Debunqed

Tag: investing

  • That’s so Meta, Dude!

    That’s so Meta, Dude!

    The adage that whatever you see in science fiction, you will witness in reality, seems to ring true more than ever in the 21st century. In fact, Facebook founder, Mark Zuckerberg is probably one of the biggest believers having bought the virtual reality company, Oculus as far back as 2014.

    Now, he and people from all walks of life are embracing the creation and adoption of a “Metaverse”. 

    But is this a buzz term or a new reality, and are the ultra-rich throwing money at it because they are trying to entertain themselves? Or is it because they actually want to ‘augment’ hundreds of millions of peoples’ senses of reality with beneficial technology? 

    Like many things in life, the truth isn’t black or white in this regard. While multi-dollar billionaires including Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos have looked to build cities in space that we can escape to when the world becomes overpopulated or uninhabitable, others are developing the ‘Metaverse’ as a complementary set of enhancements and parallel spaces for our lives on earth.   

    What is The Metaverse?

    Is the Metaverse more than just ‘sales speak’ for a bunch of sales-speak-for-tech companies? It has been bandied about throughout 2021 but Zuckerberg has been even more brazen, having announced at the end of October that Facebook would be rebranded as Meta. Rather cheeky!

    But what is this swanky new world we may soon be living, and maybe thriving in? I’ve been called Mr. Anderson for over 20 years, so it feels like a fitting time, with the release of the fourth Matrix movie, to ask: “What is the Metaverse(Matrix)?” 

    The Metaverse is a hypothesised iteration of the Internet, that supports persistent online 3-D virtual environments via conventional personal computing, as well as virtual & augmented reality headsets.

    Wikipedia

    It’s still being given a concrete definition but essentially it is an advanced version of the Internet wherein we can become immersed. You don’t just look at the Internet; you are ‘digitally immersed’ in it. Instead of just looking at a 3D object on your PC using a mouse to scroll up and down to see it from different angles, in the Metaverse your brain will convince you that you are in the same world as that object.

    Metaverses, in some limited form, were already present on platforms like VR-Chat or video games like Second Life. These suggest that we have been moving toward living in a Metaverse for years. But why should we care so much now about the Metaverse then?

    Why The Metaverse Matters

    The Metaverse has the potential to bring fulfilment, economic opportunity and equity to people. But, for this to happen, we would probably need a situation where a handful of companies – here’s looking at you Zuckerberg – are prevented from dominating it. The virtual world could overcome the shortcomings of the physical one which humanity has lived on for millennia. Digital environments could become actual places where people don’t only live; but also thrive.

    It is for these reasons that we believe Metaverses will be pervasive across our lives from a young age until our retirement.

    Images courtesy of the respective companies

    For example, the gaming platform, Roblox might be unknown to well, adults, but this 13-year-old platform is booming. Children and teenagers use this platform to play existing games together but also to create new games. It also sports a marketplace where users can sell those experiences and other products like online outfits and personalized avatars. Another incredibly popular online multiplayer game Fortnite is well poised to switch its huge user-base into ‘Metaversians’. Two upcoming multi-billion dollar gaming platforms built on Blockchain technologies are Decentraland and The Sandbox.

    The former made the news recently when a tech company bought a patch of virtual real estate in the Decentraland metaverse for 618,000 MANA (its native currency) – valued at $3.2 million.

    Virtual ‘land’ and other items (digital assets) in Decentraland are sold in the form of non-fungible tokens (NFTs), which are a class of crypto assets. All of these are authenticated using a Smart Contract component of the blockchain.

    Play-to-earn is another incentive to getting onto the Metaverse. You will now be able to earn virtual tokens (with monetary value) while emersed in your favourite game. This no-brainer strategy has seen an explosion of Blockchain play-to-earn games in the last quarter of 2021.

    Other Use Cases

    Back in the “real working world” virtual productivity platforms are also growing as companies’ employees use MS Teams, Zoom and other platforms to be able to communicate easily and at any time.

    You will be able to now have online offices and attend online conferences in virtual conference centres while represented by avatars. No more suiting up or wasting time on perfect makeup! So, while one can’t stop people from spending time in a cyber world, we can, however, enhance their experiences using cutting-edge technology.

    The opportunities for business and revenue generation will not be limited. Simulations for building and engineering projects will make presentations almost real – without having to travel to the actual sites. Online gambling/shopping companies will also look to capitalise by offering virtual casinos and stores in the Metaverse.

    Marketing Spin-offs

    There are even talks that companies may sell apparel and clothing and are designing virtual versions thereof. Virtual shoes could become status symbols which is rather bizarre but perhaps fun for the nouveau riche. Joke if you want but brands like Gucci, Adidas, and Nike are prepping (with partnerships) to board the Metaverse for obvious marketing opportunities.

    People are rapidly immersing themselves in virtual and augmented reality (VR/AR) worlds. Headsets are becoming more affordable and an assortment of AR/VR programmes are being written daily. These include entertainment programmes for PlayStation 5 as well as for pornography apps (another billion-dollar industry).

    Soon the Metaverse will become a tool that improves our lives and will go beyond being just an entertainment novelty.

    It doesn’t stop here. There is a little-known Metaverse company currently worth $2bn, that has made some major breakthroughs using Blockchain tech. They have actually created a device to scan entire people and objects to immerse them into the digital world.

    The ambitious project, MetaHero will be paying people a decent amount to have their avatars made and used in games from January 2022. Sounds absurd but perhaps you need to take a look yourselves.

    Final Word of Caution

    Bear in mind that the Metaverse may exacerbate problems faced by humans because of the Internet. We need a better grasp of managing data rights, data security, misinformation, the radicalisation of morally wrong ideas such as racism and vaccine hesitancy as well as platform power.

    Somebody needs to rein the likes of Facebook, um I mean Meta, in. We should not just allow the Metaverses to distract millions of us with a ‘wonderful’ cyber world.

  • Digital vulnerabilities

    Digital vulnerabilities

    Global security breaches are on the rise and no one or country is safe. The acceleration of certain technologies has been rapid since the pandemic engulfed the world last year. But unfortunately, we’ve also become slack in the process.

    Once again, it has become apparent just how ‘at-risk’ our data is.

    Data hacks have been frantic and are now getting major press attention. It’s hard to know who each unwanted visitor is in each case but fingers are being pointed in perhaps familiar directions.

    Russian invaders back at it again

    In fact, throughout June, Russians have been blamed for a slew of hacks around the world.

    Microsoft in late May said a wave of Russian cyber-attacks had targeted government agencies and human rights groups in 24 countries, mostly in the US.

    It claimed that around 3000 email accounts of more than 150 different organizations, some of them international, were attacked in just one week.

    Allegedly, the group responsible was the same one that carried out 2020’s SolarWinds attacks, which the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) was accused of orchestrating.

    But the Kremlin denied having any knowledge or anything to do with any cyber-attacks. It challenged Microsoft to how these attacks were linked to the European attacks.

    Nevertheless, authorities are now aggressively investigating cybercrime. In the first week of June, the US Justice Department recovered around $2.3m in cryptocurrency ransom money.

    Webscanner

    This was part of the funds paid by the Colonial Pipeline Company to Russian hackers in the most disruptive cyberattack on record in the country.

    The US deputy attorney general Lisa Monaco said investigators had seized 63.7 Bitcoins which was paid by the company after its systems were hacked, leading to massive shortages of petrol along the US’s East Coast. The department said it founded and recaptured the majority of the ransom.

    The hackers are believed to be a group called DarkSide, whose menace caused a multi-day shutdown in certain petrol stations and a spike in gas prices.

    The attack made international news and prompted the US’s White House to encourage business executives to improve security measures to avoid future cyberattacks whatever their nature, ransomware or otherwise.

    The FBI said DarkSide had also disrupted operations at a meatpacking company. As no one tends to be spared in the spillover effects, it is always a good idea to protect your company’s digital assets as a preventative measure.

    Not so sophisticated

    The attackers rather proved to be quite ‘amatuerish’ because they sent the Bitcoins to an online platform to convert it to fiat money – and that is how they got nabbed. Server-hosted (Online) crypto exchanges are obliged to keep customer data for compliance and anti-money laundering practices. So while your Crypto digital wallet does not reveal your identity, pairing it with an exchange will link it to all the other particulars you needed to provide to use the exchange.

    As long as you need cash to pay for things you will always need to switch your crypto in some way or another – unless your recipient agreed to take payment in Crypto as well. Keeping your digital assets on a hard-wallet or on your hard-drive keeps them “off-the-grid”. But also means you can’t actually spend them.

    Although the initial cyberattack was a smart manuever, the attackers proved to be rookies at the robbing game in the end.

    On a positive note: the ability to retrieve Bitcoins actually reinforces the need for a Blockchain-based financial system. This made it easier for the authorities to track movements of the ‘ransom-paid’ Bitcoins.

    Cuban for a bruising

    But politicians aren’t the only people who are urging businesses, civil society organizations, and other groups to improve security systems and be cognisant of an often-dark future.

    US Dollar billionaire Mark Cuban has also called for stricter cryptocurrency regulations.

    The owner of the Dallas Mavericks who has been investing in trading Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies such as Ethereum said the world was in dire need of regulation for the burgeoning decentralized finance (DeFi) space.

    —READ MORE ABOUT DEFI HERE —

    Cuban said in an interview with Bloomberg that there “should be regulation to define what a Stablecoin is” in order for DeFi to be reliable and to prevent total collapses in investments.

    This comes after he saw his investments in a particular Stablecoin ‘went to zero’. Cuban claimed he had been scammed.

    Stablecoins are a type of cryptocurrency that is pegged to an underlying asset, or currency – usually the US dollar. They are the earliest forms of DeFi and the largest Stablecoin, Tether, is currently worth more than $62bn.

    DeFi has helped the price of Ethereum, the blockchain on which most DeFi projects are built, to also soar. But they can be highly risky investments.

    Investors try to create arbitrage opportunities and liquidity between coins but such a scheme collapsed for Cuban.

    “There should be regulation to define what a stable coin is and what collateralization is acceptable,” he said.

    trade cryptos
    Buy, Stake, and Trade Cryptos

    Strong words of caution

    Cuban hasn’t revealed how much money he lost but told a fellow DeFi investor via Twitter that regulation must be implemented- and quickly.

    It had been suggested that Cuban was “rugged” which refers to when a project’s liquidity dries up and investors cannot withdraw their cash.

    Mark Cuban is alleged to have 60% of his crypto holdings in Bitcoin, 30% in Ethereum, and 10% held in other coins. He likes to experiment with new financial tech investments.

    He added further in a recent blog post that banks should be scared of unregulated DeFi technology.

    All crypto-based investments remain highly risky as the technology around them develops. But there certainly needs to be global laws to prevent people from losing hefty amounts of their wealth/investment. Cryptocurrency is without a doubt a very lucrative investment vehicle that could make you an overnight millionaire. But that also makes it a perfect vehicle for scammers to clone projects to make away with your hard-earned cash.

    You must, therefore, be extra vigilant and scrutinize offers for instant riches. But more so, you would be quite negligent these days to navigate the Internet without any form of cyber-protection.

  • 2020: Year of the PC

    2020: Year of the PC

    People will always find an opportunity in a crisis. This year has been one of the strangest years we will ever experience. Because of the global pandemic, we have been ‘shut-in’ physically and mentally. Hiding in our homes in an effort to save the lives of the elderly and sickly.

    Technologies that enable people to communicate with each other from different locations and work remotely have had an excellent year because of this.

    Who needs phones & email?

    The pandemic may have stopped us from having face-to-face meetings because of self-isolation and social distancing. So just like that, we all needed to have online meetings and digital collaborative meetups.

    In 2020, we just stopped phoning people. We needed to see what other humans looked like. So, we engaged more in video calling, using whatever technology available that supports that functionality.

    The online video-conferencing tool Zoom, therefore, went from being a company you’d probably never heard of, to global ‘overnight’ success. It was founded in 2011 by Eric Yuan, a former Cisco engineer, and executive, who then launched it in 2013 as software for companies. It was valued at $1bn in 2017 because it enjoyed very strong revenue growth and was easy to use, and became profitable in 2019, and listed on the Nasdaq.

    “You’re on Mute! “

    Quote of 2020

    Come early 2020, Zoom entered a boom period as most of us used it while in quarantine. Its share price, therefore, grew more than 490% from $68.72 to around $406.

    MS Teams, Microsoft’s answer to Zoom. is believed by many to be more reliable and secure than Zoom – which suffered a major breach earlier in the year. Google’s Meet also features on the list of top video calling/conferencing apps.

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    We won’t delve into comparison here. The pros and cons are highly dependant on what you use it for and your business size/budget. The usage stats below speak volumes though albeit just for the two major economies.

    Other tools

    When we weren’t working, we were using social communication applications such as House Party which, apart from allowing you to stream music and play virtual DJ, enabled you to play games with one another.

    They were mostly silly general knowledge games but hangman made a welcome comeback to society thanks to this app.

    Discord, an American Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) that uses instant messaging and runs a digital distribution platform also gained new users. It no longer just relies on gamers and people in creative computer development roles to drive its usage.

    The Home Office

    We started (forcibly) working from home and those who believe it made them more efficient and productive are considering carrying on with it in 2021.
    The working from home concept, therefore, changed from being something associated with putting in half the effort and lazy lie-ins.

    Companies at least in the developed world, have to offer the option of working from home. Like any viral pandemic, Coronavirus will still be around in 2021 as the vaccine could take a while to ‘take effect’. Working from home isn’t disappearing any time soon!

    To operate a home office though, you need to have an advanced enough computer system, the right anti-virus software, and other methods of securing your work. Companies became concerned that people were using their personal computers to log onto work servers and bringing problems along with that. It’s not just good enough to get a laptop to have a ‘home office’.

    We have also had to set up reliable phone systems for business. Landlines are becoming old-fashioned plus virtual phone systems that are simple to set up and use are becoming popular.

    Smart speakers are also becoming popular. You can use them to play music via Spotify or the radio but can also be used to create the right audio ambience for your meetings and remind you about important events, tasks, and meetings.

    It’s all about getting tech products and virtual assistants to make working easier. People also invested in better desks and other office accessories such as computer or mobile-phone-operated coffee machines. Yes, those do exist! Expect the internet of things (IoT) to play a bigger role in your life next year and beyond.

    Cybercrime on fleek

    Naturally, because we are all forced online, this is no better time for cyber-thugs. They have upped the ante with cleverer ways to dupe you out of your already diminishing funds. Here some of the highlights of 2020 when it comes to crime on the web according to cybersecurity provider ID Agent:

    –A cyberattack is attempted every 39 seconds.
    -700 million people in 21 countries experienced some form of cybercrime.
    –The damage related to cybercrime is projected to hit $6 trillion annually by 2021.
    -Ransomware attacks rose 148% in March 2020.
    -Cloud-based attacks rose 630% between January and April 2020.
    -Two in five SMBs have been the victim of a ransomware attack.
    -More than 80% of reported cyberattacks are phishing.
    -Phishing attempts have increased by more than 660% since March 1, 2020.
    -Organized crime gangs account for 55% of attacks.

    The rise of AMD

    Chipmaker AMD has had a stellar year as it has brought out some of the most advanced (yet affordable) computer chips ever built and has managed to outshine rival behemoth, Intel.

    Its share price on the Nasdaq bounced from $49.10 to about $95.92. The company has been a runaway success story, especially over the past five years. At the end of December 2015, AMD stock was a paltry $2.87, that’s 3242% growth in half a decade!

    Another contributing factor for the company’s success is that AMD’s Ryzen line of processors has been a huge hit since its release. They are used in some of the best mining CPUs money can buy.

    Mining is the process of acquiring Bitcoins and other Cryptocurrencies using special software together with your PC’s hashing power.

    Crypto makes a comeback!

    Cryptocurrencies Bitcoin and Ethereum experienced returns of more than 216% and 390% year-to-date respectively.
    The argument is that institutional investors including some of the world’s largest finance houses and banks are now backing the world’s most popular digital currency.

    This is despite the fact that most ‘9-5 people’ are not using Bitcoin to buy much on a daily basis – but this trend is changing.
    It is still purported to be a means for criminals and drug dealers to help avoid banking authorities from checking their transactions. Or maybe that is just an underground rumour (or FUD) created by the fearful banking system.

    But seriously, a few things are speculated to be behind the Crypto surge.
    The US Federal Reserve cut interest rates, loaned more than $1.5 trillion to banks and financial institutions. It also increased its purchases of US treasury securities to stabilize the economy when the pandemic struck.
    This response was very strong and helped to weaken the effects of a national lockdown on the largest economy in the world.

    These actions created a favourable ‘macro environment’ in which to invest in an asset that is perceived as very risky given its lack of use and lack of clarity around what it can be used for. The high returns compared to Gold, interest-bearing and other traditional assets have certainly got the major asset managers excited.


    The second trend that propelled cryptocurrencies was the above-mentioned expansion of digital life. This may have lead to more investors feeling comfortable using a digital wallet. From payment systems, storage, finance, to gaming, gambling and sports: There is now literally a crypto-based coin for anything under the sun! This digital transformation has even prompted global Central Banks to seriously consider a move away from paper money.

    The Future

    Our lives are progressively going digital. Many older people who had never used a computer to shop online before, did so for the first time in 2020. They also using messaging apps for the first time as well as streaming entertainment services such as Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, and Disney Plus.

    To sum up, the year 2020 has been an abomination of a year. Who knows what 2021 will bring? Maybe (tech-driven) Tesla stock will keep on rallying after successfully listing on the S&P500. But maybe also because owner, Elon Musk kind of took an interest to Bitcoin. This year has indefinitely made us aware of two things: proper sanitization and the practical use of computers.

  • Gear up for Online Trading

    Gear up for Online Trading

    We end the year once more with trading: a topic that might not be directly tech-related. It, however, relies heavily on online technology to help with investments and therefore, is noteworthy.

    More and more millennials are getting into the habit of adopting get-rich schemes. You just have to look on Instagram and Twitter to see how gullible some of them are to Ponzi-like schemes preying on online and financial naivety.

    It has become so cumbersome as most of the predators ‘befriend’ you only to present you with the offer to trade (Forex, Binary options, or mine Crypto) on your behalf. Some blatantly just ask for you to deposit cash (usual increments of $500) into unknown accounts!

    Nothing to perform due diligence is available and not even a website sometimes – just the promise of profits of up to 30-80% weekly, monthly, or whatever – it’s all clickbait!


    A notable 60 percent of high net worth individuals (HNWIs) in Latin America alone showed high-interest levels in Crypto investments in 2018.

    Capgemini’s World Wealth Report 2018.

    You can, however, as we mentioned around this time last year, take full control of your financial destiny.

    When it comes to managing an online portfolio via a broker such IQOption, there are a few things you have to consider first before dropping cash into your trading account.

    Checklist

    Research

    • Equities (Shares or stocks, ETFs, Commodities, Indices, Options, Forex, Futures, and Cryptocurrency). These are all vehicles you can engage with concurrently in the same portfolio. They all also have their (moderate to extremely high) levels of risk. Learn how each of them works. Shares are actually the less risky of the batch nowadays.
    • Have a plan! One does not just opt to invest in equities to “make money”. Of course, you will make (or lose) money. The question is how much and within what timeframe? When are you looking to have the money back? These questions will help determine what kind of investor you are or the approach to adopt when investing.
    • Based on your knowledge, appetite for risk, and the associated costs, you will either be a long, mid (mixed), or short-term investor. The latter is referred more commonly to as day-trading. Long term trading works pretty much like savings. You buy the stock/share and hold it for a long period of time (shares/stocks and indices are the best vehicles for such). All the others can be bought and sold by the minute, hour, day, or weekly.

    Setting up

    Setting up with your bank means there is also less admin when it comes to verifying your personal details such as ID, physical address, and so on.

    Be sure to have all documents ready and up to date. These are mandatory and required by local financial authorities to help prevent or determine fraud, the use of securities to launder money, or fund terrorism.

    The bank trading brokerage fee can be waivered by going for an online broker independently if you have all your ducks (paperwork) in a row.

    Costs

    Once set up, there are further internal costs that the broker will charge you. Pay attention to the commission charged when you purchase security of choice. Some waiver it but then charge what is called a spread. Then there are other deductions such as a charge for borrowing money to trade – what is termed ‘overnight fees‘.

    And of course – pay attention to TAX!

    • Pay attention to all the associated costs. It costs nothing to setup an online trading account via a broker. Your bank may charge a brokerage fee for running a separate trading account. The advantage of that mainly is just the ease of adding and withdrawing your ‘winnings’.

    We strongly recommend actively running a trial for at least 2 months before making your first deposit to start purchasing securities.

    Some strategies

    Before that first purchase, you should hopefully, by then, have used the trial period to learn some of the tools. Trading (or investing) is not something you do out of a gut feeling. There is about 3% ‘gut feel’ but the rest of the knowledge comes from studying the tools for technical and fundamental analysis.

    TradingTools
    Courtesy of cryptoworld.info

    The difference between technical and fundamental analysis is the difference between trading and investing – without any, you are outright just gambling!

    There are also some ways to mitigate your risk and minimize losses. One system that applies to all investing is called Dollar-Cost-Averaging. So, under this strategy, you divide the total amount into bits to ensure that on average your losses are smoothed out by profits. The diagram to the left illustrates this.

    Budget within your portfolio

    Always start small and see how that goes before diving fully in. People get greedy and think if $10 fetches a $5 profit then $10 000 would subsequently garner $5000 or at least $500. It doesn’t always pan out that way. If it was that easy we would all be millionaires!

    One must also quickly avoid the habit of topping up the account to get the next hot stock because like a business, your trading portfolio is an investment for future growth. It must therefore, be nurtured that way.

    Ride the waves (with your initial investment) and reinvest your winnings by ploughing back some of the profits into less riskier securities once you make a small ‘killing’.

    Switch from a short to medium term trading approach to secure your profits. Many day traders end up losing all their gains because they stay in the game for too long. The stock market always turns eventually and gets its pound of flesh!

    As a rule of thumb, purchase only after a massive drop in price – as you would in a fashion sale. When a security’s price has risen to abnormally high levels, its ‘bubble’ tends to ‘burst’. In addition, there are tools to measure whether a stock/share or any security for that matter is overvalued. Study them!

    Market trends

    The markets are constantly in motion and like a rollercoaster, prices are constantly going up and down. You have to choose where (and when) to place your buys (and positions) to make your profits.

    TradingTimes

    Know the market (opening and closing) times so you do not miss a good deal. Many markets will either open with a big rally; cool off in the afternoon and then close with a sell-off (in the red) in the evenings in general.

    What causes the up and downs is the buying and selling off respectively.

    Based on that, and with the common knowledge that everyone sells at a high profit – what do you then think would happen after a massive rise in the price of a security? It is not rocket-science yet many people fall for it and end up buying at the height (peak) price of an equity.

    Easier said than done. Naturally, it is hard to predict where this peak is as many inexperienced profit hunters have found out the hard way.

    Markets tend to crash in predictable cycles. The Crypto market fell by a whopping 70% in 2018 – a monumental drop in market capitalization after its equally amazing 2-month bull run. Many individuals and companies who bought Cryptos in January 2018 as a result went down in flames because of such bad timing – and just plain greed.

    These are just some of the basics to help you get into an investing state of mind – more particularly with online trading. You will find a few more useful pieces of information on the resources page.

    Happy trading and remember to start of with a free trial!

    General Risk Warning: The financial products offered by the company carry a high level of risk and can result in the loss of all your funds. You should never invest money that you cannot afford to lose.
  • Digital Fundraising

    Digital Fundraising

    The latest abbreviation in the finance and crypto-world is ‘ICO’. This word, however, gives global financial authorities like the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) nightmares for several reasons.

    250x250

    Not to be confused with Initial Public Offering (IPO) which is used by firms to raise cash through the issuing of shares to the public. An ICO (Initial Coin Offering) works like crowdfunding, but for digital currency and tokens.


    We recently covered a feature on raising funds and capital for a business but missed out on one relatively new method. Many companies are using ICOs to raise capital for their businesses.

    Why ICOs?


    The concept of an ICO works similarly to how a company raises capital through shares in that it is all based on contrived value.


    Funding raising in effect boils down to sales! If your actual product or service has nothing substantial or intrinsic to offer a client base, then it is nothing more than a scam.


    Launching an ICO is quite easy, and to an extent, many tech companies are now catching onto it.

    An ICO is the cryptocurrency space’s rough equivalent to an IPO in the investment world. ICOs act as fundraisers of sorts; a company looking to create a new coin, app, or service launches an ICO.

    Investopedia

    If you still do not believe it is possible, just listen to this testament from someone who did it after unsuccessfully knocking on the doors of conventional funders.


    The alarming spurt rate of ICOs often brings with it a scourge of potential scammers. The SEC and other institutions have to step in to monitor and regulate them.

    Social media platforms like Facebook and Google – which house a bounty of users (potential investors) have banned ICOs ads due to possible prey on unsuspecting investors; exposing them to con artists.

    Basically, the scammers use fancy websites, laden with impressive figures and terminology to con users into buying into their coins or tokens.

    Though the tokens barely even cost a cent, it adds up if they have millions of people buying in.  Once they have reached a certain amount in funding – they close shop and disappear!

    To create a new digital coin:

    Create a product concept or Business Plan for the coin or what is called a Whitepaper. This describes in great detail what the coin or token aims to do; the core technologies behind it; the team and their qualifications; the product’s lifecycle/growth path etc.

    Once completed and water-tight, the whitepaper would be submitted along with an application to one of the best Cryptocurrency Exchanges for review.

    Naturally, you would need some initial working capital for liquidity. Some of this is raised through your savings and others through institutions (via loans etc).

    You must then assure your investors of a solid return on investment (ROI) and deliver – which goes back to sales. Unless your offering is a scam, you actually need to do some work!

    This assurance comes via regular updates (marketing campaigns can have a tremendous or adverse impact on the uptake and price) on milestones reached.

    The updates are also necessary to keep your investors abreast with progress and might convince them to increase funding.

    Growing interest and the addition of more funds create demand for the coin/ token which, in turn, drives up the price and market capitalization.

    Most successful ICOs of all time

    NEO:

    Known as “China’s Ethereum”, and backed by Microsoft, Alibaba and the Chinese government, NEO uses smart contract applications. It does so, however, with the addition of decentralized commerce, digitized assets and identification.
    It enjoyed a considerable hike in token value from $0.03 to $88.20, NEO has big things coming with a 294,000% ROI.

    Ethereum:

    Unlike Bitcoin, the second-most valuable cryptocurrency in the world has more functionality than just being a coin. Its ledger technology is used to build and deploy decentralized applications a.k.a. “smart contract” technology.
    Ethereum’s ROI has been nothing short of jaw-dropping at 230,000%. Having sold its tokens at $0.31, an Ether token now sits at a whopping $713, second in value only to Bitcoin.

    Spectrecoin:

    The “premier privacy-focused cryptocurrency” enables users to send and receive currency worldwide with total anonymity. It is currencies like SpectreCoin that have most government tax offices quaking in their boots.
    If you had repurchased a token in November 2016, that puny $0.001 would be worth $0.64 today, or an ROI of 64,000%.

    Ark:

    With Ark, collaboration is the name of the game. The platform’s SmartBridge is a lightning-fast ecosystem designed to integrate other cryptocurrencies into its blockchain.
    Investors were eager as any to buy in, and they have made a 35,400% gain given today’s token price of $3.54.

    DigixDAO:

    DGD, which stands for Digix Decentralized Autonomous Organization, is a self-governing community. It gives out grants to different projects which will promote the growth of the DGX network.
    At a current value of $346.88 per token, this gives them a return of 10,722%.

    Quantum (QTUM):

    QTUM is an open-source value transfer platform which focuses on mobile decentralized apps or Dapps. QTUM is the world’s first proof-of-stake smart contracts platform.
    They hosted a highly successful ICO in March 2017, and since that time has seen an ROI of 6,400%.

    Source: investinblockchain.com

    In conclusion

    The prospect can be daunting for a cryptocurrency investor looking to make money off new investment opportunities while remaining cushioned from fraudulent ICOs and dodgy coins and tokens.


    As there is no guarantee that any cryptocurrency or blockchain-related start-up will be genuine or successful.

    You simply need to be vigilant and take steps such as getting to know the core team, poring over the whitepaper with a big magnifying glass. Naturally, you should be monitoring the progress of the token sales.


    Most importantly, you must just use common sense to gauge just how feasible the project is to ensure that you’re not falling for a scam.

    Remember, if it’s too good to be true, then it isn’t true!

  • Bitcoin – the new (digital) Gold?

    Bitcoin – the new (digital) Gold?

    Bitcoin (Crypto in general) is here to stay and every day, financial institutions, celebrities, and artists are endorsing it. It also has intrinsic value otherwise companies (incl. Microsoft) accepting it as payment for goods and services are either ballsy or just plain stupid!

    Read more via Food for thought…

  • Accountable Supervision

    Accountable Supervision

    Leadership values are not only confined to the running of a political campaign, party, or country for that matter, however, like in any venture that has an objective and deals with human beings – it forms the backbone of a successful business.

    Consequently, what leaders such as CEO of Tesla Elon Musk, for example, say or does, have a positive or, in the recent unfortunate case, a negative impact on the shareholdings of his business.


    The share price can decline sharply and worse yet, it can lead to the exit of senior staff members and thus undermining the business, its leadership values, and objectives.


    This why it is critical for companies to adopt the right practices and responsible leadership to enable them to address both internal and external issues affecting them.


    This is even most relevant when dealing with a company that has a multinational operational facet such as the Murray and Roberts Group – a South African company that operates in a global setting.


    This specific multinational company was used in a case study for a research paper because it is firmly entrenched in the construction and engineering industry.


    More specifically, they service the global natural resources market sectors of underground mining; Oil & Gas; Power & Energy.
    Such a diverse set of operations requires a varied set of objectives spearheaded by a solid leadership path.

    A new model of leadership

    We have covered the topic of Emotional Intelligence before. It now surfaces again within a brand-new leadership model known as the ARCHES model.
    The name derives from a key characteristic of the physical structure of an arch and its durability.

    Coupled with its diversity in models and materials and its depiction as symbols of triumph, it represents an apt analogy of what responsible and effective leadership should be.


    The model was especially derived by an academic* for a syndicate group assignment and is based on six key characteristics that should be imparted in a leader.


    An effective and responsible leader is one who is attuned to their followers, responsive, possesses the necessary competencies, serves with humility, is ethical and adopts a sustainable approach to leadership.

    A leader who possesses all these attributes is one who can rise above adversity and lead their followers in a way that promotes innovation, motivates, develops skills, promotes personal growth, and encourages improved performance.

    B.Moyo

    Application of the model

    ARCHES

    The model defines attuned leadership as the act of being self-aware, informed, and aware of the environment in which you exist – servant leadership.


    Employees should be encouraged to take responsibility for their actions because responsibility and effectiveness are complimentary. The demise of US energy company Enron, for example, was due to a failure of management to execute communication-based responsibility, internally and externally.

    A volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous environment in which a business operates can result in many potential projects not coming to fruition.


    In such an environment, leaders that are attuned, responsive, and possess the right competencies can expert power as their way to influence followers to exhibit the same traits.


    Referent power develops out of admiration of another and a desire to be like them. Expert power, on the other hand, is a person’s ability to influence others’ behaviour because of recognized knowledge, skills, or abilities.
    This requires the leader to have a tolerable level of humility.

    This is defined as a personal quality reflecting the willingness to understand the self (identities, strengths, and limitations). That combined with a purpose in the self’s relationship with others.


    Once again, the emphasis on Emotional Intelligence coupled with traditional leadership competencies is needed to steer multifaceted companies.

    Even more so when dealing with diverse cultures and work ethics across borders and continents.

    Direct consequences

    Being the largest employer in the locality directly implied that Murray and Roberts had to be consistent with the idiomatic Zulu expression of “Umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu”. This means: I am because you are, you are because we are.
    Good leadership in the Ubuntu philosophy is based on the engagement with communities and defines a well-led organization.


    Not paying attention to ethical issues surrounding a community or the environment can have an adverse effect on your values. This would also affect your staff and the image of the company you steer.


    A bitter consequence of the failure of ethics was evident in the $4.2m (64.1 million ZAR) fine to the said company. This was for its involvement in sector collusion related to construction projects for the 2010 World Cup.

    Concluding remarks

    Finally, a practical leader will also consider any upcoming projects with the lens of understanding the environment that surrounds them to incorporate the concept of sustainability.


    These traits might sound like they need to be learned but most should be already ingrained or come naturally to you or your leaders.

    If not this is not the case, you need to quickly install the right personnel with such to help steer your business enterprise or economy for that matter, to success.

    *This blog post contains excerpts and is derived from a master’s research paper. It was conducted by Bonnie Moyo for the Rhodes University Business School.

  • BTC running low on battery?

    BTC running low on battery?

    bitcoin-1813505_1280.jpg__740x380_q85_crop_subsampling-2
    Good explanation of what the declining BTC dominance means for other Alts

    On August 11 2018, the Bitcoin dominance level (market share) touched 50% for the first time in 2018. However, the move didn’t come amid a Crypto market rally. In fact, the cryptocurrency space has been in free fall until mid-August, moving in a sideways trend since then.

    Read more via BTC running low on battery?

  • Financing your Small Business

    Financing your Small Business

    When considering small business financing, it is important to understand all your available options. If not, investors can easily take advantage of you and offer unfair terms.

    So before raising any money, find out if using equity, debt, or convertible debt financing makes the most sense for you to grow your business.

    Equity

    Raising capital through equity is popular, if not the most popular choice, for entrepreneurs to pursue. Investors buy stock (or shares) in your company, giving them a financial stake in the future success of your business.

    How It Works:

    • You set a specific Dollar/Euro amount for what your company is worth.
    • Based on that valuation, investors agree to give you money in exchange for a certain percentage of your company.
    • Investors receive compensation based on the percent of stock/share they own once you sell the company or go public.

    Pros:

    • All your cash can go toward your business rather than loan repayments.
    • Investors take on some risk and don’t have to be paid back until you’re doing well.
    • Investors often have valuable business experience.
    • Since investors have a financial stake in the success of your business, they are motivated to offer sound guidance and valuable business connections.

    Cons:

    • Selling shares of your company will make it very difficult to get them back.
    • You will also most likely lose control of part of your board to your investors.

    Debt

    Debt-based fundraising is the form of small business financing that most small businesses end up choosing, according to Fundable. It is also the easiest to understand. Money is loaned to you with the agreement you’ll repay it over time with an established interest rate.

    Get a quick loan for your business here: N26_banner-320x50-EN

     

     

    How It Works:

    • You borrow money with an agreement to pay it back with interest within a specific time frame.
    • You will also have to offer your lender some form of collateral, which are liquid assets you will give up if you cannot make your loan payments.

    Pros:

    • You will raise capital much quicker than with equity small business financing. This is especially true of smaller cash amounts.
    • You can keep 100 percent ownership of your company, along with 100 percent of its profits.
    • Interest payments are tax-deductible.

    Cons:

    • You must be completely confident you can make your loan payments in cash each month. If you don’t, lenders can make you sell your business in order to get their money back.
    • Interest payments can become one of your largest business expenses.
    • Commercial lenders will demand small business owners to personally guarantee the loan and offer personal assets as collateral. This even if your company is structured as a corporation or limited liability company, according to Forbes.

    Convertible Debt

    A convertible debt small business financing structure is a mix of debt and equity financing. The money raised is considered a loan, but at some future date, the loan can convert to equity if the lenders so choose.

    How It Works:

    • You will negotiate an interest rate to pay back the loan. This will also be the interest rate for those lenders who decide not to convert any debt into stock.
    • The details concerning how lenders can convert the debt into equity are negotiated at the time of the loan. For the most part, that means agreeing to give lenders a discount or warrant on an upcoming round of equity fundraising.
    • You will also set the valuation cap, or maximum company valuation, at which lenders can convert debt into equity. If investors decide not to trade in their loan for shares at this predetermined valuation level, they can no longer do so at a future date.

    Pros:

    • Transaction costs are low and the process moves quickly.
    • If you don’t want to set a company valuation, which involves a lot of uncertainty and risks for new startups, a convertible debt structure for small business financing makes a lot of sense, according to Covestor CEO Asheesh Advani.
    • Using convertible debt protects investors from dilution in future financing rounds.

    Cons:

    • Investors are uneasy about giving money without knowing the exact share of a company they will own. You might have to offer steep discounts on equity in order to get them to agree to the terms.
    • You may be forced to set a valuation before you are ready in order to avoid unaffordable loan repayment expenses.

    In the end, it’s best you make your final choice, based on which of the mentioned options works best for you, not just now, but in the immediate future.

    Read more: about other investment methods.

    This article was originally Written by Alex Liu and published on UpCounsel

    UpCounsel is an interactive online service that makes it faster and easier for businesses to find and hire legal help solely based on their preferences.
  • Top Crypto coins to look out for now

    Top Crypto coins to look out for now

    Some nice insights into the trending top Cryptocurrency coins out there with a good explanation as to why they are great coins to invest in.
    A good idea to look into these ahead of a potential June ‘bull run’ via My TOP 10 Coins

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    Or you can own Bitcoins directly:

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