Importance of education about cryptocurrencies and blockchain

Cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Etherium and blockchain technology are bringing a revolution in the financial industry. Blockchain, as a decentralized and secure technology, can be applied not only in finance but also in many other industries such as logistics, healthcare, government and even the arts.

However, the lack of understanding among the masses about how cryptocurrencies and blockchain work can lead to negative consequences. People may fall victim to fraud, unnecessarily risk their savings, or miss out on opportunities for investment and financial growth.

Initiatives and programs to increase financial literacy around cryptocurrencies

In order to overcome the lack of information about cryptocurrencies and blockchain, many initiatives and educational programs around the world are beginning to introduce people to this new field. Universities and online platforms are offering courses and specializations on cryptocurrencies and blockchain. Seminars, webinars and conferences are also helping to spread knowledge about the new technology.

One interesting initiative is the inclusion of education about cryptocurrencies and blockchain in school curricula. This can help younger generations learn the basics of financial literacy and enable them to make informed use of cryptocurrencies in the future.
Benefits and risks for newcomers to the world of cryptocurrencies.

For newcomers, cryptocurrencies present both attractive opportunities and significant risks.

Advantages include:

1. Investment potential: some cryptocurrencies have high returns, which can attract investors.
2. Liquidity and global access: cryptocurrencies allow funds to be quickly transferred anywhere in the world without intermediaries.
3. innovation and new opportunities: blockchain allows for the creation of new types of applications and services.

However, risks should be kept in mind:

1. Volatility: cryptocurrency rates can fluctuate dramatically, leading to losses.
2. Fraud and hacking: lack of regulation in the industry can lead to an increase in fraud and cyber attacks.
3. Lack of awareness: lack of knowledge about the market and technology can lead to mistakes and losses.

In conclusion, education about cryptocurrencies and blockchain plays a key role in promoting financial literacy among a wide audience. Initiatives and programs aimed at spreading knowledge in this area help people to participate consciously in the economy of the future, minimizing the risks and maximizing the opportunities that cryptocurrencies and blockchain offer.

The post Cryptocurrencies and the Masses: Education and Enlightenment appeared first on Coin&F.

ICO is a process in which a company or a team of cryptocurrency developers issue new tokens and offer them for sale in order to raise funds to finance their project. The idea is that investors will purchase the tokens in the hope that they will increase in value if the project becomes successful.

One of the main advantages of an ICO is the availability of funding. Anyone, regardless of where they live or their status, can purchase tokens on an ICO platform. This opens up new opportunities for investors from all over the world, allowing them to participate in potentially lucrative projects.
Let’s take a look at some examples of modern ICOs:

Filecoin (FIL)

Filecoin is a project with the goal of creating a decentralized network for storing and sharing files. In 2017, the Filecoin team held a successful ICO, raising over $200 million dollars. Filecoin tokens (FIL) are used to pay for data storage and transfer on the network.

EOS (EOS)

EOS is another example of a successful ICO. In 2018, EOS had one of the largest ICOs in history, raising about $4 billion dollars. EOS is developing a highly scalable blockchain platform that allows you to build decentralized applications quickly and easily.

Tezos (XTZ)

Tezos held an ICO in 2017, raising over $230 million dollars. Tezos is a blockchain platform with a built-in governance mechanism that allows users to decide on changes to the protocol. Tezos tokens (XTZ) are used for security and network management.

Basic Attention Token (BAT)

Basic Attention Token is a project that was part of the Brave browser that was designed to change the advertising industry. The project’s ICO was held in 2017, raising about $35 million dollars. Basic Attention Token (BAT) is used to reward users for viewing ads and facilitates interaction between publishers, advertisers and users.

These ICO examples demonstrate the wide range of projects raising funds through this funding method. They confirm the potential of ICOs as a tool for developing innovative technologies and startups in the world of cryptocurrencies. When considering ICO projects, you should always research their business plan, development team and the capabilities of their products before making an investment.

At the same time, along with the benefits, one should also consider the risks that accompany an ICO. One of the most well-known risks is the high level of uncertainty. Many projects offering ICOs are in the early stages of development, sometimes without even a finished product or platform. This creates an incongruity between the success of the project and its ability to provide returns to investors.

In addition, ICOs also come with security risks. Hackers can attempt to break the system and steal the funds raised in an ICO. This requires the development teams to have a high level of security and protection to prevent such attacks.

Thus, cryptocurrency ICOs are an innovative way to raise funds, providing a wide range of opportunities for both projects and investors. It opens doors for global investments and promotes the development of new technologies. However, it should be remembered that ICOs come with risks that require careful analysis and research before investing.

The post Everything You Need to Know About Cryptocurrency ICOs: An Innovative Path to Funding appeared first on Coin&F.

The world of cryptocurrencies, already characterized by high volatility, has undergone another upheaval with the collapse of one of the largest platforms, highlighting the risks associated with cryptoassets that lack basic protections.

The losses accompany an already perilous period for cryptocurrencies, whose market value has shrunk by trillions of dollars. The value of bitcoin, the largest of them, has fallen by nearly two-thirds from its peak at the end of 2021, and about three-quarters of investors have lost money on it, a new analysis by the Bank for International Settlements showed in November.

The cycle of ups and downs

During the period of stress, we saw inefficiencies in the stablecoin market, cryptocurrency-focused hedge funds and crypto exchanges, which in turn raised serious concerns about market integrity and user protection. With growing and deepening ties to the mainstream financial system, concerns about systemic risk and financial stability may also arise in the near future.

Many of these concerns can be addressed by strengthening financial regulation and supervision and by developing global standards that can be consistently applied by national regulators.

Our reports address the issues noted above at two levels. First, we take a broad approach, looking at key organizations that perform core functions in the sector, and thus our findings and recommendations are applicable to the entire cryptoasset ecosystem.

Second, we focus more narrowly on stablecoins and their mechanisms. They are cryptoassets designed to maintain a stable value relative to a particular asset or pool of assets.

Emerging issues

Cryptoassets, including stablecoins, are not yet risks to the global financial system, but they have already had a significant impact on some emerging market and developing countries. Some of these countries are experiencing large retail inventories and currency substitution through crypto-assets, mainly dollar-denominated stablecoins. Some are experiencing cryptoization where these assets substitute for local currency and assets and circumvent currency exchange restrictions and capital controls.

Such substitution can lead to capital flight, loss of monetary sovereignty, and threats to financial stability, creating new challenges for policymakers. Officials need to address the root causes of cryptoization by increasing confidence in their domestic economic policies, currencies and banking systems.

Advanced economies are also exposed to financial stability risks associated with cryptocurrencies, given that institutional investors have increased holdings of stablecoins, attracted by higher yields in a previously low interest rate environment. We therefore argue that it is important for regulators to manage cryptocurrency risks operationally while not stifling innovation.

The post The Proliferation of Cryptocurrencies appeared first on Coin&F.

Phishing

Phishing is a type of cyberattack in which an attacker masquerades as a trustworthy entity in order to obtain confidential information: login and password to accounts where cryptocurrency is stored, or a private key to a cryptocurrency wallet. For this purpose, fraudsters may pose as representatives of law enforcement agencies or employees of the cryptocurrency platform.

Depending on the technology used, phishing can be categorized into several types:

• email phishing – the most “popular” type of phishing among cryptocriminals, which involves swindling a user’s personal information via email to supposedly prevent account blocking or to receive a reward;
• phishing on social networks – similar to the previous type of fraud, with the only difference being that fraudsters write to users from fake pages of well-known cryptocurrency exchanges on Facebook, Instagram and other social networks;
• smishing (from SMiShing) – phishing by sms;
• vishing (from voice phishing) – a phone scam where cybercriminals attempt to obtain personal data during a phone call.

Fake cryptocurrency exchanges

Some cybercriminals may create fake websites of major cryptocurrency exchanges and other platforms. They register a website address with a similar name (usually with a difference in one letter, case or domain) and copy the design of the platform to buy the trust of novice traders.

But the unscrupulousness of the site’s creators can be signaled by guarantees of high income, as well as promises of low commissions and generous gifts for registration.

To avoid becoming a victim of fraud, you should carefully double-check the address of the site where you are going to enter your personal data. In addition, it is not recommended to enter your password and login on sites without HTTPS protocol, which protects the connection and encrypts the data.

Cryptopyramids and Ponzi schemes

One of the classic fraudulent schemes that appeared long before the cryptocurrency world was born, but is used in it as well, is a Ponzi scheme. Because of its structure, it is also called a pyramid scheme.

Participants invest their own assets in the project under the guarantee of their multiplication, but in fact they receive income solely due to the investments of new participants. Therefore, they are interested in attracting as many new people as possible, who become new victims of the scam.

However, the final result of such pyramids is always the same: at a certain point they are bound to collapse, and their developers disappear. Participants not only stop receiving “guaranteed” payments, but also lose the money they invested.

How to secure your crypto coins?

When a reliable cryptocurrency platform, which is not afraid to entrust your bitcoins (or any other virtual assets), still managed to find, you should not forget about the safety of your cryptocurrency. You should think about it at the registration stage.

So, first of all, it is necessary to come up with a strong password. For example, when registering on WhiteBIT, a simple password will not work – the site has a number of requirements: it must contain not only letters (both uppercase and lowercase) and numbers, but also special characters (for example, !, #, @ or %).

In addition, the site’s customers can retain control of their data with proven and common cybersecurity measures such as:

• AML verification;
• KYC verification;
• 2FA (two-factor authentication).

AML

It is an international standard for combating the laundering of illegally obtained funds. AML (Anti-money laundering) includes a set of measures and laws, in particular the verification of a cryptocurrency address for involvement in illegal activities.

It is important to note that the blockchain always stores data on all transactions with cryptocurrency. Thus, traces of “dirty” coins can be found in any wallet in which they were stored.

WhiteBIT clients can protect their assets and address with AML verification of the address of the recipient or sender of cryptocurrency. This service costs 1 USDT (but WBT exchange native token holders get free checks daily), and the result will be instant. You can do it in the AML tab (section “Advanced”), specifying the address of the wallet of interest and clicking “Verify”.

KYC

While anonymity is considered one of the principles of blockchain technology, cryptocurrency exchanges that aim to provide a safe space for financial transactions adhere to KYC regulations. This is part of AML, which is all about verifying the identity of users.

This allows cryptocurrency transactions to be regulated and contributes to their transparency. In addition, it is thanks to KYC that the exchange can fight fraudsters, so the presence of this tool shows that the platform cares not only about its own reputation, but also about the safety of users.

2FA

The protection of data and assets with only a login and password is considered a rudiment in cyberspace. For this purpose, two-factor authentication – a way to verify a user’s identity through two different confirmations – has long been used.

Depending on the importance of the information, 2FA can use different technologies: SMS, phone calls, e-mail, biometric data (fingerprint scan, retina scan) or third-party programs. For example, Google Authenticator mobile application.

After a WhiteBIT user binds it to his account, each time he authorizes, the Authenticator will receive a password that must be entered on the exchange’s website. New keys are generated every half a minute, so it is impossible to steal or forge them.

Thus, thanks to the implementation of many different measures to protect user data, WhiteBIT can be called an example of a site with high crypto-security standards.

The post Security in Blockchain: How to Protect Your Cryptocurrency from Hackers and Scammers appeared first on Coin&F.