Author: Frederik Nielsen (Page 4)

Online Decentralized Search Engine

A decentralized online search engine makes use of a distributed ledger technology.

When it comes to looking for products and services online, blockchain offers an additional layer of privacy. Unlike standard search engines which decide which sites are most relevant/irrelevant for you and place ads based on the information they secretly collected via cookies, blockchain gives users the right to decide what details they wish to share.

As a result, users see targeted ads of their interest. Blockchain allows users to retain the ownership to their personal info.

Since placed ads are of particular interest to the users, it also improves conversion rates and helps with lead generation.

How Does It Work?

Its functioning is no different from that of a regular search engine.

Blockchain offers you a platform to search via the internet. It saves relevant searches clicked by you. When you continuously search via a blockchain search engine, you build a purchaser personality and an online identity.

But Isn’t It How Regular Search Engines Work Too?

Yes, but with a decentralized platform, it is you who controls what information goes out and who is it shared with. You can secure your information with a private key and remain confidential and protected unless you choose otherwise.

You can also make this data available to a few specific retailers. You do so by getting into a smart contract with them. This also cuts down the advertising costs of intermediaries who continuously bombard the internet with useless sponsored ads and pop-ups. So, in a way, you are saving big corporations millions of dollars that go into advertising.

One example of such a platform is the BitClave’s active search ecosystem. BASE compensates its users with relevant searches using a digital currency Consumer Activity Token. The digital currency can be used for online purchasing. The biggest perk of such an ecosystem is that it enables users to make money from their online searches and receive data about products and services they are interested in.

Do We Need A Decentralized Search Engine?

Yes.

We all know that the online marketing sphere is reigned by a few giant corporations like Facebook, Google, and Amazon. These determine how marketing campaigns need to run and stay competitive.

The biggest drawback of a centralized search engine is that a lot of personal information is sold to third-party sellers, tracked and used without our permission. These big corporations than use that information and device specific advertising campaigns accordingly –giving rise to a billion-dollar advertising industry.

Therefore such a system requires an interruption.

It is platforms like BitClave that gives back the power to the people and allows them to choose what they wish to see and don’t.

Applications in Real Life

Suppose you looking for summer clothing online. Blockchain-based platforms secure information about your specifics and show targeted results without bogus site displays.

On one hand, it allows you to achieve your goal in less time and on the other, enables merchants to target you with customized deals based on the parameters you set.

What Is Time Banking?

The essence of time banking is simple. Everyone has free time. It is possible to invest it profitably: to render some service to others and to receive for it to your account the corresponding amount of time. Time capital can be spent in the same way – use the services of any other client of the bank time. At the same time, the principle of full equality operates: an hour of unskilled labor (sweep a yard or help with relocation) is valued as a qualified hour (music lesson or legal advice). Otherwise, everything is like in a regular bank: loans, bills. To become a client of the Bank of Time, you need to fill out a questionnaire, have an interview, confirm your skills with diplomas and certificates and get down to business. The client’s personal card indicates what services he can provide and what assistance he is interested in.

The idea of a time bank belongs to the Soviet psychologist and logistician Vladlen Livshits. In 1977, he introduced a flexible working time system at the bakery of the Estonian city of Kohtla-Järve. A little later, two more enterprises of the same city were involved in the system of turnover of time (like money circulation). Many people wrote about this experiment in newspapers, but Livshits did not get the idea of mass character in the Soviet Union. However, thanks to the American reporter David Schipler about the time bank learned in the United States.

The advantages of time banking

Time banks help to overcome the estrangement between people and mutual assistance in the conditions of a new economic trend – gradual reduction of workplaces and a full day,” says Vladlen Livshits, creator of the first time bank. Economist Anton Suvorov agrees with him, who notes that “because of the crisis, people have more free time and less money, but the need to retain their usual way of life with all their strength, therefore, these elegant solutions — get some services for free — quickly found a response. “In addition to the crisis, the development of information technologies pushed the emergence of a bank of services. People earlier simply did not know that a jack of all trades lives on the next street, ”the expert emphasizes. At the same time, representatives of foreign mutual aid services believe in the bright prospects of this project in Russia because “People are very responsive.

Short history of time banking

In 1980, a volunteer movement of the same name arose in the United States. Its founder was a lawyer and public figure, Edgar Kahn. For him, time dollars have become a tool to increase the effectiveness of volunteer activities in the community. This principle allowed everyone to select a suitable job, “pay” for it, as well as monitor and control the performance of volunteer work.

Conclusion

Volunteers say that participation in the time bank programs is suitable for everyone because each person is unique and talented, he can offer others something that no one else will offer. The most popular services of time banks are, as a rule, repair and cleaning of premises, tutoring, massage, manicure, and make-up, services of drivers and couriers. There is particularly strong demand for drivers. But the application is both the easiest and the most exotic skills: the work of one center began with the replacement of lightning on clothes, in the other – Vedic cooking lessons, in the third time clients of the time bank solved the problem with the TV show recording program.

In the very idea of this social project, there are two very important things: on the one hand, mutual assistance. On the other hand, self-help. Thanks to the time bank membership, people have a chance to recognize their hidden resources and opportunities, volunteers say. However, perhaps the main achievement of time banks is that thanks to them, people again begin to communicate life, make friends not in the virtual, but in the real world.

Where To Buy Bitcoin Cash

Today we will tell you where and how you can buy Bitcoin Cash. Using a simple step by step instructions to purchase a cryptocurrency is not difficult. We’ll tell you about the history of creation, differences from other coins and all other details.

What is Bitcoin Cash?

The definition on the official site reads: “Bitcoin Cash is peer-to-peer electronic money for the Internet. He is completely decentralized, without a central bank, and he doesn’t need any trusted third parties to work. ”

Have you noticed the emphasis on the phrase “peer-to-peer electronic money”? This is done on purpose, because the very existence of Bitcoin Cash depends solely on the conduct of a large number of transactions, as Jimmy Song notes in his Medium article.

Bitcoin Cash (BCH) is in many ways similar to Bitcoin, but has several distinguishing features:

• Block size – 8 MB.
• No Segwit support.
• There is no “replace by fee” function.

There is protection against replay attacks and destruction (also known as 51% of the problem). Offers a way to correct the PoW complexity faster than for the usual interval of increasing complexity of finding a block.

Since BCH is the result of a hard fork, anyone who had a BTC received the same amount of coins in BCH. Provided that he did not keep BTC on the accounts of the exchanges and controlled the private keys of the account during the activation of the hard fork. So now let’s look at some interesting Bitcoin Cash features.

What is a “replay” attack?

The main feature of Bitcoin Cash is how it circumvents the biggest problem that any cryptocurrency can face after a similar fork – the “replay” attack.

This is such a data transfer, which is intentionally repeated or delayed. In the context of the blockchain’s work, it looks like this. Someone commits a transaction that occurs on one blockchain and then intentionally repeats it on another blockchain. For example, Masha sends 5 BTC to Petya, as a result of “replay” attacks, she also sends him 5 BCH, although she was not going to do that.

How to buy Bitcoin Cash

If you decide to purchase Bitcoin Cash, which is designated on the exchanges as BCH, you probably noticed its rapid growth and advantages over conventional Bitcoin.

Choosing a wallet for Bitcoin Cash

In order to buy a cryptocurrency, you need to create a Bitcoin Cash wallet. The list of wallets is quite large, it is available on the official website BitcoinCash.org.

So, we have established a wallet and have prepared the amount we want to invest in the purchase of Bitcoin Cash.

Please note: you can buy BCH both for fiat currencies (dollars, euros), and for Bitcoin cryptocurrency. This cryptocurrency allows you to easily acquire various cryptocurrencies, even the smallest ones.

How to buy Bitcoin Cash on the stock exchange

If you are looking for a place where you can buy a bitcoin cache with a minimum commission, then buying on the exchange is what you need. Recall that the exchange is a platform for cryptocurrency trading.

Does Bitcoin Cash have a future?

In short, we do not know. We have no idea what the future of Bitcoin Cash will be, and we cannot even imagine its impact on BTC in the long run. We only know that this is the first time that anyone has successfully bitcoin while maintaining records of existing transactions. What we received as a result of this experiment is a very interesting experience, which gave a lot of lessons.

At the same time, the block size of 8 MB is definitely a very attractive aspect, and it is unclear how this will affect miners in the future. Can this solve all scalability problems? Will BCH ever overtake BTC and become the main Bitcoin? At the moment, all these questions are only assumptions. We can say with confidence that there is a lot of interesting things ahead of us.

Science and Blockchain –What’s the Connection?

Wait, did you say science? Why would science possibly need any assistance?

Well, it isn’t only about who wins the Noble Prize or what disruptive developments needs taking care of. It is much more than that.

Researchers across the globe don’t only have to solve worldly problems, they also have to deal with the threats that someone else might be credited for their years of hard work. Furthermore, there is also competition for funds. It isn’t every day that someone with a huge investment would invest their finances on some novice researchers. Mostly, the funding goes to researchers with the best track record and distinguished achievements, leaving many capable researchers with great ideas but zero investment.

Imagine this: A pool of highly-intelligent and creative young minds go unused and unheard. Without significant experience or a Ph.D. title before their names, many enthusiasts and researchers go unheard of despite their brilliant ideas to fix some of the most significant worldly issues.

This barrier makes it almost impossible for high spirited individuals to ever showcase their skills and expertise. Sorry to say but academic organizations have done little to nothing to encourage new researchers. This is why more and more researchers are now relying their hopes on the non-traditional agencies promising them exposure.

Will A Decentralized Approach Help The Clinical Neighborhood?

Yes, and not just scientifically.

It isn’t only science that faces this dilemma, even STEM fields suffer from the same. There are always cases of duplication and fragmentation across disparate groups. But there is a solution.

Matryx is a decentralized platform featuring distributed partnerships at different levels of innovation.

Can Matryx really help advance innovation?

Again, yes! Here’s how.

• For novices: Beginners at research won’t have to rely on their Ph.D. degrees to have their idea a voice. They will no longer be shunned or asked to offer assistance in somebody else’s project until they gain some experience.
• For Professionals: Experts won’t have to go door to door or sit through countless interviews to get funding for their task. They also won’t have to prove from time to time that they have the resources to begin a project or persuade others that their research is worth their time and investment.
• For enthusiasts: Those who wish to conduct research merely out of passion and interest will have direct access to a number of issues that need solving. If they want, they can contribute their time, mind and resources on projects they find interesting.

It is only because of platforms like Matryx that boost the rate of innovation and development by lowering entry and participation barriers.

How Does It Work?

Matryx uses VR and blockchain.

It uses (blockchain) smart contract systems to create rewards and incentivize options. People post their problems, add a bounty for anyone wishing to resolve it. The results are then shared and the individual who solved it gets the reward for it. All the submissions then go to the library and buyers can later purchase them via MTX tokens. Making use of tokens allows Matryx to continue supporting upgrades, update functions and enhance current services as per user demands.

Small contracts reduce the tension of compensating and tracking the contributors. When users compete for bounties, every competitor’s proposed solution is managed by contracts. Thus, the origin of the idea and whoever proposed it becomes traceable. This makes rewarding bounties fair and open.

Card Review: ANXPro Bitcoin Debit

The popularity of debit bitcoin cards is growing on the world market in direct proportion to the growing popularity of cryptocurrencies. Along with them, the number of offers of debit bitcoin cards is growing. When choosing your card for the simple use of cryptoactive assets in everyday life, you should consider the features of the services offered. Most of the information about a company offering a bitcoin card is available on its official website. We offer a brief overview of the card offered by the Bitcoin exchange ANX International.

ANXPro cryptocurrency card is one of the most common at this time. Its main feature is a low commission rate: only 1.5% is charged for converting foreign currency (while other manufacturers of BTC cards take 2 times more for their services). Also, ANXPro can be noted a low fee for withdrawing cash from an ATM – 1%. At the same time, most of the existing Bitcoin cards currently charge a fixed rate for cash withdrawals – from 2 to 4 US dollars.

ANXPro Review

This Bitcoin card is currently supported by two systems – VISA (virtual only) and Mastercard (plastic with a PIN code and a special chip). GBP, EUR or USD are supported as major exchange currencies. Thus, users can pay for purchases / services (online and offline) almost everywhere and, moreover, without commission.

For the release of plastic will have to pay 17 USD. You can order it for 130 countries of the world (whether the card is supported in your country can be found on the official portal of this company), delivery takes about 1-2 months. To issue a card, you will need to go through a verification process, which will require several of your identity and residence documents (the identity verification process takes up to 10 business days).

Bitcoin card itself ANXPro was created in 2014. During all this time of promotion, the company has been actively developing and now users using this system even have the opportunity to synchronize their mobile and online BTC wallets with this debit card. When each card is issued, the BTC address of the user is written on it, this makes it possible to quickly deposit funds into the account or convert them to another currency.

Pros and cons of  ANXPro

From the advantages of ANXPro, it should be noted that the founders of the company do not try to somehow hide the fees for their services or the particularities of using cards. The main feature of ANXPro is the provision of services for unverified users, although there are some restrictions for them. Verified users can make an unlimited number of transactions on the Internet, unverified users are limited to the amount of 1000 USD.

There are several downsides of the card and the main one is that the company issuing cards are located in US and for now company issues cards only in the region of their operation.

Charged fees

The commission for converting a cryptocurrency Bitcoin to other currencies in the ANXPro system is 1%, and for a transaction in fiat currency – 3%. Thus, in order to pay for the purchase you will have to pay 4% of the commission of the entire amount. Thus, although the commission for conducting operations using the ANXPro Bitcoin card is slightly above average, however, this company really treats its users honestly.

Review recap

The use of Bitcoin cards is increasingly growing among all ordinary investors in the world. Many crypto users currently prefer to keep their savings, not in fiat currencies, but in any known digital currency (for example, in Bitcoin). This allows you to save the capital from inflation, as well as multiply them several times over the long term. Previously, using cryptocurrencies to purchase / pay for services was inconvenient. However, cryptocards now allow you to actively manage digital assets around the world and pay for their purchases. And the commission is charged very small.

How to how to plan an ICO

In the case of cryptocurrency assets, transaction data is stored in the blockchain. The data on each new transaction is recorded in a block that stores the data of the block preceding it, and so on. Thus, a chain of data blocks is created – hence the very name of the technology Blockchain. At the same time, it is almost impossible to make changes to the data already trapped in Blockchain, which makes the technology itself reliable and secure. All blocks are simultaneously stored on multiple computers connected to the blockchain network, that is, data is managed decentralized.

Formulation of the idea

At the initial stage, it is necessary to assess how appropriate the ICO is for the project. In case this is a completely new project that is at the idea stage, you need to decide what role decentralization and the token will play. The most popular attraction of funds for ICO among young technological startups with a global vision.

ICO is suitable for business in any sphere, it is important to develop such a concept of a project and a token that would solve global problems: most often investors come from different parts of the world, the crypto community as a whole is not tied to a specific territory. A token can be anything: a means of payment, a bonus and even alike. In gaming applications, for example, tokens can be earned as bonuses and used for in-game purchases.

Team selection

Today, popular blockchain platforms for creating smart contracts are Ethereum, Waves, Nxt, Bitshares, Nem. Ethereum remains the leading platform for the development of smart contracts for ICO, it is this blockchain that has the largest community and, accordingly, the most information in the public domain.

On the blockchain Ethereum, there is a popular KICKICO platform, where you can launch ICO as easily as a regular crowdfunding campaign. It is possible to hold a turnkey ICO on this site for 4% of the funds raised as a reward. Each of the blockchain platforms with the ability to create smart contracts has its own differences in the degree of openness: there are public and private blockchain networks. Creating smart contracts is also available for people with no programming skills: there are smart contract templates in the public domain, which only need to be replaced with a few lines.

The name of the token may or may not coincide with the name of the project. When choosing a name for a new token, care must be taken to ensure that its three-letter abbreviation does not coincide with existing tokens and altcoins. You can check this in the list of tokens on the Coin Market Cap.

Stages of fundraising for ICO

As a rule, ICO is carried out in several stages:

• offer
• closed sale of tokens (Private Sale)
• Pre-sale of tokens (Pre-ICO or Pre-Sale)
• the main sale of tokens (Main Sale)

At the stage of the offer, information about the planned ICO is posted on the bitcointalk.org forum in the altcoins section. The project team can thus receive feedback from future investors and refine the proposal. During the offer, the deadlines for the implementation of the idea are announced, White Paper is published, the necessary amount is set for this, the team declares Soft Cap, the minimum amount to collect, and the Hard Cap, the maximum that the project can collect.

A couple of years ago, when the era of the ICO was just beginning, the demand many times exceeded the supply. Companies collected the necessary amount within a few minutes, or even seconds – while the amounts could be tens of millions of dollars. Today, when ICOs are being conducted by hundreds of companies at the same time, fundraising is becoming a much more difficult task.

Why is interest in ICO not waning?

If we compare this method of financing with the classic venture capital investment, it is easy to note the advantages – both for startups and for investors. Startups do not need to share stocks or profits and, accordingly, lose control over the business. The benefits to the investor are also obvious. When he enters the capital of the company and receives its shares, it is impossible to get out of such an investment quickly. We can talk about the horizon of investment in 3-5 years. The token, in turn, provides the ability to quickly exit and quick turnover of funds.

Formula for success

How to interest the investor and sell him your token? To do this, a startup must meet a number of criteria. The first parameter is that the audience of tokens holders should intersect with the potential user base of the project. The ideal option is when 100% of token holders are projected users. Do not forget that ICO solves the problem of not only raising funds but also attracting users. ICO is an advertising campaign that is often the most prominent marketing event in a startup’s life. It is therefore very important in this short period to attract the maximum amount of the right audience.

The second factor is the ideological component of the project. A startup must use the blockchain, thereby developing the technology. The project needs to find new areas of use of the blockchain, demonstrate its solutions to the world and, as a result, stimulate the development of the industry as a whole. A token should not be invented just to raise money. Such a project will not be able to attract market apologists.

The third criterion, we would call investment security and consider this aspect from a legal point of view.

What is the future of ICO?

There are three areas in which the ICO market will develop. First, in the future, we will see how the release of security tokens will be regulated. There will be systems with the help of which it will be possible to trade security tokens without hindrance. Secondly, the ICO exit process will become increasingly difficult over time. In the future, I think, we will not see white papers, and investment memorandums will work instead. I suppose that, nevertheless, holding an ICO will never be as difficult as entering an IPO.

Another very important area is the development of the ICO market, in which tokens will be distributed free of charge. First of all, these ICOs will be aimed at attracting users. At the same time, the projects will receive profits after the public placement of tokens. In addition, during such ICO there will be no fact of sale and, as a result, there will be no risks – you just donate tokens.

The Best Online Wallets

Online wallet for Bitcoin is a program where keys (tokens) are stored that form the user’s capital. The program provides access to digital cash and provides the wallet owner with the necessary platform for managing digital finance and network accounts, and also allows the owner to carry out transactions of any complexity.

In essence, a bitcoin wallet makes it possible to produce secure anonymous transactions without restrictions on the amount and at the same time acts as a basic platform for storing, exporting or generating special keys with the help of which cryptocurrency movements are carried out over the global network.

Work principles

To offer customers the best option, developers complement wallets with a mass of related functions from multi-signatures to separate storage of tokens and insurance.

The main differences between online services for storing bitcoins are their functions for the preservation and further transfer of cryptocurrency. Conventionally, all options can be divided into hybrid and traditional, where the first applies separate storage of addresses, each of which is protected by a multi-signature, and the second provides for the storage of keys on a secure server, while the owner uses copies of the addresses. In order to choose the best of the above formats, it is necessary to penetrate a little into the cryptocurrency storage system.

The difference between hybrid online wallets is the limited access of the service owners to the client’s funds since making a payment from such a platform requires a joint signature of the user and the service representative. This option is considered the best in terms of security of payment procedures with Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.

Benefits of Bitcoin Wallet Online

Bitcoin wallets and platforms for them support mobility and provide comfortable ownership of capital. That is, an online wallet will allow you to use finance anywhere in the world, using only a computer or laptop, or a tablet or phone with Internet access.

Moreover, for transactions with unverified resources, such as casinos, cryptocurrency taps, or HYIPs, a Bitcoin wallet may be the best solution, allowing the holder to keep all payment details anonymous.

Although, it is necessary to recognize that anonymity is also a disadvantage of the Bitcoin wallet, because intruders, as well as real pickpockets who hunt money in a purse, create new and often effective ways to steal digital cash. And the impersonality of Bitcoin only plays into their hands.

Review of the best online wallets for bitcoin

Calling online versions of wallets the best format for operations with cryptocurrency – it will be true only with a competent choice of both the provider and the platform. To understand the selection criteria and the right conclusions, it will be enough to familiarize yourself with the functionality of the best Bitcoin wallets among the offers on the market. And it is easiest to fund your account in any of them, using the monitoring of exchange offices.

Blockchain wallet

In the first place in terms of the user audience, of course, is the portal www.blockchain.com, whose service has been tested by time, and popularity and respect for the resource have long since reached the global level.

The Blockchain service is recognized by many market participants as one of the best — over 2 million Bitcoin users choose it — perhaps it’s all about the simplicity and clarity of the protection technology.

Coinbase wallet

Coinbase service did not limit itself solely to transfers and combined several wallets and services on its platform at the same time – for example, in addition to Bitcoin wallets, the company provides tools for other cryptocurrencies, Coinbas offers instant transfers within the system and a payment gateway, which complements the company’s revenue with additional income.

This platform is a clear example of a traditional Bitcoin wallet that controls private keys. The site is partially Russified, there are mobile applications for Android and iOS, reliability is high and proven over the years.

Bitgo wallet

BitGo offers a radically different option with shared access, liability insurance, phishing protection, and multi-signature. The safety indicator 2FA, the operator’s reliability level is estimated by the community as average.

In order to carry out operations, it is necessary to combine two signatures, which limits the introduction of malicious software on the site server, and protects users’ funds from ubiquitous hackers. Moreover, even the owners of the resource do not have full access to the clients’ cryptocurrency, since the secret keys are stored on the company’s server and the owner of the online wallet, but to perform any actions with the cryptocurrency, these keys are required to be combined. In addition to multi-signature, two-step authentication is required.

Card Review: SpectroCoin Bitcoin Debit

SpectroCoin, a cryptocurrency payment service, announced today that the virtual service of a prepaid card is available again. Now users can convert cryptocurrencies to euros and spend them in any online store where major debit cards are accepted.

On the SpectroCoin exchange, two cryptocurrencies are being traded – BitCoin and DASH. There is a possibility to replenish the balance from the card, which I think will be very convenient for many. It is also possible to order a plastic card to replenish the balance of which can be cryptocurrency directly from the account of the exchange!

As usual, all expenses are converted into local fiat currency, ideally at the most favorable rate and without other taxes. They are designed to simplify the direct use of cryptocurrency as needed, even if the seller does not accept payments in them.

How to get a card?

There are a few things you might have to check if you want to find a reliable service provider. First, carefully read the information on the site, it can save a lot of time and filter out options at the first stage.

You can order a plastic card of this exchange. This can be done in the “Order a card” section – you just need to fill in information about yourself and pay for this card, after which it will be delivered to you by mail to the specified address. Issuing one card costs only 9. You can top up a card from the exchange account with any currency or cryptocurrency without a fee.

Limitations

The site contains a table with numbers, with which you can choose the best way to deposit or withdraw money. You can use the affiliate program of the service, distributing information about its services or bringing new customers. Another advantage is the ability to use up to 10 thousand dollars daily without verification. These are the highest limits of all the services presented. Also, users can cash out up to 2 thousand dollars a day.

Pros and cons of SpectroCoin

SpectroCoin operates globally and sends cards to every country in the world, that is a big advantage. It has a mobile app for not only popular operational systems like Android or iOS but also for minor ones like Windows even if it is not used often lately. There are corporate cards available too for business customers.works in all countries of the world

The card has downsides too and biggest among them is being accused by the users as a scam and a lot of error reimporting. It is bad for the reputation to have complaints and bad reviews. Another issue is supporting just two fiat currencies, namely USD and EUR. In addition to that, it is very expensive to get the card and long shipment period is not a plus.

Transaction Fees

• $9 card issue for virtual and 50 for physical,
• Monthly maintenance fee $1,
• BTC withdrawal from the card 0.5% + $ 1,
• Cash withdrawal at ATM $ 2.5–3.5
• Conversion to other currencies 3%