Tag: david ogden

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The Cryptocurrency Market Is Growing Exponentially

The Cryptocurrency Market Is Growing Exponentially

The Cryptocurrency Market Is Growing Exponentially

Bitcoin dominates over other digital currencies today, but the data suggests its market share will drop significantly in the next few years.
When it comes to the future of money, there is a growing consensus that cryptocurrencies are set to play a major role. One cryptocurrency, in particular, has entered the public lexicon as the go-to digital asset: Bitcoin.

But the cryptocurrency market is significantly more complex than the public lexicon might suggest. And while there have been plenty of studies examining the role and future of Bitcoin, there have been few that explore the broader cryptocurrency market and how it is evolving.

Today that changes thanks to the work of Abeer ElBahrawy at City University in London and a few pals who have examined the cryptocurrency market as a whole and say that it is significantly more complex and mature than many had thought. The evolution of this market even bears a remarkable similarity to the evolution of ecosystems in many other areas, providing some insight into the way the cryptocurrency market might change in the future.

First some background. The big challenge with digital currency is to prevent unauthorized copying. Cryptocurrencies use two mechanisms to prevent this. The first is to publish every transaction in a public record and to store numerous copies of this ledger online in a way that allows them all to be automatically compared and updated. This prevents double spending—using the same bitcoin to buy two different things.

The second mechanism is to protect the ledger cryptographically. Every update collects together a range of new transactions and adds them to the existing ledger. But to do this, the earlier version of the ledger is first frozen and encrypted.

The new version of the ledger—called a block—includes the encrypted copy of the earlier ledger. Anybody can use this encrypted data to generate a number that can be used to check the veracity of the block. However, it is extremely hard to generate this number computationally in an attempt to game the system. It is this feature—that the blocks are easy to check but extremely hard to copy—that secures the system.

Of course, as the ledger continues to be updated, new blocks must be created, piggybacking on the old ones and creating an unbroken chain of blocks. Hence, the term blockchain technology.

Bitcoin is by far the most famous of these cryptocurrencies. It is also among the oldest, having first emerged in 2009. But it is by no means the only cryptocurrency. So an interesting question is how the cryptocurrency market is evolving.

To find out, ElBahrawy and co analyzed the behavior of 1,500 cryptocurrencies that have emerged since 2013 and say that some 600 of them are actively traded today. They say this market has recently entered a period of exponential growth and is currently worth $54 billion. (By comparison, the total amount of money in the world is about $60 trillion.) 

But while this cryptocurrency market is growing rapidly, ElBahrawy and co show that certain aspects of it are stable. For example, the number of active cryptocurrencies has remained about the same since 2013 as has the market share distribution, which follows a well-known power law.

The team also shows how this distribution can be reproduced using a standard model of evolution in which they plug in figures for the rate at which currencies emerge and die away.

This power law distribution occurs in a wide range of systems. For example, the same law describes the size of religions, of languages and even of wars (by number of deaths). In none of these systems is there are any favored religion or language or war. But all things being equal, they all form this type of distribution.

The fact that size distribution of cryptocurrencies follows the same law is significant. It implies that as far as the market is concerned, all currencies are essentially the same. “The fit with the data shows that there is no detectable population-level consensus on what is the ‘best’ currency or that different currencies are advantageous for different uses,” say ElBahrawy and co.

Whether that is true is up for debate. Various critics have pointed out a number of technical limitations associated with Bitcoin, and this has inspired a new generation of cryptocurrencies, such as Ethereum. Whether this will influence the market remains to be seen.

While this exponential growth is ongoing, Bitcoin’s market share is falling. The top five biggest currencies—Ethereum, Ripple, Litecoin, Dash, and Monero—now account for 20 percent of the market. And the trend for Bitcoin is clear. “This would predict Bitcoin market share to fluctuate around 50 percent by 2025,” say the team.

Another factor in the market is that cryptocurrencies aren’t used only as currency. Bitcoin is also widely used for speculation and can also be used for nonmonetary uses such as timestamping.

For many of these applications there is a clear benefit to having a single currency that everyone agrees on. “While the use of cryptocurrencies as speculative assets should promote diversification, their adoption as payment method (i.e., the conventional use of a shared medium of payment) should incentivize a winner-take-all regime,” say Bickell and co.

But experience with other ecosystems suggest that this is by no means certain to happen. For example, a single computer operating system has never been able to outcompete all others, regardless of the ruthlessness of its deployment. Neither has any human language or religion or fashion wiped out all others.  

That’s not to say it can’t happen. But unless there is significant external manipulation of this market, the likelihood is that there will be significant diversity in the cryptocurrency market for the foreseeable future.

David Ogden
Entrepreneur

Alan Zibluk Markethive Founding Member

Markethive

Bitcoin Can Allow Mobile Payment System

Bitcoin Can Allow Mobile Payment System

Bitcoin Can provide mobile payment system

What Bitcoin solves…

The essence of mobile payment systems is to make the life of individuals comfortable. Mobile payments are supposed to offer clients a convenient method of paying for goods and services while on the go. Since mobile payment solutions were introduced, experts have been saying that mobile payment is the biggest innovation in this age and that it is set to change the lives of individuals and businesses alike.

The beauty of mobile payments is that individuals do not have to carry cash whenever they are traveling. As long as people have their smart phones, they can successfully make purchases and pay for services using special applications on their mobile phones.

However, it is instructive to note that the manner in which experts envisioned mobile payment services had not been proven to be accurate. Initially, two giants, Apple and Samsung, were touted as the potential leaders in mobile payments.

Apple introduced its solution, Apple Pay that is based on its proprietary operating system. Samsung, banking on the open Android platform, was keen enough to develop its solution, Samsung Pay. A third competitor, Square, also emerged. Therefore, at first, the mobile payment market was set to be dominated by these three giants: Apple Pay, Samsung Pay and Square.

But the response of the market has not been favorable to the likes of Apple Pay and Samsung Pay. So far, consumers have not embraced these two major mobile payment solutions in a manner that is similar to the way they have embraced their mobile devices. For example, Apple Pay has failed to break into the market and reach its projected rates of growth.

Similarly, Samsung Pay is still struggling to hit its projected numbers. Interestingly, the story is not different when you consider Square. Therefore, all these three major global mobile payment services have failed to create the buzz and excitement that they expected to create in the market.

Cryptocurrencies in general, and Bitcoin, in particular, may be the perfect solution to the problems that consumers experience when they are using the likes of Apple Pay and Samsung Pay. No one can deny that the use of Bitcoin has been growing steadily over the years. To many, Bitcoin is the perfect solution to the problems that they encounter when they would like to pay for goods and services without using cash.

For example, the use of Bitcoin does not involve intermediaries as it is the case with the conventional methods. Besides, individuals can send and receive Bitcoins at the convenience of their homes or anywhere else. Moreover, many people find that using Bitcoins costs much less than what they may have to pay concerning transaction fees when using the conventional mobile payment methods.

Moreover, you do not need to have a bank account to use Bitcoin. In fact, Bitcoin helps you to make and receive payments as an unknown entity. The element of anonymity when using Bitcoin is very attractive to many people who do not like the current model used by global mobile payment services.

Therefore, it is highly likely that Bitcoin is going to be the future of global mobile payments. The anonymity aspect of the payment method, its low transaction fees, and convenience are some of the attributes that make it better than the conventional methods.

David Ogden
Entrepeneur

 

Artical By AliRaza

Alan Zibluk Markethive Founding Member

Markethive

New Year New Opportunities and Resolutions

 New Year New Opportunities and Resolutions

Two years ago I started writing down my New Year resolution. Which helped me keep track of my plans and the direction of my life. This year year marks a period of consolidation and times to consider what we will do when Jay completes his secondary education.

There are some uncertain times ahead due to Brexit. Will Jasmin and Jay be granted permanent UK residency early than the original five years under EU rules. Will it still be possible to retire to other EU countries on favorable terms. We are both working so that we can save for the future, however the weather is still a challenge and I miss warmer climes.

Jasmin and Jay will visit their family in the Philippines this summer who they have not seen for some five years apart from via Skype. We still have a house to sell in the Philippines and it would be great if this could be concluded this summer to release capital.

Hopefully I will pass my retraining tests which will confirm my position at Go Ape as an Instructor for the 2017 season. This helps keep me fit and active. I also hope to have further sailing opportunities with the Jubilee Trust and Old Pangbournian Yacht Club such as the Round the Island Race on 1st July and The Arrow Trophy in the Autumn.

Turning to my various business interests, it would seem to be time to leave Valentus an MLM who promised to be different but then shut down their European warehouse with out notice and also started to enforce rules regarding minimum sales prices. The fact that prices are in USD and deliveries come from the USA results in too low profit margins, and to be honest the products are overpriced .

At the end of 2016 I took up an interest in Cryptocurrency which would seem to offer a number of business opportunities, especially when one considers the likes of Bitcoin have grown in value faster than any traditional currency are increasing being considered as perhaps becoming the new gold standard and replacing the USD. At the moment you can certainly see in the both the short and longer term that cryptocurrencies can offer a better rate of return compared with savings rates from banks and even investment from stocks and shares.

MarketHive continues on its long journey to re-program its software, but has yet to be launched and its lack of funding is delaying it completion, however as we enter the new year it would seem that funding will no longer be a problem and the likes of Facebook and Linked in will have a new business based rival.

For the first time in many years I am not sure of direction, there is a possibility that I could double my net worth, the only thing that is sure is we will remain in the UK for the next two years which coincidentally is the expected time to complete Brexit.

David Ogden
Entrepreneur

Alan Zibluk Markethive Founding Member

Markethive

Are We Entering The Age of The Cryptocurrency

my cryptocurrencyAre We Entering The Age of The Cryptocurrency

 

I have started taking an interest in Cryptocurrency and the fact that it offers a number of advantages over paper based currencies. Unlike paper currencies, which Governments can print at will, Cryptocurrency is restricted which means that the value of these coins increases.

 

Take Bitcoin, the best known coin, launched in 2008 with a value in 2009 1 BTC = 0.0001 USD and is now currently at $725. Over the years there have been quite large fluctuations :-

  • June 2010 1 BTC = 0.07 USD

  • June 2011 1 BTC = 15 USD

  • June 2012 1 BTC = 7 USD

  • June 2013 1 BTC = 100 USD

  • June 2014 1 BTC = 600 USD

  • June 2015 1 BTC = 220 USD

  • June 2015 1 BTC = 750 USD

It is interesting to note anyone who has held Bitcoin since the early days has seen a great increase in his asset.. I first came across Bitcoin when I moved to Cyprus in 2013. the Banks shut for days and then restricted both withdrawals and deposit and many people started to use Bitcoin because the banks stole peoples savings. The security with Cryptocurrency protects your holdings and to some extent provides anonymity.

Theft and fraud risks can be quite high when holding Cryptocurrency in online wallets or exchanges and it is recommended that is is best to use mobile wallets or even record you account details on paper. I still have to come to terms with using mobile data and until I learn how to use scan and use QR codes. Individuals cryptocurrencies are digital and cannot be counterfeited or reversed arbitrarily by the sender, as with credit card charge-backs.

One of my pet hates is transaction fees from bank and this is where cryptocurrency comes into its own There aren’t usually transaction fees for cryptocurrency exchanges . Even though there’s no bitcoin/cryptocurrency transaction fee, many expect that most users will engage a third-party service, such as Coinbase, creating and maintaining their bitcoin wallets. These services act like Paypal does for cash or credit card users, providing the online exchange system for bitcoin, and as such, they’re likely to charge fees

Identity theft isa growing concern for example. If you give your credit card to a merchant, you give him or her access to your full credit line, even if the transaction is for a small amount. Credit cards operate on a “pull” basis, where the store initiates the payment and pulls the designated amount from your account. Cryptocurrency uses a “push” mechanism that allows the cryptocurrency holder to send exactly what you wants to the merchant or recipient with no other information.

Decentralization means the network operates on a user-to-user (or peer-to-peer) basis. The forms of mass collaboration this makes possible are just beginning to be investigated.

Since cryptocurrency is not bound by the exchange rates, interest rates, transactions charges or other charges of any country; therefore it can be used at an international level without experiencing any problems. This, in turn, saves lots of time as well as money on the part of any business which is otherwise spent in transferring money from one country to the other. Cryptocurrency operates at the universal level and hence makes transactions quite easy. There is no other electronic cash system in which your account isn’t owned by someone else.

David Ogden

http://information.cryptocoin20.com

Alan Zibluk Markethive Founding Member

Markethive

Money Saving Tips

Money Saving Tips

Since my seasonal job is coming to an end I am taking stock of my financial situation and looking for way to reduce my spending. During the past year I have been teaching my wife how to control how she spends the income from her own part time job.

I used to use Quicken but when I changed my operating system to Linux, I was forced to change to Moneydance, both system are fairly similar and provide ways to control budgets and track expenditure by categories. I am generally responsible for all general bills including my car costs, with my wife responsible for her sons expenditure plus supporting her family in the Philippines and her car costs. We both are responsible for saving.

We have a mixture of Joint accounts, a business account and our own savings accounts. This year I opened a number of additional accounts to cover house insurance, car insurance, road tax and property tax in the Philippines. The additional saving accounts provide a way of saving money , rather than paying the services on a monthly basis with includes interest ,we renew on a yearly basis which saves us money for those accounts which do not allow interest free monthly payment.

I have even set up a number of automated bank transfers which distribute our income a couple of days after it is received into our various saving account, they only earn a few pence in interest but the bigger saving is being in a position in future years to pay upfront and not pay interest. With interest rates expected to rise next year, this will save you money.

I have been analysing my business costs which involve purchasing products in $’s and selling in £’s with exchange rates fluctuating due to Brexit and Trump. If I use my UK debit card to purchase products I am faced with an additional charge of £11-12 and an exchange rate that favours the bank.

However if I use the services of Transferwise who I have used for many years to send money to the Philippines the exchange rate cost are more reasonable . For example they would charge £2.28 and a competitive exchange rate saving me about £10 in every transaction.

Now I do operate an account in the USA, which also has a $ debit card, if I do not charge $250 a month to my card the bank will charge me $16 per month as account charges. Now you can perhaps see that with a combination of using my US debit card to purchase products and transferring funds to my USA account I can save £10 + $16 (12.9) or around £22-32 per month.

One other way to earn money we earn money is with a Tesco Club card, collecting points when buying petrol, food, household items and other items online with Tesco direct. We earn £15-20 per month in cash back as well as additional points and offers.

Saving rates are at an all time low at the moment and to be honest its hardly worth leaving it in the bank, which is why I am using some of my savings and pumping it through my business to provide a better return, with the changes I am putting in place from above, my profits are set to grow faster.

David Ogden is an Entrepreneur at MarketHive

 

Alan Zibluk Markethive Founding Member

Markethive

Building A business

There is a link between building a business and losing weight.. I wrote a blog yesterday about how effective is your plan, and realised that people starting a business and those attempting to lose weight faced some similar challenges. Namely discipline, action and goal setting.

Now goal setting is pretty obvious and was covered in yesterdays blog. Once you have set up goals then you need to take action and follow a plan, without action, you cannot expect success and your plan will failures

Taking the first step is probably the hardest, but once that is behind you, you need to be disciplined enough to set up a routine. Getting into a regular routine makes things much easier, be it writing a blog, contacting people or remembering to follow your diet plan.

I am a morning person so like to get up around 0500 and in fact my body clock wakes me up at this time, no matter what time I go to bed. For me this is a good time, before the rest of the family get up I have time to check email accounts, my calendar and financial accounts and carry out tasks such as drafting blogs. I am at the moment in a state of change as my summer job is coming to an end and I will be concentrating on building my online business.

Change can be difficult and I know I face challenges until I can settle into a new routine and there is always the temptation to step back into your old ways, which will result in failure. I find that using Google Calendar as a tool, it will send me reminders about when I need to publish blogs or contact people and this has become a vital tool to help me get back on track.

When I was last working online full time I set aside half my day for business from 0500 to midday, during this time I worked in my own office space upstairs and the family knew not to interrupt me. This worked well for me and I was able to publish blogs on a daily basis and keep in regular contact with potential customers. Now my circumstances are slightly different, I live in a smaller house and my office consists of a desk in a corner of a dining room in the centre of our house which is a thoroughfare for my family, which makes it harder to concentrate with the job in hand. The only saving grace is my wife works part time shifts and my son is at school , so I can still work weekday mornings between 0730 to midday.

The secret of building a business or losing weight is to take action on a daily basis, which takes you towards your goal

David Ogden
Healthy Weight Loss
Free Marketing Tools

Alan Zibluk Markethive Founding Member

Markethive

Are your Savings Gathering Dust

Make Money GrowThis is the age of the entrepreneur. Entrepreneurs are people who have a dream and are prepared calculated risks to achieve their goals. Interest rates are at an all time low, which makes it a great time to borrow money, however spare a thought for savers, some of whom rely on their saving and try to live on the interest.

I have been looking around on the internet for the best savings rates and the best I can find is 10% per annum, with others around 3-7%, but saver rates are continuing to fall

 

The average UK adult has about £5,500 — 6,000 in saving to meet rainy day, so you can see that even with the best savings rate their saving will only produce an income of £500- 600 per year

If you borrow money you will see offers of interest rates of between 3.1-3.5% APR which on paper could mean that you could borrow money at 3.1% and place it in a saving account at 10% and earn just under 7%. However when you apply for one of these low APR loans the APR Jumps to around 22% if for example you wanted to borrow £1000 for a year. It is only larger sums over longer periods that offer low APR rates and the lender may need more security.

I have been tracking one of my own savings account and seeing interest payments of £1 per month coming in which is not very impressive and wondered if there way another way to use my saving and improve my rate of return.

Entrepreneurs are known for Buying low and selling high and then a friend of mine introduced me to Valentus an MLM company which sells Weight Loss Coffee. MLM’s have a bad reputation for selling over priced products and encouraging you to sell them on to friends and family.

I have lost money with MLM in the past, leaving me with product that I had to sell at a loss. The weight loss coffee is different and you can sell it online and earn a profit. I decided to test the market and used money from my savings and brought 16 boxes of coffee and was some what amazed when they sold online in the first month.

MLM companies offer a number of ways of earning money apart from selling products, although I believe customers are more important. There are additional rewards for introducing like minded people and that is the stage I have now come to. I am reaching out to duplicate my success with other people who want to see their money working for them and producing a return.

No matter your past experience, I am willing to work with you and help you build your future,

just go to Http://seriouswealth.net

I will be in touch with you

David Ogden
Helping People Help Themselves 

 

 

Alan Zibluk Markethive Founding Member

Markethive

The Rise Of the Entrepeneur

 

 

The Age of the Entrepreneur Is truly Here

 

America has spoken and elected a non political businessman to lead their country, this could have great repercussions around the world. As Donald Trump said in his victory speech, “No dream is too big”

Running a country is a big business so it will be interesting to see just how things work out. I am sure we will see many changes, now that Republicans rule the roost at all level of Government, which will allow changes to be made with little opposition.

The UK is also facing changes and it will be interesting to see what changes might occur in the so called special relationship, as both countries set out to build new relationship with countries around the world.

Entrepreneurs are known for their tenacity and this has been proved over the past 18 months when Donald Trump has come from nowhere to become President elect of the USA.

 

Any dreams can be accomplished, if you are prepared to put in the effort and work every day towards achieving your goal. Donald Trump admitted it had been a long hard and sometimes tiring campaign but he kept his faith and concentration when others had doubt.

As this year is coming towards and end and a new dawn is coming it time for everyone to review their hopes and dreams. Do you have a dream to to improve your financial situation, then now is the time to act.

Watch the Video Below

 

Alan Zibluk Markethive Founding Member

Markethive

Working in the UK

Working in the UK

 

 

 

 

I have been working part time in the UK for the past eight months, after a gap of some 15 years whilst living abroad. Finding work was a bit of a challenge, due to my age. There are a few companies that employ pensioners, however I was seeking an active outdoor job having formally been a sailing Instructor. I was interviewed for a water-sports vacancy, which would have been ideal but heard nothing and then I saw an advert for Go Ape Instructors in Sherwood Forest. I love teaching and sharing knowledge and being a former adventure racer saw the possibilities. After attending a half-day group interview, I was selected for training. I had some concerns as the supervisors were younger than me and fellow trainees might be fitter but as it turned out, my knowledge, adaptability and work ethics resulted in and employment offer..

Some fellow instructors did not know quite what to make of me and would step in and offer to help to assist me and I would stand aside, but as time went on I realised I was more than their equal in some areas and even in the physically activity of climbing zip lines I could hold my own.

I have always been the type of person who is reliable and on time and will look for jobs to do rather than stand around doing nothing. Looking after customers safety on the treetops course is paramount and on many occasions customers need encouragement to complete some challenges on the course. One thing I am good at is pushing people to their limits. Throughout the season, I helped many people overcome their fear of heights, with only one or two not being able to overcome their fears.

I ended up working a number of extra days as a result of people missing shifts, this was great for me. The company distribute a simple spreadsheet which show the start times or days that instructors are required to work, but often people forget to check with the result that those on shift have to work harder to cover the shortfall. This to me is a new phenomenon and I cannot remember this occurring in the past. When working work should come first, otherwise how else can you pay your way in life.

I will be working weekend only for the next month finally ending my contract on the first weekend in December and I hope that I will be invited back for a new contract next year.

Rather than sitting around during the winter, I am turning my attention back to my online business, which involves selling Diet Coffee. The product is excellent for people who love coffee and want to lose weight, just by replacing the coffee they current drink with another brand.  ! have sold over 100 boxes since July.

David Ogden

Entrepeneur at MarketHive

 

Alan Zibluk Markethive Founding Member

Markethive

We Did n’t Make wordpress

But we are making WordPress better! Let me explain:

 

 

WordPress has established itself as the 400lb undisputed CMS (Content Management System). WordPress is taking over the Internet! And MarketHive is retooling to support and make WordPress better. Over 75 million sites now depend on WordPress. In the realm of self-hosted sites, WordPress accounts for over 19% of all websites. What is even more amazing is that over 70% of sites worldwide do not use a CMS.

22% of new US registered domains run on WordPress. Out of every 100 domains in the US, 22 of them will be run on WordPress. Considering that an average of 120,000 domains are registered worldwide per day, it's safe to say that WordPress is growing by leaps and bounds. That "18.9% of all websites" figure is exponentially increasing.

WordPress receives more unique visitors than Amazon! WordPress records an astonishing 126M unique visitors per month, while Amazon falls quite a ways behind, clocking in at 96M unique visitors per month.

6 New WordPress posts every second! That's right. Every second, close to 6 new posts are published on WordPress blogs. That averages out to 34.2 posts per minute. Just about 20,000 per day. And a grand total of 7.5 million annually.

Not only is WordPress.org the world's most popular self-hosted CMS solution, but the free version is also second in popularity on the list of free blogging platforms, with Google's own Blogger.com topping it.

 29,000 WordPress plugins and growing daily. Without doubt, the number one feature that sets WordPress apart from any other CMS is their plugins. Plugins extend and capitalize on the functionality of WordPress, removing access to them would cripple WordPress users (and that's one of the reasons why WordPress falls second to Blogger).

Fortunately, nothing of the sort is happening. On the contrary, WordPress.org's database of plugins has recently hit 29k and a new one is added nearly every hour. In total, these plugins have been downloaded 286,000,000+ times. Give it a few more years and you'll be hearing "there's a plug in for that".

WordPress is most popular with business websites. Of the top one million sites, the number of business sites (most popular with WordPress) powered by WordPress is five times the number of WordPress-managed news sites (least popular with WordPress).

This statistic is not all that surprising, as online marketing circles will often discuss WordPress more than any other CMS out there. WordPress also ranks high as one of the most blogged topics in the online marketing niche and nearly all its keywords have very high PPC competition.

So the Point is clear:

Do we build a competitive option to WordPress? Or do we move forward with our abilities and our Blog platform to support and make WordPress better? Stupid question! The force multiplier ability of MarketHive's platform, the technology we already have, our very mission in fact, begs us to support and empower WordPress!

If you have yet to explore or utilize the tools we already have in our blogging platform, do it today. It is becoming a virtual gold mine for those entrepreneurs that have discovered how MarketHive can make your WordPress or many WordPress sites, effective, powerful SEO machines, including an exponential increase in Social Network sharing as well as massive legitimate engagement in the comments systems.

 If you have a WordPress site, join us. If you have already joined us, explore our Blog platform, build your teams, down load the plugins and watch your WordPress campaigns explode!

Now that is what Harvard business school calls a Force Multiplier!

MarketHive did not make WordPress but we make WordPress better!

Alan Zibluk Markethive Founding Member