Archive for the ‘Decentralization’ Category

Pros and cons of cryptocurrency – TechTarget

Cryptocurrency has created a flurry of conversation and activity around the world, drawing investors and tech enthusiasts alike with its decentralized structure and potential for large returns on investments.

Cryptocurrency is a bank-independent digital currency that uses a decentralized technology called blockchain to record and verify transactions in a digital ledger. The transactions are facilitated by cryptography, and a virtual wallet is used for sending and receiving money to ensure the safety and anonymity of transactions.

Popular cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum have developed as alternatives to established financial structures, promising decentralization, security and greater financial independence.

In addition to its widespread adoption, the digital landscape is witnessing an influx of new cryptocurrencies regularly. Since the launch of Bitcoin in 2009, more than 21,000 different cryptocurrencies have been created, according to Bankrate. However, as with any emerging technology, these digital currencies come with both benefits and challenges.

Even with the cryptocurrency crash of 2022, it is still a highly attractive investment for many business owners.

The following are the most common benefits of cryptocurrency:

The biggest advantage of cryptocurrency is that it's not owned by a single financial or government entity. This eradicates the monopoly of money and ensures cryptocurrency value isn't dictated by a central bank or authority.

The fees for transacting in cryptocurrency are very nominal and sometimes zero. This is because third parties and intermediaries, such as VISA and PayPal, are eliminated in the process. Additionally, cross-border transactions using cryptocurrencies are accelerated without challenging foreign exchange procedures, increasing their efficiency and lowering their cost.

Due to its limited supply, cryptocurrency is often seen as a way to protect against inflation. For example, the number of coins that can be minted for Bitcoin is capped at 21 million, after which no new coins will be released. Other cryptocurrencies also use techniques to limit supply and help protect against inflation. Theoretically, if demand for cryptocurrency grows, their values may too.

While cryptocurrencies come with potential risks, such as volatile market conditions and potential fraud, most cryptocurrency investments yield a high rate of return. According to reports in 2022, the size of the worldwide cryptocurrency market reached $4.67 billion and is forecasted to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 12.5% between 2023 and 2030.

Cryptocurrencies boost the accessibility of financial services as they operate on decentralized networks and can be accessed by anyone with an internet connection and crypto wallet. In contrast to typical bank accounts, opening a cryptowallet does not need identity verification, background checks or credit checks. Cryptocurrency can also make cross-border transactions easier and faster as it doesn't involve high fees, long processing times and intermediaries that typically come with traditional banking systems.

While cryptocurrency transactions are anonymous, the data recorded on a publicblockchain ledger, such as the Bitcoin and Ethereum blockchain, is publicly available for anyone to view. Every cryptocurrency user gets access to apublic key, which can be used to identify an investor. This means that even though the investor names aren't shared, the transactions can still be tracked for transparency. Users may follow live transfers using the blockchain explorer on the cryptocurrency platform.

However, not all cryptocurrencies use public blockchain ledgers. Therearealso private and permissioned ledgers. Private ledgers are exclusively accessible to a specific group of users, while permissioned ledgers are a combination of public and private blockchains, granting access to anyone with permission from the administrators.

Despite numerous tales of cryptocurrency investments resulting in people becoming overnight millionaires, cryptocurrency also comes with its share of challenges.

The following are some common disadvantages of cryptocurrency:

Cryptocurrency prices can often fluctuate. While this volatility can lead to quick profits, it can also cause significant financial losses for investors under certain circumstances, such as when the price of cryptocurrency dips suddenly. This unpredictability can be a risky investment choice, especially for individuals looking for steady returns.

Even though cryptocurrency is legal in many developed countries, it isn'tlegally regulated by central governments. This absence of control and regulation in the cryptocurrency market increases the risk of cryptocurrency scams and market manipulation. Until federal governments adopt and regulate cryptocurrencies in the same way that they do fiat currencies, such asthe U.S. dollar, there will always be a higher risk associated with investing.

Although blockchain technology offers a robust security architecture, security lapses and hacking attempts are on the rise in the cryptocurrency ecosystem. Cybercriminals have attacked cryptocurrency exchanges and digital wallets, causing significant financial losses for both people and businesses. Moreover, because Bitcoin transactions are irreversible, it's difficult to recover funds once they have been stolen.

To access the virtual wallet where the cryptocurrency tokens are stored, several cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, require the owner to have possession of a private key. However, should a private key ever be lost or stolen, it is impossible to demonstrate another proof of ownership or to recover the cryptocurrency tokens.

Depending on its type, mining cryptocurrency may require a large supply of electricity and other resources. For example, most Bitcoin-related costs are associated with the energy required to create the currency, according to Harvard Business Review. This increased power usage may result in local pollution, noise and other consequences -- such as increased greenhouse gas emissions -- forcommunities living near the mining sites.

Cryptocurrency is nonrefundable. This means that it can't be refunded to the sender in cases where there is a disagreement between the parties involved or when money is inadvertently sent to the incorrect wallet. As such, people may use it to defraud others. Since there are no reimbursements, it's simple to fabricate one for a transaction where the products or services were never delivered.

The price of Bitcoin surpassed $30,000 in April 2023, generating a frenzy of stories saying the crypto winter had finally ended. There have also been speculations that cryptocurrencies and IoT may support micropayments in the near future, letting enterprises share IoT data. Businesses, for example, might pay expert reviewers in cryptocurrency to provide honest and useful reviews of real-time IoT data products on decentralized data marketplaces. This would help IoT data buyers avoid low-quality or falsified data.

While the cryptocurrency market might be on an upward trajectory, the reality is that this market tends to be unpredictable. The best bet for cryptocurrency enthusiasts and investors is to build a strong and diversified portfolio that can withstand setbacks in the long run.

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Pros and cons of cryptocurrency - TechTarget

Crypto Congestion | DogeMiyagi, Ethereum + Bitcoin – Analytics Insight

Cutting the Block: DogeMiyagi, Ethereum, and Bitcoins Approach to Network Congestion

As with the introduction of all new technology, one inevitable occurrence is the hoards of users all gathering on the servers at the same time, putting through multiple transactions and sometimes this can be very stressful for the server. In recent years, network congestion has become a significant challenge in the crypto space. As its popularity grows and more people jump into mining, high transaction volumes often result in delays and increased fees, hindering user experience.

Luckily, there are a variety of ways to tackle this whilst still leaving the user experience intact. Over the years, Ethereum (ETH) and Bitcoin (BTC) have found solutions to address network congestion. Their approaches, trade-offs, and implications for transaction speed and user experience serve as a lesson for newcomers like DogeMiyagi (MIYAGI), who is slowly implementing its own strategy to combat congestion.

Ethereum, one of the most established cryptocurrencies, revolutionized the industry by introducing smart contracts and decentralized applications. Its blockchain has become a hub for innovation, enabling developers to create a wide range of decentralized solutions.

Ethereum has implemented and continues to explore various scalability solutions to improve transaction speed and alleviate network congestion. Ethereum 2.0, an upgrade for the network, aims to transition from a proof-of-work to a proof-of-stake consensus mechanism. This transition will enhance scalability and reduce energy consumption.

Additionally, Ethereum has integrated layer-two solutions, such as the Polygon network and Optimisms Optimistic Rollups. These solutions allow for faster and cheaper transactions by processing them off-chain and settling them on the Ethereum mainnet later. By offloading a significant portion of transactions to layer-two solutions, Ethereum reduces congestion and improves the overall user experience.

Bitcoin, the first and most well-known cryptocurrency, laid the foundation for the entire industry. With its decentralized nature and limited supply, Bitcoin has become a digital store of value and a widely accepted means of exchange.

Bitcoins strategy to address network congestion is primarily focused on preserving decentralization and security while maintaining its core functionality as digital gold. Its approach to network congestion focuses on security and decentralization. While Bitcoins transaction speed may not match that of newer cryptocurrencies, its robustness lies in its ability to process secure and immutable transactions.

Bitcoin has implemented the Lightning Network as a layer-two scaling solution to mitigate network congestion. The Lightning Network allows users to open payment channels off-chain, enabling fast and low-cost transactions. By leveraging these channels, users can conduct numerous transactions without burdening the Bitcoin blockchain directly, thus reducing congestion.

DogeMiyagi, a rising meme token in the crypto sphere, combines the popularity of Doge and Miyagi from the Karate Kid movie, infusing humor and a sense of community into the project. By leveraging the familiarity of meme culture, DogeMiyagi aims to create a unique and engaging space for cryptocurrency enthusiasts.

To enhance transaction speed, Dogemiyagi employs a multi-layered approach. Firstly, it utilizes off-chain solutions, such as state channels and sidechains, for faster and cheaper peer-to-peer transactions. By moving a significant portion of transactions off the main blockchain, DogeMiyagi reduces congestion and ensures quicker settlements.

Lastly, Dogemiyagi actively explores layer-two solutions, including the integration of various Layer-2 protocols like Optimistic Rollups and Plasma. These solutions allow for faster transaction confirmations and significantly reduce congestion by processing multiple transactions off-chain before settling them on the main blockchain.

In the quest to address network congestion, Dogemiyagi, Ethereum, and Bitcoin employ different strategies with unique trade-offs and implications for transaction speed and user experience. Dogemiyagi emphasizes scalability and transaction speed Ethereum focuses on protocol upgrades, including Ethereum 2.0 and layer-two solutions, to enhance scalability and reduce congestion. Bitcoin, while prioritizing decentralization and security, leverages the Lightning Network as a layer-two solution to alleviate network congestion.

Website: https://dogemiyagi.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/_Dogemiyagi_

Telegram: https://t.me/dogemiyagi

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Crypto Congestion | DogeMiyagi, Ethereum + Bitcoin - Analytics Insight

A New Report Published By Consensys In Partnership With … – Entrepreneur

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

You're reading Entrepreneur Middle East, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media.

The market-leading blockchain company Consensys, which was established by Ethereum co-founder Joseph Lubin, has published a special report, Opportunities in Web3, in partnership with Entrepreneur Middle East and Lucidity Insights .

The report explores Web3's origin story, what makes Web3 the revolutionary gamechanger that it is touted to be, and the top 10 trends of Web3 in 2023. After all, while Web3 is something that everyone seems to be aware of and many are talking about, only a few people truly understand the extent of its implications.

Image courtesy Lucidity Insights.

Web3 is being hailed as "the future of the internet," and the next big technological revolution. It is also being described as the great new frontier in the internet landscape, where pioneers tap into their quest for freedom and autonomy, empowered by cutting-edge technology and some serious coding chops. This next wave of the digital revolution is all about decentralization, and moving away from the top-down command and control principles that we've largely built society on to date.

Many of the core concepts surrounding Web3 such as decentralization, openness, and greater user utility, were introduced in the 1990s as the World Wide Web came into being, but it wasn't until the advent of blockchain technology in 2008 that Web3, as we now know it, began its formulation. 2022 is largely heralded as the year Web3 had its coming of age, where this "decentralized web" was garnering significant mainstream adoption, and truly introducing a technological paradigm shift for our global digital economy.

Image courtesy Lucidity Insights.

As the visionary Joseph Lubin, co-founder of Ethereum and CEO of Consensys, puts it: "Web3 empowers communities with economic, social, and political agency, while enabling individuals to exercise self-sovereignty. In Web3, we are not just passive consumers, or worse, products monetized by social media companies; we are active builders. Whether it's creating non-fungible tokens (NFTs), building collections of them, developing decentralized applications (dApps), participating in decentralized asset organizations (DAOs), shaping policies, or designing protocols, we all contribute as builders to the next generation of the Web."

Though it may sound like it's still in its nascent stages, the speed of crypto, blockchain, and Web3 adoption is nearly 2.5x faster than the speed at which the internet was first adopted in the 1990s. It is conservatively estimated that there are over 420 million crypto users worldwide as of the beginning of 2023, meaning that there is a 4.2% global crypto ownership rate. Many forecast that there will be 3.7 billion crypto users by 2030.

Image courtesy Lucidity Insights.

The Opportunities in Web3 report thus covers the top 10 trends in Web3 today, including how real gamers are being brought into Web3, how NFTs are becoming utility-focused, the revival of decentralized exchanges, the impact of artificial intelligence on blockchain, the increased tokenization of real-world assets, and the rise of DAOs. In addition, the report covers some of the most exciting and gamechanging Web3 startups and projects, while also reviewing various governments' adoption of blockchain and Web3, as well as the global trends in regulating this new industry.

The special report also covers central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), something making waves across the world. It also covers the legalization of cryptocurrencies and different approaches countries are taking towards digital currencies. The good news is that among the 80 countries that were analyzed, 57 legalized cryptocurrencies, while 14 have partial bans, and nine -including China- have general bans. But legalization and regulation are not the only challenges the Web3 industry faces. From scalability limitations, to a lack of interoperability, user experience concerns, and some privacy and security issues, the industry is working hard to promote education and mainstream adoption.

To read more about the future of Web3, the decentralized web, read the full report by clicking here.

This article was originally published on Lucidity Insights, a partner of Entrepreneur Middle East in developing special reports on the Middle East and Africa's tech and entrepreneurial ecosystems.

Related: A New Frontier: Lessons Learnt From Exploring NFTs, The Metaverse, And More

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A New Report Published By Consensys In Partnership With ... - Entrepreneur

Make Trade Decentralization Easy With TMS Network (TMSN … – Analytics Insight

As the world moves towards decentralization, many companies are looking for ways to make their trading operations more secure. Fortunately, TMS Network (TMSN) provides a secure, efficient, and reliable way of trading for investors. As an investor in the crypto industry, one ought to stay up-to-date on the latest happenings in the crypto world. This article sheds light on the bullish momentum observed in Kava (KAV), and explores the benefits of using TMS Network (TMSN) for decentralized trading.

TMS Network (TMSN) is a blockchain-based platform that enables secure, decentralized trading of cryptocurrencies, stocks, Forex and more. The platform utilizes smart contracts to facilitate the exchange of value between parties, and provides a trustless, tamper-proof environment for transactions.

TMS Network (TMSN) platform is designed to make trading instant and more secure, by eliminating the need for intermediaries, and ensuring that all parties have equal access to information and opportunities. The use of blockchain technology also allows for transparent and immutable record-keeping, which helps reduce fraud and malpractices.

TMS Network (TMSN) has the potential to revolutionize the way trade is conducted, by making it more accessible, equitable, and secure. For businesses and individuals alike, the benefits of TMS Network (TMSN) are numerous and quite intriguing.

Additionally, TMS Network (TMSN) provides a number of other benefits that make it an attractive option for businesses looking to decentralize their operations. These include:

In its first and second stages and third of presale, TMS Network (TMSN) bagged over $4 million, showing unprecedented results. With the ongoing fourth stage, TMS Network (TMSN) has experienced a growth of more than 2800%. Investors can secure TMS Network (TMSN) at $0.093.

Contradictory to market trends, Kava (KAVA) has shown bullish momentum in the past 24 hours. Intense selling pressure has been witnessed in the market, and going against this trend, Kava (KAVA) has maintained a steadily rising price. This uptick in Kava (KAVA) prices has led to increased investor traction. Kava (KAVA) is an exciting opportunity for traders that are looking to make short-term gains. A weak positive correlation has been observed between the price of Kava (KAVA) and Bitcoin (BTC), rendering investors fearless of dropping Bitcoin (BTC) prices. The bulls have taken over Kava (KAVA), making it reach its 20-day high.

Kava (KAVA) is currently trading at $0.887413. In the past 24 hours, Kavas (KAVA) trading volume has been $202,937,712. Kava (KAVA) has witnessed a surge of 13.99% in the past week, and a rise of 4.27% in the past 24 hours.

Presale: https://presale.tmsnetwork.io

Website: https://tmsnetwork.io

Telegram: https://t.me/TMSNetworkIO

Twitter: https://twitter.com/tmsnetwork_io

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Make Trade Decentralization Easy With TMS Network (TMSN ... - Analytics Insight

ApeX Pro Drives Industry-First Partnership With AstraBit to Bring … – InvestorsObserver

ApeX Pro Drives Industry-First Partnership With AstraBit to Bring Decentralization to Automated Trading

New York, NY, May 18, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Non-custodial and permissionless decentralized exchange (DEX) ApeX Pro has partnered with AstraBit, a leading provider of automated trading and portfolio management software, to merge the worlds of decentralization and automated trading on a single, one-stop platform. The industry-first partnership will see the fresh integration of a DEX with a full-service suite of advanced trading tools, accessible by aspiring and seasoned traders alike.

The integration entails deploying automated trading bots, that leverage algorithms and statistical models that are designed to analyze market data, identify trading opportunities, and execute trades based on pre-set rules and parameters via AstraBit's dashboard. This opens the gateways to automated trading, risk and market analysis and a dynamic set of advanced trading tools, so any trader is able to seamlessly take their trades to the next level on ApeX Pro.

Easy Onboarding, Zero Complexity in Bot Use & Deployment

Traders are able to engage in different trading strategies such as day trading, swing trading and trend following, while ensuring that their various chosen strategies undergo rigorous testing. All individual trading data for ApeX Pro is backtested and live-tested via AstraBit, and is made publicly available with an impressive track record in generating long-term returns. Trading bots also run 24/7 without fail, delivering consistency and performance, so you can Set it, Forget it, and still come back to potential gains.

"This strategic partnership brings together the best of both worlds; AstraBit's user-friendly, single-point access software with automated trading, portfolio management and unparalleled scalability, with ApeX Pro's innovative and unsurpassed DeFi solutions. We are excited to partner with ApeX, a company that shares our vision of a decentralized financial future as our two firms revolutionize the way people can interact with blockchain technology and Web3 finance, Nicholas Bentivoglio, CEO of AstraBit, shared.

Leaping Ahead in the Web3 Race

A leading permissionless derivatives exchange, ApeX Pro has proven itself to be a community-focused, reliable and high-performance global trading platform open to all. It features an innovative order book model and unparalleled user experience in trade execution, liquidity provision and dynamic earning programs, while staying true to the principles of decentralization and self-custody.

ApeX Pro continues to grow its Web3 ecosystem by working with established technology partners in the industry, all to deliver on the latest DEX innovations, and provide its users with a major headstart in the Web3 race.

About ApeX Pro

ApeX Pro is a non-custodial trading platform that delivers limitless cross-margined perpetual contracts to its metacommunity under a new social trading framework. It is primed to deliver limitless access to the perpetual swaps market with its order book model, as it remains committed to the promises of not just speed and efficiency, but also security with transparency on traders' preferred derivatives trading assets.

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About AstraBit

At AstraBit, we believe in inspiring and simplifying the digital asset space by building the world's most innovative, easy-to-use, and secure automated trading and portfolio management system. AstraBit combines artificial intelligence/machine learning technology and infrastructure into a state-of-the-art software that can be customized and hyper-personalized to your needs, giving you the flexibility and control to insert your own trading preferences and investment objectives. AstraBit's streamlined, single-click solution enables more accurate analysis, more profitable trading/staking + investment, and better portfolio management through a user-friendly AstraBit Dashboard that provides single-point access to the balkanized crypto space.

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ApeX Pro Drives Industry-First Partnership With AstraBit to Bring ... - InvestorsObserver