Bitcoin investment is the new buzz in the market. Ever since Bitcoin emerged in the market, it has been running the news mill. Whether it is about the sudden rise in its value or apprehensions surrounding it. Irrespective of the access, Bitcoin has been the new headline’s favorite topic of discussion. You can find umpteen options to invest in Bitcoin. But you also need a safe place to store this cryptocurrency. In this blog, we are going to highlight the 5 best and safest ways to store Bitcoin.1. Hot wallet- When it comes to storing Bitcoin, many people trust the hot wallet. These are also known as online wallets. These run on internet-connected devices like phones, tablets, and computers. Although this is one of the most preferred choices, they have a certain amount of vulnerabilities because they create private keys. So, the user has to be extra cautious about storing Bitcoin in the hot wallet.2. Cold wallet- The next option that we have is the cold wallet. These are also popular, known as offline wallets or hardware wallets. They don’t need internet-connected devices and are considered the best choice for those looking for a safer option for Bitcoin storage. There are different types of a cold wallet, and these are covered below:3. Paper wallet- This is also a type of cold wallet. You can generate this from certain websites. These can produce both private and public keys, which are written on a piece of paper. You must store this paper correctly. Make sure that you store it safely because once you lose it, you won’t be able to regenerate it back.4. Hardware wallet- Another type of cold wallet that is issued for storing Bitcoin is a hardware wallet. This can either be a USB. As compared to hot wallets, these…
Digital Currency Custody Solutions On The Rise
The ability to deliver for an unabated optimal customer experienceThe recent year 2020 gave time for many to look for alternative means to increase their financial inflows and revenues upon the strike of the pandemic. Every individual, institution, and economy hurriedly turned to the digital space to see what’s in store for them as lockdowns and quarantines and strict health protocols halted many physical interactions and face-to-face communications. What turned out was the acceleration of digital adoption being incorporated in many incumbent systems, processes, and mechanisms across government and industries.For the major part, global exposure to virtual currencies and digital assets became phenomenal as is seen reflected on the all-time-highs of Bitcoin, Ethereum, Polkadot, and every other altcoin there is. What was once looked down to and termed as “valueless, computer-based assets created out of thin air” are now sought after as reliable hedges against the dwindling value of the fiat. Celebrated high net worth marchers on the digital aisle included Microstrategy, PayPal, Visa, Mastercard, and Tesla. With the sole purpose of helping their clients buy, sell, hold, and pay for products and services using cryptocurrencies, the demand for crypto custody and digital wealth management is expected to increase this 2021.Challenges AheadFunds and asset owners and managers are now faced with the daunting task of keeping up with the accelerated transformation of the financial industry. They are now seeking to outsource and partner with custodians to be able to cope up and adapt to the challenges ahead. Custodians have effective solutions to complex matters in place from security to settlement execution that makes them a vital cog in the financial services market.What Custodians Do?Custodians are charged to take care of their client’s wealth and funds. They are regulated financial institutions that are paid fees for executing such services which are…
Square buys Bitcoin for $ 170,000,000
Payment service provider Square has reinforced its commitment to Bitcoin. Despite — or perhaps because of — the recent dent in the Bitcoin price, Square has bought BTC for the second time.After it looked briefly in the Bitcoin market as if the bears were about to take over the reins, a fresh ration of bull food came across the Atlantic yesterday. The American FinTech Square has bought Bitcoin again. According to a press release on February 23, Square has invested more than three times as much US dollars this time as it did when it first bought Bitcoin in October 2020.Square also announced today that it has acquired approximately 3,318 bitcoins for a total purchase price of $ 170 million. Combined with the previous purchase of $ 50 million worth of Bitcoin, that equates to approximately five percent of Square’s total cash and marketable securities as of December 31, 2020.When the company announced in October 2020 that it had shifted some of its cash reserves into Bitcoin, BTC was trading between $ 10,000 and $ 11,000. FinTech bought 4,709 BTC at the time.The fact that Square has now massively expanded its BTC position despite the fivefold increase in the Bitcoin rate should make some Bitcoin bulls click their tongues. After all, the average purchase price this time was $ 51,235 — apparently, Square believes that this is far from the end of the flagpole.Even before Square even got into Bitcoin, FinTech made an important contribution to the adaptation with its Cash App. Cash app users have been able to buy and sell Bitcoin since the end of 2017. Square hardly makes any profit with this: According to its own information, the margin is deliberately kept low in order to promote the BTC adaptation. Revenue generated by the Bitcoin integration revenue…
10 Reasons I’ll ALWAYS Buy Bitcoin
Photo by Dmitry Demidko on UnsplashThe original article highlights the possibility of Bitcoin’s code being changed to alter Bitcoin’s hard cap (the maximum number of bitcoin that will ever exist). However, it grossly oversimplifies the difficulty of implementing such a drastic change.One of the first things that you normally learn about Bitcoin is that the core code was designed to only ever create 21 million bitcoin that would be slowly released over many years — a process known as bitcoin mining. As I write this on Feb. 21, over 18.6 million of them have already been mined, with 6.25 new bitcoin being mined about every 10 minutes and the amount of new mints algorithmically decreasing by ½ every 4 years.The beauty of a decentralized network is that any changes that will be universally applied must first be accepted by the majority of the people sustaining the network (in this case, the nodes/miners). Many changes have been proposed for the Bitcoin network over the years via Bitcoin Improvement Proposals (BIPs) and, for the most part, many of them were approved by the network because they adhered to and built on top of Bitcoin’s core values. Some proposals, though, were so drastically far from Bitcoin’s intended functionality, the nodes/miners/community collectively smacked them like the back of a fresh skin fade (I’m looking at you, Segwit 2x).Historically, the Bitcoin community has been shown to reject any drastic changes to its core protocol, and as the community continues to grow, and people become more educated and more involved in the network, that slim chance of a hard cap change happening becomes so negligible, it’s almost non-existent. It’s more than just a promise — it’s understanding and consensus that keeps it from changing.The original article points out that “approximately 2,300 U.S. businesses accept Bitcoin” while…
NFT Moonshots
Identifying the opportunities in NFTPixabayAbout your author: CryptoQuestion is an independent platform providing free resources for cryptocurrency investors. From an on-demand Q&A service to online courses, from books to our Micro Cap Watch List. Visit us at www.cryptoquestion.techWhen Mark Cuban the billionaire tech visionary was asked recently what was going to be the next big thing, he quickly singled out blockchain and NFTs.‘This is like the early days over again. I think NFTs and blockchain is going to be huge.’No doubt you have been reading a lot about NFTs recently. Probably ever since these things called CryptoKitties started changing hands for thousands of dollars. In case you are not exactly sure what NFTs are, let us explain.NFTs are short for Non Fungible Tokens. NFTs are cryptocurrency tokens used to represent assets (like digital art, music, or movies). They can be bought and sold like physical assets whilst their ownership is tracked on the blockchain. Unlike bitcoin, for example, each token is unique and represents a specific asset.It all started back in 2012 with something called Colored Coins, however, it wasn’t until the launch of CryptoKitties in 2017 when NFT became mainstream. CryptoKitties is a blockchain-based virtual game that allows players to adopt, raise and trade virtual cats. Some have sold for a whopping $100k.There are over 100 NFT Projects and many more in the works. The market is growing fast. Faster than DeFi (Decentralized Finance), and that is saying something! In January 2021 alone, the market grew by 10 times. Although we alluded to the fact that NFTs have gone mainstream, this relates more to its recent mainstream publicity with the likes of Christie’s entering the market selling digital art. The good news is it is still early days. It is estimated that the secondary market in NFTs is in…
Taxation of Cryptocurrencies in India
The growing volume and value of cryptocurrency transactions across trading exchanges are grappling with the attention of the legislative bodies and tax authorities in India. With taxation, governments can achieve three major goals. First, regulate the cryptocurrency market in the larger interest of the public. Second, stop money laundering and illegal use of the asset. And, third, generate revenue from the trade in the form of income tax and GST.The Constitution of India under Article 246 grants the power to levy taxes to the Parliament as well as the state legislatures to impose taxes. Article 265 warrants the need for a predefined law before the Income Tax Department can impose the tax.Now, all eyes are on the Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill, 2021 that was discussed in the Lok Sabha and is scheduled to be tabled in Lok Sabha on March 08, 2021.Though the bill sought a ban on cryptocurrencies and the launch of an official cryptocurrency under the ambit of the RBI, this sounds like a distant dream. Meanwhile, top cryptocurrency entrepreneurs in India have united against the government decision under the umbrella of ABCE (Association for Blockchain & Crypto and Digital asset Entrepreneurs).They want to have a dialogue with stakeholders in the Indian government, regulators, and policymakers. The purpose is to explain the benefits of crypto to the government clearly and convince them. In a nutshell, the entrepreneurs expect regulation of digital currencies rather than a ban.Direct TaxUnder the current Income Tax Act, there is no specified field in the Income Tax Return Filing (ITR) form where citizens or PAN holders can disclose the income gained through cryptocurrency trading. However, if they liquidate or withdraw the cryptocurrency income, and transfer it to their bank account, then the interest paid by the bank against the deposit…
What to do With Crypto Profits?
It depends on what you want to do.At all markets, profits should be taken when possible unless you invest in the long-term.In crypto markets, a profit margin should be decided, and profits should be taken when the target is reached. After taking profits, you shouldn’t even look back. Here, we’ll discuss what to do with your crypto profits.1-How to take profits?To make profits, you have to decide how much you’re going to invest and which percentage you’ll take your profits. As soon as you took the profits, the money has to be transferred to your bank account. The money you invest could stay, but it could be better if you can transfer the money itself. To transfer the money, you should look at what is needed for the system and what could be done with it. For crypto exchanges, you might need various intermediaries to transfer your money. To do this, you should look at transferring options before actually moving on with other currencies. And then, your bank account should be linked, and the best possible intermediary should be chosen.2-What to do with profits?It depends on what you want. It includes investing in long-term assets or buying a house. After taking profits, a goal should be decided what could be done with them. To decide what to do, you should look at what you want and what you need. But the main goal is to get your freedom in all sorts of life. It can be done with real estate, dividends, and any other thing of your choice.What are you doing with the profits? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.
75 Twitter Handles to Follow If You Like Crypto
It’s hard to talk of decentralization and free markets and not talk about the iconic Silicon Valley Angel Investors and Philosopher, Naval Ravikant. Naval is famous for Investing in various successful unicorns, founding Angelist, but most importantly, for his philosophical and insightful contributions to issues on wealth, health, and wellness; his Twitter handle, @naval, has become a cult handle with an iconoclast aura, with his tweets being revered as they seem to ooze out knowledge and deep wisdom. Naval is an advocate for decentralization, Decentralized Finance, Cryptocurrency and speaks against Censorship.It’s hard to think of a list like this that won’t include the famous co-founder of Etherum. Vitalik Buterin is a massive voice in the decentralization and cryptocurrency space and these insights and information regarding the industry is impeccable as his tweets are useful information and analysis about Blockchain and decentralized finance.“The Big Chief” as he is popularly called, is a Nigerian “retired investor” (according to his Twitter bio @asemota) and one of the most respected entrepreneurs across Africa has been responsible for some of the advancement of technology in the continent due to his strong affiliations with technological giants, Google, he tweets mostly about Fintech in Africa and stocks trading, but he is also a very credible handle to follow for tweets regarding decentralized finance and cryptocurrency especially with respect to the African industry, which is a very important thing as the dynamics of the crypto market can be quite unique to certain regions, countries or continents.Andreas Antonopoulos is one of the most respected and revered Bitcoin enthusiasts and a major contributor to the success of the popular digital currency; his books like “Mastering Bitcoin” are best sellers and have been major influencers in the Bitcoin and Crypto space. He is regarded by most in the crypto world as…
SPACs and why you might want to skip this trend
While I certainly enjoy a good Netflix binge, occasionally, I feel the need to watch something educative. This is how I ended up watching “The China Hustle.” This documentary taught me that between 2008–2016 there was a real boom of Chinese companies that went public in the US via a reverse merger. Many of these companies turned out to be a scam.5 years later and reverse mergers continue being popular. The easiest way to conduct a reverse merger is by the creation of a Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC). If you’ve recently come across that acronym, that’s probably due to their increased popularity. SPACs are en vogue with celebrities like Shaquille O’Neal or Paul Ryan (former speaker of the House)starting their own.We’re barely 2 months into 2021 and SPACs have already raised $40 Billion. But how do SPACs operate and what are they good for?How do SPACs work?SPACs — are also known as “blank check companies.” They raise money through an IPO from private equity firms as well as retail investors.As the name of the SPAC suggests, a SPAC needs to acquire another company and has 2 years to do so. When going public, SPACs won’t usually disclose too much information regarding what company they’re looking to acquire. Reasons for that include avoiding unwanted scrutiny and keeping all options open. Sometimes, SPAC issuers will announce an industry they’re targeting, yet there is no guarantee they’ll go through with it.SPACs don’t have commercial operations. However, they’re allowed to use some of the interest earned on money collected by their shareholders.If a SPAC fails to find a company to acquire within the 2 years time-frame, they’ll return the money to their investors.As soon as a target company is identified, it’ll be publicly announced, and the SPAC will hold a proxy vote in…
2 Things to Do When Bitcoin’s Price Falls to Come Out a Winner
These simple tips will help you when Bitcoin is crashingImage by Peggy und Marco Lachmann-Anke from PixabayAs the Bitcoin price dropped on February 23, 2021, you probably panicked. Part of you was also wondering what happened. The price of Bitcoin was going up and on a smooth path to keep going higher.For an experienced investor, when Bitcoin dropped, this was normal. Bitcoin has had its history of dropping several thousand dollars in a flash.As a new investor, you have to get used to this. Bitcoin doesn’t go up forever and you need to think about your own plan with your digital currency.Take some notes because as long as you have money in Bitcoin, the price will take you on some rides just like you are at an amusement park sitting on a roller coaster. The roller coaster will go up and then before you know it, the ride will suddenly drop.This is how I see investing in Bitcoin and investing in general. Investing is like riding a roller coaster.Your investment will go up and down just like you are sitting on a roller coaster. Sometimes the ride on Bitcoin is sudden and fast and many times you’ll have no idea what happened.In most cases, such as this one, Bitcoin Whales sold their Bitcoin to take in their profit.Whale and humpback whales have sold 146,000 Bitcoin. This is equivalent to 6.72 billion.Glassnode reported that any Bitcoin address that holds between 1,000 to 10,000 Bitcoin is a whale.As the whales were selling, MicroStrategy came in and bought 19,452 Bitcoin at a price of $52,765 per coin.As an investor, you probably don’t have this much money to spend on Bitcoin.As an investor, there is one thing you should not do.Panic and sell all of your Bitcoin.When you do this, you could lose focus…