Wilshire Phoenix’s Potential Challenger to Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC)

On Friday (June 12), Wilshire Phoenix Funds, LLC filed a registration statement (Form S-1) with the U.S.

 Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for its proposed "Bitcoin Commodity Trust" (BCT). Will Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) finally have some competition?Wilshire Phoenix, which was founded in 2018, is "a New York based investment management firm dedicated to helping its clients manage assets throughout the investment lifecycle."  On February 26, the Securities and Exchange Commission "issued an order disapproving a proposed amendment to NYSE Arca Rule 8.201-E to list and trade shares of the United States Bitcoin and Treasury Investment Trust", i.e. i.e. rejected Wilshire Phoenix's proposed Bitcoin-related exchange-traded product (ETP).

In response, Wilshire Phoenix issued a press release, which stated:

"We at Wilshire Phoenix are very disappointed by the Commission’s decision. "We made every effort to get the SEC’s attention on this important issue, including undertaking extensive analysis that was made available to the SEC staff, submitting key data, and offering to provide additional information to facilitate the listing of a much needed regulated bitcoin related ETP in the United States. "Unfortunately, the Order shows that all of these efforts did not receive the SEC’s full attention."

William Herrmann, Founder and Managing Partner at Wilshire Phoenix, said at the time:

"Commissioner Peirce’s dissent eloquently captures the investing public’s frustration; I could not agree with her more. "The SEC has created a test for bitcoin related ETPs that is clearly inconsistent with the Exchange Act. "Many retail investors are already investing in this commodity and investor demand continues to grow each day. "Our ETP was created to provide investors with exposure to bitcoin through a regulated and transparent vehicle that also mitigates volatility. "In my opinion, the Commission has done a great disservice to the public by rejecting this application. "We are carefully reviewing the Order and determining the best next steps." Well, now, Wilshire Phoenix is back with a proposal for a new product that it hopes will be easier to get approved by the SEC.

Wilshire Phoenix's prospectus has this to say about Bitcoin Commodity Trust ("the Trust"):

"The Trust will have no assets other than bitcoin, a digital asset based on the cryptographic protocols used by the decentralized, peer-to-peer bitcoin computer network. "The Trust will also hold U.S. dollars for short periods of time in connection with the purchase and sale of bitcoin, the payment of redemptions, if any, and fees and expenses of the Trust… "The investment objective of the Trust is for the Shares to reflect the value of bitcoin held by the Trust, as determined by reference to the CME CF BRR, less the Trust's expenses and other liabilities.

"The Shares will provide investors with exposure to bitcoin in a manner that is accessible and cost-efficient without the uncertain and often complex requirements relating to acquiring or holding bitcoin. "The Trust will use the CME CF BRR calculated by the Chicago Mercantile Exchange ('CME') as reference rate to calculate its NAV. "The CME CF BR is the rate on which bitcoin futures contracts are cash-settled in dollars at the CME and serves as a reference rate in the settlement of financial derivatives based on the price of bitcoin. "The CME CF BRR, which has been calculated and published since November 2016, aggregates the trade flow of several bitcoin spot exchanges during a calculation window into the U.S. Dollar price of one bitcoin as of 4:00 p.m. London time."

On June 13, Wilshire Phoenix's Managing Partner told Cointelegraph during an email interview:

"The digital asset market has obviously experienced exponential growth, but the products currently in the space have not evolved with such growth. We think investors deserve more."

Hermann went on to say:

"We look forward to working with both SEC and FINRA staff in connection with the issuance of the shares and having the shares quoted on the OTCQX."

Article Produced By
Siamak Masnavi

Siamak received his PhD in Computer Science from University of London in 1992. He has worked as a research scientist, technical author, software developer, and journalist. Since 2014, he has been researching cryptocurrencies and other applications of blockchain technology.

https://www.cryptoglobe.com/latest/2020/06/wilshire-phoenixs-potential-challenger-to-grayscale-bitcoin-trust-gbtc/

 

Nexo Finance CEO Talks Crypto Lending On Recent Podcast Interview

During a recent interview by the Cryptotesters podcast , the Nexo CEO, Antoni Trenchev

provided a lot of insight on the Nexo crypto lending platform. Antoni talked about product offering, digitized gold, potential tax benefits, and more.  With being a regulated entity, the company continues to position itself as a leading decentralized finance ( DeFi ) organization. 

Background Information on Nexo

The Nexo platform provides loans to individuals that are backed by crypto. Their model is quite simple; you give them some of your Bitcoin or Ether and in return, you receive an instant loan. The loan is paid out in Euros, dollars, or any other supported currency. Thus far, the platform has processed over $1.5 billion in loans. The Nexo lending model is radically different from the one used commercial lending institutions. It could represent the future of lending. Antoni Trenchev also discussed several issues in the industry including fierce competition in the sector, what sets Nexo apart, the future of decentralized finance, and much more.

Expanded Product Offering

The basic concept of the Nexo platform is that you undergo a quick KYC process. After that, you deposit your BTC, and then you receive an instant line of credit. To ensure your BTC is secure, they use a third party custody service such as BitGo. The company is also expanding into the gold sector with tokenized gold.

For tokenized gold, the platform is working with PAX Gold, a platform that has tokenized gold. With the tokens, you have the physical ownership of the gold that is stored in a vault in London. The main benefit is that you have the security offered by gold and the transferability offered by tokens. Once you send the tokenized gold to Nexo, they instantly process a loan for you, and the funds are sent to your local bank. Earlier this year, Visionary Financial outlined how Nexo Finance was “filling the gap” with gold backed lending. At the time, Nexo had purchased more than $5 million in “PAX Gold” , which is a token offered on the Paxos network. This gave Nexo the ability to service the increasing demand it was seeing within its user base for tokenized gold.

A Great Way to Hold Onto Your Gold

The Nexo CEO explained that during the recent halving event, they saw an influx of borrowers. Many of them wanted to liquidate some of the BTC holdings without having to lose their BTC. As a result, they took loans against their BTC, which they can always recover later.

The Tax Benefits

Antoni Trenchev delved into the tax benefits of borrowing against your crypto assets instead of selling them. He explained that if you are a US citizen, the tax obligations of selling the BTC for a profit are 40-44%. However, when you borrow against your BTC, you can write off the repayments as part of your tax obligations. In general, borrowing against BTC instead of selling the assets outright is more tax efficient. With itemized deductions being eliminated from previous tax plans, many individuals continue to search for ways to mitigate their overall tax obligations. This is one method that may be possible for digital asset investors. It’s always important to speak with a tax professional to assess the overall situation.

Earning Interest on Your Cash

Besides offering loans, Nexo also allows you to earn interest. The platform allows users to earn interest on USD, EUR, GBP, and many stablecoins. These high yield interest accounts give users the ability to earn 8% interest on their own “cash.” In a recent report by Visionary Financial, it was outlined that the Ethereum network is being fueled by stablecoin growth. More investors across the globe are interested in stablecoins based on the economic uncertainties and the low interest rate environment. As economies push closer to negative interest rate environments, this pushes investors out of traditional cash. With stablecoins nowhere near negative rates, it creates pent up demand as a mechanism to store liquid assets.

The Nexo platform is creating a sustainable model of finance and opening up opportunities to the far-flung parts of the world. As a result, people in remote areas with limited access to financial services can access these services with the click of a button. They currently offer loans in 45 currencies, which is part of their goal to be as inclusive as possible.

Article Produced By
Visionary Financial

We are an independent media organization focusing on Cryptocurrency and Blockchain. Aside from bringing you the latest news from around the globe, we also focus on industry analysis. We bring our readers diverse content to appeal to all digital asset enthusiasts.

https://nulltx.com/nexo-finance-ceo-talks-crypto-lending-on-recent-podcast-interview/

 

Own A Piece Of Markethive — Lifetime Income Opportunity.

MarketHive is a social marketing platform for entrepreneurs that has the combined power of Facebook,

LinkedIn, Marketo and Amazon.

100% Free to everyone

Markethive, the first Social/Market Network built on the Blockchain, introduces The Entrepreneur Program

The Entrepreneur program is designed to leverage your system. Your free Markethive system is a market network, like a social network, but with powerful inbound marketing tools integrated into the system.

This premier hybrid social network includes news feeds, blogging platforms, video channels, chat channels, groups, image sharing, link hubs, resume, profile page and peer to peer commerce.

But more than a social network, we have also delivered to you “Inbound Marketing tools” like broadcasting, capture pages, lead funnels, autoresponders, self-replicating group tools, traffic analytics, and more.

Plus, we are built on the Blockchain which allows Airdrops of 100 Markethive Coin (MHV) , upon joining and micropayments for using the tools mentioned above. This is all free to you.

 

Free here : Click here to join for free

 

TRANSFORMATIONAL CHANGE IN A 
DIGITAL UNIVERSE

GOING BEYOND DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION. The future is in technology, but the bigger future is in transcending it.

Right now we are experiencing exponential change with the term Digital Transformation re-emerging to what was a fuzzy and undefined topic where many talked about it but didn’t really understand its true meaning or purpose, to a newer more holistic model that is imperative for sustainability and going forward with purpose in this digital world. 

The word Digital in this context can be considered as a synonym for the pace of change occurring in today’s world driven by the rapid adoption of technology. Existing companies are put under tremendous pressure making many of them irrelevant as they are not keeping up with the changes. Because of rapid technology adoption, companies need to change how it operates to be able to create and sustain a competitive advantage of how users engage within the system.

There are two different types of organizations — Those that are just doing digital, and a new kind being digital innovators. These digital innovators are way out in front as they are disrupting every sector of the marketplace that is enabled by this new technology adoption.  The mistake many companies are making is they are just digitizing existing services or simply adding the technology and calling it digital transformation, but that’s not what digital transformation is now. 

Free here :  Click here

So What Is Digital Transformation? 

Digital transformation was previously understood to be when a company went paperless, or when a brick and mortar company gets a website or starts a Twitter account, but it’s much more than that now. 

Digital transformation is a journey of strategic, planned organizational change that starts by empowering individuals and teams with new methods to create highly responsive strategies that are predominantly data-driven and a courageous culture of innovation. 

It is the right leadership that creates a high performing, innovative organization that is delivered by marketers and technologists primarily. It is transforming innovation, teams, and culture enabled by technology allowing collaboration, new levels of efficiency, and adding more value to users’ interactions and engagement. 

Free here :  Click here

Image credit Brian Solis

“Business As Usual” Is No More

Once upon a time, “business as usual” was often good enough, but now with technology advancing exponentially, “business as usual” is dead. In a world where everything is connected, considered to be equally excellent and performance is reaching perfection, the biggest innovation is yet to be realized. We as human beings are the central point fuelled by digitization, mobilization, augmentation, disintermediation, automation, and more. 

The way we work will never be the same and the skills we need will be dramatically different. So how do we discover new opportunities in one of the most transformational times in human history?  Are you driving change or are you being driven by it? 

Disruption is ever-present in this new normal. Change has stopped happening gradually and it now happening exponentially as everything that was dumb and disconnected is now wired and intelligent. The next 20 years will change faster than the last 300 years.  

Increasingly, science fiction is becoming science fact. Exponential technologies are rapidly changing our lives and societies, every day and everywhere. Everything from smartphones to home appliances, cars, cities, and ports, even our bodies will be wired. 

One such example is that Elon Musk believes he can merge our minds with machines. His new venture called Neuralink is a thin mesh device that is inserted into the skull that is then connected to the internet so we can upload our brains and become superhuman. Really! He’s done some great things but I’m not sure this is a good thing for humanity. 

Musk suggests it’s a way of gearing up, but we don’t have to compete with technology in becoming technology. We can embrace it and as Gerd Leonhard, a futurist speaker says, “technology is not what we seek, but how we seek it.” 

Adapted by Gerd Leonhard

Two Primary Keys Go Hand In Hand

So this has created a new paradigm. The biggest innovation needed to be realized is that we need to go from dehumanization to re-humanization and have a different purpose. Not just profit, growth, jobs, and GDP, but people, planet, purpose, and prosperity. Technology is the key to this and the other key is ethics. 

Technology can do great things but someone has to decide what those great things are. Technology drives our future, but ethics defines it. I think it’s safe to say algorithms know the logic of everything but the feelings of nothing. It can’t comprehend emotional intelligence, so we need to invest as much in humanity as we do in technology.

Quantum computing fuels big data and the internet of things (IoT) fuels artificial intelligence and deep learning which in turn fuels robotics, however anything that cannot be digitized or automated will become extremely valuable. Human-only traits such as creativity, imagination, intuition, emotion, and ethics will become more important in the future because machines are very good at simulating, but not good at “being”.

Robots and software will take over some of our work, but this allows us to focus on things that cannot be automated. Technology is defined by automation, even knowledge is automated… just need to Google it. But what cannot be automated is understanding that knowledge. That requires human perception.  If we go beyond technology and data to reach human insights and wisdom, only then, will we have a perfect balance. 

How And Why = Holistic

Technology represents the “How” of change and humans represent the “Why”. The future is about holistic business models and the opportunity is to be liquid, learn, and be one step ahead of the inevitable. This will take complete transformations, not just single improvements, with a focus on new ecosystems, not individual systems.

The future is in our hands today, it’s not tomorrow. The future is not a time frame, it’s a mindset. There has been a boom in technology over the last 4 years and it seems in the last few months technology has come out on top, given the COVID-19 situation with the surveillance tools now being implemented. This crisis is a test of our humanity. The more we connect with technology the more we must protect what makes us human. 

Humanity is where true and lasting value is created as we engage, relate, and buy things because of the experiences they provide. The new way to work is to embrace technology, but not to become it. The future is in technology, but the bigger future is in transcending it.       

As I said before, technology drives our future, but ethics defines it. This is what went wrong with Facebook as it has been ethically irresponsible and said to be destroying the very fabric of human relationships by inciting anger amongst the users due to the threat of democracy and its censorious nature. The real damage being done is to people’s mental health, to a cohesive and functional society, and to free speech itself.  

Also, it has been documented that “data is the new oil”, but given the lack of ethics with data harvesting, it can also be addressed as “data is the new plutonium”. It can be used as a weapon. 

“Ethics is knowing the difference between what you have a right (or the power) to do and what is the right thing to do.” – Potter Stewart. 

Free here :  Click here

 

The Heart Of Digital Transformation

We need different skills, and we need to be comfortable and effective with driving change, or we will be driven by it. One company that is driving transformational change in the social media, marketing network sector is Markethive.  Here we get to enjoy our autonomy and free speech along with a sustainable balance between technology and humanity. 

Digital transformation is a process, not a destination. It’s not a workaround adding technology on top to an existing company, it’s a total re-work. It’s where systems and infrastructures are designed to be digital and can scale seamlessly and thrive in that domain. Markethive has been built and rebuilt from the ground up, starting off with blockchain technology and cryptocurrency.

The very fabric of Markethive is it’s collaborative and entrepreneurial nature of the community. Markethive’s culture is not fixed, but a decentralized, autonomous, fluid environment that is founded, built, operated, and used by entrepreneurs. It is self-governing, independent, and sovereign by design with a culture of innovation. It is the personification of Digital Transformation. 

Integrated with state-of-the-art blockchain, cryptocurrency, inbound marketing, and decentralized database technologies, Markethive has constructed a social market network that provides a “Universal Income” created exclusively with entrepreneurs in mind and will benefit greatly from its ultimate success. 

Free here :  Click here

What to date has become the “norm” of social platforms having full access to your private and other data to use for their benefit is over. Your voice is yours, and yours alone, and you should benefit from it as well as your work and success you achieve through the Markethive platform. 

There are so many facets to Markethive. This is a mammoth undertaking and a continuous one. For as long as technology evolves so will Markethive along with the humanity within it. Check out the Markethive Blog Section which segments the many components of this complete Entrepreneurial ecosystem to understand what we have here.

 From the Visionary, Founder and CEO and of Markethive, Thomas Prendergast,

“Look beyond the looking glass. Markethive is not just this Newsfeed. But this Newsfeed is unique and the portal to the unlimited power of Markethive.”

 

Conclusion

Markethive’s continuous objective and mission are to provide a social environment, complete with an arsenal of technology, that champions the rise of the entrepreneur. We should embrace technology but not become it or be overcome by it. Anything that can be digitized or automated, will be, and anything that cannot be digitized or automated will become extremely valuable. Markethive with its collaborative community goes beyond technology and defines the real human values in this new digital ecosystem. Digital ethics is Markethive’s key differentiator. 

Join us at our weekly webinars on Sundays at 10 am (Mountain Time) to stay informed of Markethive’s evolvements as they happen. Witness the true collaboration and heart of Markethive and its members. The link to join the meetings can be found in the Markethive calendar.  See You there! 

 

Resources: Ionology, Gerd Leonhard

 

Free here :  Click here

 

Deb Williams
A Crypto/Blockchain enthusiast and a strong advocate for technology, progress, and freedom of speech. I embrace "change" with a passion and my purpose in life is to help people understand, accept, and move forward with enthusiasm to achieve their goals. 

Markethive, the first Social/Market Network built on the Blockchain

Own A Piece Of Markethive — Lifetime Income Opportunity.

MarketHive is a social marketing platform for entrepreneurs that has the combined power of Facebook,

LinkedIn, Marketo and Amazon.

100% Free to everyone

Markethive, the first Social/Market Network built on the Blockchain, introduces The Entrepreneur Program

The Entrepreneur program is designed to leverage your system. Your free Markethive system is a market network, like a social network, but with powerful inbound marketing tools integrated into the system.

This premier hybrid social network includes news feeds, blogging platforms, video channels, chat channels, groups, image sharing, link hubs, resume, profile page and peer to peer commerce.

But more than a social network, we have also delivered to you “Inbound Marketing tools” like broadcasting, capture pages, lead funnels, autoresponders, self-replicating group tools, traffic analytics, and more.

Plus, we are built on the Blockchain which allows Airdrops of 100 Markethive Coin (MHV) , upon joining and micropayments for using the tools mentioned above. This is all free to you.

 

Free here : Click here to join for free

 

Andries van Tonder

Free Cryptocurrency: Complete Guide to Earning Free Crypto

This article will cover the main methods that can be leveraged in order to obtain free crypto coins & tokens

 

 

The last couple of years have marked an increase in the overall public awareness of cryptocurrencies worldwide.

In return, a larger number of people have expressed their interest in purchasing or earning digital currencies. While buying your favorite coin via an exchange is likely the easiest way to enter the cryptocurrency market, this industry is full of surprises — therefore a noticeable amount of coin can be earned for free. As such, this article will cover the main methods that can be leveraged in order to obtain free crypto. Do keep in mind that most of these methods require a bit of effort, since nothing is ever truly free. However, these methods do not entail having to work a fulltime job, nor do they imply any monetary investment from your part.

Free Crypto from Coinbase Earn

Coinbase is largely seen as one of the most popular digital currency exchanges, especially in the United States. While the platform facilitates the purchase and sale of crypto, it also offers its users the opportunity to earn several coins, including but not limited to Orchid, Tezos, Dai, EOS, Stellar, Zcash, Basic Attention Token and Ox.Free crypto at Coinbase Earn.

For example, at the moment you can earn the following cryptos for free:

• Orchid: users can earn up to $52 OXT by completing a free course meant to teach you the basics of this privacy-focused coin;
• Tezos: completing a course on Tezos and learning about its openness, safety or upgradability will earn you $6 XTZ;
• Dai: a similar course-based offer is available for Dai as well, thus granting course participants $20 DAI;
• EOS: you can earn up to $50 EOS by completing a course on this coin, and learning more about its goal of facilitating the development of blockchain-based apps;
• Stellar Lumens: the completion of a quick course on how Stellar connects payment systems, banks and individuals will earn you $50 XLM;
• Zcash: this coin is known for its privacy-focused philosophy — course completion will grant you an undisclosed amount of ZEC tokens;
• Basic Attention Token: $8-worth of BAT can be earned by reading on BAT’s vision of fixing the web;
• 0x: last but not least, educating yourself on OX’s token-based idea of the future web will award you several ZRX tokens.

Do keep in mind that there is a catch to these courses. You must be the holder of a Coinbase exchange account, where all tokens will be credited.

Earning Free Crypto via Airdrops

Airdrops are one of the simplest and most effective methods of earning extra cryptocurrency, especially in the form of newly-announced tokens. The idea behind airdrops is quite simple — innovative and newly-launched projects choose to hold airdrops as an effective marketing strategy, meant to pique the interest of the cryptocurrency community. Participating in an airdrop is bound to be quite simple. It entails owning an active Ethereum wallet that is ERC-20 compatible, an email address, Telegram account, and in some cases, a Twitter account. Once these criteria are met, you will have to look for Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs), Security Token Offerings (STOs), and token-based start-ups that have announced an upcoming airdrop.

Most of these platforms will require you to sign-up, by entering your ERC-20 address and email. For marketing purposes, some airdrops may require you to follow them on Twitter, or join the Telegram chat group. This ensures that you’re kept in the loop and quickly become aware of news concerning the token. Recently, KYC&AML regulations have made it mandatory for numerous airdrops to request identifying details. This is due to the money laundering potential associated with these events. Therefore, if you’re keen on protecting your online privacy, airdrops might not be the best choice for you. Recently, numerous wallet providers such as Blockchain.com have started sponsoring airdrops.In other words, you are announced whenever a partner start-up is holding an airdrop of their new tokens, and can earn the tokens directly in your wallet. Similarly, there are numerous websites which scour the web looking for new airdrop events. Following will help ensure that you will be one of the first people to know about upcoming airdrops.

Leveraging Bounties for Free Coin

Bounties are quite similar to airdrops, in the sense that they represent free coins given away by crypto project developers. There’s one key difference, however — bounties generally imply that you do some type of work in exchange for the coin. With this in mind, here are the main types of bounties, alongside a quick description for each:

Bug bounties

Bug bounty campaigns are generally well-paid, yet they are only relevant to people who hold development skills. Programmers throughout the world actively attempt to crack the code of online platforms, while also testing for potential bugs. As such, crypto and blockchain-based companies may hold bounty campaigns, where developers analyse platform functionality and report any bugs. Over the last couple of years, there have been numerous instances in which white-hat hackers discovered vulnerabilities or significant bugs in web platforms. In return for this service, and based on the severity of the vulnerability discovered, companies can offer tens of thousands of dollars as compensation.

Signature campaigns

This marketing strategy is often implemented on forums such as Bitcointalk. In exchange for a monthly bounty, forum users add a specific signature, thus indirectly promoting the products and services of a crypto company. Most businesses holding signature campaigns require forum users to have a higher membership level, which can be obtained through frequent high-quality posts. In return for buying the signature space, companies offer a monthly bounty in tokens.

Translations

Crypto start-ups are always interested in having their content translated into multiple languages. Since many start-ups run on a limited budget, a good method to go about this is to launch a translation bounty. Here, native users translate specific portions of text, in exchange for a number of tokens.

Social media, images, blog posts and video bounties

Last but not least, we also have other promotional bounties. Some companies may ask you to write and post a positive article on their services, whereas others may require you to edit videos, share posts on social media, or create promotional images. Based on these aspects, bounties do, in fact, represent a method of earning free tokens, yet they imply actual work. Luckily, the work is generally quite easy (apart from bug bounties), and can be completed rather quickly.

The Earning Potential of Affiliate Marketing and Referrals

At this point in time, most experts define affiliate marketing as the process associated with promoting products and services of various companies, in exchange for a commission on each sale. A recent research study concluded that US-based affiliate spending may reach $6.8 billion by the end of 2020. As such, affiliate marketing represents a significant revenue stream for numerous companies, especially those which operate in the online ecosystem. Therefore, it only makes sense that numerous crypto and blockchain-related businesses have launched their very own affiliate marketing campaigns. Getting involved is bound to be simple — in most instances, you need an account, and a personalized link, which can be shared across the web.

Any service or product that is purchased using your affiliate link or referral code will be credited with a percentage of the sale. Affiliate marketing can earn you free cryptocurrency as long as you are active online. This implies sharing the link as part of valuable content on a variety of platforms, such as crypto discussion forums, Reddit, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or your personal blog. The possibilities are endless. Your success depends directly on the size of your audience and your overall online reach. However, this means that actual work needs to be carried out in order to get this free crypto. On the other hand, once your links are live, affiliate marketing becomes a lucrative source of passive income, which can be leveraged for a prolonged period of time.

To put things into perspective, here are several crypto-related affiliate campaigns:

• Coinbase: if new users sign up using your personalized affiliate link, you are eligible to obtain 50% of the fees charged by the exchange platform for all transactions;
• TREZOR: this platform offers 10% of net sales carried out by users who have signed up using your referral;
• Ledger: this affiliate program promises to credit 12% — 15% of all sales;
• LocalBitcoins: you can expect to earn 20% of the trading fee associated with each transaction that is carried out by referred users;
• Binance: this exchange platform offers 20%-40% commissions on transaction fees.

Do keep in mind the fact that these conditions may be modified unilaterally by the website. Therefore, it is always recommended that you carry out your due diligence, and carefully research the affiliate marketing conditions associated with each of the examples given above. Additionally, note that this list isn’t exhaustive — in fact, there are hundreds of crypto-related affiliate opportunities on the market at this moment. It certainly isn’t unusual for affiliate marketing to become a main income stream, especially if done right. People have reported earning hundreds of thousands of dollars monthly using affiliate marketing strategies. Given the fact that we are referring to the digital currency market, your income potential is further increased by crypto price volatility. However, this entails that you treat it as a fulltime job until enough of your links are published on the web.

Other Free Crypto Offers

A quick search will likely unveil numerous other free cryptocurrency sources. Here are a few examples that we consider relevant:

Crypto.com

This crypto debit card company has launched a cash-back system that allows users to earn tokens on each purchase you make. Values vary between 1% and 5%, yet users can also expect several offers on third-party platforms such as Netflix, Spotify, Expedia or Airbnb;

Celsius Network

This lending platform allows users to deposit cryptocurrency, and earn an interest as other users borrow it. It advertises itself as a safe method of earning passive income by using your existing coins;

Wirex

Yet another digital currency card company, Wirex advertises a 0.5% bitcoin-based cashback scheme on all purchases made via the card.

Cryptocurrency gambling

Cryptocurrency gambling can also act as a method for earning free coins, yet extra care should be practiced if you decide to wager your coins. Do keep in mind that most casinos offer crypto faucets, which give out an amount of free coin every time they are clicked on (they are programmed against abuse, however, and serve as a method of encouraging users to keep on playing). If you do decide to try your luck at a casino, make sure that you choose a platform that relies on a provably-fair protocol. Otherwise, you may expose yourself to rigged games that are bound to steal your hard-earned crypto.

Keep an Eye Out for Scams

Over the last couple of years, the popularity of the cryptocurrency market has increased exponentially. The rise in public awareness was mostly fuelled by intense volatility, and record-breaking prices. With this in mind, the market is still seen as a way to get rich quickly. While there is significant money-making potential in crypto, this perception has led to the appearance of numerous scams, meant to fraud people out of their money. Whenever dealing in crypto, there are two aspects worth keeping in mind: if an offer sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Also, you should never risk more than you can afford to lose. Cybersecurity practices dictate that it’s best to always carry out in-depth research on any platform or service that you decide to use. Similarly, you should never give out your personal details or private keys to third parties. Protection against scams and other forms of fraudulent activity is basically non-existent, whereas transactions are irreversible, therefore due diligence is essential.

The Bottom Line

Based on everything that has been highlighted in this guide, most people are only a few clicks away from earning free cryptocurrency. There are hundreds, if not thousands of offers that you can take advantage of, while most imply an insignificant amount of work. On the other hand, those who are serious about creating a crypto-based income stream will be happy to know that affiliate marketing and bug bounty hunting are highly-lucrative passive income streams.

Article Produced By
Daniel Dob

Daniel Dob is a freelance writer, trader, and digital currency journalist, with over 7 years of writing experience. His main niches are cryptocurrencies, business, fintech, internet marketing, and finance. When he's not writing, you can find him reading, traveling, or taking one of his hobbies to the next level.

  https://blockonomi.com/free-cryptocurrency/

Hyperbitcoinization Comes into Focus During the Bitcoin Halving

Though the applications and adoption rate have a long way to go if Bitcoin is going to achieve its maximum potential,

the third-ever subsidy Halving was an opportunity for Bitcoiners to celebrate its more than 11 years of life. In addition to hosting technical demonstrations, discussions with leaders of Bitcoin’s premier Layer 2 protocol and high-level presentations, Bitcoin Magazine’s BitcoinHalving.com live stream was a chance to focus on one of the community’s favorite topics: hyperbitcoinization.

Fundamental Bullishness and the Bitcoin Halving

In one of its most lively and extensive sessions, the BitcoinHalving.com live stream was host to “Fundamental Bullishness,” featuring Robert Breedlove of Parallax Digital, Matt D’Souza and Sam Chwarzynski of Blockware Solutions, Plan B and Preston Pysh of the Investor’s Podcast Network. The group was assembled to discuss the specifics around why bitcoin is poised to become one of the most valuable assets in history. In addition to the Halving, which significantly reduces the subsidy that miners receive for contributing their fundamental efforts to the network, this was a particularly fruitful time to discuss bitcoin’s role in the world economy, as uncertainty abounds in the wake of the novel coronavirus.

“Going into the Halving, the supply side economics improve significantly,” D’Souza explained during the panel. “That’s a positive catalyst. And then just what’s developed over the past three or four months with central bankers, the Federal Reserve, how there’s discretionary, undisciplined spending or manipulation — really the ability to create your own artificial monetary policies. I think these radically impact the demand side.” Despite (or because of) the turmoil in traditional financial markets, the third-ever Bitcoin Halving was a time of celebration for the original cryptocurrency and its community. This excitement buzzed and crackled throughout the live stream and was a natural part of the conversation during the “Fundamental Bullishness” panel. “Bitcoin is the first incarnation, or the closest thing we have, to perfect economic information,” Breedlove said. “We know it’s supplied perfectly forever. You can’t say that for any physical commodity on earth. And again, another product of that is it’s absolute scarcity… As Mark Twain said, I think I’m paraphrasing, ‘To make something valuable, you just have to make it scarce.’ And Bitcin sort of perfects that once and all for money.”

How Do We Imagine the Bitcoin Moon, Post Halving?

Beyond seeing bitcoin adopted as the world’s preeminent asset, hyperbitcoinization will eventually involve fundamental changes to the ways we live, interact and tap into the vast potential of human ingenuity. To explore these lofty impacts, the BitcoinHalving.com live stream hosted “Define Your Moon,” a discussion among Bitcoin Magazine’s Brandon Green and David Bailey, author Gigi and hyperbitcoinization philosopher BitcoinTINA.

“If you’re wondering why I’ve assembled you guys here, it’s because I think we have three of the most bullish people on this call right now in Bitcoin,” Green, who was moderating the panel, said in his introduction. “What does Bitcoin’s ultimate success look like to you? What is Bitcoin’s ‘moon’? What are the societal and economic implications of that success?” The resulting conversation was wide ranging, exploratory and reflective. After establishing why they believed hyperbitcoinization appears inevitable, the panelists each touched on the wide ranging implications that new status quo will bear. It was about much more than the personal riches early bitcoin investors may reap. “Imagine when you bring two, three billion people into the global production of ideas, goods and services, what that is going to do to lift the wealth and the ability of humanity to harness existing resources and to do more with those resources than they were currently able to do,” BitcoinTINA said. “Bitcoin, because of what it is and because of its unique qualities, will encourage man to better use the resources that we have.”

Article Produced By
Peter Chawaga

Peter Chawaga is a senior editor at Bitcoin Magazine. He HODLs BTC.

https://bitcoinmagazine.com/articles/hyperbitcoinization-comes-into-focus-during-the-bitcoin-halving

 

Markethive — BIX exchange to buy banner impressions

Here's your chance to get in early and have your advertising stand out and get noticed by passionate and highly active users on the fast growing Markethive network of sites.

The platform is called BIX (Banner Impressions eXchange) and it is your shot at generating real revenue for your offers from banner placements that earn millions of impressions each month. BIX is a part of MarketHive, and as such you need to create a free MarketHive account to access it and purchase impressions.

You will be able to connect with entrepreneurs, techies, crypto nerds, artists, innovators, musicians, professionals, and more via your BIX Advertising Impressions.

Markethive provides a valuable inbound marketing platform, commerce portals, and a social network where users can learn, engage, expand markets, and be introduced to trusted providers.

Imagine having your website shown to thousands of potential customers daily via large, visually powerful 960 x 80 banner ads displayed across the top of all network pages.

The price you pay is based on the marketplace, demand, availability of impressions, and how effective the advertising is.

Grab first-mover advantage by being one of the first to advertise your product or service across the Markethive network of sites now, by clicking the link to create your free MarketHive account and that gives you access to BIX and to purchase impressions.

Signup here: Click here to join for free

You'll be very glad you moved early on this.

Yours for success,

Andries van Tonder

P.S. Act now while BIX is still new, so you can be one of the first to use the new system. Join Markethive now, so you can gain access to BIX and buy your first batch of impressions today.

 Signup here: Click here to join for free

 

CRYPTO AD NETWORKS
Overcoming The Adversities Of A Nascent Industry

The cryptocurrency sphere is no longer considered a craze only supported and bolstered up by tech geeks and anarchists. Cryptocurrencies have become a whole new financial class by themselves and Blockchain technology is at the forefront as we move into a new world where the recent events have seen complete economic chaos and we are now recession-bound on a global scale. 

Whether it’s a mining collective, a crypto exchange, an ICO or ILP with a specific use case,  or plain old marketing — inbound, affiliate, referral, the whole gamut, a myriad of opportunities has opened up for companies, and the individual, that is focused on cryptocurrencies and blockchain, in order to create an ecosystem of self-sovereignty, financial and otherwise, along with transparency, and a trustless environment where society isn’t at the behest of the powers-that-be.    

However, getting the word out to the people en-masse has been inhibited and a hindrance to this emerging industry which is a concern to the advertising and marketing of the blockchain and crypto businesses.

  
Advertising Network Adversities

Traditional ad networks and social media giants like Google, Facebook, Youtube, et al have either outright banned any type of advertising/marketing content relating to crypto, or have placed unreasonable conditions such as requiring a license from a governmental authority. 

Also, their policies could change in the blink of an eye without any warning, such as YouTube banning cryptocurrency channels, or Facebook’s constant run-ins with blockchain ads.  
                                                                         
And even if you somehow do find a way to run crypto ads, you’ll be restricted in a variety of ways that would severely impact the success and reach of your campaigns. For instance, 

• Everything is dependent on whims and fancies of the network, and its changing policies towards crypto. 
• Little to no targeting options on the audience you seek to engage
• The requirement to share a lot of personal information.
• Campaigns will be put under stricter scrutiny, and go through a longer review period
• Restrictions on the type of payment methods you can employ
• Limited number/type of websites where you can advertise

Furthermore, as technology keeps evolving, it is crucial for businesses in the sector to keep pace and grow along with it. This is why it’s become vital for advertisers, and publishers, to seek out alternatives. 

A Real Need For Cryptocurrency Ad Networks

Cryptocurrency ad networks are niche online advertising platforms connecting advertisers and publishers who share a common objective of promoting cryptocurrency marketing campaigns. Like with any other ad network, publishers offer their ad space and advertisers pay to use that. 

Crypto ad networks offer a myriad of benefits, such as:

• Connecting predominantly with advertisers and publishers from the Crypto sphere. 
• Multiple ad options like banner ads, sponsored articles, press releases and more          
• Targeted audience of a younger generation and people already interested in crypto 
• A requirement of little to no personal information
• Faster campaign approval process.
• Custom-designed crypto banners
• Dedicated customer support 
• Cryptocurrency payment methods

 

 Below are 3 prominent Cryptocurrency Ad Networks helping the industry grow. 

COINBOUND

While Coinbound’s ad network is one of the newer entrants in the field, the company backing it is a renowned name in the crypto marketing world that manages marketing for top cryptocurrency companies. Coinbound offers prime personalized services with a high degree of flexibility and one of the lowest CPMs of all networks.

• Geo-targeting of the audience with specific interests, and other demographic data.
• Multiple display ad-options.
• Connecting only high-quality publishers, and advertisers in the crypto industry.
• Free crypto banner Ad designs by an award-winning in-house design team.
• Low CPM rates with high conversion and click-through rates.
• Ability to target audience for specific sites and pages.
• 24/7 support.
• Press release issues and accessibility across top media publishers. 
• Alexa Rank 248,912 at the time of this publication.

 

COINZILLA

Another ad network making its mark is Coinzilla. It was founded in 2016 and has strict rules regarding the quality of websites and content used in its network. It currently promotes over 200 brands with 500 publishers in its ranks. 

• Multiple advertising options such as native advertising, CPM, pop-up/under, etc.
• Only high-quality websites, older than 3 months, with optimal site speed and Alexa rankings.
• Strict adherence to rules on ads, with instant bans to faucets, giveaways, false promises, etc.
• Allows casinos, ICOs, exchange promotions, affiliates, etc.
• Alexa Rank 27,739 at the time of this publication.

This is all free to you…..      Click here to join totally for free!

MARKETHIVE

To add to the mix we now have a decentralized option, and that is exactly where Markethive trumps the other ad networks. Taking away the middleman, the social market network connects advertisers and publishers directly to offer a transparent, cost-effective, and censorship-resistant ad platform. 

• A complete ecosystem that is free to join.
• Decentralized with delivery to multiple domains.
• Markethive blockchain capable of managing a global advertising industry and instantaneous micropayments.
• Payouts in MHV coins.
• Censorship resistant, with publisher retaining full control on what to display on their website.
• Suited for both big and smaller players due to low barriers of entry, yet safe and reliable network.
• Banner Impressions eXchange — (BIX). First of its kind where you can purchase impressions from a Markethive associate at very low CPM rates. 
• Detailed and reliable analytics.
• Alexa Rank 5,649 at the time of this publication.

 

Coming Up In Markethive… 

Markethive is making great headway to incorporating a press release and sponsored article platform as well as social newsfeed boost, newsletter sponsorship, and gamified video advertising which enables you to build powerful campaigns. These are all part of the cottage businesses within Markethive that are designed to be facilitated by the members, not the corporate body, with the purpose of generating an income for the users. 

CEO and Founder of Markethive, Thomas Prendergast is behind the scenes working tirelessly along with the engineers preparing to launch these unique platforms;

“So we have just made a major turn in our system and have a lot of work to do. A landing page to sell/buy our impressions from an exchange, to make that page a template in the Page Maker for your use, and gearing the system for the next Entrepreneur Two direction building the Press Release exchange. Producing several Press Releases to promote our new Digital Media Impressions Exchange. This is also a time for you to get a head start sharing this.”

This is all free to you…..      Click here to join totally for free!

A Perfect Opportunity

Markethive Entrepreneurs have a perfect opportunity right now to reach out to 3rd party sellers to meet with and discuss getting their impressions listed on their sites. Sites like the ones mentioned above. Collaboration will result in creating a monster of an ad network that will be immune to the idiosyncratic and censorship behavior of the tech giants. 

Also, in the interim and as an introductory offer in celebration to the newly launched BIX, you as Markethive Entrepreneurs have the ability to advertise your Markethive referral page and offer free banner ad impressions for joining you at Markethive.

 

The Prime Objective Of Alexa Ranking

The Alexa ranking measures traffic on any given website from subscribers and visitors that have the Alexa Extension installed. Alexa rank is a measure of website popularity. It ranks millions of websites in order of popularity, with an Alexa Rank of 1 being the most popular. 

Alexa rank is calculated using a proprietary methodology that combines a site's estimated traffic and visitor engagement over the past three months. Although every website’s goal is to achieve a low Alexa ranking, it has no bearing on the number of digital impressions a site generates so there is no negative effect on banner impression sales.

Sites that have Alexa ranking like Chronicle of around 16,000, charge $66 CPM, and estimating their impressions from Worth Of Web, we can estimate they are receiving 13 million impressions per month with a potential income over $8.5 million. 

AMBcrypto has an Alexa rank of 53,893 and charges $5,500 to run a banner duration for a month. They average about 100-200 banner ads per month displayed based on IP address, time, and random rotation.

However, if you have not installed the Alexa Browser extension, please do so. It does help to give Alexa more accurate data with visitors.
https://www.alexa.com/toolbar

 

Crypto Advertising Market Growing

There are quite a few more crypto ad networks catering to the crypto sphere such as Bitmedia, Ad Shares, Cointraffic, Ad Dragon, Coin Ads, Mellow Ads, Propeller Ads and now we can add Markethive to the list with its Banner Impressions eXchange operating live now.

Markethive with its BIX Banner Impressions Exchange has created a non-fungible impressions token that is now traded in an open market assuring all purchases and set by the free market insuring you pay the right rates for advertising. You might call it free enterprise we call it a fair market for the entrepreneur from Markethive.

 

 

This is all free to you…..      Click here to join totally for free!

Conclusion

Connect with entrepreneurs, techies, crypto nerds, artists, innovators, musicians, and professional members both subscribers and traffic. You can get the first-mover advantage by advertising your product or service on Markethive and Markethive subsidiaries. The average user comes to Markethive to learn how to build an Inbound Marketing campaign, promote their services, connect with other members, and discover services to purchase.

Markethive, the complete market network on blockchain, provides a valuable inbound marketing platform, commerce portals, and a social network where users can learn, engage, expand markets, and be introduced to trusted providers. Markethive provides education, mentoring, direction, and professional services all the while earning MHV coin through its micropayment faucet system. This is just the beginning of the next-generation network built for the crypto-preneur.  

 

This is all free to you…..      Click here to join totally for free!

 

Deb Williams
A Crypto/Blockchain enthusiast and a strong advocate for technology, progress, and freedom of speech. I embrace "change" with a passion and my purpose in life is to help people understand, accept, and move forward with enthusiasm to achieve their goals. 

Ledger Nano X Review: How to Securely Store Your Cryptoassets Offline

The newest addition to Ledger’s hardware wallets, the Ledger Nano X,

providers users an easy-to-use way to store their cryptocurrency securely offline that has several advantages over other cold storage methods. Our review of the Nano X shows that it is indeed an easy-to-use device packed with information that will help newcomers be their own bank, while attending to the needs of more experienced users who may want to, for example, diversify their portfolios or earn staking cryptoassets.

What Are Hardware Wallets

Before reviewing the hardware wallet, let’s first get into what a hardware wallet is, and the difference between a cold and a hot wallet. A cold wallet is one that isn’t connected to the internet and is, by default, more secure as this way the device isn’t vulnerable to typical hacking methods, which could include malware being injected, keyloggers, and so on.

A hot wallet, on the other hand, is a cryptocurrency wallet that’s connected to the internet — usually on the user’s mobile device or PC — and is used for everyday transactions. A good way to think of it is your cold wallet is like your bank account, while your hot wallet is the wallet you store cash to have at hand. A hardware wallet is a form of cold storage, just like a paper wallet, but with several advantages. A hardware wallet, like the Ledger Nano X, lets users control their funds easily through their interfaces and are easy to securely carry around. A paper wallet, while cheaper, is less secure as paper can easily erode or be thrown away by mistake, and isn’t the best option to carry around with you.

About Ledger

Ledger is a French cryptocurrency wallet manufacturer that, according to Crunchbase, has received over $85 million in funding from some of the world’s top investors, and has been operating since 2014. According to the company’s website, they have sold well over 1 million Ledger Nano S devices to clients in over 165 countries, and in 2018 it received a Startup of the Year award from global accountancy giant Ernst & Young for the Ile-de-France region.

Ledger Nano X vs Nano S

Compared to the previous Ledger Nano S model, the X has a few extra features that will please users, starting with a larger screen that makes it easier to read what’s on it, and to not lose the device — even though it can be tied to your keychain. Among the improvements are support for Bluetooth. Users can connect their wallets to a mobile device to manage their cryptoassets via the Ledger Live application, allowing them to manage their portfolios on the go. Navigation has also been made easier with buttons on the front face of the device. The Nano X Ledger added more storage space for apps, and a built-in battery so it works without having to be connected to a computer. The new feature that likely stands out the most, however, is the support for hundreds of cryptoassets. According to the hardware wallet manufacturer, it’s possible to add 100 apps on the Ledger Nano X, which means a (very) diversified portfolio can be maintained in one single device.

What’s in the Box

Unboxing the Ledger Nano X is a premium experience, almost like unboxing a high-end smartphone. The unboxing experience appears to have been though-out and the box comes with pretty much everything you need to ensure you don’t lose your cryptocurrency holdings:

• Ledger Nano X
• USB C Cable
• Keychain
• 3 Sheets to write down the recovery phrase
• Instructions

Setting Up

The Ledger Nano X is fairly easy to setup. Powering on the device we get some general information, with the Ledger itself asking us to go to Ledger.com/start to get some guidance on setting up the device. On that page, we have a step-by-step guide on how to set up our Ledger Nano X. The first step involves downloading the Ledger Live app — it’s important to note ere you should only download it from Ledger’s website. For this review, we’re downloading the Windows Ledger Live app, but the app is also available for Mac, Linux, iOS, and Android devices. After downloading it we have to choose a theme and are then asked whether we’re setting up a new device or recovering a wallet — which would be applicable if, for example, we were upgrading from a Ledger Nano S to a Ledger Nano X. Next, it’s time to choose our device to begin the setup process. After choosing the Nano X, we’re given a few steps to start the configuration. We need to use the provided cable to connect the Ledger to our laptop to start configuring it.

The first thing we’re asked for is a PIN. The PIN will ensure we’re the only ones who can access our device, so make you remember the PIN you set. If you forget it, you may have to reset the device to then import the wallet via the seed phrase. Now it’s part to write down the seed phrase. We’re provided with a place to write them down from the box, so all we need to do is find a pen and go through it. After writing it down, we have to confirm all 24 words by order which may be a bit cumbersome, but the recovery phrase is extremely important so it’s understandable why Ledger would insist on this. Finally, a security check to ensure the device is genuine, that we chose our PIN ourselves, and that we wrote down the seed ourselves. After these checks we can — if we want to — set up a password so only we can access the Ledger Live app.

After going through these steps, the Ledger wallet is ready to use. The next step is to install apps for the cryptocurrencies we want to secure offline. The one we’re using in this example is Bitcoin (BTC). After installing it we need to add an account. Next, we’re given an overview of our wallet: we can now send and receive funds. Monitoring our portfolio is easy: we just need to add funds to the address belonging to our account or use the Ledger Live app to look at how much we’ve got. To move funds, the physical device needs to be connected to the device, as a security precaution. From the Ledger Live application, it’s also possible to buy cryptocurrency via various partners — including ShapeShift, Simplex, and others.

Pairing the Nano X With a Smartphone

We could have initially paired the device with our smartphone directly, in a way similar to the one shown above. Since we’re already connected to our desktop device, all I have to do is go on my Ledger Live application and export the account. The application shows us how to do this, and we’ll essentially only have to scan a QR code. That’s it — we can now manage our portfolio on the go via the Ledger Live application, available for both Android and iOS devices. After importing the existing account, we just have to set up a password for the Lever Live app. If your smartphone has a fingerprint sensor, you may unlock it that way.

Supported Cryptocurrencies

The Ledger Nano X, as seen above, can support over 100 cryptoassets including the top cryptocurrencies like BTC, BCH, ETH, XRP, and LTC. IT also supports bitcoin forks like bitcoin gold, and ether forks like ethereum classic. Popular privacy-centric cryptocurrencies like Zcash (ZEC) and DASH are also supported. Most of the popular ERC-20 tokens — mainly those issued via initial coin offerings — may need additional software connected to the Ledger device to work, Proof-of-Stake cryptocurrencies like Tezos (XTZ) and TRON (TRX) support staking, so users can safeguard their funds while securing their networks. A quick look at Ledger’s page of supported cryptoassets will let you easily see whether you will need additional software or not.

Price

The new Ledger Nano X will set you back €119 ($129) with VAT included. The older Nano S goes for €59 ($64) and the added cost is essentially making up for the larger screen, the larger capacity, and the built-in battery as well as the Bluetooth support. If you’re looking to get a Ledger backup, you can purchase the Nano X and a Nano S for a total of €149 ($162) to make sure your cryptoassets are always secure.

Conclusion — Is the Nano X Worth It?

At the end of all this, we have to ask ourselves whether the Nano X is worth its price. In my opinion yes — Bluetooth connectivity is a great quality of life improvement and Ledger has made the device rather easy to use, even if you don’t really know much about crypto you just have to follow the instructions. While there are alternatives to hardware wallets — such as paper wallets or metal wallets — being able to easily control your funds from an application, even though they’re safely stored offline, makes it easier to own cryptoassets.

To save up — stack sats — all we need to do is get our address from the app and send the funds there, and wait for confirmations for the funds to appear there. With paper or metal wallets, we’d have to scan the blockchain online, and potentially expose ourselves. It’s hard to say whether the Ledger device helps with the mainstream adoption of cryptocurrencies as it’s hard to explain to someone used to storing their funds at a bank they need a device to be their own bank. It does, however, make a great case for self-custody in the crypto space. The Ledger Nano X is available on Ledger’s website. We advised you against buying it on any non-official platform else as scammers may compromise devices and then re-sell them to steal your cryptoassets.

Article Produced By
CryptoCompare

https://www.cryptocompare.com/wallets/guides/ledger-nano-x-review-how-to-securely-store-your-cryptoassets-offline/

 

Ousting the Greenback: USD Still King as BTC and CBDCs Mount Challenge

The advent of digital money will threaten the U.S. dollar’s global dominance, but it won’t be easy to dethrone the current global reserve currency.

The global monetary system has been centered around the United States dollar

since at least the end of World War II when the 1944 Bretton Woods Agreement formalized the greenback’s ascent to unchallenged dominance. Control over the world’s reserve currency came hand in hand with a boost to the nation’s already enormous geopolitical influence, as well as the ability to run huge deficits at low cost. Today, a growing chorus of experts believe that the dollar’s hegemony might be in a decline. America’s diminishing share of world trade, the expansion of China’s monetary power and the anticipated digitization of national currencies can all potentially erode the foundations of the incumbent financial order. So, what role could prospective central bank digital currencies and decentralized currencies such as Bitcoin (BTC) play in shaping the new international monetary system?

America’s exorbitant privilege

One of the most common terms to denote the U.S.’s outsize influence on international trade is “monetary hegemony,” which first appeared in Super Imperialism, a 1972 book by the economist Michael Hudson. Almost half a century after its publication, many of the ideas articulated in it still hold true. As of this year, close to 60% of all foreign exchange reserves are still allocated in the dollar. Furthermore, around 40% of world trade is invoiced and settled in dollars, in addition to its 88% share of worldwide forex trades. Being in a position to mint the currency that serves as the world’s unit of account comes with a slate of perks, putting the U.S. in a position of so-called exorbitant privilege. For one, because it pays for imported goods with its own national currency, the monetary hegemony faces no balance of payments constraint. This means that it’s not at risk of losing the ability to pay for essential imports or finance its current account deficit.

Being the largest debtor nation in the world, the U.S. has taken full advantage of the dollar’s position. As all parties engaged in international trade — governments, corporations and banks — are always in need of dollar liquidity, the market has a near-infinite capacity for new dollar-denominated debt. For decades, the U.S. has been spending way beyond its means, thanks to this simplified access to cheap international credits. Additionally, this position of monetary dominance provides tremendous geopolitical leverage. By denying adversary nations access to the dollar-centered global financial system, the U.S. can inflict damage comparable to — or even beyond — that of a military intervention. Economic sanctions have long been a primary instrument of exerting pressure on nations deemed “rogue” by the State Department.

Shifting tides?

As Obama-era Treasury Secretary Jack Lew once warned, the centrality of the dollar to the global financial system hinges on other nations’ willingness to play by its current rules. In order to maintain the monetary status quo, Lew argued, the U.S. must not overuse economic sanctions in order to maintain the impression that these measures are only deployed against foreign governments for appropriate reasons and with sufficient justification. The current administration has paid little heed to these words. President Donald Trump has ramped up the use of sanctions and other financial restrictions against states such as Iran and China, weaponizing U.S. economic power to a new level. As the economist Jeffrey Sachs argued, this has led to the formation of a counter-coalition of disgruntled nations, with China and Russia at the helm, that have accelerated their efforts to de-dollarize their economies. According to Sachs, this geopolitical shift, combined with the shrinking share of the U.S. economy in the global gross domestic product, could spell the dollar’s decline as the world’s reserve currency.

Steve Kirsch, the CEO of the digital currency platform M10, is on board with Sachs’s assessment of the dollar’s current international standing. Kirsch told Cointelegraph that “President Trump is arguably the biggest force driving the rest of the world away from the USD and seeking an alternative.” At the same time, most experts agree that the potential demise of the dollar’s reserve-currency status is a rather distant prospect. Even amid the current pandemic-induced economic turmoil accompanied by a massive injection of dollar liquidity by the Federal Reserve, the markets’ faith in the incumbent reserve currency seems largely unfaltering. Marc Fleury, the co-founder and CEO of financial technology company Two Prime,

commented to Cointelegraph:

“In times of turmoil, the U.S. still shoulders a lot of responsibility and enjoys good will. The country’s recent disgraces are irrelevant to this financial reality. The green back may be tired, but it is still mighty. The more we print dollars, the more it rallies.”

Centralized digital alternatives

One of the major reasons why the dollar’s hegemony persists is inertia inherent to the gigantic system of international trade. Since all the parties involved in it have been relying on the dollar for decades, one cannot simply decide to opt for an alternative, especially if it does not provide significant efficiency gains compared with the old ways. However, the impending rise of CBDCs could pose a feasible threat to the greenback’s status precisely because they could offer a faster and more convenient medium of exchange. Some observers note that China might have the best shot at challenging the dollar’s dominant position if it successfully leverages both its expanding economic influence and the usability of its prospective digital currency infrastructure. Omri Ross, the chief blockchain scientist at multiasset trading

platform eToro, commented to Cointelegraph:

“While the Chinese economy still trails behind the Western world in most per person measures in the short term, an aggressive expansionary approach to innovation in physical and digital infrastructure coupled with substantial investments in emerging markets has positioned the impending ‘digital yuan’ as a natural contender to the dollar.”

Ross added that mounting a successful monetary challenge to the U.S. would enable the Chinese government to exercise unrestrained influence on multilateral trade agreements, evade sanctions and even influence the balance of arms. Two Prime’s Fleury thinks that with the rise of China’s digital currency, two major power centers could emerge in the global monetary system, with some other national currencies close behind: “At a minimum, we will see a bipolar world banking system, with USD and Chinese Yuan denominations. The EUR/JPY may also be particularly important.” Yet another alternative vision that the world’s central bankers are pondering is a global public cryptocurrency underlain by a basket of national currencies, a design that Mark Carney, a former governor of the Bank of England, referred to as a “synthetic hegemonic currency.” Although the rise of CBDCs appears unavoidable at this point, there are clear limits to the amount and kind of change these centrally controlled assets can bring about. John Deacon, the financial services lead at blockchain firm Dragon,

told Cointelegraph:

“Their [CBDCs’] ability to disrupt the global status quo of the monetary system will be limited by the current increase in localization (due to trade wars and coronavirus), and by the need to protect their local banking sector. This opens up a niche for a non-CBDC digital currency (i.e. one that is not partisan to or affected by economic or trade policies of a single country or bloc) to serve as a store of value and medium of exchange.”

Regardless of whether a single state’s currency is paper-based or digital, it remains beholden to the national and international agenda of the nation’s government, argued Ido Sadeh Man, the founder of the cryptocurrency firm Saga Monetary Technologies,

adding:

“We could see decentralized digital currency rise to prominence as the denomination of reserves — it is very possible. […] Imagining the future global monetary system, today, feels like a forked road: either we continue to layer technology onto a flawed system, or; we unleash and experience the full capabilities of technology to redesign and strengthen the global monetary model.”

A blueprint of a decentralized reserve currency

In a scenario where the dollar remains the global monetary hegemon or even one where another national currency eventually takes its place, the nation in charge of the world’s unit of account will still be able to leverage its status through it. The uncoupling of monetary dominance from geopolitical power looks more feasible if international trade finds a way to switch to a politically neutral currency. According to some analysts, the U.S.–China standoff could actually fuel the rise of some form of a neutral solution.

eToro’s Ross observed:

“The geopolitical tensions between China and the U.S. ensuing from a race towards digital currency dominance could become a fruitful ground for the emergence of a globally independent settlement layer. Given that most businesses favor a stable macroeconomic environment, the incentive to settle transactions in a globally neutral currency would be huge. […] Whether or not the decentralized digital currency in this scenario would be Bitcoin is impossible to say. Bitcoin’s greatest challenges are still around volatility and adoption.”

James Wo, the chairman and CEO of venture capital company Digital Finance Group, is putting his money on Ether (ETH) rather than Bitcoin,

telling Cointelegraph:

"I don’t think Bitcoin can replace USD, because one important functionality of fiat is to serve as a payment tool. In the short term there’s no solid method for Bitcoin to solve its scalability issues, thus it cannot be used as a payment method. The definition of Bitcoin is closer to being a commodity, like gold. I think Ethereum (ETH) has a chance of becoming the worldwide programmable currency."

Kirsch of M10 does not believe that Bitcoin is up to the challenge, as he considers the prospective digital euro as the most likely contender for the throne: “Bitcoin is an accounting system in the cloud. The USD is legal tender. If there is an electronic EUR issued by the ECB [European Central Bank], that could be a challenger to the USD if it were easier to electronically transact 24×7.” Fleury told Cointelegraph that, in his opinion, Bitcoin has “close to zero chances to reach reserve currency status.” Two main structural reasons for this are its volatility and its algorithmically limited supply. From a monetary policy standpoint, a global reserve currency has to be flexible. Yet another hurdle for Bitcoin is concentration of wealth, which promises to breed “shadow quadrillionaires” in the event it becomes a reserve currency. Other observers view the chances of decentralized digital currencies to eventually take over the role of a global medium of exchange more optimistically. Miles Paschini, the founder and a director of crypto investment platform B21, emphasized the potential of cryptocurrencies to offer a more useable

payment method that will see wide adoption:

“If any system provides easier access to funds, easier movement of funds and better inflationary controls, it is likely there will be a shift in adoption. This is a usability shift that can be realized through great security, user experience and real time payments. As of now all the necessary attributes don’t exist, but they are improving and in the future we certainly see technology providing these aspects.”

It is also possible that the emergence of many alternatives to the dollar will lead to a multipolar arrangement where no single currency enjoys a hegemonic status. Frank Schuil, a crypto advisor and investor, noted: “Most people believe a hybrid form is ultimately what we end up with: state based currencies, decentralized cryptocurrencies and corporate currencies.” Even given this potential diversity, Schuil believes that Bitcoin, as the “people’s money,” has the best shot at taking the winning spot.

Article Produced By
Kirill Bryanov

Kirill Bryanov is a PhD researcher at Lousiana State University. His scholarly interests center on political and societal implications of communication technology, with a focus on blockchain-powered decentalized architectures.

https://cointelegraph.com/news/ousting-the-greenback-usd-still-king-as-btc-and-cbdcs-mount-challenge