Think about the moment our Founding Fathers inked the Declaration of Independence. There was technically nothing physically supporting it. It was the collective trust in the words that built a new nation.
Similarly, faith is the key ingredient in enduring monetary systems.
Let’s chat about resilience for a second – how some things get back up even stronger after being knocked down. The Constitution of the U.S., a historical testament of 235 years, is a fantastic example of this ‘bounce back’ trait, also known as ‘antifragility’.
Now, let’s look at Bitcoin’s journey. In 2013, when China’s government prohibited its banks from dealing with Bitcoin, combined with massive hacking of a Bitcoin exchange, Bitcoin took a hit, but got back up stronger, soaring from $175 to $20,000 in mere years.
Despite repeated bans and crackdowns in China through the years and turmoil in the crypto industry, Bitcoin continues to stand strong.
Why is this important? Because there’s a belief that without real-world backing, Bitcoin’s value is elusive. The reality is, that Bitcoin’s value comes from shared faith akin to the U.S. Constitution’s backing. The Constitution guards our basic rights, and Bitcoin assures us that our money should not lose value.
Bitcoin’s code enforces this belief, making changes to the code exceedingly challenging, hence maintaining Bitcoin’s value. So, even if someone tries to overthrow this system, our shared faith in Bitcoin’s principles wouldn’t allow it, as demonstrated during previous ‘Bitcoin wars’.
So, what’s the secret sauce backing Bitcoin? It’s our shared belief in Bitcoin’s value and principles, like the Founding Fathers’ trust in the Declaration of Independence.
We, Bitcoin holders spanning various backgrounds, believe in robust, unchanging money – a belief that our hard-earned savings shouldn’t vanish due to endless cash production.
In conclusion, Bitcoin isn’t backed by an audacious promise, but by a collective faith in sound money principles, which, my friends, is the most definitive backing one can have.
Governments are looking at digital cryptocurrency as an asset and not as a currency.
Currency is a medium of exchange for goods and services. In short, it’s money, in the form of paper and coins, usually issued by a government and generally accepted as a value for goods or services.
Currency is the primary medium of exchange in the modern world, having long ago replaced bartering as a means of trading goods and services.
Money, on the other hand, is a unit of value. The money you hold today you expect will have the same value when paying a bill as compared to when you acquired it. So money is considered of value now or in the future. Profits and losses are accounted for as units of money. Understanding what money is clarified the meaning of currency. Currency is The form of money used every day by people all over the world. Other forms include Checks which are another form of money (known as money substitutes). Cigarettes have even been a form of money, as they were for soldiers during the Second World War or in cell blocks in prisons. Today debit cards are another form of money substitute.
Today governments see the value of creating cryptocurrency unique to their money system. This enables this to be a centrally controlled blockchain coin that the government can control. China has been experimenting with this type of currency, not treating it as an asset.
CRYPTOCURRENCY
Most cryptocurrency that is created on the blockchain and decentralized seems to be the direction the private creators are going.
This writer must point out that one must research the crypto they are thinking of getting into as a risk. Is there a central controller of the coin’s value? Scams are visible every day as coins are “created” on a blockchain but controlled by an entity.
For instance, a Binance coin is controlled by a man (Changpeng Zhao) who owns the Binance exchange. Even though the coin’s value fluctuates with the market and the Binance exchange has a history that is trackable and you may trust it, however, think about what you are risking holding BNB, the Binance coin. It is developed by a holding company, it is not on the blockchain, it has value based upon what people are willing to accept as payment, and it floats with the market. It is said to have shared the names of coin holders with the Russian government.
Some coins are decentralized and not under any company, government, or individual control. These are the coins I prefer. They may fluctuate with the market but I look at the total of coins that have been issued, at what value were they when they started trading, how have they performed since the issue, and who is holding the bulk of the issue. Every coin is a risk, but try to reduce the risk when investing and always be willing to lose the investment. Never invest more than you can afford to lose.
This is why I prefer Bitcoin (BTC). It has only 21 Million coins issued, is decentralized on the blockchain, is held as an asset by major businesses, and maintains a consistent value (what people are willing to pay for it or give it value. BTC is not controlled by any one person, government, or company.
A California Bank, Silvergate, pulls back much to our detriment
Founded in 1986, Silvergate (SI) is a publicly-traded bank that was, for decades, just a small community bank in La Jolla, California.
By the way, La Jolla is a popular place to buy a vacation home if you’re into things like drug and human trafficking.
Because it’s close to Tijuana, La Jolla has been a money laundering hotspot for decades.
(Who knows… this might prove relevant in the days and weeks to come as the Silvergate saga unfolds.)
And then came crypto.
In anticipation of the 2020-2021 crypto bull market, Silvergate developed a proprietary tech platform — Silvergate Exchange Network (SEN).
SEN boasted 24/7 uptime with instant fiat transfers, making it the go-to bank for crypto.
It proved to be a shrewd move.
By 2021, SEN was used to connect more than 1,600 crypto exchanges, financial institutions, hedge funds, and retail participants.
They grew fast.
SI’s total deposits went from $2 billion in Q1 2020 to $14.3 billion in Q4 2021.
And it was a sweet deal for Silvergate.
Crypto depositors were willing to hold their fiat with Silvergate at no cost in return for access to the SEN network.
BUT, here’s where things went sour…
What Went Wrong
In 2021, as Silvergate’s balance sheet ballooned during the crypto bull, the bank bought up billions in long-term US Treasury bills.
Unfortunately, they did so during a time of historically low interest rates.
When the Fed increased rates, those Treasuries became worth less on the bond market. In fact, by the end of Q3 2022, Silvergate had over $1 billion in unrealized losses.
It wasn’t ideal, but it would only prove catastrophic if Silvergate was forced to sell.
But you know what happened next: FTX.
Yes, Silvergate was forced to sell.
The Bank Run
On November 11, 2022, FTX filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
When news hit that Silvergate had exposure, depositors got spooked.
Panicked, they withdrew their funds and deposits declined $8 billion, down 68% in one quarter.
Silvergate was forced to unload $6 billion of securities that it bought over the past two years for $7 billion.
That’s why there’s a ~$1 billion hole in the balance sheet.
Funny thing is…
This was easy to avoid.
Had they simply stayed in cash and short-term treasuries, they would’ve been fine.
This is how USDC — the second-largest stablecoin — can promise a 1-to-1 exchange for US dollars even during a run on the stablecoin.
AdStaker is changing the world of digital advertising. For those who have been dreaming of finding an app that can pay them well and for a very long time, with very minimum effort, AdStaker is the answer.
AdStaker s a paid-to-view ads platform. The way it works in a nutshell: Purchase AdStaker tokens (available on Pancake Swap) and stake them on the AdStaker App.
Every day you view a minimum of 10 ads the app rewards with a staking reward which is a percentage of the total amount of AdStaker Tokens you have staked. The daily rewards are variable but have been from 1% to 5% of your staked amount.
For example, if you have 10,000 Adstaker tokens staked and view 10 ads, the next day if the daily variable percentage is 1% you would receive 100 additional AdStaker tokens.
You would now have 10,100 Adstaker tokens and because the AdStaker app automatically compounds your earned rewards the next time you will earn a percentage of 10,100 and so on and so on.
ADSTKR 2/11/2023
Play The Long Game
The ultimate AdStaker strategy is to play the long game.
Each day you earn a staking reward it is automatically added to your stake.
Let’s use the example of a starting stake of 10,000 Adstaker tokens. With 1% daily rewards compounded for just 1 year your 10,000 stake would grow to 377,834.34 Adstaker Tokens.
Now, again, the rewards are variable so some days they can be 1.5% or 2%, or even as high as 5%.
Unstake/Withdraw Only What You Need
First, AdStaker also has a variable maximum unstaking limit. So you can’t ever unstake all your tokens at once. That’s actually a great feature. There are no taxes or other costs to unstake.
The max unstaking/withdrawal limit keeps the selling pressure down on the exchange which, in turn, helps to stabilize the token price.
AdStaker is designed from the ground up to be a long-term income-earning platform.
The reasons AdStaker will be around for a long time are primarily because:
1. AdStaker earns income from its Advertisers. AdStaker is the only advertising platform that only shows ads to actual buyers. Every ad viewer must have a minimum amount of AdStaker tokens staked (150 as of this writing). It’s a super-powerful advertising medium. Advertising is the #1 most purchased product by far online. Over 6 Billion dollars in digital advertising were purchased in 2022 alone.
2. AdStaker is actually a highly centralized app. While some hard-core crypto degens may think that’s a bad thing, it’s actually great for serious long-term investors. Admin and his Team can change many of the variables to maintain the app’s longevity and the stability of the AdStaker Token price.
The Ultimate AdStaker Strategy
From what we’ve discussed already you can see that the ultimate strategy to use would be to compound your AdStaker Tokens daily for as long as possible.
Only unstake when you need some quick cash and keep the rest staked and automatically compounding.
The reason some people want to stake short-term on a lot of staking apps is FEAR.
Some people are afraid if they don’t sell as much as possible they will lose their money.
This is a fairly well-founded fear since a lot of apps disappear suddenly. But as explained above AdStaker is truly different. It’s going to be here for you for a very long time. Rick Katz, CEO ADSTAKER
We are not investment advisors. The above recommendations are the personal views of the founder of Adstaker. As in any investment, never invest more than you are prepared to lose. NOTE: I (editor) am a founder and investor in ADSTAKER
? really you need to read this next sentence, it might change everything for you…
If you’re a marketer and you want to sponsor more people or make more sales there’s a brand new very powerful advertising platform that almost no one knows about.
But, my opinion is that the ones who do know about it are starting to rave, which means you’re about to miss out on a window of lead generation that you will never see again.
Give me a second to explain please, I don’t want you to miss this because you don’t know about it, or if you do maybe you don’t understand it.
There’s only been a few times in my online career that I’ve been blown away by advertising platforms.
Pay-per-click was the first one that changed everything for online marketers. Then safelists that featured contact solo ads were great in their day Then, for a while, there were a few good private solo ad vendors.
We have been forced to focus on spamming people on Facebook and other socials or posting endless content hoping people will think we’re Gods they must follow.
I’m not knocking people who do stuff like that I kinda do too, but I sure don’t love it do you?
But what if…
…instead of hounding or tricking or manipulating someone to look at your business, you could simply pay a small amount to have a real person who is already interested in the type of thing you’re offering AND has money happily agrees to look at your website?
Wait a minute, Bill, are you actually telling me this works? Yeah, but there’s a catch. A BIG stinking enormous catch.
What’s the catch? Hold on to your butts, but you need to learn how to use crypto because
Crypto is what makes this amazing thing work!
Not only do you need to use crypto but you have to use a new fangled thing called by the silly name of Pancake Swap. You go to the Pancake Swap website and swap one crypto token for another one.
Wish they also served pancakes but, can’t have everything I guess.
Then: Step two is after reviewing that page contact meand let me know if you need any help at all. I will be happy to personally help you get started.
Whatever you don’t just sit there wondering how you’re going to sponsor more people or sell more stuff.
I’m telling you, you will so miss out if you don’t get in on this right now.
Because right now your advantage is there’s only a tiny percentage of marketers that know about this yet.
And most of the ones who know about it are scared of anything that involves crypto. That is YOUR advantage right now. While other sit on the sideline because they’re afraid you can take action and reap the benefits of a new powerful lead generation machine.
But you need to take action now. I’m here to help you, you don’t have to do it alone. William “Bill” Ribblett
Note: Special thanks to Rick Katz, developer and CEO of ADSTAKER!
Here’s a note from Rick Katz CEO ADSTAKER:
Crypto programs come and go like sunshine in December.
The list of crypto programs that have gone belly-up is almost as long as a list of side effects on a new pharmaceutical pill.
That’s why I want to assure you about AdStaker.
There are two things you can be sure of when it comes to AdStaker; we’re always going to offer cream-of-the-crop advertising and we’re always going to pay stakers for viewing those ads.
If you’ve been sitting on the sidelines…in other words, you signed up for AdStaker but haven’t staked yet or bought ads yet.
It only takes 150 AdStaker tokens to get started staking and earning.
It only takes 25 AdStaker tokens to start advertising.
I mean, if you signed up for an AdStaker account and haven’t even started yet, what are you waiting for..
Make TODAY the day you decide to go for it with AdStaker.
The cryptocurrency market is booming, and now is the ideal time for investors to consider making a move to buy cryptocurrency. This is especially true for new investors who have been on the fence about investing in cryptocurrency due to its volatile nature.
Crypto is Popular Now
Cryptocurrency has grown significantly in popularity over the past few years, and its value has skyrocketed in the last year alone. With its value continuing to increase, buying cryptocurrency now can be a great way to make a return on your investment.
Cryptocurrency is also an attractive investment option because it gives investors more control over their money. Unlike traditional investments, which are subject to market volatility, cryptocurrency has the ability to help investors diversify their portfolios and reduce their risk.
The Advantages of Owning Crypto
In addition, there are many advantages to investing in cryptocurrency. For one, transaction fees are generally much lower than those associated with traditional payment methods. Investors can save money on transaction fees, which can add up over time.
The advantages of investing in cryptocurrency are numerous. Cryptocurrency is a highly liquid asset, meaning that it can be easily converted into a variety of other currencies, or used as a means of payment. Additionally, cryptocurrency is not subject to the same regulations that other traditional investments are, meaning that it can be used as a way to diversify your portfolio. Furthermore, cryptocurrency is not subject to inflation, and its value is largely determined by market forces.
With these advantages in mind, now is an excellent time to invest in cryptocurrency. The technology is still in its infancy and has the potential for huge growth, making it a smart choice for investors who want to get in on the ground floor. Additionally, the low cost to get started means that even those with limited resources can get involved.
High Returns are possible
Finally, there is the potential for high returns. Because of its increasing popularity and value, investing in cryptocurrency can be a great way to make a profit. Investors who are willing to take the risk may be rewarded with a significant return on their investment.
For all these reasons, this is the perfect time for investors to buy Cryptocurrency and take advantage of the cryptocurrency market. With its increasing value and potential for high returns, investing in cryptocurrency can be a great way to grow your wealth.
Check out all my posts for information on the best cryptos to purchase for your portfolio.
As always we always recommend that one should never invest more than they are willing to lose, since all investments involve risk and as with stock investing, there is a potential of losing all of your principal.
Over the past couple of years, staking cryptocurrencies has really taken off big time.
If staking crypto is new to you it basically means you are tying up some of your crypto tokens to earn passive rewards.
In the past, there was only one kind of staking and that was staking tokens in order to secure blockchain protocols. This type of staking usually requires you to have a LOT of tokens.
Today there’s a brand new type of staking and so it’s been paying its stakers big time.
And then new protocols arrived on the scene that offered staking in virtually any amount for the protocol to offer products such as crypto-insurance, governance, and liquidity.
It’s called Ad Staking.
As an Ad Staker you are staking tokens in order to facilitate online advertising.
At AdStaker you are paid rewards daily on your stake by simply viewing a minimum of ten advertisements.
The concept is simple as ABC (yet very powerful):
A) Businesses need to reach targeted prospects to show their ads to.
B) Ad Stakers earn on their staked tokens by viewing ads.
If you’re looking for an easy, fun way to earn almost passive income in crypto Ad Staking might be right for you.
Also, if you’re a promoter or advertiser you will find better than average results using AdStaker’s advertising option to promote your business offers.
I cannot give specific financial or investment advice. The best cryptocurrency to buy depends on your personal financial situation, investment goals, and risk tolerance. There are many factors to consider when making investment decisions, including the current market conditions, the coin’s technology, the team behind the coin, and the overall sentiment in the cryptocurrency market. It’s important to thoroughly research any coin before investing in it and consult a financial advisor if you are unsure.
Also, it’s important to note that the crypto market can be highly volatile, and the value of a coin can fluctuate dramatically in a short period of time. This means that even if a coin is considered to be a good investment, it can still come with a high degree of risk. Investing in cryptocurrency should only be done with funds that you can afford to lose.
I would suggest taking a look at the top coins by market capitalization, such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Litecoin, as they are the largest and most established coins. They have been around for a long time and have a proven track record of success, and a significant development team working on them, but I must remind you again that buying a coin, whatever it is, requires thorough research and understanding of the crypto market and the coin’s fundamentals.
I also watch for market manipulation of a coin’s value on the open market. For instance, when a new coin is issued, there may be a large interest from “whale” investors with huge bank accounts who purchase from the liquidity pool of the issued coin which drives the price of the coin up temporarily. These whales time a sell to then drive the cost of the coin down (temporarily) so they can buy more to drive the cost even higher. When they feel that the timing is right, they sell their holdings at a high price to reap their profit and send the price of the coin down. At this point, if they feel there is still interest in the coin, they buy again at the low price and hold as the price goes up because media interest and individual interest peak again. Coins known on the market as “shit-coins” see such manipulation.* Whales get in on the ground floor with Shit-coins to take advantage of volatile coins to maximize profits. #ShitCoins
“Shit-coins are a term used to refer to cryptocurrencies that have no real value or utility. They are often created for a quick profit and usually have little to no development or technology behind them. They generally have no real-world use and can be highly speculative investments. They often have very low trading volumes and can be highly volatile.”
yearn.finance (YFI) is a decentralized finance (Defi) platform that aims to provide a simple and profitable way for users to earn interest on their cryptocurrency assets. It was created in 2020 by Andre Cronje, a well-known figure in the Defi space. Yearn.finance is built on the Ethereum blockchain and its native token YFI is the governance token for the platform.
Yearn.finance operates by automatically moving users’ assets to the highest-yielding protocols in the Defi space. It does this by creating yield farming strategies and leveraging its own smart contracts to automate the process of earning the highest interest possible for users’ assets. This system is called “yVaults”, and it allows users to earn a higher return on their assets with minimal effort.
YFI token serves as the governance token for the yearn.finance platform and it grants the holders the ability to vote on the management of the platform and its strategies. YFI is also used as a medium of exchange and a store of value and it is also used as collateral for other strategies and protocols, like lending and borrowing of other assets on the yearn.finance platform.
One of the main advantages of yearn.finance is its ease of use. It allows users to earn a high return on their assets with minimal effort and knowledge, making it accessible to a wide range of users, including those who are new to the Defi space.
Another advantage of yearn.finance is its strong community, which is involved in the development and improvement of the platform, and also in the practical adoption of the platform, and YFI token. The community is constantly working on new strategies and features to maximize user returns and the platform is transparent in its operation and process.
YFI token value has grown significantly since its launch, it had a tremendous run in the second half of 2020, and it’s considered as one of the most valuable tokens in the Defi space, reaching a market capitalization of over $1 billion in a short period of time. Due to its strong performance and potential, YFI is often considered a high-risk, high-reward investment.
In conclusion, yearn.finance offers a unique and profitable solution to earning interest on cryptocurrency assets, through its YFI token and yVaults strategies. Its ease of use, strong community, and performance make it a valuable addition to the Defi space and a valuable crypto asset for investors willing to take on higher-risk investments. With the Defi market continuing to grow, yearn.finance has a good potential of becoming one of the major players in this space.
Chainlink (LINK) is a decentralized oracle network that aims to provide a secure and reliable connection between smart contracts on blockchain platforms and external data sources, such as stock prices, weather data, and more. Chainlink was created in 2014 by a group of blockchain and smart contract experts, the project has been widely adopted and used by many projects in the crypto-sphere.
One of the key features of Chainlink is its use of oracles, which are nodes on the network that are responsible for collecting and delivering external data to smart contracts. These oracles are incentivized with LINK tokens, which also serve as a security measure to ensure that only high-quality and accurate data is delivered to the smart contracts.
Chainlink’s oracles can connect to a wide variety of data sources and APIs, making it highly adaptable to a wide range of use cases, such as decentralized finance (Defi), prediction markets, and gaming. Additionally, Chainlink is built to be fully decentralized, the network is operated by a decentralized network of independent operators, which ensures that the service is not controlled by any single entity, making it more secure and trustworthy.
One of the main advantages of Chainlink is its reliability and security, which is ensured by the decentralization of the network, the use of high-quality oracles, and the use of smart contracts to handle and validate external data. These security measures give Chainlink an edge over other centralized oracle providers and increase confidence in the smart contracts that use it.
Another advantage of Chainlink is its growing adoption, which is demonstrated by the number of partnerships and integrations it has established with various projects and companies in the blockchain industry, such as Google, Oracle, SWIFT, and Aave, among others. These partnerships demonstrate the utility of the technology and increase the potential use cases of Chainlink.
LINK is the native token of the Chainlink network, and it serves multiple purposes: it is used to pay for the services of the oracles, it’s used as a form of collateral for the oracle providers to secure the network, and it’s also used as a store of value and traded on various cryptocurrency exchanges.
In conclusion, Chainlink has a high level of value as a cryptocurrency, due to its unique and essential role in connecting smart contracts with external data sources and its focus on security, decentralization, and reliability. Its growing adoption, partnerships, and use cases make it a valuable addition to any crypto portfolio, and it is expected to play a key role in the growing decentralized finance (Defi) and blockchain ecosystem.
