The COVID-19 pandemic had a deleterious effect on the returns from the conventional instruments of investments such as stocks, gold and real estate, driving investors in hordes toward crypto. Individuals and institutionalized investors alike have tried their luck in the industry that has rolled out decent returns even during the worldwide economic slump that horrified many investors. Despite an intense debate raging about cryptocurrency offering a great window to grow wealth with alacrity and its extremely volatile ways, there is no denying the fact the industry has grown rapidly over the last two years. It is still innovating, trying different …

Bitcoin (BTC) price swings might be impossible to predict, but there is a strategy frequently used by pro traders that yields high returns with minimal cost. Typically, retail traders rely on leveraged futures positions which are highly susceptible to forced liquidations. However, trading Bitcoin options provide excellent opportunities for investors aiming to maximize gains while limiting their losses. Using multiple call (buy) options can create a strategy capable of returns six times higher than the potential loss. Moreover, these can be used in bullish and bearish circumstances, depending on the investors' expectations. The regulatory uncertainty surrounding cryptocurrencies has long been …

What is an NFT? NFTs are nonfungible tokens. The adjective “nonfungible” is often used in economics to represent features such as uniqueness and non-interchangeability. In the crypto space, nonfungibility simply indicates that one item cannot be exchanged for another. A “token” as a unit of account is basically a certificate of validity stored on the decentralized blockchain, making digital assets traceable and accessible to everyone. As a result, NFTs are a one-of-a-kind virtual currency that can fall into pretty much any category and usually take the shape of paintings, videos, music, collectible items in video games or any other type …

PayPal was a massive innovation in the payments processing industry. The financial brainchild of Peter Thiel, Max Levchin and eventually, Elon Musk aimed far ahead of its time, facilitating instant payments between customers, businesses and more while utilizing the internet. Solana (SOL) Pay is considered by many to be the next innovation in the payments processing arena, facilitating payments while taking nonfungible tokens (NFTs) and Web3 into account. Some are going so far as to call Solana’s new payment protocol the Visa or PayPal of Web3. This post will break down Solana Pay and how it works so you can …

Understanding the valuation matrix There is no rule book on how to assess an NFT valuation. The metrics you use for evaluating private companies or conventional investment vehicles such as shares are simply not applicable to NFTs. Usually, the payment rolled out by the last buyer gives some indication of the value. For NFTs, however, it is hard to guess what the next buyer might pay, depending on their estimates. Most buyers lack the skills to ascertain the value of NFTs logically and base their quotes on guesswork. For sellers too, it is hard to determine what they might end …

What is Solana? Solana is a highly functional open source project that implements a new, permissionless and high-speed layer-1 blockchain. Created in 2017 by Anatoly Yakovenko, a former executive at Qualcomm, Solana aims to scale throughput beyond what is typically achieved by popular blockchains while keeping costs low. Solana implements an innovative hybrid consensus model that combines a unique proof-of-history (PoH) algorithm with the lightning-fast synchronization engine, which is a version of proof-of-stake (PoS). Because of this, the Solana network can theoretically process over 710,000 transactions per second (TPS) without any scaling solutions needed. Solana’s third-generation blockchain architecture is designed …

What is Algorand? Algorand is a blockchain network created in 2017 by Silvio Micali, an MIT professor who won the Turing Award for his work in cryptography. Algorand is a decentralized permissionless blockchain protocol that anyone can use to develop applications and transfer value. The Algorand protocol is powered by a novel consensus algorithm that enables fast, secure and scalable transactions. Algorand addresses the common issues that most older blockchains have, specifically concerning scalability and consensus. The blockchain uses Pure proof-of-stake (PPoS), a consensus protocol that selects validators at random according to the weight of their stake in ALGO coins. …

Bitcoin (BTC) entered an upward channel in early January and despite the sideways trading near $40,000, order book analysts cited "significant buying pressure" and noted that the overall negative sentiment might be heading towards exhaustion. Independent analyst Johal Miles noted that BTC's price formed a bullish hammer candlestick on its daily chart on Jan. 24 and Feb. 24, hinting that the longer-term downtrend is close to an end. However, the rally above $41,000 on Feb. 28 was unable to create strong demand from Asia-based traders, as depicted by the lack of a China-based peer-to-peer Tether (USDT) premium versus the the …

Bitcoin (BTC) is both the first and the most prominent cryptocurrency in the world when it comes to market capitalization as well as trading volume. These factors are quite significant, considering that all cryptocurrencies trade against Bitcoin and Bitcoin’s dominance can actually serve as a valuable indicator when trading all different types of cryptocurrencies. This post will offer insight on how to trade cryptocurrency while utilizing the Bitcoin dominance indicator and how to read the Bitcoin dominance index chart overall. What is the BTC dominance chart? Bitcoin dominance is uncovered by comparing Bitcoin’s market capitalization to the capitalization of the …

What is Avalanche Network (AVAX)? Launched in 2020 by Ava Labs, Avalanche is a blockchain platform that is smart contract-capable. Avalanche aims to deliver a scalable blockchain solution while maintaining decentralization and security, focusing on lower costs, fast transaction speeds, and eco-friendliness. Avalanche quickly became popular in the cryptocurrency space, with Avalanche TVL currently worth $8.41 billion and still rising across Avalanche decentralized applications (DApps). Avalanche is powered by its native token Avalanche (AVAX) and multiple consensus mechanisms. With Avalanche, users can create an unlimited number of customized and interoperable blockchains. To operate a blockchain on the Avalanche coin, AVAX, …

Ether price (ETH) spent the last two months stuck in a rut and even the most bullish trader will admit that the possibility of trading above $4,400 in the next couple of months is dim. Of course, cryptocurrency traders are notoriously optimistic and it is not unusual for them to expect another $4,870 all-time high, but this seems like an unrealistic outcome. Despite the current bearish trend, there are still reasons to be moderately bullish for the next couple of months and using a “long condor with call options” strategy might yield a positive outcome. Options strategies allows the investor …

The first week of the new year saw a vicious pullback across all cryptocurrencies in the market. Ether (ETH) price dropped from its November peak at $4,800 peak to under $3,000 on Jan. 8 and Terra’s LUNA governance token also dropped from $85 on Dec. 31 to $67 on Jan. 8, 2022. These unexpected dramatic moves often cause liquidation cascades in the lending market, but they also create unique buying opportunities in the collateral liquidation markets. Kujira’s Orca protocol is a platform built on the Terra network and it allows investors to bid on bETH (bonded asset of Ether) and …