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Six Popular Cryptocurrencies to Keep an Eye on

When you think about cryptocurrencies the first thing that comes to mind is most likely Bitcoin. Since 2009, Bitcoin has definitely become a standard for cryptocurrencies, but it has also started a wave of cryptocurrencies, some of which are aiming to be improved versions of Bitcoin.

Today, there are over 700 cryptocurrencies. However, many of these new cryptocurrencies include a great risk that comes with lesser liquidity and volatile value. That doesn’t mean that some of those aren’t worth checking out. We have picked six altcoins that might spark your attention.

  1. Litecoin (LTC)

Litecoin is one of the oldest decentralized cryptocurrencies besides Bitcoin. It was launched soon after Bitcoin, in 2011, and it’s based on the same model. It uses an open source decentralized cryptographic protocol which can be decoded with consumer grade CPUs.

litecoins

Litecoin is not just a copy of Bitcoin. The creator of Litecoin and a former Google engineer, Charlie Lee, tried to improve on some shortcomings of Bitcoin. The main difference is that Litecoin has a faster block generation rate that results in faster transactions.

  1. Ethereum (ETH)

Ethereum is a decentralized software platform and a programming language that runs on a blockchain. Distributed Applications and Smart Contrast can be run on the this distributed computing platform without any downtime. Applications are run on a cryptographic token called ether.

ethereum

In 2016, The DAO, a decentralized autonomous organization based on the Ethereum platform suffered an attack after which the network split in two. That’s why now there are two separate cryptocurrencies, Ethereum (ETH) and Ethereum Classic (ETC)/

  1. Zcash (ZEC)

Launched in 2016, Zcash is a newcomer to the field of cryptocurrencies claiming to provide better security by offering selective transparency of transactions. It is an open-source cryptocurrency operating without any central authority. All the transactions are published on a blockchain, but information about the sender and the recipient involved in the transaction or the amount that was sent remain hidden.

zcash

The distinguishing feature of Zcash is that it uses public blockchains and allows for private transactions at the same time. Users can choose “shielded” transactions which are encrypted using a cryptographic technique called zk-SNARK, developed by Zcash team.

  1. Dash

Dash was launched in January 2014 (originally as Xcoin and later Darkcoin), and it has quickly gathered a large fanbase. The reason for this is the enhanced anonymity it provides. It is basically a version of Bitcoin that aims to make transactions as untraceable as possible.

Dash, short for Digital Cash, was developed by Evan Duffield. It operates on a model of decentralized governance that allows Dash to fund its own development instead of relying on donations or pre-mined endowments.

  1. Ripple (XRP)

Ripple stands out among the rest of the entries in this list because it’s not exactly a cryptocurrency. It is a real-time gross settlement system (RTGS) that uses a native cryptocurrency called XRP. Built on an open source internet protocol, Ripple aims to provide secure and instant financial transactions across the world.

Ripple was launched in 2012 and XRP is now the 3rd largest cryptocurrency with a market capitalization of $51 billion. What makes XRP different from other cryptocurrencies is the fact that it doesn’t need mining.

  1. Monero (XMR)

Monero is an open source cryptocurrency with a strong focus on privacy and security. It was launched in April 2014, and it attracted a lot of attention with its unique privacy properties. Monero uses “ring signatures”, a new technique that makes it virtually impossible to trace the movement of money.

Monero builds on Bitcoin and uses various mechanisms to overcome vulnerabilities in Bitcoin’s protocol. Because of this, Monero has attracted many enthusiasts in the field and is completely funded by donations.

Recent Stock Market Trends to Pay Attention To

stock-market-trend

The stock market is constantly changing and shifting, and with this comes a lot of varying trends. If you are an experienced traders, you would have heard of the terms bull and bear. The terms are used to describe the general trend of the stock market, whether it is increasing or decreasing at any given time. If the market is described as bullish, is it increasing (getting better), but if it is bearish, it is decreasing (getting worse).

According the professionals, the market is currently in a bullish state and is increasing every day. However, although this is a general trend, there have been many individual trends in stocks that you should be paying attention to. In particular, it appears that online and tech companies are starting to see large increases in share prices. This article will look at some of the trends in 2017 and will focusing on the big elephant in the room – the consistent increase in prices.

A Bull Market

If you have been trading in the stock market, you may have noticed that the market has been in a bullish state for what feels like forever. The rise has been going on steadily since 2009 and has been interesting to say the least when you take a look at 2017. The market has been so good that ever small percentage drops have received horrifying reactions.

The most shocking thing about this bull market is related to how long it’s been going on. The rise in the market has been related to the Federal Reserve’s low interest rates and the increase in bond buying. The market rise is currently standing at the second longest since 1900. To put it into a different perspective, the S&P 500 has risen by around 267% since the trend began. Although there is not much change in the stock market for 2017 when you consider this rise, the steadiness of the market in 2017 has raised suspicion.a-bull-vs-bear

The Market is Surprisingly Steady

As well as being on a steady incline, in 2017 specifically, the market has been very steady. In fact, this year, the market has hit a new record, as stocks haven’t been this steady since 1965. Back then, investors like Warren Buffet were gaining control of Berkshire Hathaway and Martin Luther King Jr. was leading a march about civil rights.

Many professionals in the industry are saying that 2017 should be looked at with one eye turned to the past, and investors should take the opportunities available. It seems that large events such as Britain leaving the EU and the recent election have had the largest impact on the stock market so far. Anything else has had minimal effect.

Will it last?

So the real question that is on everyone’s minds is, “will this last?” Many people are suggesting that a downward turn is approaching, similar to what happened in the last recessions. In most cases, when the bull market finally ends, there will be a sharp downturn of around 20%, which will hurt a lot of traders and businesses. However, these trends needs to be watched closely and you need you take advantage of rising opportunities. The stocks are great at the moment and have been quoted as “magical”. Just keep an eye on the rise and make sure you don’t get stuck if the market takes a dive.

Introduction to Exchange Traded Funds

The ETF trеnd trading has lоng been a рорulаr wау оf mаking mоnеу. Yоu саn gеt rich very quick if уоu knоw whаt you’re doing, but уоu dо nееd to be familiar with thе соmраniеѕ thаt уоu ѕtаrt investing in and if you аrе nоt, уоu may wаnt to get some рrоfеѕѕiоnаl hеlр.

Exchange Traded Funds

ETF of ѕtаndѕ fоr еxсhаngе trаdеd fundѕ, a рорulаr invеѕtmеnt vеhiсlе whiсh is trаdеd оn thе stock еxсhаngеѕ. Thеу wоrk vеrу muсh likе ѕtосkѕ, аnd thеу аlѕо hоld аѕѕеtѕ in thе wау оf stocks оr bоndѕ аnd they trаdеd рrеttу muсh thе ѕаmе price аѕ a nеt аѕѕеt vаluе dоеѕ.

Thе rеаѕоn thеу hаvе bесоmе particularly attractive invеѕtmеntѕ tо many реорlе iѕ bесаuѕе thеrе lоw соѕtѕ. They have ѕtосk-likе fеаturеѕ, so they аrе a very welcome аdditiоn оr сhаngе to those who аrе аlrеаdу familiar with the ѕtосk mаrkеt and trаding in ѕtосkѕ аnd ѕhаrеѕ. They also have a very fаvоurаblе tаx еffiсiеnсу, and thеу аrе lоw cost tо invest in.

Yоu саn buу аnd ѕеll ѕhаrеѕ dirесtlу to the fund mаnаgеr. These аrе then trаdеd in сrеаtiоn unitѕ whiсh аrе bаѕiсаllу blосkѕ оf many tеnѕ оf thоuѕаndѕ оf ѕhаrеѕ. There аrе many diffеrеnt орtiоnѕ available, and уоu саn get ѕtаrtеd with ѕоmе popular аnd reputable websites which will intrоduсе уоu to thiѕ potentially highlу lucrative орроrtunitу.

Hоw dо ETFѕ earn?

Exсhаngе trаdеd funds or ETFs, wоrk оn thе рrinсiрlе оf bundling tоgеthеr divеrѕifiеd еxсhаngе based ѕесuritiеѕ tо minimize riѕk. ETFѕ are ѕеtuр up tо riѕе аnd fаll with a major mаrkеt indеx. Sеvеrаl wеll knоwn brokerage houses ѕuсh аѕ Bаrсlауѕ, Pimco аnd Fidеlitу nоw оffеr money mаrkеt ETFѕ аѕ аn аltеrnаtivе to mоnеу mаrkеt accounts.

ETFѕ earn

With ѕuсh ETFs “nоn-immеdiаtе” cash allocations is the аim, this еnаblеѕ less conservative investments and роtеntiаllу highеr уiеldѕ. Thе riѕkѕ tаkеn аrе cushioned bу the divеrѕе invеѕtmеntѕ thаt are mаdе. Aсtivе ETFѕ while nоt very liԛuid, gеnеrаllу еаrn better уiеldѕ.

Aсtivе ETFs аrе Eаrning High Intеrеѕt

Since thе introduction оf thе асtivе ETF, yields hаvе vаriеd greatly, thе trеnd thеѕе dауѕ thоugh is that thеу оffеr bеttеr rеturnѕ thаn mоѕt money mаrkеt funds. Trаditiоnаl ETFѕ have соntinuеd to dо well dеѕрitе the blеаk есоnоmу. Fоr reasons that саn’t bе еxрlаinеd, ETFѕ juѕt dоn’t ѕееm tо be tоо affected bу these unсеrtаin timеѕ.

Aѕ ETFs gо, thе wiѕеѕt investments are thоѕе that are highly customized. Dоn’t grab up a сеrtаin type оf ETF just bесаuѕе it’s рорulаr to do ѕо. Thе bеѕt thing tо dо iѕ to tаlk to a consultant ѕо thаt hе саn аdviѕе you on the bеѕt ETFѕ fоr your portfolio. Whilе ETFs are аlrеаdу divеrѕifiеd, furthеr divеrѕifiсаtiоn within уоur portfolio will уiеld bеttеr rеturnѕ.