It’s been an exciting time for Bitcoin investors all over the world. Prior to China’s announcement that they would be embracing blockchain technology, the market sentiment appeared to be rather morose.

On the 25th of October 2019, prices for BTC were as low as $7,500 in the wake of several rather unsettling events in the market. So if you’ve either bought or sold Bitcoins over the past week, chances are you’d be either over the moon or crying yourself to sleep.

Given the contentious nature of cryptocurrencies and the fact that governments remain undecided over its legality, it should come as no surprise that these unregulated currencies are extremely volatile.

Despite what the pundits were previously saying about 2018 being the possible end of Bitcoin, it would appear that all bets are off in this market. Hence, what can we expect to see from Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies in the near future?

In this article, we take a look at why cryptocurrencies are more than likely here to stay.

1. An increase in government instability

At the risk of sounding like a conspiracy theorist, it’s fair to say that we can expect to see a rise in failing governments as we move forwards into the future.

Rising income inequalities, the pervasive nature of fake news and the ease at which information can be shared makes for a heady mix. As we’ve seen by the collapse of Venezuela and civil unrest in Chile, people are unhappy and they’re making it known.

On the long-term, as trust in authority figures and government institutions begin to erode, we may see people abandoning fiat currency in favor of cryptocurrency. Unlike paper money, cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum are unaffected by government or economic factors. Hence this makes them a popular alternative for people living in countries with corrupt or incompetent governments.

As we’ve seen by the situation in Venezuela, cryptocurrencies can be used an effective medium of exchange in the event of a societal collapse. The widespread availability of smart devices is also another contributing factor to the rising popularity of cryptocurrencies.

With cryptos, one is able to transfer funds and make payments all without having to rely on local infrastructure.

2. Rising calls for regulation

Crypto’s strongest asset has always been the lack of governmental intervention. As was the ultimate goal of Satoshi Nakamoto, Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies were meant to provide users with an alternative currency that would not be affected by government policies.

However, the pseudo-anonymity offered by crypos along with the lack of transparency has been a cause for significant government consternation. Many believe that the pseudo-anonymity offered makes it easier for criminals and terrorists to launder cash and transfer funds in secret.

If the U.S government’s reaction towards Libra is anything to go by, we may even expect to see an outright ban on cryptocurrencies in the near future. This however is quite unlikely given the vast potential offered by crypto. Instead, we should expect the government to introduce sterner regulations related to reporting and fund transfers.

3. Financial institutions will start accepting cryptocurrencies

As far-fetched as this theory sounds, it may not be such a wild idea after all. Recognizing the potential of cryptocurrencies, chances are banks and other financial institutions may begin accepting cryptocurrencies.

This means things such as crypto bank accounts, crypto ATMs and even crypto-related financial instruments may soon become a reality. Given that major retailers in the United States have begun accepting cryptocurrency payments, it’s only a matter of time before financial institutions are forced to adapt and evolve.

Even some sports teams, like one of the top NBA betting odds team, the Sacramento Kings, are now rewarding their fans with crypto tokens.

The crypto market is certainly an exciting one with plenty of opportunities, however it is also extremely volatile and subject to much scrutiny. However, the fact remains; cryptocurrencies are here to stay.

If you’re thinking about taking part in an initial coin offering, it will be vitally important that you fully understand how they work and how to avoid falling prey to scams. Understanding at least the basics will help to develop a deeper comprehension of the ICO process as a whole. Here, we’ll talk about what an ICO is and then discuss how one can take part in one while protecting themselves from common scams. We’ll also discuss a few different, yet proven ways to grow your cryptocurrency wallet.

What is an ICO Token?

To begin, let’s talk a bit about ICO tokens and what they mean to potential investors. ICO tokens differ from cryptocurrencies in that they are technically not currencies at all. This means that they do not require any blockchain. Each cryptocurrency possesses some form of monetary value and thus can be exchanged for some amount of cash money. ICO tokens, on the other hand, carry no set monetary value. What ICO tokens represent is a fixed amount of digital coins that will be received by the holder once the ICO comes to an end.

ICO tokens can be provided in many different formats and we never see two different ICOs assigning the same value to their specific tokens. Where one ICO token may grant you ownership of a portion of the coin once it has launched, another may offer you something else of value, such as shares of the businesses as a whole. ICOs which offer shares provide an excellent path for investors to profit from state-of-the-art technologies upon their initial unveiling. Some tokens may offer compensation in the form of equity or even some type of future credit against a financial loan that is being provided to aid in the launch.

What is most important is that you read completely through any contract that goes along with an ICO purchase. You’ll want to know exactly what you will be receiving in exchange for your purchase and when you will be receiving it. Although you will be promised something in exchange for your investment, you must understand that not all ICO launches are a roaring success and getting rich off your investment is far from guaranteed.

What are Some ICO Alternatives?

If you’re searching for a way to grow your cryptocurrency balance, there are other options. Brokers such as CryptoRocket are now offering crypto trading in an easy, affordable manner. Trading your way to greater profits does require some effort, but many now see the appeal of taking this approach, capitalizing on the often strong price movements seen within the digital asset marketplace. While the process works in the same manner as Forex trading, cryptocurrency value fluctuations are quite different and often times more predictable than those of physical currencies.

Anyone who is interested in trading with a brokerage such as CryptoRocket may do so completely anonymously, never needing to provide any personal or financial information. Thus, the same appeal that surrounds digital assets is carried over into the world of trading. Another perk is the ability to start trading with very little money ($10 or less), as opposed to the much higher costs of getting in on an ICO. Using leverage as high as 1:500, a trader would have the potential to transform a small deposit into a large profit in mere minutes. This outcome does not happen for everyone, of course, but the potential is there.

Aside from trading, there really aren’t many alternative ways to profit off cryptocurrencies. Not safe methods, anyway. This could of course change in the future, as digital assets have completely changed the ways in which we think about money.

How Can I Participate in an ICO?

We’re going to assume now that you have done your homework and are positive that an ICO token purchase is in your best interest.

The next step to participating in an Initial Coin Offering would be to buy the cryptocurrency required to purchase the ICO tokens. If you need to purchase Bitcoin securely, you can do so online at a trusted website. Be sure to ask which cryptocurrencies are accepted for the purchase, but in most cases, this will be either Bitcoin or Etherum.

You will need to have a cryptocurrency wallet to transfer your newly purchased digital coins into. Look for a wallet provider that offers offline storage, providing you with control over your own private key. Once you have your wallet and have purchased your coins, you’ll send your public address. At this point, you’re all set and ready to be included in your chosen ICO.

How Can I Participate in Cryptocurrency Trading?

Should you decide to enter the world of trading either instead of or in addition to participating in various ICOs, there are several things you need to know. For starters, you’ll need to select a broker. The broker will be the one that accepts your deposit, provides you with a platform within which to trade, processes your withdrawal requests, and more. Be sure to choose a trusted brokerage such as CryptoRocket to ensure that you are provided with not only fund security but also optimal trading conditions.

Once you have selected a broker and funded an account, you’ll be ready to start trading. The process works in the exact same manner as FX trading, with trade decisions being based upon how the value of one currency will perform against that of another. The only real difference is that in this case, the chosen asset pairs will involve cryptocurrencies, for example, BTC/USD. If you’re entirely new to trading, consider studying Forex trading prior to getting started. While the basic steps are quite straightforward, one must understand how to analyze the market and make sound decisions prior to trading with actual money.

Avoiding ICO Scams

There are actually several red flags to look for when trading to identify ICO scams. One would be a lackluster website and/or social media profiles. If the website is poorly designed, consider this a warning sign. Even though the purpose of an ICO is to raise funds, there should still be plenty of effort put into designing a professional website to present to potential investors. As for social media, red flags could include the use of stock images and a lack of contact information. Speaking of which, do test any provided contact information to ensure that a response is received and in a timely manner.

Other warning signs include promises of fixed profits and token distribution structures that simply do not add up. There is simply no way to know in advance just how successful an Initial Coin Offering is going to be and because of this, there is no way to be able to promise investors a fixed profit amount. If you’re being offered a specific percentage of the profits, you should be extremely skeptical. Take the time to study the token distribution structure to ensure that it is not illogical and the numbers do add up.

Avoiding Cryptocurrency Trading Scams

Broker scams are as old as brokers themselves. The good news here is that over the years, the number of broker-related scams has decreased tremendously. There are many reasons for this, but the primary reasons for the decrease is an increase in trader education. Knowing which warning signs to look for will protect you from being disappointed when it comes time to withdraw your hard-earned profits.

Some of the red flags that are associated with ICOs also apply with cryptocurrency brokers. A poorly designed website can be considered a red flag, as can a lack of communication on the part of the company’s customer support team. Brokers such as CryptoRocket offer 24/7 live support, allowing their clients to speak with a support agent by phone, live chat, or email at any hour, day or night. This is an excellent sign of broker reliability.

Since small deposit amounts are accepted by brokers such as CryptoRocket, feel free to test the withdrawal process by making a small deposit and then request a withdrawal. This will not only work to provide that your funds are indeed withdrawable, but should also show you what to expect with regards to the withdrawal processing time-frame. When banking with Bitcoin, withdrawal payments should arrive in an hour or less once a withdrawal request has been reviewed, approved, and paid out.

There is no denying the fact that cryptocurrencies provide us with many ways to generate profits. Whether you want to be in on the launch of various new cryptocurrencies, or want to trade on the value of the digital coins that are already in circulation, earning opportunities abound. Do exercise caution though. If there’s one thing that we’ve all learned, it would be that whenever money is involved, scammers are always looking for opportunities to steal it. With just a bit of education and investigation, you will be able to protect yourself from potential problems and benefit from ICO and trade opportunities.

The past several months have been exhilarating for crypto enthusiasts and investors. As you saw on monfex.com, the price of BTC picked itself up from the floor back in April to almost hit the $10,000 mark by the start of May. This represented a remarkable improvement in price and a decent profit for all those that were holding the world’s most valuable cryptocurrency. 

The past few days have been quite different though. If you have been actively trading on the monfex site, you have noticed that the price of BTC has been steadily declining with various altcoins such as Litecoin (LTC), and Ripple (XRP) also taking hits. The price of BTC has recently slipped down to go under the $9,000 mark.  The price crashed further to break the $8,500, $8,300, and $8,200 support levels. This poor run has led to some commentators raising an alarm about a possible bear market. 

A bird’s eye view of the markets though tells a different story. Though there are those who are quick to sound out the possible start of bear cycles, the market is still at the formative stages of a bull cycle. The current BTC sell off is increasingly looking like a correction of the BTC price to a lot of monfex traders. This correction according to a good number of monfex traders will take BTC back to a fair value after what has been an aggressive start to the Bull cycle since April. It is quite difficult to sell the bigger picture to day- traders and conservative traders as well since the price patterns are looking grim.

A good look at the chart below will tell you that BTC prices are looking down and down. BTC is currently trading below the $8,000 level and the 100 hourly SMA. The price looks set to drop even further to about $7,750 or even further down to $7,650. 

 

When things are looking dire for Bitcoin bulls on the charts, the natural thing is to start looking for positives and things to cling on. Thankfully, there is no shortage of positives as far as Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies, in general, are concerned. The biggest crypto cynics such as Nouriel Roubini are getting shut down with every news article about a crypto adoption case. Stablecoins are now on everyone’s lips which have come to solve the long talked about price volatility problem.

The Rise of the Libra currency

Facebook’s Libra is the most talked about stablecoin right now. Though, it has the potential to solve a lot of liquidity and money transfer issues, it has faced attacks and criticism from politicians, commentators, and even regulators. The latest hit to Facebook’s Libra, is PayPal’s withdrawal as a Libra backer. Libra’s troubles may look bad for crypto, but there are some actual positives in the grand scheme of things. 

The proposed Libra digital currency has ignited debate all over from the U.S, UK, to China. This means that cryptocurrencies are getting that mainstream attention that the industry has craved since inception. Cryptocurrencies and stablecoins are no longer being whispered and murmured about; they are beginning to feature in daily conversations, which is nothing but a positive. It is also important to remember that Facebook’s Libra is not the only digital currency that has faced mudslinging. 

Bitcoin gaining favor despite cynics

Bitcoin has had tons of doubters as well since it came onto the scene a decade ago. Cynics such as popular Billionaire investor Warren Buffett have called it “rat poison”. Billionaire investor Mark Cuban also famously said that he would rather “have bananas” than Bitcoins. Despite the cynicism though, Bitcoin has endured and survived. A lot of Bitcoin millionaires exist and a lot of use cases are popping up every day. A crypto advocacy lunch set up by Tron founder Justin Sun, who will be accompanied by Litecoin founder Charles Lee, could change the minds of cynics such as Warren Buffett. If the planned crypto lunch doesn’t do it though, maybe the strong affinity for BTC in other countries might do it. 

Bitcoin is becoming a big deal even in far off places like West Africa. Young Nigerians are taking to BTC very swiftly. Bitcoin’s popularity among young Nigerians is largely due to recent banking policies that have seen interest rates for bank transactions increase. There is also a growing disapproval of the country’s fiat currency, the Naira. Young unemployed youth who are into freelance writing prefer to be paid in Bitcoins, while Nigerians living in places like the UK are beginning to send money back home in BTC over fiat currency.

Bitcoin’s popularity is also quite high in places like Venezuela as they try to navigate through crippling trade sanctions. The country has been through a lot with rebels trying to topple president Maduro’s regime. This has seen Venezuelan citizens bin the local bolivar, in favor of Bitcoin. Asia is also seeing a lot of Bitcoin demand as well.

Latest reports coming out of Hong Kong indicate a surge in BTC demand. Reports have it that ATMs in Hong Kong have run out of money with people queuing up to withdraw money. This has seen a lot of people look to BTC as an option with Bitcoin trading volumes rising to their highest levels on LocalBitcoins. There is a lot of uncertainty surrounding Hong Kong’s banking system with the recent mass protests that have been witnessed. This has led to a lot of Hong Kong citizens taking to cryptocurrencies in large numbers. A shocking $12 million Hong Kong Dollars were traded on LocalBitcoins just last week, a number that beats trading volumes that were seen even in the 2017 crypto bull cycle. 

The moves towards BTC around the world may be driven by a lot of negativity but the positive is there is a lot of demand for Bitcoin. The rising demand for BTC could just spark a BTC market revival that sees BTC prices hit 2017 peak highs of $20,000. Time will tell. 

If you have been in the world of cryptocurrencies for a long time, you should have experienced the evolution of the business models. In the initial phase, there were many business models linked to advertising.

The already known “faucets”, and the PTCs (Paid To Click) were a viable way of acquiring small portions of cryptocurrencies to go deep into this world. Then multiple problems arrived and only the best projects have survived.

And today we introduce you one of those projects that have adapted and improved over time to continue having a place in the saturated world of internet advertising: BTC Surf.

 

What is BTC Surf?

BTC Surf is a community, developed by the professionals of the Spanish Blockchain Association.  Anyone can register for freeand enjoy various benefits (depending on the type of membership).

Depending on the activity in the community you can earn Bitcoins, you can earn traffic for your web portal or meet new portals and investment opportunities.

 

Advertise forever

Members can advertise with a single payment and enjoy the service for a lifetime. In this way, the advertiser will be able to receive traffic from real users throughout his life and thus increase his yields.

Those users who do not wish to advertise can also earn while they see ads from the partners that are advertised, and also know quality alternatives that are being promoted by the other members of the community.

 

Other sources of benefits: The Affiliate System

Apart from the normal activity of the community, it can also be earned by recommending the platform to other users, with which we will subsequently earn a percentage of the profits that are generated later thanks to that user.  The BTC surf affiliate network is up to 11 levels deep (for the highest memberships).

 

Clarity with financials

The distribution of money generated by the community is a clear system designed with transparency to guarantee confidence in the system.

The distribution is as follows:

• 50% – Membership plan distributed in 11 levels.

• 20% – External Surfing Promotion for all advertisers, generating visits from other traffic sources.

• 10% – Weekly Bonus.

• 10% – Random bonus per activity.

• 10% – Management and maintenance of BTCSURF systems

 

The newest: The pool

The latest and most innovative service that BTC Surf partners offer us is the “pool”.  When we talk about pool we do not mention what we all know as a mining pool.  A pool, in general, is a group of people (or companies) that come together to offer a service or take advantage of a business opportunity.

In this case, the Pool offered by BTC Surf is intended to exploit the affiliate network market.  With the contributions of the members of the community, the affiliate networks of top quality portals within the Bitcoin universe and cryptocurrencies are exploited.

Next, let us show the chart of profitability of the pool.

As can be seen in the above graph, profitability ranges between 0.20% and 1% of daily gain.  Which is a fairly profitableinvestment if we consider the tremendous competition in the internet advertising market.

In addition, the pool evolves as the community decides since they will make investments in the portals that the members themselves decide: a tool for the community!

 

Conclusion

BTC Surf is a mature, profitable community that continues to innovate to offer profitable services for its community, as evidenced by the recent launch of its commission POOL.

 

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