What Impact will Hyperledger Fabric have on Blockchain’s Growth?

Hyperledger is an open-source collaborative effort created to advance cross-industry blockchain technologies. The global collaboration is hosted by The Linux Foundation, including leaders in finance, banking, Internet of Things, supply chain, manufacturing and technology. These 185+ members and 8 ongoing projects, including Hyperledger Fabric and Hyperledger Composer, work in concert to create an open, standardized and enterprise-grade distributed ledger framework and code base. IBM is one of the leading adopters of Hyperledger. Hyperledger Fabric offers a modular architecture allowing components, such as consensus and membership services, to be plug-and-play. It leverages container technology to host smart contracts called “chaincode” that comprise the application logic of the system. Just 16 months ago, Hyperledger Fabric became the first of the eight Hyperledger projects to be incubated. Hyperledger Fabric was also the first of the Hyperledger projects to exit incubation to “Active” status after a year in incubation. Share your comments. Lawrence, Cryptocurrency Academy (https://cryptocurrencyacademy.blogspot.com) 

Who is leading the Blockchain-as-a-Service (BaaS) Initiative?

With the rampant rise of blockchain enabled products we have seen the emergence of Blockchain-as-a-Service (aka BaaS) offers from several leading technology companies in recent months. Microsoft Azure has introduced blockchain as part of their cloud services. Amazon AWS is working with financial institutions and blockchain providers to spur innovation and facilitate frictionless experimentation. China’s Baidu has launched its Baidu Trust allows the conducting and tracing of transactions, and can be applied in various use cases, including digital currency, digital billing, bank credit management, insurance management and financial auditing. IBM has entered the arena with a BaaS solution based upon the HyperLedger Fabric and Composer. It is no surprise that Accenture has introduced a suite of BaaS consulting services largely aimed a Global 500 firms. The list of Baas providers seems to be growing with each passing week. More to come. Lawrence, Cryptocurrency Academy (https://cryptocurrencyacademy.blogspot.com)

Investing in Blockchain ETFs to Diversify Risk

According to IDC the market opportunity for blockchain will reach $2.1B USD in 2018 compared to $945B USD in 2017. Thus Blockchain in on track to more than double this year. In an earlier post we looked at several Blockchain vendors and their stocks which speculative traders may finding interesting. However, premise is to diversify your investment in this fast-growing sector by investing in well-diversified ETFs which will balance your risk. Today the two most prominent ETFs are Reality Shares Nasdaq NexGen Economy ETF (BLCN) and Amplify Transformational Data Sharing ETF (BLOK). Nevertheless there are several more ETFs in the pipeline so stay tuned. One additional fund to consider is the FinTech ETF (FINX). FINX’s scope is to broadly invest in stocks of emerging technology firms in the financial technology sector. If you had $10k USD to invest with a 5-10 year time horizon we recommend dollar cost averaging $1k USD per month any two of these three funds. Bye for now. Lawrence, Cryptocurrency Academy (https://cryptocurrencyacademy.blogspot.com) 

How to Intelligently Invest in Blockchain and Avoid the Cryptocurrency Mania

Let us share some ideas for those of you who are mid-long term investors who want to achieve capital appreciation while avoid speculative Bitcoin and cryptocurrency mania. Our chief premise is to invest in enabling technologies which may be adopted by multiple applications and industries rather than a single entity such as Bitcoin. Blockchain and its ever-increasing ecosystem of vendors and service providers is the place to be. This post will look at a “basket” of blockchain start-ups which will help diversify your investment along with their ticker symbols. These include Marathon Patent Group (MARA), HIVE Blockchain (HIVE), HashChain Technology (KASH), eXeBlock Technology (XBLK), Global Blockchain Technologies (BLOC), Coinsilium Group (COIN), DigitalX (ASX:DCC), BTCS (BTCS), 360 Blockchain (CODE) and BTL Group (BTL). Our next post will address “managed” blockchain funds. Lawrence, Cryptocurrency Academy (https://cryptocurrencyacademy.blogspot.com)

Will Blockchain Transform Our Global Economy?

Blockchain represents a paradigm shift which has the potential to transform countless applications in many industries of our global economy. While you may be focused on Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies today, the next 3-5 years+ could see blockchain technology revolutionize the way business is conducted. Just a few examples include: Identity Management – Passports, Birth, wedding, and death certificates. Government – Vested Responsibility and Public Value. Smart Contracts – Music and Healthcare. IoT – Supply Chain Sensors and Smart Appliances. Smart Property – Autos, Smartphones and money lenders/ hard money lending. And yes, Financial Services: Insurance Claims processing, Cross-Border Payments, and Asset Management: Trade Processing and Settlement. More to come. Lawrence, Cryptocurrency Academy (https://cryptocurrencyacademy.blogspot.com)

Want to Jump on the Cryptocurrency Bandwagon? Answer Three Questions First

Cryptocurrency mania reminds me of the dot.com era in Silicon Valley when the stock market was red hot and (some) tech professionals were leaving their jobs and taking a 2nd mortgage on their homes to self-fund their very own start-ups. The the market went from boom to bust. Our guidance is to answer three key questions before taking the plunge into cryptocurrencies. First, what is your risk tolerance (e.g. can you afford to loose most or all of your money)? Second, what is your time horizon (e.g. when will you need these funds - a month, year or decade)? And third, how much time do you have to 'manage' these funds (e.g. is self or professionally managed) the best strategy for you. Yes, your answers will vary depending in your circumstances. Bottom line: The optimal strategy for you should be driven by your answers to these basic questions rather than you being swept up in investor hype. See you soon. Lawrence, Cryptocurrency Academy (https://cryptocurrencyacademy.blogspot.com/).

Ride the Cryptocurrency Tsunami While Reducing the Risk - Consider Blockchain

Based upon our recent posts trading Bitcoin, let alone a "basket" of cryptocurrencies is a high risk and volatile proposition at best. Yes, you will hear or read about people making fortunes a regular basis. But what if there was a safer, longer-term strategy that allows you to be a successful "investor" in this sector? In fact there is. Bitcoin is just one of over 20 highly speculative cryptocurrencies and cryptocurrencies are just one of some 18 applications for the underlying technology "blockchain". Thus, we recommend investing for the longer-term in a blockchain ETF or mutual fund which will diversify your financial risk - regardless of the daily media hype surrounding Bitcoin - allow you to sleep at night a make some profits under the radar. Here are few additional funds to consider: Blockchain ETF (BLCN) and Amplify Transformational Data Sharing ETC.  Expect more blockchain funds to be created as the investment world sees the inherit value. More to come, Lawrence, Cryptocurrency Academy

Want to Trade BitCoin But Worried About the Risk? Here are some Solutions

Yes, we are now in a BitCoin megatrend where many people have visions of grandeur when it comes to getting rich quickly and easily. Nothing could be further from the truth. First,trading any single crypto currency .... whether BitCoin, LiteCoin, Ethereum, etc. is a very high risk speculative investment. With this mindset you are better off spending the weekend in Las Vegas. Thus, our first recommendation is to trade a well-diversified "basket" of cryptocurrencies to reduce your risk. Second, we recommend changing your mindset from that of a hyper risk BitCoin trader to a long-term cryptocurrency and blockchain investor. You can still ride the cryptocurrency roller coaster. However, the more intelligent, balanced and long-term strategy is that of an investor in the broader blockchain enabling technology ecosystem. Cyrptocurrencies are simply the first of a long list of market segments which will benefit from the adoption of blockchain technology. For now, take a look at five funds: Grayscale’s Bitcoin Investment Trust (GBTC), Polychain Capital Fund, The Logos Fund, Arrington XRP Capital, and PanteraICO Fund LP. More on blockchain and hedge funds to follow.

Investing in Bitcoin is Akin to Not Seeing the Forest Because of the Trees

True or False: Investing in Bitcoin will make a finite number of investors worldwide very rich. Answer: True. Question: How can the masses of personal investors cash in on the much larger number of investors rich? Answer: Invest in the enabling technology "blockchain" rather than the finished end product. While cryptocurrency in general and Bitcoin in particular receive all the hype, the fact is they are merely the tip if the proverbial iceberg. Blockchain is an enabling technology technology that will likely transform many industry sectors including healthcare, retail, IoT, voting, energy management, music, supply chain management, forecasting, crowdfunding and beyond. Recommendation: Seek out and invest in a "basket" of blockchain start-up firms and wait ten (10) years. Analogy: Which technology enabled smartphones, tablets, servers, smart devices, etc.? Microchips. So hold your powder, do your research and invest wisely. In ten years our belief is that the massess who follow this investment strategy will reap the rewards ... big time!

Blockchain - A Technology Revolution Which Goes Far Beyond Cryptocurrency

Yes, Bitcoin is gaining massive worldwide exposure for speculative currency traders. Moreover, Bitcoin is but one of an ever-increasing number of cryptocurrencies. As which any emerging technology or services given the hype there will inevitiably be a few winners and mostly losers. Just harcken back to the 1849 Gold Rush in California. And although many of those with high expectations lost their dreams and fortunes there were a segment of businessman who never spent a day mining for gold who made fortunes. Who were they? They were the 1800s version of a technology ecosystem who served those seeking their dreams without risking their life-savings - they were the merchants who sold the gold miners equipment, transportation, food, housing, etc. Bottom line: What equipment merchants were to gold miners in 1849, so are the blockchain technology vendors are to the cryptocurrency investors. Details to follow.

Blockchain-as-a-Service

This BaaS platform launch is seen as a move to combat its Chinese rival Tencent, which already rolled out its own BaaS service a few months ago. “We independently developed a complete set of bottom-layer blockchain protocols and actively participated in the formulation of credible blockchain guidelines for China Institute of Information and Communications,” said Guo Rui, Tencent’s Vice President of Payment Platform and Financial Applications, in a forum in Chengdu in late2017. Guo also stressed that the blockchain industry has entered an era where technology and application scenarios are effectively integrated. In addition to Baidu and Tencent, Chinese tech giant Alibaba is also in the process of developing its own blockchain technology.