Compliant Airdrops Are Here: CoinList to Offer Investors Free Crypto Giveaways

Compliant Airdrops Are Here: CoinList to Offer Investors Free Crypto Giveaways

Who'd have thought giving something away could be so complicated?

That's the question crypto innovators have had to come to terms with since the concept of "airdrops" – or the practice of gifting tokens in massive giveaways – has come under the scrutiny of government regulators. But with the launch of a new product Wednesday, CoinList, an initial coin offering (ICO) facilitator spun out of the renowned startup incubator AngelList, is looking to streamline the process of airdrops in a way that doesn't run afoul with the law.

Aptly named Airdrops, the product runs users through compliance checks and attestations so that a token issuer can give CoinList's users free tokens. On top of that, if the issuer is looking for users that meet certain criteria (be it a profession or location), they can verify that users actually fit those backgrounds. In this way, CoinList CEO Andy Bromberg believes he has found a way to enable airdropped offerings at a time when many in the industry are looking for a compliant service. Token issuers themselves have had no shortage of issues here, with some, including video-monetization service Stream, even backing off the concept altogether because of the regulatory uncertainty.

Indeed, the SEC hasn't taken a formal stance on how it views crypto tokens delivered through ICO, airdrops or other forms of sales and giveaways, but it's clear regulators are currently investigating that question. Still, Bromberg is confident in his assembled solutions, and in interview, he hinted at dialogue with regulators that would attest to the viability of the service. "In our typical compliance first mindset, we sat down and said: Is there a way to pull this off without violating securities laws? And what we came to is the compliant Airdrops product," Bromberg told CoinDesk.

He continued:

"I can't comment on individual discussions with the SEC. What I can say is we are in frequrent communication with them and — based on our understanding of securities law — we are very comfortable with this."

Not only does the startup believe it has a solution for working under existing securities law, but it's also opening up its existing user base of past investors to new token issuers. Once users have gone through the company's compliance flow, they will be verified to receive airdrops, and CoinList will take a nominal fee from users (less than $1 per airdrop) to accept new tokens. To date, according to a CoinList spokesperson, it has facilitated more than $400 million worth of token sales through its platform, representing what could be a vast pool of people interested in investing and taking part in future crypto tokens.

Compliance as a service

While that pool of potential investors will likely be attractive for token issuers, Coinlist's product is opt-in – a feature added to reduce spam and mitigate the security threats that have become a common annoyance from crypto enthusiasts involved in such offerings. Also, CoinList says it's only willing to work with token issuers that are focused on complying with the law. And that's partly because CoinList will be promoting these projects for issuers.

Still, CoinList's Airdrops product seems to be set up whereby all the compliance effort is offloaded from the issuer, which many issuers will like since many are not securities law experts. CoinList's product allows for airdrops that might fall under Regulation S and Regulation D and will also collaborate with AngelList spin-off Republic, which has a license to sell securities under limited conditions to non-accredited investors using Regulation CF.

The company is also doing a country-by-country analysis to determine what sorts of checks issuers will need to do in order to airdrop to users around the world. Depending not only on the goals of the issuer and who they want to give to, different levels of know your customer (KYC) and anti-money laundering (AML) requirements will be needed, and whether issuers can to both accredited and unaccredited investors or one or the other.

And all of this has already proven enticing to token issuers. Bromberg told CoinDesk the company is in negotiations with more than one issuer to use its Airdrops product but declined to disclose which ones. While CoinList has so far been focused on fundraising, Bromberg said that potential issuers will not have to have a token sale on the platform in order to use the new product. "We're interested in exploring this model where in some cases … funding might be separate from distribution," Bromberg said.

The right recipients

Still, different companies might have very different goals for an airdrop, and Bromberg gave two examples of use cases he believes could work well. For example, he said a company with a token it believes regulators will recognize as a utility token, something used primarily to access a certain service, can use CoinList to get it in the hands of people who are likely to be the most interested.

This issuer might target software developers, and in this case, CoinList would enable them to authorize the airdrop to check a users Github API and distribute to developers with a certain commitment frequency. Getting the tokens in the hands of people who will ultimately use the token as intended "will help that network get to a place where that token is no longer a security," Bromberg said. Still, there could also be companies that want to issue securities, Bromberg said: "A company could tokenize some of their equity and give that equity, give those tokens, to early users on the product."

As such, CoinList will also offer a wide array of ways to authenticate users as meeting certain objectives, be it a certain audience on Twitter, a certain location in the world or a certain occupation. It can use APIs off other websites to verify these target goals to insure that an airdrop recipient meets them. Because it is running KYC/AML checks on all of them, it also verifies that each user receives a token allocation only once. "It prevents gaming the system," Bromberg said. It's an approach designed for an excess of caution, but one that's also ready to adapt.

"Whether or not these things are securities, we are treating them like securities to be as safe as possible," Bromberg said. To that end, some startups have been meeting with the SEC to ask for what's called a no action letter, a document that says regulators believe a given company has not violated securities law. If something like that comes to pass, CoinList is confident enough that the platform is ready for that, too.

Bromberg concluded:

"We'd be open to airdropping without the compliance layer."

Written By
Brady Dale

Brady Dale is a reporter who has previously written for Fortune, Technical.ly Brooklyn, Next City and Motherboard, among others. He grew up in Kansas and lives in Brooklyn. As an early user of the crypto-powered social network Steemit, Dale earned Steem Power by participating on the site.
https://www.coindesk.com/coinlist-compliant-airdrop-token-giveaways/

 

Compliant Airdrops Are Here: CoinList to Offer Investors Free Crypto Giveaways

US: SEC Official Says ICO Regulation Should Be ‘Balanced', Congressman Suggests Ban

US: SEC Official Says ICO Regulation Should Be ‘Balanced’, Congressman Suggests Ban

In a hearing at the US House of Representatives

on Thursday, April 26, a regulator from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and House Financial Services Committee members hotly disagreed over whether a “balanced approach” could be taken in regulating Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs). At the start of the hearing, entitled “Oversight of the SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance”, William Hinman, the director of the SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance, said that the area of digital assets and

ICOs “continues to evolve”:

“We are striving for a balanced approach, and one that ensures capital formation while maintaining a strong focus on investor protection.”

One purpose of the hearing was to discuss possible reasons for the declining number of Initial Public Offerings (IPO) in the country. Committee member Bill Huizenga asked Hinman if ICOs could be a solution to this decline, and whether all ICOs must be regulated. In response, Hinman said that “in theory, there is a time when a coin may achieve a decentralized utility in the marketplace, or […] there may be coins where that lack of a central actor may make it difficult to regulate.”

Hinman followed previous comments from SEC chairman Jay Clayton that most ICOs should  be considered securities. According to Hinman, the SEC would be consulting with entities releasing tokens to verify that the offerings were either regulated or not qualified as securities. Committee member Brad Sherman (D-CA) disagreed with the idea that ICOs could replace IPOs, as an IPO “provides jobs in the real economy,” and

ICOs do “the opposite”:

“It takes money out of the real economy, it takes people willing to invest and risk, and says ‘don’t use that ability to risk, don’t use those animal spirits to help create a job for a person who needs one, let alone build a factory for thousands, sit there and trade back and forth in the ICO.’”

Sherman then asked why ICOs haven’t been “stopped,” noting that the “balance” mentioned by Hinman will negatively affect the economy:

“When you strike a balance between those who are trying to create a new currency to facilitate drugs, tax evasion, to deprive the Fed of its ability to market our securities and return 100 bln dollars or so to the US treasury, all the balances are for total investor protection, which could be achieved by totally banning.”

Sherman said of the decentralized nature of ICOs:

“Charlatans and scammers have always favored decentralized new enterprises.”

Committee member Tom Emmer (R-MN) took a different approach, saying that there “is a lot of of ignorance about how special this area is”,

he continued:

“The typical attitude too that I get from so many elected officials is that have no idea what they are talking about […] everyone who is participating in [an area they don’t know] is either bad or dishonest, and an official must rush in and help people .”

The SEC and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) held a cryptocurrency hearing in February of this year. They reached the conclusion that ICOs need the most amount of oversight, digital ledger technologies (DLT) like Blockchain the least, with virtual currencies like Bitcoin (BTC) falling somewhere in between.

Written By
Molly Jane Zuckerman
https://cointelegraph.com/news/us-sec-official-says-ico-regulation-should-be-balanced-congressman-suggests-ban

Molly Jane is a Russian Literature major from California with a background in writing. She joins Cointelegraph after working as a freelance journalist and blogger.

US: SEC Official Says ICO Regulation Should Be ‘Balanced', Congressman Suggests Ban

TRON To Gift 30 Million TRX to Ethereum (ETH) Users

TRON (TRX)–TRON has had an exciting month.

The currency is up nearly 110% since the start of April, with most of the growth coming within the last week. While all of cryptocurrency is benefiting from the resurgent price in Bitcoin and renewed interest in the market, TRON is posting one of the largest gains over that timespan. TRX is also coming off the successful Test Net update at the end of March, which served as a prelude for May’s official Main Net launch.

 

Billion Dollar Investment and AirDrop

In the midst of all this positive news for TRX, Justin Sun and the TRON foundation made two stunning announcements. The first involved the creation of a 2 billion USD investment fund, designed to reward developers in TRON and spur further innovation. Ripple created a similar stir two weeks ago with a 25 million USD investment into Blockchain Capital, a fund designed to recognize and accelerate cryptocurrency startups. TRON’s fund will target TRX developers directly, providing greater incentive to develop on the upcoming TRON network, in addition to giving the currency greater exposure in the industry of crypto.

The TRON Foundation also made a somewhat bizarre announcement that they would be “gifting” via airdrop 30 million TRX coins to current Ethereum holders. At first, most of the TRON community thought it was an error in translation on behalf of Sun, and that the airdrop would really be targeting TRX addresses. However, the airdrop is indeed intended for all Ethereum wallets holding over 1 ETH at the start of 2018. Ethereum addresses that qualify will be receiving a randomized amount of TRX between 10 – 100 coins.

Gifting TRX as a Marketing Strategy

While fork-produced coins and air drops have become fairly common in cryptocurrency over the past year, a Foundation-endorsed gifting of coins to a potentially rival currency is a bit of an anomaly. TRON’s AirDrop to Ethereum may be the first time that a crypto has given free coins, previously unannounced, to a currency that has the potential to be a rival in terms of technology.

Justin Sun has framed the ETH airdrop as a thank you to Ethereum and Ethereum holders for hosting TRX during its transition to Main Net, but the move creates substantial benefits for TRON valuation and adoption, at least from a marketing standpoint:

1. Getting a foot in the door with ETH holders.
   
   Despite the relationship between TRON and Ethereum as an ERC-20 token, the two currencies will be on diverging paths following the Main Net update. By gifting TRX to the Ethereum community, TRON has the potential to gain new users on the emerging platform, or at least create a cohort of crossover investors. At 0.05 USD apiece, 10 – 100 TRX is not a significant amount of money, but it still makes ETH holders invested in the future of TRON, in addition to sparking an interest that would otherwise not be present.


2. Broad publicity and brand building.
   
   TRON has carved itself out as a contrarian to  most of the market of cryptocurrency. While other coin groups are concerned with re-inventing digital money and the landscape of traditional fiat, TRON is attempting to disrupt the online entertainment industry by devising a new platform. Just Sun’s marketing has been criticized in the past for being overhyped. Gifting TRX to the Ethereum community is not only a headline-grabbing move, but also paints TRON as a distinction to the rest of the market: Justin Sun and the TRON Foundation are willing to take risks and think outside of the established box, a feature necessary to disrupt an industry as broad as entertainment.


3. Avoiding a pump and dump.
   
   At first, the Ethereum airdrop was met with confusion from the TRON community, as most thought TRON holders would be the recipient of the free coins. However, there is a distinct problem with the TRON Foundation gifting coins to its user base: it creates the conditions for inflation and/or pump and dump. If TRON were to announce an airdrop coming to TRX holders (let’s say any wallet with over 1000 TRX) following the launch of Main Net, it would create a positive price run for investors looking to get free coins. The aftermath would be similar to other airdrops, and the price of TRON would tank back to pre-announcement levels. Sun and the TRON Foundation are avoiding creating any sort of empty hype in their currency by targeting the users of a different cryptocurrency, in addition to making the airdrop retroactive to wallet balances at January 1, 2018.

In all, the Ethereum airdrop is more than just a marketing strategy to get TRON into headlines. It also opens the door to greater interest and investment in TRX through broader appeal, and could serve as the basis for more cryptocurrency circulation in the future.

Written By

Stuart Redman
http://technewsleader.com/2018/04/26/tron-trx-airdrop-ethereum/

TRON To Gift 30 Million TRX to Ethereum (ETH) Users

What Is AirDrop? How Does It Work?

AirDrop is a feature that lets Macs and iOS devices

share files wirelessly with a minimum of fuss. AirDrop is extremely cool and useful, but is one of those features most people don't know about. Not because it is hard to use (it isn't) but because most people don't think to look for it. Most of the time when we want to share a photo with someone, we just send it to them in a text message. Which is easy enough, but when that someone is standing right beside you, it is even easier to simply use AirDrop.

AirDrop isn't just for photos, of course. You can use it to transfer almost anything that you can share. For example, you can AirDrop a website from your iPad to your friend's phone, which is great if they want to bookmark to read later. Or what about a grocery list? You can Airdrop text from Notes to someone else's iPad or iPhone. You can AirDrop anything from a playlist to a location you've pinned in Apple Maps. Want to share your contact information?  AirDrop it.

How Does AirDrop Work?

AirDrop uses Bluetooth to create a peer-to-peer Wi-Fi network between the devices. Each device creates a firewall around the connection and files are sent encrypted, which actually makes it safer than transferring via email. AirDrop will automatically detect nearby supported devices, and the devices only need to be close enough to establish a good Wi-Fi connection, making it possible to share files across several rooms.

One advantage to AirDrop is the use of Wi-Fi to make the connection. Some apps provide a similar file sharing capability using Bluetooth. And some Android devices use a combination of Near Field Communications (NFC) and Bluetooth to share files. But both Bluetooth and NFC are relatively slow compared Wi-Fi, which makes sharing larger files using AirDrop much faster and more convenient.

AirDrop Supported Devices:

AirDrop is supported on current iPads going back to iPad 4 and iPad Mini. It also works on current iPhones going back to the iPhone 5 (and, yes, it even works on the iPod Touch 5). It is also supported on Macs with OS X Lion, although Macs released earlier than 2010 may not be supported.

How to Turn On AirDrop

Having trouble finding out where to turn on AirDrop? If you have found yourself hunting through your iPad's settings, you are looking in the wrong place. Apple wanted to make it easy to turn AirDrop on or off, so they put the setting in the new control panel. Unfortunately, this isn't the first place all of us look for turning on settings.

You can access the control panel by sliding up from the bottom of your iPad's screen. Remember, you need to start at the very edge. You can even start completely off the iPad's display if that helps. Once the control panel is revealed, you will have access to the AirDrop settings. You can turn it on, off or "contacts only", which is the default setting. 'Contacts Only' means only people in your contacts list will be allowed to send you an AirDrop request.

How to Use AirDrop on the iPad

You will need to be near the person you are sharing with and they must have their device turned on for it to register, however, you need not be right next to them. AirDrop can even reach into the next room. Both devices will also need the correct permissions to AirDrop with each other.  

In the Control Panel you can tap the AirDrop button to turn permissions from "Off" to "Contacts Only" to "Everyone."  It's usually best to leave it at "Contacts Only." You will also need to navigate to whatever you want to share. So if you want to share a web page, you'll need to be on that web page. If you want to share a photo, you'll need to be viewing that photo in the Photos app. AirDrop is not a file manager like what you might see on a PC. It's designed to share what you are doing at that time.

• First, tap the share button. This is the box with the arrow sticking straight up. This share button accesses the Share menu, which allows you to share via AirDrop, Facebook, iMessage, etc. View a picture of the share button.


• Next, locate the device you want to receive your AirDrop. This is the top portion of the Share menu. Devices will show up as a circle with an identifying label under it. This will be the contact's photo with their name under it, but if you don't have a photo attached to this contact, it will show up as a gray circle with their initials in it.


• Last, tap the circle. Tapping will initiate sending the document to the recipient, who will then be prompted whether or not to accept the AirDrop.

That's it. You can drop anything from photos to web pages. You can even share a contact by tapping the Share Contact button at the end of the contact's information in the contacts app.

Written by

Daniel Nations
Daniel Nations‏ @DanielNations
https://www.lifewire.com/what-is-airdrop-how-does-it-work-1994512

Daniel Nations has been writing, programming and following technology since the days when the Commodore Vic 20 was considered the de facto standard for the home computer to our current time when keyboards are considered optional.

What Is AirDrop? How Does It Work?

Policing the wild frontierRegulating virtual currencies and ICOs

Policing the wild frontierRegulating virtual currencies and ICOs

A legal framework for the crypto-sphere is starting to take shape.

In response, national authorities are starting to think seriously

about a legal framework for finance’s unruly frontier. Regulators fret about how to classify ICOs and tokens (are they securities, or not?) and how to tax them. They want to stop their use for such evils as money-laundering and financing terrorism. And they worry about how to protect retail investors from the risk of losing their shirts.

Indeed, scarcely a day passes without a supervisor somewhere calling for tighter regulation, or taking action. On April 6th the Financial Conduct Authority in Britain warned firms offering services linked to crypto-derivatives that they were subject to its rules. On April 10th Taiwan’s finance ministry said it was planning crypto regulation aimed at money-launderers. On April 17th New York state’s attorney-general asked 13 crypto-exchanges for information about their operations, conflicts of interest and safeguards for customers.

Regulators are plotting together as well as separately. When the governors of the G20 countries’ central banks met in Buenos Aires in March, crypto was high on their agenda. They agreed that at present these assets are too small to be of systemic importance, but they committed themselves to extending standards to which financial institutions already adhere—such as know-your-customer (KYC) rules and procedures for monitoring unusual transactions—to the crypto-world, in order to thwart the illicit use of virtual currencies.

When bitcoin entered public awareness it was chiefly as a facilitator of anonymous, illegal sales on the “dark web” and as the currency of choice for online ransoms. Many in law enforcement thought its anonymity would make it ideal for criminals of all stripes. But until recently evidence of this was scarce. “The overwhelming view was that crypto-currencies had great utility to cyber-criminals but limited use to other criminals,” says David Carlisle of the Royal United Services Institute, a think-tank. Volatility and illiquidity limited their use for money-laundering. But evidence that crooks are making more use of them is mounting.

The most logical parts of the crypto-infrastructure to regulate are the platforms on which virtual currencies are exchanged for ordinary money. Several countries, such as Australia and South Korea, already do this. The EU’s fifth anti-money-laundering directive, which was passed by the European Parliament on April 19th, also includes measures to regulate exchanges. But many places have no rules at all. That may suit many crypto-entrepreneurs, but not all. Several exchanges are, for example, voluntarily implementing KYC standards (eg, by asking new customers to prove their identities), banning coins promising extra privacy or using software to monitor unusual transactions.

Agreed rules would help to tie exchanges into the mainstream banking system. Many of them currently choose unfussy jurisdictions or institutions, because conventional banks will not serve them. Lenders are wary both of credit risk and of abetting crime if exchanges don’t police users. Proponents of regulation say that once exchanges operate in a clear legal framework, those risks should be reduced and banks will take them on. That in turn will make it easier to keep an eye on exchanges.

Regulators disagree about consumer protection. Some see shielding investors from harm as their job; others think people should be free to gamble if this poses no wider risk. Many have warned investors to be wary of ICOs. Some authorities want both to protect consumers and to allow legitimate crypto-businesses to flourish in their jurisdictions. Gibraltar already licenses some crypto-companies. France is working on a system of voluntary licensing. Iqbal Gandham of CryptoUK, which represents some of Britain’s largest crypto-companies, believes such initiatives could help legitimate businesses gain access to banks and perhaps even advertising. “We also don’t want to have criminals on our platforms,” he says.

Authorities also worry about taxation. They spy a new source of revenue: because trading crypto can be lucrative, they are keen to levy capital-gains tax on any profits. And they fear losing existing income: virtual currencies might be used to hide money. Because most exchanges have operated in the dark, reliable data on crypto-evasion do not exist. Most countries are still working out how to define tokens, let alone tax them. Some are stepping up, however. In February Coinbase, an exchange, said it had unsuccessfully fought an American court order and would have to hand the identities of 13,000 customers to the Internal Revenue Service. Other exchanges have fled to offshore jurisdictions with more favourable tax regimes.

With so many poorly understood risks, some regulators think the only safe answer is to shut the whole crypto-sphere down. China, for example, has banned ICOs and exchanges. But elsewhere this is neither desirable nor practical (it requires tight censorship of the internet). Crypto-enthusiasts see parallels with the early days of the internet, when authorities also strove to control a new arena—and declared it a nest of criminality. Most countries have since decided that the web’s benefits outweigh its costs. It is too early to say whether this will be true of crypto-assets or the blockchain technology that underpins them. But it would be wrong to outlaw them before knowing the answer.

Policing the wild frontier:

Regulating virtual currencies and ICOs

https://www.economist.com/news/finance-and-economics/21741191-legal-framework-crypto-sphere-starting-take-shape-regulating via @TheEconomist

Original URL

https://www.economist.com/news/finance-and-economics/21741191-legal-framework-crypto-sphere-starting-take-shape-regulating

Contributor

Chuck Reynolds

Policing the wild frontierRegulating virtual currencies and ICOs

ILPs May Replace ICOs as

a New Form of Fundraising

Although initial coin offerings (ICOs) are seen as a legitimate means

of raising capital, there are no clear legal and technical controls. Initial Loan Procurements (ILP), are, however, an alternative to the risky ICO model. ILPs enable decentralized crowdfunding opportunities by creating a contractually bound agreement which minimizes the risk of ICOs.

According to Carey Olsen’s senior associate Luke Sayer, instead of coin acquisitions, borrowers and creditors “enter into a loan agreement through legally binding smart contract. With an ILP, a creditor’s investment is contractually tied to the performance of the company.” Therefore, if the company is profitable, the creditor receives annual returns.

Estonia-based startups Blockhive and Agrello have partnered to launch the first ILP called ‘Blockhive.’ Instead of issuance tokens, borrowers have a “contractual entitlement to 20 percent of their annual operating profits.” The goal is to continue decentralized crowdfunding with greater protection for borrowers, improved functionality without the interferences of government regulations.

Problems with ICOs

According to a report by Fabric Ventures and Token Data, startup companies raised $5.6 billion in 2017 through ICOs. While the ICO model of raising capital has great potential for high returns, it has become significantly scrutinized. “I think a lot of what’s happening in the ICO market is actually fraud, and I think that will (eventually) stop,” said Brad Garlinghouse, CEO of Ripple to CNBC.

Unfortunately, many ICOs were scams that extorted money from unsophisticated investors. While they pretended to have a genuine and viable product, once the ICO finished, the website and product information disappeared. Investors, therefore, receive a token that has little to no value. While many ICOs back “high-quality projects… there have been a lot of copycat projects where people copy all the same materials (and) don’t intend to deliver any value to the people buying the tokens,” said Joseph Lubin, co-founder of Ethereum, as he told CNBC.

In response to the high level of ICO scams, the Government of Gibraltar, a British Overseas Territory on Spain’s South Coast, and Gibraltar Financial Services Commission (GFSC) on February 12, 2018, confirmed that they were developing legislation in regards to tokenized assets. “Token regulation is the natural progression following the regulation of DLT Providers, being vital to the protection of consumers,” said Sian Jones, Senior Advisor on distributed ledger technology (DLT) at the GFSC. “One of the key aspects of the token regulations is that we will be introducing the concept of regulation authorized sponsors who will be responsible for assuring compliance with disclosure and financial crime rules.”

ILPs: an alternative to ICOs

Agrello, a legal startup that builds legally-binding contracts on the blockchain, and Blockhive are currently working together to launch the first ILP called ‘Blockhive.’ Blockhive will use the Agrello ID that provides support for all legal requirements which include Know Your Customer (KYC) and anti-money laundering solutions.

Agrello’s agreement also ensures that creditors’ data is encrypted and stored on the blockchain network. Users must register to receive the protocol’s Future Loan Access Tokens (FLAT – transferable loans assigned to third parties) as soon as they lend their funds to Blockhive. Once registered with the tokens, users can access and transact on the Blockhive platform. Unlike ICOs, ILPs can reduce instances of fraud and money-laundering. With new functionalities that prevent scams, ILPs may enable decentralized crowdfunding opportunities without restrictions from regulatory bodies in the future, if it becomes widely adopted.

Authored by
Cindy Huynh

Cindy is a writer, digital marketer and content creator from Australia. She is currently a digital nomad fascinated by blockchain technology. Cindy believes blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies can disrupt existing industries and has the potential to revolutionize the world. In her spare time she enjoys learning new ideas and scuba diving with friends.

Tags – blockchain, cryptocurrency, finance, fintech, ICO, ILP, regulation, startups, technology

Original Site
https://btcmanager.com/ilps-may-replace-icos-as-a-new-form-of-fundraising/?utm_source=Telegram&utm_medium=socialpush&utm_campaign=SNAP

ILPs May Replace ICOs as a New Form of Fundraising

How Can I Get Free Cryptocurrency

From an Airdrop?

In the cryptocurrency space,

already prone to extreme levels of interest by digital money enthusiasts, some of the most-hyped events are airdrops. An airdrop is an event in which a cryptocurrency developer issues free coins or tokens to a user base, sometimes as a result of a hard fork and sometimes as part of a promotion or other change in network design. The key for most investors is becoming aware of the airdrop phenomenon before it takes place. If you find out too late, you've missed out on your chance for free tokens or coins. Fortunately, a report by decentralpost.com provides cryptocurrency investors with tools to gain more advanced notice about these special promotions and giveaways.

Airdrops That Take Place Alongside Hard Forks

One of the most common scenarios in which an airdrop is likely to take place is a hard fork of a major cryptocurrency. More than 20 bitcoin hard forks have taken place in the past year, for instance, and some of these resulted in investors who previously held bitcoin receiving new tokens for simply maintaining their investments. EtherZero, LitecoinCash, and MoneroV were projects that caused a similar level of investor sensation in recent months. In each of these cases, though, time showed that the forked coin was far less important than the original, and the new altcoin eventually lost interest and value.

Staying Apprised

How should an investor go about monitoring upcoming airdrops to make sure that he or she has access to the latest altcoin information? One of the first and most important tools is Twitter. This social media platform has become a hotbed for cryptocurrency investors, and it's common for a digital currency developer to provide information about an upcoming airdrop via a tweet. Investors may even regularly search for the phrase "airdrop" on Twitter, although this can provide a deluge of information that is difficult to sift through. For this reason, dedicated Twitter accounts like Crypto Airdrops and AirdropAlert can be useful.

Besides Twitter accounts dedicated to upcoming airdrops, information about these events can be found at a number of different websites. Of course, there is no guarantee that any information found on Twitter or on one of the sites above will be genuine, or that a newly issued digital currency will not be fraudulent, so investor caution is paramount.

Investing in cryptocurrencies and Initial Coin Offerings ("ICOs") is highly risky and speculative, and this article is not a recommendation by Investopedia or the writer to invest in cryptocurrencies or ICOs. Since each individual's situation is unique, a qualified professional should always be consulted before making any financial decisions. Investopedia makes no representations or warranties as to the accuracy or timeliness of the information contained herein. As of the date this article was written, the author owns bitcoin and ripple.

Authored by

Nathan Reiff
http://www.investopedia.com/corp/contactus.aspx?writerid=54684&subject=Investopedia Contact Form

Nathan Reiff is a writer and musician based in the New York City area. He holds degrees from Yale University and the University of Michigan. Nathan has previously worked for Orion Consultants and Partners in Performance and has written for Internet Brands on subjects ranging from money matters to personal and home development. His interests include technology, travel, and food.

Original URL

https://www.investopedia.com/news/how-can-i-get-free-cryptocurrency-airdrop/

 

How Can I Get Free Cryptocurrency From an Airdrop?

Cryptocurrency Market Approaching $400 Billion as Bitcoin Tests $9,000

 

 cryptocurrency market extended its bullish rally on Sunday,

as bitcoin and the major altcoins continued to test multi-month highs. Buy orders accounted for the overwhelming majority of transactions, giving rise to expectations of a more sustained upswing in prices.

Cryptocurrency Rally Continues

The combined value of all cryptocurrencies peaked at $397.2 billion on Sunday, the highest since Mar. 8. At press time, the market was valued just below $394 billion. Transaction volumes ebbed on Sunday, with daily turnover amounting to $20.8 billion. Volumes were up around $25 billion on Saturday. In terms of individual currencies, bitcoin crossed the $9,000 mark for the second time in as many days. The digital currency was last seen trading at $8,932, having gained 4.8%. However, its share of the total market decline to around 38%.

All major altcoins contributed positively to the rally, with Ethereum gaining nearly 5% to $632. The value of Ripple XRP rose 2.6% to $0.886. Bitcoin cash also extended its bullish rally, climbing nearly 7% to $1,226. Since bottoming at $249 billion on Apr. 6, the cryptocurrency market has added nearly $150 billion in value. Since the market crash of early February, coins have crossed the $500 billion mark on only one occasion, and that was roughly two weeks later. The total market has been capped below $400 billion since early March.

Bulls in Firm Control

The dramatic recovery in cryptocurrency prices can be summed up in one vital statistic: nine out of every ten trades have been buy orders. That figure was as high as 92.9% on Thursday, according to TurtleBTC. Cryptocurrency trading is largely governed by investor sentiment, especially among speculators entering the market for a quick profit. This environment, when combined with thin volumes, often generates sporadic trading conditions that are characterized by extreme volatility.

Sentiment has been overwhelmingly positive over the last two weeks as investors looked to capitalize on extreme oversold conditions. Traders have seemingly shrugged off negative news headlines concerning India’s crackdown on cryptocurrency trading as well as the state of New York’s inquiry into exchanges. There’s strong reason to believe that South Korean traders are playing a major role in the price recovery. According to the most recent volume rankings, three South Korean exchanges are among the top-five in total trading volumes.  They are: OKEx ($1.8 billion in daily volume), Upbit ($965 million) and Bithumb ($751 million).

With the recent spike in volume, cryptocurrencies are once again trading at a large premium in South Korea. This is generally the norm during bull cycles due to high demand and supply constraints. These premiums drew negative attention to exchanges last year as government officials began equating cryptocurrency trading with gambling. Disclaimer: The author owns bitcoin, Ethereum and other cryptocurrencies. He holds investment positions in the coins, but does not engage in short-term or day-trading.

Authored by Sam Bourgi

Hacked.com
Sam Bourgi is Chief Editor to Hacked.com, where he specializes in cryptocurrency, economics and the broader financial markets. Sam has nearly eight years of progressive experience as an analyst, writer and financial market commentator where he has contributed to the world's foremost newscasts.

Original URL: https://hacked.com/cryptocurrency-market-approaching-400-billion-as-bitcoin-tests-9000/

 

Cryptocurrency Market Approaching $400 Billion as Bitcoin Tests $9,000

Third Co-Founder Of Centra Tech Charged With $25 Mln Securities Fraud

The third co-founder of crypto financial services

startup Centra Tech Raymond Trapani has been arrested yesterday, April 20, and charged with securities and wire fraud of more than $25 mln associated with the company’s Initial Coin Offering (ICO), according to the US Department of Justice’s (DOJ) press release April 20. The two other co-founders, Sohrab Sharma and Robert Farkas, were arrested and charged of the same offenses earlier in April. Sharma, Farkas, and the now also arrested Raymond Trapani advertised the “Centra Card,” a debit card that was reportedly backed by Visa and Mastercard, which allowed users to convert crypto into fiat currencies.

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) reports that no partnership actually existed between Centra and the two credit card companies. According to the DOJ’s press release, after the founder of an unrelated allegedly fraudulent ICO was arrested last fall, Sharma asked Trapani and Farkas to remove all false information, “fufu,” about Centra’s deal with Visa from their website: “I rather cut any fufu . . . Now . . . Then worry . . . Anything that doesn’t exist current . . . We need to remove.”

New York Times writer Nathaniel Popper tweeted an excerpt of the SEC’s complaint against Trapani, referring to the problems the Centra Tech founders ran into by using random people’s photographs as their “team members” online. One solution to the issue of needing to remove the photos when people complained was to invent a fake car accident to kill the fake CEO and his fake wife:

In the DOJ’s press release, Deputy U.S. Attorney Robert Khuzami said,

“As alleged, Raymond Trapani conspired with his co-defendants to lure investors with false claims about their product and about relationships they had with credible financial institutions.  While investing in virtual currencies is legal, lying to deceive investors is not.”

Centra Tech had been promoted by celebrities like boxer Floyd Mayweather and DJ Khaled. Last fall, the SEC had warned the public that celebrity endorsements of ICOs could be illegal if they don’t reveal the compensation they receive for their advertising.

Authored by

Molly Jane Zuckerman
Molly Jane Zuckerman@MollyJZuckerman
reporter@cointelegraph

Original URL
https://cointelegraph.com/news/third-co-founder-of-centra-tech-charged-with-25-mln-securities-fraud

Molly Jane is a Russian Literature major from California with a background in writing. She joins Cointelegraph after working as a freelance journalist and blogger.

Third Co-Founder Of Centra Tech Charged With $25 Mln Securities Fraud

What was 1st bitcoin faucet?

The Faucet and Airdrop relationship

The First Faucet

When Bitcoin came to be, many of you are aware of the first sale that being a Delivery Pizza paid for with 10000 Bitcoins. That would have been nice if you were that pizza delivery professional, huh? But the advent of the “faucet” was not far behind and is just recently getting its well-deserved recognition in the history of the Bitcoin revolution.

Like why and what is a faucet? The term faucet is used because Bitcoin faucets even by today’s standards deliver meager amounts for menial effort. The use of giving away small amounts of Bitcoin does serve several purposes. It brings traffic to the domain site that is giving away this valuable commodity. Back in 2011 when Bitcoin was trading (selling) for around .08 cents as of July 2011 (note: It did increase in value that year by 900% and closed in December at $2.00 per coin) and it also raises the awareness of the coin. Two very important functions of these strategies. Raise awareness and drive traffic.

Even today, in fact, more so, the faucets are not only becoming main stream but also becoming a major factor in introducing new emerging coins.

Who is Gavin Andresen

Gavin Andresen is a software developer best known for his involvement with bitcoin. He is also known for inventing the first coin faucet and the name as well.

Originally a developer of 3D graphics and virtual reality software, he became involved in developing products for the bitcoin market in 2010, and was declared by Satoshi Nakamoto as the lead developer of the reference implementation for bitcoin client software after Satoshi Nakamoto had announced his departure. In 2012 he founded the Bitcoin Foundation to support and nurture the development of the bitcoin currency, and by 2014 left his software development role to concentrate on his work with the Foundation.

Faucet Culture

When Gavin first introduced his landmark free Bitcoin faucet in 2011, little did he know he would spur a huge cottage industry. From the scams of the Russian faucets, to established long-term faucets like freebitco.in, coin distribution and awareness have been driven in part by this new industry, simply by giving away small amounts of valuable coins for just visiting, and a series of qualification submissions then verified (to prevent robots) simple captcha action.

Today's multi-faceted faucet systems have matured to the point where intense evaluations have delivered well organized semi-automated platforms with documented recorded and live training making it possible for the entry level penniless novice, with great determination, discipline, and patience the potential of producing literally millions of dollars in a matter of a few years. Case in point:

If you had been so perceptive and fortunate to have been aware of Gavin Andresen’s Bitcoin faucet that was paying out 5 coin per captcha (remember back then 5 Bitcoin represented .40 cents) If you had been determined and processed that faucet just 2 times a day for 1 year (assuming the faucet limitations permitted like today’s faucets do) you could have earned 3,650 coins. At the time worth only about $292. But with foresight and understanding, holding on to those coins for just 2 years would have yielded (Bitcoin grew to over $1000) about $3,650,000.

Fast forwarding to today and making historical assumptions with the projected value of Bitcoin come 2020, many projectionists, experts and market makers predict Bitcoin reaching as high as $1 million dollars.

Our recent analysis has shown with aggressive determination and borderline obsession one can achieve about .5 – 1 coin per month with today’s faucets. That would be 24 coins by 2020 and based on these assumptions; a person could literally earn over 24 million dollars.

This understanding makes it clear why faucets have become mainstream and have grown major successes in the cottage industry like the 2-year-old company known as Faucethub.

Faucethub

A centralized advanced faucet system(s) with a secure API based wallet (to eliminate fees) for micropayments has created a portfolio of literally 100s of third-party faucets and has made the developer of the Faucethub system very successful with an active network of 1.2 plus million Faucet Heads (the culture of obsessed people doing menial task for meagre results).

His system has been responsible for making others wealthy and extreme supporters of the crypto counterculture.

Airdrops and Faucets similarities

2017 was the year a new coin giveaway occurred called Airdrops. Similar in results, many new crypto companies traditionally launched by selling their soon to be coins called tokens at perceived deep discounts, thereby raising literally millions upon millions of dollars before even beginning the development phase, I am sure you have heard the bad press of many of these ICOs just being nothing more than exit scams, making many investors victims and losing millions of dollars in this new wild west crypto culture. That being said, the expected results are many countries particularly the United States coming down hard on the ICO launches, with huge costly legal requirements, filings and regulations.

This is to be expected with any new industry but has hit the crypto industry particularly hard. Therefore the mother of invention always a close associate of the entrepreneur, has given birth to the Airdrop. The concept being similar to the faucet, the Airdrop is designed for several reasons. First is to bring awareness the new company, organization, platform, what have you. Many Airdrops have launched major success, like OmiseGO. Dropping 75 million coins with a site registration and ether wallet requirement, the airdrop has been extremely successful with the coin now trading at around $15 per coin in less than a year

Article by

Thomas Prendergast

Markethive Founder
http://twitter.com/markethive 

What was 1st bitcoin faucet?

Fake News: World’s Largest Crypto Exchange Binance Isn’t Adding Dollar Pairs

Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange,

has stayed ahead of the curve in recent months with plans to work with banks and potentially introduce fiat trading pairs, something that is sure to make a big impact on the market if implemented. At the moment, investors typically have to buy high cap coins like Bitcoin or Ethereum on exchanges like Coinbase and then withdraw funds to other exchanges in order to buy altcoins, all of which costs time and money in the fast-paced world of crypto trading. The fiat trading pair option would open up the market to many new investors put off by the inaccessibility of the current system.

Binance has shown itself to be a forward-thinking company with plans for long-term growth, evidenced by their recent announcement of their plans to move to Malta to escape regulatory pressure in Japan and develop their platform. They are joined by Bitfinex which is relocating from Asia to Switzerland to enjoy more crypto-friendly regulation. However, while Binance is working with banks and exploring fiat trading options, they corrected claims earlier today that they will be allowing users to buy digital assets with

US dollars.

The reports are “fake news,” a spokeswoman said by email.

Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao confirmed the report an hour ago on Twitter. This is contradictory to multiple articles and reports from various media outlets and Twitter accounts that flooded the crypto news space on Friday, which may well have caused an upward trend in a number of altcoins.

While plans for fiat pairs may be in the pipeline, there are no plans at the moment to include USD. The market has seen a significant rally over the last 24 hours, continuing an upward trend that emerged over the last two weeks, with Ripple and Bitcoin Cash both seeing an increase of over 15 percent.Binance has held the top spot on Coinmarketcap’s overall list of exchanges for some time, with over $2 billion in trading volume over the last 24 hours.

AUTHOR Conor Maloney

Twitter @WrittenCraft

Conor is a cryptocurrency journalist and an ICO writing consultant at The Written Craft content service. He's an advocate of decentralized public control of finance, an off-grid enthusiast, and really fun at parties too.

Original Site

https://www.ccn.com/binance-will-not-be-adding-dollar-pairs-calling-claims-fake-news/

Fake News: World's Largest Crypto Exchange Binance Isn't Adding Dollar Pairs

IMF's Lagarde Counters Crypto Warnings With New Praise Of ‘Potential Benefits'

IMF’s Lagarde Counters Crypto Warnings With New Praise Of ‘Potential Benefits’

 

 

The head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Christine Lagarde

was buoyant about cryptocurrency in a blog post in support of the technology, published Monday, April 16. The post, which comes roughly one month after Lagarde cautioned against the “dark side” of cryptocurrency, sees the IMF leader focus on what she describes as the “potential benefits” of “crypto-assets such as Bitcoin.” “A judicious look at crypto-assets should lead us to neither crypto-condemnation nor crypto-euphoria,” she writes. While continuing her narrative about the need to reign in illicit activity involving crypto, which she had voiced during January’s World Economic Forum 2018 and since, Lagarde nonetheless reiterates the need for an “even-handed approach”

going forward:

“Understanding the risks that crypto-assets may pose to financial stability is vital if we are to distinguish between real threats and needless fears. That is why we need an even-handed regulatory agenda, one that protects against risks without discouraging innovation.”

She continued, “A clear-eyed approach can help us harness the gains and avoid the pitfalls of the new crypto-assets landscape.” Lagarde’s call for a balanced outlook on cryptocurrency comes at a time of increasing regulatory involvement in the industry, while traditional financiers continue to call Bitcoin a ‘bubble’ and pundits spy the start of a market surge.

Author – William Suberg
Original URL –
https://cointelegraph.com/news/imfs-lagarde-counters-crypto-warnings-with-new-praise-of-potential-benefits

William Suberg got into Bitcoin while completing his Masters degree and hasn't looked back since, writing about anything crypto-related which makes him sit up and pay attention. He started working with Cointelegraph in October 2013.

IMF's Lagarde Counters Crypto Warnings With New Praise Of ‘Potential Benefits'

Pavel Durov: I’m Using Bitcoin to Neutralize Russia’s Telegram Ban

Russia’s Telegram ban officially went into effect this week,

but the encrypted messaging app is fighting back against the government censors — and it’s using Bitcoin to power those efforts. Telegram founder Pavel Durov revealed Tuesday that he has begun distributing Bitcoin grants to groups and organizations operating virtual private networks (VPNs) and other proxy services that help users bypass the nationwide ban, which was put in place by Russian communications regulator

Roskomnadzor.

“To support internet freedoms in Russia and elsewhere I started giving out bitcoin grants to individuals and companies who run socks5 proxies and VPN. I am happy to donate millions of dollars this year to this cause, and hope that other people will follow,” Durov wrote of the initiative, which he has termed the “Digital Resistance.”

“For us, this was an easy decision. We promised our users 100% privacy and would rather cease to exist than violate this promise,” he added in the message, which was published on his Telegram channel.

A Russian court approved the ban last week, which it justified on the grounds that Telegram has refused to provide the state’s intelligence service with encryption keys that it could use to decrypt user messages. Officials say they need access to these messages so they can investigate and prevent terrorist incidents, but the company has said that doing so would violate the privacy of its Russian users.

Telegram said that it has not experienced a noticeable decrease in user engagement since the ban went into effect, but the same cannot be said of other services whose IP addresses have been unwittingly entangled in Roskomnadzor’s net. According to Reuters, the regulatory agency has blocked 18 sub-networks and millions of IP addresses — including some used by popular online retailers and banking providers — belonging to Google and Amazon in an attempt to prevent Telegram from using these cloud services to bypass the ban.

It is unclear to what lengths Russia will go as it attempts to enforce the Telegram ban, but the company has ample resources to wage a prolonged crusade against the censors. As CCN reported, Telegram has stated in public filings that it has already raised at least $1.7 billion through a private initial coin offering (ICO) presale and may attempt to increase that figure through a subsequent public sale.

POSTED IN: News

AUTHOR Josiah Wilmoth

Josiah is a full-time journalist at CCN. A former ancient and medieval literature teacher, he has been reporting on cryptocurrency since 2014. He lives in rural North Carolina with his wife and children. Follow him on Twitter @Y3llowb1ackbird or email him directly at josiah.wilmoth(at)ccn.com.

Pavel Durov: I'm Using Bitcoin to Neutralize Russia's Telegram Ban

A new startup is disrupting the piggy bank with a cryptocurrency wallet for kids

A new startup is disrupting the piggy bank with a cryptocurrency wallet for kids

One of my children currently gets £1.50 a week in pocket money;

the other, £2.50 (about $2.00 and $3.50). We encourage some pretty basic behaviors with these funds: save, spend, and donate. Jars, wallets, small bags, countertops, and backpacks act as various means of storage. But in our efforts to instill some financial literacy in our grade-school-age kids, we have committed a gross oversight: We failed to incorporate the blockchain.

Enter Pigzbe, a colorful cryptocurrency wallet and interactive app, powered by a “family-friendly” token called Wollo. The hardware wallet allows kids to collect and store Wollo, while the app features games that revolve around saving and spending. Powered by a decentralized blockchain ledger, it enables families “to come together as microfinancing networks.” Or, put another way, when a grandma in Italy wants to sent junior some money in London, she can do it with Wollo via Pigzbe, and avoid the hassle of mailing paper money or the annoyance of foreign-currency fees.

Filippo Yacob, one of Pigzbe’s founders, is also the CEO of Primo Toys and creator of Cubetto, a wildly successful wooden code board and rolling cube robot that teaches three-year-olds how to program computers. He tells Quartz that his top goals in creating Pigzbe are to address financial literacy early in life, and allow families spread around the globe (like his own) to participate in a kid’s financial life.

“Every week you learn saving, modeling, exchanging, and spending,” he says of the digital wallet. Grandparents can gift money, while parents and other family members can reward chores or pay allowance in an ultra-modern way. Kids can set tasks for themselves, which are then rewarded by others, encouraging entrepreneurial thinking, he says. They will naturally learn about volatility too, since the value of Wollo tokens, like any cryptocurrency, will fluctuate—potentially a lot. “Volatility itself is a reality,” Yacob notes. “That’s a valuable conversation to have.” Kids can pay for products in the real world with a Wollo card that converts the tokens to fiat currencies.

 American and Chinese citizens cannot participate for regulatory reasons, and toddlers are generally discouraged from buying and selling securities. Wollos will be issued via an initial coin offering that opens to the public June 13 (pre-sales have already begun, and raised about $10 million, Yacob said). They will be available to trade on SdEx in July. American and Chinese citizens cannot participate for regulatory reasons—those pesky securities laws—and, in general, toddlers everywhere are discouraged from buying and selling securities. Sensing this is a tough sell at a time when cryptocurrencies are still associated with scams, money laundering, and vertigo-inducing volatility, Pigzbe’s white paper (pdf) attempts to spell out the problems it aims to address,

including:

• High transfer fees that “hinder the true microfinancing nature of piggy-banking and financial education in early years”


• The limited geographic scope of many banking networks


• The generally lame/inflexible design of the piggy bank

Pigzbe allows kids to get their crypto on cheaply and relatively easily. A single transaction costs 1/100,000 of a Stellar lumen in network fees, it says—this crypto coin currently runs for around $0.33. Wollo transfers between family members are settled within three to five seconds, regardless of location (though as noted, US and Chinese citizens cannot take part). Wollo coins can also trade on the Stellar Decentralized Exchange against other tokens and fiat currencies supported by the network.

“A new piggy-banking paradigm”

According to the paper, Pigzbe “combines the latest in connected technology, tangible interface design, and blockchain technology to reach an underbanked generation of children and families by ushering in a new piggy-banking paradigm powered by their children’s first cryptocurrency and hardware wallet.”

I foresee a few problems with this system.

A lot of grandparents struggle with FaceTime, so making transfers to a crypto wallet may be asking a bit much. We are also living in a moment when parents need to understand the terms and conditions of digital services to make decisions that will both protect their children’s privacy and manage their digital footprint. The six pages of conditions in the Pigzbe white paper, which include warnings about securities fraud, are not reassuring.

What’s more, I do not consider children as “underbanked,” nor do I see volatility (beyond my own temper) as among the things my kids need to learn about urgently (kindness, compassion, empathy, and math are more important). I think chores should be done because kids are part of a household, not because they are rewarded with Wollo tokens (pocket money in our house is not tied to chores). Finally, on my massive kids-and-tech to-do list, which includes preventing them from becoming addicted to screens, avoiding cyberbullying, and protecting their privacy, currency transaction fees don’t break the top 200.

Yannick Naud, a Pigzbe advisor, says he joined the product because the team had experience designing, building, and marketing real toys (John Marshall, another co-founder, built Kano, a computer). The project uses actual, tangible products—the wallet and app—to teach kids about 21st-century finance, including cryptocurrency. When you buy the wallet (which costs $60), it comes with 200 Wollos, so you are ready to get going right away.

Yacob is passionate about financial literacy. “We live in a society oppressed by debt,” he says. He is right that banks are frustrating, transfer fees are extortionate, and many families set up shaky systems for allowances or pocket money that don’t teach kids very much about money. The modern financial system, he says, accurately, “is designed to confuse people.”

How does this help? The project’s white paper describes Pigzbe as a “decentralized application that allows people to create their own enclosed, autonomous financial networks and to exchange money within them.” It also encourages customers try to get more people on the platform (more trading means more value).

That doesn’t feel like a lesson I am trying to instill in my kids. Yacob claims that the point isn’t the value of the Wollo, but the lessons learned through it. “If it’s worth $12 or $1,200 it doesn’t matter, because the value they got from it is in the game and the experience that taught them something,” he says. Call me old-fashioned, but if my kids are saving their cash, I want them to have faith in its value, with some attention devoted to inflation and the time value of money.

Yacob is used to resistance to his products. When he started selling Cubetto, people thought the idea of teaching coding to three-year-olds was absurd. He’s banking (literally) on that being the case with Pigzbe: He has an idea ahead of its time that will address, in time, the growing demand for improved financial literacy and adoption of decentralized digital means of exchange. That may be the case. But my family’s “microfinancing network” is sticking with coins tucked away in pockets and drawers until further notice.

Article Written by

Jenny Anderson
Jenny Anderson@jandersonQZ

Original Article
https://qz.com/1254298/startup-pigzbe-is-launching-a-cryptocurrency-wallet-for-kids-introducing-a-new-piggy-banking-paradigm/

She is a Ten-year veteran of the New York Times, where she covered finance and then schools (the logic made sense to us). Prior to that a short stint at the New York Post, and a long one at Institutional Investor magazine. A Graduate of Colorado College ('94) and Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs ('99). Lived in Mexico and Argentine for a bit, loved it. She is a Wife, mom and athlete who loves children's books, grown-up books and wishes her knees and back were that of a 20-year-old.

A new startup is disrupting the piggy bank with a cryptocurrency wallet for kids

Token Airdrops Are Taking Off Despite Legal Concerns

They say you get nothing for free in this life, but tokenized projects running airdrops would beg to differ. You can now get a whole lotta crypto assets for free – hundreds of them in fact – simply for signing up and following some social channels. What started as a novelty has become the norm, with a vast number of ICOs now earmarking a portion of their tokens for free distribution. Questions remain though about the legal status of airdropped tokens in an age where anything related to crypto risks being labeled a security.

Airdrops Are the New Faucets

In bitcoin’s earliest days, faucets were used to distribute the cryptocurrency. Fractions of a bitcoin were given away on tap, back when BTC was cheap enough to send in small amounts and bits were worth buttons. Anyone who claimed those free morsels back in the day and held onto them will have eventually came into possession of some extremely valuable cryptocurrency. Today, airdrops are the faucets of the token economy. These freely dispensed tokens aren’t worth much – if anything – but there’s a small chance that one day they might be worth something.

At the Crypto Investor show in London last weekend, glossy flyers promoted an after-party with “free drinks + airdrop”. Come for the prosecco, stay for the tokenized revolution. Such is the prevalence of airdrops that an entire cottage industry has sprung up to promote them and inform crypto holders of the latest ones worth catching. Prominent Twitter traders compete to top the referral leaderboard for airdrops, whereupon they will be rewarded with yet more tokens. Everyone’s clamoring for free tokens right now, even though no one’s sure whether they’ll ever have any utility or market value.

 

Get Your Airdrops While They’re Hot

For new entrants to the cryptocurrency scene, airdrops provide a way to get some points on the board or rather some tokens in the portfolio. The very act of claiming them is enough to teach beginners the basics of wallet use and receiving crypto. The problems these projects purport to solve also provides a primer on the weird and wonderful world of crypto. Such is the prevalence of airdrops, they now have a dedicated Bitcointalk forum thread, dedicated Telegram groups and, in Airdropalert, a website that promises you need “never miss a free crypto airdrop again!”

Most of the tokens awarded are ERC20s, though other blockchains have also caught on; NEO for example recently distributed ONT via an airdrop. Just like an ICO tracker, Airdropalert filters offers based on upcoming/active/past. Tokens currently up for grabs include Boutspro, Yee, Sofin, and Aelf. Giving away tokens is easy in the early stages of a project when they’re literally worth nothing. The trick is getting the airdrop community to start using these tokens on the platforms they were designed for. If that occurs, and the project reaches critical mass, the tokens should rise in value, and then everyone will be a winner. Or so the theory goes.

Article By:

Kai Sedgwick
https://news.bitcoin.com/author/kaisedgwick
https://twitter.com/bitcoin101

Kai's been playing with words for a living since 2009 and bought his first bitcoin at $19. It's long gone. He's previously written white papers for blockchain startups and is especially interested in P2P exchanges and DNMs.

Originating Article from
https://news.bitcoin.com/token-airdrops-taking-off-despite-legal-concerns/ 

Posted by Thomas Prendergast

Token Airdrops Are Taking Off Despite Legal Concerns

Like Faucets Free Crypto Airdrops Are a Real Thing…

Free Crypto Airdrops Are a Real Thing… Here’s Some Recent Examples

A company giving out free samples to entice new customers is nothing new. But giving out free currency, or shares of their company? That sounds a bit suspicious…

Turns out, in the Cyrpto world, it’s nothing new. From Dogecoin to Bitcoin, many developers relied on on free “faucets” to entice their first users (the original BTC faucet gave away 5 BTC just for filling out a captcha…)

More recently, companies have begun “airdropping” as a means of promoting their business and encouraging trading of their coin. This just means they’ll send free coins to a wallet address you provide, typically in exchange for a small favor on your end, like retweeting a post.

I’ve rounded up 5 of the most promising airdrops from January and February; each offering between $1-10 USD just for clicking some buttons. Before we hop in, however, here’s what you’ll need to claim your tokens:

Airdrop Checklist

To avoid giving out too much private information, I recommend setting up special accounts for airdropping. Each company has different requirements, but here’s what you’ll need to get all 5 offers:

Email Account

Ethereum Wallet Address: To deposit your tokens. Create one instantly at MyEtherWallet.​
Twitter Account: Consider setting one up specially for this purpose​
Telegram Account: Telegram is a mobile chat app many companies use to communicate with users. You’ll need to install the Telegram app on your smartphone.​
Phone Number: Set one up free on Google Voice if you want to avoid giving out private information. Only 1 airdrop required a phone number (HedgeConnect), but they didn’t verify it anyway.

Now without further adieu, here’s the current airdrop offers from March, 2018:

1. Lino (LNO)

Estimated Value: $1–10

Lasts Until: Unspecified, Spring 2018

Signup Link: Here

To get 15 LNO tokens, simply follow the link, follow LINO’s Twitter page and retweet a message. You’ll also be given a referral link you can share to earn 5 additional tokens for every new user.

2. Sphere (SAT)

Estimated Value: $2.50

Lasts Until: Unspecified, Spring 2018

Signup Link: Here

Sphere is aiming to create a decentralized social network. They’re offering 50 SAT tokens free when you sign up. Just follow the link, create an account and confirm your email address. Tokens are currently selling for $0.05 each, making this airdrop worth $2.50 before the official launch.

3. Shivom (OmiX)

Estimated Value: $9

Lasts Until: End of March

Signup Link: Here

Shivom is running a very limited airdrop, supposedly valued up to $9 USD, according to Airdrop Alert. Simply follow the link, join the telegram and retweet 2 messages from Shivom. The tokens are due to distribute in June after the ICO sale.

4. House Panda (HPT)

Estimated Value: $1–5

Lasts Until: Extended to May 2018

Signup Link: Here

To sign up for this airdrop, you’ll need to be on your mobile phone. Follow this link to join their telegram channel (download the telegram app if you don’t have it already) and type “/claim” into the message window.

You’ll get an immediate response that includes a link to redeem your token, and a referral link you can use to earn extra. To redeem your tokens you’ll actually be given a 12-digit code. Because HPT has not actually launched yet, you’ll this code to claim your tokens in February, after their initial coin offering.

Write it down or copy/paste to save it in a safe place!

5. RobinHood

Estimated Value: $3–150 (no joke)

Lasts Until: Indefinitely

Signup Link: Here

Okay, so this isn’t exactly cryptocurrencies, but the stock-trading app RobinHood is giving away 1 free stock when you sign up for their platform. You don’t need to deposit any money, or even provide a credit card/bank account number. Simply create an account, and claim your free stock.

Most free stocks are worth around $5, but Robinhood is transparent that 1 in 100 will receive an Apple, Facebook or Microsoft stock, which are valued around $100–160 USD. Cryptocurrencies are also coming to the platform soon, and may be a part of this promotion in the future.

Unlike the other airdrops, Robinhood will require your full information, including home address and Social Security Number. Don’t be alarmed; they are a completely legitimate brokerage company simply complying with federal regulations. Robinhood will track your investments and send a 1099 at the end of the year (similar to Vanguard, Fidelity, or any traditional investment platform). But personally, I’m looking forward to using a trading platform that will make tax time simple, compared to the clusterf**k that crypto-taxes are turning out to be.

Some of these airdrop promotions provide you with extra tokens/stocks for referring other participants.

Article by:

Fela Oparei
https://medium.com/@cryptofela

Business writer by day; coin trader by night.

This blog is for my semi-professional thoughts & insights on cryptocurrency investing in 2018.

Originating Article from
https://medium.com/@cryptofela/free-crypto-airdrops-are-a-real-thing-heres-some-happening-now-9d50df6a5c82

Posted by Thomas Prendergast

 

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Company Aims To Become ‘Amazon Of Sharing Economy' With Blockchain App

Company Aims To Become ‘Amazon Of Sharing Economy’ With Blockchain App

A company is building a Blockchain-based system

to eliminate fragmentation in the sharing economy – and creating a single app that gives users access to “any available asset they wish to rent, borrow or share.” ShareRing claims the current market is extremely inconvenient for consumers. Although thousands of companies exist, many of them are specialized in one particular niche, such as caravans or office space. This forces users to go through the arduous process of registering multiple accounts – and, given the fact that some of these small businesses only operate in a heavily localized area, there’s no guarantee that the items they need to borrow will be available where they live.

The Australian company has the goal of becoming the “Amazon of the sharing economy,” enabling users to lease “assets” from a broad range of categories through a single smartphone app. They would be connected to individuals nearby who have items they are willing to share, while rental companies would be able to develop their own “mini” app within ShareRing to reach greater numbers of prospective customers. ShareRing is already exploring deals with big brands, and the latest partnerships will be announced on its website.

In its white paper, the company lists areas where its technology could prove useful. Some examples include renting cars, trucks and trailers, as well as booking delivery drivers, sharing gardens, swapping books, co-housing, car sharing and social dining. ShareRing’s Blockchain platform, known as ShareLedger, is already in development. “Highly customizable” smart contracts will be used to complete transactions, with the company stressing that typical users are not going to require advanced technical knowledge in order to use the platform.

“Taking things to the next level”

The team behind ShareRing already have experience in this industry after starting the vehicle-sharing brand Keaz in the middle of 2013. Offering solutions for both corporate users and consumers, the company now has offices in five countries – and its main technology, KeazACCESS, was launched in May 2015. Executives say they have “decided to take things to the next level” through Blockchain because a company is yet to help this industry achieve its full potential. Their white paper argues that most people are even unable to name five businesses operating within the sharing economy – and the two examples most commonly used as answers, Airbnb and Uber, only cover two types of assets available to the public.

ShareLedger is also going to feature a dual token mechanism. Whereas SharePay is the currency that customers will use to rent assets, ShareToken allows providers to pay for access to the Blockchain. All users will be able to access their balances for these tokens in a lightweight wallet accessible from PCs and smartphones. “Small transaction fees” are charged to providers who use ShareRing. There are one-off charges whenever individuals or businesses add an asset to the platform. Providers are also charged if “attributes” need to be added, allowing extra bits of information such as a Vehicle Identification Number to be linked to the asset. Finally, they will pay a fee every time their asset is rented out to a ShareRing user.

Growing the ecosystem

At the heart of ShareRing’s system will be a “clever, integrated app” which uses geolocation to show users which services are available nearby – and within two years, the company hopes that up to 1 mln assets will be available to share around the world. Its Blockchain system will be publicly available by Sept. 2018, and KeazACCESS will be the first “client” integrated into ShareLedger. ShareRing’s token sharing event is set to take place in May, with the company planning to run token hunts and several other competitions to spread the word and raise awareness of the project.

Chuck Reynolds

Marketing Dept

Contributor

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Company Aims To Become ‘Amazon Of Sharing Economy' With Blockchain App