TronWeekly

Crypto World News

You are here: Home / Archives for Education

Education

3 Tips for Your New Accounting Firm

by

Although accountancy may seem like a role for more traditional forms of currency, even cryptocurrency traders need an accountant. As a result, if you want to take the steps towards operating your own business and remain in the cryptocurrency world at the same time, starting up an accounting firm makes a lot of sense.

As with any small business, however, starting an accounting firm requires one element above all else: a lot of hard work. You also have to figure out the purpose, market, and overall goal of your prospective company. Additionally, it’s obviously beneficial to be a licensed accountant – although this isn’t a necessity depending on how your business is set up. If you hire a manager, for example, they can have a CPA license instead of you.

When it comes to setting up this type of business, there are many aspects to take into consideration. Below are three of the main ones when starting a new accounting firm.

1. Insurance is a must

Before you journey too far into the process, it is essential you get the right insurance coverage for your upcoming firm. When you have insurance in place, you can be safe in the knowledge you’re operating both lawfully and safely. Furthermore, it protects your firm from potential financial loss should you encounter a disgruntled client.

When searching for insurance, you’ll find there are various policies on offer. These are each created with different risks and industries in mind. To make the search easy, however, specialist accountant insurance is available. With this, you know you have the right type of coverage for your firm.

2. Go virtual

Here’s a question: Would you rather spend $2,500 or $25,000 on start-up costs for your accounting firm? Of course, your answer is the lower number of the two. Well the difference between them can all be down to one element: the space you use for work.

If you decide to go with a traditional brick-and-mortar approach, this is going to put a significant hole in your budget. It does, however, give your business a more professional appearance and a physical location for clients to visit.

Yet operating digitally is all the rage right now – and for a good reason. It means you and your employees (if applicable) can work from home, forgoing the need for a physical space. Plus, thanks to advances in technology and software, you don’t require a load of space for tangible equipment. You can get away with just a laptop and printer.

3. Define your brand

What type of accounting firm are you hoping to be? Do you want to target specific clients like cryptocurrency traders? Maybe you want to be an affordable online solution for small businesses doing their taxes? Perhaps you will be a jack of all trades and cover all bases?

Whatever route you decide to take, it is important that you define your brand. With a strong brand, the public is going to know exactly what your firm stands for. It will also help your company stand out from the competition.

How to Trade Bitcoin – A Simple Guide for Beginners

by

Bitcoin, introduced in 2009, was the first of a new genre of asset called cryptocurrency, a decentralized form of digital currency that eliminates the need for financial transactions by conventional banks and other financial institutions and governments. Bitcoin has grown rapidly and spread far and wide in a relatively short time and is popular all over the world. Often known as “Digital Gold,” a properly stored bitcoin can not be stolen, hacked, or seized either by government.

Bitcoin trading is an act of buying low and selling high. When you trade bitcoin CFDs, you never interact directly with an exchange.

The same way that traditional exchange works, bitcoin exchange takes place. There are no third parties involved in the transaction of bitcoins. Only the sender and receiver will be involved in the transaction process.

If you’re dealing with a bitcoin transaction, there are a lot of advantages for you. There is no transaction fee, and even you don’t have to deal with bank procedures as it takes a lot of time. This is an instant process, and it’s completely safe and secure.

If you want to take a position on the price of bitcoin, you need an IG trading account. On the other hand, if you want to get passive income in a very short time, you can invest in bitcoin.  You can also invest in the trade cfds for profit if you want to get profit instantly.

How to Trade Bitcoin – Know in Detail?

Bitcoin trading is very popular, and there are a number of ways you can trade cryptocurrencies and bitcoin. The profit will depend entirely on you, that is, how much time you can give to trading and how much investment you can make.

Basically, there are four ways of trading bitcoin ad they are listed below. Have a look,

  • Passive Trading:

Passive trading can be the best option for you if you’re interested in entering the cryptocurrency market and you’re a long-term holder.

On the other hand, this process will not take a lot of time. This method is both timeless and straightforward. You need to wait for the price to go up to a certain level, and then you can start selling it. Also, wait for the price to come down and then you can buy-in. It’s the process of dealing with passive trading.

  • Scalping:

It does various intraday trades on smaller market movements. You have to wait for a major opportunity if you’re the kind of trader that would offer many benefits to various small ones.

The cycle of buying and selling is the one involved in this trade. Scalping is one of the most common types of bitcoin trading.

  • Swing Trading:

If you want to take advantage of the market momentum, swing trading is the ideal option for you. They keep trends in price actions until the trend experiences a reversal.

If you have market experience and that trade strategy is an ideal option for you.

  • Day Trading:

Day trading strategies are for those traders who wanted to obtain the advantage of short-term opportunities in the bitcoins market.

This comes in the light of new trends emerging and news developing.   Day traders will open and close their place within a single trading day.

Reasons to Trade Bitcoins

 Yes, there are several reasons that make bitcoin both unique and exciting and there is a huge profit in it. Therefore, here are the reasons to trade bitcoins,

  • Bitcoin is volatile. This volatility help trader to make a quick and easy buck.
  • Bitcoin is open 24/7 which means you can trade bitcoin anytime you want.
  • Bitcoin is not fiat. It is not under the control of the single government.

The Final Thoughts

 The above factors are the best ones that will help you to trade bitcoins in a much easier way. You must learn the process in detail that is mentioned above.

Read the above instructions carefully and all the four trading strategies if you want to trade bitcoins in a much easier way.

 

 

 

 

Why TRON Could Outpace Ethereum DApp Growth

by

TRON is known as a highly ambitious project that seeks to revolutionize the digital entertainment industry by building a decentralized content sharing and entertainment platform.

Founded by Justin Sun, TRON was able to raise $70 million during its ICO in September 2017. Based on its whitepaper, the TRON code base was initially a fork of Ethereum and it made use of the Solidity smart contract language, which is Ethereum’s programming language.

After its main net in May 2018, it migrated to its unique network that is powered by the TRON (TRX) coin.

TRON Virtual Machine (TVM)

The TRON Virtual Machine (TVM) is an application environment or operating system that can emulate computer systems. It was built not only to make the TRON ecosystem bigger and better but also to test and execute Decentralized Applications (DApps).

Tron’s DeFi Strategy Revolves Around a New Token, Twitteratis call it a Scam

There are two main benefits to having a virtual machine. First, for instance, if a programmer using a Windows computer needs to complete a project that should be made on a UNIX-based operating system, then he only needs to use the virtual machine to create a new application environment instead of buying a new computer.

Second, DApps developers can easily create smart contracts that operate on the TVM using programming languages that they are already familiar with instead of having to learn new programming languages every time they need to create a different application.

What’s more interesting about TVM is it is designed to be highly compatible with Ethereum’s Virtual Machine (EVM). Ethereum developers can easily port their DApps in Ethereum to TRON. However, even if TVM is compatible and highly similar to EVM, there are still two striking differences between them.

First, transactions on Ethereum are fuelled by gas which means that its users are being charged to make transactions. On the other hand, TRON has a concept known as “bandwidth” which makes smart contract transactions free.

Second, unlike EVM, TVM does not have scalability issues. This is because TVM can handle thousands of transactions per second.

TRON Developers

In January 2020, Ethereum officially announced its One Million Devs initiative that aims to build a larger Ethereum developer base. According to its website, Ethereum already has around 200,000 active developers and it aims to get at least 1 million active developers by the end of 2020.

If ever Ethereum happens to have at least 1 million active developers, this can still be considered as good news since there is a chance that some of them will eventually realize the advantages of the TRON ecosystem over the Ethereum ecosystem. Once they are ready to switch, they can easily port their Ethereum DApps to TRON.

TRON DApp Growth – How TRON Is Expected To Beat Ethereum

On March 28, 2020, Justin Sun announced the official release of Djed, a lending platform that utilizes Collateralized Debt Positions (CDP). The interest rate will be in the form of the stability fee. In order to mint USDJ, TRON users need to commit TRX collateral. Also, the governing token is dubbed as JED.

It’s important to note that TRON’s release of Djed represents its bold move to beat Ethereum’s decentralized finance (DeFi) apps. According to a recent report from DappReview, the total amount of transactions processed on Ethereum DApps in 2019 was around $12.8 billion. More than 90% of the transaction volume was from Ethereum DeFi Apps. On the other hand, TRON’s total transaction value was around $4.4 billion. Around $3.9 billion was processed through TRON casino DApps.

Through Djed, TRON is expected to get a share of the pie when it comes to DeFi transactions this 2020.

Moreover, Team Just, the developers of the viral Ethereum-based Fomo3D game, released a new DApp. Instead of launching it on Ethereum, they released it on TRON. According to them, TRON’s ecosystem can provide their DApp with better scalability and higher throughput.

The new game is called Just. Game. It’s a mind-blowing game that incorporates exciting ideas related to the Game Theory and economic incentives. Based on its slogan, it is like a “tech disguised as toys” game that makes use of autodecentric technology.

Lastly, as mentioned earlier, TRON is primarily being used for creating casino DApps such as TronBet, HyperSnakes, Rocket Game, TronVegas and TronTopia. In fact, around 432,000 TRON users use TRX for playing at crypto casinos. The top TRON casino sites are Wink, Bitcasino.io, 1xBit, 888TRON and FortuneJack. These casino sites are using TRON smart contracts so they can offer their players provably fair games as well as fast payments.

Why More DApp Developers Prefer TRON Over Ethereum

Many Ethereum developers are now taking advantage of TVM’s compatibility with EVM in order to port their Ethereum DApps to TRON.

One of the primary reasons why they are switching is because of TRON’s better scalability, higher throughput and more secure platform, which technically means more activities and profits for them.

On Ethereum, only 20 transactions per second can be completed. On TRON, there are 2,000 transactions that can be completed per second. This is the reason why many “Ethereum Killers” claim that Ethereum cannot be used for real-world applications. Also, based on CoinMetrics Network Data Chart for the month of March in 2019, Ethereum only had around 600,000 transactions per day while TRON was able to process around 2.5 million transactions daily. During the same month, Ethereum only had around 11,000 active users while TRON had around 70,000 active users.

Another reason is Ethereum’s gas fees. The gas price refers to the amount a user needs to pay per unit of gas/computing power. Deploying a contract on Ethereum has a minimum gas price of 32,000 gas plus around 200 gas per byte of the source code. A report from Hackernoon estimated that an Ethereum DApp developer needs to pay around 90 ETH per year to deploy his DApp that processes around 1 million transactions per year. This estimate excludes the running costs paid by its users. The annual cost can be significantly higher if a DApp processes a lot more transactions per year. Meanwhile, TRON charges zero transaction fees.

Clearly, TRON has a lot more to offer to DApp developers. It is thus not surprising that many are expecting it to dominate the DApp market a few years from now.

Blockchain Technology and COVID-19: A Solution to a Crisis

by

The impact of coronavirus (COVID-19) is felt by all businesses, communities, and individuals around the world. More than 2.1 million people worldwide have been infected with COVID-19, and more than 180,000 people have died from the disease. It has changed our way of working, playing, socializing, and learning: schools are closing down, sporting events are canceled, companies closing down, people are working from home, national lockdown, and the impact list goes on.

COVID-19 is a major global threat to public health and has sparked shock waves across medical systems, the payment sector, supply chain networks, and other key social aspects of society. The recent pandemic highlights the need for an organized response from different countries, companies, and charities. But how can these grants and donations be managed, delivered, and channeled more transparently and efficiently?

Countries around the world are deploying technologies to help resolve some of the major challenges associated with COVID-19. The epidemic outbreak has taken blockchain technology into the limelight as it helps fight the day-to-day battle against COVID-19. The word blockchain is most frequently linked to Bitcoin, but as some people misunderstand, blockchain is much more than bitcoin, and not fundamentally linked to the latter.

In the simplest of words, a blockchain is a time-stamped series of permanent data records that is maintained by a network of computers not owned by any single entity. Any transaction that goes into the activity record is enclosed in a block and connected together to form a chain in sequential order, giving itself the term blockchain. Its main characteristics are the immutability, traceability, decentralization, transparency, and veracity of its data.

Several businesses like Traxalt, a digital financial institution, the European Union, multinationals like IBM, law firms, real estate, and music agencies are using blockchain to improve their daily activities.  

But what are the real advantages of this technology and how can it help us during this time? First, we must define it as a decentralized registry, characterized by its veracity and reliability without the need of a trusted third party to manage or monitor its data. Blockchain is immutable and transparent, which implies that the data contained within cannot be modified and is completely traceable and reliable. Blockchain technology also removes intermediaries, prevents data loss and alteration, and ensures traceability. This can play a significant role in guaranteeing that information on the epidemic is open and transparent and that epidemic materials are traceable.

Syren Johnstone, executive director of the University of Hong Kong, through a letter published by the University of Oxford, highlights the multiple uses of blockchain technology and its benefits. He calls all technology companies to get down to work and find solutions to the global health crisis. Currently, numerous blockchain networks are working to alleviate the effects of the crisis generated by the pandemic of COVID-19.

On the one hand, the need to channel all donations and track them makes blockchain the ideal platform during this time. If people were certain that their donations were reaching the right organizations and had a way to track and observe what they are being used for, it would significantly increase the number of donations. This practice was already used for the first time in 2018 to help flood victims in Eastern Uganda and more recently to support Australian fires, with very good results. In order to avoid criticism and to be completely transparent, the Shanzhong and Hyperchain blockchain network was created in China to manage all their grants and donations.

The second application of blockchain that helps governments fight against COVID-19, is its use to keep track of the delivery of medical supplies, such as masks, respirators, or protective equipment, as well as to prevent counterfeiting.

It is a reality that high demand and low supply cause unfair situations, deception, and a great lack of control throughout the supply chain. Hanzhong and Hyperchain blockchain, are also used to track the delivery of medical equipment. Another use has to do with the data recording.

Blockchain technology is also being used to keep the truthful, unimpeachable, and transparent record of the epidemic’s data. Examples of this could be the number of infected people, deaths, virus mutations, etc. This data provides documentation to understand the behavior of the virus and its progress.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has also developed a blockchain network for the digital authentication of official certificates and other documents, thus eliminating the need for citizens to leave their homes to carry out errands and other procedures.

It seems evident that everyone should be using all the tools at our disposal to face the COVID-19 pandemic. For this it is necessary to adopt the new technological advances including blockchain technology. The world is in this together and together we will defeat the current health crisis.

 

Warning: Hackers Can Steal Your Crypto With Coronavirus Maps – Safety Tips!

by

Recently, a security researcher pointed out how hackers were using coronavirus dashboards for malware injection to dig a user’s data and steal its personal information.

The pandemic has been all over the news, people from around the world are constantly hooked to find information about it on their screens. Be it to learn more about the disease, its prevention, symptoms or statistics – content related to coronavirus, sells. 

Shai Alfasi, a security researcher at Reason Labs figured out that Coronavirus dashboards were used not only to provide information related to the pandemic but was also sucking out data. 

Hackers are now in a position to steal personal empirical data such as passwords, account details, card details, and much more sensitive information most people have stored on their browsers. Shai even stated how the notorious parties are currently targeting Windows devices only but in no time can learn attacking other devices as well.

Screenshot from 2020 03 24 19 11 23 1

It has been recorded that malicious programmers are using AzoRult to steal users’ data. The malware was first discovered in 2016 as an information theft tool that is used to steal browsing history, cookies, IDs, passwords, etc.  It was sold on Russian underground forums to collect various types of sensitive information from an infected computer. But not just this, the malware is now advanced to even pull out cryptocurrency-related information such as wallets IDs, passwords, private keys [if saved] and a lot more!

All of us go through articles and online content on trustworthy as well s untrustworthy sites. SOme store our information and some make us feel like they don’t. Nevertheless, at such vulnerable precedented times, it’s vital to keep our selves safe not just physically but even digitally. 

In such situations, precautions and digital data security is important. Here’s a list of things you can do to maintain your personal digital security:-

  1. Backup your IDs, passwords and wallet details offline. 
  2. Erase your cache, personal data storage, passwords, etc from your browsers. 
  3. If you notice a device you own is responding slower than usual or you’re experiencing persistent pop-up messages, spam, or malfunctions, your device may be infected with malware. In such a situation reset your device, check if your wallet has been compromised and install anti-virus/ malware software.
  4. Keep 90% of your crypto offline in cold wallets. 
  5. Keep only 10% or less of your crypto in hot wallets if you need liquidity in hand. 
  6. Don’t visit unpopular, shady sites for information related to the pandemic. Stick to government forums or popular secured sites.
  7. Run regular scans on your computer to detect any malware. 
  8. ‘Secure’ your network, and ‘think’ before you ‘click’ or ‘submit’ your details or ‘allow’ any sort of permissions.

Additionally, always check the domain you visit to avoid phishing activities. Monitor coronavirus maps closely as malicious sites function differently than originals. 

 

 

Disclaimer note: This article is not a piece of investment advice. Please do your own research before investing/trading in cryptocurrencies.

Top 5 Crypto & Blockchain Research Papers to Read in 2020

by

The world is really falling apart, isn’t it? Bitcoin to the moon and the Lambos that we were going to chill in this summer came crashing right down when the market collapsed. 

If you’re at home sinking in despair about how the stocks have crashed, how Bitcoin easily left its support margins and how coronavirus is spoiling your social life. –  here’s a list of research papers you can read, while you’re at it. 

    1.Impact of the 2020 Bitcoin Halving: A Mathematical, Social,               and Econometric Analysis

Starting with Jered Masters research paper on the impacts of the 2020 Bitcoin halving. His research “explores the consequences” of the Halving. It is a methodical approach that concludes the price of Bitcoin could drop in the short-term and increase in the medium. The paper also suggests how this halving could be different from the previous ones. Jered also talks about how the reaction to this halving could hold indicators for the long-term utility and security of Bitcoin – discussed in the later sections. 

      2.Crypto thesis for 2020

Messari the aggregate data provider company which provides insights to its users to make correct decisions around BItcoin and crypto wrote down a research paper as their “thesis” of crypto for the year 2020. Right from the top 10 people to watch in the crypto space to DeFi and policy trends – it has it all. To give a bit of investment advice, it says, 

“BTC: Digital Gold

  • ETH: DeFi Reserve (vs. ICO Reserve)
  • XRP: Too-Big-To-Jail Coin
  • USDT: Surprise! They’re more reserved than most Tier 1 banks. (vs. Surprise!

They’re solvent.)

  • BCH: Bitmain casino chips
  • LTC: BTC betanet 4-> (vs. Now useless)
  • EOS: Actually no, it is in fact broken and run by a cartel. (vs.Wait, it’s legit?)
  • BSV: Faketoshi Coin
  • XLM: Burn the coins cuz no one wants them (vs. Cool. Enigmatic.)
  • BNB: exciting unregistered security
  • LINK: XRPArmy welcome
  • ADA: YOU STILL DON’T KNOW WHAT IT IS?
  • XTZ: Wow! Staking games will never backfire!
  • ALGO: Top 20 if no one redeems, amirite?
  • TRON: fake-it-til-you-make-it coin
  • XMR: Fluffy Pony Watch Fund
  • LEO: Quasi-security backing a quasi-Liberty Reserve
  • ATOM: Most interesting ETH “complement”
  • NEO: “Chinese ETH”
  • HT: Quasi-security that might have CCP blessing”

3. The Marketing Strategy of the Cryptocurrencies

Cryptocurrencies and Blockchain Technology – The Marketing Strategy of the Cryptocurrencies is written by Rafi F. Asgarl from Azerbaijan State University of Economics. The paper is a thesis intended to clarify the fundamental thinking or mentality towards cryptocurrencies, what they are perceived as what they should be – under two segments:

  • Theoretical analysis of the problem. Cryptocurrencies and their marketing strategy
  •  Methodology and the results of empirical research. Blockchain technology

It’s a good read for the non-techie community. 

4. Transformative effects of IoT, Blockchain and Artificial Intelligence on cloud computing: Evolution, vision, trends and open challenges

This study is done by multiple researchers, it is a collaborative effort. The study explores the scopes of how three emerging technology paradigms: Blockchain, IoT and Artificial intelligence will influence the growth of future cloud computing systems. The research even identifies several technologies driving these paradigms. The research invites international experts to discuss the current status and future directions of cloud computing. 

Additionally, the paper even proposes a “conceptual model for cloud futurology” to explore “the influence of emerging paradigms” and technologies on the evolution of cloud computing.

5.Stake Shift in Major Cryptocurrencies: An Empirical Study

This empirical study is done by multiple researchers namely Rainer Stütz, Peter Gaži, Bernhard Haslhofer, Jacob Illum; one the best researchers and computer scientists of this space. As interesting as it can get, the paper revolves around secure PoS proposals to observe the time gap between stake contributions. Further, it even investigates the ledgers of the top cryptocurrencies – Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin and Zcash.

It’s a good read for geeks who are knee-deep into consensus mechanisms.

 

 

[Note:- To download any of the ‘unavailable’ research papers, please copy and paste the research links to https://sci-hub.tw/ for a free download.]

Disclaimer: The suggestions in the listicle are based on the writer’s research and personal opinion.

 

Are Blockchain Voting Systems the Solution to Election Fraud?

by

Blockchain has won attention as a means to boost public trust during elections. The Indian Election Commission is considering a blockchain voting system and has partnered with the Indian Institute of Technology to develop a blockchain voting system.

Mr Sunil Arora, Chief Election Commissioner, believes that blockchain will improve voter turnout as more people from different regions choose to vote even when they are away from their hometowns of registration.

Aleksander Essex and Jeremy were the developers who identified the potential of blockchain in the validation of the voters.  During the early stages of budding technology, when bitcoin was a meager $30; Clark and Essex used bitcoin as a form of carbon footprint in digital information that could make electronic voting secure and efficient. 

Several startups have since followed up to build on the Blockchain electronic voting infrastructure. One such startup is FollowMyVote-a Virginia-based company. FollowMyVote is trying to break the idea that voting systems can’t go online. Especially in an era that has infiltrated democracies through the lure of election fraud and third party tampering.

When governments do not accept the concept of democratic voting systems, developed democracies would probably collapse. Blockchain voting platforms will ensure effective voter identification, registration and also streamline the process of counting and validating votes. At a time when almost all aspects of life are conducted online, technology will help bridge political functions. 

In fact, blockchain researchers have successfully run acid tests on how to eliminate vulnerabilities in blockchain voting systems. However, several entities remain skeptical about the implementation of blockchain in voting. For example, the increasing trend of hackers exploiting blockchain applications provides further cause for concern.

 Back in 2017, Homeland Security posited U.S. elections as the country’s core infrastructure. US Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson told media reporters how elections would qualify for state-funded cybersecurity assistance, federal transport systems, and federal protection.

The Department of Homeland Security reported more than 500,000 damaged voter records after the 2016 US election. A series of investigations led by Robert Mueller, a special counsel, indicted 26 Russian nations for allegedly hacking into voting systems. The investigation report highlighted the hackers target voting systems in at least 21 states.

Security researchers have just recently discovered attempts at phishing campaigns targeting three candidates in the 2018 midterm elections. Homeland Security Department claims that a lack of confidence would impact voter turnout. Say a scenario where you’d prefer to stay home and not vote, rather than participate in a rigged election or may lose their trust in the elections.

Blockchain voting remains one of the most explored blockchain use cases. However it isn’t clear why most tests for blockchain voting have been on a small scale. Especially targeting community projects and student organizations. Nonetheless, the largest blockchain voting system was tested in Moscow, Russia during a city council election. In fact, the end result was increased voter turnout with 90 percent of those registered to use the blockchain program.

 

IOTA In Policy Making and Regulation

by

Great administration is basic for the development of good technology. Both, be that as it may, have a sort of harmonious relationship. The mandate of future-minded policies is to create a world strict compliance laws that do not affect the prosperity of innovation.

It would seem that the blockchain’s practicality was only aligned to finance. However, trends in the application and implementation of blockchain have proved otherwise. Blockchains are driving social transformation and the creation of new governance structures.

The Internet of Things (IoT) and its coin IOTA, is working with national, regional and global level policymakers to create sustainable governance. 

Implications of Blockchain and DLT in Policymaking

The biggest challenge the blockchain needs to overcome is regulatory scrutiny. To understand the implications of innovation policy makers and financial regulators are still digging in. The space is still uncertain and it is highly speculative how policymakers will choose to regulate it.

Meanwhile,  the social impact sector is also attempting to experiment and adapt blockchain. This has led to the rise of terms such as blockchain charity, decentralized justice, and governance.

IOTA is fascinated to address all these challenges. The internet of things coin is betting on a better world where people with good intentions come together to design and deploy beneficial technology. 

In a press release on its website, IOTA announced to incorporate a distributed ledger non-profit foundation in Germany. The foundation will steward fundamental commitments of the European Union in law, governance,  constitution, and human prosperity.

Challenges in governance that the foundation wishes to address include administrative costs and unclear regulatory structure. There has been proof that smart contracting can help reduce overhead costs by cutting intermediaries in administration.  

IOTA Public Regulatory Affairs and PolicyMaking

IOTA together with its Public Regulatory Affairs teams is providing expert briefs, lawmaking reports, educative workshops and reports to compliance and policymaking bodies across the world. The foundation will work with major advocacy groups and innovators around the IoT and  DLT space.

Therefore forging partnerships that are likely to contribute to the deployment of effective, principled and innovation-friendly public policy frameworks that hold public interest at its core. In the release, IOTA promised that it would hold this responsibility seriously. 

In 2018, Malta made history as the first government to set a regulatory framework for blockchain, distributed ledger, and cryptocurrencies. The engagement of government in the decentralized universe made the Island one of the most favorable destinations to set a blockchain enterprise.

This shows how significant favorable governance structures can be for the development of blockchain innovation. The structure of the IOTA foundation makes governance an important mission to its mandate.

For instance, the foundation gets the majority of funding from government grants.  Donations from various individuals and enterprises make the organization put the interest of good intentions into its heart.

IOTA believes that active engagement with policymakers and regulators will drive the next phase of growth for the distributed ledger.  

It is interesting and fascinating to watch the unfolding of this technology, especially the interweaving of Blockchain and the Internet of Things in governance. 

 

 

 

Is Ethereum’s Price Action Dependent on Bitcoin?

by

The Underlying Correlation Between Bitcoin and Ethereum

The correlation coefficient is the statistical measure of strength that two relative variables have in their relationship. Analysts observed a sync performance between Ethereum and Bitcoin since last year. Both coins have a strong positive relationship. Where their price correlation coefficient is 0.68.

This estimate represents the past 100 days of price action for both assets. The correlation measurement usually has 1 as the strongest positive correlation. -1 represents the strongest negative correlation.

A negative coefficient reveals two prices moving in opposite trends. The positive coefficient, however, shows price actions moving in the same direction.

In this regard, the price of Ethereum has most times depending on the valuation of Bitcoin. Here is why? 

Oftentimes factors such as expert forecasts, calamities and major political events have influenced cryptocurrency market sentiment.

Closely, it turns out that overall cryptocurrency market sentiment has a huge influence on Bitcoin. Therefore it is likely that the price of a couple altcoins could depend on the price action of Bitcoin.

According to Skew, Ethereum posted the highest correlation coefficient with Bitcoin for two consecutive years. The total average correlation is 0.9. While 2019 posted the highest correlation index between both digital assets. 

2018 bear market will go down the books of history given the historic bitcoin price crash. A squashing crypto market bloodbath followed the massive price shed. This indicated a striking correlation between the price of Bitcoin and that of all crypto assets.

The stock market has witnessed a high correlation between the United States Dollar and equity markets. As the US dollar is the largest store of wealth, so is Bitcoin the largest store of asset class wealth. It, therefore, makes sense that the overall performance of crypto markets is pegged on Bitcoin. 

However, most traders and analysts agree the Ethereum – Bitcoin correlation is a natural situation in the cryptocurrency market. Meanwhile, Michael Van de Poppe compared the correlation coefficient in crypto markets to that of commodities. The Amsterdam Stock Exchange trader and market analysts said gold leads in the commodities asset class. Gold’s price sets the pace for other metals. 

It is therefore clear that Bitcoin’s price could change as a result of government policies, high volatility in traditional financial markets; but this change will likely reflect on the entire cryptocurrency market. However, Van de Poppe notes slight variations in this observation. He says: 

“Some parts the correlation is high in which Ethereum outperforms Bitcoin, in some parts, it’s low as Ethereum drops hard against Bitcoin, while Bitcoin trends up against USD. It’s different in different parts.”

Ethereum will not necessarily repeat Bitcoin price movements. A correlation study for the period between June 2017 and December 2019 revealed that 5 of 14 cases indicated a strong positive correlation. While four cases showed a negative correlation coefficient.

However, the correlation between Ethereum and Bitcoin has intensified since the last half of 2019. Nonetheless, researchers at the San Francisco Open Exchange reveal Ethereum’s strong correlation is a result of general failure.

Particularly the failure to launch Ethereum 2.0 in 2019. Several studies have also been trying to establish a correlation pattern between cryptocurrency and equity markets. Sadly, none was identified and traders have been quick to suggest that correlation is not a reliable tool for market analysis. 

 

Korean University To Issue Diploma Degree on Blockchain Following Coronavirus 

by

  • South Korea’s Pohang University of Science and Technology, POSTECH is reportedly issuing diplomas on top of blockchain technology. 
  • Coronavirus fear has led the university to take this step.

What’s New?

POSTECH is a science and technology university located in Pohang, South Korea. South Korean’s Maeil Broadcasting Network (MBN) was told by an unknown university official that the university feels it is unsafe for all students to gather for the graduation ceremony, particularly after Coronavirus has its presence across China. That fear led to the university issuing a digital diploma certificate.

The University will send a personal email that contains QR-code and a link to their diploma degree stored on the blockchain to all the graduates (precisely 828 graduates).

Adding further, the official also informed that even if a student is not able to visit the school, the diploma certificate will be sent online to the student encrypted with Blockchain technology. This certificate is created using “broof”, a Blockchain certification service handled by a Korean company ICONLOOP.

Back in June 2019, POSTECH had already issued Blockchain technology certificates. The Blockchain certificates were issued for the Blockchain CEO course.

Looking at the changes brought by POSTECH, other educational institutions have also shown their interest in Blockchain-based certificates.

For example, MIT Media Lab has also created a number of prototypes and tested them. They shared digital credentials with their Media Lab Directors and Media Lab Alumni.

How impactful will this change be? What’s next going further?

Reports suggest that POSTECH is now planning for a Blockchain-based voting system. POSTECH is presently working on developing a Blockchain-based voting survey system called Voting for Students.

Reportedly, POSTECH and Yonsei University in SEOUL had also announced their plans to create a Blockchain campus back in April 2019 last year.

Also, it was reported by iHodl that ICONLOOP has signed a strategic Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Korea Productivity Center (KPC), the first consulting educational firm in Korea, to build a blockchain-based industrial ecosystem.

Considering the advantages of Blockchain technology, POSTECH is also in the process of using Blockchain technology in various management level certificates, using digital way at the time of school enrolment, providing other graduate degrees and grades in digital form. Reportedly, these projects will be running as pilot projects in schools. It will start as early as this year. This will ultimately reduce the cost of building and maintaining the database to store information. Also, this will reduce the cost of maintaining paper-based certificates.

Consequently, students will have access to their certificates easily anywhere across the globe. It will also keep their data safe from any suspicious activities, fraud, and scams happening around the globe.