How to Make Money from Android Apps and Websites

joyofandroid.com

 

What if I told you that the phone in your pocket could make you enough money to pay for your phone bill and more? I’m not just talking about designing an app, or clipping virtual coupons, but real ways to make money from Android apps and websites. Before I even get started here, I need to let you know; these are not get rich quick schemes or a ticket to a six-figure check in seconds.

Everything I’m about to mention is going to take work and effort on your part, but everything on this list will make you anywhere from enough to pay off your phone bill, helping with a car payment, or even a mortgage.

These are real strategies, apps, and ways to make money straight from your phone. It’s not all easy, it’ll take time, but at the end of the day, you’ll have more money than you woke up with, and have even more on the way.

Where Do I Start?

Making money on Android can mean anything, from doing surveys here and there to starting an online sales catalog on eBay or Amazon, or even building your own mobile business. It’s a lot to think about, and pretty overwhelming if you think of all of it at once.

So let’s start out small, and work our way up from there.

Method 1: Online Survey Apps and Sites

When looking at online surveys for cash, there are a few questions you need to ask yourself before you sign up or download an app:

• How long will it be until I get paid?
• How am I paid?
• How many people use this service?
• Is the payment worth my time?

Not every survey site is created equal, and once you start asking yourself these question, a few start to rise and fall above the rest. Don’t worry; you don’t have to sift through the internet, asking yourself these questions for every site and app you come across because I’ve already done that for you.

Below are two sites I’ve picked personally and can recommend, but don’t expect to make much more than a couple of bucks a week at the most using places like this. Survey sites aren’t designed for you to sit down for hours at a time and chew through questions, but to check every once in awhile and get rewarded for that.

1.    tellwut – Tell What You Think! (No App)

(Most Rewards are US Only)

First up, is tellwut, which is an interesting survey site where most of the questions are made by users on the site. The basic premise is that you’re given questions daily, you answer them, maybe interact with the community, and then you can even post questions yourself. Each survey usually consists of 1-5 questions, often multiple choice.

It’s essentially like taking user polls that you eventually get rewards in return for your opinion. This isn’t the only way to get money on tellwut, but it’s one of the biggest, and most reliable. So let’s ask tellwut my four questions to see if it’s worth a try.

Tellwut doesn’t have an app that you can use, but the site works well on mobile devices, even without the site having a mobile version. Visit it here and see what you think about how the site looks and works.

How Long Will it be Until I Get Paid?

Tellwut rewards are shipped physically, so expect anywhere from a few days, to a week’s time to get your rewards by post. If you live outside of the US, expect an even longer wait, and possible fees forwarded to you with international shipping.

Because of this, I can only recommend using tellwut if you live in the US. Otherwise, you’ll end up losing more time and money.

How am I Paid?

Tellwut primarily rewards its users with gift cards (Amazon, Visa, Walmart, etc.), and helpful technology. For example, one of the current rewards is a MotorollaXoom tablet. You purchase these with points you earn over time through answer questions and creating your own.

How Many People Use This Service?

Tellwut has an active and vocal user base that often comments on the quick surveys they take. You can chat with other users using the service at any time down below a survey, so it’s easy to get to know the people using it.

Is the Payment Worth my Time?

If you live in the US, yes. If you’re outside of the US’s borders, no, most of the rewards are US only, and the ones that aren’t you need to pay extra shipping to get them to you. Earning points is easy, and sometimes fun, so I recommend the site if you’re living in the US.

2.    QuickThoughts – Earn Rewards (Free)

This next service is another survey site, but this time with an accessible app to match. QuickThoughts works more like a traditional survey service, where you answer an initial set of questions, and then you’re matched to different surveys based on your answers about your personal life and income.

The app alerts you as soon as you get a new matched survey, so you can expect to slowly start making money if you do at least one survey a day, and keep getting matched with new ones.

How Long Will it be Until I Get Paid?

Payments happen quickly and are sent digitally. The minimum payout on QuickThoughts is $10.00, and depending on how quickly you’re matched with surveys, you can reach this in a few days to weeks.

How am I Paid?

The only form of payment with QuickThoughts is through digital Amazon gift cards. You’re sent a code, you redeem it, and then you’re good to go.

How Many People Use This Service?

The app itself has over a million downloads and mostly favorable reviews. This isn’t a good indication of how many people are using the service currently, but since it’s still running smoothly, a good amount of people must still be using it.

Is the Payment Worth my Time?

Since you don’t earn just cash through Paypal, or a Visa gift card, I can only recommend this if you’re fine with payment through Amazon.

If all of this sounds like it’ll work for you, then you can download QuickThoughts down below:

QuickThoughts

Method 2: Offering Your Services

One of the most tried and true methods to make money is advertising something that only you can do for someone. Now that almost everyone is connected to the internet, this is getting easier and easier. There are a few apps that take advantage of this, but I want to talk about one of the biggest on the market, Fiverr.

1.    Fiverr (Free)

Fiverr’s premise is a pretty simple one, at least in concept. You have a skill, users on the site need your skill, Fiverr provides you a marketplace to sell your skill. Can you write a paper flawlessly? Can you make a book cover that looks professional? Does your voice sound like a good fit for an indie film trailer? Whatever skill you have, there’s a market for it on Fiverr.

The only problem with Fiverr is how large the marketplace is. For almost every service, there are at least five or six different people who have already built up a good reputation in their craft, and control most of the market.

Starting out on Fiverr is a rough job unless you have a niche skill that’s in constant demand, or can advertise yourself in a way that makes you more appealing than the competition. Fiverr is all about selling yourself and your abilities in an appealing way, so let’s talk about how you can start making money with the app.

Where Do I Start?

Before you decide if Fiverr is right for you, think about your skill set, and what you can offer someone. Can you write, draw, voiceover, do graphic design, or quickly process information? Think of something that’s easy to provide over a digital storefront, and then search for that service on Fiverr. Your first results are your competition.

Do you have something you think you can market? If you do, you can start your Fiverr journey by making an account.

How Do I Get Started?

Even after you’ve chosen a skill you want to market, Fiverr is still overwhelmingly crowded. It sounds like, at that point, it’s easier to move to a different digital marketplace, but at the end of the day, you’ll get the most eyes on Fiverr than anywhere else similar.

The easiest way to at least get your feet wet is to study your competition. Ask yourself a few key questions about each page you see:

·         How much do they charge?

Since I feel like this is one of the most important questions, I’ve started with it first. While the idea of Fiverr is that you get paid $5 for a micro job, you can add to the initial $5 with service packages. See if your competition uses service packages, or just charges a flat $5.

·         How is their page organized?

·         What’s the tone on their page?

·         How do they present themselves?

·         How do they interact with customers?

·         What do their customers think about their business?

After you’ve asked all of these questions, you’ve chosen a skill you want to market, and you have the confidence to follow through with starting a business; you’re ready to make an account and start making money.

When and Where Can I Use Fiverr?

The most convenient place to use Fiverr in on your phone, and you can download it straight from the Google Play Store.

Fiverr

Otherwise, it’s available on desktops and other devices right here at any time. Making an account is easy, the hardest part is earning your first customer. However, as long as you use your competition as an example, and have a honed craft worth paying for, you’ll start making money on Fiverr in no time.

What AboutFiverr Alternatives?

While I mentioned earlier that I think Fiverr is the best marketplace for micro jobs, there are alternatives that you can try. These don’t have the same bustling population that Fiverr has, but with the smaller market, there’s less competition. It’s a trade-off, but the same money making rules that apply to Fiverr apply here.

Here are a few sites that are like Fiverr, but are easier to break into the market on, or have different specializations:

·         Upwork – A site for freelancing opportunities, one of the most well known.

·         SEOclerks – A site that focuses on raising SEO of other sites, sells services related to it, and lets you offer your similar services to potential clients.

·         DoJobsOnline – Another freelance site where you can hire freelancers, or offer your services yourself.

·         FiverUp – This site is essentially Fiverr, but with a smaller user base.

·         PeoplePerHour – Think Fiverr, but with more of a focus on paying people what they’re worth for their time.

·         TaskRabbit – When I think of Fiver I think of digital jobs, but TaskRabbit focus on physical jobs just as much. Here, you can list your tricks of the trade and get hired for small jobs with how you present your skills and availability.

There are plenty of avenues out there to make money on Android with just your skills alone, and you can do all of it from the comfort of your home. If there’s anything you can learn from this section, it’s to sell yourself with confidence.  If you put forth the attitude that you’re the only person that can get the job done right, your client will feel the same way.

Method 3: Auction Apps like eBay and Amazon

I used to see infomercials all the time about people that made millions on eBay, and while there are a few people that could make that much on the site in their lifetime; it’s just not possible for everyone. That said, there’s nothing stopping you from making some additional income, or even starting your own business online.

Amazon, and more so eBay, give you an avenue to make large amounts of money on junk you have lying around the house, collecting nothing but dust. I’m already starting to sound like an infomercial, but you get the idea. The only problem is how do you start selling your junk, and on what app do you sell it? I’ll go over everything you need to know to get started, so pull out a notepad and remember where you stuffed those old baseball cards.

What’s the Difference Between the Two Biggest Apps?

There are way too many online auction houses out there, so let’s just focus on the two biggest ones in the room: eBay and Amazon. At a glance, the two seem similar, but I can tell you personally, I have experience selling items on both, and they’re very different. They’re different enough, and in close enough competition to have many videos on the subject.

Amazon is like a gated showroom where you need to make any purchases at the front desk after you’ve examined your selection. If you’re buying on eBay, it’s a flea market that’s open to everywhere, and anyone who can pay the flat fee to set up a table. Both have their perks and their downsides that make each a very different online storefront.

Both eBay and Amazon take a cut of every sale you make, but Amazon takes a much larger piece of the pie since you’re using its expensive showroom floor. You’ll get more eyes in the pristine showroom, but if one of those pairs decides to put down money, Amazon gets its hefty cut first.

On eBay, the cut they take is much smaller, but you’re forced to compete with a much larger crowd of a salesman in a variety of different ways. It doesn’t cost much to set up a table in eBay’s flea market, but since the barrier to sell is so low, there are tables as far as the eye can see if every direction.

Which App Should I Use?

So which storefront do you turn to when you want to make money on Android? It comes down to what you want to sell.

If you’re selling multiple smaller items: sell your stock on eBay. If you have a lot of items, each selling for a low price, eBay is your best bet. A buyer is even much more likely to take a chance on a cheap item on eBay, instead of Amazon.

If you’re selling a few expensive items: sell your inventory on Amazon. Amazon will take a large cut of your profits, but they’ll ensure your inventory is sold in a safe and trusted environment. You can even ship your stock off to Amazon, and they’ll ship it to any buyers when a sale is made.

If you want to be paid through Paypal: make all of your sales through eBay. Paypal is used widely throughout the service, and with good reason; Paypal is a property of the site.

If you want to be paid directly through your bank account: make all of your sales through Amazon. Amazon will pay you directly after your buyer receives their product, but there will be a hold on your money for a short time, upwards of a month.

It’s more than possible to make a living using both Android apps, and you don’t even have to use just one or the other; you can use both without the other app getting jealous. If you have any other concerns about making a choice between the two, please ask any questions you have down below.

What Should I Sell?

Here’s where things get tricky, deciding what to sell. Before start diving into more advanced parts of the online auction business, you need to ask yourself one question: What do I have around the house that I don’t need?

Have any appliances you have haven’t used in forever? Do you have a collection that’s just taking up space? Need to clear out a room in your attic? Anything you have sitting around in boxes, cabinets, or anywhere else that just isn’t doing anything for you should go up for sale in a heartbeat.

Once you’ve run out of excess “junk” around the house, and you still want to keep your online auction business thriving, it’s time to turn to yard sales, thrift shops, and flea markets. These places are full of items that would get a killing online but have sellers that don’t understand their true value.

This is where you come in to buy it for a low price, make a listing for it online, and turn a massive profit in just a few days.

The Risks of Buying Inventory

Once you start buying items to flip for a profit, there’s no way around it, you’ve started a business now. It’s no longer just selling stuff you have around the house, you’re collecting inventory, and trying to maximize its value.

This is where risk starts to rear its ugly head. When you sell something you’ve already had around the house for ages and has already lost all of its personal value, all money you earn is pure profit, in a sense. If you’re buying items to sell, there’s the chance for a net loss, where your profits stop exceeding your expenses.

Be careful, and budget an amount to spend on buying new inventory. When you’re first starting out, you can’t afford to build up a surplus of items, and then have to sell them at a loss to desperately try and break even. Take your time, and only make purchases when you know you’ll make a profit.

How Do I Start Selling?

Before you can get anywhere, you need your app of choice on your Android, or both if you plan on using both storefronts.

Amazon Seller

eBay – Buy, Sell, Bid & Save

Both apps do a fantastic job of guiding new users through their storefront, Amazon especially. Since eBay is a little more of  Wild Wild West situation, you’re better off looking towards established sellers to see how they set up their auction pages.

While the people claiming they make millions on auction sites seems like an outrageous claim, if you play the game well enough, you can come away with more than enough cash to make a living.

Conclusion

Money making opportunities on Android don’t end here. If you know your way around Android better than the average user, you can even make your app to make the cash start rolling in. Android is one of the best mobile platforms to make money on. It’s accessible, moldable, and filled with opportunities

Get lost somewhere along the way, or still need advice with one of the strategies above? Leave a comment, and we’ll help you as best as we can.

Original Post: https://joyofandroid.com/how-to-make-money-from-android-apps/

BEST CRYPTOCURRENCY TO MINE IN 2019

mintdice.com

Cryptocurrency Mining is a decentralized way to issue and distribute new cryptocurrency while protecting ablockchain network from malicious activity. On systems like Bitcoin that use a Proof-of-Work consensus, mining involves confirming user transactions.

In turn, miners are rewarded with a preset amount of digital currency. Mining equipment ranges from central processing units (CPUs) to graphics processing units (GPUs), cloud services and application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs). For a new miner, this equipment can be quite expensive. This is why they often form groups known as mining pools to minimize cost.

To begin mining cryptocurrency, the following must be available:

• A mining hardware setup in a cool space
• A coin wallet to store daily earnings
• A free mining software package like BFGminger
• An online mining pool membership
• A cryptocurrency exchange user account

MINING RISKS

Mining is profitable but comes with some risks that every miner faces. These include:

• Loss of digital wallets, either physically in the form of a hardware wallet, or online, by forgetting the login details
• Dishonest mining pool organizers
• High mining costs, including electricity
• Malicious intruders
• A fall in the price of the digital currency being mined

WHAT ARE THE BEST CRYPTOCURRENCIES TO START MINING IN 2019?

In 2019, every mining choice must be made strategically. Each token must be chosen for its degree of reliability, ease, and affordability. In those terms, the best cryptocurrencies to mine in 2019 are:

1. RAVENCOIN

Ravencoin is an open source protocol developed from a fork of the original Bitcoin source code. It is used to efficiently transfer assets from one party to another, using the x16R algorithm. This algorithm works via the random selection of 1 out of 16 different algorithms depending on the hash of the last mined block and makes it difficult to use an ASIC for it.

This is great news for new miners who cannot afford expensive ASIC devices yet and can only mine using GPUs. For this device-friendly reason, Ravencoin is popular among miners. Some prominent Ravencoin mining pools include:

• Pickaxe.Pro
• Virtopia Mining Pool
• XiTech
• Zergpool

2. ZENCASH

Rebranded as Horizen, ZenCash is a privacy coin like Monero and Zcash, which uses the equihash mining algorithm. As a decentralized blockchain platform, it can be used to carry out a public, private, and anonymous transactions, as well as communications, and publishing.

It was created as a fork of ZClassic, which is, in turn, a fork of Zcash. As a result, Zencash still withholds Zcash’s privacy feature, zk-SNARKS. Some systems that make up its platform include Zenchat, Zenpop, and Zenhide.

ZenCash can be mined using a CPU as well as a GPU and is excellent for new miners who cannot afford any other devices or the excessive power and electricity requirements.

3. AEON

AEON is a simple mobile-friendly coin which was built as a lightweight substitute to Monero, in the same way that Litecoin was created as a lighter substitute to Bitcoin. Like Monero, AEON is a privacy coin. It addresses issues with senior currency such as usability and optimizes its CryptoNote hash using its improved functionality.

AEON is excellent for mining because it is more device-friendly than many other cryptocurrencies. It can be mined with a CPU, GPU, ASIC and cloud mining services. Despite its tolerance for ASICs, the platform is actively trying to eradicate the need for them. ASICs are relatively expensive and cause a class gap in mining activity as a result.

4. ELECTRONEUM

Electroneum is a mobile-friendly altcoin built to encourage mass adoption of digital currency by making its acquisition as easy as downloading any software. The project focuses on eliminating the processes that users have to go through usually, just to buy coins on exchanges by making it more accessible.

Relatively new to the world of cryptocurrency, Electroneum (ETN) is an excellent mining option, especially for newcomers. It was created in 2017 from the proceeds of an ICO conducted by its team and is now the 67th largest digital currency with a market capitalization of about $58 million.

Electroneum was designed with the idea of availability and accessibility. As a result, it is relatively easy to use and can be mined on several devices. The software needed for its mining process is also just as easy to use and set up on a mobile device or PC.

5. FEATHERCOIN

Feathercoin was created as an optimized version of Bitcoin, with the aim of expanding and building upon existing blockchain technology. With a transaction time of 60 seconds, it is ten times faster than Bitcoin and runs on the Neo scrypt hashing algorithm.

Feathercoin can be mined using software like NSGMiner, SGMiner, and Miner-X (Java GUI frontend for SGMiner).

Like other digital currencies, joining a mining pool might be the best way to minimize mining costs while maximizing profit. Some Feathercoin pools include:

• P2Pool
• Give-Me-Coins
• Mining Pool Hub
• The Blocks Factory

6. ETHEREUM

Ethereum is an open source platform on which decentralized applications can be built. Its primary asset, ether, is used to carry out operations regarding these applications and other systems on its network.

Ethereum is currently the second most expensive coin on the market, so its mining difficulty is higher than that of other currencies. However, due to its steep price, it can be advantageous. Another reason why Ethereum is great for mining lies in the fact that CPUs and GPUs are its only supported devices.

Since Ethereum rewards its miners according to Ethash, its proof of work algorithm, ASICs are not supported, and as a result, miners can reduce the amount of money spent on electricity and equipment.

Some Ethereum mining pools include:

• ETHfans
• Dwarfpool
• F2pool
• ETHpool

7. LITECOIN

Litecoin is a peer-based cryptocurrency that allows its users to make instant, affordable payments globally. It was created to fix some problems found on the Bitcoin network, including transaction confirmation speed, scalability, mining process, storage efficiency, and transaction fees.

Unlike Bitcoin, Litecoin does not use the SHA-256 algorithm. Instead, it uses Scrypt, an algorithm which does not require the use of an ASIC device.

8. MONERO

Monero is a utility cryptocurrency which uses cryptographic methods to ensure that user transactions cannot be traced back to them. Easily one of the most coveted coins, it sits at 14th place on the list of top digital currencies, with a market cap of more than $756 million.

Monero is regarded as the most advanced privacy coin in the industry and is based on a proof of work hashing algorithm. This algorithm allows just about anyone to mine the coin as long as they have a CPU or GPU. To make Monero mining more profitable, users may want to join some public pools such as:

• MineXMR
• Nanopool
• Dwarfpool

FINAL THOUGHTS

Mining is a necessary activity for the survival of a large number of digital currencies. Although cryptocurrency trade as well as buying and holding various coins can be immensely profitable, mining offers great rewards as well. It may be too late to join the Bitcoin train in this aspect, but luckily for users, there are a lot more altcoins to choose from. Whether with a CPU, GPU, ASIC or cloud, there are immensely profitable coins that are affordable to mine.

Original Post: https://www.mintdice.com/blog/best-cryptocurrency-to-mine-in-2019

RIPPLE XRP PRICE PREDICTION FOR 2019

mintdice.com

Ripple (XRP) is one of the top decentralized blockchain-based multidimensional platforms. It serves as a direct solution to vulnerabilities in the system of cross-border remittance and the general transference of money from a sending point to a receiving one. Normally, the process is challenging for people in less developed countries where banking systems are not as advanced as their developed counterparts.

For example, business owners in some African countries find it easier to pay for goods in China, usingcryptocurrency. This is due to the increased speed, efficiency, and security of such transactions. Ripple is an embodiment of these benefits and works directly with banks to bring the services to their target users.

RIPPLE PLATFORM AND ITS BENEFITS  

The ripple blockchain platform is built for ease-of-use, allowing anybody, even those who know next to nothing about the technological aspect of blockchain transaction, to send money to others in the form of XRP tokens. It works just like Moneygram, Western Union, as well as other fiat remittance services, and one may even go as far as calling it the blockchain bank-serving version of those services.

Apart from digital currency, the Ripple platform supports the transfer of other value forms including fiat and commodities among others. Although XRP is the official cryptocurrency used on the platform, users can create their own using RippleNet, a network of financial institutions such as banks and payment services that use Ripple products and solutions to improve their own remittance processes.

Ripple co-founder, Jed McCaleb, envisioned a system in which all internal transactions could be verified securely by anyone while protecting user data. Unlike Bitcoin, the Ripple platform found a way to achieve this without the rigorous and problematic mining practices that the blockchain ecosystem has come to be familiar with. This means that mining costs are not transferred into transaction costs for users, ensuring that transactions costs are not high.

According to a statement by Ripple co-founder Chris Larsen, the main purpose of the platform is to provide "secure, instantly and nearly free global financial transactions of any size with no chargebacks."

ORIGIN OF RIPPLE XRP

Originally derived from RipplePay — a platform that sought to provide better digital settlement practices than banks in 2004, Ripple XRP has been around since 2011. It was created by Jed McCaleb who later became the founder of Stellar Lumens, another equally prominent blockchain-based remittance platform. McCaleb and co-founder Chris Larsen acquired Ripplepay after convincing Ryan Fugger who owned it at the time, of the potential it held.

Unfortunately, McCaleb left RipplePay (now known as OpenCoin) and moved on to found Stellar (XLM) while OpenCoin was rebranded as Ripple Labs in 2012. In 2013, the company made directional changes towards becoming a settlement network for banks instead of individuals. It developed new features on its platform and eventually, the name 'Ripple Labs' was shortened to Ripple in 2015.

BENEFITS OF RIPPLE AS A CURRENCY, NETWORK AND REMITTANCE SERVICE

• Low commission currency exchange: Usually, individuals run into currency conversion issues from banks because several currencies cannot be converted to each other directly. To solve this issue, banks use the US dollar as a middle ground.

Such a transaction results in a double commission for the first conversion from one currency to USD and from USD to the other. Ripple coin takes the role of the US dollar in this case, but with a far cheaper commission since the conversion processes are different.

• Fast international transactions. Regular banking systems can take several days to effect transactions. On the Bitcoin network, they can take anywhere from 10 minutes to many hours to be confirmed. Ripple blockchain offers an average transaction time of four seconds. Compared to other systems, this can be considered fast.
• A supportive payment ecosystem: Ripple allows its users to create their own digital currencies for cheaper and faster transactions. For example, a user can decide to create a digital currency to buy items such as collectible cards or art from collectors without dealing with the hassles of fiat transactions.
• Ease-of-use: Ripple was designed and modeled after any other day-to-day payment system. It is easier to use and much more power safe than other cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. This makes it quicker and cheaper.
• Credibility through its focus on banks: Digital currencies are at a point where credibility is paper-thin due to recent scams, theft, and plain old market crashes. This means that such coin platforms have to go the extra mile to gain the trust of users and investors. Ripple navigates this by servicing banks, some of the most trusted institutions in the world. As a result, it is relatively credible and also exempt from the multiple regulation checks that many other cryptocurrencies face.
• Interchangeability: Ripple can easily be exchanged with any other financial currency or commodity such as gold, with a relatively small commission.

RIPPLE PRICE PREDICTION FOR 2019

The year 2018 was an eventful one for Ripple, that saw the technology platform making its way into the major headlines multiple times. Packed with ups and quite a number of downs, the year saw Ripple embrace new developments and tick some points off its roadmap.

Performance-wise, the currency fared better than most other digital currencies, eventually usurping Ethereumin market capitalization. In the midst of a poor year for cryptocurrency, Ripple XRP surprised investors with unpredictable bullish runs. Although the percentage margins were nothing like the figures of December 2017, they seemed like drops of water in a stretch of unending desert.

One of Ripple’s most notable developments in 2018 was its long-awaited addition to Coinbase, which prompted a price surge and led to an influx of investors. The platform also launched a new gateway known aseMetals last year which allows its users to trade physical metals. This marked its official entrance into the metals market but also prompted speculation on whether it will eventually take over the gold market. Opinions remain divided, with some people saying that it will and others saying that it will only advance the existing market by creating further opportunities.

According to Ripple coin news, the second largest Ripple news site based on traffic, the future may be smoother for Ripple than it may currently seem. The prediction is based on the coming partnerships and developments that the platform will undertake in the coming years. The news site also stipulates that XRP will see its token price grow from less than $1 to almost $10.

Taking predictions even further, Investing Haven, a crypto prediction website has predicted that the value of XRP may be as high as $20 by 2019 because the currency shows the highest potential of all the digital currencies. UsLifted, another prediction website believes that by 2020, XRP may be as high as $22.79 with a circulating supply of 38,739,145,924 XRP.

Roman Guelfi, a crypto field expert believes that 2019 is the year in which Ripple achieves bigger milestones as the market starts to see an influx of new projects.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Ripple has come a long way since its founders set out to make transactions easier for banks and, in turn, their individual clients. However, the future is still uncertain despite the predictions. Based on past performance, the Ripple price predictions for 2019 seem plausible. However, if there is anything to be learned from past Bitcoin predictions, it is that such things should be taken with a grain of salt.

Original Post: https://www.mintdice.com/blog/ripple-xrp-price-prediction-for-2019

BLOCKCHAIN STARTUPS TO WATCH IN 2019

mintdice.com

In 2018, the blockchain landscape was a mix of negative and positive events that were in equal parts hectic, eye-opening and indicative of future developments within the digital currency industry.

From the beginning of the year, corporations, venture capitalists, investors, and regulators were locked in a mash of uncertainty. While some would take the year in all its gore and glory as a learning experience, others may have had a much bumpier ride. Some of the events that marked the year are discussed below.

• January saw Bitcoin, the largest asset underpinned by blockchain technology, see a rapid decline from its December peak prices, which a good number of investors bought into. Other cryptocurrencies followed soon after. Despite several predictions from industry experts, the end of the year has shown just how unpredictable the terrain can be.
• Ethereum, which began the year as the second-largest digital asset by market capitalization, has also had a bumpy year. First, it began its decline early in the year and worsened in the second quarter, eventually relinquishing its rank to Ripple (XRP). Despite the issues faced by the currency, analysts remain bullish and predict a possible trend reversal in 2019.
• Regarding regulation, several countries including Korea, Singapore, and Switzerland have made various moves that may materialize in 2019. The US and China cryptocurrency scene have also focused heavily on cryptocurrency regulation by cracking down on illegal exchanges, ICOs, and other money laundering schemes. The Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) has called for stricter laws which trickle down into other areas including the denial of a Bitcoin ETF proposed by the Winklevoss twins.
• Global blockchain innovation has not slowed down in the face of these issues. Several top corporations, including Mastercard, Walmart, Amazon, IBM and financial institutions like J.P.Morgan, Bank of America and Goldman Sachs have pioneered one or more blockchain projects this year.
• Countries such as Switzerland and India have established blockchain districts or hubs. And, education within the field has been established in several major universities such as Stanford, Duke, Johns Hopkins, London School of Economics and University of Malta among others.

Several blockchain startups have also emerged in various industries with solutions to some of the biggest problems — from Bitpesa dealing with payment issues to VeChain assisting China in drug tracking. Shippingand supply chain management, data and content distribution, real estate, entertainment, art, and voting are other areas that blockchain startups have emerged in.

While a lot of these companies are great, some show the potential to achieve great things and hit new milestones in 2019. Here are the blockchain startups to watch in 2019:

QTUM

Qtum is a decentralized open-source platform which focuses on the creation and management of smart contracts for different types of transactions. The platform also carries out value transfer protocol on its DGP-governed blockchain which gives its community participants the right to vote on certain network issues.

Bitcoin and Ethereum — being two of the oldest cryptocurrencies in existence — are often in the spotlight for the consensus protocols that form their blockchain operations. Unfortunately, the news is mostly negative since both networks have faced centralization issues for their Proof-of-Work protocols. Qtum uses a Proof-of-Stake consensus, which has fewer drawbacks.

With Qtum, users can easily create their secure smart contracts. This is highly significant since it focuses on something that may form the base operation for future decentralized applications and agreements.

TRON

Easily one of the most popular blockchain startups, TRON focuses on fixing content distribution issues faced by creators. Larger platforms like Facebook and Netflix make it more difficult for creators to earn money for their work without facing third-party involvement.

The TRON platform rewards users for content uploads and connects them with their target audience using blockchain technology. Creators who are well compensated for their work are incentivized to create more. This sustains the ecosystem indefinitely.

AELF

Aelf is a “customizable operating system” made to cater to blockchains since most decentralized applications are incompatible with major operating systems like Mac, Windows, and Linux. The blockchains that currently house these applications also have scalability issues, inefficient smart contract creation processes, and drawbacks with their consensus protocols.

Aelf solves every one of these problems by creating a scalable blockchain and decentralized cloud-based computing network. According to the company website, it aims to make blockchains more accessible and workable to users.

VERIDIUM

One industry that is being disrupted positively by blockchain is that of environmental sustainability. Since the arguments on climate change began, reducing the earth’s carbon footprint has become a priority for individuals and companies.  

Veridium is an environmental blockchain company that offers sustainable solutions for Fortune 500 companies. By reducing carbon emission, the company aims to “create a regenerative economy that sustains the planet’s natural resources.”

Veridium is highly important because it finds a way to turn carbon emissions into a tradable asset. With partners like IBM, this blockchain startup is set to create a marketplace for the automation of the entire process across global supply chains.

CASPIAN

Asset management involves the use of several tools to gain insights into investor and market behavior, as well as place products in ways that they can be seen by their target market. As the industry has grown, using more complex tools to achieve this has become a necessity.

Caspian is an asset management platform that charts the entire lifecycle of asset trade. It has an OEMS, PMS, and RMS and a single interface into all major cryptocurrency exchanges. It also provides a complete suite of complex trading algorithms, real-time and historical P&L, as well as tools for tracking exposure

DEVERY

Devery is an open-source blockchain protocol for verifying goods and services. It stores their unique identifiers on an immutable blockchain, giving users complete transparency. The firm provides the following:

• A digital immutable record of product data which can be used to identify different products globally
• Individual product authenticity tracking which allows users to view the history of each product
• An increase in sales and engagement due to product transparency which builds trust in the system

MEDIBLOC

The inadequacies and information gaps within the health industry make it ripe for blockchain intervention. Leading the charge is Medibloc, a project that seeks to solve the issues associated with centralized electronic health record data storage by giving users more power over their data.

Medibloc breaks down health information into batches which are redistributed to individuals. The project aims to:

• Save patients’ time and resources
• Provide quality healthcare
• Reduce medical error made by healthcare providers due to insufficient information
• Promote further innovation within the industry

CARDSTACK

Recognized by Forbes as one of the blockchain startups to watch, Cardstack is a framework that promotes blockchain usability and scalability for the mass market. Blockchain applications are as unique as they come, and their interoperability is a constant challenge for developers.

Some applications of these networks may require collaboration between blockchains — which is unfortunately difficult. This is where Cardstack comes in, acting as a bridge between such systems. Development in 2019 may take a different turn and show even more usability for blockchain. This is why this project is so significant.

CEEK

Virtual reality (VR) is another emerging technology that has been integrated into several industries like gaming and health. However, some projects make things a little more interesting by powering VR systems with blockchain-based currencies.

One such project is CEEK, a company that uses blockchain and cryptocurrency tokens to enhance user interaction in VR. Not only is this project exciting, but it is also fresh and joins two cohesive elements to make an even better application.

FINAL THOUGHTS

2018 has been a great year in blockchain, one in which developers have been forced to re-evaluate their applications outside the slowly dying hype train of cryptocurrency. While several projects have flopped, a lot of them are still standing, growing and strategizing for the coming year. In the end, the success of these companies translates to success for users and global industries as a whole.

Original Post: https://www.mintdice.com/blog/blockchain-startups-to-watch-in-2019