What if you could have a global, digital currency like bitcoin but without the crazy price swings?

That’s what Facebook and its partners hope to create with Libra, a blockchain-based digital currency that people can use to buy things from vendors all over the world.

Libra hasn’t launched yet, but its developers have released quite a bit of information about it. Here’s everything you need to know about Facebook Libra cryptocurrency.

What Is Facebook Libra Cryptocurrency?

Facebook hopes that Libra cryptocurrency will offer consumers a stable cryptocurrency. Some people have already started calling it a stablecoin, although no one knows yet whether Libra can meet that promise.

Facebook hopes to control Libra’s volatility by pinning its value to a basket of fiat currencies. The basket will probably include U.S. dollars, euros, and yen.

Bitcoin, today’s most popular cryptocurrency, doesn’t have any financial backing. Its value comes from nothing more than demand. In this way, bitcoin s a true demonstration of capitalism. Without anything supporting bitcoin’s value, however, the price can change suddenly.

In 2010, you could purchase one bitcoin for just a couple of dollars. By December 2017, bitcoin reached an astounding value of $19,783 before falling to about $6,000 a year later. It subsequently dipped even lower than that before finally rebounding.

By placing controls on Libra, Facebook and its partners believe that they can create an online currency with a fairly stable value. In practice, no one knows how well the hypothesis will work. Facebook’s plan, however, will almost certainly give Libra more stability than bitcoin has.

How Does Facebook Libra Work?

Since Libra uses blockchain technology, it should work quite a bit like bitcoin and ethereum. When you buy Libra, the purchase gets registered and confirmed in a public ledger. By using blockchains, Libra eliminates the need for a bank or central processor.

What’s the advantage of using blockchain technology to make Libra? Blockchains will make financial exchanges more efficient and reliable.

Facebook recently created a company, Calibra, that will manage Libra transactions.

When you buy something with Libra, every computer in the network confirms the transaction. This may sound cumbersome, but it works much faster than a bank or even PayPal. If built properly, transactions should take seconds instead of minutes or hours.

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Facebook also believes that it can charge lower fees than services like PayPal. Again, we haven’t seen precisely how this will work. If Facebook can make keep fees in check, increase transaction speed, and maintain Libra’s value, then it might create one of the world’s most useful currencies.

Some of the companies partnering with Facebook include:

• Mastercard
• PayU
• Stripe
• Visa
• PayPal
• Coinbase
• Andreessen Horowitz
• Uber
• Spotify

When Can I Use Facebook Libra to Buy Online?

Facebook hasn’t said exactly when it will introduce Libra to consumers. The company has promised to release Libra in 2020.

Look for more announcements in late 2019 or early 2020.

What Can I Buy With Facebook Libra?

That’s a big question that will likely change over time. Facebook has said that it hopes consumers will use Libra to pay for goods advertised on its platform, such as its Marketplace that mimics Craiglist. Facebook will also accept the currency for advertisements placed by companies.

Outside of that, it’s difficult to say. Facebook hopes that many of its partners will accept Libra. That could mean that can use Libra to pay for rides from Uber and music from Spotify.

It’s almost certain that Facebook users will be able to send Libra to each other. For example, if your friend pays for lunch, you can repay her with Libra.

Facebook probably hopes that Libra will become the internet’s de facto currency. If Libra succeeds, you could possibly use it to pay for everything from groceries to your monthly utilities. We’ll just have to wait to see how consumers and companies respond to the new digital currency.

Is Facebook Libra Safe?

That depends on what you mean by safe.

After the Cambridge Analytica scandal, many Facebook users lost faith in the company. If you want your financial information to remain private, then you probably won’t consider Libra safe. There’s good reason to believe that Facebook will use your spending information to make money somehow.

If you use the word “safe” to mean that your money will not disappear, then the answer is probably “yes.”

If nothing else, your Libra wallet will have better security than most bitcoin wallets. You probably won’t wake up one morning to see that you’ve lost access to your Libra, which happened to some bitcoin owners in early 2019.

Will Libra have the stability that Facebook claims? Time will tell. It remains an experiment. No one yet truly knows the outcome.

Do I Need a Facebook Libra Wallet?

Yes, you will need a wallet to own, spend, and receive Libra. Facebook says that all of its users will have access to Libra, so that may mean that the wallet gets built into platforms that you already use. During the first quarter of 2019, Facebook had 2.38 billion active monthly users.

Facebook says that Messenger and WhatsApp members will also have access to Libra.

More likely than not, you will need to provide a government I.D. before you activate your Libra wallet. The I.D. will help Libra Association verify your identity.

Third-party companies may also have the opportunity to create Libra wallets for their users. Little is known about third-party wallets, though, except that Libra Association will vet them.

Libra could change the way that people use money. It could also fade like many other internet fads. Only time will tell.

The article Facebook Libra Cryptocurrency Explained was originally posted on Investormint

Coinbase vs Gemini: which digital exchange should you choose when purchasing cryptocurrencies?

When buying bitcoins,ethers, litecoins, or any of the many other cryptocurrencies, the questions buyers have are:

1. 1. Where can I buy cryptocurrencies securely?
   2. How do I buy cryptocurrencies easily?
   3. What is the cost to buy or sell cryptocurrencies?

In this Coinbase Vs Gemini review, we compare two U.S. based online companies that allow you to buy and sell cryptocurrencies and have established solid reputations among their respective communities of users as well as from renowned investors.

Coinbase vs Gemini

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COINBASE REVIEW

Coinbase is a digital currency exchange based in San Francisco that was founded in 2011.

If you are a newbie to the world of cryptocurrencies, perhaps the hardest first step to figure out is where you go to buy or sell bitcoin, ethereum, or litecoin.

Coinbase recognized that while whiz kids who are technology savvy could figure out how to mine bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies, the average Joe or Jane investor had no online destination to easily purchase crypto coins using credit or debit cards.

The company got its start in the highly prestigious start-up accelerator program, Y-Combinator, and within a couple of years received its first round of funding for $5 million.

Since then, Coinbase has gone on to raise hundreds of millions of dollars in venture capital and serves tens of millions of customers.

While Coinbase has been backed by some of the most successful investment professionals, including Andreessen Horowitz and Draper Fisher Jurvetson, the question remains is Coinbase safe?

So far, the company has had a good record of security and grown internationally to allow users in over 25 countries to buy and sell cryptocurrencies and provide cryptocurrency wallets to users in 190 countries.

GEMINI REVIEW

Gemini is a digital currency exchange platform founded by the Winklevoss twins: Tyler and Cameron.

If their last name rings a bell, it’s because the Winklevoss twins were featured in the movie The Social Network. They claim to have had the original idea for Facebook and ultimately received a settlement of approximately $65 million from the social networking site.

But they didn’t rest on their laurels following the payout. Instead, they invested $11 million into purchasing bitcoins when bitcoin was valued in the single digits.

And in 2015, they received approval from the New York State Department of Financial Services to launch a digital currency exchange called Gemini, which caters to both new cryptocurrency investors and professional traders.

But when you compare Coinbase Vs Gemini, which is better?

Coinbase Vs Gemini Fees

Gemini charges lower fees than Coinbase but has fewer payment methods – you cannot purchase via credit card or debit card at Gemini as you can at Coinbase.

When it comes to fees, Gemini has the advantage over Coinbase, which charges a premium to transact.

COINBASE FEES

At Coinbase, you can purchase bitcoin, ethereum, or litecoin using a credit card, debit card or bank transfer.

In the United States when purchasing cryptocurrencies, Coinbase fees are charged as follows:

When selling cryptocurrencies, the fees charged are similar.

ACH transfers are free but wire transfers cost $10 at Coinbase.

For stock, options, futures, or forex traders, these costs are eye-popping. Each time you buy and sell bitcoin, ethereum, or litecoin you will pay a round trip charge that is nearly 3% at the low end and could be significantly higher.

Compare those costs to the fees charged by leading brokers to buy and sell stocks like Alphabet or Amazon, and you will quickly realize that paying for cryptocurrencies is as expensive as paying for stocks before Schwab and other discount brokers made buying and selling more accessible to the ordinary investor.

GEMINI FEES

Gemini caters to both new cryptocurrency investors and professional digital currency traders.

It charges a base fee of 0.25% to buy and sell but your fee rate depends on the trading pair you select and the volume you trade on both the continuous and auction order books over a 30 day calendar trailing window.

For example, if you were trading bitcoin (BTC) or ethereum (ETH), the fees charged would be as follows:

Fee denominations are based on the following chart:

So let’s say you were to enter an order to purchase $30,000 of bitcoin (BTC) with a limit price of $15,300 which fills at an average price of $15,000 per bitcoin.

How much would you pay in fees at Gemini?

Gemini vs Coinbase: How To Buy

When you buy cryptocurrencies at Coinbase, it may take up to a week to process the order and receive your digital assets but the quote you receive is the price you pay when checking out.

HOW TO BUY & SELL DIGITAL CURRENCY: COINBASE

When you buy cryptocurrency at Coinbase, the price is set at the time of purchase.

After verifying your bank information, you can immediately purchase bitcoin, litecoin, or ethereum with a credit card or debit card.

And while the price is locked in when paying by bank transfer, you will need to wait a few days for the digital assets to settle in your account.

Sometimes it can take as much as a week to process an order. Whether the price rises or falls in the interim period, your cost basis is the price quoted at purchase.

When you log in at Coinbase, a bitcoin order entry would look similar to the one below where you are quoted how much bitcoin you will own, the current price of bitcoin, the payment method you are using (in this case a Bank of America account labeled Salary), and when your bitcoin will be available in your account. Plus, you get to see how much you pay in Coinbase fees.

HOW TO BUY & SELL DIGITAL CURRENCY: GEMINI

At Gemini, you can immediately trade cryptocurrencies after depositing funds via bank transfers.

Even before your funds are fully deposited, you can begin trading but you cannot withdraw funds until your deposits settle.

The way it works is you create your account, verify it, deposit U.S. dollars, and place an order on the exchange.

As soon as the order is processed, you receive your digital assets, which can be withdrawn as soon as your deposit has been processed and fully settled.

Gemini limits you to bank transfers of $500 per day whereas Coinbase imposes variable limits.

Coinbase Vs Gemini Security

Both Coinbase and Gemini are regulated in the U.S. and licensed to engage in money transmission.

COINBASE SECURITY

When you log into Coinbase, you will be required to follow a two-factor authentication protocol.

You will need your email and password at step 1 and at step 2, and you are required to enter an authentication code from a mobile authenticator app that you download onto your mobile device.

The code changes every 30 seconds for enhanced security. But don’t worry if you miss the first code, you can enter another code and Coinbase will recognize it as being correct.

All digital currency held at Coinbase is fully insured, meaning that if a security breach occurred, the insurance policy would pay out to cover any customer funds lost.

GEMINI SECURITY

Gemini is a trust company that operates as a fiduciary, meaning that it must meet compliance, capitalization, anti-money laundering, cybersecurity, and consumer protection standards set forth by the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYSDF).

Your U.S. dollar funds are FDIC insured subject to applicable limitations however your digital assets are not FDIC insured because the U.S. government does not insure digital assets.

Regardless, Gemini does claim to be insured by a top tier insurance company to protect you from internal malfeasance.

And like Coinbase, two-factor authentication is used to heighten security protection when logging into your account.

Gemini Vs Coinbase
Overall Winner

Where To Buy Cryptocurrencies:
Gemini or Coinbase?

Coinbase and Gemini both make it possible to buy and sell Bitcoins and Ethereum but if you wish to purchase Litecoin, Coinbase has the edge.

When it comes to buying and selling cryptocurrencies, both Gemini and Coinbase support bank transfers but Coinbase also caters to credit card and debit card transactions as well as Paypal.

You may also enjoy more relaxed trading limits at Coinbase than at Gemini.

But where Gemini shines is on fees. Cryptocurrency traders who wish to transact often will find Gemini to be a less costly platform. And Gemini even provides discounts as you trade with ever higher volumes.

When comparing Gemini vs Coinbase on security, they both earn top marks, though Coinbase gets the nod when it comes to insurance because Gemini provides FDIC insurance with applicable limits while Coinbase includes full insurance coverage as part of its service offering.

The bottom line is if cost and trading frequency are your primary concerns, Gemini has the edge while Coinbase receives higher marks for making it easier to buy and sell, supporting more cryptocurrencies, and providing a higher level of insurance.

Open a Gemini Account Open a Coinbase Account

The article Coinbase Vs Gemini Review: 2020 was originally posted on Investormint

Coinbase vs Kraken: which cryptocurrency exchange is best?

If you are buying cryptocurrencies for the first time, Coinbase makes it easy to exchange U.S. dollars for Bitcoin, Litecoin, or Ethereum.

But if you have been around the block when it comes to cryptocurrency trading, Kraken may be a better fit because of its lower fees, higher limits and broader range of trading pairs.

Beyond fees, ease-of-use, and the range of cryptocurrencies available, what else do you need to know when comparing Kraken vs Coinbase?

Coinbase vs Kraken

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COINBASE REVIEW

Coinbase makes it easy to buy and sell cryptocurrencies. With a credit card or debit card, or even a Paypal account, you can purchase Bitcoin, Ethereum, or Litecoin quickly.

And unlike some digital currency exchange platforms, Coinbase has a polished interface so it’s hard to get lost on the website.

But the greater convenience comes at a price, which is higher fees. When you use a credit card to buy digital assets, Coinbase will pass on the fees charged by credit card companies to you.

You can pay lower costs by choosing bank transfers, but the fees are still higher at Coinbase than at many other digital exchanges.

At Coinbase, it is simple it is to convert U.S. dollars or other real world currencies to cryptocurrencies.

Many digital currency exchanges make it easy to convert from one cryptocoin to another while Coinbase simplifies the process of converting U.S. dollars to bitcoins, litecoins, or ethers.

The bottom line is Coinbase is more friendly to novice crypto-investors but the simplicity comes at the cost of higher transaction fees.

KRAKEN REVIEW

Kraken is a digital currency exchange and, like Coinbase, is based out of San Francisco.

Where Kraken has the edge over Coinbase is that fees are significantly lower.

You can think of Kraken as being similar to a forex exchange. The range of digital currencies available to trade is much more extensive than at Coinbase.

For example, you can trade the XBT/USD pair to exchange dollars for bitcoins, or a wide range of other cryptocurrencies.

But where Coinbase makes it easy to use a credit card or debit card, or Paypal, to purchase cryptocurrencies, Kraken requires you to deposit funds via bank transfer.

The process can take a few days, which means you need to wait patiently while funds settle.

If you want to buy cryptocurrencies at today’s prices, Coinbase is your best bet.

Once you have cryptocurrencies in your account at Kraken, you can exchange them easily and cost effectively to other cryptocurrencies.

But don’t expect the simplicity of Coinbase when it comes to the user interface.

Kraken may be a venture-funded company, but it is dwarfed when it comes to the amount of money it has in its coffers compared to Coinbase, which has raised hundreds of millions of dollars.

All that money from top tier investors bought Coinbase not only a reputation as the premier digital currency exchange, but also the deep reserves needed to build a platform with a world class user experience.

Coinbase vs Kraken Fees

The higher fees charged by Coinbase make it more suitable to investing while Kraken rewards users who transact in high volumes, and is a better platform for active traders.

COINBASE FEES

Coinbase fees to buy and sell Bitcoin, Litecoin, or Ethereum are listed as follows:

If you wish to do a wire transfer, it will cost you $10 but ACH transfers are free.

The most notable fee is the credit card or debit card fee. Coinbase passes on credit card company processing fees to users.

So, although it is expensive to invest in cryptocurrencies at Coinbase, it may still be affordable when holding for the long-term whereas trading frequently could quickly become prohibitively costly.

KRAKEN FEES

Kraken rewards traders with lower fees when they trade higher volumes.

Fees are charged on a per trade basis and calculated as a % of the trade’s quote currency volume.

User fee volumes are calculated using trades over the previous 30 days only.

So if you wanted to trade Bitcoin using U.S. dollars, the breakdown would be as follows:

The fee schedule compared to the volume traded is listed as follows:

Kraken vs Coinbase: How To Buy

Coinbase makes it easy to buy cryptocurrencies at the price quoted the day you sign up while Kraken will make you wait until your funds settle before permitting you to transact.

HOW TO BUY & SELL DIGITAL CURRENCY: COINBASE

By permitting you to purchase cryptocurrencies via credit card, debit card, and Paypal, Coinbase makes is possible to transact on the same day you sign up.

You will be required to verify your bank information in order to buy Bitcoin, Ethereum, or Litecoin, and you can transact at the price quoted on your screen.

If you choose to pay by bank transfer, you will need to wait for a few days until funds settle in your account.

The order screen at Coinbase will look similar to the one shown below.

You will be quoted a price for the cryptocurrency, the amount you will pay, and the payment method used.

It’s easy to see how much you will pay in fees too.

HOW TO BUY & SELL DIGITAL CURRENCY: KRAKEN

When you first sign up to Kraken, you will need to make a deposit of U.S. dollars or another currency in order to purchase a cryptocurrency – assuming you don’t have a cryptocurrency wallet elsewhere.

It may take a few days for the funds to settle in your account, so you will not be able to buy coins on the same day as you sign up if it’s your first time purchasing digital coins.

Where Kraken is a bit more complicated than Coinbase for beginners is that Kraken provides a cryptocurrency exchange platform, similar to a forex exchange.

Kraken pairs currencies together. For example, the Bitcoin-U.S. dollar pair is one example of many that you can trade on the platform.

Some others include:

• Bitcoin-Euro (XBTEUR)
• Bitcoin-Yen (XBTJPY)
• Bitcoin-Pound Sterling (XBTBGP)
• Bitcoin-Canadian Dollar (XBTCAD)
• Bitcoin Cash-Euro (BCHEUR)
• Bitcoin Cash-U.S. Dollar (BCHUSD)
• Bitcoin Cash-Bitcoin (BCHXBT)
• Dash-Euro (DASHEUR)
• Dash-U.S. Dollar (DASHUSD)
• Dash-Bitcoin (DASHXBT)
• EOS-Ether (EOSETH)
• EOS-Bitcion (EOSXBT)
• Gnosis-Ether (GNOETH)
• Gnosis-Bitcoin (GNOXBT)
• Ether Classic-Ether (ETCETH)
• Ether Classic-Bitcoin (ETCXBT)
• Ether Classic-Euro (ETCEUR)
• Ether Classic-U.S. Dollar (ETCUSD)
• Ether-Bitcoin (ETHXBT)
• Ether-Canadian Dollar (ETHCAD)
• Ether-Euro (ETHEUR)
• Ether-Pound Sterling (ETHGBP)
• Ether-Japanese Yen (ETHJPY)
• Ether-U.S. Dollar (ETHUSD)
• Iconomi-Ether (ICNETH)
• Iconomi-Bitcoin (ICNXBT)
• Litecoin-Bitcoin (LTCXBT)
• Litecoin-Euro (LTCEUR)
• Litecoin-U.S. Dollar (LTCUSD)
• Melon-Ether (MLNETH)
• Melon-Bitcoin (MLNXBT)
• Augur-Ether (REPETH)
• Augur-Bitcoin (REPXBT)
• Augur-Euro (REPEUR)
• Dogecoin-Bitcoin (XDGXBT)
• Lumen-Bitcoin (LMNXBT)
• Monero-Bitcoin (XMRXBT)
• Monero-Euro (XMREUR)
• Monero-U.S. Dollar (XMRUSD)
• Ripple-Bitcoin (XRPXBT)
• Ripple-Euro (XRPEUR)
• Ripple-U.S. Dollar (XRPUSD)
• Zcash-Bitcoin (ZECXBT)
• Zcash-Euro (ZECEUR)
• Zcash-U.S. Dollar (ZECUSD)

For each currency pair, you can view the historical order flow.

And you also get to see the depth of market.

Coinbase vs Kraken Security

Coinbase security and Kraken security measures are designed to minimize risk by storing sensitive data and a majority of digital assets offline in cold storage facilities or safe deposit boxes.

COINBASE SECURITY

Coinbase claims that approximately 98% of customer funds are stored offline.

By storing assets offline, digital assets are largely inaccessible to online hackers.

Coinbase then distributes Bitcoins geographically in safe deposit boxes and vaults around the world.

The idea is to break the link between sensitive data and online access, so valuable information cannot be easily compromised.

When you log in as a customer, you will be encouraged to set up a two-factor authentication system.

In addition to your username and password, you will need a passcode (6 digits long) that changes every 30 seconds and is visible only on your mobile device.

If you fail to type in the digits quickly enough, the code will change, and you can enter the next set of random digits that appear.

KRAKEN SECURITY

Kraken protects sensitive user information by encrypting databases and making them inaccessible from the main Kraken website.

It also encourages uses to set up two-factor login authentication and create a master key. It is also possible to add a global settings lock to your account.

Kraken holds full reserves that are developed using state of the art systems for heightened protection.

Another security measure will be triggered if you login from a different IP address than your usual one. The idea is to combat session hijacking.

As with most digital exchanges, cryptocurrency funds are generally stored in cold storage units offline for maximum asset protection.

Kraken Vs Coinbase
Overall Winner

Where To Buy Cryptocurrencies:
Kraken or Coinbase?

Coinbase and Kraken can both be used to purchase Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Litecoin. However, Kraken is best for active, fee-conscious traders who want to buy and sell cryptocurrencies in large volumes, or want to exchange assets from one cryptocurrency to another.

For a simple and easy user experience, Coinbase is hard to beat. You can sign up and buy cryptocurrencies the same day using a credit card, debit card or Paypal – none of which is possible at Kraken.

Both Coinbase and Kraken claim to store digital assets offline for maximum security, and both provide two factor authentication when users log in.

The bottom line is if you are new to the world of cryptocurrencies, plan to hold digital assets for a longer time period, are primarily interested in the major cryptocurrencies, and want to buy and sell easily then Coinbase is your best option.  However, if you are an active trader that prioritizes low fee transactions then Kraken will likely serve your needs best.

Open a Kraken Account Open a Coinbase Account

The article Coinbase vs Kraken Review: 2020 was originally posted on Investormint

Litecoin is similar to Bitcoin in many ways, but it is quicker and cheaper. The same open source cryptographic protocol upon which Bitcoin was built was adopted by Charlie Lee, a former Google engineer, to build Litecoin.

And while Bitcoin has soared and crashed often and grabbed media headlines in the process, Litecoin did not gain as much notoriety despite its rollercoaster price swings.

Nevertheless, it was adopted by Coinbase, a leading digital currency exchange, as one of just a few cryptocurrencies available for purchase and sale by the general public.

So, if Litecoin can be easily bought and sold by the general public and is faster and cheaper than Bitcoin, how will this affect its price? We examine Litecoin price predictions to see where it may be headed next.

How Many Litecoins Will Exist?

Every 4 years, the release of Litecoins halves, reaching a final total of 84 millions coins.

By contrast, Bitcoin has a finite supply of just 21 million coins, which should all be mined by 2040.

Research from Chainalysis has reported that as many as 3.79 million Bitcoins may already be lost forever.

The results are based on empirical data from blockchain analysis in which all Bitcoin transactions are recorded.

The “lost” Bitcoins are a result of strategic investors holding and not selling the coins, original coins (nicknamed “satoshi coins” after Bitcoin founder Satoshi Nakamoto) and out of circulation coins (known as “hodlers”):

Source: Chainalysis

Chainalysis is no ordinary data analysis company. They have been so successful at studying blockchain wallets that they count Europol and Uncle Sam as clients.

They have discovered that wallets associated with Bitcoin founder, Satoshi Nakamoto, hold about 1 million Bitcoins. And they assume these coins are gone forever, which may prove inaccurate over time.

The reason it is important to know how many Bitcoins have been “lost” is because it provides a better insight into the true market capitalization of the cryptocurrency.

The market cap is the market price of the cryptocurrency multiplied by the existing number of coins.

And it’s valuable to know how many Bitcoins Satoshi Nakamoto has because if he decides to sell at some point in the future, the price of Bitcoin could plummet.

In fact, in December 2017, Litecoin founder Charlie Lee did precisely that. He announced on Twitter that he had sold his entire stake of Litecoins (LTC).

And while he defended his decision and claimed to still have full confidence in the cryptocurrency, the obvious interpretation is that when the founder sells his entire holdings, the coins may be overvalued.

But is there any way to come up with a price prediction for Litecoin?

Litecoin Price Prediction:
Market Capitalization Analysis

Cryptocurrency skeptics argue that digital assets are not backed by any tangible asset like gold.

Proponents counter-argue that the U.S. dollar is backed by nothing more than the faith and credit of the U.S. government.

The reality is if a network of individuals have confidence in the future use of a cryptocurrency, it has the value ascribed to it.

By using that logic, a market capitalization analysis can be conducted. The market cap of Litecoin can be compared with the “market cap” of other world currencies to analyze its share of market.

If the price point of Litecoin is $300 and the supply of Litecoins in existence is 55 million coins, then the market capitalization would be equal to $16.5 billion.

We know that the total number of Litecoins to be issued over time is 84 million, and at the same price point of $300 the Litecoin market capitalization would be $25.2 billion.

Cryptocurrency critics argue that virtual coins are used by the same people who use cash to exchange goods and services. If we assume that is true for a moment then the we can compare the market capitalization of Litecoins to the number of U.S. dollar bills in circulation (as well as other paper currencies).

It is estimated that 1.2 Trillion of U.S. dollar bills are floating around the world. So a $25.2 billion market capitalization of Litecoins would represent 2.1% of U.S. dollar notes and coins.

When you factor in other fiat currencies that percentage drops significantly. However, Litecoin is just one of many cryptocurrencies in existence.

By late 2017, the total market capitalization of all cryptocurrencies had risen to over $600 billion, approximately 50% of the value of all U.S. dollar notes and bills in circulation.

That might seem like a lot until you view money supply through a slightly different lens.

The total money supply is about 10 times greater than the supply of notes and bills in existence. So the market cap of cryptocurrencies is just 5% of total U.S. money supply by that definition.

Advocates of cryptocurrencies argue that the market share of cryptocurrencies is small when you view them as a future potential replacement for paper bills and factor in all other currencies too, such as the Euro, Pound Sterling, Japanese Yen, and Swiss Franc.

But are there other ways to calculate Litecoin price predictions beyond market capitalization?

Litecoin Price Prediction:
Monte Carlo Analysis

John Young conducted analysis of cryptocurrencies using Monte Carlo analysis.

He used a multi-step process that involved gathering historical prices of Litecoins, calculating daily returns, naming the daily range, summarizing statistics, simulating a single year and multi-year timelines, evaluating multi-year statistics and analyzing the results.

The model he used was geometric Brownian motion and the Litecoin price prediction for the year up to Nov 2018 was a price range from $6 to $507 with a mean of $122.

Statistical whiz kids would argue that this is perfectly acceptable if you believe the underlying process is stationary and well behaved. Even then, the real world tends to produce fat tails that have a habit of causing models to blow up!

So Brownian motion may be common for modeling the progression of asset prices as a stochastic process with drift and a random Brownian term with changes most typically assumed to be either normally or lognormally distributed.

But when it comes to cryptocurrencies with a short history that have prices characterized by flat-to-downward drifting price phases and exponential explosive growth spurts, it may not be the best choice.

The vast price range Young arrives at is attributable to the fact that the model is calibrated to historical data. And it could be argued that a Litecoin price prediction range from $6 to $507 is not especially helpful in narrowing down a price point!

Nevertheless, while it may be a sub-optimal tool to make a Litecoin price prediction, the reality is few good tools exist. And one of the reasons for significant price volatility in cryptocurrencies is precisely because no easy way exists to value them.

> Related: Litecoin Vs Ethereum: Which Cryptocurrency Is Best?

Litecoin Price Prediction:
What Would Warren Buffett Say?

Famed investor Warren Buffett wasn’t shy about making his opinions known about cryptocurrencies.

He stated that investors should “stay away” from Bitcoin. In 2014, he continued “it’s a mirage basically. The idea that it has some huge intrinsic value is just a joke, in my view.”

Buffett didn’t make his arguments without justification. He claimed that “you can’t value Bitcoin because it’s not a value-producing asset.”

Just like gold, Bitcoin, Litecoin, and other cryptocurrencies don’t produce dividends for investors.

When a company issues a dividend, you can build a financial model that predicts into the future how much the company will earn in total and discount that back to calculate a present value for the company.

But cryptocurrencies are only worth as much as some other investor will pay in the future.

Buffett has historically argued that if you could buy all the gold in the world or all the real estate in the United States, you should choose the real estate because you can rent out the properties to tenants and earn a steady stream of income.

However, gold and cryptocurrency values are based on the value another investor will pay you tomorrow.

While Buffett’s arguments have merit, he also admitted to having missed out on Alphabet and Apple, leading technology companies.

Indeed, he is famous for shunning technology companies because he doesn’t understand them.

Litecoin Price Prediction:
What Would John McAfee Say?

By sharp contrast to Warren Buffett, John McAfee has argued that cryptocurrencies are a positive game-changer.

He predicts Bitcoin will rise to a value of $1,000,000 per coin by 2020. That is a 50x increase over current prices for Bitcoin (at the time of writing).

And if Litecoin were to rise by a commensurate amount, it would increase to approximately $15,000 per coin from around $300.

Take that prediction with a pinch of salt because John McAfee is one of the biggest Bitcoin miners in the United States, so it is very much in his interests for the price of all cryptocurrencies to rise, especially Bitcoin.

Litecoin Price Prediction:
Summary

Arriving at a Litecoin price prediction is a difficult task. If you were to believe Warren Buffett’s argument that cryptocurrencies produce no dividends, you may be inclined to dismiss them altogether.

However, if you were to follow the comments of John McAfee, one of the largest Bitcoin miners, you may believe a 50X increase in value is possible.

According to Brownian motion models, the Litecoin price prediction range through November, 2018, is from $6 to $507 with 95% confidence. And while statistical wizards may argue that the model is wrong, it’s hard to find a better one.

Even calculating the market share of cryptocurrencies relative to conventional currencies is challenging because assumptions have to be made about how much market share they can take and whether Litecoin will establish itself as prominently as Bitcoin and Ethereum.

The bottom line is it’s nearly impossible to accurately arrive at a Litecoin price prediction forecast so any investments you make should be done in consultation with a financial advisor, and should be considered speculative.

Do you trade cryptocurrencies? What is your Litecoin price prediction for the next year?

>> Litecoin Vs Ethereum: Which Cryptocurrency Is Best?

>> Coinbase Vs Gemini Review

The article Litecoin Price Prediction 2020 was originally posted on Investormint

Although it is foolhardy to make an Ethereum price prediction with confidence, it may be possible to forecast future prices using various analytic methods.

Whether conventional technical analysis, Monte Carlo simulations, or market capitalization comparisons, we explore what the future holds for the price of Ethereum.

But in order to make price forecasts for Ethereum, we first need to see how and why it is different to the original cryptocurrency, Bitcoin.

How Does Ethereum
Compare To Bitcoin?

Bitcoin may have sparked the cryptocurrency revolution but Ethereum may have greater longevity, which in turn could bode well for forecasters brave enough to make an Ethereum price prediction.

While Bitcoin gained popularity as a cryptocurrency that could supplant conventional currencies, like U.S. dollars, euros, and yen, Ethereum has received attention because it has the possibility for broader use beyond payments.

The best way to think of Ethereum is as a general purpose platform upon which other applications can be built. Similar to how Apple and Microsoft built operating systems that supported a wide range of software from spreadsheets to budgeting tools, so too can Ethereum support a range of applications related to blockchain technology.

The big difference between Bitcoin and Ethereum is that developers are permitted to build applications on top of Ethereum’s blockchain technology but they are restricted from doing so on top Bitcoin’s technology.

By catering to developers, Ethereum is responsible for the majority of initial coin offerings and its currency has earned a reputation for being robust in the face of cyber attacks.

But with hundreds of cryptocurrencies in existence, what does the future hold for Ethereum and what Ethereum price prediction can be forecast?

Ethereum vs Bitcoin vs Litecoin

Most cryptocurrencies impose a limit on the number of coins issued over a specific time period.

Bitcoin has a limited supply of 21 million coins, which are due to be mined by the year 2040, while Litecoin has a total supply of 84 million coins.

Unlike Bitcoin and Litecoin, Ethereum does not have a fixed supply of coins.

The supply of ethers, the name given to Ethereum’s currency, is not limited but the issuance is capped at 18 million ether per year, which represents approximately one quarter of the initial supply.

By issuing a fixed number of ethers annually, relative inflation declines each year.

BITCOIN VS ETHEREUM

Ethereum borrows significantly from Bitcoin’s protocol and blockchain design but is significantly different because it supports applications beyond money.

Like Bitcoin, Ethereum has a blockchain structure that has a record of transaction history.

But unlike Bitcoin, Ethereum uses accounts much like bank accounts whereby ether tokens are stored in digital wallets and can be transferred to other accounts.

By contrast, Bitcoin figures out how much of the digital currency someone has by tracking unspent transactions.

Where Ethereum shines compared to Bitcoin is the flexibility it provides to programmers, who can create programs whereby blockchain transactions automate and control various outcomes.

So, if Ethereum has more flexibility compared to Bitcoin and is more resilient to cyberattacks, what Ethereum price predictions can be forecast?

Ethereum Price Prediction:
Monte Carlo Analysis

John Young, founder of Spreadsheet.io, analyzed Ethereum using Monte Carlo analysis.

The idea behind Monte Carlo analysis is to use randomness to solve problems that may be deterministic. Monte Carlo experiments rely on repeated random sampling to obtain results, which is why the graphs below look a little chaotic!

In order to make an Ethereum price prediction, he used historical prices for Ethereum, calculated daily returns and daily range, and simulated outcomes over single year and multi-year durations.

A geometric Brownian motion model was used to make Ethereum price predictions that led to a minimum price forecast of $40 and a maximum price forecast of $3,004 with a mean of $829 with 95% confidence.

If you stretch that to 99%, the maximum value could rise as high as $8,487 but eagle-eyed statisticians may find this analysis troublesome.

The premise beyond the analysis is that the underlying process is stationary and well behaved but the real world tends to produce long tails that break sophisticated models!

Just ask the team who founded the infamous hedge fund, Long Term Capital Management. The team of Nobel prize winners believed they had a foolproof model to make money but neglected to factor in extremely rare price movements that subsequently occurred and ultimately blew up their hedge fund and nearly took down the world economy too.

So even though it is common to model the progression of asset prices as a stochastic process with drift and a random Brownian term, and changes are assumed to be normally or lognormally distributed, the reality is cryptocurrency price movements are characterized by spikes and plunges.

The broad price range from a minimum of $40 to a maximum of $3,004 is due to the fact the model is calibrated to past data. And it wouldn’t be an outlandish argument to suggest that a price range so wide is not especially helpful anyway in narrowing down an Ethereum price prediction.

Still, few good tools exist to make good cryptocurrency price predictions due to the significant price volatility from one day to the next, so Monte Carlo simulations may prove to be one of the best.

But are there other ways to make Ethereum price predictions?

Ethereum Price Chart:
Technical Analysis

Another way to forecast the future price of Ethereum is to use classical technical analysis.

Technical analysis is a tool used to forecast future price movements by analyzing data from trading activity, such as price and volume.

By viewing an Ethereum price chart, a prediction can be made by extending an uptrending mean price line.

When applying this method at the time of writing, the 1-year forecast for Ethereum would place the price at $1,872 U.S. dollars and the 5-year price forecast would result in a price of $4,721.

As with any technical analysis price chart forecast, no guarantees exist that past price movement will be indicative of future price movement.

Ethereum Price Prediction:
Market Capitalization Analysis

Another way to make price forecasts is to compare Ethereum with Apple and Microsoft.

If Ethereum is the “operating system” upon which future blockchain applications are built, it could be compared to Apple and Microsoft, which built the two primary computer operating systems used worldwide.

The combined market capitalizations of Apple and Microsoft are approximately $1.5 trillion at the time of writing whereas Ethereum had a market capitalization just north of $100 billion.

If Ethereum were to realize its potential as the platform upon which all future blockchain technologies were built perhaps its price rise has a significant runway ahead of it yet.

But Apple and Microsoft produce real products and have real customers that pay them year after year so it is difficult to make a like-for-like comparison.

And it would be a bold claim to infer that Ethereum could grow to a market capitalization as large as $1.5 trillion.

The expectation of capturing future value is largely what has catapulted the price of Ethereum and other cryptocurrencies higher.

Whether they will sustain their valuations and continue to grow will depend on how closely expectations match reality.

Ethereum Price Forecast:
What Experts Predict

John McAfee became famous as the founder of McAfee anti-virus software but more recently he has jumped on the cryptocurrency bandwagon with gusto.

As one of the leading cryptocurrency miners in the United States, he has predicted a rise in Bitcoin to $1,000,000 per coin by 2020.

If Ethereum were to rise in price by the same amount, it would translate to a 50x increase, which would seem to defy reason because that would equate to a market capitalization of $5.7 trillion!

While that may seem outlandish, McAfee does make the case for blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies in the video below.

On the other side of the argument is Warren Buffett, who encouraged investors to “stay away” from Bitcoin in 2014 before its meteoric rise.

Buffett may end up being right in the end when he stated that Bitcoin is a “mirage” but so far the cryptocurrency market is leaving him with egg on his face.

His argument is based on the fact that you “can’t value Bitcoin because it’s not a value-producing asset” which means it doesn’t produce a dividend.

Without a dividend, financial analysts cannot apply standard financial models to make price forecasts.

Critics of Buffett would argue that he doesn’t have a great record betting on technology companies and historically has shunned them so he may not be the best qualified observer of the cryptocurrency market.

Still, he didn’t amass billions of dollars without having a good idea of what assets in the world are worth investing in and which are undervalued, so it may be best to keep an open mind even if you are upbeat about the prospect for digital currencies.

Ethereum Price Prediction:
Summary

The price volatility of cryptocurrencies has historically been so high that making accurate price predictions is a near impossible game.

Expert miners like John McAfee predict Bitcoin will rise to a value of $1 million per coin while one of the richest investors in the world, Warren Buffett, made a bleak assessment of digital currencies because they don’t pay dividends making them virtually impossible to value.

If you were to apply conventional technical analysis to Ethereum, it has a 1 year upside price potential of $1,872 at the time of writing while Monte Carlo simulations show a price range from $40 to $3,004.

Some advocates for cryptocurrencies believe they will take market share away from conventional currencies but even then it is hard to gauge precisely what percentage is likely.

The bottom line is making an Ethereum price prediction with high confidence is virtually impossible so if you do decide to take the plunge into the world of digital currencies, it is well worth sitting down with a Chartered Financial Professional or financial advisor before risking your hard-earned savings.

Have you traded cryptocurrencies? What is your Ethereum price prediction for the next year?

>> Coinbase Vs Kraken: What Is The Best Cryptocurrency Exchange?

>> Coinbase Vs Gemini Review

>> Litecoin Vs Ethereum: Which Cryptocurrency Is Best?

The article Ethereum Price Prediction 2020 was originally posted on Investormint

If you live in Canada and want to trade cryptocurrencies, this CoinSquare review will give you the pros and cons before risking a penny.

CoinSquare is a digital currency exchange purpose-built for Canadians, both English and French speakers.

It supports trading in Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, Litecoin, Dogecoin, and Dash from desktop PCs or MACs as well as mobile devices.

And for security-conscious crypto traders, CoinSquare emphasizes that it has a 95% cold storage policy, meaning if the exchange were ever hacked, most of the assets would be out of reach of online hackers.

With that said, CoinSquare claims to never have lost a coin and its platform is built on the same technology relied upon by the New York Stock Exchange.

The bottom line is if you live in Canada and want to invest in cryptocurrencies using a platform renowned for its security, CoinSquare should be on your shortlist.

CoinSquare Spotlight

COINSQUARE SPOTLIGHT
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How CoinSquare Works

CoinSquare provides two methods to buy and sell cryptocurrencies, Quick Trade and Advanced Trade.

Buying & Selling Cryptocurrencies Via Quick Trade

Once you sign up to CoinSquare and your account is verified, the fastest way to buy and sell cryptocurrencies is via Quick Trade.

Using Quick Trade, you can exchange Canadian dollars for Bitcoin, Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin, Dash, or Dogecoin.

For newbies buying for the first time, the lingo may seem a bit confusing but here’s how it works in a nutshell.

When you buy cryptocurrencies, you simultaneously sell Canadian dollars. This is similar to a currency transaction where you buy say U.S. dollars and, at the same time, sell Canadian dollars.

The first step at CoinSquare involves selecting the currency you wish to sell, which would be Canadian dollars for most first-time users.

The next step is to pick the digital currency you wish to buy, say Ethereum, Bitcoin, or Litecoin.

You will be provided a quote which informs you of the amount of cryptocurrency you will receive for your Canadian dollars, and if you’re happy to move forward, you can simply confirm the order via a Make This Trade button.

The same step-by-step process applies whether buying cryptocurrencies using the web-based interface or via mobile app.

The fees to buy and sell when using Quick Trade are as follows:

Quick Trade purchases are usually instantaneous but if large orders are processed or the bid-ask spread is wide, you may experience delays entering or exiting positions.

Get Started At CoinSquare

Buying & Selling Cryptocurrencies Via Advanced Trade

Advanced Trade is designed for experienced traders who want more control over order placements, including specifying limit prices and visibility into real-time order books.

It is only available when buying and selling Bitcoin.

If you wanted to buy Litecoin using Advanced Trade, you would first need to exchange Canadian dollars for Bitcoin, and then exchange Bitcoin for Litecoin.

By using Advanced Trade, you can place limit orders like “Buy Bitcoin Only When The Price Falls Below $X”.

Advanced Trade makes it possible to exchange Canadian Dollars to Bitcoin using a market maker/taker model, and charges the following fees:

CoinSquare:
Funding & Withdrawal Methods

Bank drafts, money orders, wire transfers, and even credit cards can be used to fund your CoinSquare account.

To withdraw funds from CoinSquare, you can use any of the following methods.

Get Started At CoinSquare

CoinSquare Security

CoinSquare takes security very seriously. Its proprietary system, which is built using the same technology as the New York Stock Exchange, is tested with Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks similar to the approach a sophisticated hacker might use.

For added security, CoinSquare supports two-factor authentication (2FA). The way it works is a security code that changes every 30 seconds is needed in addition to your username and password when logging in.

So, unless a thief has access to your phone as well as your login credentials, it will be nearly impossible for them to hack into your account.

And even if your account or CoinSquare itself was compromised, a 95% cold storage policy is employed so that most of your digital assets are stored offline.

CoinSquare Pros & Cons

CoinSquare Review Summary

CoinSquare is a Toronto-based digital currency exchange designed for Canadian cryptocurrency traders who want to buy and sell Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, and Dash.

Since inception, CoinSquare claims to have never lost a coin and it’s no surprise given its high emphasis on security, a key consideration for any customer. Not only is two-factor authentication employed, but the system is stress-tested and built on technology used by the New York Stock Exchange.

Fees are reasonable though funding your account via credit card is very costly and probably best left as a last resort. Six other funding methods are provided along with a wide variety of withdrawal methods, so you are spoilt for choice.

Where CoinSquare shines is not just via its intuitive interface for newbies but its extensive functionality for experienced cryptocurrency traders too. You can view real-time order books and set limit prices for maximum control over trade entry and exit.

All in all, CoinSquare earns high marks for building an intuitive and trusted platform. Regardless of whether you are buying your first Bitcoin or you have been around the cryptocurrency block trading for years, CoinSquare has much to offer.

Get Started At CoinSquare

The article CoinSquare Review – Buy Cryptocurrencies From Canada was originally posted on Investormint

Unlike Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and many other cryptocurrencies that can be mined using mining software, Ripple (XRP) bucks the trend.

While Bitcoin miners and Ethereum miners made fortunes buying up huge computing power in low-cost electricity areas to produce digital currencies, Ripple miners don’t exist.

When it comes to Ripple, there is no point buying servers to solve the complex math equations needed to mine cryptocurrencies.

The reason Ripple mining is not possible is based on how Ripple is released to the world, and it’s not the same way other cryptocurrencies come into existence.

How Other Cryptocurrencies
Come Into Existence

Most cryptocurrencies need to be mined in order for supply to grow. Mining is the process of locating a cryptocurrency using high-end hardware and mining software.

The way it works is a miner will use powerful hardware (CPUs & graphics cards) to solve math puzzles on blocks, which comprise encrypted transactions.

Each block is added to a chain, called a blockchain, which is the core concept on which cryptocurrencies depend in order to come into existence.

Miners earn fees for verifying transactions and keeping the blockchain running.

When a block is solved, the supply of crypto coins increases and a portion of them are distributed to the miners.

Over time, it becomes ever more difficult and costly to mine coins, but as long as the price of a cryptocurrency is higher than its mining cost, a profit can be earned by miners.

But if mining is the typical way to increase the supply of crypto coins, why can you not engage in Ripple mining?

Why Ripple Mining Is Impossible

Unlike other cryptocurrencies, Ripple coins are released to the world a different way.

The entire supply of 100 billion Ripple coins already exists and Ripple Labs releases coins steadily over time.

By mid-2022, all Ripple coins are scheduled to be released via an escrow process, whereby 1 billion coins are “released” each month.

Because many coins are used, it is theoretically possible that all Ripple coins in escrow will not be released until approximately a decade later.

The approach taken by Ripple Labs has been met with controversy among cryptocurrency advocates because the founders pocketed 20% of the supply, an amount considered to be exceedingly high.

In their defense, half of the Ripple founders’ supply has already been donated to non-profits and charities, and a chunk of CEO Chris Larsen’s stash was donated to the Ripple Foundation for Financial Innovation.

Ripple vs Bitcoin:
Which Cryptocurrency Is Best?

Unlike Bitcoin, which is truly decentralized, Ripple has been criticized for using a few validation nodes.

But Ripple has become very popular as a significant competitor to Bitcoin because of its ability to support real-time money transfers.

It also known to be significantly faster at processing transactions than Bitcoin and uses less electricity than Bitcoin.

Ripple is also currency agnostic, meaning it can support money transfers in virtually any major fiat currency.

The way it works is the Ripple Path-finding Algorithm searches for the fastest and cheapest path between two currencies.

For example, if you wanted to convert U.S. dollars to euros, the fastest path might be a single hop between one currency and the other, or it might be a multi-hop path between say USD to NZD to GBP to EUR.

>> Related: ZCash Vs Ethereum – Which Cryptocurrency Is Better?

Should You Buy Ripple?

Each of the major cryptocurrencies has unique advantages but none are perfect.

Bitcoin is by far the best known but it is nowhere near as fast Ripple. It also lacks the anonymity of Zcash or Monero.

Ethereum can be bought or sold as a cryptocurrency but it is best known for its smart contracts. In fact, many other cryptocurrencies launch using Ethereum blockchain technology.

Another Ripple competitor, Litecoin, has been long mooted as the best cryptocurrency for payments.

Along with these cryptocurrencies, hundreds of other cryptocurrencies exist, but should you buy them, and if so, what are the best cryptocurrencies to buy?

Like stock market investing, a conservative approach to cryptocurrency investing involves buying a diversified list of cryptocurrencies rather than trying to pick a single winner.

So how do you buy cryptocurrencies?

How To Buy Ripple

The best known digital currency exchange is Coinbase, which supports trading in the major cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, and Litecoin.

Other digital exchanges, like Kraken and Gemini, support a much broader list of cryptocurrencies.

And increasingly other brokers, like Robinhood, are making cryptocurrency trading more accessible to the general public by waiving transaction costs.

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But fees are only one of the factors that should influence your decision to buy cryptocurrencies. The most important criterion is security.

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Hackers are constantly trying to break through the defenses of cryptocurrency exchanges so the best way to buy Ripple or any other cryptocurrency is to find the  most secure digital currency exchange.

Next, look for low transaction costs in the cryptocurrencies you wish to trade.

Coinbase is probably the easiest one when it comes to buying and selling cryptocurrencies. You can even buy Bitcoin, Ethereum, or Litecoin using a credit card.

Like other top exchanges, it features two-factor authentication and top notch security protocols.

>> Coinbase vs Gemini Review

>> Coinbase vs Kraken: What Is The Best Cryptocurrency Exchange?

>> Litecoin vs Ethereum: Which Cryptocurrency Is Best?

The article Want To Make Money Ripple Mining? was originally posted on Investormint

The phrase “Zcash vs Ethereum” sets an expectation that one cryptocurrency is better than the other. But Zcash and Ethereum are designed to improve upon Bitcoin, albeit in different ways and may even be complementary.

Zcash provides enhanced security to users compared to Bitcoin while Ethereum is rapidly becoming the “operating system” upon which applications can be built similar to how iOS is the operating system Apple uses to support applications, such as Uber, and Airbnb.

Zcash was formed because all transactions on the blockchain are public when using Bitcoin, thereby creating privacy concerns. Even though owners of bitcoin addresses are not explicitly identified, a privacy issue crops up that Zcash solves.

Ethereum also solves a Bitcoin problem that Vitalik Buterin – Ethereum founder – first tried to address within the Bitcoin community. Rather than using Bitcoin purely as a cryptocurrency, Buterin believed a foundation was needed that could support applications and smart contracts, such as buying insurance or even managing music rights.

So while both Zcash and Ethereum solve different problems, if you had to choose between Zcash Vs Ethereum, which would it be?

What Is Zcash?

Zcash [ZEC] was introduced in October 2106 as a cryptocurrency like Bitcoin that provides users with enhanced security.

Like Bitcoin, Zcash has a fixed supply of 21 million units. In the first 4 years after launching, a 20% ‘founders reward’ is allocated to developers, investors, and a non-profit foundation.

It is quite common that early contributors receive a slice of the pie. Bitcoin founder Satoshi Nakamoto is reputed to have over one million bitcoins.

Zcash has been so successful in overcoming privacy issues relating to Bitcoin that founding team member, Zooko Wilcox-O’Hearn, has highlighted that a “selective disclosure” option is available to allow buyers and sellers of goods and services using Zcash to comply with anti-money laundering regulations.

If you had a choice between Zcash Vs Ethereum Vs Bitcoin to stay anonymous, Zcash is probably your best bet.

What Is Ethereum?

Where most cryptocurrencies aim to replace conventional currencies for day-to-day transactions, Ethereum has even greater ambitions.

The founder of Ethereum [ETH], Vitalik Buterin, described it as a foundation layer upon which applications can be built.

Just as you turn on your Android phone or Apple iPhone and can select from millions of applications, such as Lyft, Munchery, Postmates, Uber, and so on, so too can Ethereum support a diverse range of applications that relate to the blockchain.

The blockchain is simply a ledger, or a list of records called blocks that are connected and secured using cryptography.

Ethereum acts as a decentralized platform that runs “smart contracts”, which are applications designed to run without the possibility of censorship, downtime, third party interference, or fraud.

These apps can run on a custom-built blockchain, a shared global infrastructure that can move value from one person to another.

So, Ethereum can be used by developers to create markets, store registries of debts or promises, and move money without any need for a middleman or counterparty risk.

Because of its enormous untapped potential to remove the need for banks as intermediaries for money transfers, insurance companies to purchase insurance, buy and sell real estate and many more uninvented applications, Ethereum is different from Zcash, which is a pure cryptocurrency.

Zcash vs Ethereum Wallets

Whether you are buying Zcash or Ethereum, you will need a wallet to store your digital currency.

If you are new to cryptocurrencies, the first step is to exchange your real world currency for digital currency.

Coinbase is one of the best known and most successful digital currency exchanges where you can buy Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, and Litecoin using an existing credit card, debit card, or even Paypal.

Kraken is another online destination that is not as user-friendly but has lower fees. It acts more like a forex marketplace. But instead of buying euros and selling yen, you can buy Zcash and sell Bitcoin, or buy Ethereum and sell Zcash, along with many other possibilities.

Once you have converted U.S. dollars to Zcash or Ethereum, you need to store them in a wallet. Coinbase and Kraken automatically provide you a wallet, so you don’t need to worry about finding another online wallet.

However, Coinbase does not support all cryptocurrencies, so if Zcash or any other cryptocurrency you want to own is not available for purchase then you will need to first exchange your Ethereum, Bitcoin, or Litecoin for say Zcash and then store it.

WHAT IS THE BEST ETHEREUM WALLET?

One of the better known wallets is MyEtherWallet, which is free and allows you to interact with the blockchain while remaining fully in control of your keys and your funds.

Unlike a bank, which keeps track of your personal information, passwords, balances, transactions, and money, MyEtherWallet acts only as an interface.

So unlike a bank, it won’t charge fees to manage your account and charge for services, such as refunding your money if your credit cards get stolen.

A bank will also limit how much you can send, where you can send it and how long it will hold your deposits. On the other hand, MyEtherWallet will not charge you any transaction fees.

When you use MyEtherWallet, a cryptographic set of numbers is generated: your private key and your public key (address).

Your private key, password, and account information are not stored by MyEtherWallet.

If you share your public key with someone, they can send you ETH or tokens.

In general, you will never want to share your private key because that would give someone else full control over your account.

WHAT IS THE BEST ZCASH WALLET?

When you choose a cryptocurrency wallet, you have a choice between offline or online storage.

Ledger Nano S is a hardware wallet that looks very similar to a USB storage device.

It has a built-in display so you can see transaction confirmations. And it supports a wide range of cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Zcash, Dash, Dogecoin, Litecoin, Ripple, Stratis, Ark, Komodo, Ethereum Classic and Bitcoin Cash.

Hardware wallets like Ledger Nano S can be stored in a safe deposit box in a bank vault for further protection. In fact, the Winklevoss twins, who used $11 million from their $65 million Facebook settlement to buy bitcoins in 2011, store their coins in hardware wallets in safe deposit boxes across the United States for maximum protection.

Other Zcash wallets include:

• Jaxx wallet
• Cryptonator
• Freewallet
• Bitsquare

Ethereum Price vs Zcash Price

Ethereum vs Zcash Snapshot

Zcash vs Ethereum Comparison

Zcash is a cryptocurrency like Bitcoin, but with enhanced security, while Ethereum is a decentralized platform upon which other applications can be built – you can even launch your own cryptocurrency or tokens.

Which Cryptocurrency Is Best:
Zcash or Ethereum?

Zcash vs Ethereum characterizes the two cryptocurrencies as competitors but in reality they have the potential to be complementary to each other.

Ethereum is designed as a decentralized platform that supports a wide variety of applications that rely on blockchain to lower the cost of transacting by removing third parties and lower counterparty risk.

Zcash, on the other hand, is designed to improve upon the security issues associated with Bitcoin.

Together Zcash and Ethereum can be complementary because Zcash can reduce transaction visibility and boost privacy while Ethereum can act as the “operating system” of the crypto world.

The bottom line is Zcash and Ethereum are less cryptocurrency competitors as much as they are helpful to each other by solving different issues associated with Bitcoin.

Have you traded Zcash or Ethereum? Tell us what you think about cryptocurrencies. We would love to hear from you.

>> Litecoin Vs Ethereum: Which Cryptocurrency Is Best?

The article Zcash vs Ethereum: What Is The Best Cryptocurrency? was originally posted on Investormint

Among cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin receives the most media headlines but did you know that less well known Bitcoin alternatives might be faster and have more functionality? Two of the leading contenders are Litecoin and Ethereum. When you compare Litecoin vs Ethereum, which cryptocurrency is best?

Along with Bitcoin, Litecoin and Ethereum have grown like mushrooms in recent years towards multi-billion dollar market capitalizations but don’t let that fool you into thinking either cryptocurrency is a sure bet.

Before speculating on either Litecoin or Ethereum, you should consider how comfortable you are owning highly volatile digital assets. In virtually the blink of an eye, the prices of cryptocurrencies have been known to swing by double digit percentages.

Over time, they have created enormous wealth for some early adopters but prices can plummet so fast and soar so quickly that you may feel like you are on a rollercoaster ride if you track prices daily.

With that consideration in mind, which cryptocurrency is best? Is it the relatively new cryptocurrency, Ethereum, which launched in 2015 and quickly rose to second in the ranks behind Bitcoin? Or Litecoin, the more established digital currency, that has been around since 2011?

Litecoin Vs Ethereum

Perhaps the biggest difference between Litecoin and Ethereum is that the former is a cryptocurrency only while the latter, Ethereum, is an open-source, blockchain-based distributed computing platform that can support smart contract functionality.

That’s a complicated way of saying that Ethereum not only makes a cryptocurrency called ether possible, but can also support the launch of new cryptocurrencies and make it possible to crowdsource funding for new projects.

The simplest way to think about Ethereum is to compare it to something you probably use every day, your mobile phone. If you have an Android or iOS phone, you have apps that can perform a wide variety of functions from ordering an Uber to mapping a route across town.

Apps are written in a wide variety of languages for many purposes and can be downloaded by anyone. Similarly, Ethereum was designed as the foundational Blockchain layer that understands general purpose programming languages to bring flexibility to the blockchain world.

What Is Blockchain?

So Ethereum is a general purpose Blockchain but what is a Blockchain? A Blockchain is a decentralized system that contains some kind of shared memory.

For example, in the case of bitcoin, the shared memory is how many bitcoins everyone has at some time.

A blockchain application needs to be decentralized and have shared memory.

Once you have a decentralized Blockchain, you can build many things on top of it.

The way it works is through what are called smart contracts, which are computer programs that control digital assets.

With Ethereum, you can send ether to a computer program, which controls where the money goes. For example, it can send money to any address.

Think about an insurance contract as a real life example whereby digital currency is sent to purchase coverage.

Crowdfunding is another application example whereby if people contribute enough money within a certain time frame, a project is funded, similar to how Kickstarter works. If insufficient money is raised to fund a project then everybody gets refunded.

These sets of rules can be applied to many applications beyond the financial world which is why a big challenge for blockchain developers is to figure out how to support the scale and size of the opportunity for blockchain applications in the real world.

Currently, blockchain is not capable of supporting as many transaction as Visa processes payments or even Uber processes rides.

For now, the blockchain is limited to more niche applications, though lots of work is being done to one day cater to the scale and size of the opportunity to disrupt everything from financial transactions on Wall Street to insurance purchases, and many more applications.

What Is Ethereum?

Ethereum was created by Vitalik Buterin, who theorized that Bitcoin needed a scripting language for application development.

The Ethereum blockchain is the foundation on top of which decentralized applications can be built.

Here are just a few of the decentralized applications that shine a light on how developers are building on top of the Ethereum blockchain:

• Imogen Heap used the technology to improve digital rights management for music.
• Augur and Stox have built prediction markets which are exchange-traded markets used for the purpose of trading the outcome of events.
• Digix has created digital tokens pegged to gold.
• Slock.it is using the technology to build smart locks, which are electromechanical locks designed to lock or unlock doors wirelessly based on cryptographic keys.
• Etheroll has built online gambling applications based on the Ethereum blockchain.
• RWE uses it for electric car charging management.
• uPort relies on the Ethereum blockchain to build secure identity systems for the internet whereby you don’t need a password to login.

The Ethereum blockchain platform is estimated to have over 50% market share for initial coin offering projects, which is why Ethereum’s value is believed to extend beyond that of a typical cryptocurrency.

What Is The
Enterprise Ethereum Alliance?

Where Ethereum has potential beyond most other cryptocurrencies is that a coordinated effort has been launched to create a reference standard for the Ethereum blockchain that can be used to solve problems across a wide range of industries.

The Enterprise Ethereum Alliance (EEA) includes many of the world’s leading companies, including Microsoft, J.P. Morgan, Deloitte, Accenture, BNY Mellon, Merck, Toyota, Mastercard, Cisco, Scotiabank, CME Group and even Cornell University’s Research Group.

The idea is to come together to create a private permissioned version of the Ethereum blockchain that can be used to address problems in numerous industries, such as health, automotive, technology, banking, consulting, management, pharmaceutical and entertainment.

The network effect of a coordinated group of leading Fortune 500 businesses joining forces to create a common standard adds a valuable dimension to Ethereum beyond what most other cryptocurrencies, including Litecoin, can offer.

In a nutshell, Ethereum makes it possible to employ Blockchain technologies without having to start from scratch.

What Is Litecoin?

Litecoin is a peer-to-peer cryptocurrency that is in many ways similar to Bitcoin because it relies primarily on the same open source code. It was released in 2011 by Charlie Lee, a former Google employee.

The big difference between Litecoin and Bitcoin is in the speed of transactions. Litecoin is about four times faster than Bitcoin.

Another big difference is the maximum number of Litecoins that can be created is 84 million while only 21 million Bitcoins can be produced.

Similar to many cryptocurrencies, Litecoins are released based on a geometric series that halves every 4 years.

And similar to Ethereum, Litecoin can be purchased at Coinbase.

According to EtherScan, the total supply of ethers is approximately 97 million.

How Do You Buy
Ethereum or Litecoin?

To buy cryptocurrencies, you need a digital wallet. If you wish to buy Ethereum, you could visit a web wallet like Coinbase, which acts both as a broker to allow you buy and sell ethers and a wallet where you can store your purchase.

Coinbase is accessible not only via the web but also on iOS and Android devices. It uses two factor authentication for heightened security.

Another web wallet is MyEtherWallet, which differs from most other web wallets by keeping your Ethereum private key on your machine. By contrast, Coinbase stores your private key on hosted servers, which are insured.

Other Ethereum wallets allow you to house your cryptocurrency too. For example, Ledger Nano S is a hardware wallet where your Ether is stored offline. Trezor is another hardware wallet first developed for Bitcoin that also supports Ether.

If you prefer to store your digital currency on your desktop, Exodus support multiple cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Litecoin. Another desktop wallet is Mist, which is the official Ethereum wallet.

For cryptocurrency aficionados, MetaMask provides a desktop wallet that lets you store your Ethereum and access decentralized Ethereum applications.

Ethereum Vs Litecoin Value Tokens

The value token of the Ethereum blockchain, ether, is listed under the symbol ETH on cryptocurrency exchanges.

Litecoin is traded with the symbol LTC.

How Much Does It Cost To
Purchase Litecoin or Ethereum?

If you wish to purchase Litecoin or Ethereum at Coinbase, you will pay a hefty transaction fee compared to the cost of buying stock on a brokerage platform like tastyworks or thinkorswim.

Coinbase fees are subtracted from the amount entered to arrive at the total. So, let’s say you want to sell $100 of ETH (ethers) and the transaction fee is 1.49%, your total will be $98.51.

When you use a credit or debit card, a fee of 3.99% is applied but that reduces to 1.49% using a Coinbase USD Wallet.

Ethereum Price Vs Litecoin Price

Have you traded Litecoin or Ethereum? What do you think about cryptocurrencies? We would love to hear from you – share your comments below.

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The article Litecoin Vs Ethereum: Which Cryptocurrency Is Best? was originally posted on Investormint