Tag: bitcoin

How Bitcoin Can Impact the World

On October 1, 2018

In Blockchain, Chika Wonah, Digital, Internet of Things, Technology

The Bitcoin technology has the potential to revolutionize the way people manage and utilize money. It is known by its nature to fluctuate over time. If used well it can have a great impact on the current financial structure. One can earn money from Bitcoin by working in office, trading and exchanging other currencies. One can also earn by mining Bitcoins. Mining of Bitcoins happens in the virtual world. When you have Bitcoins, you can use it to buy and sell goods and exchange it with other currencies.

How Bitcoin Work

To deal with Bitcoins, you need to create a Bitcoin wallet. You can create this with some of the best Bitcoin payment service providers such as Bitpay and CoinBase. Quintal is offering this services for free. You can pay low fees and let these providers execute orders for you. Bitcoin wallets also provide storage services for wallet owners. One can store money in the form of Bitcoins in this accounts and use it for any transactions as long as the counterparty accepts Bitcoins too.

The speculative nature

The Bitcoin is valued speculatively. The primary currency can be used for selling or buying goods. They are not accepted yet for use in the world. There are fears that it has been used for illegal purposes such as gambling and drugs. For a person buying goods using Bitcoins, it can be a cheaper option when compared to the dollar. In 2013 for instance, it was traded above $1000. It has always been fluctuating ever since. It has however received an exponential growth in the present-day economy. Its current value is associated with a bubble burst. The Bitcoin improved in 2017 due to its popularity and advancement in technology. This shows a long-term potential for cryptocurrency adoption.

Tech giants investing in Bitcoins

The largest investment in Bitcoin started being witnessed in 2017. It raised the foundation for a better economy. It also increased opportunities in sectors such as mobile app development, financial sector, cybersecurity, and many others. Larger companies have taken a step to invest in Bitcoin. Tech companies such as Dell, Overstock, Expedia, Dish, and Microsoft now allows their customers to make payments with Bitcoins. The total number of merchants who accept Bitcoins has increased from 36,000 to 82,000. It is now possible to buy anything using the Bitcoins.

The total number of Bitcoin ATM around the world has increased to 340. The total amount of venture capital investment increased to $335billion from $98million. This has created a potential for future growth in this currency. Bitcoin also provides a technological platform that is fast and safe. It has therefore changed the ecosystem around the world’s financial economy. It is expected that its use and adoption will keep increasing with time.

Bitcoin Breakdown

By Chika Wonah

On August 22, 2018

In Blockchain, Chika Wonah, Digital, Internet of Things, Technology

The recent explosion of cryptocurrencies on the market as of late has left many people scratching their heads and saying, “Just what exactly is Bitcoin?” Though a full description of Bitcoin would take a lot more than a single blog post, here’s a short-but-sweet breakdown of the headlines’ crypto darling.

Bitcoin’s Anonymous Founder

Developed in 2008 by a still-anonymous person named Satoshi Nakamoto, Bitcoin was first developed as a software solution to electronic transfers in a burgeoning internet landscape. It Offered quick and efficient money services unmatched by current systems at the time. Bitcoin claimed it would revolutionize the financial industry and since then it has come pretty close.

Understanding the Blockchain

Every transaction made using Bitcoin is transparent and recorded on a universal ledger called the blockchain, and is updated every ten minutes. As the name implies, the transactions in those ten minutes form a “block” that is stacked on past blocks, forming a “chain” that is viewable by anyone. It, in turn, creates a checks and balances system making it a more secure and transparent option.

Transferring Bitcoin

Your bitcoins are stored in a virtual wallet that is accessible by using a private key that is known only by the primary user – which makes keeping that key safe a top priority. If you want to buy something or transfer bitcoins to someone else, you can send them to a specific wallet address, much like you would send an email. The transaction can take up to a few hours to process, but you can pay more bitcoin if you would like it to move faster.

Obtaining More Bitcoins

The most straightforward way to gain bitcoin currency is by buying it on an open trading platform like Coinbase, but with enough computing power, you can also mine them straight from the blockchain themselves. Every time your computer solves a specific mathematical problem, you’re rewarded with a certain amount of Bitcoins that you can use.

Advantages of Bitcoin

This highly volatile currency is one of the hottest trends in the financial sector today, primarily because it delivers a few distinct advantages. For starters, Bitcoin transactions are almost completely anonymous, which makes it ideal for people who want to transport large sums of money without a trace. Second, it’s universal, so you won’t have to pay any fees to send money across borders. Third, it’s trackable. Since the blockchain records everything, it’s possible for a government or user to verify proof the transaction itself, which can help with either taxes or to solve identity concerns.

Pro Tips for Keeping Your Crypto Safe

By Chika Wonah

On April 2, 2018

In Blockchain, Chika Wonah, Technology

Staying safe online is harder than ever, and the stakes are even higher when there’s money involved. Someone can easily make a fake Twitter account using your profile image and copied bio, and in the time it takes you to report the account, another person might have mistaken it as you and already transferred money to them. It’s an easy mistake to make if you’re not being vigilant, and unfortunately, as soon as you report one account, another can pop up in its place. To keep your cryptocurrency safely in your possession, these suggestions will help you do that:

Know the attack vectors.

You can’t protect yourself if you don’t know what you’re up against. Fake sites have gotten very good at mimicking their targets – so good that if you don’t double check the URL, you might not even know the difference.

Use strong passwords.

This might seem like a no-brainer for digital natives, but it’s worth repeating. Don’t use words like street names, birthdays, or song lyrics. But don’t randomly keyboard smash, either, because a) you’re not as random as a computer generator and b) you want to be able to keep track of your keystrokes, or else risk not being able to sign into your account anymore.

Use cold storage.

All “cold storage” means is offline and unattached or “air gapped,” which is to say, unconnected to your home network in any capacity. You can do this by removing the network card from your computer, or by buying a hardware wallet. If you’re feeling really cautious, you can cover your computer’s camera and microphone, and even remove all electronic devices from that room.

Test everything.

Make small transactions beforehand to make sure everything works. Never manually type in a url – it’s too easy to make a mistake that way, and could cost you a lot of money in errors. Copy/paste and QR codes are your best friends, though make sure your scanning app is reliable! Test your seed phrase on your hardware wallet; test the MD5 checksum before and after you load the SD card on your air gapped computer. Check everything. You can never been too careful.

Store your seed phrases in multiple places.

Your seed phrase is the string of 24 words that you can derive a private key from. You want to make sure your seed phrase stays secure at all times. For some, this means writing the seed phrase down on paper, in which case, it is recommended you make two copies and store them in separate places. SD cards are also an option, though they don’t tend to last more than five years and can be wiped by an EMP bomb. A combination of analog and digital methods is the best option. For the most cautious, they will split the seed phrase in parts and store those parts separately. If you do this, be sure to remember the order they go in, or else lose access to seed phrase altogether.

Plausible deniability.

Most simply, this means be able to keep some of the data hidden. Like in the physical world, you don’t want to advertise how much money is in your bank account, so don’t do it in the digital world, either. Also look into using multiple wallets rather than storing all of your currency in the same place.

Keep your environment safe.

Require two-factor authentication, and educate others on how to stay safe. Help the community at large by reporting fake sites and teaching the less tech-literate about why strong passwords are important. Not only are you keeping yourself protected, but you are also protecting others and paying that forward.

Is Blockchain the Face of the Next Google?

By Chika Wonah

On March 5, 2018

In Blockchain, Chika Wonah, Uncategorized

When we discuss blockchain, conversations usually surround the tech’s association with cryptocurrency, security and investing. In reality, this new tech is multifaceted and shows major implications for nearly every industry. When it comes to blockchain and cryptocurrency, news outlets can’t stop reporting on the potential promise. That being said, now people are asking big questions like could blockchain actually be the developments needed to create a search engine capable of overtaking google?

Google dictates much of our online searches with “nearly 80 percent of desktop and 95 percent of mobile searches” taking place on the program. That being said, a plethora of alternatives exist. The problem, of course, is that while some people use these tools, most cater to specific niche audiences, because Google has become a Goliath that many of the Davids of search engines aren’t ready to conquer. Enter blockchain. Given its clout in the tech field, many think it could be the answer to building a search engine capable of overcoming Google.

In terms of basic rising user trends, more people results in more reported problems, and Google users experience their fair share of flaws. Privacy remains the primary point of contention with centralized search engines. As BitClave describes, “With centralized search engines, your search data is recorded, your IP address is logged, and tracking cookies are used by centralized search engines to create a digital profile of you so they can target you with ads. Even worse, there’s no way to voluntarily opt out of this invasion of your privacy, and every time you type a keyword into a centralized search engine, you’re giving up information that puts you at risk.” Blockchain acts as the poster-child for privacy and discretion though. While heavily regulated given its infrastructure, the system manages to maintain a level of anonymity for its users.

Now the question becomes, how do we combine blockchain’s private network with a computing system that has the strength of Google? One program still in beta testing called Presearch, thinks they may have found the answer. As Shivdeep Dhaliwal explains, “Using Blockchain technology, Presearch plans to enable users to personalize their experience while staying in control of their data.” The company also incentivizes the switch, rewarding users who change from Google to their program with cryptocurrency coins based on their use. Of course, this still isn’t a perfect system. Questions have arisen about whether hackers may take advantage of the rewards and hack into other user profiles in order to gain more coins once they max out since users are limited to 8 coins a day.

The Presearch program focuses on decentralizing the search engine model, rewarding users for their contribution. As a result, they hope to build a more transparent and unbiased ranking, a problem that Google has made headlines for, for years. Of course, the idea of using blockchain to create a more effective model is one thing and actually doing it another thing.