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Category: Crypto Reading

GM From Decrypt: Dive Into the Metaverse

Posted on by cryptoagrocash

Nowadays, it’s tough to run a gaming company.

NFTs and the metaverse offer a lot of potential — but brands that embrace them often face a fierce backlash from thousands of customers.

Making matters worse, many existing blockchain-based games deliver a poor user experience… This gives negative first impressions for potential players.

Amy Wu is a woman who really knows what’s going on in the world of cryptocurrency right now.

Elizabeth joins a slew of other high-profile women in the cryptocurrency space. She was previously Lightspeed’s vice chair before leaving to become the CEO of FTX Ventures, which manages a $2 billion pool. And when it comes to predicting where cryptocurrency trends will go, following the money is always a good idea.

Amy told Decrypt’s GM podcast that she never could’ve guessed how much animosity gamers would have toward NFTs.

Fan bases that are passionate want their opinions to be known, and they’re opposed to gaming firms making compromises in the name of profit. Amy said:

“There was a lot of pushback at first against free-to-play mobile games. Customers said, ‘these games are terrible; they’re not particularly high quality.’ Those are exactly the same complaints that people have about Web3 games.”

According to Amy, consumers are yet to discover the full potential of NFTs in changing games. However, companies must be thoughtful:

“Game studios need to be more careful and deliberate about how they communicate with their players, especially when they’re adding blockchain components to a well-loved game.”

According to Amy, making a new game from the ground up would be a better approach for introducing NFTs. Indeed, Zynga — which recently stated that it plans to launch an NFT-based title this year — is doing precisely that. Despite the fact that blockchain technology will play a greater role in its product, Zynga won’t include in-game assets into popular titles such as FarmVille and Words With Friends because it believes this might confuse customers. “While blockchain technology is set to improve,” concludes Amy, “the gaming industry will not integrate gaming items into popular games like FarmVille or Words With Friends.”

“It’s a lot more difficult when you’re creating a new game as an independent studio or a large one because you’ll attract a player base that wants to play it — but transforming an established game into blockchain is trickier. So there are numerous things we’re learning in real time about what works and what doesn’t, and how to engage the community in a much more intimate way rather than startling them.”

Amy strongly believes that a giant breakthrough will arrive shortly when a studio creates an unbelievable gaming experience that demonstrates all of the ways that NFTs can be used in a “super fun” way — and agrees that some gamers will never be persuaded. (Nintendo is one of those observing from the sidelines, and told shareholders recently said that NFTs will only appear in its games if they add “joy.”)

In this jam-packed episode, Amy explains the ins and outs of venture capital — as well as how crypto-focused firms are approaching things differently than traditional finance companies. She also explains what distinguishes the greatest DeFi teams from the rest, and her expectations for how NFT innovation will develop in 2022.

What Should You Do Before Buying Cryptocurrency?

Posted on by cryptoagrocash

It’s easy to invest in cryptocurrency: simply acquire a virtual wallet on your phone, open it, and generate an address. With crypto increasingly talked about in the news and mentioned among friends, it might be tempting to dive right in. However, crypto may not be a suitable investment for you currently — or ever — depending on your financial situation and appetite for risk.

“I am a big fan of crypto, but I don’t think the general public should be investing in it,” says Tyrone Ross, CEO of Onramp Invest, a cryptoasset platform for registered investment advisors.

Consider a crypto-powered ice cream sundae with cherry on top. It makes up a tiny part of the overall dessert, and not everyone wants it. You’ll need to build the rest of your meal before you pull that cherry out of the jar. That means establishing a solid financial foundation and learning everything you can about cryptocurrency before investing any real money in it, in non-ice-cream terms.

 

1. Put financial safeguards in place

First and foremost, you must be prepared for when things don’t go as planned.

Over the last year, individuals who lost income owing to the epidemic had to draw upon their savings, take on debt, or join hardship programs to pay their bills. This period has served as a harsh reminder of the importance of having an emergency fund.

Theresa Morrison, a financial planner in Tucson, Arizona warns that “When you’re young, you can feel like Superman or Superwoman,” but if the market crashes “you could easily be out of a job for nine to twelve months.” She urges people not to “underestimate systemic shocks to the market.”

Saving up six months of living expenses if you’re single, or around three months if you share them with a working spouse or partner, is advised by Morrison. But putting away even a few hundred dollars might be useful when an unexpected expense arises. Paying down any high-interest debt, such as credit card debt, can also help your financial situation by strengthening it further.

Furthermore, check that your insurance policy covers what you need it to; this way, you will have additional financial support in tough times. Life insurance is doubly important if you have someone depending on you.

2. Save and invest for future plans

Begin thinking about your short-, medium- and long-term financial objectives as soon as possible after you’ve set aside money for emergencies. Retirement is a major goal to save for, so contribute to retirement accounts (especially if you have access to a plan with an employer match). However, make certain savings targets for other critical life transitions.

“The majority of people wish to travel every year, purchase a home in 10 years, and marry in 10 years. These expenditures need money,” Morrison points out. “Put down how much it will cost today’s dollars and calculate how much you’ll save from your pay each month. From my experience, that can be as much as $1,000 per month on its own.”

3. Get educated about cryptocurrency

You’ve got the cash and you’re ready to join the crypto wagon, but you have no idea how someone purchases it. Or how it will affect your overall financial plan. Or if it’s too dangerous for you.

Before you spend any money, make sure to research everything about cryptocurrency that you can. Understand the market and learn what investment strategies would work for someone with your personality type.

“You have to go through a process to see if this new asset class is suitable for you. What are your plans? How old are you? What are your aspirations? Are you tech-savvy enough to understand what it means to have these assets and not be insured? If something terrible happens, who in your family knows how to retrieve the items?” Ross adds. “People don’t do adequate research before putting money into anything. That isn’t the most exciting answer, but it’s true.”

If you still want to dabble in crypto, start small

Once you understand how crypto works, you can start to think about allocating some of your extra cash (after you pay your bills and save monthly) toward it. Ross recommends investing $500 or less so that even if everything goes wrong, it’s an amount you were comfortable losing.

Danny Lee, a financial planner located in Denver, stated: “If you choose to invest in cryptocurrency, do so with the mindset that it’s equivalent to throwing your money away. It likely will never be recovered.” At the end of the day, cryptocurrencies are nothing more than speculative investments.

Do Kwon and Terra saga continues!

Posted on by cryptoagrocash

Speaking of crypto regulation it appears that Terra co-founder Do Kwan is officially being targeted by South Korean authorities.

This is because they issued an arrest warrant for him last week almost exactly four months to the day that Terra went to zero.

The TLDR is that Terra’s novel mint and burn mechanism for its UST stablecoin failed causing both UST and Terra’s Lunacoin to tank spectacularly.

As a result over 60 billion dollars was wiped from the total crypto market cap in the span of a few days.

Though some have suggested that Terra resulted in a 600 billion loss it’s important to remember that there were other macro factors weighing down the crypto market at that time.

In any case Luna and UST holders who saw their crypto portfolios fall to zero have been experiencing unbelievable pain since that time and have understandably been looking for retribution.

Many have placed the blame on Do Kuan hence why the recent arrest warrant is so significant.

It’s safe to say that Do’s behavior after Terra’s collapse has only resulted in more scrutiny from the Terra community.

From what I’ve seen Do has been quite unapologetic and unsympathetic.

The news that he had fled Singapore only added fuel to the fire and led to speculation that he was evading authorities.

Note that South Korean authorities reportedly announced they were going to nullify the passports of Do and other core Terra developers just a few days earlier.

I’ll also note that Do and co are being targeted for more or less the same reasons why the SEC is cracking down on crypto securities laws.

Not surprisingly all this news caused Terra’s new lunar coin along with its old rebranded Lunk and USTC coins to crash.

Some of you may recall that all three were pumping last week and I predicted in last week’s crypto review that these pumps wouldn’t last.

I reckon anyone could have predicted that what is surprising however is that Luna Lunk and USTC didn’t really react to the news that Do is not on the run and is cooperating with South Korean authorities.

Do explained on twitter that he and the Terra team are being targeted by authorities in multiple jurisdictions which is to be expected.

Regardless I must stress that Terra cryptocurrencies are standing on some seriously shaky ground especially Lunk and USTC.

It’s not clear whether any of these crypto projects will survive and their prices are likely to be extremely volatile as the case against Do and co continues to unfold.

Can Bitcoin Kill Central Banks?

Posted on by cryptoagrocash

Central banks were largely responsible for the 2008 financial crisis through their policymaking. In response, Bitcoin (BTCUSD) was created as a decentralized system with peer-to-peer technology to potentially prevent future crises by removing the central authority in charge of decisions. However, there are several drawbacks to using cryptocurrency that make a case for decentralization difficult.

It is crucial to understand the purpose of central banks before investigating how Bitcoin might change them. Central bank policymaking supports the global financial system. Each country’s central bank has different responsibilities; for example, while the Federal Reserve in America focuses on controlling inflation and maintaining full employment, the Bank of England creates stability and solvency within United Kingdom’s financial system.

The mandates of central banks are achieved using a variety of strategies known as monetary policy. However, the most significant aspect is that they influence money creation and interest rates. For example, a central bank may boost or reduce the amount of money in circulation in an economy. More money in an economy equates to more consumer spending, which leads to economic expansion. The scenario where there is less money in an economy translates to one in which consumers spend less, resulting in a recession.

The actions of a central bank have an impact on imports, exports, and foreign investment. High interest rates might dissuade foreign investors from investing in real estate because they are more expensive. Low interest rates, on the other hand, can be beneficial to real estate development by encouraging investment.

Central banks act as the foundation of an financial infrastructure that comprises of banks and other institutions. In other words, they play a pivotal role in distributing money throughout an economic system. Consequently, central bank policymaking can lead to either positive or negative outcomes for an economy as a whole.

Advantages and drawbacks of having a central agency handle an economy’s operation are both numerous. The most significant advantage is that it boosts confidence in the system. A trusted authority backs a central bank-issued currency, which may be traded at a global price. If each participant in a monetary transaction created its own coins, there would be rivalry among the currencies, and things would go horribly wrong.

Prior to the creation of the Federal Reserve, a similar problem already existed. Non-bank issuers such as merchants and municipal governments flooded the monetary system with money. Exchange rates for many of these currencies differed, and many were frauds that didn’t have enough gold reserves to back them up. Bank runs and panics shook the US economy on a regular basis.

The National Currency Act of 1863 and the National Bank Act of 1864 were passed shortly after the Civil War, and helped establish a centralized system of money controlled by the government.

In the mid-nineteenth century, just before the Civil War began in 1861, a single nationwide banknote that was acceptable at face value in commercial areas throughout the nation was created. In addition to this, the formation of the Federal Reserve in 1913 brought monetary and financial stability to the economy.

The central agency described above puts too much trust in its decisions and responsibility. Its improper monetary policy measures have caused debilitating recessions.

According to former Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, the Great Depression, which was the most severe economic downturn in the history of the United States, was caused by mismanaged economic policy and a string of poor decisions made by local Federal Reserve banks.

The Federal Reserve’s slackening of the economy and policy of loose interest rates led to both the Financial Crisis and Great Recession of 2008.

Central banks’ responsibilities in an economy have also become more complex as a result of the financial architecture’s complexity. The velocity of money circulation throughout the global economy has increased as currency becomes digital. Financial transactions and products have grown increasingly abstract and difficult to grasp.

The 2008 Great Recession is a perfect example of this complexity. If you were to research the root cause of the recession, you would find that it was due to exotic derivative trading. To put it simply, banks sold products (housing loans) to buyers who thought they were insolvent borrowers. These trades seemed profitable at first glance, so other buyers bought them as well. Unknowingly, these tranches continued being sold around the world until everything came crashing down.

The whole financial system was profitable. You’ve got to get up and dance as long as the music is playing. We are now still dancing; Citigroup CEO Chuck Prince notoriously stated to journalists, We’re still dancing.

All of these transactions were covered by the Federal Reserve’s reserves.

Because of globalization, policymaking choices (and blunders) by one central bank may be transmitted to numerous nations. The worldwide stock market swoon that followed the Great Recession’s spread from the United States to other economies in a matter of weeks, eventually triggering a global downturn.

The need for a decentralized, global currency that was immune to the machinations of governments and banks provided the inspiration for Bitcoin’s creation.

On the basis of both economics and technology, the case for Bitcoin as a rival to central banks is strong. Satoshi Nakamoto, Bitcoin’s creator, defined it as “a peer-to-peer variant of electronic cash that enables direct payments from one party to another without the need for a financial institution.”

Bitcoin solves three problems that are found in most central financial systems:

Using Bitcoin gets rid of the typical spending dilemma. Each individual bitcoin is one-of-a-kind and kept safe using cryptography, which means it can’t be hacked or reproduced. So you’ll never have to worry about somebody else already spending your bitcoins or making fake ones.

Although Bitcoin’s network is decentralized, it is still a trustworthy system. In this instance, trust is an algorithmic construct. before Transactions on Bitcoin’s network can be approved and included in its ledger, they have to be vetted by nodes located around the world. Even if only one node disagrees with a transaction, that will make it ineligible for inclusion in the ledger.

Third, because Bitcoin’s network automates the production and distribution of money, it eliminates the need for a centralized infrastructure. Anyone with a full node can produce bitcoin at home. Intermediaries are not required for peer-to-peer transactions on the Bitcoin blockchain. As a result, a network of banks regulated by a central authority is not needed to transfer bitcoin across borders.

However, Bitcoin’s economic freedom is accompanied with several drawbacks:

One common objection to Bitcoin is that it’s not used for many legitimate transactions.

The cryptocurrency has gained notoriety for being a favorite among criminals and as an instrument for speculation.

Second, because Bitcoin is a legal means of transmission, it remains unclear whether or not it is legal. El Salvador has recognized bitcoin as money, but that’s the only nation to allow it for transactions. Other countries around the world, including the United States and China, have banned Bitcoin’s infrastructure and users.

Last but not least, Bitcoin is unpredictable and restricted in terms of supply. There will only be 21 million bitcoin generated at any one point in time. The number of bitcoin that may be created is limited. Its scarcity has also made it a desirable investment. Because its price fluctuates between extremes, making it hard to use in day-to-day transactions, cryptocurrencies are considered an attractive store of value.

Despite Bitcoin’s setbacks, many central banks are adopting characteristics of the cryptocurrency to design their own digital currencies. These Central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) have the potential to remove retail banks as intermediaries and will use cryptography for security purposes. Additionally, CBDCs may be less expensive than metal coins.

In today’s financial system, central banks are in command. The majority of nations across the globe rely on central banks to regulate their economies. While it has several benefits, this centralized form of organization grants too much power to a single entity, resulting in severe economic downturns.

Bitcoin’s technology is based on algorithmic trust, and its decentralized structure offers an alternative to the current system. However, despite its small use rates, the currency has a lot of uncertainty surrounding it. Central banks have incorporated elements of Bitcoin’s architecture and technology into their research into a digital currency created by central banks.

Many experts believe that it’s quite likely central banks will soon begin to create and circulate their own digital currencies (CBDCs). As of 2021, various countries are exploring CBDC possibilities, planning pilot programs, and some are preparing to launch their official CBDC. The Central Bank of Venezuela plans to release its SMS-based CBDC in October 2021.