Crypto Market Analysis

The corporate environment is characterized by a number of variables: competition, dynamism, turbulence, complexity and change. All organizations must develop ability to continuously and consciously transform themselves and their contexts. Such contexts include restructuring for optimum effectiveness, reengineering key processes and streamlining functions that are able to provide a source of competitive advantage. The aim is to adapt, regenerate and most important, survive. (McLean, 2006).

For a company to thrive today, strategists must find ways to increase the organization’s ability to read and react to industry and market changes. They must know their goal to boost the company’s strategic flexibility by recognizing disruptions earlier and responding faster.

Strategic flexibility or adaptability can be defined as the organization’s capacity to identify major changes in its external environments, quickly commit resources to new courses of action in response to such changes, and to recognize and act promptly when it is time to halt or reverse existing resource commitments. Being adaptable means leaders must not get stuck in a too-rigid way of looking at the world. The organization must view change as an inevitable and essential part of an organization’s growth, in order to achieve this adaptability.

When there is uncertainty or unpredictability in the environment, managers tend to focus almost all their energy on successfully executing the current strategy. What they also should be doing is preparing for an unknown future. Flexibility stems from the ability to learn; managers tend to overlook the negative and emphasize the positive. They need to understand not only what led to the positive outcomes but also what led to the negative ones. This will optimize their learning experience. According to Ford (2004) four points to foster and maintain adaptability include challenging complacency, giving all employees a voice, encouraging participative work and driving fear out of your group.

The companies chosen for this task vary by industry: a famous automobile manufacturer (Ford) a bank going through a merger (Compass) and a start-up software company (DawningStreams). Ford and Compass have been in business for a long time; it is likely they have changed their strategic plan based on changing forces and trends. DawningStreams is new (established in 2005 and incorporated in 2007). Even though they have not had their first sale and have no staff, the owners have devised several iterations of their strategy.

There is a diversity of stakeholders all that are interested in the activity of business organizations. Emphasis must be placed on their adaptability in strategic analysis and their adaptability in strategic management of business organizations. The organization must have a strategic management model.

Each company might scan the same areas, but for different reasons. Considering technological advances, Ford would prepare itself to lead the market by having various electronic equipment in their vehicles, as well as robotic equipment with which to build them and the supply chain technology to keep all in check. Compass Bank is going through a merge and expanding globally; therefore they will need to keep abreast of communication technology. DawningStreams is a software company; they will need to monitor those companies who would be their competition to ensure their product offers better functionality. All three companies would make sure potential customers would be able to get good information from internet websites and advertisement, which encompasses yet another area of technology the organizations may need/want to scan. In this instance, many members of the organization must be enrolled: upper management and finance, who will determine budgetary factors; the IT department, who will be responsible for the implementation and maintenance of some of the technology; the staff who must be trained to use the technology; a sales force who will sell the technology.

To the outside observer, it may seem unnecessary for any but Ford to scan the (actual) environment when it comes to issues such as emission control, fuel efficiency and hybrid cars. That is true however; Compass Bank and DawningStreams can plan a strategy to be friendlier to the environment (and their pocketbooks) by practicing paper reduction (through the aforementioned technology). Lastly, DawningStreams’ product may be useful as a file sharing service to environmental groups.

With regard to the legal environment, all three must be acutely aware of laws, which affect their respective industry among others. To Ford, legal applies, among other areas, to environmental protection laws and department of transportation safety laws. To Compass Bank, they would abide by the rules of the Federal Reserve (www.federalreserve.gov) and the Federal Insurance and Deposit Corporation (www.fdic.gov). DawningStreams must follow laws as they pertain to the transfer of files, which have intellectual property and also the export of products, which have algorithms. All three companies are global and will need to monitor those laws in other countries, which could effect the strategic planning.

At one company after another–from Sears to IBM to Hewlett-Packard to Searle, strategy is again a major focus in the quest for higher revenues and profits. With help from a new generation of business strategists, companies are pursuing novel ways to hatch new products, expand existing businesses, and create the markets of tomorrow. Some companies are even recreating full-fledged strategic-planning groups. United Parcel Service expects to spin out a new strategy group from its marketing department, where strategic plans are now hatched. Explains Chairman Kent C. Nelson: “Because we’re making bigger bets on investments in technology, we can’t afford to spend a whole lot of money in one direction and then find out five years later it was the wrong direction.”

In such a world we need a planning model that allows us to anticipate the future and to use this anticipation in conjunction with an analysis of our organization–its culture, mission, strengths and weaknesses–to define strategic issues, to chart our direction by developing strategic vision and plans, to define how we will implement these plans and to specify how we will evaluate how well we are implementing these plans. The fact that the world is changing as we move forward in the future demands that the process be an iterative one.

Ford Motor Company – Socio-cultural

Ford Motor Company embraces the socio-cultural changes taking place to allow the company to move in the right direction with respect to attitudes in the society. Two areas that stand out in terms of socio-cultural attitudes would be that of fuel economy and smaller cars. The growing concern by the public for better fuel economy has influenced the company’s introduction of the Ford Escape Hybrid and Mercury Mariner Hybrid. The organization is committed to the hybrid to improve fuel economy as a global strategy to meet customer demands. The increased demand in society for such environmentalism has assisted in the decision for Ford Motor Company to look forward to adding the hybrid feature to the Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan and continue in such a strategic planning direction.

The customers that use these vehicles get a substantial break on their insurance in many states and a tax credit as well while enjoying the increased mileage of a vehicle that runs on gasoline and capabilities for 100 percent electric power. The environmental scanning by Ford Motor Company has allowed the company to be knowledgeable of the fact that the people in the United States are buying more small cars today than any other type of vehicle segment. The lifestyles changes have been monitored and there is good data that shows that such a trend will continue in this direction and the expected growth in this segment will continue. The company has redesigned the inside and outside of the Ford Focus to set the car apart from the competitors in the small car segment while increasing upgrades and features to experience positive outcomes. The direction that the company is taking is based on a competitive advantage and being a leader in the industry. The vehicle line has both a sedan and a coupe to attract targeted markets including younger buyers at an entry level to build upon brand loyalty and customer retention. Ford Motor Company will continue to use the socio-cultural factors to drive the business and enjoy future success.

Ford Motor Company – Legal –

Ford Motor Company with regard to the Environmental Protection Agency adheres to the legal aspect of environmental scanning. Ford Motor Company accepted an award in March 2007 from the Environmental Protection Agency called the Energy Star 2007 Partner of the Year Award in Energy Management. The company is the first automaker to have ever been awarded the award two years in a row. The award has come to be presented due to the commitment made by the company to increase energy efficiency and to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions from all of the facilities in the company.

The organization is committed to the responsible use of resources and energy efficiency. The leadership realizes that the environmental protection laws are of great importance and use the environmental scanning to move in the right direction to obtain future success in the company. In 2006 alone the company has improved the energy efficiency in the United States operations by five percent and saving approximately $25 million with enough energy saved to equal 220,000 homes. The effective energy management protects the environment and reduces the greenhouse emissions. Some of the actions taken by the company include replacing lighting fixtures that use 40 percent less energy and using different low-energy, long-lasting compact fluorescent lamps in the properties to include the plants, corporate offices, distribution centers, and research and development campuses. Due to the environmental scanning that takes place at Ford Motor Company the company will use the information that is collected and continue in this direction. New projects for the company include Fumes-to-Fuel that is a system that converts paint fumes into electricity that is being performed with Detroit Edison along with attempting to consolidate the application of primer, base and clearcoat paint applications into a single application to eliminate the need for separate applications and ovens. In addition to the paint booth emissions Ford Motor Company will continue to rely on alternative energy sources such as landfill gas and wind and solar technologies to power their manufacturing facilities.

Ford Motor Company – Technology –

Another environmental scanning tool that Ford Motor Company monitors and uses would be the technological portion. The company has invested $1 billion in the latest technology for flexible manufacturing. The technology that is involved is in many forms to include wireless technology that is installed on the delivery trucks with supplies to the plant as a monitoring status and improved efficiency to reduce inventory. The flexibility of products in the same plant allows the organization to use the same machinery and process for all areas from body assembly, paint facility, and final assembly. The improved efficiency at the manufacturing facility allows for several vehicle platforms to be built on the same line to produce multiple models and quickly change the vehicle mix, the volume, and options based on customer demand.

The technological changes that are being embraced by Ford Motor Company through environmental scanning enables the company to experience huge cost savings through new product launches and 50 percent reductions in cycle changeovers along with waste reduction. Robots are among the technological changes that are being experienced within the organization to include the 400 from the project that are used to weld and assemble the metal body of the vehicle for stamping and assembly. Artificial intelligence in the form of advanced visions systems and laser tracking systems are used to ensure quality through accuracy and dimension abilities. A multi-million dollar training facility is used to ensure that the workforce has the knowledge, skills, and ability to reap the benefits from the new technology that is being used by the company. The training that is administered includes the new servo-electric weld gun system that identifies the perfect center for welding that has replaced the older and loud air-powered system that used a less sophisticated spring system. The environmental scanning of technology that is performed by Ford Motor Company has allowed the company to have positive outcomes in efficiency while remaining a competitive company in the industry through cost savings and continuous improvement.

Compass Bank- Political –

On February 16, 2007, Compass Bancshares, Inc., the parent company of Compass Bank, announced the signing of a definitive agreement under which Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A. (NYSE: BBV Madrid: BBVA) (“BBVA”) will acquire Compass for a combination of cash and stock. Compass will become a wholly owned U.S. subsidiary of BBVA and will continue to operate under the Compass name. The transaction is expected to close during the second half of 2007, pending customary closing conditions, including necessary bank regulatory approvals in the U.S. and Spain and the approval of the stockholders of both Compass and BBVA.

BBVA, which operates in 35 countries, is based in Spain and has substantial banking interests in the Americas. The transaction will facilitate BBVA’s continued growth in Texas and will create the largest regional bank across the Sunbelt. Upon completion of the transaction, Compass will rank among the top 25 banks in the United States with approximately $47 billion in total assets, $32 billion in total loans and $33 billion in total deposits. In addition, the combined company will rank fourth in deposit market share in Texas with $19.6 billion in total deposits and 326 full-service banking offices.

Compass is a $34 billion Southwestern financial holding company that operates 415 full-service banking centers in Alabama, Arizona, Colorado, Florida, New Mexico and Texas. Compass provides a broad array of products and services through three primary lines of business – Corporate Banking, Retail Banking and Wealth Management. Compass is among the top 30 U.S. bank holding companies by asset size and ranks among the top earners of its size based on return on equity.

Under the terms of the definitive agreement, which has been approved by the board of directors of Compass and the relevant bodies of BBVA, Compass will become a wholly owned subsidiary of BBVA. After closing, BBVA intends to merge its U.S. based banking affiliates – including the former operations of Texas Regional Bancshares, State National Bancshares and Laredo National Bancshares – with Compass.

The aggregate consideration is composed of a fixed number of approximately 196 million shares of BBVA common stock and approximately $4.6 billion in cash. The merger is subject to customary closing conditions, including necessary bank regulatory approvals in the U.S. and Spain and the approval of the stockholders of both Compass and BBVA. The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2007.

The merger between both companies will be determined by the political factors ranging from implications of laws and regulations to the state of world politics including the consideration of wars which may be going on in different parts of the world. New laws, regulations, tax programs and public policy create forces and trends, which may provide challenges and barriers or opportunities for any company or organization.

Compass Bank – Technology –

Ford is in the process of implementing a laser marking system on its production line to ensure the highest standard on each transmission assembled. The system will be checking for quality on different points on the assembly line. Ford is teaming up with a company called MECCO to implement this process and a trial run of the new system will last for 3 months. MECCO is a leader in its industry when it comes to laser technology. The decision to implement this new laser marking system came because it is more cost- effective and safer than previous ways of marking checkpoints for quality.

Although this process at Ford has not officially been implemented yet, Compass Bank can learn a few different things. It may be a good idea for Compass Bank to do a short trial of online cell phone banking to see how popular it becomes and if it worth all the time and effort, being spent to get it launched. Compass Bank should also consider investing into a company who is the best at what they do, is in the same time zone, and can meet their demands in a timely manner, not simply because they may be cheaper. Finally, Compass Bank can learn that they need to consider what will be most cost-effective and in the best interest of the company over time. Organizing a time line and a list of costs and potential risks would also be beneficial to Compass Bank so they know what to expect and when with the implementation of online cell phone banking.

When completing the global scan one looks for emerging new technologies which may impact any business in any industry. At one time the emergence of the Internet was a technology that was becoming an emerging trend across all industries. Today very new technologies are used to develop information systems at a fraction of the cost and time of processes that were used five years ago. Wireless is a telecommunications technology that may have moved from a trend to a force in revolutionizing the way information is stored, accessed and used across all industries around the world. Some, if leveraged by a company within an industry before competitors use it, may even provide a competitive advantage.

Compass Bank – Competition –

Although mergers may be costly and rather difficult, the value it creates in the end is the desired outcome companies seek. The eagerness to merge is based on several beliefs, those beliefs are, that the performance gains are greater, expenses are reduced, market power is increased, and shareholder’s wealth is also greater than before. The value of a merger is enhanced when the overall benefit is more valuable than the aggregate of two separate pre-merger companies.

In the end, both John and Bernard should consider this before finalizing a decision. When Zion’s purchased Stockmans, there overall value increased by 43 branches. These branches will help performance and brings much more power to the financial market. In the Journal of Money article, Pilloff states “Companies are more willing to acquire others to avoid being acquired themselves.” Keeping this in mind, companies must figure out a cross border strategy.

As part of the broad environmental scan, it is important to identify the internal capabilities of the organization. There are various models for defining capabilities. Most focus on the broad set of intangible assets such as brand, human capital, organizational capital and even relationship capital. Others include the more concrete assets such as available capital, the organization structure, current technologies and information technology infrastructure. In addition to doing a broad environmental trend, Compass Bank needs to do a more detailed capability assessment using any of the models available.

DawningStreams – Competitors –

Business activities are becoming more and more complex to manage, because of distance, time zones, number of parties involved in projects, number of tasks to achieve, multiple prioritizations, lack of general synchronization, insufficient secure and confidential communication channels and growing complexity of IT infrastructures. The use of task list managers has become very common. It is becoming more difficult to keep teams synchronized, to follow and to implement new business processes and to exchange sensitive information confidentially. The DawningStreams software application is aiming at increasing the practicality of daily executive activities. The types of business, which will most probably be interested in our product, are construction (size of network), consulting (need for synchronization), pharmaceutical research (secure exchange of information) and the software industry (complexity of manufacturing).

Many companies have already developed software applications that enable secured communications and file sharing. However, most, if not all, are relying on Microsoft technologies, which prevent them from expanding to Mac or Unix users. DawningStreams is developed in Java, which can be used on any platform, including Mac and Unix. Microsoft has acquired the Groove Company and has released a new version of the product, which can perform many of the functionalities of DawningStreams, but not generic activities (http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/groove/default.aspx). This is our closest competitor by far. More recently, we found, merely by accident, a company called Shinkuro (www.shinkuro.com), which offers the file sharing aspects of DawningStreams but lacks other capacities.

Although DawningStreams will face competition from many existing players, the fact that it will combine a super-set of functionalities in one application, for a very reasonable price, will give it some leading edge over other competitors. If the US patent is granted, the position of DawningStreams will become a niche. Even if the patent were not granted, it would take a profound architectural redesign of Groove (or other competitors) to include generic activities and match the offer of DawningStreams. As a strategy we will monitor the activities of those companies’ websites and understand what they offer in terms of similar functionality and try to ensure we match or best those functionalities to the best of our ability and resources

DawningStreams – Political –

Maintaining the secrecy of information is the fundamental function of encryption items. Persons abroad may use such items to harm US law enforcement efforts, as well as US foreign policy and national security interests. The US Government has a critical interest in ensuring that persons opposed to the United States are not able to conceal hostile or criminal activities, and that the legitimate needs for protecting important and sensitive information of the public and private sectors are met. Since 2000, US encryption export policy has been directed by three fundamental practices: technical review of encryption products prior to sale, streamlined post-export reporting, and license reviews of proposed transactions involving strong encryption to certain foreign government end-users and countries of concern. US encryption policy also seeks to ensure that American companies are not disadvantaged by the European Union’s “license-free zone.” (Bureau of Industry and Security, 2007).

DawningStreams will contain cryptographic functions. Any reliable and efficient cryptographic system requires a central authority to avoid identity theft. Cryptography is a key functionality of DawningStreams. All specialists insist on designing systems using well-studied algorithms and fully tested protocols; novelty is considered a source of risk. The cryptographic layer of DawningStreams will rely on a dual public-private key system. The private key encryption system will implement Rijndael, the Advanced Encryption Standard (http://csrc.nist.gov/CryptoToolkit/aes/rijndael/), the public key system will implement RSA (www.rsa.com) and the hashing function will implement the 256 bits version of the Secure Hash Algorithm (http://secure-hash-algorithm-md5-sha-1.co.uk/ ).

Encryption products can be used to conceal the communications of terrorists, drug smugglers, and others intent on harming U.S. interests. Cryptographic products and software also have military and intelligence applications that, in the hands of hostile nations, could pose a threat to U.S. national security. The national security, foreign policy, and law enforcement interests of the United States are protected by encryption export controls. These controls are consistent with Executive Order (E.O.) 13026, which was issued on November 15, 1996, and the Presidential Memorandum of the same date. (Bureau of Industry and Security, 2007).

DawningStreams also plans to be an international company, as offices now exist in the Netherlands and the US. As part of the strategy, we will ensure we remain compliant by registering our product with any necessary agency and allowing those agencies access to the processes if they feel there is a threat. We will be responsible to monitor (as best as we can) our client base and to put the proper verbiage in our contracts that illegal activities will not be tolerated. We will continue to monitor the BIS site mentioned in previous paragraphs and also sites in the European Union such as the Crypto Law website of legal expert Bert-Jaap Koops (http://rechten.uvt.nl/koops/)

DawningStreams – Technology/Intellectual Property –

The management of organizational strategy requires a comprehensive assessment of the macro environment of the business. Intellectual Property (IP) refers to the original ideas and innovations evolved by an organization in order to haul up its systems and processes. Creation of ideas requires large investments. This necessitates the protection of IP. Benchmarking is the continuous process of measuring products, processes, and systems of an organization against those that are rated best in the industry. It helps in uncovering weaknesses and flaws in the organizational systems, processes, and products. (Watson, 2003)

The study of the global research conducted by McAfee Inc. and MessageLabs Ltd. on security threat in small businesses in the U.S. reveals that 80 percent of small-and-medium-sized businesses (SMB) believe that an information technology (IT) security failure would be damaging in attaining their business priorities. Yet, only few are courageously making steps to fight against infringements due to resource limitations from other business related priorities. The research implies that company size plays an essential part in the way senior management views security. Among the challenges that SMBs face include keeping up-to-date with security solutions and keeping costs low. Small-to-medium businesses’ behavior towards security is very tactical and meets only immediate requirements. (unknown, 2007)

DawningStreams’ relevance to these forces is two-fold. We are a software company—there is an opportunity for us to lose the intellectual property by those who would download and attempt to modify the code. We have competitors who offer functionality similar to ours, however we offer an additional functionality the others do not. It is this ‘specialty functionality’ for which we applied for a patent the United States Patent and Trademark Office. If the patent is granted, there is less likelihood of software piracy or the loss of our IP. Environmental scans should show us if there are other companies trying to do this.

The functionality, which most resembles our competitors’, is the ability to share files. That brings in a different concern with intellectual property- the possibility someone else’s IP could be sent from one of our users to another, as this could seriously damage our reputation, as what happened with Napster. (www.napster.com).

Conclusion

At one company after another–from Sears to IBM to Hewlett-Packard to Searle, strategy is again a major focus in the quest for higher revenues and profits. With help from a new generation of business strategists, companies are pursuing novel ways to hatch new products, expand existing businesses, and create the markets of tomorrow. Some companies are even recreating full-fledged strategic-planning groups. United Parcel Service expects to spin out a new strategy group from its marketing department, where strategic plans are now hatched. Explains Chairman Kent C. Nelson: “Because we’re making bigger bets on investments in technology, we can’t afford to spend a whole lot of money in one direction and then find out five years later it was the wrong direction.”

In such a world we need a planning model that allows us to anticipate the future and to use this anticipation in conjunction with an analysis of our organization–its culture, mission, strengths and weaknesses–to define strategic issues, to chart our direction by developing strategic vision and plans, to define how we will implement these plans and to specify how we will evaluate how well we are implementing these plans. The fact that the world is changing as we move forward in the future demands that the process be an iterative one.

References

Bilek, E. (n.d.) Compass Bankshares to be Acquired by Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A.,

Investor Relations. Retrieved from the Internet on March 31, 2007 at

http://media.corporate-ir.net/media_files/irol/77/77589/bbvarelease.pdf

Cole, Jim. Zions makes small deal, cites growing Arizona market. American Banker, 171(175), 1-1. Retrieved March 31, 2007 from Proquest Database.

Ford Motor Company (2006). Ford Motor Company. Retrieved March 2007,

from the World Wide Web, Web Site: [https://ford.com]

Ford, S. (2004) Adapted from 13 Skills Managers Need to Succeed, Harvard Business School

Press. Retrieved March 31, 2007 from EBSCOHost Database.

Hockenberry, Todd. (2006). Ford implements advanced laser marking. Industrial Laser Solutions, 21(4), 6-7. Retrieved March 31, 2007, from EBSCOhost database

Jacobs, P. (2005) Five Steps to Thriving in times of Uncertainty. Negotiation (p.3) Retrieved

April 1, 2007 from EBSCOHost Database.

McLean, J. (2006) We’re going through changes! British Journal of Administrative Management

54. Retrieved March 30, 2007 from EBSCOHost Database.

Pearce, J. & Robinson, R, (2004). Strategic Management: Formulation, Implementation, and Control. [University of Phoenix Custom Edition e-text]. The McGraw-Hill Companies. Retrieved March 2007, from the University of Phoenix, Resource, MBA 580-Strategies for Competitive Advantage Course Web Site: https://ecampus.phoenix.edu/secure/resource/resource.asp

Author Unknown, Strategic Planning, After a decade of gritty downsizing, Big Thinkers are back in corporate vogue. (2006) Retrieved from the Internet at http://www.businessweek.com/1996/35/b34901.htm

Unknown (2007) 80% of Small-to-Medium Sized Firms Fear a Security Threat. Computer Security Update 8 (4). Retrieved March 30, 2007 from EBSCOHost Database.

Unknown (2006) Strategic Planning, After a decade of gritty downsizing, Big Thinkers are back

in corporate vogue. Retrieved from the Internet at

http://www.businessweek.com/1996/35/b34901.htm

US Department of Commerce (2007), Encryption (ch.10, section 742.15). Retrieved March 27, 2007 from the Bureau of Industry and Security Website at http://www.bis.doc.gov/news/2007/foreignpolicyreport/fprchap10_encryption.html

Watson, G. (2003) Business Environmental Scans for Intellectual Property Strategy (PowerPoint Presentation). Retrieved March 28, 2007 from the Oklahoma State University website at http://www.okstate.edu/ceat/msetm/courses/etm5111/CourseMaterials/ETM5111Session3Part2.ppt#260,1,Business Environmental Scans for Intellectual Property Strategy

It would be true to say that Bitcoin is enjoying a veritable explosion in popularity when it comes to cryptocurrency. This very popular cryptocurrency has caught on among investors, traders and users and everyone is working to destroy Bitcoin trading. It has so much to offer in terms of lower fees, transaction speed and increasing value, which may be the reason why most people choose it for their trading. However, it is a turbulent market and to make it big, you need to be a very smart trader when buying and selling it. With dedication and discipline, you can turn Bitcoin volatility to your advantage. Here are simple yet effective ways you can do just that.

Stay up to date with the latest Bitcoin news

It is possible that not all news will have an impact on this currency, but the truth is that there are some elements that could significantly affect its price. By getting access to Bitcoin related news and live news feeds of typical news, you can catch something in time so that you make decisions that will bring you luck in trading. It helps to always stay up to date with Bitcoin news and other unexpected news that could impact its performance.

Use stop losses to your advantage

Whether you are just starting to trade or have been doing it for a while, you need to be prepared for times when losses are inevitable. No one trades expecting to make a loss, but the chances are always there, hence the need to implement a reliable stop loss plan. Grades fluctuate regularly and you should be prepared for bad days. The market offers tools that you can automatically set up to stop losses before they seriously impact your profits. Whether you’re trading Bitcoin futures, CFDs or cash, make sure you use a stop loss to keep open positions protected.

Understand technical analysis from the inside out

This is very important before you join the trade. Given that there is no governing body or bank to influence Bitcoin’s valuation, you have to be your own judge in more ways than one. If you don’t understand the basics of the market and don’t even know how to analyze price charts or read price action and indicator application, you are doomed to make the wrong moves. Remember that price patterns are largely speculative, which makes it important for you to know all the technical details that really matter.

Be smart with your leverage

Leverage has the ability to increase your profits or increase your losses. If you are over leveraged then you will tend to be a little reckless with your money management and this will end up blowing the trading account. On the other hand, being too careful with your leverage can hinder performance, given that premium trades may not perform to their full potential as expected. When it comes to Bitcoin trading, you have to do a balancing act to enjoy good returns.

The statistics could no longer be ignored. Most ICOs book and stay booked once the tokens hit the crypto exchanges, once the frenzy and “FOMO” attending the crowdsale has ended.

Most observers following the ICO phenomenon agree that the trend over the past few months has been for ICOs to lose value after the crowdsale, with many buyers waiting in vain for their promised “moon” once the cryptocurrency reaches an exchange portal.

What is not discussed, however, is the main reason why we are witnessing this phenomenon and what crowdsale participants, including the rating companies that most of us rely on to make our choices, must be wrong in choosing which ICO has the most value, or is most likely to increase in value after the crowdsale is over.

While there are many reasons one could legitimately propose for the phenomenon, there is one fact that I believe is probably more responsible for it than most other debatable reasons: the ICO token valuation and the undue emphasis on “blockchain experts,” “ICO advisors’ or ‘tech assistants’ for erc20 tokens.

I’ve always felt that the need for blockchain technical experts or ICO technical advisors is overstated or even completely irrelevant when a project is judged by these criteria, unless the project is actually trying to create a brand new coin concept. For most ERC20 tokens and clone coins, the really important consideration should be the business plan behind the token and the management background and executive profiles of the team leaders.

As anyone involved in the industry should know, creating an ERC20 token from Ethereum or similar tokens from other cryptocurrencies does not require great technical skills or some overpriced blockchain wizard (in fact, with the new software, an ERC20 Token can be made for -less than 10 minutes from a complete technical novice.

So the technical features should not be a big deal for the tokens anymore). The key should be the business plan; level of business experience; the competence of the project managers and the business marketing strategy of the main fundraising company.

Frankly, as a lawyer and business consultant for over 30 years to several companies worldwide, I cannot understand why people continue to look for some Russian, Korean or Chinese “Crypto Whiz” or “Crypto Advisor” to determine the strength of an ICO for what is essentially a crowdfunding campaign for a BUSINESS CONCEPT…

I’m of the firm opinion that this is one of the main reasons why most ICOs never live up to their pre-launch hype. In an age where token creation software, platforms, and freelancers abound, a disproportionate focus on the blockchain experience or technical ability of organizers is mostly misplaced. It’s like trying to gauge the likely success of a company based on the ability of its staff to create a good website or app. That train left the station long ago with the proliferation of tech workers on freelance sites like Guru; Upwork, Freelancer and even Fiverr.

People seemed too engrossed in the hype and technical qualifications of people promoting ICOs, especially ERC20 based Ethereum tokens, and then wondered why a technically superior Russian, Chinese or Korean could not fulfill the company’s business objective after the fundraising campaign.

Even many of our ICO rating companies seem to give a disproportionate number of points to the team member’s crypto experience, how many crypto advisors they have, and the ICO success experience they have on their team, instead of focusing on the core business model to be created with the funds raised

Once one realizes that over 90% of cryptocurrencies and ICOs out there are simply tokens created to crowdfund an idea and not just a token for the token’s sake, then people’s emphasis will shift from technical angles to more relevant work by assessment the business idea itself and a corporate business plan.

Once we move into this era of evaluation, before deciding whether to buy or invest in a cryptocurrency, we will then begin to evaluate the future prospects or value of our tokens based on sound business considerations such as:

– Swot analysis of the company and its promoters

– Managerial competence and experience of team leaders

– Strength of business idea beyond token creation

– The company’s marketing plan and strategy for selling these ideas

– The ability to supply the basic products to the market

– The customer base for the products and services that the company will create

– and a basis for projecting market acceptance

What most people fail to realize is that the potential for their tokens to increase in value post-ICO is not so much dependent on anything technical, but on good things happening in the company raising funds and the perceived increase in valuation of the company as he unfolds his business plan and delivers his business products.

Of course, buying cryptocurrency is not buying stock and it is not buying securities of any company. We understand this, but tokens react in much the same way that stocks react to good or bad news about a company. The only difference is that in the case of crypto, the effect is magnified 100 times.

So when a company reaches some kind of financial or business milestone, the price of its token on the exchange will rise… and fall rapidly when nothing good happens. So what the company will do and how it will do it after the ICO should be of utmost importance to anyone who doesn’t want to see the value of their tokens plummet and stay down forever.

Of course, the tokens most tokens will drop sharply after the tokens reach the crypto exchange after the ICO due to those who want to take immediate profits, but whether it will ever come back to give you the expected multi-digit profits will always depend on the criteria Now I outlined above. Once you have purchased a token, the value of “crypto advisors” and “tech assistants” goes to zero in terms of the potential of your moon tokens.

Following this reality, I think a smart crypto buyer or investor should focus less on how many crypto advisors a project has or how technically sound the team is (unless the highlighted business of the company is technical in nature) and focus more on management, marketing and potential customer base of the company raising funds through ICO.

In other words, allocate more points to the business and management side of the ICO rather than the technical jargons that won’t help your token in the market when the money is raised!

In today’s enterprise industry, the use of cloud computing has become the unspoken norm. Almost everyone has heard of it, and its benefits are far-reaching and wide – it saves costs, increases efficiency, helps get work done faster, and so on. In various market studies conducted over time, the results show that this trend of using cloud computing by companies and technology houses will increase in the coming years.

So far, there have been some notable changes that have occurred in the field of cloud computing and it will be important for businesses to consider them when investing their time and capital in cloud computing –

Quantum Computing-

Quantum computing literally translates to tasks that once took hours will now take exponentially less time, seconds to be exact. This means that computers and servers will now process information much faster than usual, increasing the speed of the network in the future. One must remember that networks today have cloud computing at their core, which means that significant technological changes are bound to happen in cloud computing due to the development of quantum computing.

Using Blockchain

Blockchain technology has led to the development of faster network systems. Many firms, especially financial technology centers, have increased the use of blockchain in their cryptocurrency analysis and validation. At the heart of it all is cloud computing, which has the potential to host crypto trading as well as initial coin offerings, among other things.

Increasing Digital Literacy-

As the newer workforce enters the workforce over time, we find that they are much more knowledgeable about the technological advancements of newer technologies, especially cloud computing. With this, companies will see that they have two types of workers – the technologically advanced and the not so technologically advanced. Companies will need to conduct various training and familiarization programs to keep the older generation digitally savvy.

Mobility of workers-

Correlating from the growing digital literacy among workers, a trend will soon catch up with newer workers that is all about worker mobility and their jobs. With cloud computing, workers don’t have to be present in their offices and cubicles every time they work. They can work from anywhere, on any device and get the job done. Any company that does not offer them mobility will not have loyal employees.

Edge Computing-

Edge computing means “bringing computing closer to the source of the data.” Thanks to this, the communication between the network and the data source is significantly minimized, increasing the speed of calculation and significantly reducing costs. how does this happen C can calculate. This kind of technology is used in modern devices like smart refrigerators, smart speakers, cars, etc. and is only possible thanks to cloud computing.

AI (Artificial Intelligence): The New Groundbreaking Invention –

Artificial intelligence is considered the future of digital automation. The automation facilities it offers companies have surprised even the most optimistic people, and even with its criticism, people have begun to understand how useful AI can be. With AI, we are expected to see an increase in devices that use edge computing, which means that its basis is only in cloud computing. Artificial intelligence is something every business should be looking for.

Serverless PCs –

It is a newly developed cloud computing model where a dynamic backend system helps you scale your usage up and down depending on the usage of your application or service, instead of using predefined servers. This technology is also considered futuristic, with people like Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella supporting it. You will slowly see the emergence of open source serverless computing service providers, thus reducing the need for server providers to lock in their services.

Data Center Ecosystem-

Combining the power of machine learning, cloud computing and data processing with quantum computing, we will soon see software become a service rather than a subscription-based commodity, easily consumed by companies and business houses using these newly developed technologies. In this way, the time to complete a project will be reduced, costs will be reduced and we will see a reduction in redundant processes. One would see that the way data is viewed today will be revolutionized with cloud computing technology at the core.

In conclusion, the current progress in cloud computing is only a glimpse of what is to come. It’s just a foundation. At the forefront of all this will be many newer innovations and technologies that will be there to revolutionize the way we do everything.

When most people think of cryptocurrency, they may also think of cryptocurrency. Very few people seem to know what it is and for some reason everyone seems to talk about it as if they do. Hopefully, this report will demystify all aspects of cryptocurrency, so that by the time you’re done reading, you’ll have a pretty good idea of ​​what it is and what it’s all about.

You may or may not find that cryptocurrency is for you, but at least you’ll be able to speak with a degree of certainty and knowledge that others won’t have.

There are many people who have already reached millionaire status through cryptocurrency trading. There is obviously a lot of money to be made in this brand new industry.

Cryptocurrency is electronic currency, short and simple. But what is not so short and simple is how exactly it comes to have value.

Cryptocurrency is a digitized, virtual, decentralized currency produced through the application of cryptography, which according to the Merriam Webster dictionary is “the computerized encoding and decoding of information.” Cryptography is the foundation that makes debit cards, computer banking and electronic commerce systems possible.

Cryptocurrency is not backed by banks; it is not backed by a government, but by an extremely complex arrangement of algorithms. Cryptocurrency is electricity that is encoded in complex strings of algorithms. What gives monetary value is their complexity and their security from hackers. The way cryptocurrency is made is simply too difficult to replicate.

Cryptocurrency is in direct opposition to what is called fiat money. Fiat money is a currency that derives its value from a government decision or law. The dollar, yen, and euro are examples. Any currency that is designated as legal tender is fiat money.

Unlike fiat money, another part of what makes cryptocurrency valuable is that, like a commodity like silver and gold, there is only a limited amount of it. Only 21,000,000 of these extremely complex algorithms were produced. No more no less. It cannot be changed by printing more of it, the way the government prints more money to pump up the system without support. Or from a bank changing a digital ledger, something the Federal Reserve will instruct banks to do to adjust for inflation.

Cryptocurrency is a means of buying, selling and investing that completely avoids both government oversight and banking systems tracking the movement of your money. In a world economy that is destabilized, this system can become a stabilizing force.

Cryptocurrency also gives you a great deal of anonymity. Unfortunately, this can lead to abuse by a criminal element using crypto currency for their own purposes, just as regular money can be abused. However, it can also prevent the government from tracking your every purchase and invading your personal privacy.

Cryptocurrency comes in quite a few forms. Bitcoin was the first and is the standard from which all other cryptocurrencies are modeled. All are produced through meticulous alphanumeric calculations by a sophisticated coding tool. Some other cryptocurrencies are Litecoin, Namecoin, Peercoin, Dogecoin and Worldcoin to name a few. They are called altcoins as a collective name. The prices of each are governed by the supply of the particular cryptocurrency and the market demand for that currency.

The way cryptocurrency is created is quite fascinating. Unlike gold, which has to be mined from the ground, cryptocurrency is simply an entry in a virtual ledger that is stored in various computers around the world. These records must be “mined” using mathematical algorithms. Individual users or, more likely, a group of users perform computational analysis to find specific series of data called blocks. “Miners” find data that creates an accurate model of the cryptographic algorithm. At this point it applies to the series and they have found a block. Once an equivalent string of data in the block matches the algorithm, the block of data is unencrypted. The miner receives a reward of a certain amount of cryptocurrency. Over time, the reward amount decreases as the cryptocurrency becomes scarcer. In addition, the complexity of the algorithms when searching for new blocks also increases. From a computational point of view, it becomes more difficult to find a matching series. Both scenarios combine to reduce the rate at which cryptocurrency is created. This mimics the difficulty and scarcity of mining a commodity like gold.

Now anyone can be a miner. The creators of Bitcoin made the mining tool open source, so it’s free for anyone. However, the computers they use run 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The algorithms are extremely complex and the processor is working at full speed. Many users have dedicated computers made specifically for cryptocurrency mining. Both the user and the specialized computer are called miners.

Miners (human) also keep transaction logs and act as auditors so that a given coin is not duplicated in any way. This protects the system from hacking and insanity. They get paid for this work by receiving new cryptocurrency every week they maintain their work. They store their cryptocurrency in specialized files on their computers or other personal devices. These files are called wallets.

Let’s summarize by reviewing a few of the definitions we learned:

• Cryptocurrency: electronic currency; also called digital currency.

• Fiat money: any legal tender; backed by the government used in the banking system.

• Bitcoin: the original and gold standard of crypto currency.

• Altcoin: other cryptocurrencies that are modeled on the same processes as Bitcoin, but with slight variations in their coding.

• Miners: an individual or group of individuals who use their own resources (computers, electricity, space) to mine digital coins.

o Also a specialized computer designed specifically to find new coins through a computational series of algorithms.

• Wallet: a small file on your computer where you store your digital money.

Conceptualizing the cryptocurrency system in a nutshell:

• Electronic money.

• Mined by individuals using their own resources to find the coins.

• A stable, limited currency system. For example, there are only 21,000,000 Bitcoins ever produced.

• Does not require a government or bank to operate.

• Pricing is determined by the amount of coins found and used, combined with the public’s demand to own them.

• There are several forms of crypto currency, Bitcoin being the foremost.

• It can bring great wealth, but like any investment it carries risks.

Most people find the concept of cryptocurrency fascinating. This is a new field that could be the next gold mine for many of them. If you find that cryptocurrency is something you would like to learn more about, then you have found the right report. However, I have barely scratched the surface in this report. There is much, much more to cryptocurrency than what I have gone through here.

Investors from all over the world are trying to profit from the volatile Forex market by trading the cryptocurrency Bitcoin. Well, it is quite easy to get started with online trading, but it is important to know that there are risks that you cannot ignore.

As with any speculative or stock market, Bitcoin trading is also a dangerous endeavor that can cost you a lot of money, especially if you don’t do it right. That is why it is important to know about the risks involved before you decide to start with it.

If you are a beginner interested in Bitcoin trading, then you will need to understand the basics of trading and investing first.

Avoid common mistakes that new traders tend to make

Invest wisely

Any financial investment can bring losses instead of profits. Likewise, with the extremely volatile Bitcoin market, you can expect both gains and losses. It’s all about making the right decisions at the right time.

Most of the beginners tend to lose money by making wrong decisions which are usually driven by greed and poor analytical skills. Experts say that you should not enter into a trade if you are not prepared to lose money. Basically, such an approach helps you mentally deal with the worst possibilities.

Diversify the portfolio

First, successful traders diversify their portfolios. Risk exposure increases if the majority of your funds are allocated to one asset. It becomes more difficult for you to cover losses from other assets. You cannot afford to lose more money than you have invested, so avoid investing more funds in limited assets. This will help you keep negative trades going to a great extent.

Second, investing more money than you can afford will also cloud your ability to make good decisions. In most cases, you will be forced to choose a “desperate sell” when the market drops slightly. Instead of weathering the market downturn, the investor who has invested too much in the deal is bound to panic. The person will feel the urge to sell the holding at a low price in an attempt to cut losses.

You will also lose more money when the market recovers. This is because you will have to buy the same retention but at a higher price.

Set goals – Emotions make you blind

Setting goals for each transaction is vital when trading bitcoins. It helps you stay calm even in extremely volatile conditions. Therefore, you will need to determine the price first to stop your losses.

The same rule applies to profits, especially if you let your greed get the better of you. The benefit of setting goals is that you can easily prevent yourself from making decisions based on emotions.

Instead, you should work on improving your chart reading and market analysis skills. It is also recommended that new traders close their losing positions after 24 hours to avoid paying recurring interest.

In terms of market size, the Forex market is undoubtedly the largest market in the world. It boasts an average turnover of over $4 trillion per day. Over time, this large but decentralized marketplace has become extremely popular. Above all, this is due to a number of innovations in the world of technology over the past few decades. Today, with the help of technology, millions of traders can enter the forex market. If you are new to this market, below are 5 facts that can give you a deeper insight into this business world.

1. Small wins add up

Although Forex is one of the best markets in the world, most traders do not make huge profits in the beginning. Initially, they analyze the market and make several trades with small amounts of money, earning small profits. Over time, small gains add up. This type of trader has a lot of trading experience.

In fact, your goal should be to use the right strategy to keep winning without suffering huge losses.

2. Choosing a reputable broker is important

For ROI, the Forex market offers an endless array of possibilities. But it is really important to sign the contract with a good reputable broker. By good we mean a broker that is regulated and licensed. Proper research is necessary to ensure that you are hiring a broker who is professional and established. They should offer different types of services including good customer support.

3. Emotions are not important

By nature, trading is an emotional endeavor because your hard-earned money is being staked on a map that is volatile and unpredictable. But if you enter the market with an emotional mindset, you will be more likely to suffer failures. In fact, when you are emotional, you tend to make hasty decisions.

If you don’t want this to happen, you may want to build a trading strategy based on a trial trading account, which is known as a demo account. In fact, learning to trade objectively is only possible if you put your emotions aside when you trade. This will increase your chances of ROI on a regular basis.

4. Insider trading is a false belief

Contrary to what most people may have told you, there is nothing true about insider trading in the Forex market. So it is important to keep in mind that you will have to make your decisions based on the current market conditions and the latest news. In other words, there is no magic way or short cuts to making profits.

5. A simple strategy works better

Finally, if you are looking for a solid approach to achieve success in this trading world, you should use a simple strategy instead of a complex one. In other words, you should choose a simple but proven strategy based on a thorough market analysis. You can apply this strategy throughout your trading career.

Over the past year, the cryptocurrency market has received a series of heavy blows from the Chinese government. The market took the hits like a warrior, but the combinations took a toll on many cryptocurrency investors. The market’s lackluster performance in 2018 pales in comparison to its stellar 1,000-percent gains in 2017.

What happened?

Since 2013, the Chinese government has taken measures to regulate cryptocurrency, but nothing compared to what was imposed in 2017. (See this article for a detailed analysis of the official notice issued by the Chinese government)

2017 was a landmark year for the cryptocurrency market with all the attention and growth it achieved. Extreme price volatility has forced the Central Bank to adopt more extreme measures, including banning Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) and restricting domestic cryptocurrency exchanges. Soon after, mining factories in China were forced to close due to excessive electricity consumption. Many exchanges and factories moved overseas to avoid regulations but remained accessible to Chinese investors. However, they are still unable to escape the clutches of the Chinese dragon.

In the latest in a series of government-led efforts to monitor and ban cryptocurrency trading among Chinese investors, China has expanded its “Eagle Eye” to monitor foreign cryptocurrency exchanges. Companies and bank accounts suspected of transacting with foreign crypto exchanges and related activities are subject to measures ranging from restricting withdrawal limits to account freezes. There are even ongoing rumors among the Chinese community of more extreme measures being imposed on foreign platforms that allow trading between Chinese investors.

“As for whether there will be further regulatory measures, we will have to wait for orders from higher authorities. Excerpts from an interview with the team leader of the China Public Information Network Security Supervision Agency under the Ministry of Public Security, February 28

WHY WHY WHY!?

Imagine your child investing their savings to invest in a digital product (in this case cryptocurrency) whose authenticity and value he or she has no way of verifying. He or she may get lucky and become rich or lose everything when the crypto-bubble bursts. Now scale that to millions of Chinese citizens and we’re talking billions of Chinese Yuan.

The market is full of scams and pointless ICOs. (I’m sure you’ve heard news stories about people sending coins to random addresses with the promise of doubling their investments and ICOs that just don’t make sense). Many clueless investors are in it for the money and could care less about the technology and innovation behind it. The value of many cryptocurrencies is derived from market speculation. During the cryptocurrency boom of 2017, participate in any ICO with a famous advisor on board, a promising team or decent hype and you are guaranteed at least 3x your investment.

A lack of understanding of the firm and the technology behind it combined with the proliferation of ICOs is a recipe for disaster. Central Bank members report that almost 90% of ICOs are fraudulent or involve illegal fundraising. In my opinion, the Chinese government wants to ensure that cryptocurrency remains “controllable” and is not too big to fail in the Chinese community. China is taking the right steps towards a safer, more regulated cryptocurrency world, albeit an aggressive and controversial one. In fact, it might be the best move the country has made in decades.

Will China issue an ultimatum and make cryptocurrency illegal? I highly doubt it as it’s pretty pointless to do. Financial institutions are currently prohibited from holding any crypto assets, while individuals are permitted but prohibited from conducting any form of trading.

A Government Cryptocurrency Exchange?

At the annual “Two Sessions” (so-called because two major parties, the National People’s Congress (NPC) and the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPCC) participate in the forum held in the first week of March, leaders gather to discuss latest issues and make the necessary changes in the law.

Wang Pengjie, a member of the NPCC, deals with the prospects of a state-owned digital asset trading platform, as well as initiates blockchain and cryptocurrency education projects in China. However, the proposed platform will require an authenticated account to allow trading.

“With the establishment of related regulations and the cooperation of the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) and the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), a regulated and efficient cryptocurrency exchange platform will serve as a formal way for companies to raise funds (through ICOs) and investors to hold their digital assets and achieve capital appreciation” Excerpts from Wang Pengjie’s presentation in both sessions.

The Journey to a Blockchain Nation

Governments and central banks around the world are struggling to cope with the growing popularity of cryptocurrencies; but one thing is for sure, everyone has embraced blockchain.

Despite the crackdown on cryptocurrency, blockchain is gaining popularity and acceptance on various levels. The Chinese government is supporting blockchain initiatives and embracing the technology. In fact, the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) is working on a digital currency and has made fake transactions with some of the country’s commercial banks. It is not yet confirmed whether the digital currency will be decentralized and offer cryptocurrency features such as anonymity and immutability. It wouldn’t be a surprise if it turns out to be just a digital Chinese yuan, given that anonymity is the last thing China wants in its country. However, created as a close substitute for the Chinese yuan, the digital currency will be subject to existing monetary policies and laws.

The governor of the People’s Bank of China, Zhou Xiaochuan. Source: CNBC

“Many cryptocurrencies have seen explosive growth, which could lead to a significant negative impact on consumers and retail investors. We don’t like (cryptocurrency) products that take advantage of the huge speculation opportunity that gives people the illusion of getting rich overnight” Excerpts from Zhou Xiaochuan’s Interview on Friday, March 9.

In a media appearance on Friday, March 9, People’s Bank of China Governor Zhou Xiaochuan criticized cryptocurrency projects that take advantage of the crypto-boom to make money and fuel market speculation. He also noted that the development of digital currency is “technologically inevitable”

At the regional level, many Chinese cities are driving blockchain initiatives to promote growth in their region. Hangzhou, famous for being the headquarters of Alibaba, has declared blockchain technology as one of the city’s top priorities in 2018. The local government in Chengdu city has also been proposed to build an incubation center to promote the adoption of blockchain technology in financial services. the city.

Local conglomerates such as Tencent and Alibaba have also partnered with blockchain firms or initiated projects on their own. Blockchain firms such as VeChain have also secured multiple partnerships with Chinese firms to improve supply chain transparency in China.

All clues point to the fact that China is working towards a blockchain nation. China has always had an open mentality towards emerging technologies such as mobile payments and artificial intelligence. From now on, it is without a doubt that China will be the first blockchain-enabled country. Will we see the Chinese government back down and allow its citizens to trade again? Probably when the market has matured and is less volatile, but definitely not in 2018.

“Crypto” – or “cryptocurrencies” – are a type of software system that provides transactional functionality to users via the Internet. The most important feature of the system is their decentralized nature – usually provided by blockchain database system.

Blockchain and “crypto-currencies” have recently become staples of the global zeitgeist; usually as a result of the “price” of Bitcoin skyrocketing. This caused millions of people to participate in the market, with many of the “Bitcoin exchanges” experiencing massive infrastructure stress as demand soared.

The most important point to understand about “crypto” is that although it actually serves a purpose (cross-border transactions over the Internet), it does not provide any other financial benefit. In other words, its “intrinsic value” is firmly limited to the ability to transact with other people; NOT in storing/distributing value (as most people see it).

The most important thing to realize is that “Bitcoin” and the like are payment networks – NOT “currencies”. This will be covered in more depth in a second; the most important thing to realize is that getting “rich” with BTC is not a case of making people better off economically – it’s simply the process of being able to buy “coins” at a low price and sell them higher.

To that end, when looking at “crypto” you must first understand how it actually works and where its “value” really lies…

Decentralized Payment Networks…

As mentioned, the key thing to remember about “Crypto” is that it is mostly a decentralized payment network. Think Visa/Mastercard without the central processing system.

This is important because it highlights the real reason why people have really started to look more deeply at the Bitcoin proposition; gives you the ability to send/receive money from anyone in the world as long as they have your bitcoin wallet address.

The reason this assigns a “price” to the various “coins” is because of the misconception that “Bitcoin” will somehow enable you to make money by virtue of being a “crypto” asset. It doesn’t work.

The ONLY The way people make money with Bitcoin is because of “spiking” its price – buying the “coins” at a low price and selling them at a MUCH higher price. While it worked out well for a lot of people, it was actually based on the “bigger fool theory” – essentially stating that if you manage to “sell” the coins, it’s to a “bigger fool” than you.

This means that if you’re looking to get into the “crypto” space today, you’re basically looking to buy any of the “coins” (even “alt” coins) that are cheap (or cheap) and run them as the price goes up. until you sell them off later. Since none of the “coins” are backed by real-world assets, there’s no way to tell when/if/how this will work.

Future growth

For all intents and purposes “Bitcoin” is spent power.

The epic rally of December 2017 showed mass acceptance, and although its price will likely continue to rise to the $20,000+ range, buying one of the coins today will basically be a big risk that this will happen.

The smart money is already looking at the majority of “alt” coins (Ethereum/Ripple, etc.) which have a relatively low cost but are constantly growing in price and adoption. The key thing to look at in the modern “crypto” space is how the various “platform” systems are actually used.

Such is the rapidly evolving “tech” space; Ethereum & Ripple look like the next “Bitcoin” – with a focus on how they are able to provide users with the ability to actually use “decentralized applications” (DApps) on their main networks to get functionality to work.

This means that if you’re looking for the next level of “crypto” growth, it will almost certainly come from the various platforms you can identify out there.

What is obsession? It is defined as a mental illness characterized by intense excitement, euphoria, delusions and hyperactivity. In investing, this translates into investment decisions driven by fear and greed, untempered by analysis, reason or risk-reward balance. The craze usually runs parallel to the business development of the product, but the timing can sometimes go wrong.

The technology.com boom of the late 1990s and today’s cryptocurrency boom are two examples of how a craze works in real time. These two events will be highlighted with each stage in this article.

The idea stage

The first stage of obsession begins with a great idea. The idea is not yet known to many people, but the earning potential is huge. This usually translates to unlimited profit as “nothing like this has ever been done before”. The Internet was one such case. People using the paper systems of the time were skeptical like “how can the internet replace such a familiar and established system?” The backbone of the idea begins to build. This turned into the modems, servers, software and websites needed to turn the idea into something tangible. Investments at the idea stage start faintly and are made by people “in the know”. In this case, it could be visionaries and people working on the project.

In the cryptocurrency world, the same question is asked: How can a piece of crypto code replace our monetary system, contract system and payment systems?

The possibilities

The first websites were crude, limited, slow and annoying. Skeptics would look at the words “information superhighway” that the visionaries uttered and say “how can this really be that useful?” The forgotten element here is that ideas start at their worst and then evolve into something better and better. This sometimes happens because of better technology, greater scale and cheaper costs, better applications for the product in question, or better product knowledge combined with excellent marketing. On the investment side, early adopters are coming in, but there is still no euphoria and astronomical returns. In some cases, the investments have made decent returns, but not enough to get the masses on board. This is analogous to slow internet connections in the 1990s, websites crashing or information being incorrect in search engines. In the cryptocurrency world, this is seen by the high cost of mining coins, slow transaction times, and account hacking or theft.

The acceleration

Word is getting out that this internet and “.com” is the hot new thing. Products and tangibility are being built, but due to the sheer scale, the cost and time involved would be huge before everyone uses it. The investment aspect of the equation begins to outpace business development as markets reduce business potential at the cost of investment. The euphoria is starting to materialize, but only among the early adopters. This is happening in the cryptocurrency world with the explosion of new “altcoins” and the big media press the space is getting.

The euphoria

This stage is dominated by the parabolic returns and potential that the Internet offers. Not much thought is given to implementation or issues because “the returns are huge and I don’t want to miss out.” The words “irrational exuberance” and “obsession” are starting to become common as people buy out of sheer greed. Adverse risks and negativity and largely ignored. Symptoms of the craze include: Every company with a.com in its name is red-hot, analytics thrown out the window in favor of optics, investment knowledge becoming less and less apparent among new entrants, expectations of returns of 10 or 100 bags is common and few people actually know how the product works or doesn’t work. This played out in the cryptocurrency world with the stellar returns of late 2017 and incidents of companies using “blockchain” in their name jumping hundreds of percentage points. There are also “reverse takeovers” where the names of shell companies that are listed but dormant are changed to something involving blockchain and the shares are suddenly actively traded.

The crash and burn

The business scene for the new product is changing, but not as fast as the investment scene is changing. Eventually, a change in mindset occurs and a huge sales boom begins. Volatility is huge and many “weak hands” have been wiped out of the market. Suddenly, the analysis is being used again to justify that these companies have no value or are “overvalued”. Fear spreads and prices accelerate downward. Companies that have no profits and that survive on advertising and future prospects are blown away. Incidents of scams and scams that are on the rise to take advantage of greed are exposed causing more fear and a sell off of securities. Businesses that have the money quietly invest in the new product, but the rate of progress slows because the new product is an “ugly word” unless the benefits are convincingly demonstrated. This is starting to happen in the cryptocurrency world with the folding of lending schemes using cryptocurrencies and more frequent cases of coin theft. Some of the fringe coins crash in value due to their speculative nature.

The survivors

At this point, the investment landscape is charred with stories of losses and bad experiences. Meanwhile, the great idea becomes tangible, and for the businesses that use it, it’s a boom. It begins to be applied in daily activities. The product is starting to become a standard, and visionaries are quoted as saying that the “information superhighway” is real. The average consumer notices an improvement in the product and it begins mass adoption. Businesses that had a real profit strategy take a hit during the crash and burn stage, but if they have the money to survive, they make it to the next wave. This has not yet happened in the cryptocurrency world. The expected survivors are those with a tangible business case and corporate backing – but it remains to be seen which companies and coins those will be.

The next wave – business catches up with advertising

At this stage, the new product is the standard and the gains become obvious. The business case is now based on profit and scale, not the idea. A second wave of investment is emerging, starting with these survivors and extending into another early phase of mania. The next stage is characterized by social media companies, search engines and online shopping, which are derivatives of the original product – the Internet.

The conclusion

Manias work in a pattern that manifests itself similarly over time. Once one recognizes the stages and thought process of each, it becomes easier to understand what is going on and investment decisions become clearer.