Boxmining v2

Author: max.maiboroda

  • Synthetix ($SNX): Everything you need to know about this top DeFi project

    Synthetix ($SNX): Everything you need to know about this top DeFi project

    Synthetix (SNX) is one of the top Decentralised Finance (DeFi) platforms in existence. According to Coinmarketcap their native token $SNX ranks no.7 in terms of market capitalisation compared to other DeFi tokens. Synthetix itself is primarily a decentralized exchange but also a synthetic asset issuance platform.

    The platform enables users to issue and trade synthetic assets — digital assets that represent other real assets like stocks, fiat currencies, commodities, or cryptocurrencies. It also has a staking mechanism that incentivizes users to provide liquidity and maintain the platform.

    The Synthetix Protocol was originally conceived as Havven back in 2017 by Kain Warwick. Warwick is currently also a Non-Executive Director of blueshyft- a network of over 1200 retail locations around Australia.

    What is Synthetix?

    Simply put, Synthetix is an Ethereum-based DeFi ecosystem that functions as a deentralised exchange (DEX) and asset issuer that is maintained via a staking incentive scheme.

    Users can speculate on any real-world asset by creating synthetic assets that track their prices in real-time via oracle feeds. And unlike traditional financial systems, Synthetix requires no KYC. You don’t even need to create an account.

    Yet anyone could gain exposure to Tesla stocks, high premium bonds, real estate, and just about anything. This can be done simply by depositing SNX tokens into the platform.

    Furthermore, those that mint synthetic assets can earn passive income from the fees generated by people buying the assets.

    One of the most exciting aspects of the Syntethix system is that it can siphon a huge chunk of the trillions of dollars of assets from traditional markets and bring them to the Ethereum network.

    Synthetix Network (SNX) Token

    SNX is the utility token of the Synthetix ecosystem and is necessary to create synthetic assets called Synths. Users can buy SNX tokens from several crypto exchanges and deposit them in a compatible wallet in order to stake them.

    Once they are locked up, new Synths can be minted. The token’s supply used to be deflationary until it was updated in March 2019. The update saw the implementation of an inflationary monetary policy to encourage stakers to create more Synths.

    By 2025, a total of 250 million SNX tokens will be minted. SNX has surged drastically in the last couple of months. It went from $0.79 at the beginning of June to around $3.32 on the 25th of July 2020.

    Synth Tokens

    Synth tokens are synthetic assets that track the price of real assets. They are minted by locking up SNX tokens.

    Synths can come in any form and they are denoted by ‘s’. For instance, fiat synths would look like these: sEUR, sUSD, SRMB. Other variations of Synths include sAAPL (synthetic Apple), sTSLA (synthetic Tesla), sAu (synthetic gold), sBNB (synthetic Binance Coin), sDEFI (synthetic DeFi Index), and many more. (https://www.furtenbachadventures.com/)

    Whenever new Synths are minted, stakers create a debt. Therefore, they need to pay back the same value in Synths before they can withdraw their locked-up SNX tokens. And the value of Synth will likely change over time.

    As a result, users may need to pay a different amount of Synths by the time they withdraw their locked up tokens. 

    Fortunately, users are not required to pay the same type of Synth that was initially minted. As long as the Synth used to pay has the same market value, the system will accept it. For instance, a Tesla share Synth can be used to pay in the place of a Bitcoin Synth as long as they have equal value.

    One thing to note is that Synth tokens are not exactly the same as the assets they represent. They are known as synthetic assets for a reason. 

    For instance, if you hold an sAAPL token, you will be exposed to the volatility of Apple shares. However, unlike owning real AAPL shares, you won’t be receiving dividends like real Apple shareholders enjoy.

    Collateralization 

    The Synthetix system requires a collateralization rate of 750%. For instance, if you want to mint 100 sUSDT, you need to deposit $750 worth of SNX tokens as collateral. 

    This rather high collateralization rate is imposed in order to hedge the platform against extreme market price swings.

    Staking SNX

    Staking is currently where most people are making money out of the Synthetix protocol. But like any money-making schemes, staking Synthetix bears some degree of risk.

    How to stake SNX

    If you truly want to make money staking SNX, there are a few easy steps involved.

    1. First, you need to buy Synthetix in any exchange and connect to a web3 wallet.
    2. Visit Mintr, the best portal interface for minting and managing Synths.
    3. Connect your web3 wallet to Mintr.
    4. Click ‘Mint’ and choose what type of Synth you want to mint.
    5. Remember the collateralization ratio of 750%
    6. Input the number of Synths you want to mint.
    7. Click ‘Mint Now’.
    8. Confirm the transaction in your web3 wallet.

    Afterward, your SNX token will automatically be staked. You will now be able to enjoy rewards generated from trading fees. Furthermore, you are also subject to inflation rewards.

    These rewards, however, come with a price. When you mint Synths, you get to own a portion of the platform’s debt pool — the total value of all Synths. And this debt can increase and decrease regardless of the original value of your minted Synths.

    Synthetic DEX

    Synthetix has a built-in DEX interface that enables users to trade without an account. The DEX currently offers 19 assets to trade and 31 trading pairs.

    All you need to do is visit the Synthetix exchange and connect any web3 wallet like MetaMask. It has a slick but simple interface that eases users’ experience while trading.

    Synthetic exchange charges both maker and taker fees with 0.30% which is higher than the industry standard of 0.05-0.25%. The fees will be used to reward the stakers for providing liquidity to the platform. 

    Furthermore, users will also be charged Gas fees by the Ethereum network. For now, all these fees could add up which might be a hindrance from the greater market to fully adopt DEXes for all their trading needs.

    In time, when Ethereum finally scales, gas fees should be low enough to become negligible.

    DEXes like Synthetix don’t require withdrawal fees (except for Gas) since trades are conducted directly from wallet to wallet.

    The Takeaway

    As a leading DeFi protocol, Synthetix has a lot of potential. It has enabled users across the world to create and trade synthetic assets more than any platform to date. However, nothing is guaranteed to last in the crypto space.

    DeFi protocols like Synthetix have seen enormous growth in the last couple of months. Whether or not this is sustainable, only time will tell. 

    But considering the trillions of dollars floating in Centralized Finance (CeFi), it is not far-fetched to assume that DeFi’s disruption is far from over.

    Decentralised Finance (DeFi) series: tutorials, guides and more

    With content for both beginners and more advanced users, check out our YouTube DeFi series containing tutorials on the ESSENTIAL TOOLS you need for trading in the DeFi space e.g. MetaMask and Uniswap. As well as a deep dive into popular DeFi topics such as decentralized exchanges, borrowing-lending platforms and NFT marketplaces

    The DeFi series on this website also covers topics not explored on YouTube. For an introduction on what is DeFi, check out Decentralized Finance (DeFi) Overview: A guide to the HOTTEST trend in cryptocurrency

    Tutorials and guides for the ESSENTIAL DEFI TOOLS:

    More videos and articles are coming soon as part of our DeFi series, so be sure to SUBSCRIBE to our Youtube channel so you can be notified as soon as they come out!

    Disclaimer: Cryptocurrency trading involves significant risks and may result in the loss of your capital. You should carefully consider whether trading cryptocurrencies is right for you in light of your financial condition and ability to bear financial risks. Cryptocurrency prices are highly volatile and can fluctuate widely in a short period of time. As such, trading cryptocurrencies may not be suitable for everyone. Additionally, storing cryptocurrencies on a centralized exchange carries inherent risks, including the potential for loss due to hacking, exchange collapse, or other security breaches. We strongly advise that you seek independent professional advice before engaging in any cryptocurrency trading activities and carefully consider the security measures in place when choosing or storing your cryptocurrencies on a cryptocurrency exchange.

  • How Cryptocurrency Will Evolve Forex Industry

    How Cryptocurrency Will Evolve Forex Industry

    How Cryptocurrency Will Evolve Forex Industry

    Cryptocurrency has endured something of a rocky ride since its inception more than 12 years ago when Bitcoin first entered the commercial marketplace. Whilst Bitcoin was initially given a bad reputation for its involvement in the Darkweb and other illicit activities, it has since evolved to lead a burgeoning and viable marketplace. This is reflected by the market capitalization of Bitcoin (and indeed cryptocurrencies as a whole), which currently sits at an impressive $117.81 billion and continues to dominate the marketplace (despite declining from a peak of $237.62 billion during a price surge in 2017).

    Of course, this market cap also hints at the volatile nature of cryptocurrency trading, and in this respect, it has a great deal in common with the forex market. But how will crypto evolve and expand the forex market in the near-term?

    What is Cryptocurrency?

    Let’s start with the basics; as cryptocurrency represents a digital asset class that is based on the ground-breaking Bitcoin technology.

    As for blockchain itself, this is a complex and far-reaching technology that has applications in a raft of industries from healthcare to the supply chain, and it essentially serves as a decentralised system in which different types of transactions can be recorded in an immutable and transparent manner.

    These transactions, which may be made in a number of different cryptocurrencies, can also be maintained and accessed across several devices that may be linked within a peer-to-peer network.

    As we’ve already said, there are now a wide and diverse range of cryptocurrencies in the market, many of which have evolved as viable assets in their own right.

    Aside from Bitcoin, we’ve also seen the emergence of broader and more practical digital currencies such as Ethereum and Ripple. The former has a great deal in common with Bitcoin, although many consider it to be a faster and more secure asset that can also underpin so-called digital smart contracts.

    In the case of Ripple, this also underpins a wider (and ultimately transparent) payment system that is benefitting from sustained demand at present. So, although this is a centralized cryptocurrency, it boasts a far greater purpose which boosts its underlying value and creates a more stable foundation from the perspective of investors.

    How Will Crypto Impact on the Forex Market?

    As cryptocurrency has benefitted from sustained market growth and the introduction of some (albeit relatively small) regulations, it has become increasingly popular across the globe.

    It has even broken down barriers in the Asia-Pacific region, the Hong Kong authorities recently approved the region’s first approved cryptocurrency fund. This was backed by  Venture Smart Asia and set an initial 12-month target fund of $100 million, while there’s also the promise of more funds being launched in the near-term.

    Such funds will allow for the trading of crypto tokens as individual assets, and this draws a clear parallel with the globally popular forex market. In this respect, there can be little doubt that the emergence of these currencies will diversify and develop the forex market further, increasing the range of assets available to traders and the level of volatility that exists within the space.

    This was borne out recently when a raft of cryptocurrencies lost the cumulative sum of $21 billion in market capitalization following the decline in oil prices and wider currency values.

    This trend is far from unprecedented too, with Bitcoin having enjoyed a historic price run from $900 to a staggering $20,000 in 2017 (only to lose more than 50% of these gains by June the following year).

    Beyond this, the wider integration of blockchain into the forex market could change the way in which trades are recorded, potentially minimizing the risk of fraudulent activity and market manipulation over time.

  • How to Earn a Bitcoin Living While Stuck in Quarantine

    How to Earn a Bitcoin Living While Stuck in Quarantine

    With a third of the global population in lockdown following the rampant transmission of SARS-COV-2, people of finding new ways to generate passive income. This article will teach you how to earn a Bitcoin Living whilst stuck in Quarantine.

    The virus that causes COVID-19, a respiratory disease that can prove fatal to some populations. Terms like “self-isolation”, “quarantine”, and “shelter-in-place” have been used to describe the newly placed government sanctions and guidelines, but the term people seem to be using is ‘lockdown’.

    It should come as no wonder why, as ‘lockdown’ possibly sums up feelings of being stuck at home with little to do but consume depressing media and too many calories. Italians are feeling the brunt of it, having started theirs over 9 weeks ago on March 10, quickly followed by the UK who started March 23. The US, while not the longest by far, with most states, only entering lockdown towards the end of March, have still been feeling the burn a little over a month in.

    So what are you to do? Some while away their free hours by getting into new fitness routines, baking bread, or focusing on their children’s education. While others are stuck staring at other bitcoin exchanges wondering what it is they might be able to do to secure their holdings. Good news for everyone- even if you’ve never owned bitcoin before, now may be your time to jump in. With little to no cost and effort. Always remembering that after checking out these ideas, you can always go to exchange platforms, like Bitvavo, to help you with trading and maintaining your presence in the cryptocurrency market. Which is always a good idea.

    Mining

    Bitcoin and cryptocurrency mining has been a way to passively gain income for those who have the gear. When it comes to Bitcoin mining, you’re regular computer simply won’t do. You’ll need specialized hardware, called ASIC (applications specific integrated circuits) that will be able to mine Bitcoin on a consistent basis. The main benefit of ASICs is that they are extremely efficient at mining Bitcoin – but at the trade-off that they are algorithm-specific. This means that Bitcoin mining rigs will only mine coins with SHA-256 algorithm (Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, and Bitcoin SV).

    What it Will Cost

    Outside of purchasing the necessary hardware, and paying for any increase in electricity demand- not much. Mining is done purely by your machine, with little user requirements following set up. So all you have to do is kick back and watch your wallet cash in.

    Trading

    While effectively trading bitcoin takes a decent amount of knowledge, there’s no need to be a seasoned trader. In fact, being a dab hand in traditional markets may actually serve you up more problems than it’s capable of solving. The cost of buying into digital assets and currencies doesn’t need to be high, especially if you start with the one that isn’t as well known as bitcoin. There are thousands of cryptocurrencies worth investing in, where you can make small-time gains. Then take those gains and eventually build up to bigger investments like bitcoin.

    What it Will Cost

    Time and initial investment. Perhaps the most taxing of the two will be time. Learning how to trade bitcoin isn’t necessarily easy- but it’s very possible. You’ll need to read up on the behavior of whatever digital assets you’ll plan on using, as well as keep an eagle eye on the way that markets behave- both presently and historically.

    Writing

    There is a long and varied list of different freelance jobs that will happily pay you for your good efforts in bitcoin. Specifically those related to content writing or blogging. Some gigs only require that you help share and market their content. Certain markets, particularly newer ones that need to get the word out, will pay in their own crypto tokens just for registering with their site, following or retweeting their content, or otherwise sharing it across your social media platforms.

    What it Will Cost

    Next to nothing as long as you’ve got some spare time on your hands. Even less if you’re already a bit of a wordsmith or influencer. These types of jobs are available by the hundreds, but may not be easy to come by ideal positions immediately. It could take a fair bit of internet browsing, or some time spent building a solid Upwork or Freelancing profile, but once your foot is in the door- the bitcoins come cheap.

    Watching

    Bitcoin faucets are another solid way to collect bitcoin while in quarantine. Akin to writing and collecting airdrop content, some advertisers, firms, or crypto networks will pay you just to watch their content and fill out surveys. There are also a number of giveaways or drawings held across many social media platforms that are simple to get in on, providing your friend’s list doesn’t mind the occasional spam.

    What it Will Cost

    Again, more time and possibly a friend or two. Many of the watch programs require you to share or like their content, making your feed a bit haphazard for any of your followers. But past that, you can get by and earn bitcoin just by having a computer and reliable internet connection.

    Selling

    If you already have a business, particularly one that got shut down along with many of the rest of the mom and pop shops during this time, get online. Uploading any goods or services that you offer onto a personal website, or a sellers hub that will allow crypto payments is one way to start earning bitcoin while doing next to nothing. This works in your favor in a number of ways, as it provides better payment options to customers, helps to ensure their privacy, and keeps everyone away from any of the germs that paper money happily harbors. (https://www.kaizenautocare.com/)

    What it Will Cost

    If you don’t already have a website, paying someone to set you up with one can cost money, but it’s generally not extortionate. Assign a digital currency payment platform to your existing site is incredibly easy, and google is overflowing with excellent resources that explain just how to do it.

  • Binance announces Binance Pool, will they also dominate Bitcoin Mining?

    Binance announces Binance Pool, will they also dominate Bitcoin Mining?

    Binance, one of the world’s leading exchanges is adding yet another project to its ecosystem after launching its own mining pool called, “Binance Pool”. Supported by both Proof-of-Work (PoW) and Proof-of-Stake (PoS) mining mechanisms, Binance Pool will mine Bitcoin initially, before more tokens are added. Binance pool hopes to add more decentralization into the Bitcoin mining ecosystem, which is currently dominated by major players such as F2Pool and Antpool. On top of this Binance pool will offer Ethereum Mining and Staking options.

    Head of Binance Pool Lisa He told Cointelegraph, that her 15 staff members were working hard to, “establish a comprehensive platform for miners that will bring more possibilities to the mining industry by bridging traditional mining to financial services.”

    Introductory offer of zero Mining Pool fees

    In an attempt to bring customers in, the Pool is operating on zero fees until May 31 but following the initial grace period, the fee will be 2.5%. Larger miners are not an exception to this rule and they too will have to pay the fee in the future. Despite this, Binance maintains that Binance Pool will have one of the lowest fees on the market. 

    As for where Binance Pool fits into the Binance group, it would seem the mining system will not be independent of other branches. Instead, it is integrated into it, allowing fund transfers between the Pool and other services Binance provides like trading, staking, and lending. Not only that, but mining rewards go directly to the participants’ exchange accounts, rather than blockchain addresses. 

    For Binance founder and CEO, Changpeng Zhao the launch of Binance Pool represents a positive, not just for users but also for the larger industry as it will “enable significant growth and scale.” However, many are unconvinced at the positives of an economic juggernaut like Binance entering the mining industry.  

    Binance Receives Centralization Accusations 

    The reason for this concern stems from the Bitcoin hash rate. For many, Binance represents a real threat to the opportunities for smaller miners as they, alongside other more powerful pools, amass Bitcoin hash rate. One Twitter user aptly summed up many worries, tweeting “This hash distribution chart is soon going to be composed of just one color” next to a pie graph.

    Current hashrate distribution of top Bitcoin Mining Pools

    These concerns are only heightened when the much-anticipated Bitcoin halving event arrives and the circulation of the currency dwindles even further and with it the hash rate. Miners are already working hard to increase the hash rate prior to halving but whether smaller BTC miners will survive post halving as profits lower is the question. If not, then centralization and control could fall into a company like Binance’s hands. 

    However, for Lisa He, centralized control is not the incentive of Binance, rather they will facilitate the opposite, with the Binance Pool launch fostering decentralization in the mining sector. 

    Pointing to when Bitmain almost owned 51% of the Bitcoin hash rate (something that would give them complete control of the currency) in 2018, He argued that the entry from major companies like Binance with their computer power, has actually made the mining industry “more decentralized than it was two years ago,” as “the largest pools have less than 20% of the computing power of the whole network, and the assets on the Bitcoin network become more secure.”

  • Why the PUMP? Reasons for why Bitcoin prices always move in short bursts and how can we benefit from it?

    Why the PUMP? Reasons for why Bitcoin prices always move in short bursts and how can we benefit from it?

    Why does Bitcoin always “pump” in short periods of time? Can we benefit on this type of price action. Are OTC Bitcoin trading volume flows responsible for this type of price action and how do we learn about Over-the-Counter trading.

    In this article, we’ll tackle one of the greatest mysteries in the Bitcoin and cryptocurrency investing space – namely why does Bitcoin prices have drastic price movements in short bursts of time. This type of movement is almost commonplace in Cryptocurrency investing, for example just today Bitcoin prices moved from $8150 to $8450, then to $8800 in the space of 4 hours, with two big green candles leading the charge. What’s also surprising is that there is no fundamental reason to cause these movements – they are not triggered by a single world or political event. In this article we’ll look at the must possible reason behind what’s happening.

    Let’s get one thing out of the way – sudden Bitcoin pumps are not executed by a large group of people with small amounts of money. If this was the case, this group of people would have to be well organised, and information about such pumps are bound to leak out. We would know well in advance of the event happening. It would be common knowledge – especially considering how fast information spreads.

    This leads to the next conclusion – Bitcoin pumps are executed by small groups of people with access to the OTC market. We already know the world has high wealth concentration – 1% of the world has 99% of the wealth. The 1% can easily transact enough fiat to cause these sudden shifts in the price intentionally or otherwise.

    This theory is validated by reports of strong OTC volume flow in the past few weeks. This is across all trading desks around the world, especially with strong volume coming out of China and Southeast Asia. Recently reports have surfaced that OTC desks such as Genesis Block are expanding and opening new offices in Thailand to deal with the extra volume.

  • Harmony Protocol (ONE): Everything you NEED to know

    Harmony Protocol (ONE): Everything you NEED to know

    Harmony Protocol Logo

    The Harmony (ONE) protocol takes on the challenge of scaling blockchain without sacrificing decentralization. This has been the holy grail of challenges because solving scaling usually involves sacrificing decentralization – however Harmony maintains an open-consensus where anyone can join. This is achieved by:

    • Proof-of Stake – Harmony holders can participate in network consensus and improve network security
    • Deep Sharding – network is split into different teams or “shards” that work together and increase transaction efficiency
    • Network Optimized – Network communications are split into small fragments and shared (Kademlia routing)

    Harmony protocol has a sharding-based, fully scalable, secure and efficient blockchain. This means that the consensus mechanism can provide the blockchain solution necessary for the future of DApps. Even though Proof of Work networks were initially highly decentralized this element can be diluted with high usage. As such, the consensus mechanism for Harmony ensures it is still decentralized and permission-less. These are critical parts of future relevance and sustainability.

    Check out the Boxmining interview with the Co-Founder of Harmony Protocol, Nick White for an introduction to the project.

    Interview with Co-Founder Nick White

    The Competitive Scalability Field

    Providing scalability is a noble endeavor and unsurprisingly, Harmony will not be first to do it. This is because the field already features an array of running projects that also aim to provide the same solution. These rival projects include: EOS, Zilliqa, Algorand, and others. Harmony distinguishes itself by having a solid proof-of-stake system with state sharding. State sharding splits the network into teams that work together. This allows the network to grow faster as more nodes are added (rather than stay stagnant). Chains and transactions are co-ordinated by a beacon chain.

     “Neither of the projects mentioned above has a blockchain which will be performant, scalable, and as low cost as the Harmony blockchain will be.”

    Nick White, Co-founder of Harmony

    Co-founder Nick White touts the fact that Harmony has advantages over and above typical scalability projects. These are in the form of improved user experience, reduction of costs and the ability to support larger user bases for the decentralized app community. This will in turn draw more developers and projects to be a part of the Harmony project community.

    Harmony Protocol Consensus
    Harmony Protocol Consensus

    Needless to say, the target audience is not only limited to DApps developers but also established companies with greater user bases who wish to integrate blockchain technology into their products. White contends that such apps have had the problem of slow and existing networks. Harmony, on the other hand, makes their operations possible by efficient and affordable solutions.

    The Challenge of Attracting New Nodes

    Attracting new nodes to the network is definitely an issue for the network. To this matter, their Co-Founder and CEO, Stephen Tse stated as follows:

     “Harmony is building a robust ecosystem and we are in talks with every major staking as a service company to bring them on board and help grow Harmony’s validator ecosystem.”

    As such, the project has a proposal to lower the barrier for those who wish to participate in the network. This is in the form of lower resource requirements (specfically, 4GB) for new entrants. In addition, Harmony will write scripts that will make the initial setup simple as well as block rewards for staking. The economic model that underlines that is yet to be clear but stakers have the assurance of rewards for participation.

    Binance Partnership

    Binance exchange has recently announced the upcoming Harmony Protocol Initial Exchange Offering (IEO). This IEO will take place on 28th May 2019 and aims to raise funds for a project whose operation is a lot like its name. This is because the idea of providing a pertinent demand for cryptosphere, scalability, is something that can draw on collective human collaboration in the innovative platform.

    Harmony Binance Launchpad
    Harmony will be on Binance Launchpad

    The Binance IEO has been known to be a boost for its featured projects. This is because of the marketing catalyst as well as investor attraction. As such, Harmony can reach millions more with the Binance partnership. The partnership will also be in line with Harmony’s vision to provide scalability to billions across the world.

    White stated that the team has motivation from the global outlook that Binance provides. Blockchain technology has the potential to transform the lives of those both in developed and developing countries. This means that parts of Africa and Latin America, both within the scope of Harmony targets, can also achieve meaningful progress.

    With that in mind, the Binance Launchpad will take place on 28th May 2019. Notably, the process will follow the lottery format that is typical of Binance now. The token price is $0.003175 for one Harmony (ONE) token with a hardcap of US$5 million.

    Verdict

    Harmony Roadmap 2019
    Harmony Roadmap 2019

    In summary Harmony makes a solid stab at tackling blockchain scalablity whilst keeping an open consensus. The highlight of Harmony is the ability to do state sharding rather than simple transactional sharding, allowing more headroom for future scaling without congesting beacon chains.