts paint fumes into electricity that is being performed with Detroit Edison along with attempting to consolidate the application of primer, base and clearcoat paint applications into a single application to eliminate the need for separate applications and ovens. In addition to the paint booth emissions Ford Motor Company will continue to rely on alternative energy sources such as landfill gas and wind and solar technologies to power their manufacturing facilities.

Ford Motor Company – Technology –

Another environmental scanning tool that Ford Motor Company monitors and uses would be the technological portion. The company has invested $1 billion in the latest technology for flexible manufacturing. The technology that is involved is in many forms to include wireless technology that is installed on the delivery trucks with supplies to the plant as a monitoring status and improved efficiency to reduce inventory. The flexibility of products in the same plant allows the organization to use the same machinery and process for all areas from body assembly, paint facility, and final assembly. The improved efficiency at the manufacturing facility allows for several vehicle platforms to be built on the same line to produce multiple models and quickly change the vehicle mix, the volume, and options based on customer demand.

The technological changes that are being embraced by Ford Motor Company through environmental scanning enables the company to experience huge cost savings through new product launches and 50 percent reductions in cycle changeovers along with waste reduction. Robots are among the technological changes that are being experienced within the organization to include the 400 from the project that are used to weld and assemble the metal body of the vehicle for stamping and assembly. Artificial intelligence in the form of advanced visions systems and laser tracking systems are used to ensure quality through accuracy and dimension abilities. A multi-million dollar training facility is used to ensure that the workforce has the knowledge, skills, and ability to reap the benefits from the new technology that is being used by the company. The training that is administered includes the new servo-electric weld gun system that identifies the perfect center for welding that has replaced the older and loud air-powered system that used a less sophisticated spring system. The environmental scanning of technology that is performed by Ford Motor Company has allowed the company to have positive outcomes in efficiency while remaining a competitive company in the industry through cost savings and continuous improvement.

Compass Bank- Political –

On February 16, 2007, Compass Bancshares, Inc., the parent company of Compass Bank, announced the signing of a definitive agreement under which Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A. (NYSE: BBV Madrid: BBVA) (“BBVA”) will acquire Compass for a combination of cash and stock. Compass will become a wholly owned U.S. subsidiary of BBVA and will continue to operate under the Compass name. The transaction is expected to close during the second half of 2007, pending customary closing conditions, including necessary bank regulatory approvals in the U.S. and Spain and the approval of the stockholders of both Compass and BBVA.

BBVA, which operates in 35 countries, is based in Spain and has substantial banking interests in the Americas. The transaction will facilitate BBVA’s continued growth in Texas and will create the largest regional bank across the Sunbelt. Upon completion of the transaction, Compass will rank among the top 25 banks in the United States with approximately $47 billion in total assets, $32 billion in total loans and $33 billion in total deposits. In addition, the combined company will rank fourth in deposit market share in Texas with $19.6 billion in total deposits and 326 full-service banking offices.

Compass is a $34 billion Southwestern financial holding company that operates 415 full-service banking centers in Alabama, Arizona, Colorado, Florida, New Mexico and Texas. Compass provides a broad array of products and services through three primary lines of business – Corporate Banking, Retail Banking and Wealth Management. Compass is among the top 30 U.S. bank holding companies by asset size and ranks among the top earners of its size based on return on equity.

Under the terms of the definitive agreement, which has been approved by the board of directors of Compass and the relevant bodies of BBVA, Compass will become a wholly owned subsidiary of BBVA. After closing, BBVA intends to merge its U.S. based banking affiliates – including the former operations of Texas Regional Bancshares, State National Bancshares and Laredo National Bancshares – with Compass.

The aggregate consideration is composed of a fixed number of approximately 196 million shares of BBVA common stock and approximately $4.6 billion in cash. The merger is subject to customary closing conditions, including necessary bank regulatory approvals in the U.S. and Spain and the approval of the stockholders of both Compass and BBVA. The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2007.

The merger between both companies will be determined by the political factors ranging from implications of laws and regulations to the state of world politics including the consideration of wars which may be going on in different parts of the world. New laws, regulations, tax programs and public policy create forces and trends, which may provide challenges and barriers or opportunities for any company or organization.

Compass Bank – Technology –

Ford is in the process of implementing a laser marking system on its production line to ensure the highest standard on each transmission assembled. The system will be checking for quality on different points on the assembly line. Ford is teaming up with a company called MECCO to implement this process and a trial run of the new system will last for 3 months. MECCO is a leader in its industry when it comes to laser technology. The decision to implement this new laser marking system came because it is more cost- effective and safer than previous ways of marking checkpoints for quality.

Although this process at Ford has not officially been implemented yet, Compass Bank can learn a few different things. It may be a good idea for Compass Bank to do a short trial of online cell phone banking to see how popular it becomes and if it worth all the time and effort, being spent to get it launched. Compass Bank should also consider investing into a company who is the best at what they do, is in the same time zone, and can meet their demands in a timely manner, not simply because they may be cheaper. Finally, Compass Bank can learn that they need to consider what will be most cost-effective and in the best interest of the company over time. Organizing a time line and a list of costs and potential risks would also be beneficial to Compass Bank so they know what to expect and when with the implementation of online cell phone banking.

When completing the global scan one looks for emerging new technologies which may impact any business in any industry. At one time the emergence of the Internet was a technology that was becoming an emerging trend across all industries. Today very new technologies are used to develop information systems at a fraction of the cost and time of processes that were used five years ago. Wireless is a telecommunications technology that may have moved from a trend to a force in revolutionizing the way information is stored, accessed and used across all industries around the world. Some, if leveraged by a company within an industry before competitors use it, may even provide a competitive advantage.

Compass Bank – Competition –

Although mergers may be costly and rather difficult, the value it creates in the end is the desired outcome companies seek. The eagerness to merge is based on several beliefs, those beliefs are, that the performance gains are greater, expenses are reduced, market power is increased, and shareholder’s wealth is also greater than before. The value of a merger is enhanced when the overall benefit is more valuable than the aggregate of two separate pre-merger companies.

In the end, both John and Bernard should consider this before finalizing a decision. When Zion’s purchased Stockmans, there overall value increased by 43 branches. These branches will help performance and brings much more power to the financial market. In the Journal of Money article, Pilloff states “Companies are more willing to acquire others to avoid being acquired themselves.” Keeping this in mind, companies must figure out a cross border strategy.

As part of the broad environmental scan, it is important to identify the internal capabilities of the organization. There are various models for defining capabilities. Most focus on the broad set of intangible assets such as brand, human capital, organizational capital and even relationship capital. Others include the more concrete assets such as available capital, the organization structure, current technologies and information technology infrastructure. In addition to doing a broad environmental trend, Compass Bank needs to do a more detailed capability assessment using any of the models available.

DawningStreams – Competitors –

Business activities are becoming more and more complex to manage, because of distance, time zones, number of parties involved in projects, number of tasks to achieve, multiple prioritizations, lack of general synchronization, insufficient secure and confidential communication channels and growing complexity of IT infrastructures. The use of task list managers has become very common. It is becoming more difficult to keep teams synchronized, to follow and to implement new business processes and to exchange sensitive information confidentially. The DawningStreams software application is aiming at increasing the practicality of daily executive activities. The types of business, which will most probably be interested in our product, are construction (size of network), consulting (need for synchronization), pharmaceutical research (secure exchange of information) and the software industry (complexity of manufacturing).

Many companies have already developed software applications that enable secured communications and file sharing. However, most, if not all, are relying on Microsoft technologies, which prevent them from expanding to Mac or Unix users. DawningStreams is developed in Java, which can be used on any platform, including Mac and Unix. Microsoft has acquired the Groove Company and has released a new version of the product, which can perform many of the functionalities of DawningStreams, but not generic activities (http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/groove/default.aspx). This is our closest competitor by far. More recently, we found, merely by accident, a company called Shinkuro (www.shinkuro.com), which offers the file sharing aspects of DawningStreams but lacks other capacities.

Although DawningStreams will face competition from many existing players, the fact that it will combine a super-set of functionalities in one application, for a very reasonable price, will give it some leading edge over other competitors. If the US patent is granted, the position of DawningStreams will become a niche. Even if the patent were not granted, it would take a profound architectural redesign of Groove (or other competitors) to include generic activities and match the offer of DawningStreams. As a strategy we will monitor the activities of those companies’ websites and understand what they offer in terms of similar functionality and try to ensure we match or best those functionalities to the best of our ability and resources

DawningStreams – Political –

Maintaining the secrecy of information is the fundamental function of encryption items. Persons abroad may use such items to harm US law enforcement efforts, as well as US foreign policy and national security interests. The US Government has a critical interest in ensuring that persons opposed to the United States are not able to conceal hostile or criminal activities, and that the legitimate needs for protecting important and sensitive information of the public and private sectors are met. Since 2000, US encryption export policy has been directed by three fundamental practices: technical review of encryption products prior to sale, streamlined post-export reporting, and license reviews of proposed transactions involving strong encryption to certain foreign government end-users and countries of concern. US encryption policy also seeks to ensure that American companies are not disadvantaged by the European Union’s “license-free zone.” (Bureau of Industry and Security, 2007).

DawningStreams will contain cryptographic functions. Any reliable and efficient cryptographic system requires a central authority to avoid identity theft. Cryptography is a key functionality of DawningStreams. All specialists insist on designing systems using well-studied algorithms and fully tested protocols; novelty is considered a source of risk. The cryptographic layer of DawningStreams will rely on a dual public-private key system. The private key encryption system will implement Rijndael, the Advanced Encryption Standard (http://csrc.nist.gov/CryptoToolkit/aes/rijndael/), the public key system will implement RSA (www.rsa.com) and the hashing function will implement the 256 bits version of the Secure Hash Algorithm (http://secure-hash-algorithm-md5-sha-1.co.uk/ ).

Encryption products can be used to conceal the communications of terrorists, drug smugglers, and others intent on harming U.S. interests. Cryptographic products and software also have military and intelligence applications that, in the hands of hostile nations, could pose a threat to U.S. national security. The national security, foreign policy, and law enforcement interests of the United States are protected by encryption export controls. These controls are consistent with Executive Order (E.O.) 13026, which was issued on November 15, 1996, and the Presidential Memorandum of the same date. (Bureau of Industry and Security, 2007).

DawningStreams also plans to be an international company, as offices now exist in the Netherlands and the US. As part of the strategy, we will ensure we remain compliant by registering our product with any necessary agency and allowing those agencies access to the processes if they feel there is a threat. We will be responsible to monitor (as best as we can) our client base and to put the proper verbiage in our contracts that illegal activities will not be tolerated. We will continue to monitor the BIS site mentioned in previous paragraphs and also sites in the European Union such as the Crypto Law website of legal expert Bert-Jaap Koops (http://rechten.uvt.nl/koops/)

DawningStreams – Technology/Intellectual Property –

The management of organizational strategy requires a comprehensive assessment of the macro environment of the business. Intellectual Property (IP) refers to the original ideas and innovations evolved by an organization in order to haul up its systems and processes. Creation of ideas requires large investments. This necessitates the protection of IP. Benchmarking is the continuous process of measuring products, processes, and systems of an organization against those that are rated best in the industry. It helps in uncovering weaknesses and flaws in the organizational systems, processes, and products. (Watson, 2003)

The study of the global research conducted by McAfee Inc. and MessageLabs Ltd. on security threat in small businesses in the U.S. reveals that 80 percent of small-and-medium-sized businesses (SMB) believe that an information technology (IT) security failure would be damaging in attaining their business priorities. Yet, only few are courageously making steps to fight against infringements due to resource limitations from other business related priorities. The research implies that company size plays an essential part in the way senior management views security. Among the challenges that SMBs face include keeping up-to-date with security solutions and keeping costs low. Small-to-medium businesses’ behavior towards security is very tactical and meets only immediate requirements. (unknown, 2007)

DawningStreams’ relevance to these forces is two-fold. We are a software company—there is an opportunity for us to lose the intellectual property by those who would download and attempt to modify the code. We have competitors who offer functionality similar to ours, however we offer an additional functionality the others do not. It is this ‘specialty functionality’ for which we applied for a patent the United States Patent and Trademark Office. If the patent is granted, there is less likelihood of software piracy or the loss of our IP. Environmental scans should show us if there are other companies trying to do this.

The functionality, which most resembles our competitors’, is the ability to share files. That brings in a different concern with intellectual property- the possibility someone else’s IP could be sent from one of our users to another, as this could seriously damage our reputation, as what happened with Napster. (www.napster.com).

Conclusion

At one company after another–from Sears to IBM to Hewlett-Packard to Searle, strategy is again a major focus in the quest for higher revenues and profits. With help from a new generation of business strategists, companies are pursuing novel ways to hatch new products, expand existing businesses, and create the markets of tomorrow. Some companies are even recreating full-fledged strategic-planning groups. United Parcel Service expects to spin out a new strategy group from its marketing department, where strategic plans are now hatched. Explains Chairman Kent C. Nelson: “Because we’re making bigger bets on investments in technology, we can’t afford to spend a whole lot of money in one direction and then find out five years later it was the wrong direction.”

In such a world we need a planning model that allows us to anticipate the future and to use this anticipation in conjunction with an analysis of our organization–its culture, mission, strengths and weaknesses–to define strategic issues, to chart our direction by developing strategic vision and plans, to define how we will implement these plans and to specify how we will evaluate how well we are implementing these plans. The fact that the world is changing as we move forward in the future demands that the process be an iterative one.

References

Bilek, E. (n.d.) Compass Bankshares to be Acquired by Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A.,

Investor Relations. Retrieved from the Internet on March 31, 2007 at

http://media.corporate-ir.net/media_files/irol/77/77589/bbvarelease.pdf

Cole, Jim. Zions makes small deal, cites growing Arizona market. American Banker, 171(175), 1-1. Retrieved March 31, 2007 from Proquest Database.

Ford Motor Company (2006). Ford Motor Company. Retrieved March 2007,

from the World Wide Web, Web Site: [https://ford.com]

Ford, S. (2004) Adapted from 13 Skills Managers Need to Succeed, Harvard Business School

Press. Retrieved March 31, 2007 from EBSCOHost Database.

Hockenberry, Todd. (2006). Ford implements advanced laser marking. Industrial Laser Solutions, 21(4), 6-7. Retrieved March 31, 2007, from EBSCOhost database

Jacobs, P. (2005) Five Steps to Thriving in times of Uncertainty. Negotiation (p.3) Retrieved

April 1, 2007 from EBSCOHost Database.

McLean, J. (2006) We’re going through changes! British Journal of Administrative Management

54. Retrieved March 30, 2007 from EBSCOHost Database.

Pearce, J. & Robinson, R, (2004). Strategic Management: Formulation, Implementation, and Control. [University of Phoenix Custom Edition e-text]. The McGraw-Hill Companies. Retrieved March 2007, from the University of Phoenix, Resource, MBA 580-Strategies for Competitive Advantage Course Web Site: https://ecampus.phoenix.edu/secure/resource/resource.asp

Author Unknown, Strategic Planning, After a decade of gritty downsizing, Big Thinkers are back in corporate vogue. (2006) Retrieved from the Internet at http://www.businessweek.com/1996/35/b34901.htm

Unknown (2007) 80% of Small-to-Medium Sized Firms Fear a Security Threat. Computer Security Update 8 (4). Retrieved March 30, 2007 from EBSCOHost Database.

Unknown (2006) Strategic Planning, After a decade of gritty downsizing, Big Thinkers are back

in corporate vogue. Retrieved from the Internet at

http://www.businessweek.com/1996/35/b34901.htm

US Department of Commerce (2007), Encryption (ch.10, section 742.15). Retrieved March 27, 2007 from the Bureau of Industry and Security Website at http://www.bis.doc.gov/news/2007/foreignpolicyreport/fprchap10_encryption.html

Watson, G. (2003) Business Environmental Scans for Intellectual Property Strategy (PowerPoint Presentation). Retrieved March 28, 2007 from the Oklahoma State University website at http://www.okstate.edu/ceat/msetm/courses/etm5111/CourseMaterials/ETM5111Session3Part2.ppt#260,1,Business Environmental Scans for Intellectual Property Strategy

What are the top 5 cryptocurrencies besides Bitcoin?

Bitcoin has led the cryptocurrency world for so long and is so dominant that the terms crypto and Bitcoin are often used interchangeably. But the truth is that digital currency is not just about Bitcoin. There are numerous other cryptocurrencies that are part of the crypto world. The purpose of this article is to educate our readers about cryptocurrencies other than Bitcoin to provide them with a wide range of options to choose from for those looking to invest in crypto.

So let’s start with the first name on our list, namely:

Litecoin:

Launched in 2011, Litecoin is often referred to as the “silver to Bitcoin’s gold”. Charlie Lee – MIT graduate and former engineer at Google – is the creator of Litecoin.

Like Bitcoin, Litecoin is a decentralized, open-source payment network that operates without a central authority.

Litecoin is similar to Bitcoin in many ways and often makes people think: “Why not go with Bitcoin? They are both similar!”. Here’s a catch: Litecoin’s block generation is faster than Bitcoin! and this is the main reason why merchants around the world are more open to accepting Litecoin.

Ethereum:

Another open source, decentralized software platform. The currency was launched in 2015 and enables Smart Contracts and Distributed Applications to be set up and running without any downtime.

Applications on the Ethereum platform require a special cryptographic token – Ether. According to the main developers of Ethereum, the token can be used for any trade, security and decentralization.

Ethereum experienced an attack in 2016, which saw the currency split into two parts: Ethereum and Ethereum Classic.

In the race of leading cryptocurrencies, Ethereum is the second most popular and is right after Bitcoin.

Zcash:

Zcash came out in the later part of 2016. The currency defines itself as: “If Bitcoin is to http to money, Zcash is to https.”

Zcash promises to ensure transparency, security and privacy of transactions. The currency also offers a “secure” transaction option so that users can transmit data in an encrypted code.

Dash:

Dash is originally a hidden version of Bitcoin. Also known as “Darkcoin” due to its hidden nature.

Dash is famous for offering enhanced anonymity that allows users to make transactions untraceable.

The currency first appeared on the canvas of the digital market in 2014. Since then, he has developed a huge fan following in a very short period of time.

Ripple:

With a market capitalization of over $1 billion, Ripple is a household name on our list. The currency was launched in 2012 and offers instant, secure and cheap payments.

Ripple’s consensus ledger does not require mining, a feature that sets it apart from Bitcoin and other mainstream cryptocurrencies.

The lack of mining reduces computing power and ultimately minimizes latency and makes transactions faster.

Whole:

While Bitcoin continues to lead the cryptocurrency pack, competitors are picking up the pace. Currencies like Ethereum and Ripple have overtaken Bitcoin in enterprise solutions and are growing in popularity every day. In line with the trend, other cryptocurrencies are here to stay and will soon give Bitcoin a real hard time to maintain its strength.

Getting Started with Cryptocurrencies

Investing in the cryptocurrency market is often complicated, especially for traditional investors. This is because investing directly in Cryptocurrency requires the use of new technologies, tools and adoption of some new concepts.

If you decide to dip your toes into the world of CryptoCurrency, you should have a clear idea of ​​what to do and what to expect.

Whether it’s Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ethereum or any of the 1300 tokens, buying and selling cryptocurrency requires you to choose an Exchange that deals in the products you want.

Bitcoin, the most popular decentralized cryptocurrency, dominates the crypto space so much that the terms crypto and bitcoin are sometimes used interchangeably. However, the fact is that there are other cryptocurrencies that can be trusted to make crypto-investments.

Litecoin

Litecoin, also referred to as the “silver to Bitcoin’s gold,” is an open-source decentralized payment network that operates without the involvement of an intermediary.

How is Litecoin different from Bitcoin? Well, both are similar in many ways, but Litecoin’s block generation is faster than Bitcoin’s. This makes investors around the world open to accepting Litecoin.

Charlie Lee, a former Google engineer, founded Litecoin in 2011. Although Litecoin lacks Bitcoin’s anonymity technology, recent reports have shown that Litecoin is second only to bitcoin in terms of durability. Another factor favoring Litecoin is Bitcoin’s SegWit technology, which means secure peer-to-peer trading of currencies without involving an exchange.

Ethereum

Launched in 2015, Ethereum is a decentralized software platform that allows distributed applications and smart contracts to run without third-party intervention. The currency is ether, which is like an accelerator on the ethereum platform. Ethereum in the leading cryptocurrency space. It is the second most preferred option after Bitcoin.

Zcash

Zcash gained attention in the second half of 2016 and focused on solving the problem of anonymous transactions. To understand the currency, let’s take it as “if bitcoin is to HTTP to money, Zcash is to HTTPS”.

The currency offers a protected transaction option to maintain the transparency, privacy and security of transactions. This means that investors can transmit data in the form of an encrypted code.

Dash

Originally known as darkcoin, Dash is a more selective version of bitcoin. It was launched in January 2014 by Evan Duffield under the name Xcoin. It is also known as Decentralized Autonomous Organization or simply DAO. The coin was designed to overcome all the prevailing limitations of Bitcoin. Currently, Bitcoin has gained a significant position in the cryptocurrency space.

Cryptocurrency is an alternative to virtual currency that promises secure and anonymous transactions through a peer-to-peer network. The key to making a lot of money is making the right investment at the right time. Compared to daily earning, cryptocurrency models operate as a decentralized digital mechanism without involving any middle man. Continuous activity in this distributed cryptocurrency mechanism is issued, managed and verified by a network of community peers. Cryptocurrency is known for its fast transactions in any other mode like digital wallets and other means.

In addition to those discussed above, other top cryptocurrencies include Monero (XMR), Bitcoin Cash (BCH). EOS and Ripple (XRP).

Although bitcoin is the trend setter and leading the race, other currencies have also gained their significant position and are dominating every day. Given the trend, other cryptocurrencies will have a long way to go and may soon give Bitcoin a real hard time to maintain its position.

If you decide to make a speculative investment in this disruptive technology and want to have all the current and future recommendations, contact “The Top Coins”.