At the time of writing, Electroneum is at $0.038298 USD, up 45.54% in the last 24 hours. In this article we will discuss about this cryptocurrency, and the potentially disruptive effects it can cause to the global market.

What is Electroneum?

Electroneum is a cryptocurrency (digital asset) used for mobile payments, enabling cross-border transfers instantaneously, to anywhere in the world. It enables over a billion unbanked people with no digital method, a medium of payment for goods and services.

Uses of Electroneum

There are many ways you can start using Electroneum – now. 

Instant payment transfers

Similar to PayNow/PayLah!, Electroneum allows instant payment transfers, but around the world, instead of only in Singapore. This enable instant transfers back to your own country – no fees, no middleman, no remittance company needed, saving on fees for example.

Purchase of Goods and Services

AnyTask

There are several merchants that already accept Electroneum. One platform is AnyTask, which is a freelance platform with over 650,000 users allowing people to sell their professional services. It is the first freelance platform that provides access to the global digital economy for the world’s unbanked. AnyTask sellers do not need a bank account, nor do they pay seller fees.

You can find out more here.

LockTrip

Another way to spend Electroneum would be Locktrip. Locktrip is a blockchain-based travel discount website which allows Electroneum as a direct payment option,. It is also an ecosystem and marketplace where customers can search, find, and book hotel rooms and other accommodation worldwide. It is the first platform to allow customers and property owners to deal with each other without fees.

You can read more about it here.

Should you Invest In Digital Assets/Cryptocurrency?

Investors can consider allocating a small percentage of their resources to invest in digital assets/cryptocurrency, as it is starting to become a viable investment asset class. Do approach a certified financial advisor such as Kenny Loh to find out how you can include cryptocurrency into your diversified investment portfolio.

This is not a recommendation. Investors should understand their own financial objectives, investment horizon, risk profile and their current financial situation before deciding in any sort of investment.

Kenny Loh is a Senior Consultant and REITs Specialist of Singapore’s top Independent Financial Advisor. He helps clients construct diversified portfolios consisting of different asset classes from REITs, Equities, Bonds, ETFs, Unit Trusts, Private Equity, Alternative Investments, Digital Assets and Fixed Maturity Funds to achieve an optimal risk adjusted return. Kenny is also a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER, SGX Academy REIT Trainer, Certified IBF Trainer of Associate REIT Investment Advisor (ARIA) and also an invited speaker of REITs Symposium and Invest Fair. Kenny Loh also offers REIT Portfolio Advisory for a fee. Do contact him at kennyloh@fapl.sg 

Yes. But also no, and in general– sometimes. Want some real answers on how any of the latest forks could affect your favorite trading platform? You’ll have to keep reading.

Cryptocurrencies have long been the face of technological innovation in finance. While Fintech has seen a small share of the headlines, nothing has shifted the way we think about and use finance in the ways that cryptocurrencies have. But with near constant innovation, comes change. And in crypto, with change comes forks. Don’t start counting tines just yet, as many of the forks that cryptos employ go largely unnoticed. Which means that your holdings and your favorite crypto trading platform will go largely untouched.

Platforms like Bitvavo snag and retain their clientele by helping to guide newer users through the often confusing avenues of crypto. Helping to get novice buyers and retail investors a more solid footing in the market. So when it comes to new types of innovation, these crypto trading platforms are some of the best to look towards when you need more continuity and less continual change. Moreover, many of these newbie focused platforms will also trade in forked coins and still interface with original systems and protocols. Which is super helpful to anyone who wants to enjoy both the way things were, and all the ways they could be.

What is a Crypto Fork?

A crypto fork is simply a change in the existing protocol of a given cryptocurrency. The design of any crypto is based off of a protocol– a digital set of instructions that tell a crypto how it works and what it should be doing. These rules establish how data is shared, how the blockchain or other associated ledger system is structured, and how validation systems work. When a cryptocurrency wants to advance their existing structure, or change the way a given network works in order to better keep up with evolving technology– they have to create a fork.

Crypto forks are more akin to a ‘Fork in the Road’ than they are related to the ones you eat your dinner with. In the world of digital finance, there are two types of forks you’ll want to concern yourself with: Hard forks and soft forks.

Soft Forks

Soft forks are changes to the protocol that don’t really affect how the network functions. These are considered ‘backward compatible’, where the new protocols will still be able to interact with older protocols. This means that any block (or chunk of transactional information) that is validated under the new protocols, will still be recognized by the old nodes (validating computers) connected to the network. However, the information processed by old nodes will not be recognized as valid by newly updated nodes. So in order for soft forks to eventually become accepted by the entire network, the majority of the nodes connected to the network will eventually update to the new protocols. Like going from Windows XP to Windows 10.

Soft forks happen all the time and generally include changes to the protocols that look to add security updates or attempt to address any scaling issues the original protocols may have presented. However, sometimes, soft forks aren’t embraced by the majority of the network. This is how hard forks happen.

Hard Forks

Hard forks happen when the majority of a network decides to stick to old protocols, meaning that nodes that have opted to pick up newer protocols will eventually become invalidated by the majority of the network still functioning under old protocols. Remember that new nodes don’t recognize old protocols. So if the majority of your network is functioning under old protocols, the spare few that have upgraded will become the anomaly, and the information they process will be useless to the network as a whole. 

When this happens, new protocols are either abandoned, or the nodes that have decided to keep the upgrade will essentially branch off and become a new type of crypto token. This is what happened with Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash. When a hard fork occurs, it can be a blessing or a curse for the network, depending on how the newly minted token performs. In the case of Bitcoin Cash, the hard fork performed very well. Offering a new token for investors to consider.

Can They Affect Your Trading Platform or Habits?

So as you can see, most soft forks are unlikely to affect your crypto trading platform, or any network you engage with, by much. It’s really the hard forks that you need to keep a keen eye on. For some networks, a hard fork can signal the end of a lucrative token. For others, it can mean the encouraging enterprise of two new investment options.

Perhaps most recently, the ethereum networks hard fork has presented the crypto world with one of the most anticipated hard forks ever recorded. “The Beacon Chain” is the long anticipated next step in the evolution of Eth2.0, or “Serenity”. Serenity looks to completely overhaul the way that the ethereum network functions, hoping to improve many security and scalability issues that have long plagued the original blockchain model.

The network hopes that eventually, the original ethereum platform will be entirely absorbed by Eth2.0, integrating the original Ethereum blockchain into the new ledger system that Serenity uses. Which means that there won’t be any big changes for investors or trading platforms to worry about, but it could mean that there will be new and innovative ways to invest in crypto in the future.

Author: Louise Andrea Jimera

In this world, there is one truth we must face: we need money in order to survive; it is an unavoidable fact of our existence as a human being in this world. Of course, there was a time when this was not the case. A lot of societies in this world started without money or currency. However, as we develop as a species, we also created means as to which we can create a market to interact with one another.

Our resources are becoming limited, and money creates a boundary between those who cannot afford and the rest. Money is also one of the most powerful influencers in the world today. If you have money, you can influence the world to make it better or worse place. You can even create your own world and build to your heart’s content.

We always think of money in its physical form, the coin and paper bill. They have a long history along with our existence as human beings.

The coin was first introduced and is the longest type of currency in use today. Many kingdoms and empires used coins as a means of currency. It is usually made with silver and gold, and most of the previous empires and kingdoms have their own of producing them. Each coin may bear the insignia of the country or the current ruler, along with the other symbols associated with the mint. The higher the gold content of the coin, the higher is its value which varies depending on the location as well. In the current era, most coins in the world are not completely made of gold although there is a bit of it in every coin.

However, there are a lot of issues with coin and minting so some countries decided to abolish it. Canada is one of the most famous countries who have decided to get rid of the coin. Read more about it here: https://www.economist.com/the-economist-explains/2013/02/12/why-has-canada-killed-off-the-penny.

The paper bill is next, and it is easier to carry around compared to the coin especially in larger amounts. It is commonly referred to as banknote, as it originated with its use in the banks. According to some records, banknotes were used as a placeholder for people to pay their accounts in the bank. Later on, central banks decided to print banknotes to provide it to the people for them to use in their daily transactions. Ever since then, only the government can legally create banknotes for their own country. It has been that way ever since, and it has been really useful for the world. However, it still has its own problems.

One of its issues is its vulnerability: it can easily get destroyed by moist, tearing or burning it. Banknotes can also be copied very easily, especially in this world where advanced photocopiers exist. There are a lot of famous cases about this, most notably this one here. Most central banks have been trying to solve this issue, but many can still create counterfeit bills.

This is why the need for a more secure type of currency is currently on the rise, especially with the prevalence of online transactions. Credit and debit cards can be used, but there are still ways to track and take advantage of your information using these cards.

Cryptocurrency is considered as one of the more secure ways to pay for your transactions online. It is a completely virtual type of currency, and you can even “mine” for it if you have an advanced computer system. The way it protects you is with its two way system: the two parties who are transacting can only receive and send payment with a unique passcode. These passcodes change based on the transaction which increases the security. As it is also a form of investment, you can track its value online using websites like Rubix. You can even exchange one cryptocurrency to another like from BTC to ETH. It is really easy once you get the hang of it.

There are now many ways to use currency whether it is on the physical world or the virtual one. The only important aspect that you need to care about is your own security and the impact of your purchase to yourself. Learn how to spend wisely and the currency that you will use will not matter anymore.