The US and China are on the move to establish Blockchain standards

Friends, on March 12, 2018 China announced the establishment of a national Technical Standardization Committee for Blockchain. Such cryptographic ledgers operate in an ecosystem consisting of the following actors. A ledger node modifies an instance of a cryptographic ledger based on the current configuration of the ledger. The ledger node tracks a set of pending ledger events that are candidates for being written to the ledger and writes them to the ledger when it believes consensus has been reached. A ledger agent may be used by any system that communicates over HTTP to instruct a ledger node to perform a specified action on the ledger. China’s initiative comes in the wake of the US NIST Blockchain Technology Overview published in January 2018. With the world’s two largest economies ‘generally’ moving in the same direction how does this bode for Blockchain adoption – growth or endless bureaucracy? And which other sovereign states such as the UK and Australia are prepping standards of their own? And finally, which international entity – e.g. IEEE or ISO – will serve to harmonize these standards I the months and years to come? Share your comments with us today! Lawrence, Cryptocurrency Academy (https://cryptocurrencyacademy.blogspot.com)

Do Mining Pools Enable Individual Miners to Effectively Compete Against Institution Cryptocurrency Miners?

Friends, mining pools allows cryptocurrency investors to pooling of resources by miners, who share their processing power over a network, to split the reward equally, according to the amount of work they contributed to the probability of finding a block.  In the context of cryptocurrency mining, a mining pool is the pooling of resources by miners, who share their processing power over a network, to split the reward equally, according to the amount of work they contributed to the probability of finding a block. Mining pools are groups of miners who pool their resources together in order to generate blocks more quickly. Miners then receive more regular rewards than they would mining solo, as rewards are shared among members. Eligius, Kank CKPool, F2Pool, Slush Pool and AntPool are some of the most common mining pools … each with their own pros and cons. Membership fees can range from 0.00% to 3.00% and the reward or incentive categories include Pay-per-Share (PPS), Proportional, Score based and Pay per Last N Shares (PPLNS). Are mining pools a good fit for your circumstances? Share your comments with us today! Lawrence, Cryptocurrency Academy (https://cryptocurrencyacademy.blogspot.com)

Can ModulTrade’s Value Ecosystem Level the Playing Field for SMEs to Participate in the Blockchcain Arena?

Friends, ModulTrade is a marketplace where SMEs can efficiently trade globally and directly without banks intermediation. Their ecosystem is based on the MSP (multi-platform-side), which aims to create value through network effects five: Marketplaces or Two Sided Networks, Channel partners  aka Three Sided Networks, Communications networks, Content networks and Local networks. (Note: See MIT’s paper on Network Effects). Opportunities for SMEs in global markets and value chains are very large: it exposes them to the buyer/customer base is great, as well as the opportunity to learn from large companies and of involved and persist in the up and coming sectors of the global market. ModulTrade will continue with its pre-sale offering MTR, the ModulTrade token architected on Ethereum, with up to 10mln MTR available during this period. Followed by a further 40mln during the main sale, and a soft cap of 15,000 ETH. Bottom line: Will the MVE truly enable SMEs to successfully trade directly and globally without back intermediation? Share your comments with the Cryptocurrency Academy today. Lawrence (https://cryptocurrencyacademy.blogspot.com)

Interconnectivity and Interoperability Present a Monumental Challenge for Mass Blockchain Adoption

Friends, despite the unmatched opportunity and appetite for mass Blockchain adoption, the relative absence of standards negatively impact – for now – the positive business case and ROI for multiple Blockchains within and between private sector organizations. A simple analogy: Assume Global 500 companies each needed to design, develop and test an Accounts Receivables process rather than using (and customizing) a standardized AR system from Oracle, SAP or Salesforce. The cost would be prohibitive, moreover, such applications must have bullet proof integrations with other inter-dependent enterprise apps including Financial Management, Accounts Payable, DSO, ERP, HRM, etc. This, this quandary equally applies to implementing multiple application-specific Blockchains which have not only “internal” integrity but also must interfacing with a myriad of external industry systems and applications. This dilemma not only keeps CIOs up at night but also can easily be a budget-buster. And while the Cryptocurrency Academy do not advocate “over regulation” of this transformative technology this issue clearly points to the need for a modicum of standards (aka regulation) which appears to be the lynch-pin form mass Blockchain adoption. Let’s hear your comments today! Lawrence, Cryptocurrency Academy (https://cryptocurrencyacademy.blogspot.com)

Will the GBX Grid Allow the Gibraltar Stock Exchange to Ensure Token Transparency, Credibility and Security?

Friends, the GBX Grid, a token sale platform, has the lofty mission of delivering Transparency, Credibility and Security along with institutional recognition and respectability. Impressive, nonetheless there can be a big difference aspirations and reality.  A stable and regulated environment has benefits for Fintech startups like Lendo, which is why it intends to apply to be licensed under Gibraltar’s new DLT regulatory framework and seek listing on the Gibraltar Blockchain Exchange (GBX) which is a subsidiary of its Stock Exchange. GBX aspires to be a world-leading institutional-grade token sale platform and Cryptocurrency exchange. Built upon principles of decentralization and community consensus, we seek to create a new era of trust, openness and global acceptance for the Cryptocurrency industry by listing one quality token at a time. Moreover, the unique selling feature of Gibraltar Blockchain Exchange is that it will analyze new coins before adding them to the platform. A group called the GBX Alliance must form a consensus about each token before having it listed on the platform. What is your assessment? Share your comments today! Lawrence, Cryptocurrency Academy (https://cryptocurrencyacademy.blogspot.com)

Can Ethen Fulfill its Mission of ERC20 Tokens and Wallets Integrated with Ethereum’s Network?

Friends, Ethen, a new decentralized platform for trading digital forms of money for proficient brokers, dealers and financial specialists, will launch with a one of a kind calculation for getting and exchanging ERC20 tokens, is set to launch on the Ethereum network. Far beyond professional traders, Ethen’s mission is to make decentralized exchanges more accessible to a wide range of users and thus grow the user base for Cryptocurrencies. Bottom line: Ethen’s purpose built platform is designed to ensure Confidentiality, Double Security along with Fixed and Fair Commissions. Can Ethen live up to these high expectations given the rapid pace of Cryptocurrency innovations? Share your comments with us today! Lawrence, Cryptocurrency Academy (https://cryptocurrencyacademy.blogspot.com)

Coinbase to Launch Index Fund for Institutional Investors

Friends, this week we saw the announcement of the Coinbase Index Ventures Fund. There are two key elements of this funds which would appear to set it apart from most other Cryptocurrency and Blockchain vehicles. First – and consistent with our thesis here at the Cryptocurrency Academy – this fund will be geared toward medium-long term “investors” rather than shorter-term “traders”. And second, rather than offering a weighted baskets of Cryptocurrencies, this funds will invest in the ever-expanding number of technology and ecosystem firms which augment the buying and selling of individual currencies. The new fund will specifically invest in digital assets listed on Coinbase’s exchange, GDAX. Using our 1849 Gold Rush analogy this fund will focus on the picks, axes and equipment needs of the masses of prospectors rather than trying to isolate and invest in the small percentage of gold miners who actually struck in rich high in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. We like this approach and recommend taking a closer look. Share your assessment with us today! Lawrence, Cryptocurrency Academy (https://cryptocurrencyacademy.blogspot.com)