The emergence of crypto casinos gave players an efficient and alternative way to enjoy their favorite games of chance. While this was cool at first, the growing popularity of cryptocurrencies has overrun the industry with countless crypto casino sites, many of which can’t be trusted. Now, many players have a hard time choosing the right […]
Bitcoin News
Four reasons to choose Alium.Finance if you are an active user of cryptocurrencies
According to the analytical resource Blockchain.com, the number of active crypto wallets in the world has exceeded 81 million. This means that every hundredth inhabitant of the planet already uses digital currencies as an investment or mean of payment. And every year this number is only increasing. At the same time, the crypto business creates new opportunities and conditions for the use of crypto assets among ordinary users, and the popularization of decentralized finance has greatly simplified the use of cryptocurrencies in everyday life. Today, DEX platforms allow not only to exchange one cryptocurrency for another in one click, but also offer new types of earnings: staking, liquidity farming, and many others. Moreover, crypto users can lend to other market participants and receive guaranteed payments for providing liquidity. In this article, we figured out what opportunities the Alium.Finance platform provides to its users and what unique opportunities are available for professionals, novice crypto users, and even businesses.
What is Alium Finance
Alium.Finance is a multi-chain DeFi ecosystem that includes several products, such as a multi-chain exchange that supports the 9 most popular blockchains, multi-chain bridges that help transfer tokens between different blockchains, the Strong Holders Pool, a hybrid liquidity function, and ALM native token. Separately, it is worth mentioning the NFT project and the Play-2-Earn game Cyber.City, which is being developed by Alium.Finance. The release of this game will be presented in the near future. Despite the fact that the company was launched quite recently, today hundreds of users from all over the world choose solutions from Alium.Finance, because the company solves the main problems of the DeFi market by offering effective tools for exchanging cryptocurrency and making money on it. So, what makes Alium.Finance so attractive to users?
Easy exchange of tokens between blockchains
Today, there are at least fifty blockchains of various levels on the market, on the basis of which thousands of different tokens have been issued. The main problem is that many chains do not exchange information with each other, which means that it becomes problematic to exchange one token for another. Let’s take a simple example. You need to exchange a BEP-20 token created on BSC for an ERC20 token backed by the Metis Andromeda blockchain. The blockchains are not aligned with each other, which means that it will not be possible to transfer tokens in the usual way.
This is where Alium.Finance solutions matter. The user just needs to go to the Alium.Swap site, select an exchanged token and a received token, then confirm the operation. Thanks to the created bridges between blockchains, the exchange will take only a few seconds, and the operation itself is carried out according to the algorithm: BEP-20 token – ALM token – ERC20 token. An auxiliary tool for the exchange is the native token of the ALM project, thanks to which the token is converted from one blockchain to another. At the same time, users have to pay only 1% commission for conversion, and the exchange itself takes only a few seconds.
Liquidity Migration or Vampiring
Vampiring in cryptocurrencies has nothing to do with horror movie characters. On the contrary, the vampiring feature allows you to earn even more by moving liquidity from one blockchain to another. The implementation of this feature on the Alium exchange is necessary so that users can easily transfer their liquidity from other DEXs to Alium. In return, users receive ALM tokens, which are already traded on centralized and decentralized exchanges today. After launching this feature, Alium.Finance users can transfer their liquidity in the following directions:
- Under the Ethereum protocol: Uniswap v2, Sushiswap;
- On Binance Smart Chain: Pancake, Bakeryswap, Biswap, MDEX, Pancakebunny, Rabbit finance, Pantherswap, Autoshark, Apeswap, Cashcow finance;
- On the Polygon network: Quickswap, Honeyswap, Firebird Finance, Dfyn Network, Polycat finance, Polyyeld, Kogefarm;
- On HECO: MDEX;
- Fantom: SpookySwap , Spirit Swap;
- Metis: NetSwap, Tethys.finance;
- Moonriver: SushiSwap;
- Moonbeam: StellaSwap, beamswap;
- Near Aurora: NearPad , io;
Liquidity migration is already available to users.
Hybrid liquidity for DEX
The main problem of all existing DEXs is the lack of liquidity. In other words, if the platform does not have enough free funds to make transactions, then users simply cannot buy or sell coins. By the way, this problem was also inherent in many centralized exchanges, which, at the time of lack of liquidity, simply went offline, and users could not withdraw their funds or sell coins. Alium.Finance solves this problem with its hybrid liquidity feature.
Hybrid liquidity allows traders to use both the liquidity available on Alium and most major exchanges, using an algorithm to select the best price. This makes Alium an ideal DeFi hub with quite a large number of networks. Alium already supports blockchains such as BSC, Ethereum, Huobi Eco Chain, Polygon Matic Chain, Fantom Opera, Metis Andromeda, Moonriver, Moonbeam, and Aurora. The hybrid liquidity model allows you to minimize the need for funds in Cross-Chain Swaps, which ensures the smooth and safe operation of traders.
Strong Holders Pool – the best solution for passive income
Another development of Alium.Finance allows participants to earn tokens by simply holding them in a liquidity pool. The company first announced the launch of the Strong Holders Pool at the end of 2021. The mechanics allow you to incentivize token holders not to sell the assets, but to HODL them for a long period of time. The rules for participation are very simple. One hundred participants are added to each of the pools and contribute tokens. Then you just need to keep them for a certain amount of time, and in return receive a fixed reward. The first 60 users to leave the pool will be at a loss, while the last 40 users of the pool will make a profit. The tokens of the withdrawn participants will be divided among the remaining ones in proportion to their share in the pool. Such a system helps to solve several problems at once. First, token issuers will be protected from token price dumps, which are often observed after a token sale and listing on the DEX or CEX. Secondly, users themselves get the opportunity to earn passively on cryptocurrencies. All you have to do is wait until the pool expires. Already today Alium.Finance has 9 open pools. Another pool is under formation, so every ALM token holder can join it at any moment. Since the launch of the Strong Holders Pool, more than 900 people have become participants.
Summary
The DeFi market is constantly evolving and improving, offering new opportunities for users. The Alium.Finance company offers modern and effective tools for earning money on cryptocurrencies. Multi-chain DEX and liquidity migration functions, Strong Holders Pool allow you to effectively manage crypto assets, as well as increase them through holding, and in the future, farming. Already today, users are choosing Alium.Finance solutions to solve the most pressing problems of the decentralized finance sector.
ETH’s Slow Transaction Speed Makes Crypto Users to Choose XinFin
XinFin is a unique cryptocurrency with hybrid blockchain technology opted as a solution for crypto users. Ethereum is the first blockchain platform launched in 2015. It is the chief Altcoin among the crypto space. Its low transaction speed and high gas fees turn the developers and investors frustrated.
Flaws of Ethereum Network
Being a well-known blockchain platform with a wide network, ETH fails to serve the users with high transaction speed like other networks. Developers and investors are upset due to low transactional speed and high gas fees estimated for all transactions.
Initially, the gas value was added as an incentive for crypto-miners to develop the network. But the fact is, the gas fee still remains at the peak across 2021. This affected the casual investors to unuse any DeFi platforms for ETH transactions.
In February, one crypto investor shared the payment bill made on ETH platform. He points out a gas fee for a Sushiswap transaction of . Ethereum holds developers and investors in large numbers. It supports many projects, applications and on-time services.
WTF??? pic.twitter.com/0luArQfeaK
— Ran Neuner (Non fungible) (@cryptomanran) February 3, 2021
Moreover, ETH users feel about the long wait as it consumes 10-20 seconds for every transaction. Along with this, users are forced to pay the gas fee added to the transaction. This made the Ethereum users think about moving to an alternative platform with a convenient technological platform.
As an Ethereum user, the co-founder of blockchain tech-focused firms Kadena, Stuart Popejoy shares,
“a deluge of transactions to serve the latest craze, simply because it is attracting more users than your app.”
Advanced ETH network, “Ethereum 2.0” first look launched on December 1st, 2020 creating hype among the ETH users. Now the ETH team and creator Vitalik Buterin wait for the second block which is expected to be launched between 2021- 2022 with an innovative nature to serve the crypto market.
Alternative blockchain Platforms as Quick Solutions
As ETH failed to satisfy the needs, developers and users planned to quickly move to an alternative platform. XinFin hybrid blockchain platform encourages investors to perform transactions in less than 2-seconds. The main advantage of using the XinFin network is, it provides 2000+ TPS with a near-zero gas fee.
XinFin’s projects help users to save time by working in a streamlined manner. It enables businesses to build high performance with unique technological features. XinFin operating system assists speed transactions, security and liquidity for all projects.
Along with XinFin, the supporting blockchain platform is TRON. Tron launches its blockchain platform in 2018 with benefits of 2000 transactions per second, excelling over Ethereum. Tron ranks as a leading payment gateway with 0 transactional costs like PayPal.
However, the current performance of the ETH network disappointed the users. So High gas fees and low transaction speed all such issues must be fixed in the launch of Ethereum 2.0. Only then ETH can wave its flag high in the crypto world.
Why You Should Choose PlasmaPay over Paypal for Purchasing, Storing and Paying with Crypto
In a symbolic move that highlighted the progress cryptoassets have made in recent years, PayPal announced last week that it would make cryptoassets such as Bitcoin and Ethereum available to its 346 million users. This is an important step for the space, and will both increase awareness and further, it’s legitimacy. However for those in the know, the service proposed by PayPal is less robust than players already operating in the space. The DeFi first firm which aims to build the financial services infrastructure for the global digital economy of Web 3.0, provides a service through which users can purchase, store, and trade their cryptoassets. Here we examine the differences between PayPal’s emergent offering and crypto native operations such as PlasmaPay.
Not your keys, not your funds
PayPal’s service is very clear that users “will not be provided with a private key”. This was backed up by recent reports from both Sign Key and Satoshi Labs which discourage PayPal for transacting BTC. This is because you never truly own any cryptoassets held on PayPal. This has a number of important ramifications of which users should be aware.
Firstly, it means that users are forced to trust that PayPal actually has the cryptoassets stated, and that the company will continue to operate. While PayPal is of course a large institution with a lengthy track record, this does not make it invulnerable. There is a long history of financial services companies going out of business and being unable to provide full restitution to their account holders.
PlasmaPay, meanwhile, is a non-custodial service. This means that users hold their own keys at all times. If PlasmaPay goes out of business, then user funds are still safe, because each user holds their funds at all times.
Secondly, because users don’t control their private keys, they have to abide by all PayPal rules and restrictions. The most pressing for most people is that the cryptoassets held in your account “cannot be transferred to other accounts on or off PayPal”. As such, users cannot spend their cryptoassets as they wish, but can instead only use it to complete transactions to PayPal merchants. Users can’t send to friends or families (not even through PayPal), or complete any non-PayPal merchant transaction. This would be akin to your bank dictating that the money in your account could only be spent at places in which the bank had a partnership with the shop; that you could not withdraw cash, send it to your friends or family, or otherwise do anything else you wish with it.
Users of PlasmaPay, however, can use their cryptoassets in any way they choose fit. They can send any amount of their funds to whomever they choose, withdraw it, use it to make purchases, send to exchanges, or transfer to a different account of their own choosing. This is because they own their own private key, and as such are free to do whatever they want with their funds.
Limited access
As well as limiting how users can spend their cryptoassets, PayPal is also limited in who can access the service. Only US based customers (excluding Hawaii) are able to buy cryptoassets. Furthermore, these customers have to use PayPal Cash to complete their purchase.
PlasmaPay, on the other hand, is available to users in 165 countries and offers a wide range of options through which users can purchase cryptoassets. This includes debit and credit cards, e-wallets, bank transfers, and PlasmaPay Cash.
Because of this walled garden and market size, PayPal is also able to charge significant fees. For example, from 2021 a purchase of 0 on PayPal would incur a 2.3% fee, as well as a spread estimated at 0.5% to the market price provided by Paxos (PayPal’s trading service provider). PlasmaPay, conversely, only charges a flat 1% fee on purchases made through bank transfers. Furthermore, instead of being reliant on one trading provider, PlasmaPay is partnered with five leading crypto exchanges including Binance and Kraken to source the best price possible for users.
The difference between holding and participating
PayPal offers a route for those new to the space to buy and sell cryptoassets. But, as with Revolut’s similar offering, it only offers users limited exposure and interaction. This is a shame, since it denies people the opportunity to fully participate in the likes of DeFi and other crypto protocols. It only allows users to buy four cryptoassets (Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum and Litecoin), and, as discussed, it does not really allow users to do anything with them once purchased. It is very much a ‘light’ experience.
Services such as PlasmaPay, on the other hand, are geared towards enabling users to participate in crypto as much as possible. Users can use their funds as they choose to, not as is prescribed for them. Future developments include the likes of a DeFi dashboard, which will let users stake, farm, and borrow/loan assets. PlasmaPay will also shortly launch the ability to buy and sell any token, providing unrestricted access to the full range of DeFi and crypto. This will provide all the convenience of a centralized service that is easy to use, with all the benefits of decentralization.
Legitimacy, but with potential risks
PayPal’s introduction to the crypto space is certainly something to be welcomed. It brings with it a mass of users and the accompanying awareness and media attention that should benefit all of crypto. The legitimacy PayPal brings, however, also needs to be kept in check. Bitcoin and other cryptoassets are built on the foundation of decentralization, something that could be endangered by centralized firms dictating too much of what people can and can’t do with their cryptoassets. As such, users should be educated on the benefits of decentralized services wherever possible, to better secure their own holdings and the safety of networks moving forward.
“Crypto Companies Will Choose the Governments the Most Open to Them,” Tim Draper and Others Forecast for 2019
2019 is set to be a year which cleanses the crypto market of scammers, brings about more comprehensible regulation of crowdfunding campaigns, the advancement of DEXs and related technologies, and the expansion of companies applying decentralized technologies. Here are some forecasts for the crypto industry for the upcoming year which, of course, should be taken only as a set of opinions and not a direct guide to action.
ICO/STO
The year 2018 marked the great ICO hangover with a tenfold decrease in total funds raised through token sales in November compared to that of January. The fact that ICOs have become almost a red card when trying to attract media attention has been appreciated by projects in the blockchain arena. The most affected were those who had at the very least some kind of tested product behind them, in the ocean of those who only bothered to muster up a white paper.
This does not mean, however, that this fundraising tool which has proven its viability in a number of successful projects like Ethereum, EOS, and NEO, should be discounted. The main trouble is that speculators, scammers, Ponzi scheme followers, and even hypothetically innocent projects affected by attacks, overheated the market and enraged regulators. No wonder the ICO ended up being consequently banned in China and Hong Kong or faced a clampdown by the SEC.
In pursuit of something less associated with criminality and hacks, the industry has come to a safer alternative for companies aimed at raising funds – regulated security token offerings, or STOs, which are a trend set to take off in 2019. Although the share of projects running STOs is now relatively small, complying security tokens with US securities law is intended to restore credibility amongst investors. From an investor perspective, security tokens imply far greater flexibility – in particular, the ability to easily sell them – and trustless transactions without the need for brokers and middlemen.
Does all this mean that STOs will run like clockwork? Probably not, and for several reasons. Firstly, launching an STO remains no less complicated, costly and scrupulous than an ICO due to the ton of paperwork required for registration. For garage startups, fundraising will still remain an unbearable burden. Secondly, running an STO does not mean setting previous requirements to zero, such as KYC and AML compliance: procedures which bring about a loss of anonymity and privacy.
Thirdly, if your startup meets the SEC requirements today, this does not mean the same will be said for tomorrow since the commission’s intentions remain a minefield. All that is left to do is wait for the SEC and other regulators to submit clearer rules of play. One way or another, the beginning of 2019 is expected to be marked by extensive lists of STO projects, along with collected funds aspiring upwards.
Legality
2019 is set to become a year in which the rules of the game in the crypto market will become clearer if jurisdictions across the globe follow the example of United States’ SEC and Hong Kong’s SFC guidance. In addition to tougher sanctions towards ICOs, regulators will also focus on AML (anti-money laundering) and CFT (combating the financing of terrorism) regulations.
Overregulation, however, may lead to crypto companies’ migration into more friendly jurisdictions and the setting up of new crypto hubs.
“Governments overregulate at their own peril. As China and Singapore lost Binance to Malta, other companies will choose the governments that are the most open to cryptocurrencies, like Japan, Gibraltar, Switzerland, Malta, Cayman, some African countries, Singapore and others,” says Tim Draper, venture capital investor, founding partner of Draper Associates and DFJ. As for the US, they, according to Draper, might still be in the game if they come up with clear, light-touch regulations for crypto companies to operate within.
Blockchain applications
In 2019, blockchain-powered startups are expected to focus on advancing the unstoppable infrastructure for the digital world, including decentralized computing, a vital part of which is the elimination of single point of failure.
Finance, banking, commerce
“Bitcoin and all its associated technologies will lead the world to the transformation of many of the largest industries. And when Bitcoin, the blockchain, and smart contracts are combined with big data, deep learning, and Artificial Intelligence, almost every industry will ultimately be improved. Finance, banking, commerce, insurance, real estate, the law, accounting, healthcare, and government are the obvious industries that will benefit greatly from a new technological shot in the arm,” Tim Draper claims.
“The blockchain will gain momentum in finance, which will result in the creation of counterparts of traditional financial instruments, asset management tools and new forms of securities,” says David Shengart, co-founder at SWIDOM agency, focused on fundraising and providing services for blockchain-powered projects. According to Shengart, the need for a blockchain in this area is now well understood by crypto enthusiasts and bankers on Wall Street.
Mainstream companies will be also implementing blockchain en masse. The reason for this is that many of them became cramped in their own shell and are now getting out of it and trying to fill new niches. Blockchain may well be what they need.
According to Mr. Draper – who is confident that the price of bitcoin is still on track to hit a quarter of a million dollars by 2022 – the adoption of cryptocurrency by large network companies will have a positive effect on the bitcoin exchange rate. “The real knee in the curve will happen once all the great engineering work is complete and we can easily spend our bitcoin at Starbucks, Amazon, at the gas station, to buy a Tesla, real estate and so on. More bitcoin wallets, more usage of bitcoin and other tokens too, more creative solutions to using tokens in various marketplaces. Just more,” he says.
IoT, AI
The professional advancement of teams working at the intersection of IoT/AI and blockchain will open the door to transgressing industries and their transformation into industry 4.0, with autonomous machines able to fulfill obligations that are programmed into smart contracts. This will advance the nascent ecosystem of smart cities and industry 4.0. The area in which the blockchain stands a good chance to succeed in 2019 is making supply chains more transparent by opening data up in regards to what is happening inside a factory, product storage or delivery chain.
“There will be more services in IoT which aim to analyze data and redistribute them into IoT-based services in smart cities, not only for improving infrastructure but also to the benefit of the consumer. Along with this, we will witness IoT devices in smart cities becoming more complicated – from sensors and ordinary robots like ATMs and coffee machines to mobile robots such as lawnmowers, delivery drones, and utility vehicles,” claims Alisher Khassanov, the chief engineer behind Robonomics Network, an Ethereum network infrastructure for autonomous robots’ integration into manufacturing and supply chains.
DEXs, interoperability protocols
Breathtaking upgrades and features for the bull market await users of decentralized exchanges with their growing recognition and UX improvement. Potentially huge benefits associated with DEXs, such as holding customers’ funds outside of exchanges and free entrance for anyone; decentralized exchanges are expected to pick up more volume.
Along with that, “DEXs’ incapability of fiat-to-altcoin pairing will boost the advancement of Layer 3 interoperability protocols operating on the P2P network model. Such a technology is not based on a common ledger and simplifies fiat money payments and exchanging different assets, be it cryptocurrency, fiat money or equivalents of kilowatt-hours,” says Max Demyan, CEO at the GEO Protocol project that allows building different third-party dApps and solutions, including cross-chain decentralized exchanges.
According to Demyan, It seems inevitable that peer-to-peer, censorship-resistant decentralized exchanges will continue to rise in popularity throughout 2019. If DEXs can come up with solutions that balance regulation standards and privacy as well as functionality and intuitiveness, they can eventually beat CEXs.
Crypto media
A downturn for ICOs this year has already reduced the number of projects hunting for media attention. More thorough product filtering is now reducing the demand for media coverage, meaning decent projects are in a better position to reach their target audience. Media which is overusing paid content will either return to journalistic standards to save traffic or be forced to make way for someone else.
“Mediocre projects that try to close the eyes of editors with money are becoming aware of the meaninglessness of doing so because of the prospect of ending up with empty pockets and no positive outcome,” supposes Diana King, CEO of LEVER8 PR agency, focused on blockchain projects.
She is positive that prices for ad placement are likely to decline and editorial boards will be forced to reduce staff to pre-hype levels. “Those who initially kept the bar high and were not involved in scandals caused by the publication of commercial materials without the “sponsored” mark will survive,” Diana adds.
In sum
In 2019 more companies will allocate additional funds to the blockchain, and those who are already engaged in this will move one step further towards ready-to-use products. Because of the new legislative reality, those who had previously planned to hold an ICO will set sights on holding an STO, which on the one hand will complicate their task, but at the same time will force them to ponder upon their tokenomics more thoroughly. Decentralization, interoperability and going beyond one blockchain will manifest itself in the emergence of new protocols and the advancement of existing ones.
The post “Crypto Companies Will Choose the Governments the Most Open to Them,” Tim Draper and Others Forecast for 2019 appeared first on NewsBTC.
Bitcoin Farms Choose Quebec for its Clean Energy
Quebec, a predominantly French-speaking province in eastern Canada, is home to one of the largest bitcoin farms in North America owned by Bitfarms. The cryptocurrency rush is taking over, but environmentalists are increasingly concerned about the implications of bitcoin mining as the energy consumption skyrockets.
Hydro-Québec Provides Clean Energy for Cryptocurrency Mining
The cryptocurrency boom began in 2009 and slowly spread worldwide, with most of the mining work being located in countries offering cheap electricity and little regulation, such as China, Romania, and Iceland, among others. Much as changed since then. Canada too became an interesting country to set up ‘rigs’. In 2016, Hydro-Québec announced a plan to woo data centers. Cryptocurrency miners submitted proposals in September 2017. The overwhelming demand for energy from bitcoin miners has raised questions about how well Hydro-Québec’s grid can provide for the needs.
Bitfarms, one of North America’s largest cryptocurrency mining operations, has 7,000 mining rigs (soon to become 14,000 by July) in a once-abandoned factory in an industrial park in Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec. This energy-intensive operation is at the very core of cryptocurrency as decentralized ledger systems rely on “proof of work” for their security. “You’re essentially solving worthless puzzles that we cannot solve mathematically. You can only brute-force your way into it.” says Christian Catalini, associate professor of technological innovation at MIT and founder of the university’s Cryptoeconomics Lab, told Technology Review.
“Basically, you’re placing an economic cost between a user and an attacker. If someone wants to subvert the system by faking a transaction, or revert a legitimate transaction, they would have to expend a tremendously high amount of energy and computation—to the point that no rational economic actor would do that, because the cost of doing an attack would be far greater than the benefit”, Catalini added.
David Malone, a specialist in mathematical modeling of network systems, estimates that bitcoin alone is consuming as much electricity as Ireland. Its current global bitcoin hash rate is of 25 million terahashes a second. Mining companies are now promoting their operations to potential investors as environmentally friendly and moving from coal-based countries such as China to cleaner forms of energy, such as hydropower.
Pierre-Luc Quimper, the founder of Bitfarms, located all five of his mining operations in Quebec in order to fuel his 20,000 computers: “We use a lot of energy. It has to be clean. If we have a footprint on the environment, that’s bad.” Hydro-Québec’s hydroelectric power is the ideal solution: a clean, renewable source of energy that can be supplied in massive quantities.
Image from Shutterstock
The post Bitcoin Farms Choose Quebec for its Clean Energy appeared first on NewsBTC.
TabFor Lets Users Choose Their Own Cause for In-Browser Monero Mining
It is evident there has been a lot of negative attention directed toward in-browser cryptocurrency mining. No one wants someone to use his or her CPU cycles to mine Monero without being aware of the situation. TabFor is doing things very differently in this regard. The project uses the same technology as others do, but allows its users to mine cryptocurrency for a charitable cause of their choosing, just by keeping a browser tab open. It’s an interesting concept that may bring some positive attention to this technology. TabFor is an interesting XMR Mining Project No one can deny the concept of someone using
BitNewz.net