SEC & CFTC to Decide Fate of Ethereum Network on Monday, May 7th 2018

IS ETH A COMMODITY OR NOT? REGULATORY AGENCIES SET TO DECIDE

The SEC and the CFTC laws will decide on whether or not Ether, the second largest cryptocurrency, is a security on Monday May 7th, 2018. The question boils down to how the ICO for ETH, which raised $18 million through 31,000 Bitcoins collected, was executed. The CFTC, or “Commodities Futures Trading Comission”, regulates futures and options markets in the United States and guards against fraudulent conduct.

Ethereum is a network that was created by Vitalik Buterin. The pre-sale or “Initial Coin Offering” was conducted in 2014. Ether is the “gas” or fuel that powers the projects hosted by the Ethereum network. Ether is traded under the symbol “ETH”, and its value fluctuates daily.

After studying the token pre-sale and the ICO, cryptocurrency experts at Coin Center state that ETH is definitely not a security and therefore was not required to registered with the SEC. As ETH is used as “gas” on the network for deploying smart contracts and other projects with real-world use, it is not a security and should not be judged as such.

There are three possible outcomes of the regulatory meeting on Monday.

1. The FTC and CFTC declare ETH to be a security, outright

This would be the worst-case scenario for the crypto asset community. It is the least-likely scenario because the ETH community has a lot of large and powerful members who have the ear of regulators. ETH would probably experience a steep decline along with the vast number of ICOs that have taken off from the ETH platform. The only cryptocurrency that would be safe would be Bitcoin, or any other coin that is transparent, and has not been built on the ETH network.

2. A “Light Action” will be levied against the Ethereum Foundation

The Etherium foundation was created in such a way that they could have sold securities. However, the way ETH is used today is definitely not in a direction of selling securities. A light action could be levied against the foundation, such as a fine or penalty. It would provide a little bit of regulatory clarity as a result and could give a boost to the cryptocurrency market as a whole.

3. The regulators rule flat-out that Etherium is not a security.

If this is announced as the official outcome, it could spark a massive run on the crypto market. If the regulatory agencies go this far in backing off of the Ethereum Foundation, it will give a major confidence boost to investors.

There also could be a scenario where no final decision is made after the meeting with the regulator, but this is not likely according to the experts.

We will be watching closely, and will be ready to discuss the outcome when the news drops! Until then, hold on tight!

Carlton Flowers
The Crypto Pro

How to Get Started In Cryptocurrency with Coinbase

GETTING STARTED BUYING CRYPTOCURRENCY WITH COINBASE

I got started 3 days ago with my first purchase of Bitcoin only three days ago at an entry price of $9675.81 for one Bitcoin. It was a super confusing process, and was very frustrating. But I fumbled my way through it after studying it for several days.

I didn't have an extra $9675.81 sitting around to buy one Bitcoin. Fortunately, you don't have to buy an entire whole "coin". You can buy a fraction of a coin with whatever amount of money you have.

I used my Mastercard to purchase $300 worth of Bitcoin, and after the 3.99% fee for transferring money from my credit card to my account, I had $288.46 worth of Bitcoin to begin with.

First, I registered an account at Coinbase.com. You can either transfer money from a bank account, or you can use a credit card. It's easier to use a credit card, even though the fee is a little bit higher. Connecting your bank account takes a little more time.

When you register for an account and deposit at least $100, Coinbase will give you $10 extra for free if you use a referral. I messed up and missed out on the $10 bonus, but if you use my referral code in the link above or by clicking on the picture, you can receive the free $10.

Via Coinbase, you can purchase Bitcoin, Ethereum, or Litecoin. These are three major cryptocurrencies. There are 843 other cryptocurrencies that you can purchase outside of Coinbase, and you'll need to use another exchange service to do that. But we'll get to that later.

After owning my first $288 of Bitcoin, the value has risen as high as $338 within the first few days because it is moving roughly 10% per day. The market price of Bitcoin jumps up and down, but the overall trend is growing upward at a rapid rate.

There is talk of Bitcoin growing from the current price of $10,483 at the time I am writing this blog post to somewhere between $25,000 and $40,000 within the next year. The reason this is happening is because there is a finite amount of Bitcoins available to be bought on the market.

As of June 2017, there were 16.4 million Bitcoins created. The limit is 21 million. Right now, new Bitcoins are being created by the process of "mining". You can read my previous posts to get an understanding of what that means, but this is the reason for the rapid rise in value.

Bitcoins cannot be inflated by governments. Nobody has the ability to "print" Bitcoin money like the government prints the US Dollar. As you are reading this, there is a huge shift of investment into Bitcoins taking place.

Banks, institutions, businesses, and individuals are buying up Bitcoins. The number of people coming into the Bitcoin market in the near future is enormous. It will cause the value to continue to be driven up into the stratosphere.

After you purchase your initial amount of Bitcoin on the Coinbase site, you can register an account with the exchange service at Bittrex. When you create your Coinbase account, you get a digital "wallet".

You also get a digital wallet when  you set up an account at Bittrex. Once you complete that step, you can send money from one wallet to the other, and then purchase any of the other 843 cryptocurrencies from the exchange.

I am going to be putting away money on a monthly basis into my Coinbase account and loading up on Bitcoin. Then I will be able to transfer money at will to my Bittrex wallet, and for a very minimal fee I will have the ability to invest into the other cryptocurrencies.

In my next blog post, I will explain why there are so many other cryptocurrencies, and why there is a need for different types. But the first step you need to take is to buy your Bitcoin. When you buy your Bitcoins via Coinbase, you own actual currency that can be used to make purchases at over 100,000 retail services. It's not like investing in stocks. You are purchasing usable currency.

For example, you can actually buy Walmart gift cards using your Bitcoin balance and go shopping at a physical store, or buy goods and services on Amazon.com. You'd be surprised at how many local businesses in your home town are already accepting Bitcoin for purchases.

Get started with your first Bitcoin purchase so you can become accustomed to the process of using cryptocurrency. Then you will be able to move into trading currencies and create the potential for a very secure financial future.

If you have questions or suggestions, please post them in the comments section and I'll help out where I can. Get going now, and be a part of the "first movers". You don't want to have regrets 10 years down the road when you realize the massive opportunity that you missed out on to be a part of this in the initial stage.

Carlton Flowers
Crypto Coach

PS - There is RISK involved in any investment, and it applies to cryptocurrency. Do your own due diligence. This is a learning process, and I don't yet profess to be an expert. Keep in mind that with risk comes possible tremendous reward to those that are forward-thinking enough to do the proper research.

REGISTER at Coinbase now and receive $10 free

The CZ Crypto Blog - Learn the Basics of Cryptocurrency Investing Along With Me!

THE JOURNEY TO CRYPTOCURRENCY MASTERY BEGINS NOW

Welcome to my mini blog site for learning about cryptocurrency! As I learn how to enter into this new age, I want you to follow along and learn with me. This will be our resource to exchange knowledge and ideas.

Cryptocurrency is the future, folks. Whether you understand it or not, it's going to be the biggest fundamental change in finance that you will see in your lifetime. Now is the opportunity for you to learn, and to benefit in order to secure your financial future.

What is cryptocurrency, exactly? It's simply a digital payment system that does not require the involvement of banks, governments, or regulatory agencies. It's just a medium of exchange. It was invented by an unknown person or group of people under the name "Satoshi Nakamoto".

It was released in the year 2009 as an open source software system that runs on a peer-to-peer network where transactions take place directly from the people involved in trading, without a bank or other intermediary.

Any time two individuals make a transaction of currency, it is verified by network nodes, and recorded in a public distributed ledger called the "blockchain". It is open for anyone to view, and every single transaction that occurs is public knowledge.

The first "cryptocurrency" was Bitcoin. Bitcoins can be traded for products, services, or traded for worldwide currencies like the US dollar. As of February of 2015, there were over 100,000 merchants and vendors in the world accepting Bitcoins as a method of payment.

Whenever a transaction is made, it is verified by thousands of "auditors" out on the node. This keeps every transaction safe, and prevents anyone from duplicating their Bitcoins or making fraudulent trades. It makes the system impossible to hack, unlike regular money that you can counterfeit.

The process of auditing Bitcoin transactions is called "mining", because auditors are rewarded with tiny amounts of Bitcoin currency for performing a service. But there is a finite amount of Bitcoin currency that will be allowed to be created, and once that's done, mining will cease. At that point, auditors will be paid by charging a small fee to verify transactions.

Bitcoins can also be bought, and just sat on, as an investment. The more people pile on and buy Bitcoins, the higher the demand becomes. That means the value of each Bitcoin rises over time. I have a friend who bought five Bitcoins back in 2013 for around $400 per coin. Each of those coins is now worth nearly $10,000. That makes it an attractive investment.

Since Bitcoin was invented, there are several other cryptocurrencies that have hit the scene such as Ethereum and Litecoin. There are probably over 100 different cryptocurrencies that are being bought and sold as of this day, and the majority of them are increasing in value.

The benefit of cryptocurrency is that it removes the banks from the equation when two individuals seek to transact business or trade. It puts the power into the hands of the people, and the banks don't make any money. That's why it represents a threat to the current monetary system of the governments in the world.

That is the most basic level explanation of what Bitcoin and cryptocurrency is, and we'll get into much more detail as time goes on. This is a good starting point, and you'll want to continue to learn so you will be able to plan for investing. And you better have a sense of urgency about it. Why?

It is due to the fact that we are in the stage of change that is called the "Early Adopters". At this stage of change, this is where innovation hits critical mass and we experience massive growth. A good example would be the arrival of the first iPhone.

You can probably remember when you first heard about the development of Apple's first smartphone, but you had no idea it would change the world. Within a few months after the first iPhone was released, we hit critical mass. Years later, the majority of everyone in the world, regardless of their socioeconomic level, carries a smartphone.

This is exactly the point we are at right now regarding cryptocurrency. If you ask your friends about it, it is possible that 9 out of 10 have heard about Bitcoin but have not had any experience buying or trading with it. That will rapidly change.

Getting on the band wagon now could mean the difference between living at your current financial level, or living in a wealthy state beyond your wildest dreams. But if you wait to enter the market along with the majority of people, you won't be able to capitalize on the explosive growth from a financial standpoint.

Carlton Flowers
The Crypto Keeper