The world is changing at an exponential rate, resulting in significant modifications. New unique things are replacing old traditions, and the world is entering the Metaverse. You must educate yourself about bitQT technology to keep pace with the changing world. Experts in fiat money who are unfamiliar with the digital market must update their knowledge and ability to cope with the transforming dynamics.

This article examines the differences between digital and fiat money and compares them in several aspects to provide a comprehensive picture. Let’s take a closer look at the parallels and contrasts between virtual and physical cash.

What is Fiat Money?

Fiat money is the physical form of money backed by precious commodities and is used as a medium of exchange of goods. It is available in either a note or in coin form. It is a legal tender that does not hold any intrinsic value. Government-based central authorities issue it. A few examples include Dollar, Euros, Yen, Rupees, etc.

What is Digital Money?

Digital money is defined as the virtual form of money that is not backed by a precious commodity. It is used to trade on software-based platforms. It has no physical existence and is available digitally. Legal authorities do not issue it. Instead, online software issues it through Initial Coin Offerings (ICO) campaign. Examples include Bitcoin, Ether, Litecoin, Ripple, etc.

How Are They Both Different From Each Other?

Fiat money is different from digital money in several ways, which are mentioned below:

Centralization

The digital currency is fully decentralized. By decentralization, it is indicated that the fund’s transfer takes place solely between two parties. No intermediary connects them. In contrast, fiat money is controlled and governed by a central authority, such as banks.

Privacy or Anonymity

The digital currency helps retain the users’ privacy. The transactions that take place using digital currency do not require user verification and can be done anonymously. On the other hand, transactions using fiat money require complete details of the sender and receiver, including their national identities.

Transparency

The digital currency offers a completely transparent system where the transactional data is accessible to all the network participants. At the same time, the money exchange in fiat currency is kept extremely private. The central authorities are the only governing bodies having access to the entire system. Therefore, it is not transparent.

Regulations

The digital currency is not regulated and does not follow laws. As opposed to it, fiat money is held by governmental authorities to enhance safety. In most cases, it is regulated by the state’s official bank.

Issuance

The digital currency is issued on a virtual platform and exists in computer-generated form. It is also traded on software-based platforms.. On the other hand, fiat money is issued on the orders of government officials.

What Are the Similarities Between Them?

Despite a number of differences, physical and virtual money have several similarities as well, which are listed as follows:

Increase in Value

Both currencies’ value depends upon the supply and demand rule. The more it is n demand, the more its value will skyrocket. The less it is in need, the lesser its value will be.

Medium of exchange

Both forms of currencies can be used as a medium of exchange for anything. The digital marketplaces have offered to sell goods against cryptocurrency as well.

Store of value

Both kinds of money can be used as a store of value. For instance, investors invest in US Dollars in fiat currency and Bitcoin in digital currency to gain potential returns. These two are among the top-rated currencies in the traditional and digital markets, respectively. Hence, both can be used as a store of value.

The Bottom Line

To close it in a nutshell, the transforming world has shifted the trend of people from the traditional market to the digital market. Cryptocurrency has provided several benefits, including anonymity, transparency, etc. Still, it has not gained enough popularity to replace fiat money because of specific properties, including lack of rules and regulations, high volatile rates, etc. Therefore, the future does not hold solid evidence for digital currencies overtaking fiat currencies.

War has always been an expensive undertaking, no matter which era or decade it has appeared in. Political and military tactics tend to drain a country’s coffers pretty quickly unless they have outside help. This has been true for Ukraine too. The nation is warring with Russia in one of the biggest global conflicts to date. However, this is a war that is being fought in 2022 and therefore, has been a little different from conflicts before it. So, let’s explore more around it with a focus on how the crypto market is influencing and getting influenced by it.

Ukraine War & Crypto

When people think of war, they mostly think about destruction and ruin. If they turn their minds to the economic aspect of it, they may perceive physical aid being sent to the country in question, like food, clothes, cash, and more. The Ukrainian War, however, is being called the world’s first-ever crypto war.

This is because generous benefactors from all over the world have been donating to war relief efforts through cryptocurrency. The innovation happened in March 2022, when Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine’s Vice Prime Minister shared details for two crypto wallets on Twitter. He urged people to donate using Bitcoin, Tether, and Ethereum to aid Ukrainian citizens.

People jumped on the chance, sending out millions of dollars worth of cryptocurrency to Ukraine. This worked out well at the time, considering the price of BTC (Bitcoin) had dipped in the early days of the war. It was cheaper to buy and send crypto and, subsequently, help Ukraine.

Since then, the Ukrainian government has also launched a website to centralize the flow of crypto coming into the country. We can say with certainty then that crypto has helped the Ukrainian war effort. But the question remains: is the war benefitting or harming crypto?

The Benefits of Donating in Crypto

Before we jump into how the war has affected crypto, let’s take a quick look at the benefits of using crypto to help relief efforts:

• The onslaught of war and the subsequent rise in crypto-based donations means that more and more people are now aware of how to access and buy cryptocurrency. This takes it out of the umbrella of being a niche area to eventually a better known and used investment method that can be backed by lawmakers and other key leaders.
• Crypto donations can’t be influenced or regulated by economic or political factors. Even if Ukrainians lose access to their traditional bank accounts, they can receive crypto donations by opening a digital wallet on their devices.
• Donating through crypto also means that younger people get to be involved where they couldn’t have been before. It’s much simpler to understand and send cryptocurrency across as compared to physical donations.
• Even though Ukraine is a warzone, it’s not impossible to use crypto-based aid. Almost all citizen can use the Internet and their personal device to set up a crypto wallet and receive donations straightaway. In fact, this has been one of the key ways in which Ukrainian NGOs have managed to stay afloat despite the ongoing crisis.

Has the Ukrainian War Benefitted Crypto?

Ukrainian government officials have realized and embraced the value of cryptocurrency. The President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy has already approved a law that will build a credible framework for crypto platforms in the country. This means that once the war is over, Ukrainians will be able to legally trade using crypto. What’s more, this law will also bring crypto into the mainstream, meaning it can be regulated using specific policies. This will be useful because more often than not, crypto has flown into Ukraine for criminal or shadow activities.

The flow of crypto into the country has also signaled benefits for those who own BTC. When the war broke out, BTC fell. Smart investors decided to invest immediately, anticipating that the tides would turn. And now they have. Ukraine-bound donations during the war have sparked an interest in BTC across the border, raising its value manifold.

Essentially, Russians are also facing global and internal sanctions on their money and depreciation in their currency. Given these tough circumstances, they have decided to use crypto to move money in and out of the country. Since crypto is unregulated, Russian citizens can buy and sell using their devices and still experience economic freedom. The Russian demand to buy BTC has sent it rising by at least 14% over the past one month period.

Overall, Bitcoin did crash initially as the war escalated, but it has managed to gain a steady footing over the past month. Following BTC’s lead, other coins like Solana, Ripple, and Ethereum have also shown an upward trend.

The War’s Impact on The Crypto Market

There is no doubt that the war has benefitted the flow of crypto. The millions worth of donations that have been sent to Ukraine have not only made the government more susceptible to regulating crypto but there has also been a shift in sentiment towards the concept of blockchain. Crypto stands to become more globally accepted and might make it to the mainstream sooner rather than later. While some traditionalists might have viewed it as a joke before, there is no denying that cryptocurrency must be taken seriously now, especially given its ability to influence or change political movements. BTC has benefitted the most as have investors who own it.

In a nutshell, the crypto market is on its way to becoming a dependable economic channel for citizens and governments alike.

People usually buy cryptocurrencies for investment, but it is not a requirement that you have to trade Bitcoin. Bitcoin can also come in handy for travel or everyday life. Many eshops and land-based merchants accept this virtual currency as payment.

Bitcoin (BTC) is the most widely used digital cryptocurrency. It was created in 2008 and is not controlled by any world government. Bitcoin is freely exchangeable and each transaction is recorded in a public ledger called a blockchain (which guarantees anonymity). The payment itself is then made almost instantly.

Visit bitcoin360ai online to learn more about crypto. 

Bitcoin has a limited supply of 21 million coins – there will never be more coins in circulation. The last bitcoin is expected to be mined around 2140.

A unit of bitcoin is referred to as a coin (1 BTC) and has 8 decimal places. The smallest unit is unofficially called a satoshi. This is one hundred millionth of one bitcoin (0.00000001 BTC).

How to Pay with Bitcoin

Bitcoins can already be paid for on many e-shops, for example in the USA. And not only e-shops. One of the most famous companies that are accepting bitcoin are Microsoft, Overstock, Twitch, PayPal, Rakuten, CheapAir and Tesla. You can add Bitcoin to the Starbucks app as a payment. You can also play games in bitcoin on many igaming platforms.

In addition, dozens of stores are adding more every day. An e-shop can have payment set up as one of the payment methods. Then you just need to copy their BTC receiving address for your goods and confirm to send the amount. Services like BITPAY will then convert the bitcoin payment they receive in the terminal at the current exchange rate into the local currency.

Small shops, for whom this method can be complicated, also solve this by, for example, emailing you their BTC address, you send bitcoins to it, and the address essentially serves as a variable symbol. The merchant and the customer can track the movement of BTC publicly on the Blockchain, for example.

The easiest way to find out where to pay with Bitcoin is to use the so-called bitcoin map. This online or mobile app shows shops and restaurants that accept bitcoin. Some of the most well-known one is map.bitcoin.com.

Bitcoin as an Official Currency

The very first country, which accepted Bitcoin as an official currency, was El Salvador. Before the actual introduction of bitcoin as an official currency in El Salvador, the government purchased 400 units of cryptocurrency worth US$20 million.

After bitcoin became El Salvador’s official currency, a decline in value soon followed; it depreciated by around 19% in 24 hours. The second-largest cryptocurrency, Ethereum, also suffered a decline.

However, the Salvadoran government took advantage of this recession by making another bitcoin purchase: this time it was 150 bitcoins for around $7 million.

Surveys of Salvadoran citizens have shown that there are many opponents of this controversial decision. Around 1,000 people even gathered in the capital to express their opposition in the form of a protest.

El Salvador is not the only country in the world that will have Bitcoin as an official currency. Another one could be the Kingdom of Tonga. It wants to push for a decentralized currency for its people, following the example of El Salvador. Lord Fusitu’a, a former member of parliament, has come forward with the information. According to him, it would “copy” a procedure that has proved effective in the case of the aforementioned El Salvador.

Hailing the power of Decentralization is the idea that anyone can reach their milestones. And the most significant evidence of this is “MetaKovan,” a pseudonym used everywhere. So, then who is “Metakovan”?

He’s a person from South India with a real identity, named “Vignesh Sundaresan.” Let’s know about his journey from nothing to a Billionaire. Instead, don’t mislead yourself, as he is not from a wealthy society background. He could not even afford to buy a laptop for himself but just a flash drive to learn to code 1k daily profit, as he is a software engineer by academic profession. Dominating the crisis, somehow, he managed to learn to code and created around 54 websites, out of which 51 of those flopped. He had the potential to learn & start a journey with nothing and make a $5000 investment into a Billion dollar, with a perspective of helping their surrounding people to grow.

Besides, Vignesh is a Y-Combinator alumnus and a co-founder of BitAcces, a Bitcoin ATM startup. He also founded the Lendroid Foundation, a credit card platform powered by the blockchain. Further, he founded a software techno enterprise named Portkey Technologies Pte Ltd. Moreover, he also financed some incomparable crypto projects, like Polkadot, Ethereum, Flow, and Decentral lands.

The legit user-friendly app that has blockchain software introduced in it that helps in keeping all our transactions safe and secure.

After studying at Carleton University, he fell in love with blockchain in 2013. Getting exposed to a globally leading idea of decentralized money, he accumulated that this will be a big boom in coming years. It’s almost turning a decade, and he had made it a long way journey from a broke software engineer to a “Billionaire” crypto holder. Vignesh spent most of his time on Bitcoin and blockchain and invested every little saving into learning and building a Bitcoin company. He acquired Bitcoin, Ethereum, Crypto, & Blockchain.

He founded the e-coin startup and later sold it to Casa Crypto in 2014. He also built Canada’s first Bitcoin Teller Machine (BTM) prototype, initiated in Ottawa. And ought to be an everyday conversation with Bitaccess. The startup became known as BitAccess, which was a Y-Combinator-funded enterprise. The Lendroid Foundation is a long-time dream that he finally realized.

Possessions

Vignesh believes so much in crypto; all that he owns is in crypto because he feels that everything is virtual in this world now, like decentralized money, Land, Art, and so on. He’s a billionaire with no cars, no properties or lands, or stocks. But he owns a lot in the virtual world, which made him achieve this position. As he’s a firm believer in crypto, he bought a Genesis edition crypto jacket worth $660, connected to a blockchain, and an address printed of his NFT having an NFID chip in it. Nevertheless, he made the most expensive purchase of virtual digital art by an American artist, “Beeple” in his “Everyday: the First 5000 Days” auction, which is worth $69.3M ~ $70M. It is the most extravagant virtual art sold in history via NFT on 11 March 2021. And is the third most costly art sold by the living artists in the world. Mr. Sundaresan also mentioned that “This is the most valued piece of art in this generation to be noticed as a Crown Jewel.”

MetaKovan, in his interview, also announced that they are planning to build a monument in a Metaverse, a virtual space, and is a part of one of his fundings in MetaPurse. He also owns land in Metaverse and plans to build a monument there for the public and introduce these 440 million pixels of digital art in its proper form as a digital native picture to enjoy its beauty.

The reason for buying extravagant art is its uniqueness. It is owned just by him as original, whereas others can download it for free to watch. Also, it was an act of kindness and a helping hand to all the artists, singers, and other persons out there.

Binance and Coinbase are two of the most popular cryptocurrency platforms today, each with a unique strategy.

Coinbase is a cryptocurrency exchange based in the United States, featuring a user-friendly interface and a restricted number of transaction options. Binance, on the other hand, is a bit more complex and widespread among professional users for international trading with a range of different currency trading options.

On a lighter note, Binance is user-friendly and offers a variety of levels for its users; however, Coinbase is a little easier to use when compared to Binance. Binance, based in the United States, is less user-friendly and has higher transaction fees and fewer alternatives. When comparing the low price of Binance to the high price of Coinbase, however, there is no competition.

This article provides a general overview of Binance and Coinbase. We’ll compare a few features to discover better for specific user types.

Features- Binance vs Coinbase

Both platforms are distinct from one another in that they cater to different categories of people. Given this, each has its own set of characteristics. They both have in common that they both offer a mobile application with watch lists and price tracking features.

Returning to additional features, Binance provides the following to its users:

• Challenges and giveaways are a method to earn extra cryptocurrency.
• With around 100 indicators and overlays, this is an advanced level of charting.
• API keys are used to gain access to other software applications.
• Thirteen different types of transactions.
• Use of third-party wallets such as Trust wallet.
• Available in over 180 countries, however it can only be used in 48 states in the United States.
• Users in the United States cannot pay with credit cards or engage in margin trading.

On the other hand, Coinbase offers its users:

• Payment through credit card and access for making margin trades (US users).
• A secure digital wallet that can be linked with other exchanges as well.
• Access over withdrawing money in a PayPal account.
• Available in almost 100 countries and 49 states in the US.
• A newsletter feature updates users with the latest news related to the cryptocurrency topic.
• The limited charting features.
• A way to earn cryptos is just by watching short videos available on the platform.

Currencies- Binance vs Coinbase

If you are a user from outside the United States, you will have access to over 500 altcoins on Binance. If you are a user from the United States, you will use 60 different altcoins.

Coinbase, on the other hand, provides consumers with 107 currency trading options in its standard edition and 57 currency trading options in the pro version. Furthermore, the Coinbase platform supports fiat currencies such as the dollar, euro, and pound.

Similarly, Binance supports 18 fiat currencies, including the US dollar, Euro, Australian dollar, Hong Kong dollar, Indian rupee, etc.

The following are a few cryptocurrencies that both platforms support:

• Bitcoin
• Ethereum
• Litecoin
• Cardano
• Dash

Security- Binance vs Coinbase

Both systems are deemed secure; however, Coinbase has a little advantage in this regard.

Both Coinbase and Binance offer two-factor verification on their platforms, which may be done with a third-party authenticator or by SMS.

Coinbase requires users to provide identification in a government ID or an original image. Binance, on the other hand, verifies US users through investment demand. Binance’s security features also include address whitelisting and device management.

However, on the Coinbase platform, security features include biometric authentication for accessing the digital wallet.

Fees- Binance vs Coinbase

Binance has the lowest fees when comparing the two platforms, whereas Coinbase has the highest. If you are from the United States, you will have to pay slightly more than other customers, but the costs will still be lower than what you would pay on Coinbase.

Coinbase charges 0.5 percent for each transaction, which adds convenience according to the payment method, resulting in fees that can reach 4%. Binance, on the other side, has slightly lower fees and operates on a maker-taker model. As a result, both the maker and the taker pay the same fee.

End Note

Both platforms have distinct advantages and disadvantages. However, usability is determined by what you are searching for as a user.

Crypto enthusiasts also desire platforms where they can view currency listings and track the pricing value. not only gives its customers the ability to trade, but it also gives them the functionality that exchanges like Binance and Coinbase offer.

Ethereum and Bitcoin have shared the same market capacity for the previous two months. The current pandemic scenario, inflation, and potential fluctuations, on the other hand, have been a source of concern for investors.

With all of these significant issues, investors have been concerned and unsure whether to put all of their money into Trading App or Ethereum. Both Ethereum and bitcoin have their own value and individuality regarding the potential rewards.

However, is Ethereum on the verge of overtaking bitcoin as the most popular cryptocurrency? Read this article.

Significant Rise in Ethereum

The last time we checked, the value of Ethereum was $371 billion dollars, whereas the value of bitcoin was $789 billion dollars. This means that Ethereum is over 113 percent behind bitcoin in terms of price value. In order to overtake Bitcoin, Ethereum will have to increase its pricing value significantly in the following months, assuming that bitcoin’s value remains unchanged. Only in this fashion will Ethereum be able to overtake bitcoin.

This development may appear nearly unachievable, yet in 2022, Ethereum made significant progress toward making it possible.

In comparison to bitcoin, Ethereum features a programmable blockchain, which allows it to attract the attention of the developer community. These developers are responsible for the creation of non-fungible tokens, decentralized apps, and decentralized finance. The token marketplace is also expanding, as the number of dApps (decentralized apps) on the Ethereum platform has now surpassed 3000.

More utilization comes with convenience, which dApps provide. As the number of dApps users grows, the number of Ethereum users and the demand for Ethereum tokens increases. The developers are receiving more attention, which means that introducing applications is more likely.

Ethereum 2.0, released in 2022, will have more advanced and extensive features. This proof-of-stake consensus process will give the market better scalability, security, and environmental benefits. The improvement will completely transform the transaction process, increasing it from 30 seconds to 100,000 transactions per second.

The existing Ethereum mining method is similar to that of bitcoin, which uses blockchain technology to create a decentralized network where miners solve mathematical problems and pay with crypto for each problem solved. The solved block is added to the blockchain. This procedure consumes a lot of electricity and computational power, and it also lowers scalability and raises transaction fees. If only Ethereum 2.0 had been released by now, it would have already surpassed bitcoin as the most valuable cryptocurrency.

Will Ethereum Overtake Bitcoin in 2022?

The position is a little complicated and risky for Ethereum since the crypto must not only double its pricing worth in 2022, but it must also hope that bitcoin’s price value remains consistent during the year.

Bitcoin is highly volatile, but it has delivered more positive returns to its holders for the previous 5 years or more, with a claimed return of over 4700 percent. Given the increase in demand over the last few years and the increasing number of people interested in purchasing it, it’s practically difficult to believe it will remain steady at its current price. That’s why, despite the fact, it doesn’t appear that Ethereum will be able to overtake bitcoin.

In addition, the advent of Cardano and Solana in the smart-contract blockchain category has increased Ethereum’s competitiveness. Both of the freshly released cryptocurrencies are attempting to learn about Ethereum’s flaws and address them in their respective cryptos. One of the primary flaws that Cardona and Solana are examining is transaction speed and fees. Furthermore, both cryptocurrencies have seen more significant gains in the last 12 months than Ethereum.

It’s unlikely that Ethereum will replace bitcoin this year, but that doesn’t mean it’s not profitable or worth investing in.

Is it Time to Invest in Ethereum?

Visit the official website to discover more about cryptocurrencies and the best moment to buy in Ethereum. According to data and expert predictions, there are also numerous valuable growing cryptocurrencies on the market. However, Ethereum cannot surpass bitcoin’s original value and outperform it.

Ethereum is undoubtedly a valuable cryptocurrency; however, if you are purchasing it with the expectation that it will overtake bitcoin in 2022, this is quite doubtful.

It’s 2022 and digital apes have taken over the internet. Who knew that 2D monkeys smoking cigars would carry the kind of thumb-stopping power that content creators and brands dream of? Or that pixelated punks in cool kid’s hats would break Twitter because their creator turned down a multi-million-dollar sale offer?

Unique art pieces and their equally unique creators are getting their moment and we couldn’t be more excited. You’ve probably guessed what we’re talking about: Non-Fungible Tokens, otherwise known as NFTs. These blockchain-based tokens are attached to tangible or intangible works and are non-fungible, meaning unique. They cannot be copied, replaced, or reproduced and are therefore used to price digital assets.

NFTs do sound interesting, but most of us have no clue how to use NFTs to start earning a passive income. Don’t let the thoughts deter you. NFTs sound a lot more complicated than they really are, and once you sink your hooks into the ecosystem, you can set up a passive cash flow pretty quickly. Before we get into the various methods of how to earn your passive income, let’s take a deeper look at NFTs and the current state of the market.

NFTs – A Brief Overview

We’ve already defined NFTs as unique tokens that are used to buy and sell digital assets, but what exactly are these assets? Essentially, anything can be made into an NFT. We’re talking digital art, 2D and 3D animations, sports highlights, Tweets, Instagram Reels, and a lot more. One of the rarest and best-selling NFTs last year was Pantone colors. Imagine paying over $100,000 to purchase a solid color block. And yet, people do.

Can NFTs Be Copied?

One of the major questions people have when talking about NFTs is about duplication. If you think about it, a digital art piece that’s online can easily be copied and downloaded for free. For example, when Nyan Cat was sold as an NFT for about $590,000, a lot of eyebrows were raised because the asset had already been saved and passed around for years. How did a viral video go from being available everywhere for free to become one of the highest valued NFTs in history?

The answer isn’t simple but it is intuitive. Consider this: if you went to the Louvre and took a picture of the Mona Lisa, would the picture be as valuable as the real thing? You already know the answer to that question. Owning the Mona Lisa and owning a picture of it are vastly different because, in the former, you’d be recognized as the legal owner versus the latter, where you’d be known for having a cheap imitation.

It’s pretty similar with NFTs. Owning a copy of Nyan Cat isn’t the same as owning the real thing simply because the owner has the NFT. And since the token is encrypted into the blockchain for the NFT, there can only be one owner. NFTs don’t currently have concrete laws that back them up, but this is also in the works.

How Can You Earn Passive Income with NFTs?

Here are a few passive income ideas through NFTs:

Royalty Fees

This is one of the best ways to keep earning through NFTs. Since NFTs are unique codes, they allow creators to set their own terms depending on their earning requirements. This means that once a creator sells his NFT, he can continue to receive royalties from it. For example, if a creator sets his royalty percentage to 15, he will receive 15% of the sale price whenever the NFT is sold onwards.

The best part about this process is that it’s regulated by machines. This means creators don’t need to worry about getting their royalty payments because the whole system is governed by smart contracts. So, all you have to do is get to work on creating and minting your first NFT!

Staking

Think of NFTs as ownable entities and the people who own them as stakeholders. Staking is the process that allows you to lock or seal your NFT into a DeFi (Decentralized Finance) smart contract to ensure it keeps generating money.

Staking allows buyers to keep interests in their NFTs and generate a substantial yield every so often. Owning a staking token means you also get to reinvest in different protocols, much like in a corporation. You can earn staking tokens through different platforms, although some of them may require you to purchase NFTs from them first.

Put Your NFTs on Rent

Another great way to earn passive income from your NFTs is to rent them out. This is another process that’s regulated through smart contracts and is therefore safe to participate in. All you have to do is lease your NFT on terms that suit you. You have full freedom to set the duration and rate of the agreement.

This is particularly lucrative for assets like digital trading cards or NFTs that allow you to attend high-profile and exclusive events. As a renter, you can get access to privileges you wouldn’t normally have without shelling out millions of dollars.

Are NFTs Worth It?

Collins Dictionary called ‘NFT’ the word of the year for 2021. All in all, it’s a good time to invest in or create NFTs for passive and active income. The market is open for early adopters because, despite their virality, NFTs hold endless untapped potential. They are currently minted using Ethereum and gas fees are relatively low. These may go up once more people start investing. In a nutshell, considering the popularity of NFTs, it seems a wise choice to mint or invest in NFTs as soon as possible so you can set up a reliable stream of passive income right away!

The global interest in cryptocurrencies, the whooping profits, and the expected rewarding future have made crypto a trending topic everywhere. Today, investors are investing millions of dollars into the crypto market and the investment scale is just getting bigger and bigger.

However, there are investors too that are concerned with the future of crypto considering the China crackdown, unpredictable prices, regulations, and similar other factors. As a new investor, if you are confused about whether to invest in the crypto market or penny stocks, then follow up this blog to have a detailed comparison of both.

The comparison will try to assess which asset class can provide a better return on investment, keeping in mind the risk-to-reward ratio involved in both. Bitiq app is the perfect platform for anyone looking to trade bitcoins in a safe and secure environment. With its user-friendly interface and variety of features, Bitiq app makes it easy for traders of all experience levels to get started.

A Starter’s Guide to the Crypto-Market

Investing in the crypto market comes with its fair share of technicalities that must be understood before making an investment. Often while researching any cryptocurrency, the fundamentals that you will be looking at won’t probably be easily comprehensible at the start. Words like “second-layer solution”, “side-chain”, “Proof-of-stake”, and similar others will be the selling point for most coins, confusing the average retail investor. However, it is important to develop a solid understanding of the underlying technology, as it is easy to lose money on a cryptocurrency that might have a good marketing team that promotes how they will “revolutionize finance”, but the underlying fundamentals are weak.

Taking Note of Market Capitalization

For a new retail investor coming into the cryptocurrency market, it is also important to stay in projects that have a relatively high market cap. This is because while a newcomer might gain a high reward by investing in a low market cap coin at the start, he/she can also lose all of the principal investment on a low market cap project. This is why it’s better to earn a decent amount of profit on your principal investment on a high market-cap cryptocurrency and then use those profits to diversify into low cap coins. This approach might take some time to reward you, but it is also a safer way to make money in the cryptocurrency market. Using platforms like the Eralmonum App and other trading sites can give you an advantage when venturing into the crypto market.

Pros and Cons of Investing in the Crypto Market

Below, we have listed the pros and cons of the cryptocurrency market and how your investment can be affected positively and negatively as a result.

Pros of the Crypto Market

• High Reward: The primary factor that draws investors towards the crypto market are the high rewards involved. To compare, Bitcoin has remained the best performing asset of the last decade when compared with other asset classes, such as stocks, gold, silver, etc. Investors have enjoyed gains ten times more than the NASDAQ 100 over the long term.
• Security: Another core philosophy upon which the crypto market was built is security. If your funds are invested in crypto, it is very next to impossible for the technology to get hacked or for any government to seize your funds due to the encryption involved with blockchain technology.
• Utility: Many major cryptocurrencies hold a promise of utility that can create major value for the world once it’s fully achieved. Compared that with penny stocks, the likelihood of long-term value creation is higher in crypto. Thus utility is another major factor why investors can achieve lucrative profits in the crypto market.

Cons of the Crypto Market

• Volatility: For some, the volatility might present an opportunity. But for most who wish to invest in the cryptocurrency market, volatility has always remained a major issue. This is because it is not uncommon to make an investment in crypto and lose 50% of its value within a month, thus causing the investment to get stuck until it reaches breakeven again.
• Altcoins follow BTC: Almost all altcoins gain or lose their value according to Bitcoin. This makes it an issue for investors putting money in altcoins, as Bitcoin has a major influence on them. Thus, all investments in crypto have to be made while considering how Bitcoin might perform in the future.
• No Government Oversight: While zero government intervention was a core philosophy upon which the cryptocurrency market was established, it does have major drawbacks as well. Major rug pulls, pump and dumps, and other forms of market manipulation are very common in crypto. Due to the lack of government oversight, the investor has no one to turn to in case of becoming the victim of any such events.

A Starter’s Guide to Penny Stocks

Commonly in the larger stock market, any stock that has a price less than $1 is typically referred to as a “penny stock”. While some even consider $3 or $4 stocks to be penny stocks. A good way to categorize any share as a penny stock is by classifying any company with a market cap of less than $250 million.

For a new investor looking towards penny stocks, it is important to know that this is a market of its own where investors with a very specific mindset come to trade. The market is typically known to be volatile, as many companies fail that are listed in the “pink sheets”. This is why any investor looking to invest here needs to perform thorough due diligence into the company’s financials.

Pros and Cons of Investing in Penny Stocks

More can be understood by considering the pros and cons attached to penny stocks as listed below.

Pros of Penny Stocks

• High Reward: The primary reason anyone invests in penny stocks is due to the high rewards involved. Typically, getting a 50-100% return on investment in a very short period of time is possible with penny stocks. It is very common for share prices to move to $2 from $1.
• Low Capital Required: As the share price is small, the investor requires less capital to pick up more stocks of the company. Since with less capital, investors can get a high return on investment, penny stocks have historically attracted a lot of retail investors.

Cons of Penny Stocks

• Risk of Default: Since the companies listed as penny stocks are usually very small, it is fairly common for many to default and shut down completely. In such a case, investors have to bear the significant financial loss.
• Low Volume/Lack of liquidity: Because most individual penny stocks do not have a lot of buyers and sellers, the investor can possibly get trapped with shares that no one else wants to purchase in the future.
• Market Manipulation/Frauds: Many market movers are aware of major retail activity happening in the penny stock market. This is why investors can become victims of fraud or market manipulation, as the share price can be more easily manipulated to low volume/small market cap.

Final Verdict: Crypto or Penny Stocks?

Both the crypto market and penny stocks promise a common outcome: high rewards for the right investments. However, both come with their own forms of risks/worst-case scenarios. According to our opinion, cryptos hold a fundamental advantage over penny stocks, i.e., cryptocurrencies are still building towards a final product that has not been widely adopted. In comparison, most businesses that are penny stocks are unlikely to rate highly in the value-creation department.

Investors who invest in the crypto market have a higher likelihood of getting high rewards if the project adds major value to the world. This is why large institutions are more likely to invest in cryptocurrencies in the future than penny stocks. Thus, given the risk profile for both options, the crypto market holds a more promising long-term future for investors, despite the volatile price action.

Last week, the fourth-largest cryptocurrency hack ever took $323 million from Wormhole, a blockchain bridge. (A blockchain bridge does exactly what it says: it allows users to transfer cryptocurrency from one blockchain to another.) While Wormhole owner Jump Crypto compensated the victims of the breach within hours, many doubts persisted.

Although the event resulted in exploitation and financial losses for the firm that distributed the software, investor monies have been returned. Why was the hack feasible? Who was the perpetrator? And how did Jump Crypto come up with $323 million in cash to make things right? Let’s get started.

What’s Wormhole?

Wormhole is a decentralized finance (DeFi) platform that allows users to exchange Solana for other cryptocurrencies directly on decentralized apps (dApps) running on the Ethereum blockchain. Solana and other leading decentralized finance (DeFi) networks use Wormhole as a communication bridge. Existing projects, platforms, and communities may use Solana’s fast speed and cheap cost to transport tokenized assets smoothly between blockchains.

Jump Crypto

Many users were perplexed as to how Jump was able to come up with that much cash so quickly. Jump Crypto is a branch of a decades-old trading business that has just made a huge push into cryptocurrency, employing roughly 140 employees in the process. It’s unclear how it generates all of its money, but completing crypto transactions made by Robinhood members appears to be a big contributor, a right it paid Robinhood $247 million for in the first nine months of last year.

What Happened

A software error allowed an anonymous hacker to mint 120,000 wrapped ETH on the Solana network without posting the requisite collateral on Ethereum, resulting in a $323 million loss. Wormhole halted all token transfers on its bridges shortly after discovering the breach to begin repairing the vulnerability, which took roughly 16 hours. Jump has restored the stolen ETH by Thursday AM, assuring that no user money had been harmed.

The attacker falsified a transaction’s signature in Wormhole, then presented the invalid transaction as a legal one to the Solana network, allowing for the fraudulent minting of a significant amount of ETH tokens on the Solana network. They subsequently moved many of the tokens to an Ethereum-based digital wallet.

Could This Happen Again?

The hack brought to light the vulnerability of crypto bridges. It’s challenging enough to create safe and secure smart contracts on a single blockchain. As demonstrated by the exploit, Wormhole, which interacts with six chains (Avalanche, Oasis, Binance Smart Chain, Ethereum, Polygon, and Terra), faces an exponentially more difficult challenge. Because of the complexity of writing for several chains, security experts like Dan Guido, CEO of the security firm Trail of Bits, deem blockchain bridges “among the most challenging programs to develop.”

Wormhole, a cross-chain bridge, with a market cap of more than $20 billion, and Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has highlighted the security flaws with such applications. Wormhole was, in fact, the second bridge to be exploited in less than two weeks. DeFi is still fairly new to us, and although it has a lot of advantages outside of traditional banking, it also has a lot of drawbacks. Check that a protocol’s smart contracts have been audited and that you’re following best practices to keep your crypto safe before utilizing it.

The fundamental difference between the Proof of Stake (PoW) model and the Proof of Work (PoW) model can only be understood by reviewing the history of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology. If we go towards the origins of the first blockchain-based digital currency, i.e., Bitcoin, the cryptocurrency was created as a reaction to the distrust in the global financial system caused by the big banks (who people felt had a role to play in causing an economic collapse). Because of such distrust, people felt unsafe handing their money to centralized financial institutions.

The original creators of Bitcoin designed the Proof of Work (PoW) blockchain model that created a secure method to store your funds, fundamentally making it impossible for any outside authority (such as any government) to gain access to it. But while the PoW model promised security, the heavy electricity consumption required as a trade-off when mining became the primary argument against the currency’s adoption. For the market to grow, an alternative was required as well. The “Proof of Stake (PoS)” model emerged, designed to operate in such a way that mining would not be required.

This is not a problem for trading platforms like Immediate Alpha that can handle both PoS and PoW models, but the issue of power consumption is worth considering when you are looking at holding your coins for a long period.

Today, both Proof of Work (PoW) and Proof of Stake (PoS) models are being used by different projects. Both models have their own trade-offs, which must be looked at if we are to assess which one has better utility with less downside.

The Proof of Work (PoW) Model

When the concept of ‘decentralized systems’ was first proposed, there needed to be a way for the network to run without the need for a central authority operating everything. The Proof of Work (PoW) proposed a consensus-based method by which volunteers from all over the world would share processing power to a common blockchain network.  The model incentivized volunteers who would “mine” in order to update and run the blockchain. The “miners” would be rewarded in cryptocurrency (such as Bitcoin) that could then be cashed as regular real-world money.

The most famous cryptocurrencies using the PoW model include Bitcoin and Litecoin. Because the entire cryptocurrency market follows Bitcoin, it can be argued that even today the PoW model dominates the crypto ecosystem.

Security

The Proof of Work (PoW) model was first used by Bitcoin and provided an extremely secure method of storing your funds. The encryption that PoW provided is extremely secure and has never been compromised. Even today, Satoshi Nakomoto’s wallet holds tens of billions of unclaimed dollars, that no hacker has been able to access due to the secure nature of the network. The security exists due to miners all over the world solving complex puzzles that in turn support the functioning of a cryptographic system, which becomes more complex to solve as more miners join the system.

Mining, Processing Power, & the Electricity Consumption Trade-Off

While the Proof of Work (PoW) model is able to provide high security, the trade-off is the large processing power required. Powered typically by mining, the PoW model is a sort of race between miners to solve a puzzle, with the first one to solve it being rewarded. Because the model incentivizes miners to have high processing power at their disposal to solve the puzzle first, this in turn raises the overall electricity consumed by the network. The high-power consumption attached to the PoW model has been a critical point of concern when talking about scalability. Environmental concerns have also created a mainstream argument against miners, with certain countries such as China banning miners altogether. 

The Proof of Stake (PoS) Model

Like the PoW model, the Proof of Stake (PoS) model is built on a consensus-based algorithm, where the core philosophy of keeping any central authority out of the blockchain network remains the same, as volunteers participate to keep the blockchain running. But unlike PoW where miners pool their computational power to keep the blockchain running, PoS requires participants to pool their funds through staking.

For any transaction taking place on the blockchain to be validated, the validator is chosen based on the number of funds staked. The more money you have staked on the blockchain network, the higher the chances of you being selected as the validator.

Lower Power Consumption

Because actual hardware that is required to solve complex puzzles is not there, the Proof of Stake (PoS) model inherently requires relatively less power consumption in order to keep the network running. The network validates transactions and functions based on the amount staked by participants, thus removing the primary issue of environmental hazards that mining created.

Easier to Scale

When we talk about scalability, the issue that arises with PoW is that better hardware that has higher computational power is required as time passes on because the complexity of the “puzzles” that need to be solved increases. Not only does this increase the overall processing power required by the system over time, but it also makes it harder to scale the system.

Today, new cryptocurrency projects choose to build over a Proof of Stake (PoS) model because it is easier to scale. Many within the cryptocurrency community see PoW as outdated, as it was adopted to be used in currencies like Bitcoin and Litecoin when there was no alternative at the time. Since the rise of PoS, many have preferred it as a better option. Ethereum’s famous transition from PoW to PoS is a primary example of projects adopting the newer model in order to scale better.

The Concerns of 51% Rule in PoW & the Safety in PoS

The 51% rule is a scenario known within the crypto-community especially for Proof of Work (PoW) based networks, where miners take control of the majority mining pool and use it to hijack the blockchain network. Since the network runs on a consensus mechanism, any individual/group controlling 51% of the total consensus involved will obviously be in control, possibly creating fake blocks for themselves and invalidating other transactions.

Because of the nature of PoW, it is more likely that miners try to attempt such a scenario when mining rewards become too small. However, with Proof of Stake (PoS), the potential hijackers would need 51% of the total currency supply in order to take control, which is a very unlikely scenario to happen.

Final Verdict: Proof of Stake (PoS) or Proof of Work (PoW)

Despite the improvements that Proof of Stake (PoS) promises, it is unlikely that cryptocurrencies running on Proof of Work (PoW) will go away anytime soon. This is because Bitcoin (running on PoW) is unlikely to go away, which means miners are here to stay for long. However, many cryptocurrencies attempting to do more than Bitcoin, such as Ethereum, will probably move forward with PoS because it can maximize the utility that can be added by the project.

It is hard to argue against Proof of Stake (PoS) being a more efficient alternative, as it solves major problems such as scalability issues, power consumption, and the issue of high processing power required. This is why PoS is fundamentally more efficient than its predecessor, and will probably be adopted by more and more projects unless something better comes along. But at the same time, the high security that PoW provides will be a major reason why some tried and tested cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin, will also remain dominant. 

Over the last few years, cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology have become not only talking points but also have seen multiple use cases across every industry. The adoption of crypto technologies is rising in the movie industry as well. Numerous companies in this space started accepting cryptocurrencies for payments, while others tried to take advantage of blockchain technology. For example, some animation studios tried to find how to invest in Golem tokens since they allow them to get extra processing power for rendering computer-generated imagery (CGI). 

According to a recent report from Industry Research, blockchain can help the movie and entertainment industry reinvent business functions and facilitate transactions. One of the blockchain-based technologies that can make it is NFT. NFTs use blockchain technology to verify ownership of unique digital assets and create secure transactions to authenticate digital art.

The craze around NFTs has swept across content industries in 2021, and Hollywood hasn’t been left out. In the first half of 2020, the total NFT sales added up to about $250 million. But the NFT sales for the same period in 2021 grew almost tenfold, reaching $2.47 billion. In October 2021 alone, NFT market sales surged to $4.2 billion.

Much of that trading activity is related to speculators who buy assets to find another buyer and earn profits. However, most media companies insist they started using NFTs not to make a quick buck. Let’s find out how Hollywood already tried to use NFTs.

Big Names Join the NFT Craze

In March 2021, Legendary Entertainment partnered with Boss Logic and Terra Virtua Ltd to launch two NFT collections related to the “Godzilla vs. Kong” movie. It was one of the first big moves from Hollywood in NFT that was gaining hype at that point. The company offered fans to buy exclusive collectibles of the two monsters fighting. It helped Legendary Entertainment to get both a new revenue stream and a new way to promote the movie.

Warner Bros. used the same approach by launching the sale of 100,000 NFTs of “Matrix”-inspired avatars in November 2021. The price for each NFT was $50, giving the company potential $5 million in revenue. But as for Legendary Entertainment, this event was more about promoting the “The Matrix Resurrections” movie released in December 2021.

Disney has released a series of “Golden Moments’ NFTs, featuring iconic characters and items to promote Disney Plus and drive up streaming subscribers. In selected markets, owners of “Golden Moments” NFTs were also able to receive a three- or a 12-month subscription for Disney Plus.

Hollywood sells not only images as NFTs but video content as well. Lionsgate released a “Saw”-inspired video collectibles before Halloween, and the limited-edition of NFTs quickly sold out. Lionsgate has seen $500,000 in sales for six NFT pieces. Then the company pointed out that NFT is just a way to extend entertainment franchises.

Some companies are counting on NFTs to be something more than a one-time promo opportunity and see them as a sizable option to generate revenue. For example, Fox Entertainment formed Blockchain Creative Labs with Bento Box. Blockchain Creative Labs is a content studio with $100 million in funding to launch the NFT initiative for Fox and third parties. Marvel joined Fox in similar ventures, creating NFTs from popular comics characters and other parts of the universe.

Despite the slight hype fading around NFT by the end of 2021, media companies continue joining the space. In the spring of 2022, ViacomCBS is planning to introduce its own NFT platform in partnership with startup Recur. The platform is expected to feature characters and content from Nickelodeon, MTV, Paramount Pictures, and Showtime brands as NFTs. 

Movie as NFT

NFTs are also seen as a way to fund independent filmmaking. A startup NFT Studios is aiming to produce a first-ever movie that will be fully funded by NFTs, selling 10,000 NFTs to the public and institutional investors. The startup hopes to raise $8-10 billion from this initiative and promise that those who buy NFTs will get a share of any profits and meet the stars of the production. According to NFT Studios co-founder Niels Juul, such a way should “democratize the process” of filmmaking and circumvent a Hollywood system under which smaller productions take up to eight years to reach movie or TV screens. Niels Juul also expects to begin shooting by April 2022.

The Indie project “Zero Contact”, starring Anthony Hopkins, claims to experience a significant payoff from NFTs. The production company Enderby Entertainment that financed the movie decided to distribute the film via its own NFT platform Vuele. In September 2021, Vuele released 11 limited NFT copies of “Zero contact”, seeing $100,000 in sales. Rick Dugdale, CEO of Enderby Entertainment and co-founder of Vuele said that these 11 buyers were cinephiles and crypto enthusiasts who “wanted to own a piece of history”. Vuele plans to release another set of NFTs and “that’s it”, forming some kind of artificial scarcity for the movie.

For Hollywood and media companies, NFTs could become a new way to promote and monetize intellectual property, increasing the engagement of fans. But most of Hollywood’s NFT initiatives are currently experimental toes in the water to find the appropriate use of technology. The true power of NFTs in Hollywood has yet to be realized. Potentially, NFT may help Hollywood resolve such issues as content piracy and funding independent projects but NFTs have to resolve a lot of their own issues to accomplish that.

Blockchain is not going away. In fact, more and more businesses are investing in it. This encrypted, distributed database model proved its potential when it comes to security and online trust. As a result, 2022 will see a continuation of businesses heavily investing in developing new things. This brings us to the following trends highlighted by Crypto specialists in regards to what next year holds for us.

Greenifying The Blockchain

The big problem blockchains face right now is that they generate carbon emissions at very high levels and tend to use too much energy for some people. This is why Tesla stopped accepting BTC payments at the beginning of 2021. In 2022, it is certain greenifying the blockchain will be a priority.

Several options are being investigated right now. The most popular one will be used by Ethereum, which wants to move to proof-of-stake (POS) instead of proof-of-work as soon as possible. The other interesting option we already know about is using renewable energy.

NFT Expansion

NFTs (non-fungible tokens) were very popular in 2021. It was primarily used in art but it also saw a degree of popularity in music. Artists like Shawn Mendes released some tracks by using the NFT format.

2022 is when we will surely see NFTs making their way into several other industries. Gaming is the first one that comes to mind but it should be noted that even fashion brands like Nike and Dolce & Gabbana created items with NFTs associated.

New Countries To Adopt National Cryptocurrencies And Bitcoin

2021 was a big year for Bitcoin as we saw the first country to officially list it as legal tender in El Salvador. This means BTC can actually be used to make payments for services and goods. It is even used to pay salaries. With this precedent created, 2022 will surely see other countries doing the same thing.

We should also highlight national cryptocurrencies. Growth in this part of the industry is expected in several countries like Ecuador, Tunisia, Singapore, and China, which already created what is needed for the launch. Countries like Estonia, Sweden, and Japan will join the trend as soon as possible.

IoT Integration

Blockchain technology is perfect for IoT since it creates records of transactions and interactions. This might help solve several scalability and security problems linked to encrypted, automated, and immutable transactions. Even micropayments might be done with the use of cryptocurrencies in an automated manner pretty soon.

The current adoption of 5G technology allows for much higher connectivity between appliances and smart equipment. Speed is faster and blockchain transactions can join the fray for extra security and scalability.

The Use Of Blockchain Technology For Vaccine Tracking And Manufacture

The pandemic that started in 2020 will not go away in 2022 and it does look like blockchain technology will step in to give a helping hand. Counterfeiters are already being reported so blockchain could be used to guarantee vaccine shipment authenticity. Also, blockchain has the capability of helping guarantee supply chain integrity.

IBM already created a very interesting system that gives access to coordination between varied and different healthcare authorities and agencies involved in the distribution of vaccines. Blockchain unifies vaccination efficacy and rates statistics, giving access to an extra tool that can be used to make sure people that actually need the vaccine can get it as fast as possible.