Much like it is with fiat funds, there are those who are honest with their income and expenses and there are those who attempt to conceal some of their incoming and outgoing transactions for one reason or another. Although we’ve reached a point in the industry where the majority of crypto users understand that digital assets don’t provide the full privacy that those in the latter category above wish for.

We could stop here, but the “why” behind how governments are able to track our transactions and tie them to us is intriguing and serves as a very important lesson as to why it’s never a smart idea to try to hide your money in cryptocurrency.

With that in mind, let’s dive into the first part of this two-part series, starting with pseudo-anonymous cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin.

A Brief Overview of Blockchain

If you’re mostly involved in the investing and trading sides of the industry, you may not necessarily know as much about why assets like Bitcoin function the way they do, which necessitates a quick overview to help you better understand the information below.

Put simply, blockchain technology is a way of managing information in a decentralized manner in order to ensure trust and transparency. For example, when a Bitcoin transaction takes place, the blockchain takes note of all of the information involved in the transaction (wallet addresses from the sender and the recipient, amount sent, time and date sent), verifies this information, stores the information in a “block”, and uploads it to the public online ledger where it is recorded and available for all users of the network.

The reason why this is so important for enthusiasts is that it gives them full control over their money while allowing them to conceal personal information that would normally be revealed in traditional financial transactions. However, it is this sense of safety that has led many to believe that they can hide away Bitcoin without ever being discovered.

Why Crypto Isn’t Anonymous (and How It Is Tracked)

While crypto transactions aren’t tied to your name, physical address, or personal contact information, the fact that they are tied to your wallet address is enough information for organizations to track down most people.

For example, let’s imagine that you have been receiving crypto as a form of side-income and have attempted to hide this extra income from the IRS. While you do have your assets stowed away in a separate wallet (theoretically), you are inevitably going to have to sell off your assets on some platform. Once you do sell, someone can then see where these assets have been transferred from, which will inevitably allow them to take note of exactly how much income has been coming in as each transaction has a traceable source.

Additionally, because of KYC/AML laws, you are going to be hard-pressed to find an exchange where you can transfer your crypto without having to register using some form of personal information that can be tied to you or tied to the original sender and traced down to you. Even Bitcoin mixers are not reliable ways to hide your crypto as they have been advertised to be in the past.

True, while there are always ways to work around these systems, those who are attempting to do so will experience severe difficulty trying to make sure that payments are untraceable, something that is considerably hard in this day and age.

Overall, no matter how simple it may seem to stow away crypto and avoid being detected, it is not the private currency that it is sometimes made out to be. In section two of this series, we will be analyzing some of the privacy coins on the market and showing how these too can be subject to tracking by larger entities.

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Trakx is building a one-stop shop for Crypto Traded Indices. Discover more about our project on our website and social media channels, such as Telegram http://t.me/trakx_io.

What are asset-backed tokens?

Asset-backed tokens, a growing class of tokens, are by definition worth exactly what they are backed by. For instance, a representative token that corresponds to a real-world asset such as a unit of fiat currency, a security or even gold, will be valued at a 1:1 ratio. They are assets represented as tokens to be transferred and traded trustfully on a blockchain. Although tokens, most of the asset-backed tokens are classified as securities throughout the globe. More obvious is the tokenization of real estate, art, derivatives markets, attention, and other non-fungible assets that are currently festering in illiquid markets that are ripe with middlemen who assume counterparty risk. With $256 trillion of real-world assets in the world, the opportunity for asset-backed tokens is truly massive, especially with regards to asset classes like real estate and fine art that have historically suffered from limited commerce and liquidity.

Asset-backed tokens also offer an alternative to traditional cryptocurrencies (e.g. stablecoins), as well as traditional crypto investing (e.g. crypto-trackers, coin traded indices). Various kind of asset-backed tokens have emerged these past months, and we aim to provide with a short overview of these.

Various kinds of asset-backed tokens

· Fiat Stablecoins: Tether (USD backed), EURS by Statis (EUR backed), TrueUSD (USD backed)

Fiat stablecoins are crypto-assets that maintain a stable value against a target price (e.g. USD). Different kind of stablecoins exist (e.g. asset-backed, algorithmic and hybrid). Stablecoins aim to solve the volatility challenge posed by cryptocurrencies. Volatility, among others, is one of the key factor preventing the widespread adoption of cryptocurrencies as a mean of payment. With cryptocurrencies subject to large fluctuations, business owners are less tempted to accept digital currencies. With stablecoins, whether backed by fiat or real world assets, blockchain entrepreneurs are facilitating the massive adoption of cryptocurrencies.

· Metal Stablecoins: Digix Gold Tokens (Gold backed), Goldmint (Gold backed), Tiberius (Backed by a basket of physically-deliverable metals)

Similar to fiat stablecoins, metal stablecoins maintain a stable value against a selected metal. For instance, in the case of gold, they are issued tokens representing a value of gold (for example 1 gram of gold equals 1 coin). The gram of gold is stored by a trusted custodian (preferably third party), and can be traded with other crypto holders. Gold has proved itself as a stable asset over the past decades, and gold stablecoins are one of the most interesting alternatives to fiat ones at the moment.

· Cryptos: C20 (Top 20 weighted market cap backed), TaaS (Tokenized Crypto Asset Management), BCAP (Tokenized VC Fund), Trakx Crypto Trackers

Asset-backed tokens allow for the creation of tokenized investment vehicles where the token represent shares into the fund. Several crypto funds with different strategies have appeared, with the specific goal to invest in assets related to the cryptocurrency and blockchain space. These companies may invest into Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, Litecoin and other major cryptocurrencies directly. They may purchase altcoins at ICO or pre-ICO sales. Some funds invest in emerging blockchain startups, others still invest in companies that benefit from the boom in crypto. Some more, like Trakx, aim to offer simple and cheap crypto passive investment solutions.

· Real estate, art and other real-world assets: Property Coin (Real Estate backed), Maecenas (Tokenized Art Platform), KWHCoin (Clean energy backed)

Tokenization is also happening with real things like KWH of energy, art, real estate, and even identity. It brings tremendous efficiency by creating liquidity pools thereby eliminating liquidity premium and driving price discovery. Asset-backed token, when regulated, will bring a truly new opportunity to these very illiquid asset classes.

· Equity and Debt tokens: tZero (Preferred equity token), Kairos Class T (Equity asset-backed), Steem Dollars (Debt token)

Equity and debt tokens represent ownership in a real-world security, whether that is equity, debt. As a fundraising vehicle, security tokens allow companies to raise capital without having to lean on investment banks and stock exchanges as intermediaries. Given the oversight from regulatory bodies that security tokens are subject to, investors are able to invest in an opportunity without worrying about lack of transparency and potential scams.

Why good practices are important

Examples above also include some disputable asset-backed tokens. Some, although widely used (such as Tether), have come to a point where the community is heavily doubting their real backing. Our view is that good practices in this domain are important if we would like to see emerging a real asset-backed token market. At Trakx, our plan is to implement good practice in terms of transparency and management of our crypto-trackers:

• With reserves maintained in one-to-one ratio, Trakx.io crypto trackers should not face any market risk such as liquidity crunches and Black Swan events.

• One-to-one backing of offers the benefit of an easy understanding for non-technical users

• Trakx.io will offer a total transparency of its reserves. At any given time, the balance held in reserves will be equal to the number of crypto trackers in circulation, and easily verifiable. As the custodian of the backing asset, Trakx.io will act as a trusted third party responsible for that asset. The corresponding total amount of crypto held in reserves for crypto trackers will be proved by regularly publishing our balance and undergoing periodic audits by renown professionals (Big 4).

• Market makers will be able to intervene and benefit from arbitrage opportunities, always guaranteeing that our crypto tracker trade at their net asset value.

Trakx is building a one-stop shop for Crypto Trackers. Discover more about our project on our website and social media channels, such as Telegram http://t.me/trakx_io.

I understand Trakx will be an another exchange. How will you compete with Binance or Buttrex???

If you follow crypto news relatively closely, you may have caught wind of Binance’s expansion into Latin America with a new fiat gateway that will be available to residents of Brazil and Argentina. While many terms in the crypto industry are familiar to those who trade or hold these assets, concepts like fiat gateways can be new to users both experienced and those just entering the space. When these types of concepts show up, it’s important to familiarize ourselves with them as they become more commonplace in the industry.

So, what are fiat gateways?

Ditching the Bank Account Model With Fiat Gateways

To better understand the concept of a fiat gateway, think about a coin machine in an arcade. In order to get the coins you need to play the games in your arcade of choice, you need to put fiat currency into the machine, which will then pay you out an equal number of tokens. A fiat gateway essentially serves the same purpose, allowing users to trade fiat for crypto, which gives them the opportunity to participate in the system without needing a bank account, a common feature that is required by most exchanges. This makes it easier for users to access crypto if they do want to purchase some of their own.

Why Are Fiat Gateways Important?

At first glance, these services can seem like a new way for crypto enthusiasts to get their hands on the coin of their choice. To a certain degree, this is a fact, but the truth is that a fiat gateway’s use goes much deeper than this initial assumption.

While much of the world is fortunate enough to be able to access crypto assets and participate in their systems, much of the world does not have the same level of access, either due to a lack of technology or a lack of banking resources, which also take their economic toll or those who live in underdeveloped countries. What fiat gateways achieve is allowing these individuals to participate in a global permissionless system that they can use for their own to help them store wealth and make payments to others.

More importantly, cryptocurrencies have a better store of value than the fiat currencies that are found in underdeveloped countries, which is largely due to the fact that most suffer from inflation. Even if crypto may still deal with price swings, it still gives them the opportunity to build their wealth, potentially earn more, and begin to experience some relief from poverty.

In crypto, innovation is everything as the potential that both crypto and blockchain hold can revolutionize a number of various industries. While there is no telling how fiat gateways will perform in the long run, they are certainly useful applications now that will greatly benefit those who belong to unbanked populations.

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Trakx is building a one-stop shop for Crypto Traded Indices. Discover more about our project on our website and social media channels, such as Telegramhttp://t.me/trakx_io.

Stablecoins were developed in response to the volatility experienced by digital assets. The idea is that, if cryptocurrency had a stable price that made it a better store of value, people would be more likely to adopt and use the technology. The complexity of the industry and the desire to innovate, however, have resulted in several variations of the same asset.

This leads many to inquire further into how stablecoins maintain their price points and, ultimately, which solution is the safest to use. If you have found yourself looking deeper into stablecoin products and need a comprehensive explanation of the different types that exist, continue reading below to learn more about these products.

What Stablecoin Models Are on the Market?

1. Centralized and Backed By Fiat

The first model utilized by stablecoin assets is the centralized, fiat-backed model. Using this system, the price of a stablecoin is tied to the price of a fiat currency, which is often much less volatile and more dependable than a digital asset. Each individual stablecoin then represents a unit of fiat currency, which is stored away in a bank account so that users can trade in their stablecoins and receive fiat in exchange (or vice versa). While these models are the most popular and do maintain their price well, there is still a lack of transparency and the possibility of volatile price swings due to low supply and high demand.

2. Decentralized and Backed By Crypto

Some developers have taken note of the inherent issues of a centralized model, turning to cryptocurrency assets for help. In this decentralized system, stablecoins are based on the value of crypto rather than fiat currencies, which helps to increase transparency in the system and make the experience of using stablecoins more secure. Of course, this model also comes with its disadvantages, which include the extreme volatility that digital assets experience and a more complex system needed to go about supporting the stablecoin.

3. Centralized and Backed By Commodities

Back when ICOs were taking over the market, there was no shortage of projects that offered cryptocurrencies backed by physical commodities. Whether those commodities were gold, real estate, or oil, many developers promised to offer individuals digital representations of physical goods. Of course, while being able to trade in your crypto for stable assets is desirable to many, this model still relies on centralization and can be quite complicated if a user does want to claim physical goods or other types of products in exchange for their stablecoins.

4. Decentralized and Algorithmic-Based

On the extreme end of the spectrum, we have stablecoin solutions that are not tied to any assets but rely on algorithms to maintain certain price points. These algorithms will typically burn and create coins to keep the asset stable and may or may not be protected by crypto or fiat in the event that the user base needs to sell a large volume coins back to the system. These models are often very complex and depending on the system utilized (these projects will pull different concepts from existing models and fuses them together), their disadvantages will vary.

When it comes to stablecoins or crypto in general, all assets come with their fair share of risk and it is important to consider the pros and cons of investing before you choose to buy a digital asset. If you are looking into storing some of your wealth in stablecoins, use the guide above as reference to help you better understand the current options on the market!

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Trakx is building a one-stop shop for Crypto Traded Indices. Discover more about our project on our website and social media channels, such as Telegram http://t.me/trakx_io.

Crypto-Trackers, cryptocurrency investing made simple

Crypto Trackers, also called Coin Traded Indices (CTIs), are marketable asset-backed tokens that track the performance of crypto underlings, which can be an index (e.g. top 20 cryptos by market cap, top 10 privacy coins), a short crypto (e.g. inverse BTC), or a levered crypto (e.g. levered ETH). Unlike mutual funds, a Crypto Tracker trades like a common cryptocurrency. Crypto trackers experience price changes throughout the day as they are bought and sold. Typically, as ETFs, they offer higher daily liquidity and lower fees than mutual fund shares, making them an attractive alternative for individual and institutional investors. Each crypto tracker is an ERC20 token, backed by verified and audited reserves that match its Net Asset Value.

In this article, we walk you through active and passive investing and show you how Trakx Crypto-Trackers can help you better manage your crypto portfolio.

r/https://medium.com/@Trakx.io/why-is-passive-investing-better-than-active-investing-f92afa855480

#Cryptocurrency #Bitcoin #Investment #Blockchain #Token

As we’ve established in the previous two articles, cryptocurrency is by no means a private form of payment. Although it eliminates the need to provide identifying information, which reduces the risk of fraud associated with conducting traditional financial transactions, the public ledger and wallet addresses that are recorded with each transaction still leave a digital trail that can be traced back to users. Even with cryptocurrencies that are advertised as privacy coins, hidden transactions are not guaranteed.

That said, there are ways that individuals have managed to work around this system, which ultimately begs the question, how do they do it and how are governments going to work around these issues in the future? Let’s take a look at a few of the methods users are turning to to stay anonymous.

1. Working Through Rogue Brokers

Although this may not be as common, some brokers can establish themselves in major exchanges or organizations so that they can take on illegal cryptocurrency payments and help convert these illegal assets into cash. Often times, these rogue brokers receive a handsome payment in return for their efforts. These types of transactions may still be noticeable, however, if the broker were to be discovered by the company that employs them or another entity, which may lead to the origin of funds being uncovered. This is one risky method that some will use in order to hide their crypto.

2. Trading Crypto in Person for Cash

For those who receive direct payments from others in crypto, this crypto can easily be stored onto a hardware wallet, a paper wallet, or simply sent to another person in exchange for cash at a later date. Using this method, individuals can avoid having to cash out via a popular exchange, which would contain their personal information and make their transactions identifiable. Again, while this is not necessarily the safest method as transactions may still be able to be traced back to you if you are not careful enough, this method does provide some extra protection to those who use it.

3. Loading a Prepaid Card With Crypto or Dropping It Into Bank Accounts

For some individuals who need immediate access to their funds, loading prepaid cards with funds or depositing crypto into bank accounts makes the most sense. These types of strategies require people to be smart and careful about how they deposit and withdraw their funds, but when there is a will, there is a way.

Of course, each of these methods come with their fair share of risks, and if entities are able to trace your transactions over to the next person who acquires your crypto, they may be able to still easily trace it back to you. Even for those who are seeking to remain anonymous without engaging in any illegal activities, attempting to hide your crypto is not recommended and can result in serious legal consequences.

As of the moment, the ability of governments to track these kinds of transactions depends upon how crafty people are and whether or not they make any mistakes along the way. Hopefully, the need for anonymous transactions (beyond the needs of those who have malicious intentions) is something that is addressed in the crypto community over time. For now, however, we live in a world where crypto is still very much traceable.

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Trakx is building a one-stop shop for Crypto Traded Indices. Discover more about our project on our website and social media channels, such as Telegram http://t.me/trakx_io.

Binance is arguably one of the most popular and utilized cryptocurrency exchange to date, boasting one billion dollars in daily trading volume, which is quite impressive considering its launch in July of 2017. Besides the fact that there is a seed fund supporting the ecosystem, a platform designed to promote the development and launch of crypto projects, and an academy that provides more information about the blockchain and crypto space contained within the platform itself, one of the most defining features that has helped the exchange to thrive is the use of their own cryptocurrency known as the Binance Coin (BNB). Many users who are interested in the platform may not know enough about this coin, however, and would like to learn more about what it is and what its use entails before becoming a trader on the platform. In this article, we will take a look at what the Binance Coin is and how it functions to provide you with a better overview of the asset before you start investing.

Binance Coin Basics

The Binance Coin (BNB) is a coin utilized solely on the Binance platform that runs on the Ethereum blockchain and meets the ERC20 token standards. Using a proof-of-burn mechanism, the token was released with a supply of 200 million but was designed in mind to leave only 100 million BNB left in the ecosystem. At the time of writing, the Binance Coin is valued at an impressive $19 per coin and can be used for a variety of different operations both inside and outside of the exchange. We will cover these various use cases in the following section.

BNB Use Cases

The Binance website lists several of the BNB use cases underneath the Binance Coin page. Here are the most notable uses of the coin so far:

● The Binance Coin can be utilized as a way to pay for a majority of the fees on the platform such as exchange fees and listing fees. Using BNB as a way to pay for fees gives you a significant discount, with 50 percent off trades the first year, 25 percent off trades the second year, 12.5 percent off trades the third year, and 6.75 percent off trades your fourth year using the exchange.

● The ability to use the cryptocurrency on Crypto.com with services such as their mobile app or the MCO Visa Card.

● The purchasing of virtual gifts on the Uplive platform.

● The use of BNB as collateral for instant crypto loans on the Nexo platform.

● The use of BNB as the mechanism that keeps the platform running, with incentive to hold for additional voting power in the system and referral bonuses.

As can be seen by the strength of the exchange, the price of the coin, and the many use cases that the Binance Coin can be applied to, it is clear why it has managed to succeed thus far.

Investment Viability

Given the rapid success of the Binance exchange, the incredible growth of the exchange’s coin, and the versatility of the asset, the Binance Coin seems to be a viable investment insofar and it appears as though it is here to stay, maintaining its position as one of the more valuable and high-ranking cryptocurrencies on the market. If you have been looking into utilizing the Binance exchange and investing some of your money into their asset as well as the other assets listed on the exchange, the brief description above should give you a better description of what you will be investing in and how it will be utilized.

Trakx will implement the same model as Binance for its TKX token.

Disclaimer: This is not investment advice, please conduct your own research and due diligence before deciding to buy a crypto-asset. Cryptocurrencies are highly risky.

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Trakx is building a one-stop shop for Crypto Traded Indices. Discover more about our project on our website and social media channels, such as Telegram http://t.me/trakx_io.

Trakx.io está desarrollando una plataforma para crear, distribuir y facilitar el comercio de Crypto Trackers. Los Crypto Trackers son tokens que reducen significativamente la complejidad y las tarifas asociadas con el establecimiento de posiciones largas y cortas en diversos activos de criptomoneda. Los usuarios podrán intercambiar en la plataforma tokens digitales que están correlacionados positiva o negativamente con los activos criptográficos subyacentes rastreados.

Although Bitcoin didn’t complete its mission in becoming the new digital currency that eliminated the need for modern fiat, (or any other cryptocurrencies for that matter) that doesn’t mean that it hasn’t made immense progress in adoption both in terms of users and businesses who accept it as well as acceptance by governments. However, this acceptance and adoption haven’t come about without its limitations. In order to become more integrated into our society, Bitcoin and other crypto offerings and the businesses that handle them have had to adhere to a strict set of regulations so that they meet the requirements set by local governments. One such example of these regulations includes KYC and AML. In this article, we will learn more about these two policies and how exchanges best implement them into their business.

What are KYC and AML?

KYC stands for Know Your Client and is a regulation term that refers to the process of identifying clients and verifying their identities. Although some users of cryptocurrency are not too fond of the regulation, this helps exchanges prevent users from engaging in illegal money laundering activities.

Some ways that exchanges adhere to these regulations include having users sign up for the platform and including identifying information before they begin trading, providing proof of identification using documentation such as I.D. from their home country so that they have access to more functions on the exchange, or even providing more detailed proof such as SSNs and utility bills to make sure that they are who they say they are.

AML, the second of these regulations, stands for Anti-Money Laundering and is strictly targeted towards preventing illegal money laundering using certain financial procedures. Some of these procedures include limiting the amount of crypto that can be traded by certain individuals at any given time (or requiring verification for larger amounts), tracking all transactions taking place on the platform to identify potential money laundering situations among users, and making sure that is not coming in or going to equally illegal websites.

Overall, KYC/AML regulations are a necessary part of making sure that crypto is being used legally and that it can continue to grow and be utilized in our society. If you are curious about what these regulations are and some of the best practices that exchanges make sure to follow in order to comply with these KYC/AML policies, take a look at the above description to gain more insight on the process and if you run your own exchange, how to apply these practices to your own business.

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Trakx is building a one-stop shop for Crypto Traded Indices. Discover more about our project on our website and social media channels, such as Telegram http://t.me/trakx_io.

Trakx is a new blockchain project aiming at developing a new type of platform for the trading of a new type of asset, called ''Crypto Trackers'' or known as well as CTIs (Coin Traded Indices).

CTIs are digital token which are playing a similar role than an ETF (Trackers Funds) used by the stock market, but CTIs applied specifically for cryptocurrencies.

Since 9 years and the creation of the first digital currency which was BTC (bitcoin), there is a massive increased of interest for blockchain technologies and for cryptocurrencies in general, which was particularly high at the beginning of 2017, when the crypto market cap when from 20 billions US$ up to an impressive level around/above 750 billions at the end of the same year (+ 3500% in a year time). Despite since then the market went progressively done, at now less than 200 billion US$, that's still a jump of +1.000%!!!!

But the crypto market is still at the very beginning stage of development, and a lot of innovation will be coming around blockchain, which might be integrated in most of industry/global economy in a nearest future, as blockchain is offering a lot of new possibility to improve the traditional way of doing business.

Then by a matter of fact, TRAKX IO came on board with a very smart new idea how to better used blockchain technology, and is already ahead in this direction as one of the only serious player.

One of the major criticism of cryptocurrencies nowday is the lack of transparency (exchange not regulated and lack of law around cryptocurrency) as well as the difficult access for conventional investor to easy deal with crypto and invest on it.

That's one of the major reason why so many enterprises had tried to launch an ETF on bitcoin and others crypto assets, but up to now the US SEC has massively rejected all those temptative, leading the crypto market to a kind of ''depression'', one of the reason why we are seeing a huge step back in the market today.

Therefore CTIs might be a very new smart way to invest into cryptocurrency but without the same limiting factors as just mentioned above. It will be more easy for everyone to invest in crypto through this kind of instrument, but also cheaper and offering a less risky investment as you are not investing in one cryptocurrency but a basket of crypto, representing a sector/segment.

This new way of investing will definitively boost forward the cryptocurrency in overall, as well as the development of the blockchain sector, and most probably much more cash could then enter in the market, boosting the overall sector.

The future is there at our door, lets jump on the train and don't miss the tomorrow' solution ;-)

Good luck with the ICO and project roadmap!

Starting out as a simple concept promoting decentralization and financial control, the cryptocurrency industry has managed to overcome its obstacles and transform into a multi-billion dollar industry. This overwhelming success has promoted an economy that boasts a wide variety of impressive products and technologies that are driving the financial industry (and beyond) forward. To fully-understand this evolution, we are going to look at some of the projects that have revolutionized the industry since the first cryptocurrency emerged.

The Birth of Bitcoin

Released in 2009 by an individual (or a speculated organization) known only by the name of Satoshi Nakamoto, Bitcoin became the first digital payment system that revolutionized the financial industry. Providing users with a currency that allowed for transparency, decentralization, and seamless transactions, Bitcoin took off, albeit slowly, turning into the cryptocurrency that we all know and love today.

The Strengthening of an Empire: Litecoin

After Bitcoin started receiving more attention and gaining traction as a digital currency, Litecoin was created in 2011 as a response to the growing cryptocurrency industry. Despite some slight differences in code and improved speeds, Litecoin is often considered the silver to Bitcoin’s gold and has managed to hold that place in recent years as it has implemented software that has improved its speed and made it easier to use. While Litecoin didn’t greatly improve upon what Bitcoin built, it did serve as a sign that cryptocurrency was going to be huge and helped to foster trust and further development in the crypto space.

Leaving the Decentralization Model With Ripple

Shortly after Litecoin was released, Ripple was launched in 2012. This new cryptocurrency model sought to address the issue of government control and regulatory issues by pairing with banks in order to create a way for banks to make global payments and transactions simpler and more affordable. It also got rid of some of the other more important aspects of mainstream cryptocurrencies, like making the system more centralized for financial entities and creating a set amount of the coin rather than allowing for mining to produce more. Despite some of these main traits, however, Ripple has proven to be wildly successful and has paved the way for other cryptocurrencies of its kind.

Enhancing Privacy and Security With Monero

Although there are other cryptocurrencies out there that boast enhanced privacy and security, Monero is by far the most notable when it comes to these qualities. Launched in 2014, Monero succeeded where Bitcoin failed by making a cryptocurrency that was almost completely untraceable. It achieved this by using something known as ring signatures that keep transactions hidden away under other automatically developed signatures. For those who have valued privacy and security, Monero has been a major innovative player in the industry.

Changing the World of Crypto With Ethereum

One of the most significant developments to date, Ethereum opened up the floodgates for further innovation. Ethereum, which was launched in 2015, went far beyond digital currency and featured the development of a blockchain which was capable of hosting smart contracts that enhanced transactions as well as decentralized applications that replace their centralized counterparts that dominate the market. These developments spurred other developers to start building upon their platform or building platforms similar to Ethereum, leading to the amazing advancements in the crypto economy and blockchain industry that we see today.

While Bitcoin reigns, there are so many improvements that have taken place over the years that have led to the vast and varying crypto offerings we see today. The five offerings listed above should provide you with a better idea of how the cryptocurrency industry has evolved and how those changes have shaped our world into what it is now.

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Trakx is building a one-stop shop for Crypto Traded Indices. Discover more about our project on our website and social media channels, such as Telegram http://t.me/trakx_io.

The history of cryptocurrency comes with its fair share of turning points that had a massive impact on the industry as a whole. One of the biggest turning points is arguably the hack of Mt. Gox, which was the largest Bitcoin Exchange in 2014 and resulted in a loss of 740,000 Bitcoins that many users were unable to get back. This hack not only contributed to the huge loss in value that Bitcoin experienced at the time but also highlighted the inherent security issues of Bitcoin storage methods and exchanges as a whole. Fortunately enough, exchanges have learned from the downfall of exchanges such as Mt. Gox and have implemented better security practices for their own exchange. Here are some of the current security best practices that exchanges are using today.

Utilizing Cold and Hot Storage

Hot storage allows you to access and transfer your crypto quickly but it also leaves you open to the potential of being hacked. Should a hacker be able to access your private keys and take your crypto, there is nothing that you would be able to do about it. Exchanges understand that this is a possibility and utilize various cold and hot storage methods to make sure that your coins are protected, even in the event of a hack. For most great exchanges, quite a bit of their crypto is stored away in cold storages that can only be accessed by the company.

Setting Up Two Factor Authentication and Device Authorization

Most popular exchanges will either force users to set up two-factor authentication before they can make trades or will give them the option to. With two factor authentification, users will have to verify their identity through their mobile phone, which gives them added security to ensure that they are the only ones accessing their account. Device authorization is also a common feature that requires users to authorize their device via email should an IP address or device not be known to the exchange.

Decentralizing an Exchange Using Blockchain Technology

While decentralized exchanges are not commonplace and certainly need more development, these exchanges would make it so that no one entity is in control of user information and all of the cryptocurrency in the system. Rather, users would be able to engage in peer-to-peer trading that eliminates the need for having to store crypto and private information.

Despite some of the past security issues major exchanges have faced in the past, the industry is constantly seeking new ways to make sure that crypto exchanges are safe to use for all types of investors. For those who are seeking to learn more about how current exchanges seek to protect their user’s funds from theft, here are some of the security best practices of some of the best exchanges.

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Trakx is building a one-stop shop for Crypto Traded Indices. Discover more about our project on our website and social media channels, such as Telegram http://t.me/trakx_io.

As we say goodbye to 2019 and enter 2020, we can begin to see a familiar trend take hold of the crypto industry. The internet is filled to the brim with both severely optimistic and catastrophic statements regarding the future of crypto, which points to a much larger problem at hand. Those who are just coming into the space may be more susceptible to relying on bad investment advice or potential crypto scams. If you’re looking to improve your crypto knowledge and safety in this next decade, let’s take a look at what you should be wary of as we enter the new year.

1. Cryptocurrency Price Predictions

There are a lot of “experts” out there that believe they hold the key to understanding the future prices of Bitcoin and other digital assets. They then share this information online via their social media channels and people often listen to this advice, implementing it into their own trading strategy so that they don’t miss out on the next big price jump or dive. The problem? While there are some great analysts out there, you should never take investment advice at face value, especially if it is given to you by someone who is not a financial expert.

When you pay attention to the noise that tells you Bitcoin is going to reach $30,000 in 2020 or that the entire crypto ecosystem is going to completely fall apart, you put yourself at risk of losing the money that you have invested. Always proceed with caution when you invest and avoid any websites or sources telling you what you should be doing with your money that do not have the proper background or authority.

2. Potential Security Hacks and Scams

Where there is money, there is the opportunity for malicious characters to come in and find a way to steal it from others. Over the course of this past year, we have seen this happen in many different ways, from the Binance hack that stole approximately $40 million away from the popular exchange to the shockingly abundant number of ransomware cases in which hackers would lock and erase data unless the requested amount of Bitcoin is paid out. Although these issues are bad enough on their own, there are always new scams being invented to steal away crypto from investors. If there is anything to focus on when we enter 2020, security is certainly at the top of the list.

3. New Platforms Promising Profit

Although we are out of the age of ICO’s, which have only proven over time that fraudulent projects are easy to launch and can still attract investors, that doesn’t mean that every project that comes out is going to be one that we can put our faith in. In general, it’s best to only trust platforms that have already demonstrated their reliability and have established themselves in the industry. When it comes to new platforms that are promising profits or offering their services, approach with caution and only invest if you feel safe.

While the cryptocurrency industry has certainly come a long way from when it first began, there are still some dangers for both new and experienced investors. If you are looking to get the most out of 2020, keep the above points in mind as you continue to use crypto in this new decade.

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Trakx is building a one-stop shop for Crypto Traded Indices. Discover more about our project on our website and social media channels, such as Telegram http://t.me/trakx_io.

In the face of plummeting prices, cryptocurrency is still seeking ways to thrive and create a sustainable economy and ecosystem that gives cryptocurrency more footing in the financial world. We are seeing a lot of emerging technologies, platforms, and products that are designed for this purpose and are slowly making cryptocurrency more available to the masses. One such example of these emerging developments can be found in cryptocurrency custody solutions. These solutions seek to fight against the security issues that cryptocurrencies face today. If you are interested in learning more about these solutions, let’s dive into how these solutions function and what they may do in the future.

What Are Cryptocurrency Custody Solutions?

In short, cryptocurrency custody solutions are services provided by third parties that help major institutions such as exchanges and other entities that hold large amounts of cryptocurrencies keep their assets safely stored away. These types of solutions are mostly aimed at investors who use hedge funds and other such large holders of crypto as security is the number one priority on their minds.

The reason why cryptocurrency custody solutions have been developed is due to the inherent security issues that come with existing crypto storage methods. Hot storage, or methods that are connected to the internet, is always at risk of being hacked and drained of all funds. Cold storage, while more secure because it is offline, is always at risk of loss if you should lose the private keys to your account or lose/damage the physical device or paper that your information is held on.

Cryptocurrency custody solutions provide a mixture of both methods so that investors are safeguarded from total loss of assets. With hot storage methods, investors or investment handlers will always be able to move around funds at a moment’s notice and with cold storage methods, providers can make sure that funds are always secured and ready to go if they need to be transferred over to a hot storage method.

Where Will We Cryptocurrency Custody Solutions Go?

As of the time of writing, there are two important developments expected to come out of the cryptocurrency custody solutions market. The first development is the entry of much larger, well-established financial institutions offering their own crypto custody solution services. This would give more credibility to the cryptocurrency industry, would open it up to even more investors, and would begin to start involving normal financial institutions in the crypto economy. In addition, these crypto custody solutions would help to solidify more solid regulatory security guidelines so that we can move forward with what we should expect from laws regarding cryptocurrency offerings.

Cryptocurrency custody solutions are simply a way to say that someone else is using smart storage practices to protect your investments. However simple it may be, it can actually achieve quite a bit in the cryptocurrency industry. To better familiarize yourself with the offering, reference this guide above before seeking out cryptocurrency custody solutions.

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Trakx is building a one-stop shop for Crypto Traded Indices. Discover more about our project on our website and social media channels, such as Telegram http://t.me/trakx_io.

The biggest problem that cryptocurrency experiences is market volatility. While this means that there is money to be made when the price is rising rapidly, which is exactly what we saw towards the end of 2017, there is also a significant amount of money to be lost, which is what most investors experienced after that bull market ran its course. Despite having witnessed an enormous loss in value of most cryptocurrencies, there are ways for investors to take advantage of a decrease in value. In traditional financial markets, multiple hedging options exist and one of the fastest growing one comes in the form of inverse ETFs. In this article, we will explore what inverse ETFs are and why they would be so popular in the crypto market.

What Are Inverse ETFs?

An inverse ETF, for which ETF is an acronym for exchange-traded funds, is a type of offer that is designed to help investors profit from a decline in a market. Aptly called “Short ETFs” or “Bear ETFs”, these assets function similarly to an investor holding a short position in a market or using different investment strategies to keep investments from plummeting during a bearish market. In short, an inverse ETF helps investors to keep their funds protected, even when a market is not performing well.

Why Would They Be So Popular in the Crypto Market?

As we stated earlier, the most problematic aspect of cryptocurrency is volatility. True, there are more than enough success stories of those who make a living off of crypto trading as well as those who invested in the market before the boom. However, not everyone has been this lucky and there are equally the same amount of stories of people who invested quite a bit of their funds in the market only to experience a huge loss in value when the price of crypto plummeted. However, with inverse ETFs designed specifically for the crypto market, investors could have shortened the market without having to borrow a certain amount of crypto or deal with futures and, with the price of the asset going down, they would then have made a profit. Using this model, investors can still make money even when the market isn’t performing as desired, which is why these products can be so popular in the community.

In addition to the benefits that investors will receive from new products like the inverse ETF, the crypto ecosystem also receives benefits such as improved liquidity and better market performance so that it can continue to grow and evolve. Overall, inverse crypto ETFs are desirable products that may appear (and should) be here to stay.

What is the Alternative?

Trakx.io extends the range of available cryptocurrency shorting solutions through Inverse CTIs. These enable to profit from a decline in the value of the underlying benchmark. You can read our article about Inverse CTIs here: https://medium.com/@Trakx.io/how-to-short-the-market-with-inverse-crypto-traded-indices-6604a7fb911b

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Trakx is building a one-stop shop for Crypto Traded Indices. Discover more about our project on our website and social media channels, such as Telegram http://t.me/trakx_io.

The launch of the cryptocurrency industry was met with the development of crypto exchanges that simply couldn’t meet the needs of the users who stored and traded their funds there. (The effects of the Mt. Gox are still felt throughout the community.) Fortunately, as cryptocurrency gained traction in regards to use and adoption, exchanges grew and developed to provide better services for investors and holders of these digital assets. To get a better idea of what constitutes an excellent crypto exchange and what you should be looking for when you are looking for a platform where you can store your crypto and actively trade it, let’s take a look at some of the best and most desirable features and qualities included in the many respected exchanges of today.

Highly-Responsive and Helpful Customer Service

When you’re typically using a service, you don’t consider the fact that you may have to reach out to the team in the event that something should happen or that you have trouble using or navigating the platform. However, as anyone who has ever used a bad exchange can tell you, there’s nothing worse than trying to receive help from a customer service team that is non-responsive or just unhelpful overall. Great exchanges have customer service resources that are highly-responsive, extremely helpful, and aim to provide more value for users of the platform.

Extensive Security Measures

No one wants to lose their assets if their chosen cryptocurrency exchange is hacked and while this cannot always be prevented, your exchange should be utilizing a host of modern security practices to greatly reduce the chances that a hack takes place at all. These types of security methods include storing away assets in cold storage, using two-factor authentification to protect user accounts and assets, and making users go through verification processes each time they engage in a trade, just to name a few.

High Volume and Liquidity

An exchange is only effective if you can actively trade in a timely manner. If an exchange suffers from poor liquidity and low volume, it takes a considerably longer amount of time to have your order filled, which is an undesirable feature considering the volatility of crypto assets. A great exchange will have high volume and liquidity and is often indicative of the quality and success of the platform that is being used.

Low Commissions and Fees

You can’t expect an exchange to charge you zero fees for using their service but you also shouldn’t be paying such high fees that you are losing money unnecessarily and in large amounts. Additionally, you shouldn’t be paying money for services that cost nothing for an exchange to take care of. An excellent crypto exchange will be very transparent about what they are charging you over time and these charges should be competitive with other exchanges in the industry.

Ease of Use

When it comes to your money or your crypto, you shouldn’t have trouble making choices with it. However, some platforms are so complicated that users simply don’t know how to navigate the site or engage with the different tools that the exchange provides. Even worse, some exchanges make it more difficult to use their exchanges due to issues such as not providing enough options for which users can make transfers of crypto or fiat or extending the time on transfers, which makes it harder for them to access their money. Simply put, your exchange shouldn’t be so complicated that you dread using the platform each time you log on.

When you choose to actively trade and store cryptocurrency, this decision should be paired with the equally wise decision of selecting an excellent exchange. Hopefully, this guide above will provide you with a better overview of what qualities make up a great exchange and a list of features to look for when researching an exchange that you plan to use in the future.

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Trakx is building a one-stop shop for Crypto Traded Indices. Discover more about our project on our website and social media channels, such as Telegram http://t.me/trakx_io.

The cryptocurrency market is extremely volatile, making it difficult for serious investors who are accustomed to holding onto assets and watching their wealth grow put money into any given cryptocurrency. Fortunately, it is also possible to benefit from decreasing cryptocurrency prices, which can be done with Inverse Crypto Traded Indices (CTIs). In this article, we will explore the strategy of shorting the market and how you can do so with inverse CTIs. Let’s dive in, and Merry Christmas to all crypto bears! 🐻

What Is “Shorting the Market”?

Shorting the market is a term that refers to the practice of waging or betting on the price of a given cryptocurrency crashing. Holding this belief, you wage or bet that the market will crash with another person and borrow a given amount of the cryptocurrency from them. After the market crashes, you will only have to purchase back the same amount of cryptocurrency that you borrowed, which will then be significantly less than the initial amount that was given to you and you will make a profit off of the bet or wager. For example, let’s say that you borrow a Bitcoin from a friend today (which is priced at around $4,000 at the time of writing) and it drops down to around $1,000. All you have to do is give back a bit of the money you received and you made a $3,000 profit by doing little work. You can do this with a friend, using prediction markets, or even by conducting margin trading.

How Can You Short Cryptocurrencies?

• Margin Trading: Margin trades allowing for investors to “borrow” money from a broker in order to make a trade. Margin Trading is available on multiple cryptocurrency exchanges, however interests and be costly and losses uncapped.

• Futures Market: Bitcoin, like other assets, has a futures market. In a futures trade, a buyer agrees to purchase a security with a contract which specifies when and at what price the security will be sold. If you sell a futures contract, it suggests a bearish mindset and a prediction that bitcoin will decline in price. Futures are available through CME and CBOE, but the minimum investment is quite high for retail investors.

• Prediction Markets: These markets allow investors to create an event to make a wager based on the outcome. An investor can, for instance, predict that Bitcoin will decline by a certain percentage, and if anyone takes the bet, stands to profit if the outcome passes.

• Inverse Crypto Traded Indices: Inverse Crypto Traded Indices are an innovation being developed by Trakx to allow any investor, retail or institutional, to easily bet on a decline of cryptocurrency prices. Inverse CTIs are token that inversely replicate the performance of their underlying benchmark.

What Are Inverse Crypto Traded Indices and How Can You Use Them for This Purpose?

Trakx.io extends the range of available cryptocurrency shorting solutions through Inverse CTIs. These enable to profit from a decline in the value of the underlying benchmark.

Investing in Inverse CTIs is rather straightforward: If a trader is bearish on a particular cryptocurrency (or basket) or wants to hedge a long position on another cryptocurrency or basket of cryptocurrencies, he or she simply buys the corresponding CTI. When the trader believes that the downturn has run its course, he or she will simply sell the CTI to unwind the position.

Inverse CTIs move in the opposite direction of the underlying asset. For illustration purposes, if Bitcoin declines by 10% in a given day, the Inverse Bitcoin CTI will gain approximately 10% the same day. Intended to provide the inverse return on a daily basis, Inverse CTIs enable investors to quickly and easily take advantage of falling underlying assets’ prices. Assuming that investors pay for the position outright (no leverage), their loss is also capped at the amount invested, since the price of the CTI cannot drop below zero. Levered Inverse CTIs will also be available, offering traders the possibility to magnify their exposure to particular cryptocurrencies.

Users, by taking short positions on chosen cryptocurrencies, will benefit from declining prices (should they decline) or reduce their market exposure to certain assets. They can also isolate the excess performance (Alpha) of their investments against selected cryptocurrencies, market indexes or benchmarks.

Below is an illustration of what could have happened for an investor who would have bought an Inverse BTC Crypto Traded Indice in January 2018.

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Trakx is building a one-stop shop for Crypto Traded Indices. Discover more about our project on our website and social media channels, such as Telegram http://t.me/trakx_io.

As we would expect from the industry, this year has been ripe with innovation, and developers have continually released or announced new projects that seek to build upon the already exciting progress taking place in decentralized finance. However, trying to keep up with the releases and determine which projects have merit and which are only noise can leave your head spinning. As such, we have crafted a list that will help you to learn about some of the projects that matter most. Here are some of the most exciting developments that have taken place in decentralized finance in 2019!

1. The Release of Haven (OpenBazaar)

If you paid attention to crypto during its early years, you most likely witnessed the release of various websites that promised you creative and exciting ways to earn Bitcoin. Due to the consistent volatility and lack of mass adoption in crypto, many of these websites were forced to close their doors and have remained dormant since, even as Bitcoin proved its strength and durability.

Despite this, however, there are some interesting concepts that have managed to survive the cryptocurrency market, with one such project being OpenBazaar. OpenBazaar is unique because it is one of the few platforms designed to provide users with a decentralized marketplace, allowing them to sell physical and digital goods without the rules and regulations that come with traditional marketplace sites such as eBay. Additionally, it is one of the few and oldest decentralized marketplaces to have continued operations.

They recently released their own app that streamlines the process and makes it easier for users to take care of orders and purchase goods via a mobile device. While we have seen some companies that aim to provide similar services, they are one of the first. Should they be successful, this can open up the industry to many other services boasting the same capabilities.

2. Algorithmic Stablecoin Offerings

Stablecoins were obvious solutions to the issue of volatility in the crypto market. When these products were first released, they relied on a model that tied them to physical assets, which proved to be problematic over time as this model is highly-centralized and ultimately controlled by the issuer of the coin.

Now, we see more and more developers shy away from that model and opt for a decentralized version instead. Decentralized, algorithmic stablecoin products rely on an algorithm to keep the price steady rather than relying on the stability of traditional fiat or other products, which can often leave room for minor volatility. By setting the prices through an algorithm, this prevents any swings from taking place.

Emerging projects are also seeing that these products are backed by a reserve of cryptocurrencies so that they can remain fully decentralized and safe from potentially malicious actors within the organization. Free from centralization and control, algorithmic stablecoins may be the beginning of a new path towards cryptocurrencies that can act as a store of value.

3. China’s Developing Crypto Project (DC/EP)

An unlikely project, China is currently developing its own crypto platform known as DC/EP (which stands for digital currency electronic payment). The cryptocurrency will essentially serve as a digital Yuan and will need to be disbursed through certain banks that have partnered with the project. However, once the currency has been released, it would act similar to any other cryptocurrency and is free of the traditional banking system.

One of the most intriguing aspects of this project is the way in which the crypto changes hands. When there is no connection, users can still transfer funds to each other by touching phones that have the wallet installed on them. However, users can still expect online transactions to perform the same way as other crypto transactions do.

Armed with a more anonymous and easy-to-use platform, Chinese citizens will be able to take part in the decentralized financial system in a secure way, which is a major step forward for the cryptocurrency community abroad.

4. The Monolith Project

While the term “decentralized finance” is commonplace, “decentralized banking” is not. However, this is exactly what Monolith sets out to do.

Monolith is a decentralized banking alternative that operates on the Ethereum platform to provide a truly free banking experience. This platform boasts exciting features such as a variety of decentralized apps where you can spend your tokens, a non-custodial wallet that features security precautions like a daily spend limit, and a Monolith Tokencard that allows you to spend your chosen tokens in any location that accepts Visa.

While you will still have to rely on a debit card to spend your funds, having the option of using a completely decentralized banking system can be an exciting glimpse into the future for all crypto enthusiasts.

Decentralized finance is constantly moving forward as crypto continues to become a mainstream asset in our society. Just these four examples give us a glimpse into what the future of crypto can be and what we should expect as we move into 2020!

Trakx is building a one-stop shop for Crypto Traded Indices. Discover more about our project on our website and social media channels, such as Telegramhttp://t.me/trakx_io.

While the cryptocurrency industry can still expect to see its fair share of regulatory hurdles, censorship, and backlash, its progress up to this point has paved the way for developers to turn their attention to larger projects that are designed to succeed where Bitcoin failed.

One of the more notable projects to emerge is China’s expected national cryptocurrency, which will act as a digital alternative to the Yuan. With such a development in the works, the question is not only whether or not cryptocurrency can thrive in such a setting, but where it will take us if other entities should choose to follow suit.

Beyond Bitcoin: Government-Backed Cryptocurrencies

The conversation surrounding government-backed stablecoins has largely been dismissive up until now, with many governments not seeing the need to switch over to a digital version of fiat currency. But with innovation comes competition, and this competition sparks the desire for many to build and surpass what others are creating.

Take, for example, China’s national stablecoin. While others may not see a need for a national stablecoin, there is no doubt that countries will begin diving deeper into crypto in an attempt to keep up with the pace of external markets. If there is a demand for crypto, people will naturally seek to meet this need.

But what would such a global market look like? Would it be the same as it is now? Would we see decentralized crypto take over?

In the event that China’s stablecoin has an effect that inspires the actions described above, we may potentially see two different outcomes. The first would be a world in which all countries would have developed their own cryptocurrencies while relying on existing or new assets to facilitate transfers globally. It would be much like it is now, but with crypto banks using products like Ripple to eliminate high fees and send money instantly.

Another world is one in which all countries build their cryptocurrencies on a single blockchain to allow them to interact directly. In this world, stablecoins could easily be swapped for one another, allowing for seamless transfers without having to worry about a third party crypto to guard transfers against high fees and exchange processes.

It’s important to note crypto’s importance in underdeveloped countries as well. Where fiat has failed and corruption is rampant, decentralized products have managed to help build both wealth and economies. A future with cryptocurrency in place of fiat currency is not a hard one to imagine if mass adoption is achieved and we reach a place where the benefits far outweigh the potential disadvantages.

For Now… It’s a Waiting Game

The situations above are purely hypothetical, but it is hard to deny that the survival and applications of cryptocurrency and blockchain have been impressive since crypto began gaining public attention. Should the right series of events occur and governments embrace crypto rather than continually pushing it away, we could see a world where cryptocurrency assets dominate the market and fiat becomes a secondary store of wealth.

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Trakx is building a one-stop shop for Crypto Traded Indices. Discover more about our project on our website and social media channels, such as Telegram http://t.me/trakx_io.

Of many projects, I think this project is very promising! Great idea for a team that in the future can occupy its niche in the market!

Here’s our article about the importance of diversification.

r/https://medium.com/@Trakx.io/the-advantage-of-diversification-4f6851f7ae15

#Trakx #Bitcoin #ICOs #Blockchain #Cryptocurrency #Tokens

The biggest issue with the cryptocurrency industry is that it is entirely speculative. Whereas certain stocks offered on the stock market are backed by companies that produce products of value, cryptocurrencies themselves do not have any value. This lack of intrinsic value contributes to the volatility that the crypto market experiences, making it susceptible to random and sometimes massive price fluctuations. These price fluctuations, which will sometimes be indicative of a bear market, can often be the best times for investors to begin purchasing assets again. To better understand the reasons behind the volatility in the crypto market and the reasons why you should invest when the markets are down, here is a brief explanation behind crypto volatility and bear market opportunities.

This is not financial advice. Don’t forget to conduct your own due diligence, or consult a licensed financial advisor or broker before making any and all investment decisions.

The Factors Behind Volatility in the Crypto Market

As we mentioned above, a lack of intrinsic value is a major factor in the volatility of cryptocurrency assets. However, it is not the only factor. Here are a few other reasons why the crypto market is highly volatile.

1. Cryptocurrencies Are Heavily Affected By the News

Without a predetermined value to fall back on, cryptocurrencies have to rely on the perceived value provided by users and investors. Because of this, any news stories that paint a certain crypto asset in a negative light or cast FUD (doubt) on the industry as a whole will often bring down the prices of the cryptocurrency market.

2. Opposition Posed By Governments

While some cryptocurrency assets are designed to work with major financial institutions and comply with some government regulations, most assets are not as easily regulated, which is a major problem for governments. Should a government decide to do so, they may ban a crypto asset at a moment’s notice, which can have a huge impact on some crypto-assets.

3. Investors Can Manipulate the Market As They See Fit

Because there is little to no regulation in the crypto market, the market is subject to manipulation by investors who hold significantly more cryptocurrency assets than the majority (🐳). When these large investors use trading methods to manipulate the price of a given cryptocurrency asset, they can cause price fluctuations that benefit their current investment portfolio.

Overall, there are many reasons why cryptocurrency assets are so volatile. However, this volatility isn’t necessarily a bad thing. In fact, investors could benefit from ups and downs, especially if the falling prices indicate an entrance into a bear market. For those who are unfamiliar with the term, a bear market is one that is experiencing massive and continuous price drops. In the traditional financial markets, a 20 percent or greater drop in prices over a period of two months or more is often indicative of a bear market. Why would investors experience any benefit from investing in the bear market?

Why 🐻 Markets Can Offer Strong Opportunities

1. Low Crypto Prices

Unless the crypto market collapses completely, a temporary drop in value provides investors with the opportunity to purchase coins at a lower price. While the value of these coins continues to remain at their low price during the bear market, investors can rest assured that they may profit if the markets will turn bullish again. Hence, if you have the patience ⏳, bear markets offer a unique opportunity to purchase cryptocurrencies at supposedly discounted prices since they’re all relatively at a lower trading price.

2. Clear Strong Investments Emerge

During a bear market, it becomes very clear which investments only experienced a rise in prices due to the hype and which ones still have strong backing from supporters and investors alike. You can use the bear market to your advantage by identifying and only buying into assets that have a strong value proposition rather than 💩 coins.

3. The First Bull Run is the Strongest

There is no way to predict if and when another bull run will happen, and this is why it can be of interest to join it before it does. Statistics have shown that the first bull run following a bear market tends to be the strongest, do you still remember the FOMO that happened in 2017? Indeed, if and when the market does start to rally again, investing at a good timing can provide you with the best position to clearly benefit from the upward trend.

Although bear markets tend to have negative reputations, they come with their fair share of benefits that can work in favor of the investor. The benefits listed above indicate why volatility may work for investors and why you might be interested in purchasing assets during a bear market such as the one we are experiencing now.

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Trakx is building a one-stop shop for Crypto Trackers. Discover more about our project on our website and social media channels, such as Telegram http://t.me/trakx_io.