How To Earn Free Bitcoin (2020)

By Zach — 5 years ago

This post is going to go into how to earn free bitcoin. But first, a quick story about how I stumbled upon this amazing tool and resource, and why it’s going to work for you. I first learned about the Life Leadership program from my girlfriend’s father last summer. As he was a fellow libertarian, I was interested to hear his thoughts on what this program offered and what the core values were, as I was always looking to converse with like-minded people.

I came to find that financial freedom and personal development (two things I was actively working on myself and believed in) was the cornerstone of what this organization stood for. As we started discussing it, I mentioned that I worked for a prominent cryptocurrency company and that I also believed in self-sovereignty and despised our current legacy financial system.

After that interaction, I started getting more involved, attended some in-person seminars, and was happy to learn that Life was working on a project that was going to promote the spending of cryptocurrencies through their platform. They believe in financial and economic freedom for the entire world; a vision I also shared.

I joined as a member and downloaded the free app that offers a wealth of free (and paid) services that help you get out of debt, educate you how to navigate our corrupt financial system, and provides you myriad tools to give you prosperity and obtain the life you’ve always wanted!

As a current member of the Life Leadership, I was thrilled to find that they had created a fantastic way to save money on purchases you were already making, create an eWallet that stores all your savings, and provided a simple way to accumulate the life virtual currency called “dibs” (which stands for “Dollars In Bitcoin Satoshi’s). You can convert these rewards directly into bitcoin. Seriously.

I am going to explain how it all works below, and as a “Pro-Cryptocurrency” individual, I truly believe this is the best possible on-ramp to gain mainstream adoption for ALL people to enter the cryptocurrency world, easier than any other method I’ve seen before. Giving people a powerful and free tool (the app) to save money on purchases they are already making, and then being able to convert the savings you accumulate directly into bitcoin is a slam dunk. Let’s learn how to earn free bitcoin!

*** CLICK HERE FOR YOUR FREE LIFE APP DOWNLOAD***

HOW TO EARN FREE BITCOIN: WHAT IS THE LIFE INFO APP?

The Life Info App is a free app for iPhone or Android that promotes financial literacy, personal development, and most recently, a shopping platform that that lets you convert your savings directly into bitcoin (via Coinbase). This is done with a rewards system that is used with the app’s ecosystem in the form of a virtual currency for Life Info shoppers and members called “dibs”. This rewards-based coin allows you to save 2% on all of Life’s existing services (subscriptions, audio’s, books, etc…) starting with a whole new redesign of the app starting on May 1st, 2019.

You start accumulating these dibs for every purchase you make through the app. They also have a network of very popular merchants worldwide (on-line or in person), that you can earn “cash back” or “dibs” on every purchase that goes directly into your eWallet after every transaction. Just to name a few: American Airlines, Buffalo Wild Wings, Groupon, Bass Pro Shops, Nike, Jiffy Lube, Best Buy, Home Depot, and Chipotle. These discounts range anywhere from 1-10% off each purchase and that percentage goes as a rewards balance in your eWallet that you start accumulating immediately.

So, how do I earn free bitcoin? Here’s How it Works. When you go click “Shop Now” in the center screen of the app, you can either browse all locations within a 100 mile radius of your current location, or manually type it in the search bar. There are thousands of physical locations and over 1,000 brands that are included in the app. You simply click on the brand you are currently wanting to make a purchase with and it will ask you to enter in the total purchase amount.

(PRO-TIP: If you have any coupons or other discount codes already, you can add that to your order to “stack” your total savings).

Once you enter in the total it will generate a digital gift card on the spot with the exact total of your purchase, so you don’t have a leftover balance on the gift card (unless you want to). You then either have the cashier scan your phone with the bar code, or read off the gift card code to them to process your transaction.

Once this transaction is complete, you will immediately receive a credit of “dibs” in your eWallet that you can either save for a future purchase at a discount at a different vendor within the app, or cash that out for bitcoin immediately. I would recommend not cashing it out for bitcoin immediately, as the more “dibs” you accumulate in your eWallet, you start to earn a higher percentage of rewards for each new tier that you hit. Here is a video explaining an overview of how the process works.

*** CLICK HERE FOR YOUR FREE LIFE APP DOWNLOAD***

WHAT ARE “DIBS” AND WHY DO I NEED IT?

“dibs” or (Dollars in Bitcoin Satoshi’s) is life’s virtual currency that is accumulated as rewards for each purchase made on life’s services within the app and also on any merchant purchases through any of the thousands of retailers that you see listed. This is significant because as a currency that is meant to benefit you (the Life App User) you can avoid using fiat and obtain the benefits of real world beneficial products and services, without forcing you to use a credit card. As we all know, credit cards are a tool used by big banks to try and create financial harm by charging outrageous interest rates while incurring absurd fees and is designed to drive you further into debt.

“dibs” is a versatile tool, not only for this ecosystem that promotes financial freedom, but is also allows you to convert it directly into Bitcoin (via Coinbase). I will provide an informational video below outlining this process, as well as providing you with some other options for using your “dibs”.

WHO IS IT FOR?

This is for anyone who wants to save money, earn free bitcoin, and also have an opportunity to earn passive income on the side. How do you do this? Simply use the app to make the purchases you were already planning to make anyways, online or in person. It’s more secure, and best of all you SAVE on every single purchase. These savings will go directly into the eWallet and the more you accumulate, the more rewards you receive, it’s that simple. This is how to earn free bitcoin!

If you are new to bitcoin and cryptocurrencies and want to dip your toe in, this is BY FAR the easiest way to get started. I’ve been around in this industry for years, and I don’t say that lightly.

HOW DO I EARN FREE BITCOIN FOR PURCHASES I’M ALREADY MAKING?

As outlined in the video above, you can convert your “dibs” directly into bitcoin. This is a powerful decentralized digital currency that has immense utility and will most likely gain significant value over time as it is a “deflationary” currency, by design. You can also receive incentives to spend your bitcoin within the Life App, if you decide not to store it offline for longer term savings.

You just simply need to start making purchases within the Life App, see your savings accumulate immediately after each purchase, and then decide what’s best for your long term and short term savings and spending plan. If you skipped the video above in the previous section, I would strongly recommend giving it a view, as it visualizes this whole process and breaks it down very easily for you.

HOW DO I SIGN UP FOR FREE?

Are you convinced yet that this is a win-win? You literally have nothing to lose and everything to gain. I am going to give you my referral link below here again and it will allow you to start saving immediately. As mentioned above, you can start saving NOW and accumulate savings in your wallet and on June 1st 2019, you will be able to convert your “dibs” into bitcoin directly through a very easy to use wizard as demonstrated in the above video.

*** CLICK HERE FOR YOUR FREE LIFE APP DOWNLOAD***

CONCLUSION

I’ve spent the last 3 and a half years of my life in pursuit of helping people understand and learn how to accumulate and store your cryptocurrency, safely. I can say this with absolute confidence that cryptocurrency is the future, and I believe that bitcoin has the best chance of success in gaining mainstream adoption as a device to liberate all people.

When we start using a decentralized means of exchange, we take away all the power and leverage away from the big banks and corrupt government officials that are there to try and control you. This campaign is one of freedom. This a worthwhile goal for every single human on the planet.

In over 10 years in the technology sector, I have never come across such a revolutionary technology. I will include a link to an article I wrote about a week ago that explains why I believe bitcoin is the ultimate expression of freedom.

Additionally, this website is dedicated to not only the adoption of cryptocurrency, but providing you information and the tools necessary to secure your bitcoin (and other cryptocurrencies) by becoming your own bank. I am partnered with the top 3 best hardware wallet providers in the industry and you can learn about and purchase these devices to help you keep your private keys in your possession, once you obtain them from Coinbase.

You just need to click the “Crypto Hardware Wallets” page at the top to review the best sellers if you want to take your cryptocurrency savings seriously. I will also recommend the easiest one to use if you’re a beginners here and it’s called “KeepKey“. I have been privately testing their new platform and can absolutely attest to its ease of use and top notch security. The link for this is right “HERE“.

If you do not currently have a Coinbase account, you can click “HERE” to get a free $10 worth of bitcoin with your first purchase of $100 or more. If you decide to use that link, it helps both you and me as I am provided my own free $10 of bitcoin for referring you , at no additional cost to you.

P.S. If you would like to learn how to become a life leadership partner and start earning passive income by promoting this wonderful platform, please reach out to me directly in the “Contact Us” section of the website at the top.

PLEASE feel free to comment below with any questions or concerns about these products and processes and I will be sure to respond promptly!

Cheers,

The Crypto Renegade

NOTE: This post may contain affiliate links. This adds no cost to you but it helps me focus on giving as much value as possible in every single post by being compensated for recommending products that help people succeed.

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Hot Wallets Vs. Cold Wallets – Which One Should I Use?

By Zach — 5 years ago

In this article, I am going to dive into hot wallets vs. cold wallets – which one should I use? This is an interesting topic, and in fact, it was one of the first topics I started researching when I first discovered cryptocurrency and ultimately inspired me to create this website. As you can see, I have a bias towards cold storage wallets, but what exactly is the difference? I am going to discuss below what the pros and cons of a hot wallets vs cold wallets are and in what scenario you would need to use both. As cryptocurrency payments become ubiquitous, it’s important for your own safety and best security practices in managing your wallets and private keys on an on-going basis. Let’s begin.

WHAT IS A HOT WALLET?

In short, a “hot wallet” is a digital wallet for your cryptocurrency that is connected or is easily connected to the internet. This provides a lot of convenience for making day to day purchases as most active hot wallets are either on your smart phone or also on a desktop wallet on your computer for easy access for making online purchases. I always use the comparison of using your hot wallet like you would for a wallet in your back pocket that holds your credit cards, ID, and fiat. By a general rule of thumb, you should never hold more money on your hot wallet than you would normally keep in your leather physical wallet on a regular basis. Most people never keep any more than a couple hundred dollars in there at any given time, which is smart. The same applies to a hot wallet.

These wallets are designed for your average day to day spending. This could be at your local merchant down the street, or even if you’re browsing online at and trying to purchase gift cards at a site like bitrefill.com. This is done typically by scanning the screen’s QR code with your smartphone via your own wallet to make a quick transaction and simple transaction or even buy something off Amazon (like millions do everyday), but by using Purse.io, which is a platform that is built on top of amazon but accepts multiple cryptocurrencies as payment, and at a steep discount. Click this link to get some free BTC if you want to get started. Most purchase discounts range anywhere from 15-33% off anything at Amazon through this site.

These are just a few examples of how/when you would use your hot wallet for a simple transaction. You can also pre-load Bitcoin (BTC) and Bitcoin Cash (BCH) on Bitpay’s visa debit card. I will link my video review of this from Youtube HERE.

WHAT IS A COLD WALLET?

A “cold wallet” is also a digital (or sometimes physical, in the form of a hardware wallet) wallet that is kept completely offline. Why? Because any funds that are kept offline cannot be hacked or tampered with. You can think of this as virtual bank vault, that is very secure, hard to access, and is designed to store your larger amounts of crypto and primarily your longer term holdings. There are many advantages to having these wallets, and even safer to implement Multi-Sig wallets. It is also recommended to diversify your holdings between multiple hardware wallets when you start to accumulate a vast sum of crypto.

I have a soft spot specifically for hardware wallets as I’ve actually designed and built one for a prominent cryptocurrency company (although due to an NDA, I cannot discuss it yet). But the reason I think it’s important is because using and owning this kind of device is like putting up a nice big middle finger to the big banks and over-reaching governments that tend to control our money supply and bank accounts whenever they see fit. No “authority” should have that kind of power. Hardware wallets are symbolic of sovereignty and self-reliance. That is why literally “becoming your own bank” is so important. One of my favorite quotes in this space is “Whoever controls the people’s means of exchange, controls the people”. This is scary, but very true. When you use cryptocurrency, you are taking personal control and responsibility of your finances, and that is SO empowering. Just writing about it send chills down my spine, but I digress.

If you are new to hardware wallets, I recommend getting a Keepkey device for beginners. Why? I have been testing their closed beta of their new platform and it is by far the easiest and most user friendly hardware wallet platform I have used (and I’ve used almost every one of them). I think I could teach my grandma how to use it, and that’s saying something. The current platform works fine, but the future platform is very exciting and if you are brand new, you will be pleasantly surprised. I will be writing a review on this platform shortly and I will update this post with a link as soon as I do, so stay tuned.

WHY WOULD I NEED EITHER ONE?

As you can see from the examples of use cases listed above, it is important to protect your cryptocurrency and make it useful and convenient when you need it. But it’s even more important to protect it and secure it when it’s required. As the user adoption begins to snow ball, it’s crucial for everyone to understand that they will need both a hot and cold wallet for their various uses. You can even make transactions online with your hardware wallet connected via USB for even more protection. Most hardware wallets never expose their private keys to the internet when making the transactions by design. This is super helpful because you want to ensure that from every point in a given transaction, you do not want your private keys to be exposed in transit and potentially have your keys copied by a 3rd party before it reaches the intended destination.

Having said that, most digital wallets on your smart phone are typically secure enough for day to day spending and you shouldn’t be too concerned, so long as you have a trusted wallet for your phone. The top 3 I use on a regular basis is Bitpay, Jaxx, and Blockchain. These are all non-custodial wallets and have security features built in and can have 2FA or (two-factor authentication) enabled to confirm each transaction and will include Touch ID and Face ID, if you enable it.

I already recommended my top hardware wallet for beginners in the previous section, but any of the wallets that I offer through this website, are all trusted and good to use, it just depends on your needs and wants out of a secure air-gapped device.

Please sound off below! What hot and cold wallets do you like? Do you have any other wallets you can recommend not listed above? Let me know in the comments!

Cheers,

The Crypto Renegade

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BREAKING: Bitcoin Drops Below $5,200 As Bitfinex Tether (USDT) Drama Continues

By Zach — 5 years ago

Breaking: Bitcoin drops below $5,00 as Bitfinex Tether (USDT) drama continues. Holy Smokes. What a whirlwind of a few hours it’s been for the cryptocurrency market. As Ethereum World News reported, iFinex, the operator of both Bitfinex Tether Limited (the firm behind USDT), had come under legal pressure from a key U.S. legal entity. For those who missed the memo, here’s a recap:

A document unveiled by the New York Attorney General’s (NYAG) office on Thursday has revealed that iFinex, the company behind both Tether (USDT) and Bitcoin exchange Bitfinex, is being sued. Per a lawsuit issued by official Letitia James, iFinex Inc, which is the company behind the two aforementioned crypto startups, promoted the “issuance, distribution, exchange, advertisement, negotiation, purchase, investment advice, or sale of securities” in New York State, which is illegal without the proper licensing and documentation. The suit has also revealed that Bitfinex purportedly sent $850 million to a Panama-based company, failed to secure the funds later, and went on to raid almost $1 billion of Tether’s cash reserves to satisfy it’s customers.

As a result of this news, BTC fell immediately (and a lot of altcoins with it). Within 30 minutes of the news’ publishing, BTC dropped from $5,550 on Coinbase to a low of $4,950 — a collapse of just over 10% — as Crypto Twitter spread this harrowing pieces of news within minutes. Altcoins across the board followed suit, with USDT falling to $0.98 on a number of exchanges. But, now, some are coming to the conclusion that this isn’t the end of cryptocurrency per se, leading to a recovery in the Bitcoin price to $5,200.

BITFINEX RESPONDS, BUT TRADERS FLEE IN PANIC REGARDLESS

About an hour after this news hit the Wall Street Journal and other outlets, a Bitfinex staffer going by “Garbis” released a statement on the company’s official Reddit forum. The employee explained that Bitfinex’s “team is reviewing the documentation,” and a statement will be released on the matter in the coming hours. In spite of this response, which was deemed lackluster and meaningless by most, users are revealing that they are withdrawing all their capital from the (not so) popular crypto platform.

Eduardo, a Venezuelan Bitcoin enthusiast that works for Purse.io, revealed that while he isn’t selling his BTC, he is withdrawing “what little” he had off the platform. Many others in the community made similar remarks, posting images of their withdrawal requests — balances and addresses redacted of course — to show that they are now skeptical of Bitfinex’s dealings. It is unclear whether or not the exchange will be able to keep up with these withdrawal requests. If this continues, we may see a massive exodus.

BOTTOMLINE:

This just goes to show that it’s only a matter of “when”, not “if” exchanges will reveal some mishaps and people start to panic. You do not have these issues when you have a hardware wallet, and you can even keep your USDT on a KeepKey device, which I’ve been testing in their new unified beta platform. I strongly recommend visiting our “SHOP” page at the top to get one now directly from these companies. Just remember as Andreas Antonopolous said: “Not your keys, not your bitcoin”.

What do you think? Do you think Bitfinex has made a big mistake like this for the last time? Please let me know in the comments!

Cheers,

The Crypto Renegade

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How To Buy Bitcoins With Paypal Instantly (2020)

By Zach — 5 years ago

In this article, I will tell you how to buy bitcoins with Paypal instantly. Some of us on our journey for buying our first bitcoin, we look at the funding source from which we want to pay for it. In some cases it may be your bank account, in others it could be with a debit or credit card, but what if you have some funds sitting in Paypal and you would like to use that as a payment method directly?

hLuckily, this can be done and some methods are more legitimate than others. I am going to include the best ways (in order) to do complete this process, but keep in mind that Paypal will include additional fees to buy bitcoin that can range from 10-20% more than the actual price you agree to, as Paypal is factoring in the risk of a charge back into the purchase price. Let’s begin!

#1 BUY BITCOIN ON ETORO VIA PAYPAL

Step 1 – Open Your Account

– Visit the eToro homepage- Click the ‘Join Now’ button- Fill out the sign-up page, accepting the terms and conditions and privacy policy before clicking ‘Create Account’

Step 2 – Deposit Funds with Paypal

– Log in to your eToro account- Click on the ‘Deposit Funds’ button- Submit the amount you wish to deposit and select your currency- Select your deposit method – in this case, PayPal- You’ll then be redirected to the PayPal website- Log in to your PayPal account- Review your transaction details- Verify the details and complete the transaction by clicking ‘Pay’

Step 3 – Buy Bitcoin!

Visit the BTC markets page on eToro
Click the blue ‘Trade’ button in the top right-hand corner
Alternatively, you can click ‘Buy’ next to Bitcoin if you have added it to your Watchlist
Enter the amount of Bitcoin you wish to buy in fiat currency
Set stop losses and ‘take profit’ parameters- Click ‘Open Trade’

#2 BUY BITCOIN ON COINBASE VIA PAYPAL

*Disclaimer: Using the e-wallet via Coinbase (web or iOS) requires you to be a U.S. investor. If you are not an American, you can still link your Paypal account to Coinbase, but you can’t physically buy Bitcoin, Litecoin, or Ethereum. In order to use PayPal for non-US customers is to swap your Bitcoin for a fiat currency and transfer this back to your Paypal account.*

Visit the Coinbase homepage
Click on the ‘Sign Up’ button in the top right-hand corner
Complete the sign-up form and hit the ‘Create Account’ button
Activate your Coinbase account by clicking on the confirmation link in your sign-up email

Step 2- Deposit Funds with Paypal

Log in to your Coinbase account
Click the ‘Settings’ tab on the left-hand side
Click ‘Add a Payment Method’
Click ‘PayPal Account’ and verify your PayPal account using the on-screen prompts

Step 3 – Buy Bitcoin!

Log in to your Coinbase account
On the Dashboard, click the ‘Buy/Sell’ button at the top of the page
On the Buy/Sell window, click the Bitcoin button
Choose your preferred payment method e.g. PayPal
Specify the amount of Bitcoin you want in your fiat currency
Hit ‘Buy Bitcoin Instantly’

#3 BUY BITCOIN IN PERSON VIA PAYPAL (LOCAL BITCOINS)

Step 1 – Sign Up (If you haven’t already)

Click this link for a direct way to do this! – SIGN UP

Step 2 – Filter for Paypal

Paypal Tips:

High feedback scores are important. The closer to 100 percent, the better.
Look at the number of trades and trade volume. Again, the higher, the better.
Consider the trade limits to be sure the seller can fill your order.
Look at the payment window to see how long you have to complete the transaction.
Read any terms the seller might have. In some cases, the seller will also require a minimum reputation score for the buyer. If this is the case, you’ll have to make some small purchases to increase your reputation if you want to use that specific seller.

Step 3 – Confirm Transaction

This is documented in case of a dispute, but as long as you follow the tips above, that is unlikely. You can also negotiate to meet in person to initiate this process, if needed.

CONCLUSION

There are still other options to buy bitcoin with Paypal online, but those other options I have not personally used or tested and therefore, I cannot speak to how legitimate the entire process is. For your reference if you want to see what some other options are, I will link them below for you to take a look. Well, there you have it. Three tried and true ways to buy bitcoin online with Paypal and usually goes pretty quickly. This is a good option if you have funds sitting in Paypal and want to convert it into the far more valuable currency of the future.

NOTE: The other sites I will list below will allow other options for credit cards and other payment methods as well.

Virwox

Paxful

xCoins

If you found this helpful or you have any other suggestions on other sources to obtain bitcoin securely and easily, please comment below!

Cheers,

The Crypto Renegade

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How To Convert Bitcoin Into Cash (USD, GBP, EUR) – 3 Best Ways

By Zach — 5 years ago

In this article, I am going to cover how to convert bitcoin into cash. Bitcoin has become a worldwide phenomenon due to it’s revolutionary technology and unbeatable economic model. If you are serious about getting into cryptocurrency, I would strongly recommend focusing on how you can slowly (but surely) start stacking and earning Satoshis on a consistent basis. It’s not just the die hard believers, bitcoin has grown year over every January since it’s inception.

I believe it is going to be the reserve currency of the future and it’s only a matter of time before the masses will realize this. However, some people may need to go the other way and convert their bitcoin into fiat cash for various reasons. Although I recommend avoiding this at all costs, here are some ways you can do this fairly easily.

1.) FIAT ACCEPTING EXCHANGES

There are a handful of fiat accepting exchanges that I will link below. I will list the top 3 that I recommend first, since I’ve personally used them and can vouch for their integrity and I have personal experience with them. For others, you may not have access in your country or otherwise unable to use the exchanges I’ve used myself.

I will link reviews to them as well so you can do your due diligence. You can utilize these exchanges as a way to get cash directly in the form of a paper check, or a direct deposit.

Coinbase – This is a U.S. based exchange and the onboarding is fairly simple. You can add your bank account or even use Paypal to sell your bitcoin on the spot (for a fee) to convert it into your local currency. It then is setup in a direct deposit and usually takes about 1-3 business days before you see it in your bank account.

Kucoin – This is a Hong Kong Based exchange, but I’ve used it on several occasions and it works just fine. It is roughly the same process as Coinbase, but there is no Paypal option and it can take anywhere from 3-7 business days from start to finish.

Binance – This is the largest exchange by volume and has a sterling reputation. It is currently based out of Taiwan, but originated in China. You can also sell your bitcoin for fiat in a very seamless and easy manner. I was able to receive my deposit to my bank in about 2 business days.

Kraken – This is another U.S. based exchange that has been pretty consistent in terms of delivering what they advertise. If you are based in the U.S. (or you bank account rather), it’s possible to get your money in as little as one business day.

Other options – I cannot comment on them, however, I will link them to a trusted review source so you can do further research and see if it will work for your situation.

Note: All of the above options will require KYC in order to complete your transaction.

2.) LOCAL BITCOINS

Local Bitcoins is a good way for people to cash out their bitcoin and do not want to the route of an exchange. It’s usually conducted in person and in an agreed upon location. This is a good option if you want to maintain your privacy and do not want your information on an exchange, or if you simply cannot gain access to an exchange for any reason. This also applies to folks who do not have have access to other financial services.

Local Bitcoins is a Bitcoin start-up based out of Helsinki, Finland, which has been operating since 2012. It is a P2P Bitcoin exchange. It has on-ground buyers and sellers in more than 15,000 cities across 248 countries. Chances are, you will find a buyer in your country via Local Bitcoins.

The beauty of Local Bitcoins is that you dealing with the buyer directly and you can receive money in any of the supported formats (bank deposit, PayPal, Payoneer, cash). When it comes to converting Bitcoin into fiat, Local Bitcoins is one of the most preferred choices of those who don’t want to use an exchange.

I have used this personally before, and the only caution I can express is first, make sure you are not meeting in a private location or at someone’s residence for your own safety. Meet in a well-lit public area and ensure you have good cell reception and internet access.

My experience (for buying) was setting up a free wallet on my phone and then having the seller scan my QR code to make a deposit. Once I had at least 3 block confirmations, I released the cash and we went our separate ways. This is usually a seamless and safe method, just make sure to use common sense when meeting a stranger.

3.) USING A USD-BACKED FIAT COIN (USDT, USDC, ETC…)

Now this is a good option if you are trading and want to convert your profits into a stable coin until you are ready to make another trade, or you simply do not want to incur a taxable event when depositing into your bank account. You can also hold USDT (Tether) on a hardware wallet like the Trezor One, for even safer long term storage.

This is also an advantage because it is pegged to the U.S. dollar so you don’t need to worry about any volatility or price swings when dealing with a stable coin. Coinbase also supports USDC (USD Coin), which is essentially the same as Tether. You can hold it on a mobile wallet or on a Ledger Nano S, if you plan to hold it for more than a few days.

CONCLUSION

Ultimately, it depends on your goals and what method works best for you. This also would be a good opportunity to talk to your friends and family about bitcoin and making a transaction with someone you trust, while at the same time teaching them about this valuable tool and spreading the good word. Talk to your co-workers and even your boss. Ask if they use bitcoin or if they’ve even heard of it and strike up a friendly conversation about it.

It’s instances like these where we start to see awareness and mass adoption start to take place and every time you do this, you’re directly helping the overall cause and also doing them a favor. Trust me, they will thank you later.

Please sound off below! What exchanges have you guys used? Do you have any other fiat-based exchanges you can recommend not listed above? Let me know in the comments.

Cheers,

The Crypto Renegade

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Why Credit Card Companies Should Allow Customers To Make Payments With Cryptocurrency

By Zach — 5 years ago

In this article, I will dive into why credit card companies should allow customers to make payments with cryptocurrency! As someone who gets paid primarily in cryptocurrency, I have looked around for a solution or a service that allows me to payoff or pay down any debts (mainly credit cards) directly with cryptocurrency. Unfortunately, after months or research, there does not appear to be a way to do this directly in the United States. Interestingly enough in my journey for looking for a solution, I was able to come across an article that an Australian start up company called Living Room Of Satoshi was doing this (successfully, I might add) in providing a way for users to pay for every day bills using bitcoin. This includes: Car Registration, Electricity Bills, Cell Phone Bills, Bank Fees, and even (yes, you guessed it) Credit Cards. It’s been reported that the number one bill paid by consumers is credit card debt, according to CreditCards.com.

THE 3 CREDIT CARD BEHEMOTHS

However, there is no direct solution in today’s world to make payments directly with Visa, Mastercard, or American Express with our crypto assets to help pay down our debt. Any one of these companies would have a MASSIVE edge over any other bank or credit card company that implements this feature first, because there are millions of active cryptocurrency users who would use this feature in a heartbeat. We need to take a page out of Australia’s book and create solutions that will allow us to either have these corporate giants begin accepting this directly, or create a bridge to do so. There are a few work-around options you can use to leverage your crypto holdings and use the collateral to get a crypto-backed loan with very low and reasonable interest rates to help you pay down debt. The beauty in doing this, is you don’t have to spend your crypto to use this option, you just send it to a protected account with them until your loan is paid back. It is also backed by the FDIC (if that gives you any confidence). For some people, that last tidbit gives them peace of mind knowing that this company is not going to disappear and simply lose all your crypto funds if they go under. I have done business with them recently in earning interest for some of my holdings and I can attest to their integrity and have had nothing but a positive experience using Blockfi.

CRYPTO-BACKED LOAN SOLUTION

Let’s get back to the 3 credit giants for a minute. The average interest rate the average U.S. consumer is paying with “good” credit is still over 20%. That is highway robbery, but what other options do consumers have when the inflation and cost of living is outpacing the paying wage in America? It almost seems like a perfectly formulated trap by these big banks to rob the american people of their freedom and to impose financial slavery for the rest of their working lives. It’s madness, however, it’s even harder for people who get paid in cryptocurrency to pay these bills, because we have to use a 3rd party service (like Coinbase) in order to pay a fee to convert our crypto into fiat, and then pay additional fees to pay our credit card on top of our interest rates. This seems like a good plan when looking from the vantage point of these credit card companies, because that means we will be paying interest even longer. Wrong! The default rates on credit cards are on the rise, because it’s becoming too cumbersome and people are drowning in debt. A growing number of folks figure it’s worth it to take a hit to their credit score or even delay paying this by having it go to collections, just so they can keep up on their required living expenses like food and shelter.

There is another option that was found for use in Canada to pay your credit card bills, but still, you have to pay extra fees to do this. For some, it may be worth it and it can help you reduce the amount of interest to pay to the banks. I still think the credit card companies need to accept this directly as there is a need in the marketplace and it will ultimately help them receive more revenue in the long term as bitcoin is a deflationary currency. The banks have never needed to make any innovation into their services or processes because they have a monopoly, and therefore have no need to compete. This is just another reason why bitcoin is going to be the currency of the future and will soon become adopted mainstream as it’s very own existence and foundation was built on innovation and fungibility.

CONCLUSION

The bottomline: It’s in the bank’s best interest and the consumer’s best interest to have this ability in place. People will have more options to pay down any debt, especially if they do not have access to a bank account or have otherwise been cutoff from legacy financial services. Consumers will also be more likely to pay their balances down faster, because bitcoin year over year has only increased in value since it’s inception.

Please sound off below! What do you think? Would you start paying your credit cards with crypto if given the option? Please me know in the comments.

Cheers,

The Crypto Renegade

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Why Bitcoin Is The Ultimate Expression Of Freedom

By Zach — 5 years ago

In this article, I will prove why bitcoin is the ultimate expression of freedom. Most of us remember the financial crisis of 2008 pretty vividly. We saw the forefront of corruption come home and face reality when they couldn’t hide the truth anymore, and the banks weren’t the ones that paid the price. We did.

And to add insult to injury, once the government made the decision to bail out the banks, they took that freshly printed money and paid themselves all bonuses. Also, no one went to jail for these egregious crimes. There were virtually no consequences to their actions, so what’s to stop them from doing it all over again in a sneakier way or by way of a new mechanism?

ENTER BITCOIN’S CREATOR…

Whoever Satoshi Nakatmoto is saw this happening before we all did, and as a result, invented one of the most powerful tools the world has ever seen.

It was during this time that I believe Satoshi Nakamoto saw the writing on the wall and knew that what was happening on wall street and the large banks was unsustainable. We needed a solution that could not be corrupted, interfered with, or otherwise controlled by the “Authorities” in power.

On October 31st 2008, The Satoshi White Paper; A Peer-To-Peer Electronic Cash System was released to an small inner circle of cryptographers on a mailing list that Satoshi had kept note of. The initial reactions were mixed, but mainly filled with excitement, and some naysayers that said it could never work. They cited numerous examples of previous ventures that came close and failed, such as BitGold and eCash.

But bitcoin was different because it solved the “double spend” problem and created an elegant solution for verifying transactions in a decentralized way; he called this the “Blockchain“. In case you are unfamiliar, the blockchain is a public ledger that includes a batch of transactions that are all batched together in a “block” to be verified with hashing power of several computers to solve a mathematical problem.

This offered a financial incentive in the form of a “block reward” where the first computer (or group of computers) solved the puzzle to receive a payout of bitcoin for each block. At the start when the first blocked was mined in 2009, the reward was 50 bitcoins and was scheduled to be cut in half every four years until the 21 million supply cap runs out in the year 2140.

The overall concept presented a solution that no one had been able to crack before, successfully. It came very close in some other instances but Satoshi was able to create a fair, completely decentralized way that incentivized people to be honest, fair, and created a new economic model that was built on a deflationary mechanism. This is brilliant, because it’s the way Austrian economic legends like Von Mises and Murray Rothbard saw the ideal way for the economy to be a free and fair model. Free markets let the people decide where and how money was used, instead of the government.

WHY BITCOIN IS DIFFERENT?

Bitcoin is the ultimate expression of freedom. It is built on the principle that no governing body or power can dictate (through politics) when money should be printed and what it can be used for, but rather what the people vote on with their hashing power. This was laid out with an agreed set of very general rules and procedures that Satoshi created as a foundation. Now, people any where in the world at any moment can transact freely with bitcoin.

One of the world’s current problems is that there are approximately 1.7 billion people that are currently “unbanked”. That means they do not have access to any financial services because it is either not profitable for banks to be in their area, or they live in an authoritarian country where all finances are regulated and reported on how/when they use it. This is especially prevalent in countries like Venezuela where the bolivar went into hyperinflation and people had to stand in line, for sometimes days, to receive rations for food and medicine.

Think about how powerful it is that when it comes to bitcoin, you do NOT need to provide your name, your phone number, your social security number, your ID, or any other identifying information to transact with someone. You do not need permission from a government or a bank. You do not need anything except for an internet connection. That is extremely powerful and there is nothing else like it.

Venmo, for instance, has at least 3 to 4 intermediaries that is getting tracked before you can transfer from person A to person B, even if they are standing right in front of you. Additionally, if they decide to decline the transaction for any reason they see fit, you’re out of luck. You’d need to hop on the phone with a bank or another 3rd party to send YOUR money. They can censor any transaction at any time for any reason. Bitcoin is permission-less finance. You have the power to not only create your own bank account, but become your very own bank. This is why bitcoin is the ultimate expression of freedom.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, since the beginning of civilization money has always been an expression of what you wanted or how you were feeling. What you wanted and needed, and how you communicated and expressed your needs and desires. Back then, it could’ve been anything from seashells and beads all the way to rare metals or statues. The type of medium didn’t really matter, it was something everyone in the ecosystem all agreed had value and thus, it was considered money. Bitcoin is an innovation that has limitless potential and it doesn’t start and end it peer-to-peer digital cash.

This is programmable unit of account and value. You can create automated smart contracts, you can encrypt private messages, you can even review and look at every transaction on the pseudonymous ledger of the blockchain for eternity. The applications are limitless, but most importantly, it is unequivocally, incorruptable. Once a transaction is completed, it cannot be erased or undone.

This is extremely powerful and takes away the human element of temptation or control. It’s a consensus-based algorithm and the truest form of democracy the world has ever seen. I am so grateful that this technology has come into existence in my lifetime and can pave a way for a new future for generations to come. The only limit of what this technology can do is only limited by our imaginations.

If you have any questions or comments on this post, please sound off below! I’d love to hear from you! Until next time…

Cheers,

The Crypto Renegade

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Is There A Hardware Wallet That Can Store The Top 30 Cryptocurrencies?

By Zach — 5 years ago

Is There A Hardware Wallet That Can Store All The Top Cryptocurrencies? I get this question a lot, and to be honest, there is no clear way to answer it. It ultimately depends on what you believe is the “Top Cryptocurrency”. As a newcomer into the cryptocurrency market, you start to learn the best practices for managing and storing cryptocurrencies and you will inevitably find that yes, a hardware wallet is your safest and best choice. The second question that usually follows that is, “What is the best one? Which one should I buy?”

The answer is not so simple, but I will lay out some of the pros and cons of each of the featured cryptocurrency hardware wallets being promoted and offered through this website, because they have been personally vetted by myself and my team. Each wallet will support different variations of altcoins, but all of them support 3rd party wallet integration such as MyEtherWallet and Mycelium. These are commonly used for ERC-20 token support and most upcoming STO’s will be supported as well as a lot of them are supported by the same protocol.

There is currently no hardware wallet that supports every single “Top Cryptocurrency By Market Cap”. Why? Well for one, the market cap rankings tend to shift almost everyday based on trading volume and various product releases, news events, protocol, and network upgrades. However, there have been some pretty consistent coins that, until recently, haven’t had hardware wallet support such as Monero or Ripple.

I am going to list the 3 major hardware wallets below: Trezor, Ledger, and Keepkey. With them, I will have some recent support added to each wallet and a link to each wallet’s fully supported coin list.

This should answer the general questions you have about coin support and you will be able to identify if there is a particular coin you are searching for and whether or not it’s supported. Please note that each wallet is constantly updating support for new (and old) altcoins to be supported, so this list may be outdated as soon as a few months.

#1 TREZOR

There are two versions of Trezor: Trezor One and Trezor Model T. The former is the entry level device that came out 2013 and has since received regular firmware upgrades enhancing it’s security and adding new software support for native and 3rd party applications for new coins. In 2018, they released their 2nd-gen product called the “Model T“. The latter is a larger device with touch screen and is operated by a “Beta” wallet that supports over 1,000 coins between it’s native applications and 3rd party integration.

Most recently, they added NATIVE support (which is a huge upgrade in my opinion) for Ethereum (ETH) and Ethereum Classic (ETC). This means it is connected to its unique application that was custom designed by Trezor to manage your ETH accounts directly in the app. Previously, any ETH or ERC-20 based token required to use a 3rd party wallet, which was annoying and cumbersome.

I understand there is a lot of development work that goes into creating and managing any native app, but Ledger and Trezor already had native support for this, (as they should) considering it’s been in the top 3 coins by market cap consistently for years.

Bottomline: They have upgraded some basic functionality, which is good, and to their credit they have added support for some coins that really need it, such as Monero and Tether. This is of course when their team collaborates and helps build a supported wallet to tie into their code base. They have been building a foundation for the future and that is going to work in their favor as soon as each coin’s respective dev team decides to catch up.

Newest Notable Coins Added:

-Binance Coin (BNB)

-Monero (XMR)

-Cardano (ADA)

-Ravencoin (RVN)

-Tether (USDT) *Stable coin*

#2 KEEPKEY

Keepkey has always been a favorite of mine, as it’s a solid design and very sleek and stable frame that just feels good when you hold it in your hands. Now let’s get into the nitty-gritty. For years, Keepkey only supported: Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ethereum, Namecoin, Dogecoin, and Dash.

For a hardware wallet that needs to compete in this market place, that needed a serious upgrade. Luckily, they have been making some AMAZING changes and not only added a ton of ERC-20 Support, but more importantly, they are revamping their entire platform to have one fluid, seamless application that integrates all of their core services (See my previous post for details on this).

This is extremely powerful, and a decision that I believe will catapult them ahead of the competition. They are currently in a closed beta, and it is expected that they will be releasing this later in 2019. Stay tuned for news on this.

Bottomline: Keep an eye out for the newest upgrades and the new platform that is coming soon. I hope to gain access to the private beta soon, and if given access, I will ask permission to write a review for your guys.

Newest Notable Coins Added:

-Basic Attention Token (BAT)

-DigixDAO (DGD)

-Augur (REP)

-Polymath (POLY)

-TrueUSD (TUSD) *Stable coin*

#3 LEDGER

Ledger is considered “The most recommended hardware wallet” on the market. The simple reason for this is because it’s cheap (low barrier to entry) and they have been working on upgrading their infrastructure and recently released Ledger Live, which is their new desktop (and iOS) application for managing all of your coins. This is much better than their previous solution of using a chrome extension to access the UI, but Ledger Live is not without it’s quirks.

Overall, the UI is pretty clean and is pretty straight forward in terms of first time setup and detects your device when it’s plugged into the USB port and asks you to authenticate to view the app. The one thing most people don’t understand is the Ledger Nano S has very little RAM, so even though they advertise that it supports over 1,100 coins, you can only have approximately 8 or 9 coin apps installed at once on your device. You will want to make sure you choose your coins wisely and perhaps get multiple devices if you want to diversify and/or use a 3rd party wallet as mentioned above to manage more coins on the same device.

Bottomline: It’s not perfect, but it has made some good improvements over the last year and is continually updating it’s coin support. I will list below some of the coins that are supported on Ledger currently that are not yet available on other platforms, which brings it’s edge.

Newest Notable Coins Added:

-Ripple (XRP)

-EOS (EOS)

-Tezos (XTZ)

-QTUM (QTUM)

-USD Coin (USDC) *Stable coin*

CONCLUSION

I realize that may not answer all of your questions or solve all of your problems, but it really just comes down to preference. If you already know what coins you plan to accumulate, then I would click the links under each section that has the “Newest Notable Coins Added” to a link to each coin supported by each wallet, currently. I use every single one of these and have different coins on each depending on what my needs are and what exchange I accumulate them from.

It might be a good idea to place your wallets in terms of “buckets”. What I mean by that is if you plan to trade and hold long term, perhaps it’s best to have one wallet for each purpose. This not only allows you to diversify, but it keeps things organized based on what your short term and long term goals are for accumulating and for accessing exchanges.

If you have any questions or comments on this post, please sound off below! I’d love to hear from you! Until next time…

Cheers,

The Crypto Renegade

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3 Best Cryptocurrency Cold Storage Solutions — Non Custodial

By Zach — 5 years ago

In this article, I am going to give you the 3 best cryptocurrency cold storage solutions. You’ve probably heard this before by your friend or colleague that introduced you to the wonderful world of cryptocurrency: “You need to store your bitcoin offline using cold storage”. So what does that mean exactly? There are many forms of cold storage, but there is considerably more forms of “Hot Wallets” or storage that is convenient and directly tied to an internet connection.

I don’t need to tell that this form of storage is convenient, but is riddled with considerable risk. With a normal bank account, if there is fraud or if someone hacks your account, you have recourse, and in most cases your will not be liable and be fully reimbursed. No harm no foul, right?

That is not the case when it comes to cryptocurrency. It’s about self-sovereignty and full ownership and responsibility of your own finances. With that in mind comes a great deal of responsibility and in this case, responsibility over your own finances and your own bank is a blessing. So what do you need to know? You absolutely, 100% need a cold storage solution for storing your cryptocurrency offline to keep your private keys and recovery seed safe.

I am going to share with you below the 3 best cryptocurrency and bitcoin cold storage solutions, starting with what I consider to be the most secure, all the way down to what is not so secure. However, everything that is offline (generally speaking) is still more secure than keeping your long term holdings on a phone or any other internet connected device.

HERE ARE THE TOP 3 COLD-STORAGE SOLUTIONS FOR STORING YOUR CRYPTOCURRENCY OFFLINE

Be advised that these are considered to be the best practices currently in the industry and most commonly used tried and true methods. There are other ways to go about this, but as they are not properly vetted and not as commonly used, we will not be listing them here.

#1 HARDWARE WALLETS (MOST SECURE)

You can probably tell by now that I am a strong advocate of hardware wallets. I even developed and built one working for a very prominent cryptocurrency company and I have the latest prototype not 2 feet from where I sit now.

I have a lot of first-hand experience in understanding why it is vitally important to own one and use one for any amount of cryptocurrency you don’t plan to spend in the next 24 hours. It has some keen advantages on top of being an “offline” device, which means it cannot be hacked.

Private keys are generated on and never leave the device, even when it’s connected to the computer. This is crucial because if your private keys are stored in a secure environment and they are never removed from the device, there is no risk of them being exposed to the internet.

Custom PIN Encryption – This is an extra layer of security that requires the user to set a 4-8 digit custom pin once it’s connected to USB port that is connected to the internet, like a desktop or laptop (or even a mobile phone). Without this PIN, you cannot even gain access to the application to make changes or sign transactions.

Additional Device Verification – This means that any action you take on the web or desktop application with your mouse or a keystroke, requires authentication on the device itself to ensure there is no key-logging or unauthorized changes. For example, If I want to spend 0.25 BTC on a new snowboard on Amazon (Yes, you can do this with Purse.io), and you initiate that within the web app, it will prompt your to confirm the transaction on the hardware device via physically pressing a mechanical button. This is to ensure no mistakes and no unauthorized transactions occur.

#2 USB DRIVE (NOT AS SECURE)

This option is better than leaving all of your holdings on a hot wallet, but is still not recommended. Why? Because unlike a trusted hardware wallet, it has no security measures. If someone gains access to the unsuspecting USB drive, they will have unfettered access to your precious private keys.

It is not encrypted, it is not protected, and anyone with access to google can crack this if they have physical possession of it. Additionally, I cannot tell you how often these little devices have hardware failures. If you do not have a backup of these keys, your coins will be gone forever if something goes wrong.

#3 PAPER WALLET (EVEN LESS SECURE)

This one is a “Catch 22”. What do I mean by that? Well, I see the value of what it is and I understand why this invention was created. For instance, when I wanted to give my loved ones some bitcoin in their stocking at Christmas, it was (and still is) a great way to introduce bitcoin to the uninitiated and get them excited about this new technology.

A paper wallet is exactly what it sounds like, it’s your bitcoin in paper form. It usually includes a QR code to scan with your phone and import into a hot wallet and contains a written public and private key. This is not secure, but if you are gifting it to someone, or making a trade or transaction offline, it’s a decently good medium, especially if you don’t know or necessarily trust the recipient.

As I mentioned above, if you are unfamiliar with this amazing piece of paper, it exposes everything you need to take control of this bitcoin. It has written out the public bitcoin address and the corresponding private key. If someone dropped this in the wind and I picked it up down the road, it would be like getting a winning lottery ticket (literally). As you can see there are very few recommended uses for this, and even when using this, you need to be very, very careful.

FINAL THOUGHTS

So, 3 best cryptocurrency cold storage solutions? When choosing the best cold storage solution for you, you need to understand what your end game is. What is your purpose and intent when deciding to pull your crypto offline? Most people who learn about the many advantages about cryptocurrency, typically plan to hold it for an extend period of time, whether it be for a long term investment or even everyday spending (like me).

The Bottomline: Unless you are planning to give some bitcoin away as a gift or you are making a one time transaction with a stranger in a dark alley, I STRONGLY recommend you purchase a hardware wallet. One of the most popular ones right now and is widely supported by a wide range of different cryptocurrencies is only $59 at the time of this writing.

Believe me, it won’t be that price for long. Once the next market cycle starts to ramp up, these prices are going to be increasing, and it is a steal considering you are protecting potentially millions or billions of dollars worth of lifetime crypto-assets. The hardware wallet in question here is the Ledger Nano S, and I use this as one of my everyday wallets as well for spending. If you click the “HOME” button at the top, you can see all the different wallets we offer and endorse right now, depending on what features you need and what works best for you.

If you have any questions or comments on this post, please sound off below! I’d love to hear from you! Until next time…

Cheers,

The Crypto Renegade

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Why I’m Excited For Shapeshift’s New Unified Platform — KeepKey Hardware Wallet Integration

By Zach — 5 years ago

In this article, I am going to tell you in detail why I’m excited for Shapeshift’s new unified platform. I remember when I decided to start this site back in 2016 and was fairly new to the cryptocurrency ecosystem. Once I spent over 100 hours researching all facets of this new technology, I knew that cryptocurrency was the future. However, I had read so many scary articles about how people were losing their Bitcoin from so many exchanges, including the infamous Mt. Gox that notoriously lost over 800,00 Bitcoin (valued at around $473 Million at the time).

As I dove down the rabbit hole even further, I came across “Cold Storage” and how it was vitally important for any person who takes their cryptocurrency holdings seriously. It made perfect sense, you need to keep your private keys in your possession at all times and have it stored offline, so it cannot be subject to an online hack or be exposed to nefarious individuals.

It was at this time that I had the bright idea that I wanted to find a way to become a reseller for these wallets, as it seemed to me that this market was going to be huge. Logically, cryptocurrency adoption was inevitable and EVERY single person who owned cryptocurrency will need one of these cold storage wallets. The mere idea of someone being able to “Become your own bank” and the concept of permissionless finance was fascinating to me. And so it was, BitcoinLockup.com was born.

As I started researching and buying these wallets to use for myself, I found the market trusted and used (at the time) only 3 hardware wallets: Trezor One, Ledger Nano S, and Keepkey. They all have their pros and cons, but there was definitely one that stood out above the rest, and it was Keepkey. Why? Well, the devices that Ledger and Trezor had available at the time were cheap, flimsy pieces of plastic that were difficult to use and had a horrible UX.

Keepkey felt like the top of the line, premium version that was being under served in the marketplace. In fairness, the altcoin support was far behind the other two when I was comparing them in October 2016. However, over time you start to realize that even with your trades and gains, that coins that have a higher market cap and network stability tend to be what you want to store longer term anyways.

That’s not to say that altcoin support is not important, (because it is) but I know first-hand that it takes incredible resources and operating capital to run nodes and support these new coins and tokens that come out seemingly everyday. Not to mention the developer resources necessary to build and maintain a quality user experience, so I completely understand Shapeshift’s strategy.

Now, onto the new Shapeshift platform! First off, I will say that they are currently in a closed beta, so I have not used it personally yet, but I’ve been researching it like crazy. If you want to gain early access to the beta before the masses, use this link to sign up.

As an avid Shapeshift user myself, I have always enjoyed the simplicity and ease of use that using an instant coin exchange offered. I am now even MORE excited that it is going to integrate with my Keepkey and make managing my cold storage assets even easier. (Watch out Ledger and Trezor)

ShapeShift’s New Platform

When your private keys are stored offline and never leaves your device, it is inherently safer. However, with security you often sacrifice convenience. This has been a trade-off that today’s society has a hard time understanding and accepting. We’ve been conditioned with really, any product or service, that we want it now!

Having said that, I am excited to gain access to the closed beta as soon as possible as I anticipate this will solve a myriad of problems that people have had so far using the device. I am very optimistic about this massive update and I will list the key advertised features below:

1.) Shapeshift Trading – You can seamlessly buy, sell, or trade dozens or crypto assets directly in the platform. Trading is non-custodial, so there is no need to trust a third party. This is a MASSIVE plus and a differentiator from any other exchange out there.

2.) Hardware Security – Utilize the best practice of offline security. Retain control of your private keys while enjoying an intuitive web interface. This is the best of both worlds and I will add that this is not currently possible on any other hardware wallet platform currently.

3.) Real Time Market Data – Get real-time market prices and historical data without ever having to leave the interface. This means no extra tabs or historical charts from any other 3rd-party site that you have to toggle between to get the data you need. This allows you to enjoy a beautiful ad-free experience.

4.) Portfolio Performance – Visualize your portfolio performance through graphs, sparklines, and real-time value movement. View your dashboard balances at anytime, anywhere. Your hardware wallet only needs to be connected for signing transactions.

I’ve always been a firm believer that the quickest way to crypto mass adoption is to have a fluid, seamless, and extremely easy user experience. I have used virtually every hardware wallet currently on the market and there are always trade-offs and things you wish they had, but I personally believe that Shapeshift has cracked the code to exchanging, managing, and securing your private keys better than every other solution on the market.

If you need any personal advice on the Keepkey device, please feel free to comment below or email me at the “Contact Us” page at the top and I’d be more than happy to help!

Cheers,

The Crypto Renegade

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What Is The Best Cryptocurrency To Invest In Right Now? (2020)

By Zach — 5 years ago

What is the best cryptocurrency to invest in right now? Yes, this may seem like a loaded question, but it ultimately comes down to preference. I have long been a believer that there will at some point come a cryptocurrency that provides more value that the current king itself (Bitcoin), but I still feel as though that day is still far off in the distance. Bitcoin has been the staple and foundation that started this revolution over a decade ago with the one crazy idea that the world could have a peer-to-peer electronic cash system that was governed by the people, and not an “authority”.

So far, the network effect is the strongest factor that keeps bitcoin in the minds of most people that are aware of it, because it’s not just a coin, its also a technology; a protocol. Decentralization and a VERY large distributed network gives bitcoin a superior power than all other altcoins listed on CoinMarketCap.com. However, that is not to say that other altcoins offer no value, in fact, a good few of them are innovating a way to new technologies and governance standards that let it stand apart from the rest. I will name a two of them that I have invested in below that are not Bitcoin, because they offer a unique selling proposition (USP).

ZCASH

Zcash has a proprietary privacy protocol attached to it. This is extremely attractive, as one of the key selling points of cryptocurrency to begin with was anonymous, uncensorable transactions. This is money as it was intended to be. I should be able to transact with anyone in the world, and not only NOT have it tracked, but keep it between me and the other consenting party. They use a method called zk-SNARKs.

This is an acronym for “Zero-Knowledge Succinct Non-Interactive Argument Of Knowledge”. What does this actually mean? It essentially means that “Zero-Knowledge” proofs allow one party (prover) to prove to another (verifier) that a statement is true. It allows you to verify a transaction is relevant and true without knowing its origin.

Some people view this as potentially scary, because it allows money launderers or criminals to transact in a more private way. Well, my theory is this, criminals will always find a way to do what they want and transact privately. Valuable tools should not be banned or discredited because there is a potentially negative outcome.

There is an equally positive outcome. Privacy is an unalienable right to all humans and we should all expect it and understand our rights to it. To me, that makes this coin very very powerful and very much worth exploring, especially as it is considered an “Original”. Some similar example coins that came after are Monero and Zcoin.

TEZOS

In my opinion, Tezos is the new and improved evolution of Ethereum. It is a new platform for decentralized applications (dApps) and smart contracts. Here are a few key points that make it different:

1.) On-Chain Governance – The Tezos protocol offers a formal process through which stakeholders can efficiently govern the protocol and implement future innovations. This is democracy at it’s finest. It also helps avoid controversial “Hard Forks” as we’ve seen in the past with Bitcoin (BTC) to Bitcoin Cash (BCH) and then Bitcoin Cash (BCH) into Bitcoin SV (BSV). This has a detrimental effect on the network and causes a lot of confusion, contention, and tribalism.

2.) Security – This blockchain was designed to facilitate formal verification, which helps secure smart contracts and avoid buggy code. This has been a HUGE problem with Ethereum over the years as noted in the infamous “DAO Hack“, which again proved that their protocol was not immutable and caused yet another hard fork that brought forth Ethereum Classic into existence.

3.) Liquid Proof of Stake – This is a unique consensus proof-of-stake algorithm which gives every stakeholder the opportunity to participate in the validation of transactions on the network and be rewarded for doing so. Whether you are big or small, you have a vote. This is unlike the current mining pools that we have in place where the person with the most hashing power and hardware wins the block reward, and essentially dictate the rules of the network.

I tend to think that the tech behind each blockchain is what brings it’s value. Whether or not the price is currently up or down on these coins, I believe as the masses start to see the value these innovators bring to the table, the money will follow.

If you don’t recall, it took over a year of price discovery before Ethereum finally found it’s place in the market. All this to summarize that I am very interested to see where these both end up in terms of price and user adoption over the course of this year.

CONCLUSION

So what is the best cryptocurrency to invest in right now? My final thought comes down to diversification. No matter what cryptocurrency you own or believe in, it is always a good idea to NOT put all of your eggs in one basket. Diversification allows you to spread out your wealth and provide you a bit more piece of mind and stability as we all partake in our own personal crypto journey.

If you are new to this space and are unsure what to invest in, there is an up-and-coming site that allows you to follow a strong community of cryptocurrency investors and see what allocations are in their portfolio to give you a baseline. This is a desktop and mobile app known as “eToro“. It also provides you some guides and information on each coin so you can learn what the differences of each coin are and what the full scope of their previous price, current price, and the expected future price over time. I will leave the link here for anyone that’s interested.

Please sound off below! What do you think the best cryptocurrency to invest in at this point in the game? Do you think my top two altcoin picks are unfounded? Let me know in the comments.

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How To Make Money With Bitcoin -|- 3 Passive Income Ideas

By Zach — 5 years ago

In this article, I am going to tell you exactly how to make money with bitcoin. Almost everyone that’s heard about bitcoin has been asked or have asked themselves: is this a good investment? When taking this question seriously, they start googling this phrase and see several articles about the price tanking and losing over 80% of it’s value in the past 18 months and so on. One of the things they probably don’t realize is what the year-over-year gains are, when looking at where it was vs. where it’s going. Yes, at it’s all-time-high it reached upwards of $20,000 in December of 2017 and have been wildly volatile ever since.

What most people don’t realize is that after that so-called “crash” is that the price of bitcoin in the first week of January of 2018 was $16,477.59, according to CoinMarketCap.com. That is still significantly higher than the price of Bitcoin in January of 2017, which was under $1,000. I can provide numerous examples of what the price was in January of every year since the inception of this wondrous invention.

However, I understand that the average person who does not understand the technological advantages of this coin over the current legacy financial system, can remain skeptical in terms of it being a safe investment.

Although, I very strongly believe in the fundamentals of this project, I want to provide some uses that will help you generate more money from your existing bitcoin and accrue a calculated percentage increase month of over month, as well as acquire bitcoin without directly buying it from a company, like Coinbase. Here are the top 3 ways I’ve personally found success, and with a little research and understanding of this market, you can easily find a way to generate passive income (or actively) if you’re so inclined. Below are my 3 favorite methods.

How To Make Money With Bitcoin

METHOD #1 FOR GENERATING PASSIVE INCOME – DAY TRADING ALTCOINS

If you are new to the scene or making money with bitcoin, you may not be aware that there are hundreds, if not thousands, cryptocurrency exchanges worldwide. Some are very sketchy and some have been around and been trusted, and even regulated and insured, to give you a little extra piece of mind. I have used some that have locked up and stolen my coins, and I’ve used several that I know and trust (to a degree) for several years with no problems.

***SIDE NOTE: Exchanges are a crucial component for new people onboarding into the cryptocurrency ecosystem and I understand why they are needed. However, under no circumstances do I recommend you store you private keys on exchanges for long periods of time. The best general rule of thumb is once a trade is completed, pull your private keys onto your own hardware wallet (which can be recommended and purchased through this site) and keep them there until you decide to exit a trade or re-enter into a new one.***

The above disclaimer is not meant to scare you, but more as a reminder to be vigilant of your private keys, as there have been several exchange hacks in the past 10 years. There are some “best practices” I’ve covered in a previous post, and I will be posting an updated version very soon.

Having said that, the exchange that I use very often and that I trust is called Binance. This exchange is currently the largest exchange by volume and has been trusted for several years and I feel safe using them with my trades.

I will include a link that will make it easy for you to sign up and receive some discounts on trading fees at no cost to you. Although this is my number one used exchange, there are other trusted exchanges I use such as Kucoin, Bittrex, and even Kraken (since they worked out a lot of their kinks over the past year).

The basic strategy here is to transfer your bitcoin to the exchange wallet, select an altcoin that you’ve researched, and enter a trade with an amount that you’re comfortable with. From there, set a target to you want to hit and then exit the trade back into Bitcoin. Hopefully, you will have a much larger amount than you started with. Rinse and repeat as necessary. Of course, once you complete this process, I strongly recommend you transfer your newly found Bitcoin profits onto your personal hardware wallet for safe keeping.

METHOD #2 FOR GENERATING PASSIVE INCOME – CLOUD MINING

This one is pretty straightforward. If you are unfamiliar with what bitcoin mining is, I will leave a link right here to a post that will explain this in depth. The concept of cloud mining is that instead of buying your own hardware, graphics cards, and various components needed to assemble a rig, (not to mention the “know how” of how to properly set this up correctly) you can rent or lease a company’s hardware that will mine for you..

By doing this, you can avoid all the hassle of setup, additional costs, noise, and excessive electricity. I am currently doing this myself and have done it for several years. There is one company in particular that I use and trust and they are called Hashflare.

This company has been very responsive, trustworthy, and an otherwise pleasure to work. This has been very profitable endeavor for me over the years.

There are several other cloud mining services out there. I will not mention or suggest them in this post, because I have not personally used them. However, if you google it, you will find several references for this kind of service.

This will allow you to be apart of the “Bitcoin Minting” process, which allows you to not only contribute to securing the already unbreakable network, (which is a very noble cause) but also continues to strengthen bitcoin’s position in the marketplace with your help.

METHOD #3 FOR GENERATING PASSIVE INCOME – BITCOIN LENDING & INTEREST PROGRAMS

This feature is fairly new and I will be posting a review on the featured program here shortly, but this is a new niche that I think is going to be huge in 2019. The company in question here is known as Blockfi. You may have heard of some companies that allow you to invest your own money into crowd-funded loans with the promise of large interest payments month over month in return, such as Lending Club or Prosper.

Blockfi is one of the first (if not the first) commercially viable ways to get a cryptocurrency backed loan (using your cryptocurrency as collateral) to help you pay off credit card debt, get a new car, fix up your house, etc… This is significant, for 2 reasons: 1. Most people who invest in Bitcoin or any other cryptocurrency typically want to “HODL” (or hold) onto it for dear life. This gives people a way to leverage their assets while being able to get fiat money for other purposes.

They receive a fair interest rate to pay it back over a pre-specified period of time, and it typically isn’t subject to a comprehensive background check. 2. In most cases, if you have enough collateral, the approval process can be approved and issued in as little as 2 days, which for some people is a HUGE selling feature.

The second, and most interesting feature in my opinion, is the ability to earn compound interest on your cryptocurrency over a specific period of time, compounded monthly. This is very intriguing for a number of reasons, but I will leave a link to all the benefits and features right here, as this post has gone on pretty long so far.

The bottom line is, if you are holding bitcoin or ether for a longer period of time, this allows you to earn up to a 6.2% annual yield, just by allowing them to hold it for you and put it into an interesting bearing account. It is always a good idea to diversify your cryptocurrency and NEVER put all of your eggs in one basket. However, this is a calculated risk I have personally entered into for a portion of my holdings because I plan to hold it for a very long time anyways.

Well there you have it! These are 3 ways to make money with bitcoin and earn passive income. Please let me know what you think and if you have found any other methods that work well by commenting below!

***Disclaimer: None of the information above is intended as financial advice. I am not a financial advisor. These are just my personal opinions and experiences during my own crypto journey and recommend you consult a professional before considering taking any of these actions***

Cheers,

The Crypto Renegade

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QuadrigaCX Fails to Find $195 Million in Missing Bitcoin & Other Altcoins, Canadian Court Approves Bankruptcy

By Zach — 5 years ago

QuadrigaCX fails, the troubled Canadian cryptocurrency exchange, has failed to locate millions in customers’ missing cryptocurrency assets since the company’s owner died suddenly in December of 2018. On Monday, Nova Scotia Supreme Court Judge Michael Wood ruled that Quadriga Fintech Solutions Corp, the holding company, can begin bankruptcy proceedings.

Approximately 115,000 customers are owed $195 million USD in cash and cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin and Ethereum, following the death of Quadriga’s founder Gerald Cotten. The exchange says Cotton did not reveal to anyone in his organization the private keys that access the cryptocurrencies on his private wallet. To those who did not know the details of the founders death, he died in India following complications from Crohn’s disease.

Quadriga’s court-appointed auditor Ernst & Young issued an April 1 report, asserting that creditors may benefit from the bankruptcy proceedings with the potential sale of the company’s assets, including but not limited to Quadriga’s operating platform.

In March, Michael Wood granted the Canadian crypto exchange a 45-day extension to find more than $100 million in lost Bitcoin, Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash, Bitcoin SV and Bitcoin Gold.

The court also approved a freeze on accounts held by Cotten’s widow, Jennifer Robertson, and the Cotten estate, including Robertson’s trusts and businesses.

Robertson says that her husband’s death was “sudden and unexpected”, refuting conspiracy theories that Cotten is still alive and that his death was a ruse to escape financial troubles.

QuadrigaCX was believed to be Canada’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, but following the death of Cotten, Ernst & Young says the company’s cold storage wallets are empty.

The next hearing is scheduled for April 18 to address issues involving credit protection and third-party payments processors.

This just goes to show that leaving your private keys on an exchange is very risky business. Do yourself a favor and store them on a trusted hardware wallet that is under YOUR control. Click here to see the latest offers directly from Ledger for an entry level hardware wallet.

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How Do We Gain Mass Adoption For Cryptocurrency? Let’s Start With Merchants, First.

By Zach — 5 years ago

How Do We Gain Mass Adoption For Cryptocurrency? Let’s Start With Merchants, First.

Cryptocurrencies have a high barrier to entry.

The underlying technology is complicated, and some claim Bitcoin was initially designed to be inefficient for the sake of providing a trust anchor – creating challenges for smart contracts platforms looking to expand the capacity of blockchains to the world of applications.

how do we gain cryptocurrency mass adoption

As a result, Dapp user numbers continue to remain endemically low. Despite trending narratives like decentralized finance garnering more attention than blockchain-based games and other apps, the road to mainstream adoption remains an arduous task.

Cryptocurrencies, specifically Bitcoin, remain an invention of money more than anything else.

Mainstream app users are not familiar with the advantages that ‘unstoppable applications’ that run on Ethereum offer, nor do they care.

Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are not explicitly payment technologies, but fostering more widespread adoption of them by merchants and e-commerce stores might serve to supplement their growth well.

E-commerce is enormous and only snowballing. Retail e-commerce sales are projected to reach nearly $5 trillion globally by 2021, and the advent of better technology, more mobile phone commerce, and dominance of international providers like Amazon will only accelerate that trend.

Fiat payment rails are more than sufficient for the current iteration of e-commerce as payment processors like Visa, Mastercard, and PayPal are integrated with virtually every major e-commerce platform.

If the opportunity for a turning point in the adoption of cryptocurrencies presents itself, it will be because of some monetary advantages they have over conventional payment methods.

For example, according to Shopify, PayPal-enabled merchants accept 79.1 percent of their payments via PayPal.

For domestic payments, PayPal charges a 2.9 percent fee based on the transaction amount plus a fixed fee based on the currency used. For international business, the fee raises to 4.4 percent of the transaction. Fees are not surprising, and consumers and merchants have become accustomed to them with nearly every purchase.

Kroger – the popular supermarket chain – recently announced that they would no longer be using Visa in select stores due to transaction fees. Moreover, Bloomberg reported that retailers pay approximately $90 billion in payment processing fees per year.

Some crypto fans say that cryptocurrencies can provide potential advantages in both fees and censorship, even though they also come with limitations.

First, they have minimal fees as no third-party payment processor is taking a percentage – fees only consist of on-chain transaction fees which are usually a few cents.

Second, since Bitcoin is decentralized and there is no third-party controlling the legacy cryptocurrency, there is no censorship. As the saying goes ‘not your keys, not your Bitcoin.’ If you own your private keys, you don’t have to worry about your transaction not going through, being delayed, or reversed.

So, what’s holding back Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies from being widely accepted among merchants?

Well, we can basically break that down into three primary categories: not enough awareness/users, high barrier to entry, and inconvenience in converting between fiat and crypto.

Reducing the barrier to entry by building better payment solutions with crypto will eventually lead to more awareness and users. Web extensions for using Bitcoin’s LN like Lightning Joule and Casa are already available for easy and instant payments over the web, and BTCPay Server is compatible with leading e-commerce platforms as a plugin – such as WooCommerce, Magneto, and Drupal.

“Accepting cryptocurrency payments leaves more money in the pockets of artists and fans, who’ve been unjustly extorted for too long”, says EventChain CEO, Ashton Addison. “When other retailers realize they don’t need to pay outrageous processing fees. by tapping into a global decentralized payment network, they will adopt crypto payments as well.”

That leaves the biggest problem: the inconvenience of converting between fiat and crypto.

Most merchants do not wish to ‘hodl’ long-term digital assets, and would instead prefer quickly turning received crypto payments back to fiat. Merchants typically have to go through cryptocurrency exchanges, which charge fees themselves, do not have good security track records, and are another third-party in an ecosystem predicated on reducing the roles of third-parties.

Self-hosted payment processor BTCPay Server has a fiat-conversion functionality on their roadmap, but for now, the problem is a marked impediment to further merchant adoption of cryptocurrencies. However, Bitpay has been pioneering an easy way for merchants to easily gain access to accept cryptocurrency payments and instantly convert to fiat for only a 1% fee.

Cryptocurrencies cover a lucrative opportunity of potential technical solutions in everything from advanced privacy to decentralized finance. However, at the industry’s core, Bitcoin remains the flagship cryptocurrency that is empirically an invention of money.

Payments may not be its most attractive property, but more merchant adoption in an increasingly connected globe of e-commerce is sure to be a critical gauge of furthering its mainstream adoption.

One of the most notable realities is that regulation is needed before any sides of the marketplace can switch their payment system completely.

Please sound off below! What do you think the best way to gain merchant adoption’? Do you think we need to focus on something else first? Let me know in the comments.

Month: April 2019

HOW TO EARN FREE BITCOIN: WHAT IS THE LIFE INFO APP?

WHAT ARE “DIBS” AND WHY DO I NEED IT?

WHO IS IT FOR?

HOW DO I EARN FREE BITCOIN FOR PURCHASES I’M ALREADY MAKING?

HOW DO I SIGN UP FOR FREE?

CONCLUSION

WHAT IS A HOT WALLET?

WHAT IS A COLD WALLET?

WHY WOULD I NEED EITHER ONE?

BITFINEX RESPONDS, BUT TRADERS FLEE IN PANIC REGARDLESS

#1 BUY BITCOIN ON ETORO VIA PAYPAL

#2 BUY BITCOIN ON COINBASE VIA PAYPAL

#3 BUY BITCOIN IN PERSON VIA PAYPAL (LOCAL BITCOINS)

CONCLUSION

1.) FIAT ACCEPTING EXCHANGES

2.) LOCAL BITCOINS

3.) USING A USD-BACKED FIAT COIN (USDT, USDC, ETC…)

CONCLUSION

ENTER BITCOIN’S CREATOR…

WHY BITCOIN IS DIFFERENT?

CONCLUSION

#1 TREZOR

#2 KEEPKEY

#3 LEDGER

CONCLUSION

HERE ARE THE TOP 3 COLD-STORAGE SOLUTIONS FOR STORING YOUR CRYPTOCURRENCY OFFLINE

#2 USB DRIVE (NOT AS SECURE)

#3 PAPER WALLET (EVEN LESS SECURE)

FINAL THOUGHTS

ShapeShift’s New Platform

TEZOS

CONCLUSION <img decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-659 alignright" src="https://bitcoinlockup.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/bitcoinlockup-copy.png" alt="" width="200" height="93" />

How To Make Money With Bitcoin

METHOD #1 FOR GENERATING PASSIVE INCOME – DAY TRADING ALTCOINS

METHOD #2 FOR GENERATING PASSIVE INCOME – CLOUD MINING

METHOD #3 FOR GENERATING PASSIVE INCOME – BITCOIN LENDING & INTEREST PROGRAMS

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CONCLUSION