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Crypto Communities How Valuable Are They?

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Crypto Communities – How Valuable Are They?

There seems to be some disillusionment about Crypto and Community or to put it more succinctly, “Crypto Community” in the wake of historical events of the past year. 2018 was notorious for ICO failures, ponzi scams, false hype, and FUD. Some are saying Crypto has an ethics problem. More to the point, it could be said it’s some people within the crypto space that have an ethics problem. Just as we’ve seen in the “real world” of fiat currency, banks, governments, and entrepreneurial shysters. For decades this game of greed has been played out leaving scores of victims.

We have seen the profiteering with this nascent industry at the misfortune of others. Also, startups have been too quick to launch an idea with no real thought or products to underpin it. The idea that the larger their community the more valuable the coin does nothing for sustainability. With that mindset and no real product, gives rise to pump and dump scenarios which result in the coin losing value, and rarely, if at all, recovers.

Airdrops have been initiated to increase awareness and customer base only to find the majority dump their coins at the first available opportunity. Some of it’s the” get rich quick” mentality and “pump & dump” culture that has been created but apart from that and of course, the technology getting into the wrong greedy hands, what else are these ICOs doing wrong to result in failure?

2018 was the Year of the Cryptocalypse

We need to turn this culture around and treat it like it was meant to be treated as stated by the founder of Bitcoin, Satoshi Nakamoto 10 years ago. All companies need a product or a purpose that is needed and sought after by the community. They cannot ride on the coattails of what their coin might be worth just due to its initial popularity.

Last year will go down in history as the crypto apocalypse, this year will be the year of the cuts. There are good things happening behind the scenes with crypto and blockchain technology. This industry has made its mark and here to stay. The companies who have survived last year and continue to grow this year will be ones of integrity and substance. All others will fall away.

The Crypto Industry Is Growing Up

Considering much of the “real world” is online these days with Entrepreneurship classed as a real occupation there are some companies that offer real products to real clients. Blockchain Technology is being implemented in many industries, not just in finance, but in health, logistics and now social & market networks and as a result, freeing the broader society from the antiquated hierarchy of today.

In the case of cryptocurrency, it has its place in the world of ecosystems. Particularly helpful to the unbanked. Trading in crypto is only a sideline gig for enthusiasts, even though it’s perceived to be in the forefront and the only thing crypto is meant for. What is evolving in the real-world is an ecosystem where crypto is fluid and can have real value providing there is a product fit and the Ideology is one of integrity.

For the viability of any crypto business ecosystem, there needs to be Community, Technology, and Liquidity. Digital money viability is established through the interaction between these three groups within the ecosystem. There is no viability if these interrelated groups do not exist.

Airdrops do have their Place in Successful Startups

Paypal executed an incentive to attract more customers back in the beginning as do many businesses with loyalty programs. Crypto-based businesses can have the same success with a utility or consumer coin that adds value to the experience of the user. If introduced correctly, with products and services underpinning the system, there is enormous growth potential where its customers use the products and are rewarded for using them. This creates loyalty and a community is built. The coins are part of the ecosystem, not the pinnacle. But who does that? Is this just a future concept? No, It’s here now with Markethive.

The Next Generation

As I said earlier, much of the real-world operates online and Entrepreneurs are now classed as having a real occupation. Markethive was born with that in mind, but since the advent of the latest technology, it has gone one step further and is now built on the blockchain with its own coin. (MHV) Markethive has just completed its first airdrop with micropayments and tips now active within the system. There are many happy campers within the community…

Markethive Associate, Ven Dance states,

“One way that companies that are sincere in their desire to provide the crypto community a legitimate opportunity to improve their lives and benefit in the crypto market place is to have real, tangible products and or services in place and ready before offering public financial participation. Companies that have “real” services and products are now utilizing the ILP (Initial Loan Procurement) Unlike the ICO, the ILP, it is a loan that has to be paid back. What a novel concept, yes it has to be paid back. There are only a few companies that are offering the crypto community this type of opportunity… products, and services that are functional now and are using an investment vehicle that requires the investment to be paid back. MarketHive…Welcome to the real world of crypto evolution and the communities that believe in it and support it.”

Louis Harvey says,

“I think that we all at some point need connection and interaction being real world or a community-based platform! Markethive is providing this typesetting in a secure community with the privacy all being built on the blockchain. How cool is that when you need support of any kind the community base platform is here.”

Richard Mathiason says,

“Markethive is more focused on fixing the problems with present-day social networks. Those problems are privacy issues, security issues, using Inbound Marketing instead outdated forced marketing and making sure that the business platform is not reliant on how well the cryptocurrency “does”. In our case, the cryptocurrency is not being hyped and will only do well if the business proposition is solid. A micro- payment system has been implemented which is also new to social networks. It has only been in place less than a week and it is having a positive effect on the company. Finally, we are not an ICO, we are crowdfunding using ILP’s (initial loan procurement). Markethive has made the community the most important item in the company. And that is why it will succeed!”

Conclusion

Markethive is a predominantly free system that allows freedom of speech, total privacy, and transparency, promoting education for the youth through to the seasoned entrepreneur providing support, network, tools and motivation to experience entrepreneurialism, sovereignty and success resulting in a complete ecosystem with universal income.

Markethive is creating a social network that is integrated with state of the art blockchain, cryptocurrency, and inbound marketing technology. Because Markethive is decentralized, autonomous and controlled by its entrepreneurs and holders of MARKETHIVE, its coin (MHV), will share and benefit from its success.

Blockchain-based Companies like Markethive, derive their profit from the projects that are underpinning it, plus the products and services they deliver, therefore they are able to give back to its users in many forms, including remuneration for using the platform. In essence, they give the power back to the people.

Is the crypto community valuable? Yes, they should be the focal point of any business. They are the lifeblood. Facebook with its current business model is valuable because of its 2 billion users, however, their misuse of data and lack of consideration for their users is questionable.

Keep an eye on Markethive (MHV) It’s a force to be reckoned with. It’s leading edge of the new blockchain, the new Market Networks and the new decentralized solution to the elite big data tyrants like Facebook and Google.

The global financial system and social media are broken and business ecosystems need a better way to do things. With Markethive it’s here.

Original article posted on zycrypto.com

Article posted on Markethive by Jeffrey Sloe

Ukraine: Economic Development and Trade Ministry Launches State Policy to Legalize Crypto

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Ukraine: Economic Development and Trade Ministry Launches State Policy to Legalize Crypto

The Economic Development and Trade Ministry of Ukraine has initiated a “state policy” for the classification and legalization of crypto-related activities, Ukrainian state information and news agency Ukrinform reported Oct. 26.

The Ministry has reportedly issued an official press release stating that its purpose is to “create understandable conditions for conducting activities in the field of virtual assets and virtual currencies," and to usher in “adoption of the concept of a state policy” for crypto.

To this end, it has proposed establishing legal definitions for key terms, including “virtual currency” (“cryptocurrency,”) “virtual assets,” Initial Coin (or Token) Offerings (ICOs or ITOs), cryptocurrency mining, “smart contracts,” and “tokens.”

Ukrinform reports the concept is expected to be implemented in two stages, and will be completed in 2021.

Although Ukraine has not until now regulated crypto, the first signs the country was on track to its legalization surfaced in mid-May, when a member of the parliament, Alexei Mushak, attached a copy of an apparent draft legislation document for crypto to his public Facebook page.

The document outlined that the legislation aims to create a “free and transparent” digital asset market, outlining rules for storing, using, and exchanging crypto, digital tokens, and smart contracts at a state, entity, and individual level.

In mid-September, the country’s parliament proposed a draft bill that, if signed into law, would levy a five percent tax on individuals’ and entities’ crypto holdings. For businesses’ crypto-related profits, it proposed the basic corporate and personal income tax rate of 18 percent.

An alternative bill proposing specific crypto tax exemptions and a slightly different definition of various types of crypto assets was put forward by a Ukrainian legislator in early October.

As of mid-October, a dedicated working group within the Ministry of Finance has reportedly been working to elaborate the framework for crypto taxation.

In parallel, the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) is considering a state digital currency tied to the local fiat currency, the hryvnia, which would be centralized and remain under government control.

Original article posted on Cointelegraph

Article written by Marie Huillet

Posted on this site by Jeffrey Sloe

Yale University Investing in 400 Million Cryptocurrency Fund

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Yale University Investing in $400 Million Cryptocurrency Fund

More Institutional Money Could Be on the Horizon

Cryptocurrency, Investing–Yale, one of the most prestigious Ivy League universities in the United States, is reportedly apart of the investment group that is helping to raise $400 million for a massive new cryptocurrency fund.

According to a report by Bloomberg published on Friday with information supplied from an anonymous source familiar with the situation, the university is trying its hand in cryptocurrency via the fund ‘Paradigm,’ which is reported to be helmed by Coinbase co-founder Fred Ehrsam, Charles Noyes of Pantera capital, and former Sequoia Capital partner Matt Huang. The Wall Street Journal had previously reported on the departure of Huang from Sequoia, making the move in order to join with Ehrsam in the creation of the new fund.

While this has been the first reported time that Yale has invested into cryptocurrencies on such a massive scale, the school has had its influence felt in a number of different industries, from Puerto Rican bonds to timber in New Hampshire, as reported by Bloomberg. Among the more interesting details listed in the report is the finding that Yale’s $30 billion endowment–the second largest among U.S. educational institutions–has earmarked a whopping 60 percent of its investment capital in 2019 for “alternative investments” which includes, among other things, “venture capital, hedge funds and leverage buyouts.” Added to the list now appears to be cryptocurrency, with a potential for other blockchain enterprises and even promising initial coin offerings (ICOs).

For now, the fund being led by Ehrsam is planning to invest in early stage cryptocurrency-based projects, novel blockchain designs and digital asset exchanges. Given the timing of the report, which comes just days after Coinbase was valuated at a colossal $8 billion–which would make the company one of the most valuable U.S. startups–the landscape of cryptocurrency exchanges appears to be immensely profitable and largely untapped. Earlier in the year, BitMEX co-founder Ben Delo became the youngest self-made billionaire in the history of the United Kingdom. Changpeng Zhao, the active CEO of cryptocurrency exchange Binance, announced that his company was on pace to eclipse $1 billion in profits by the end of 2018, despite it being an abysmal year for the valuation of the crypto markets.

Bloomberg points out that Yale’s $30 billion endowment, managed by David Swensen, is one of the few institutional investors to move into cryptocurrency this year, as the entire market finds itself in a bear cycle that has seen value plummet from the last all time high. Despite the opportunity and overnight fortunes that have characterized much of the last several years for cryptocurrency, institutional investors, on a whole, have been reluctant to put capital in to the markets to the degree that most current investors are anticipating.

The common refrain of “institutional money” is coming will not only signal legitimate interest in both the market and technology of cryptocurrency, but provide a much needed boost to alleviate the ongoing price bleed. Previous analysts, including the Bloomberg article on Yale, have cited a lack of regulation and the potential for widespread market manipulation as the primary deterrent for investing in cryptocurrency. However, with an investor as large and prestigious as Yale, commanding $30 billion in endowment, crypto-based funds might garner more interest even in the absence of a Bitcoin exchange traded fund being approved by the SEC.

Article written by Michael Laverne

Article originally posted on Ethereumworldnews.com

Posted by: Jeffrey Sloe, http://markethive.com/jeffreysloe

From Crimefighter to ‘Crypto’: Meet the Woman in Charge of Venture Capital’s Biggest Gamble

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From Crimefighter to 'Crypto': Meet the Woman in Charge of Venture Capital’s Biggest Gamble

Kathryn Haun was the Justice Department's go-to prosecutor for Bitcoin-related felonies. Now she's one of cryptocurrency's most important investors. Here's why her career change is a watershed moment.

Debate

“Let’s settle this!” an announcer rumbles over loudspeakers.

The “this” in question is one of the more important business disputes of the moment: Are alternative currencies like Bitcoin the future of financial services or a 21st-century Ponzi scheme? To get resolution, a Mexican data center company called KIO Networks is hosting a debate in a smoke-filled arena in the graffiti-coated Hipódromo Condesa neighborhood of Mexico City. The atmosphere screams lucha libre, the stylized form of Mexican wrestling that features acrobatic moves and dramatic masks.

On this late-September evening, the main event features two intellectual heavyweights from the United States, both highly credentialed, neither wearing disguises. In one corner is Paul Krugman, the New York Times columnist and Nobel laureate in economics. In the other is Kathryn Haun, an accomplished federal prosecutor recently turned venture capitalist.

Krugman’s position is predictable. He sees the rise of cryptocurrency networks—decentralized digital services that run on computerized money like Bitcoin—as an unnecessary throwback to a distant era, when precious metals made up the money supply. “I don’t believe we’re at the dawn of a new age,” he says. He delivers a smackdown on an investment craze that the likes of Jamie Dimon and Warren Buffett have repeatedly pooh-poohed: “I think 15 years from now, it will look a lot like Pets.com.”

Haun sees things differently. To her, virtual currencies and the technologies that underpin them are society’s saviors: a last great hope at reclaiming power gobbled up by greedy banks and Internet monopolists. “Facebook, Amazon, Netflix, Google, they control all the rules,” she says. “They have all the users. They have all the power.” The new technology, Haun argues, allows eager, entrepreneurial developers to compete. She throws her weight behind the democratizing dream of the new technology’s acolytes.

Photo by Christie Hemm Klok for Fortune

Cryptocurrency is “in the dial-up days,” says Haun, “and the critics are confusing the current state of innovation with the end state of innovation.”

Haun largely wins over the crowd, a collection of the megalopolis’s tech elite. And they like her visuals too. At the outset of her talk, five giant screens project the mug shots of corrupt U.S. law-enforcement officials she convicted in her previous career. But the audience isn’t enamored of Haun merely because she once was the sheriff in the Wild West of “crypto.” She excites them because now she’s joined their side. As one of the newest partners of the estimable Silicon Valley venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, Haun’s job is to find the next big thing in cryptocurrencies—and to help their founders succeed while staying on the right side of the law.

Haun is making her career shift at a precarious time. Cryptocurrency markets have been in free fall all year. A global speculative mania for virtual coins that sent valuations above $800 billion in January has dwindled to $200 billion. Bitcoin has lost two-thirds of its value, and Ethereum, the second-biggest cryptocurrency, is down 90%.

Haun and her new partners are undaunted. Investment crazes often spawn bubbles. But what’s left after they pop, if the true believers are right, are new industries. Firm cofounder Marc Andreessen, after all, parlayed his work developing the first commercial browser into Netscape, the flawed startup that helped beget the World Wide Web—and many billions of dollars in investment returns for the Internet industry. Haun also is unfazed by her lack of professional investing experience. “For entrepreneurs to want to work with you, they need to think you have some strategic vision, some hustle, and an ability to get the job done,” she says. These are the same skills, she posits, that a prosecutor needs to persuade FBI agents and others to work with them.

Bridging worlds, then, is one of Haun’s chief attributes. “She has this rare blend of having been in government and having a business-centric mind,” says David Marcus, a senior Facebook executive who sat on a corporate board with Haun. Adds Anthony Kennedy, the newly retired associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, for whom Haun clerked: “I’m quite reassured that someone with her talents and background would go into this new area.” Her involvement “is a tremendously important link between the law and the cyber age. And she recognizes that.”

A version of this article appears in the Oct. 1, 2018 issue of Fortune with the headline “Jumping The Fence.”

This is just an excerpt; the complete article can be read on Fortune.com. 

ARTICLE written by Robert Hackett 

Posted by: Jeffrey Sloe

Ripple Leads Coallition To Hire Lobby Firm To Promote Friendly Crypto Policies

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Ripple Leads Coallition To Hire Lobby Firm To Promote Friendly Crypto Policies

A significant group of fintechs and businesses related to the industry of cryptocurrencies and blockchain technologies have decided to start a campaign to promote a legal space that is favorable for the development of the crypto-ecosystem.

According to Bloomberg these companies don’t not go by the wayside, and instead of the traditional awareness and promotion campaigns, the group has decided to hire the services of a major law firm to take the fight directly to the legal field.

The group of companies calls itself the “Securing America’s Internet of Value Coalition” and is currently formed by Ripple Labs, the independent foundation Ripple Works, Coil – a fintech that seeks to facilitate payments in the entertainment and digital content industry, Hard Yaka – a firm with large sums of money invested in digital assets – and PolySign – a startup that seeks to provide crypto custody services.

Chris Larsen, executive chairman of Ripple, said in recent months there has been a growing interest on the part of regulatory bodies and lobbies in general towards the issue of cryptocurrencies and blockchain technologies:

“We understand this is really complicated, and there is a lot of misinformation out there … The good news is there is a lot of interest in this topic in D.C.” – Chris Larson

Ripple and Klein/Johnson Group: Bringing Together Laws and Cryptocurrencies

It is also important to note that the coalition has hired the services of Klein/Johnson Group, a “bipartisan lobbying and public policy firm” that in recent years has been working to provide advice on financial and technological services.

Ripple is until now the visible head of the group. The success of its payment solutions has made its XRP token the third most important cryptocurrency in the global market cap.

Ripple’s presence is especially crucial as the Coalition is investing a large amount of money in its mission. According to the report, Klein/Johnson will receive a monthly sum of 25,000 USD plus 10,000 XRP, which will be declared as cash at the time of disclosing the payments received.

In this regard, Chris Larsen, explains that this seeks to generate greater interest on the part of the firm, bringing them a little closer to the ecosystem:

“It gives them some upside and gives them some risk … Hopefully, it gives them a taste of the industry in a way that hits home.” – Chris larson

The coalition has good expectations, especially now that the changes of commissioners within the SEC have helped the organization have a more positive view on the issue of cryptocurrencies, especially regarding the so expected Bitcoin ETFs.

ARTICLE Written by Jose Antonio Lanz and posted on Ethereum World News' website

Posted by: Jeffrey Sloe