The Volatility of the Crypto Market in 2022

If we consider that equity investors had a good 2021, we can say the crypto investors had a terrific year. Some coins went up by 5,000-7,000%, returning mind-blowing profits for investors. Even cryptocurrencies like Ethereum and BTC surged 34-40% in 2021. However, the path to the top wasn’t a straight line, as with Bitcoin. The coin went up to one of its highest points right before crashing, losing more than 50% of its value, proving the volatility of the crypto market.

The fall happened in May-June after Elon Musk stated his concerns about the environmental impact of mining. Plus, around the same time, China, the most significant mining country at the time, started implementing new restrictions on crypto mining. These two factors combined created panic among investors, who rushed to sell. Some cryptocurrencies went down 30-40% in a matter of hours.

In September, buyers returned once the dust had settled down, and the price skyrocketed once more. By November, the cost of BTC hit a new historic high when it went up to $69,000, around 32% higher than the numbers from the beginning of 2021.

What to Expect from the Volatility of the Crypto Market in 2022?

The reality is that a lot of it will depend on new policies that governments are trying to implement worldwide. This year, with the banning of all crypto-related activities in China, we got to see the impact that such restrictions can have on the crypto space. If governments keep approving legislation to regulate the usage of crypto, for sure, the volatility of the crypto market will be affected. 

On the bright side, governments claim to be doing this to protect users from fraud or scamming. Therefore, governments are not trying to implement burdensome restrictions or ban the industry in most cases. 

Analysts say that as blockchain tech keeps evolving and getting a broader usage, countries like China that banned crypto activities will become isolated from the rest of the world. In other countries, like India, the governments are working on legislation to regulate only trading and the use of crypto.

Tips to Deal with the Volatility of the Crypto Market

We know that the crypto space can seem a bit scary and overwhelming, but it can be exciting just as much. After all, who wouldn’t like to learn a new way to make money? And we’ve all heard success stories about it. But with the industry growing faster than ever, where should you start? Considering fundamental factors such as legislation and the volatility of the crypto market, Cryptodigest put together a shortlist of basic things to consider before entering this high-risk arena.

Small amounts of investments.

Don’t get carried away by the significant percentages that reflect the growth of many coins. Although some have shown an increase of 5,000-6,000% only in the past few months, you should be careful with your investments. Keep in mind that as in any other industry, one should invest what one’s willing to lose. We strongly recommend you keep your cryptocurrency investments between the 10-15% range of your overall portfolio.

Learn to stomach the volatility of the crypto market.

This game involves high-reward high-risk, and whoever decides to invest in it must be able to digest that. As demonstrated in May, a fall of 70-80% is always a possibility. Bear in mind that even a more stable blue chip like BTC is currently 25% down from its peak in November. Only invest in this market if you can deal with extreme variations.

Choose the Right Platform.

The crypto industry is not regulated in many countries, and many platforms pop up every day. It would be better to invest through a trustworthy and established platform; that way, the risk of your money getting stuck if there’s a regulatory setback is lower.

Keep Your Focus on Blue Chips.

The crypto market also has mid-caps, blue chips, and penny cryptocurrency like the stock market. Avoid falling into the temptation of buying what could be obscure crypto only because their price is meager. More relevant coins may be more expensive, but they are also more stable. Gladly, there’s the chance of buying fractions of coins, so the price shouldn’t be the primary concern. The two main blue chips of the crypto market are Ethereum and Bitcoin, and together they drive the market sentiment.

Conclusion

The crypto space is changing fast, and the capacity of adaptation will be the main factor for success. The volatility of the crypto market will depend significantly on the decisions governments worldwide make. The new legislation will mark the path to follow, and only the protocols capable of adaptation will keep thriving in the industry. As usual, we recommend you read and learn more about the industry before making any investment decisions. You can learn more about crypto and how it works here.

A Quick Guide to Stellar Lumens (XLM)

Released in July 2015, Stellar Lumens (XLM), in simple terms, is an open network that enables money to be moved and stored. The protocol’s main goal was to boost financial inclusion. Although the priorities changed, the goal became to help financial institutions connect by utilizing blockchain tech.

The network has its token called Lumens, and it functions as a bridge to make trading assets less expensive across borders. The point of all this is to challenge the current payment providers, who usually charge high fees for a service alike. 

Does any of this ring a bell? If yes then it’s worth mentioning that the Ripple Labs protocol has initially been the base for Stellar Lumens (XLM). A hard fork is what created the blockchain. Eventually, the team in charge rewrote the core code to be compliant with the new target.

About the Founders 

In 2013 after leaving Ripple because of a disagreement about the company’s future direction, Jed McCaleb decided to found Stellar with Joyce Kim. In 2020 McCaleb explained the rationale behind Stellar. He stated that the complete original design has different forms of value where fiat currencies run parallel with each other and crypto-assets. That was the critical point to making this project mainstream.

McCaleb had made it clear that he wanted to ensure that Stellar Lumens (XLM) could provide people with a new way of moving their fiat into cryptocurrencies. The goal is to remove the friction users experience when they send money to other parts of the world. 

The current CTO of Stellar Lumens (XLM) is McCaleb. He also serves as co-founder of the Stellar Development Foundation. The foundation aims to improve the world’s economic potential by making markets more accessible, money more fluid, and empowering people.

What Is So Special About Stellar Lumens (XLM)?

First, fees are a sticking point for many users around the world. Although, a high cost while making a payment cross-border isn’t just a problem with fiat-based payment systems. Usually, Fees for transactions tend to go sky-high on blockchains such as Ethereum and Bitcoin because of congestion.

Stellar Lumens (XLM) has a unique transaction cost of only 0.00001 XLM. Considering that one unit of the token costs only a few cents, users can keep more money. Some projects have secured partnerships with fintech firms and big tech companies.

 A few days ago, IBM and Stellar partnered up and launched World Wire. The project enabled big financial institutions to request transactions to the Stellar network and utilize bridge goods like stablecoins. While other blockchains possess community funds, Stellar allows its users to vote on the support’s direction.

How Many Stellar Lumens (XLM) Are in Circulation?

In 2015, when the network launched, Stellar issued a total of 100 billion XLM, but things have changed since then. Currently, the total supply of XLM stands for over 50 billion, and 20.7 billion are in circulation. 

How Is the Network Secured?

The Stellar network uses the Stellar Consensus Protocol to secure the project. The protocol claims to have four main properties: low latency, decentralized control, flexible trust, and asymptotic security.

Through this protocol, everybody can join the process of achieving consensus, and more than one entity can end up with most of the deciding power. Transactions are confirmed cheap and fast; all it takes is just a few seconds. Also, safeguards are set in place if attackers try to join the network.

NFTs: Non Fungible Tokens Explained

We know that the crypto world is growing fast, and sometimes it’s hard to keep up with every new thing that comes out. The crypto space doesn’t have to be something scary; on the contrary, it can be fascinating. After all, if you’re reading about it, you must be curious, so let Cryptodigest be your guide through the ever-changing and exciting crypto space. Today we’ll be exploring NFTs.

NFTs or non-fungible tokens are digital goods that can represent intangible and tangible items, and that’s what makes them unique. These cryptographically individual assets can be linked to digital content to prove ownership of such. The array of goods they can be linked to include digital collectibles, artwork, music, and even some items in video games. 

The number of digital goods and their classification keep multiplying by the day as blockchain and cryptographic technology evolves. Currently, NFTs (non-fungible tokens) are one of the sectors in the industry that is overgrowing. In the article bellow we’ll explain what NFTs are, their use, and how they work in simple terms.

What are NFTs Exactly?

Non-fungible tokens are digital goods containing information stored in smart contracts. That information makes NFTs so special, and each of them unique. Their features make them directly irreplaceable by another token. As two non-fungible tokens are not the same, you can’t swap them like for like. On the other hand, you can exchange banknotes one for another; as long as they possess the same value, there is no difference for the holder.

Another example of fungible tokens is Bitcoin. Someone can send you one Bitcoin, and you can send one back. As a result, you will still have one BTC. Of course, there’s always the risk of change in value while executing the transaction, but the principle remains. Another characteristic of fungible tokens is their divisibility; for example, you can receive or send smaller amounts of BTC.

Usually, NFTs cannot be divisible. Just like it’s not possible to send someone only a part of a concert ticket since only a part of it wouldn’t have worth by itself. However, recently there have been some attempts to experiment with fractionating NFTs, although it’s still at an early stage.

What Is so Special about Non-Fungible Tokens?

The trading volume for non-fungible tokens escalated to $10.67 billion in the third quarter of 2021 alone, representing a growth of 700% from the second quarter. The tokens can be linked to an asset to prove ownership of digital goods. 

Unlike fungible tokens, each of them is unique, which is their main appeal. They don’t have the exact attributes, so their value can’t be the same. Last March, a digital artist sold an NFT collage of his work for no less than $69 million. 

How to Use NFTs?

Non-fungible tokens can be used to differentiate digital assets from each other to prove their scarcity or value. NFTs can represent artwork, virtual land parcels, and even ownership licenses. 

You can sell and buy them NFTs marketplaces like Rarible or OpenSea, and recently even in crypto exchanges like Binance. 

Non-fungible tokens and their contracts enable more detailed attributes, such as rich metadata, the owner’s identity, or secure file links. That is a huge step towards progress in the digital space. Although to create a standard, a unification of protocols and interoperability must exist.

DeFi and NFTs

One of the latest examples of how to use these tokens in DeFi is Aavegotchi, a startup funded with DeFi money. Aavegotchis are crypto-collectibles created to be used in a game universe. As collateral, each Aavegotchi has Aave’s aTokens inside, which means that each one can generate yield on Aave. As soon as the owner liquidates the Aavegotchi, it disappears.

Latest News

In 2021 we witnessed an explosion of the NFT universe, especially in the growth of trading volume. Compared to last year we can see that it increased over 38,000%. In August 2021, OpenSea, an NFT marketplace, reported a trading volume of more than $75 million just in a day, which is more than their whole trading volume in 2020.

Big money came with big names, as celebrities and artists worldwide joined the enthusiasm that follows NFTs. Some of them are rapper Snoop Dogg, Tom Brady, Mila Kunis, and Ashton Kutcher, to mention a few.

What the Future Holds

It comes as no surprise that token has such a broad potential with the many applications it supports. NFTs can be proof of copyright, ticketing, intellectual property, and video games trading, movies, and music. They also can create security tokens and the tokenization of tangible and digital world assets. 

On top of this, NFTs could also be the certification for qualifications, like warranties, software licensing, and even birth certificates. At this rate, maybe one day, our digital wallets may store proof of every license, certification, and asset that we own; and like we said before, doesn’t the future sound exciting?

A Quick Guide to TRON (TRX)

TRON (TRX) is an operating system based on blockchain technology and its primary goal is to ensure this tech is appropriate for daily use. The project claims to be able to handle 2,000 transactions per second, while with Ethereum it is only up to 25, and with Bitcoin only six. 

The best way to describe TRON (TRX) is as a decentralized platform with a goal to share content and provide entertainment. Its major acquisition in 2018 was by BitTorrent, the file-sharing service. 

In general, the project divided its main objectives into six different phases. The range goes from file sharing to the creation of content through rewards. At the same time, it enables creators of content to launch new tokens and encourages them to decentralize the gaming industry. Moreover, TRON is one of the most sought-after blockchain projects for DApps building.

About the Founders

Justin Sun is the founder of TRON, who is currently also the CEO. He finished his education at Peking University and the University of Pennsylvania. Forbes Asia recognized him as one of the main features in its 30 Under 30 series for entrepreneurs. 

Sun has been associated in the past with the Ripple project; he worked as a chief representative in the Greater China zone. 

What’s Special About TRON (TRX)?

It has positioned itself as a space for content creators to connect more instantly with their audience. By removing centralized platforms, creators expected to lose as much commission as they usually would to intermediaries. It won’t matter if they are app stores, streaming services, or music sites. 

This could also mean an improvement for consumers since the content would be less expensive than usual. Considering that the sector for entertainment keeps growing on digitized grounds, TRON could have a head start. TRON (TRX) is already ahead of its time while applying blockchain tech to the entertainment industry.

The project also claims to have an experienced and talented team in charge of new developments. TRON has members all over the globe, some coming from major firms such as Ripple Labs. 

The project offers a different point by providing a roadmap that shows its plans for the following years. In contrast, some other projects are pretty shady about their development intentions.

How Many TRX Tokens Are in Circulation?

The project has a supply of more than 100 billion coins, most of which are already in circulation since the beginning of December. In 2017, 15.75 billion TRX went to private investors at a token sale. Additionally, 34 billion went to the Tron Foundation, and ten more billion went to one of Justin Sun’s companies.

In the end, 45% of the supply allocated to the project itself and the founder, while 55% went to investors. Experts argue that this ratio is much higher than that seen before with other projects.

How is TRON (TRX) Secured?

TRON utilizes a mechanism of consensus called delegated proof-of-stake. The owners can freeze their crypto to get Tron Power. They can vote for “super representatives” who work as producers of blocks by doing so.

Those producers acquire TRX as rewards for verifying the transactions, which are distributed between the voters. As TRON sees it, blockchain can achieve better throughput levels. 

The Bright Future of Helium

Helium Explained

Helium is a network for IoT (Internet of Things) devices powered by decentralized blockchain technology. It was officially launched back in July 2019. The network enables devices with low-powered wireless to send and receive data across its nodes and network in general. The nodes, also known as hotspots, are a mix of a blockchain mining device and a wireless gateway. The network is also known for rewarding the users that operate the nodes with HNT, Helium’s token.

About the Founders

The three founders who started the company back in 2013 are Shawn Fanning, Amir Haleem, and Sean Carey. Haleem’s active background is in eSports as well as the development of games. On the other hand, Fanning, is famous for the story of Napster, a music sharing service Napster was one of the first peer-to-peer primary internet services at the end of the ’90s. Meanwhile, Sean Carey had a variety of roles before Helium. Carey worked in the firm “Where”, which specialized in advertising optimization, that Paypal later acquired.

Now, the team in charge of Helium, formed by what the company calls experienced members, is very optimistic. They have specialized people in hardware and radio, manufacturing, distribution systems, and blockchain tech.

What Is Special About Helium

The main goal of Helium is to increase the capabilities in the communication of wireless IoT devices exponentially. Back in 2013, the whole infrastructure related to the Internet of Things was still at a very early stage. Developers, determined to expand their offerings by adding decentralization. That is the main reason why official literature refers to it as “The People’s Network”. 

The target audience is the users interested in the IoT as well as owners of devices. Considering that there are financial incentives, the expected outcome of this expansion is on a big scale. 

What the users of the network are purchasing or building are Hotspots, a mix of a miner and a wireless gateway. Each of those hotspots supplies coverage within a specific range. At the same time, the same hotspot mines HNT, Helium’s token.

The whole network works on proof-of-coverage, which is a new algorithm of consensus. The algorithm is based on a protocol that enables nodes to reach consensus when the quality of the connection is highly variable. 

Circulation

When Helium launched the token, the supply was zero. Back in October 2020, there were 48,712,218 Helium tokens in circulation. Helium explained that the owners of the nodes would receive tokens for helping build the network. Later on, data transfer will be more advantageous, although the token distribution will last for about 20 years.

Helium’s Secure Network

Helium uses a mechanism of consensus called PoC (proof-of-coverage) for which users get rewards. Main goal of PoC is specifically node communication. 

From October 2020, Helium token is available in big exchanges.

Blockchain Gaming and NFTs – The Future of Crypto

The ever-expanding world of crypto never ceases to amaze us, and it seems as though everyone wants to be a part of this new realm. Subsequently, blockchain technology piqued the interest of many major sectors, gaming included. 

Yes, the gaming industry is one of the early birds that adopted this cutting-edge technology—an exciting clash of worlds, gaming, and blockchain. And believe it or not, people that have a genuine interest in blockchain are most likely game heads.

The rising demand for NFTs in the gaming industry only amplifies this riveting crossover. In this day and age, you can trade many rare and trending NFTs within games. So, we couldn’t help but wonder what this means for the crypto industry and what is the future of blockchain gaming? For more crypto news, read our Crypto Digest blog.

Blockchain is considered one of the key players of the financial technologies of the future, and it sees great potential as a trustworthy ledger concept.

What Is Blockchain Gaming?

Before we begin, we have to address the blockchain gaming concept. It is a system based on cryptography that links blocks of data together in sequential order. Because every change can set a “chain” reaction and affect the entire chain, the data units on the blockchain are immutable and unique. 

The main distinction between regular games and blockchain games is the fact that each digital asset inside the game is unique. This is where non-fungible tokens, or NFTs for short, come into play. They are unique data units kept on the blockchain for these digital assets. This industry is called blockchain gaming. 

Play to earn is one of the central aspects of these games because the gamer earns unique NFTs or any other kind of cryptocurrency by playing the game. Merit-based advancements give you digital tokens that the player can convert into actual money. Or you can keep playing. It’s up to you.

And now for the exciting part. Since every NFT is one-of-a-kind, blockchain has made the concept of digital asset ownership possible. If an asset is stored on the blockchain in the form of an NFT, the owner can claim his rights to sell or keep the asset. Let’s say artwork, even though this system works much better for the gaming industry.

Full Control

Blockchain gives its users full control over the digital asset they earn by playing these games. For example, if the players spend real money on digital assets in traditional games, they might lose access to them if the server crashes. The developer has the rights. 

In the case of blockchain games, both the assets and the money remain in your total ownership, whatever happens. These assets can be traded with other fellow players, sold for real money, and possibly used across different game universes. The possibilities are endless, really.

Terms in Blockchain Gaming

We’ve come to the part where we list the most important terms of these games. Each player needs to know this, so pay attention.

1. Play-to-Earn – this paradigm applies to most blockchain games. Players receive digital assets in turn for playing the game. Taking part in in-game economies also has its rewards, like skins, weaponry, and other gaming items. 
2. Pay-to-Earn – an up-front, in-game asset purchase must be made, which is often an NFT. Just like with the play-to-earn model, the item’s worth can increase in value over time.
3. In-Game Asset Ownership – most gamers are cautious when buying in-game assets that are non-transportable. The developer usually governs them, and if the site goes down, the players lose all investments. By tokenizing in-game assets, the developers can own these assets fully.
4. GameFi – the play-to-earn and pay-to-earn models are also-known-as GameFi. This term is made to emphasize the earning potential of the gaming industry.

NFTs

According to sources, the global market capitalization of NFTs revolves around $2.5 billion as of the beginning of 2021. This is quite a number when we compare it to the previous year and a market cap of $13.5 million. More and more gaming companies are taking part in the blockchain gaming trend now that NFTs are going strong. This only underlines future potential.

Conclusion

Finally, we can conclude that blockchain gaming might disrupt the traditional gaming industry after observing the ongoing trends. Generally, blockchain gaming sees a lot of future potential, as all numbers suggest. A current prediction states that there are around 1 billion online gamers out there, and still rising. This can only increase the significance of this trend if more new players opt for blockchain.

Suppose we know all of this information and that blockchain keeps track of in-game items like experience points, weapons, and skins, making them unhackable. In that case, we can deduct that the gaming industry, in collaboration with crypto, might be a fertile ground for future growth. Heck, it might even be the dynamic duo of the inevitable crypto future! 

What Happened to Facebook’s Crypto?

It’s been over two years since Facebook’s crypto was announced; this was made public back in 2019. Usually, the goal of new cryptocurrencies is to get into the stablecoin market, so why is Libra not here yet? 

The Plans for Facebook’s Crypto

Two years ago, Nassim Eddequiouaq and Riyaz Faizullabhoy left the company Anchorage to start working on Facebook’s crypto wallet. Facebook’s crypto, also known as Libra, was announced for the first time back in June 2019. In the crypto space, that counts as ages. First, it was pitched as a global currency without borders. The plan for the token was to be backed by the Libra Reserve, which is a compilation of assets with low volatility. Such assets were supposed to be Government securities and bank deposits, to name a couple.

What Happened?

Only in the first few months, the Libra Association lost many of its founding members. During that first wave, important companies such as MasterCard, Stripe, Paypal, and eBay were among the deserters. Then, in an attempt to get a new fresh start, Facebook’s crypto changed its name to Diem, and the wallet app created to hold it was renamed Novi. However, the name wasn’t the only thing that changed; its goals and ambitions were also downgraded. The new concept set the coin as a simple stablecoin pegged to the US dollar. That is far from being the borderless currency promised at the beginning. The market is full of stablecoins accessible at more serious companies such as Paxos, Binance, and Circle.

So, Where Did the Crypto End Up?

Now, two years after it was first announced, it’s worth asking: is there anyone who wants to acquire crypto from Facebook? Facebook’s principal founder, Mark Zuckerberg has been involved in legal issues regarding users’ privacy and data protection on his social network in the past couple of years. 

Zuckerberg has been called to court several times to lend testimony about the allegations against him and the platform for which he’s responsible. The irony here is that Facebook’s crypto is not only his thing; it’s a whole project backed up by a group of companies based in Switzerland. Part of the plan is to decentralize the coin progressively. The biggest problem they’re trying to solve right now is that the project was first made public by Facebook. Also, Zuckerberg, who is an executive of Facebook, has become the face of it. Therefore fortunately or unfortunately, if the project will succeed, it will be determined by Facebook’s future reputation status. . 

About the Future

Although it seems like Zuckerberg has already moved onto his next project, Metaverse, there’s hope for Facebook’s crypto. The most significant advantage that the project owns is the 2.9 billion users the network has. Whatever stablecoin the company decides to embrace, a substantial number of users will give it a try. There’s still hope for the cryptocurrency, but if it’ll be a long-term sustainable project, it remains to be seen.

CryptoPunks: a New NFT Phenomenon

This year the market for non-fungible tokens (NFTs), also known as crypto-collectibles, exploded. The transaction volume constitutes $2.5 billion in the first half a year as NFTs became mainstream. The increased interest has also resulted in NFT enthusiasts rediscovering the older, previously unknown NFTs, boosting the value of crypto-collectibles to unimaginable heights. 

Among these previously unknown NFT projects is CryptoPunks. It is a collection of pixel-based avatars generated randomly. Some rare and popular CryptoPunks have been sold for millions of dollars. 

About CryptoPunks

Behind this project is Lavra Labs studio. They have developed a series of thousands of images tokenized as NFTs on the blockchain of Ethereum. An NFT implies ownership of a digital item, and in this particular case owning CryptoPunks NFT means that you are the only wonder of a unique pixel avatar. A number of attributes serve as a basis for each randomly generated CryptoPunk. There is a wide selection of designs: aliens, people, apes, zombies. Currently, the most popular and valuable tokens are zombies and aliens. 

CryptoPunks’ Origin

In 2017, CryptoPunks were released for free, even though it’s unbelievable today. The Ethereum standard they use today wasn’t a thing at that time; Lavra Labs released them for the sake of experiment. The volume of NFTs rose during the last three years, although the real surge in demand happened in 2020-2021. CryptoPunks’ secondary market value escalated and led to multi-million-dollar NFT sales. 

CyberPunks’ Potential

CryptoPunks will likely continue to change hands on markets while generating massive returns for investors who invested before the surge. It is impossible to predict whether the current level of demand will go on, although the entry-level cost for these NFTs continues to grow. Most likely, Lavra Labs will release more CryptoPunks taking into account that the most significant part of their appeal is a limited number of them.

Unraveling the Mystery behind Meme Coins and Tokens

In cryptocurrency culture, influencers have always been prominent, and they are more so these days. The first time Elon Musk mentioned the original meme cryptocurrency Dogecoin, it triggered a number of immediate reactions by influencers across all social media platforms. There is an opinion that investing in meme coins is imprudent, an alternative opinion is that it is a cheap bet with massive potential. Both opinions are valid, although interest in meme coins and tokens skyrocketed in recent months. 

What are meme coins and tokens?

As a rule, a meme coin doesn’t have inherent value and utility. It is obvious from the name that these cryptocurrencies revolve around Internet memes. The first meme coin, Dogecoin, is themed around a popular Doge meme, an image of a Shibu Inu dog. This coin runs on its own blockchain, which sets it apart from other meme tokens that run on an existing blockchain. The most widespread meme tokens are Shibu Inu that is built on Ethereum, and SafeMoon, built atop Binance Smart Chain. However, there are many more. 

How have meme tokens become so widespread?

It has been eight years since the launch of Dogecoin; it has become much more accessible to create a cryptocurrency. Meme coins and tokens can be launched easily and become popular due to their connection with influencers. For instance, in May this year, Mark Zuckerberg published an image of his pet goats with the comment “My goats: Max and Bitcoin.” After a short period of time, a meme token named Aqua Goat grew in value by 300%; it happened within a couple of hours since the post was published. 

What tokens are the most popular? 

Three of the most widely spread and used meme coins and tokes are Dogecoin, Shibu Inu, and Safemoon. Here is a quick overview of each of them. 

Dogecoin

The inventors of Dogecoin are Jackson Palmer and Billy Markus. It started as a joke, but it has become a weighty proposition since Elon Musk began promulgating it in 2019. The coin saw its peak in January 2021, with a market cap of $9 billion. At the moment, Musk is working with the coin’s developers to enhance the platform; he facilitates it as a means of paying for services and goods and works to decrease its carbon footprint. 

Shibu Inu Coin

This coin made its appearance in April 2021. It started off as an experiment but soon increased in value. The total supply of Shibu Inu Coin is one quadrillion, and it yields its investors a possibility to hold billions of tokens. However, it needs to climb around 12 million percent to hit the target of $1. 

SafeMoon

The creators of this token sook to enhance Dogecoin’s tokenomic model. Unlike Bitcoin, with a limited supply of coins, there is a limitless supply of Dogecoin, making it an inflationary tokenomic model. To improve this, SAfeMoon uses a deflationary tokenomic model. It implies that 5% is burned for every transaction, and another 5% is allocated to the existing token holders. From that follows that the total supply of coins is meant to decrease constantly, which ensures safe gains. Its market cap is currently $2 billion. 

The bottom line is that the final success of meme coins and tokens depends on the weight of their communities. 

Litecoin

What Is LTC (Litecoin)?

Litecoin, also known as LTC, is a crypto altcoin explicitly designed to make payments in a secure, fast, and low-cost way. The token was created by taking advantage of the qualities of blockchain technology. The project is based on the BTC protocol, although it is different regarding the algorithm and the times of block transactions, among other factors. LTC transaction fees are low, and its block time is only 2.5 min. 

On October 13, 2011, the network went live, and an open-source client launched it. Since the day it went live, it exploded due to its high acceptance among different merchants. This token has been in  the top ten positions capitalization-wise in the markets for most of the time since its creation. 

About the Founders

A former employee of Google, Charlie Lee, is responsible for the Litecoin project. The initial idea was to create a “lite version of BTC,” therefore the mentioned similarities between the two coins. Charlie Lee, aka “Chocobo”, has been a BTC miner since the early beginnings of the cryptocurrency. Lee, the former director of engineering at Coinbase, was also an engineer for Google. He was working for other companies until 2017, when he decided to work on other projects. He’s an advocate and supporter of the crypto industry and the director of the Foundation of Litecoin. It’s  an organization that helps keep developing LTC and other projects alike.

What Makes Litecoin Special?

When it comes to cryptocurrencies, Litecoin is the second most wanted, only after Bitcoin. It’s not hard to understand that its success is due to its utility benefits and simplicity. As of this year, LTC has been one of the most popular cryptocurrencies. It is accepted broadly; over 2,000 stores and merchants around the world welcome LTC. Litecoin transactions are typically confirmed within minutes, plus the fees are meager. These are all solid reasons it’s an appealing option in developing countries, where the transaction fee is a factor to consider when choosing which crypto to support.

Circulation

Like most PoW crypto, the circulation of LTC grows as they mine blocks. On January 21, the amount of LTC already mined was up to 66,245 million, out of a total of 84 million. It was recently estimated that it might be until 2142 when Litecoin gets total dilution.

How is It Secured?

LTC uses the PoW algorithm to make sure that transactions are confirmed without mistakes and with incredible speed. The LTC mining network avoids double-spends and other attacks while still ensuring the network has 100% uptime.