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The Bitcoin Blockchain Explained

Bitcoin is the world’s first and most popular digital currency. It is decentralized and controlled by no one. How does it work, and why can you trust it? After all, if computers can copy any file, why can’t I just make copies of my bitcoins? And if it is not controlled by any one central party, what prevents me from making or forging transactions for bitcoins I don’t own? This article will explain in layman’s terms how Bitcoin works and provide information on how the technology backing Bitcoin can be used for business use cases beyond simply a digital currency.

Bitcoin works by solving three record-keeping challenges without the need for a central record keeper like a bank:

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Will 2021 See AI Grow Into The Crypto Landscape?

After years of unprecedented growth, both worlds of cryptocurrencies and artificial intelligence appear to become deeper intertwined in 2021 with the emergence of AI-driven crypto exchanges and wallets.

The crypto market place has been known to create unlikely millionaires virtually overnight. With heavy levels of market volatility and huge volumes of data produced with every movement, the utilization of intuitive analytical software can be hugely beneficial for investors and market analysts alike. However, the future roles that AI can play within the world of crypto can extend way beyond smart market analysis.

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How to Turn a Raspberry Pi Into a Crypto Trading Bot

This tutorial goes through the steps required to install the open-source software that deals with mining data from a crypto exchange, run backtests, and run live trading sessions. The key teaching focuses on setting up the Raspberry Pi the smart way to optimize the use of the limited resources by avoiding running the software GIU on the Pi itself, instead, providing the solution to run the GIU from a regular machine on the Local Area Network.

This Is What You'll Need

  • Raspberry Pi 2GB RAM ($40) - If you plan to run long (multi-year) backtests, you will likely need the 4GB or 8GB version (2 GB is enough for shorter backtests and trading live).
  • Flash-card, 16Gb ($7)
  • Raspberry Pi OS / Raspbian / Ubuntu ($0, open-source)
  • Node.JS ($0, open-source)
  • Git ($0, open-source)
  • Superalgos (0$, open-source)

Let's Start!

I'll assume your Raspberry is fully set up with the native OS or Ubuntu. If it's not, just follow the manufacturer's instructions.

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Impact of COVID-19 on Crypto and Blockchain Payments

Cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin are slowly making a transition from speculative investment instruments to payments. Special attention to payment habits and the financial life cycle as the COVID-19 pandemic leads to more calls for dematerialization of payments.

Overview

Impacts

  • Geographic location matters significantly when measuring awareness of cryptocurrencies and interest in making cryptocurrency payments for goods and services.
  • For customers, any transition from currency speculators to retail shoppers is not straightforward. 
  • And most consumers are not currency speculators. 
  • The acceptance cost for businesses will be significant, especially compared to alternative existing payment options.
  • Companies accepting cryptocurrencies as payment for goods and services may benefit from short-term public relations gains and be perceived as innovators, but the impact on payment acceptance is very likely to be short-lived.

Recommendations

Banks and investment CIOs driving financial services digital business strategy and innovation should:

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Blockchain Vs Tangle: Which Is Better?

Blockchain was a real technological breakthrough back in 2008. A new milestone in the world of money, security, e-commerce, and the Internet as a whole — it is literally everywhere now, and modern business utilizes it worldwide. The idea of recording the information without any ability to change it afterward was brilliant. Firstly, as you know, it was implemented in the first cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, but later, it came to banks, security providers, insurers, farmers, governments, etc.

Why were people so obsessed with the blockchain? Because this system guarantees that no one, no matter how powerful or rich this person is, can tamper with the information encoded within the public ledger. Yet, even the sun has dark spots. With time, people have realized that this system is not ideal, and there are problems to be solved. For example, the ledger gets heavier and slower with every new transaction, as the blockchain grows. Or, it cannot exist without miners, and thus — the fees are inevitable.

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If Bitcoin Fails, Will Blockchain Technology Ultimately Follow?

A year ago, on December 17, 2017, Bitcoin price reached its all-time maximum — $19,783.21. Since then, it has steadily declined, just like the faith of investors in cryptocurrencies, and today, it is close to just $3,000.

Experts say this downfall is happening due to disheartening discoveries, like the one that nearly 85 percent of ICO’s in 2017 were a scam, or that more than 50 percent of Bitcoin startups stop functioning in four months after their ICOs.