Best of World of Crypto

Here at World of Crypto we strive to provide the best content regarding cryptocurrency as possible. Having said that, some posts are better than others! Here are my favorite blog posts since World of Crypto has been up and running!

1) How to Get Started in Cryptocurrency

Starting with the basics for every beginner. Every one needs to start somewhere, and that's nothing to be ashamed of. World of Crypto provides an in depth post on how anyone get get their hands on some beloved Bitcoin or Ethereum. This starting guide is sure to launch you on your way in your crypto journey.

2) The Mind of a Crypto Enthusiast

It is always interesting to pick the brains of someone who has been involved in the cryptocurrency community for the long run. Here we interview my brother, who interestingly enough introduced me to cryptocurrency.

3) The 11 Things You'll Need to Start Mining Ethereum

In this post, we provide you a list of the things you'll need to not only mine ethereum but many other alt-coins. If you've ever been interested in setting up your own mining rig, this is definitely something you'd want to check out.

4) Inspiration When Prices are Down

The crypto market is a wild ride. Often referred to as the Wild West in financial markets. We've seen prices fluctuate wildly and we've seen some major crashes. This post reminds you why its not the end of the World of Crypto when prices crash. In fact, it could be an opportunity.

Last but not least:

5) What if Bitcoin Breaks its ATH?

An article on past market trends on how cryptocurrencies will react when and if Bitcoin passes its all time high price.

DEBATE: Buy A Mining Rig or Buy the Coin?

Many people in the crypto market have been internally debating whether they should put up the money to buy a mining rig or to use that money to buy the coin here and now. It really comes down to what will have the higher return on investment (ROI). There are benefits, drawbacks, and a whole lot of uncertainty in this debate.

I'll make this short and sweet: There is no definitive answer to this debate. Either choice could be the right choice depending on a whole lot of variables. These variables include what coin you are looking into, future prices, future mining difficulty, when you buy, and when you sell. Many of these things really can't be controlled for or predicted reliably.

So what are the benefits to both?

To start lets look at the benefits of mining:

• Usually profitable even when prices are down
• Hardware holds some of its value and has other uses
• Regular payouts

The negatives:

• Large upfront fixed costs to buy the hardware
• Produces a lot of heat
• Takes a long time to fully return your investment (Possible that you might not get it all back)
• Requires knowledge to set up and requires upkeep

The benefits of buying the cryptocurrency:

• Liquid investment
• ROI relies on price and not time
• Could appreciate quickly

Negatives:

• Very volatile market
• Could depreciate quickly
• Largely dependent on the market

I have no definite answer as both have their positives and negatives. The choice is ultimately up to the investor and their preferences.

Here is an article on this topic: https://www.reinisfischer.com/mine-or-buy-ethereumzcashmonero-2018

What if Bitcoin Breaks its ATH?

With Bitcoin still far from its all time high price near $20,000 this post will be all about speculation and hypothetical. Currently the price of Bitcoin is sitting near $8,800 (04/26/2018). The last time it was at its all time high was in December of 2017. Four months later we have seen a rapid fall in prices across the board in the cryptocurrency space. So what would happen if Bitcoin broke through its all time high?

1) First of all, alt coins would skyrocket.

The prices of alt coins have fallen harder than Bitcoin has. For example, the price of Ripple fell from an all time high of around $3 all the way down to the 47 cent range. I'm not saying that Ripple will return to $3 if Bitcoin breaks $20,000 but I'm sure Ripple will increase in value from its price today of 80 cents. It's hard to say where Ripple would end up, but a strong Bitcoin could bring along the rest of the market to test their all time highs as well.

Ripple is just an example. The large majority of alt coins would greatly increase in price as Bitcoin does as well. Currently, the health of the crypto market is largely based on the strength of Bitcoin.

2) Mining would become much more profitable.

Going off of the second point, an increase in prices would result in greater profitability for miners. Mining profitability is largely tied to both the difficulty and the prices of the coin. Monero, for example, recently saw a huge drop in mining difficulty as a hardfork in the blockchain's protocol eliminated ASICs. This saw a spike in profitability in mining the coin which was gone rather quickly as other miners switched to mine Monero. The other way to increase profitability is if the coin is simply worth more. With the recent dips in prices mining profitability has taken a big hit. If Bitcoin were to push past it's ATH, the rest of the market will be more profitable to mine as their prices get pushed up as well.

Here is an absolutely great article on Bitcoin's past ATH's and how long it took to break: https://steemit.com/bitcoin/@penguinpablo/how-long-will-it-take-for-bitcoin-to-reach-usd20-000-again

Inspiration When Prices are Down

When the prices of cryptocurrencies were sky high, everyone was talking about them. Everyone was making large returns in the extremely bullish market that crypto was a few months ago and everyone had to brag about it. Well times have changed and they have changed fast.

With Bitcoin sitting under $7,000 and Ethereum under $400 it's hard to not be discouraged by the relatively low prices. Bitcoin was once near $20,000 per coin. Ethereum used to be $1,400 per coin. These are drastic dips in price no doubt. So why should you stick with crypto? Was it a bubble and did if finally pop?

Lets take a look at history. Bitcoin has been called a bubble for almost its whole existence. When Bitcoin first reached $1,000 it was called a bubble and quickly fell to the $200 range for a while. This was early 2014. That's a larger percentage dip then the current dip from all time highs. I'm sure many people took advantage of the lower prices then and enjoyed a huge upside when the market turned around.

Many people trade crypto just for short term gains. I think that's the wrong mindset. If you truly believe in the technology of the asset you would invest long term. The current prices are like heaven for any one that believes in crypto and is investing long term. This may very well be a great time to accumulate more and more cryptocurrencies of your choice at the relatively low price. Nothing is for certain, but if the market turns around like it has done so countless times, it can be very profitable. Timing the market is extremely difficult and prices may further go down. However, in the long term I believe the market is still profitable.

While you're here, check out this awesome "Just HODL" Mug:

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Here is an article on Ethereum's falling prices: https://slate.com/technology/2018/03/ethereum-prices-drop-explanation.html

Comparison between Ripple (XRP) and Stellar Lumens (XLM)

Stellar Lumens and Ripple are similar yet different in many aspects. Stellar Lumens were created from a hardfork of the original Ripple protocol in 2014. Since then they have changed yet they still share many similarities.

 Also many differences.

The similarities start by sharing the same founder, Jed McCaleb. The teams behind each cryptocurrency are different however. The Stellar Development Foundation is behind XLM while XRP is backed by the privately held company Ripple. The team behind XLM is nonprofit while Ripple is a for profit organization. Both XRP and XLM are designed to operate as underlying payment processing systems. They both do this extremely effectively with XLM having a transaction time of 2-5 seconds while XRP has a transaction time of about 4 seconds.

Some differences include the inflationary and deflationary nature of the cryptocurrencies. XLM increases at a fixed rate of 1% a year. This is in contrast of Ripple which is actually deflationary due to a variable "burn" rate. Essentially, some XRP are removed and the supply of XRP constricts.

Currently, there are 103 billion XLM in supply while XRP is slightly lower at 100 billion in supply. This does not mean these are all on the open market however. The Stellar Development Foundation holds 85 billion XLM and the foundation behind XRP holds a lower amount at 62 Billion XRP.

The difference in funding is extreme. Stellar has $5 million in funding for the ongoing development of the project while Ripple has a comparatively larger amount at $100 million.

Here is a great info graph that helps distinguish the differences between the two cryptocurrencies:

Here is an article on Stellar and Ripple: http://bitcoinist.com/ripple-vs-stellar-coin-will-win/

Illinois Considering Cryptocurrency for Tax Payments

A very interesting article I came across by Stan Higgins of Coindesk.com claims that legislators in Illinois have proposed a bill to accept tax payments using cryptocurrency. The state won't hold onto the cryptocurrency, rather it will convert it into USD within a day. The original article can be found here.

Bill 5335 states: "Amends the Department of Revenue Law of the Civil Administrative Code of Illinois. Provides that, in addition to any other method of payment provided for by law, the Department shall accept payment for any tax imposed by the State and administered by the Department by cryptocurrency. Provides that the Department shall convert such payments to United States dollars at the prevailing rate within 24 hours after receipt of the payment and shall credit the taxpayer's account with the converted dollar amount."

It will be interesting to see this develop and if it will pass in Illinois. Many bills come up for a vote and many never get passed. If this bill passes, it shows how cryptocurrency adoption is becoming more widespread and trusted. It can be a huge step for blockchain technology.

One issue I see with this bill is due to the volatility of cryptocurrencies. Cryptocurrency can fluctuate significantly in 24 hours. If the government takes 24 hours to convert the crypto into USD the amount paid by the taxpayer can vary.  If the tax payer is trying to pay a specific amount, it can not be done so reliably using crypto. This can be avoided if the government credits the taxpayer the amount the crypto was worth at the time the taxpayer sent it. That way, the taxpayer would know exactly how much they would be paying rather than hoping the market doesn't crash in 24 hours.  

The original bill can be found here.


While you're here, check out this awesome Bitcoin mug:

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Graphic Card Prices are TOO HIGH

As any cryptocurrency miner would know, the prices of graphic cards is absolutely insane right now. With mining currently being profitable, more and more people are looking into building or expanding their own mining rig.

This has caused a huge shortage in graphics cards. When they come back in stock at somewhat reasonable prices, they are almost all sold out within 30 minutes.  It took me a couple months and a small premium to get the 10 graphics cards that I wanted to build my rig. My average price was about $300 per card, yet not too long ago, one could get their hands on great graphics cards in the $250-$300 range with out an issue.

For example, take a look at these outrageous prices currently listed on Newegg:

Almost everywhere I look, the graphics cards are either in stock for an outlandish price, or they are just out of stock entirely.

You can try your luck at the local Best Buy or electronics store but you probably won't find much of anything either.

Companies are also putting limits of how many you can buy. Which is usually one. This is in order to help gamers who rely on these graphics cards to run high end games. Nvidia has made an effort to favor gamers over miners. Which is fair. I'm sure gamers are much more upset of the prices than miners are.

One of two things will happen in the future to adjust for this shortage. Either demand goes down, most likely due to a drop in cryptocurrency prices, or production of graphics cards increases to meet the current demand of cryptocurrency enthusiasts.

Either way, it looks as if AMD, Nvidia, and second hand sellers are making a fortune right now. 

Here is a great article on Ethereum's effect on graphic card prices: https://www.tomshardware.com/news/ethereum-effect-graphics-card-prices,34928.html