#Top Players Loan Aggregator Market

[solulabinc]

Top DeFi Protocols to Watch Out for in 2023

Introduction:

The world of decentralized finance (DeFi) continues to evolve at a rapid pace, revolutionizing traditional financial systems and offering users greater control over their financial assets. As we step into 2023, the DeFi landscape is poised for even more innovation and growth. In this article, we will explore some of the top DeFi protocols to keep an eye on throughout the year.

Uniswap V3: Uniswap, one of the pioneering decentralized exchanges (DEX), released its third version, Uniswap V3, with improved features to enhance user experience and capital efficiency. With concentrated liquidity and multiple fee tiers, Uniswap V3 aims to further optimize trading strategies and provide users with enhanced control over their trading parameters.

Aave: Aave remains a significant player in the DeFi lending and borrowing sector. Known for its flash loans and innovative interest rate models, Aave continues to attract users seeking efficient ways to earn interest on their cryptocurrencies and access instant loans without intermediaries.

SushiSwap: SushiSwap has gained substantial traction as a prominent decentralized exchange and automated market maker (AMM). With features like yield farming, staking, and its own governance token, SUSHI, the protocol aims to provide users with new opportunities to generate returns on their crypto holdings.

MakerDAO: As a pioneer in the world of decentralized stablecoins, MakerDAO's Dai continues to be a cornerstone in the DeFi ecosystem. Its collateral-backed model, driven by the MKR token, ensures stability and decentralization in the issuance of stablecoins.

Compound: Compound is another major player in the lending and borrowing space. Its algorithmic interest rate determination and governance structure have garnered attention from both users and developers. As it continues to innovate, Compound remains a key platform for users looking to lend or borrow various cryptocurrencies.

Curve Finance: Curve Finance stands out as a specialized AMM optimized for stablecoin trading. Its low slippage and low fee structure make it an attractive choice for users looking to trade stablecoins with minimal cost.

Synthetix: Synthetix focuses on creating synthetic assets, allowing users to gain exposure to real-world assets without holding the underlying assets themselves. With an expanding list of synthetic assets and a governance token, SNX, Synthetix is pushing the boundaries of what's possible in the DeFi space.

Yearn Finance: Yearn Finance operates as a yield aggregator, automatically moving user funds between various lending protocols to optimize returns. Its suite of products simplifies yield farming for users, making it an appealing option for those seeking passive income opportunities.

PancakeSwap: For those operating on the Binance Smart Chain (BSC), PancakeSwap offers a DeFi platform similar to Uniswap. With lower transaction fees compared to the Ethereum network, PancakeSwap has become a popular choice for users looking to access DeFi on BSC.

Terra: Terra stands out for its stablecoin, TerraUSD (UST), which is algorithmically stabilized by a combination of collateral and algorithmic mechanisms. With a focus on stability and usability, Terra is making strides in bridging traditional finance with the DeFi world.

Conclusion: The DeFi landscape in 2023 continues to offer diverse protocols and platforms, each with its unique value proposition and features. Whether you're interested in lending, borrowing, trading, or yield farming, there are ample opportunities to explore and engage with decentralized finance. Keep an eye on these top DeFi protocols as they drive innovation and reshape the future of finance. Remember, while the potential for high rewards exists, the DeFi space also carries risks, so always do your own research and consider your risk tolerance before participating.

#solulab #blockchaintechnology #technology

[sueheaven]

Industrial Machinery - Market to Witness Excellent Revenue Growth Owing to Rapid Increase in Demand

Latest business intelligence report released on Global Industrial Machinery - Market, covers different industry elements and growth inclinations that helps in predicting market forecast. The report allows complete assessment of current and future scenario scaling top to bottom investigation about the market size, % share of key and emerging segment, major development, and technological advancements. Also, the statistical survey elaborates detailed commentary on changing market dynamics that includes market growth drivers, roadblocks and challenges, future opportunities, and influencing trends to better understand Industrial Machinery - market outlook. List of Key Players Profiled in the study includes market overview, business strategies, financials, Development activities, Market Share and SWOT analysis are:

Caterpillar Inc. .

Illinois Tool Works Inc.

AGCO Corporation

Deere & Company

Komastu

CNH Industrial

Kubota Corporation

AB Volvo

Doosan InfracoreCo. Ltd.

Ingersoll Rand

ESCO Corp.

Lincoln Electric Holdings Inc.

The Manitowoc Company Inc.

AstecIndustries Inc.

Manufacturers offer facilities like instalment loans and operating and financing leases, which offers the choice to have equipment under lease. The leasing are often done on a full pay-out basis or by selecting a construction equipment leasing option, which allows returning the equipment or buying the equipment at a predetermined rate. Companies still make use of multiple options like rentals, outright purchases, and leasing. Financing or leasing the equipment allows several contractors the benefit to remain on the leading edge of technology. there's emergence of latest tools within the industry, and leasing allows the users in utilizing the newest products available without bearing extravagant costs. Market Growth Drivers: Rising Mechanization in Farming Operations

Increasing Infrastructure Spending

Globalization Triggering Food Processing Industry Challenges: Health & Safety Issues

Lack of Skilled Labor and Technicians The Global Industrial Machinery - Market segments and Market Data Break Down by Type (Mining, Quarries & Aggregates Machinery, -          Crushing, Pulverizing, & Screening Machinery, -  Mineral Processing Backhoe Loaders, -        Surface Mining Machinery, -           Underground Mining, -            Others, Construction, Building & Utilities, -          Earthmoving, -           Material Handling, -            Others, Forestry Machinery, -         Skidders, -      Forwarders, - Harvesters, -  Others, Oil & Gas, -           Heat Exchanger, -      Drillers, -         Others, Agriculture & Livestock, -   Irrigation Machinery, -            Harvesting Machinery, -       Haying and Forage, Others), Sales Channel (Online, Offline), Operation (Fully-Automatic, Semi-Automatic, Manual)

Presented By

AMA Research & Media LLP

[sanemyamen]

Industrial Machinery Market is Booming Worldwide | Gaining Revolution In Eyes of Global Exposure

Latest business intelligence report released on Global Industrial Machinery - Market, covers different industry elements and growth inclinations that helps in predicting market forecast. The report allows complete assessment of current and future scenario scaling top to bottom investigation about the market size, % share of key and emerging segment, major development, and technological advancements. Also, the statistical survey elaborates detailed commentary on changing market dynamics that includes market growth drivers, roadblocks and challenges, future opportunities, and influencing trends to better understand Industrial Machinery - market outlook.

List of Key Players Profiled in the study includes market overview, business strategies, financials, Development activities, Market Share and SWOT analysis are Caterpillar Inc.,Illinois Tool Works Inc.,AGCO Corporation,Deere & Company,Komastu,CNH Industrial,Kubota Corporation,AB Volvo,Doosan InfracoreCo. Ltd.,Ingersoll Rand,ESCO Corp.,Lincoln Electric Holdings Inc.,The Manitowoc Company Inc.,AstecIndustries Inc.

Manufacturers offer facilities like instalment loans and operating and financing leases, which offers the choice to have equipment under lease. The leasing are often done on a full pay-out basis or by selecting a construction equipment leasing option, which allows returning the equipment or buying the equipment at a predetermined rate. Companies still make use of multiple options like rentals, outright purchases, and leasing. Financing or leasing the equipment allows several contractors the benefit to remain on the leading edge of technology. there's emergence of latest tools within the industry, and leasing allows the users in utilizing the newest products available without bearing extravagant costs.

Market Growth Drivers: Rising Mechanization in Farming Operations

Increasing Infrastructure Spending

Globalization Triggering Food Processing Industry Challenges: Health & Safety Issues

Lack of Skilled Labor and Technicians

 The Global Industrial Machinery - Market segments and Market Data Break Down by Type (Mining, Quarries & Aggregates Machinery, -Crushing, Pulverizing, & Screening Machinery, -Mineral Processing Backhoe Loaders, -Surface Mining Machinery, -Underground Mining, -Others, Construction, Building & Utilities, Earthmoving, -Material Handling, -Others, Forestry Machinery, -Skidders, -Forwarders, -Harvesters, -Others, Oil & Gas, -           Heat Exchanger, -Drillers, -        Others, Agriculture & Livestock, -Irrigation Machinery, -Harvesting Machinery, -Haying and Forage, Others), Sales Channel (Online, Offline), Operation (Fully-Automatic, Semi-Automatic, Manual)

Presented By

AMA Research & Media LLP

[kritikapatil]

Industrial Machinery - Market Expectation Surges with Rising Demand and Changing Trends

Latest business intelligence report released on Global Industrial Machinery - Market, covers different industry elements and growth inclinations that helps in predicting market forecast. The report allows complete assessment of current and future scenario scaling top to bottom investigation about the market size, % share of key and emerging segment, major development, and technological advancements. Also, the statistical survey elaborates detailed commentary on changing market dynamics that includes market growth drivers, roadblocks and challenges, future opportunities, and influencing trends to better understand Industrial Machinery - market outlook. List of Key Players Profiled in the study includes market overview, business strategies, financials, Development activities, Market Share and SWOT analysis are

Caterpillar Inc. .

Illinois Tool Works Inc.

AGCO Corporation

Deere & Company

Komastu

CNH Industrial

Kubota Corporation

AB Volvo

Doosan InfracoreCo. Ltd.

Ingersoll Rand

ESCO Corp.

Lincoln Electric Holdings Inc.

The Manitowoc Company Inc.

AstecIndustries Inc.

Manufacturers offer facilities like instalment loans and operating and financing leases, which offers the choice to have equipment under lease. The leasing are often done on a full pay-out basis or by selecting a construction equipment leasing option, which allows returning the equipment or buying the equipment at a predetermined rate. Companies still make use of multiple options like rentals, outright purchases, and leasing. Financing or leasing the equipment allows several contractors the benefit to remain on the leading edge of technology. there's emergence of latest tools within the industry, and leasing allows the users in utilizing the newest products available without bearing extravagant costs. Key Market Trends: Market Growth Drivers: Rising Mechanization in Farming Operations

Increasing Infrastructure Spending

Globalization Triggering Food Processing Industry Challenges: Health & Safety Issues

Lack of Skilled Labor and Technicians The Global Industrial Machinery - Market segments and Market Data Break Down by Type (Mining, Quarries & Aggregates Machinery, -          Crushing, Pulverizing, & Screening Machinery, -  Mineral Processing Backhoe Loaders, -        Surface Mining Machinery, -           Underground Mining, -            Others, Construction, Building & Utilities, -          Earthmoving, -           Material Handling, -            Others, Forestry Machinery, -         Skidders, -      Forwarders, - Harvesters, -  Others, Oil & Gas, -           Heat Exchanger, -      Drillers, -         Others, Agriculture & Livestock, -   Irrigation Machinery, -            Harvesting Machinery, -       Haying and Forage, Others), Sales Channel (Online, Offline), Operation (Fully-Automatic, Semi-Automatic, Manual)

Presented By

AMA Research & Media LLP

[thefalse9]

2022 Serie A Preview: Napoli

Last Year's Finish: 3rd

Predicted Finish: 4th

Odds To Win Serie A: 16-1 via OddsChecker

Prospects:

Napoli head into the 2022-23 season with the aim of mounting another title charge and building on the progress that Luciano Spalletti has made with the squad. The 63-year-old has proven himself to be the right man for the job, as he was able to keep his squad in the Scudetto race for the majority of the season and guided them to the round of 16 in the Europa League, where they lost to Barcelona 5-3 on aggregate. In short, Spaletti did what he has always been known to do: help teams overperform and get the most out of his squad. The Partenopei achieved Champions League qualification for the first time in three years but you get the feeling that it was another season of missed opportunities for the club. Spalletti had to work with a squad that had nowhere near the depth of the likes of other top clubs last season but managed to produce similar results. For this, you have to give credit to the tremendous job that Spaletti did.

Still, the lack of squad depth did them in, as they lost their top spot in December last year and injuries coinciding with a lack of depth became too much to overcome. Sadly, it looks like instead of stocking the team and fixing the issue, the cupboard is more barren this year, with notable figures leaving the club and questions remaining on whether the holes have been filled or just patched over. Still, this is a team with a seasoned manager who knows how to get results and a team with talent across the board. UCL qualification is still the goal, but depth concerns will have them outside of any true contention for a Scudetto.

Transfers:

Despite being one of the busiest clubs in Italy during the transfer market, Napoli appears to be a weaker squad on paper than last season. The club had to let go of longtime captain Kalidou Koulibaly as the Senagalese defender moved to Chelsea for £33 million, which is a huge blow to the center of that defense, as his stability and prowess truly lead that line. Fenerbahce centre-back Min-jae Kim was brought in as his replacement for €18m and needless to say the South Korean will have big expectations this season. The Partenopei signed Georgian winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and left-back Mathías Olivera for around £10m each to add some much-needed depth in the squad, but questions remain regarding both transfers and whether they'll truly contribute or just make up a part of the numbers.

Napoli did make defensive midfielder André Zambo Anguissa’s loan permanent for around €15m and signed Brighton & Hove Albion defender Leo Östigard, who spent last season on loan with now-relegated side Genoa, both moves a boon to the club as they'll solidify necessary gaps in the roster for years to come.

That said, this team saw too many loses. The aforementioned Koulibaly, and Milik are the least of your concerns. David Ospina, Dries Mertens, Faouzi Ghoulam, and Kévin Malcuit all left on free transfers while Lorenzo Insigne made his long-awaited move to MLS side Toronto FC, moves that one would consider costly if it wasn't for the fact they were so damned telegraphed when you realize that Aurelio De Laurentiis is the Napoli owner and his only character trait in life is "cheap bastard". Seemingly, Ruiz is leaving too. That hurts.

There is hope, though. With the departure of starting goalkeeper Ospina, Napoli have turned their attention to Chelsea’s Kepa Arrizabalaga and PSG's Keylor Navas, both of which are considerable upgrades over Ospina, and if Osimhen is able to stay healthy all year, you might as well call that a game-changing transfer for their entire campaign.

One To Watch:

Victor Osimhen and Koulibaly were Napoli’s two best players but it was the hole that Osimhen left when he was injured that proved he was Spalletti’s most important player. Despite the Nigerian striker only featuring in 27 Serie A matches due to a cheekbone fracture, he amassed 14 goals and five assists as well as claiming the Serie A MVP for U23 footballers. To say that he was a force and a gamechanger of the highest quality is an understatement. Osimhen made Napoli dangerous every time he was on the pitch. Napoli will need the 23-year-old’s impressive hold-up play, aerial abilities, and finishing this season as Spalletti needed to adjust his tactics in the absence of their star striker last season and suffered dearly for it, possibly even costing them a Scudetto, if we're being honest.

Outlook:

Spaletti is too good a manager and Osimhen too good a talent for this team not to qualify for the UCL, so long as Osimhen stays healthy. If this team is able to sign Kepa or Navas from Chelsea and PSG respectively, you have a reliable shot-stopper in net in front of a capable defense and a midfield that has two verifiable and quantifiable stars in Zielinski and Zambo Anguissa; both of which are incredibly underrated players and would get time at many of the top clubs around the world. You do wonder where the rest of the goals are going to come from. Piotr Zielinski is a fabulous footballer, but he's not known to be a goalscorer, as decisive as he can be. Will Hrving Lozano rebound and have a good year or will he continue to be mercurial and overrated? What are you getting out of Politano nowadays? There's too many questions with this side for them to mount a serious challenge, but UCL is well-within reach.

#napoli #sscnapoli #serie a #serie a preview #calcio

[policyidea-blog]

Why One Must Invest in a Good Life Insurance plan?

Life Insurance is an Investment that can help meeting our various financial goals. It also provides life protection in case of any unforeseen circumstances. As a matter of fact, it can secure your family even after your demise. In short life Insurance policy enables the dual benefit of life coverage as well as returns on maturity.

There are many categories of Life Insurance policies. Premium paid in all varies based on their features.

Some Life Insurance policy types are enlisted below.

Life Insurance Policy Plans

Endowment Plans

Pension Plans

Group Plans

Unit Linked Insurance Plans

Rural Plans

Health Insurance Plans

Term Plans

How Rahul Secured his future & family with Life Insurance plans.

Rahul is 35 years old married marketing professional. His wife is a homemaker, they got 2 kids, 5 years and 2 years old respectively. Rahul is earning Rs. 75,000 monthly. He's having few concerns as follows.

1. What will happen to his family if he dies?

2. How will he arrange huge funds for his children's education?

3. How shall he save his tax?

He wanted to go for a plan that can address all his concerns. One day when he was searching for something online he saw in the advertisement. It was related to some Life Insurance. He never paid attention to such flashy messages earlier. But this time he liked the message. Actually, it covered all his pain areas. It was visible on one of the online policy aggregators websites. He immediately got a solution to all his issues. These details on the website were related to Term Plans; endowment and other related policies. With the help of these products, he could safeguard his family. At the same time could build a corpus of funds for his kid's education after 15-20 years. Both these plans were good to save taxes as well.

The best part was the Investment required was not much. However, was good enough to save taxes. He felt on top of the world. His happiness was as good as winning a jackpot. He immediately brought these plans. One was a traditional plan for Investment. Another was the term plan for life cover.

Initially, it was difficult for him to decide which company to choose from. All of them had different products at different prices.

Some of the leading players, he came across were as follows.

Life Insurance Companies

ICICI Life Insurance

PNP Met Life

Aviva Life Insurance

Max New Your Life Insurance

SBI Life Insurance

Life Insurance Corporation of India

Aditya Birla Capital

Birla Sun Life

Aegon Life Insurance

Bajaj Alliance Life Insurance

HDFC Standard Life Insurance

Exide Life Insurance

IDBI Federal Life Insurance

Bharati Axa Life Insurance

He did a quick comparison of the products and plans of these Insurance companies online. Finally selected the one that had the most suitable features.

Salient Features of Life Insurance Companies

Why people choose these Life Insurance companies is because they offer many benefits because of  their features and benefits as follows.

1. Life Coverage

One of the best advantage of these Insurance policies is Life coverage. That means that at the time of the death of policyholder his family is entitled to get the Insured amount. The premium that needs to be paid is very nominal. Policy terms may vary between 10 to 30 years. Even if the Insured person expires at 3rd year of the policy even than his beneficiary will get the complete amount.

2. Maturity Benefits

Life Insurance is not just covering your life for any uncertainty it is a kind of investment as well. The premium that we paid gets accumulated as a fund. After the completion of the policy term, we get an accumulated amount. It is a great investment as funds that we get after maturity is including interest and other bonuses.

3. Financial Goals.

Life Insurance policies help in meeting many financial goals.A few of them are as follows.

Financial Goals

Child Education

Daughters Marriage

Buying a house

Retirement Benefits

Wealth Maximization

We may have many financial goals. All these can be achieved with ease with the help of these Life Insurance policies. We can get in touch with any distribution network or an agent and address our query. Alternatively, we can also check the comparison sites and take decisions accordingly.

5. Income Tax Benefits.

These Life Insurance policies provide many Income Tax benefits as well. As per section 80c, we can plan our tax savings. While choosing the policy we should select the one that can assist in saving maximum tax.

6. Riders Benefits.

All these policies come with more than one riders. There are many riders available with term plans. They help us in managing many ad-hoc risks. Some of the riders are listed below

Sno. Riders

Terminal Illness

Critical Illness

Additional Disability

Additional Coverage

How to select Life Insurance companies?

Since there are so many companies available in the market. It becomes difficult to decide where should we buy the policy.

We can take the decision based on a few factors as follows.

Amount of premium

We can calculate the amount of premium easily by using online calculators. The premium amount is based on many other factors as well. Some of them are like the amount of Sum Insured, riders, age, etc. If we want to ensure more amount for life than premium will be more and vice versa. Earlier we start investing lesser will be the amount of premium. The rider can increase the amount of our premium too. After adding all these factors such as age, riders we can check the exact amount. We can compare it with different Insurance companies as well. We may select the one that provides the best price.

Financial Targets

Financial goals differ from person to person. Whether our concern is child education or daughter's marriage we will need funds. However, a requirement may be different from person to person. Likewise, we may have many other challenges. Many of them will involve money. Another objective that one may have is wealth maximization. With Life Insurance plans we can solve all our problems and achieve our goals.

Company year of operation

If the company is in operation for a long time than it automatically builds credibility. We must check the year of establishment of the firm. That will give us some idea about their business history.

Kind of Products

Life Insurance Companies have many customized plans. They are designed as per the need of an individual or business. We can choose from any of the categories. Many of them have been listed above.  To summarize they are in the form of various endowments plans, pension plans, specialised health plans, term plans, etc.

Features of the policies

Life insurance policy got numerous products as we know.  Every plan has got different features. For example, If we take Health Plans than they will offer different benefits as compared to Pension. Furthermore, within the same plans, benefits will differ. So first we should decide what plan we want term, endowment or health. Accordingly, compare the features and select the most suitable.

Additional benefits

In this competitive world, every Insurance policy wants to be better than others. To excel they usually offer many benefits better than the competitors. We should consider that before buying any policy. Some of these additional benefits can be in the form of riders or otherwise. There are few policies that offer the benefits of loans against your policy. Whereas others may have the benefit of providing bonuses after locking year. We should analyze and know all these advantages and make our decision accordingly.

With so many variants available, we must select a policy with due diligence. Important is we must make a decision early. As Life Insurance serves as a very good source of Investment.

[topinfo12]

Know Everything about Admission to the BBA Colleges in Bangalore

Bangalore, the "Silicon Valley of India", is one of the most popular BBA destinations with a plethora of BBA colleges on offer. The BBA colleges in Bangalore provide quality education along with good placements. 

BBA or Bachelor of Administration is a popular undergraduate degree programme for candidates looking to pursue a career in business management.

                 BBA offers an in-depth understanding of business administration and the management of different business operations. Students from all three major streams can pursue the BBA course that prepares them for entrepreneurship and management roles.

Varied Specialisations Offered by Top BBA Colleges in Bangalore

There are different specialisations offered by the top BBA colleges in Bangalore. These include:

Sales and marketing

Finance

Supply chain

Human resources

Entrepreneurship

Business analytics

International business

Logistics and transport

Travel and tourism management

IT & Systems

The BBA colleges in Bangalore provide part-time, full-time, distance learning and online modes of undertaking Bachelor and Business Administration courses. The colleges offer certificate, diploma and degree courses.

Skills Needed by BBA Graduates

BBA graduates require a number of skills to manage tasks in different work environments. These skills include:

Etiquette

Proper communication skills

Problem-solving

Leadership

Negotiating

Initiative

Social consciousness

Interpersonal

Team player

Critical thinking

Detail-oriented

Multi-tasking

Strong work ethics

Time management

Commitment

Adaptability

All the BBA colleges in Bangalore provide BBA studies along with a study environment and practice methods that help students grab on these skills very easily.

Eligibility Criteria for Admission in BBA Colleges in Bangalore

Candidates willing to pursue their BBA in the best BBA colleges in Bangalore must meet several eligibility criteria to get admission to the colleges. These criteria include:

The candidate should have scored 50% aggregate or even above in Class 12. Candidates who have already appeared in Class 12 and are awaiting results can also apply at the BBA colleges in Bangalore.

Besides the merit-based admission procedure, BBA colleges in Bangalore also conduct different entrance examinations such as CUET and JET for BBA admission.

BBA Placements Trends in Colleges of Bangalore

Students completing their BBA from one of the popular colleges in Bangalore can move on to complete their MBA and then start a business of their own. However, they can also work for companies where they can implement their education in the real world. A large number of BBA colleges in Bangalore offer placement opportunities to the students. They provide this opportunity to the students with the aim of enhancing their knowledge while making it easier for them to gain real-time experience. Job placements available to the students passing out of BBA colleges in Bangalore are:

Finance manager

Human resource manager

Business consultant

Sales manager

Investment banker

Information systems manager

Business administration researcher

Entrepreneur

Real estate agent

Loan officer

Business manager

Recruitment manager

Management accountant

Production manager

Financial advisor

Public relations manager

Conclusion

Completing your BBA from one of the top BBA colleges in Bangalore will not just open up different study options for you but even scopes of great job positions in multi-national companies. So make the right choice of a BBA college in Bangalore and get going with your career.

Are you looking for some more information about the top BBA colleges in Bangalore? Know the eligibility criteria and the admission procedure by visiting http://www.agieducation.org/.

[seedfinance]

3 Top Stocks to Buy From the Prospering Savings & Loan Industry – August 6, 2021

The Zacks savings and loan industry is likely to continue to enjoy high lending, benefiting from low mortgage rates and strong residential demand. An improvement in the economy, a rebound in consumer spending and stimulus packages should also support credit growth, providing much-needed support.

In addition, digitization and technological improvement efforts are expected to support the industry in the near future. That’s what some of the industry players like New York Community Bancorp (NYCB quick quoteNYCB – Free report), Provident Financial Services, Inc. (PFS quick offerPFS – Free report) and West Bank Corporation, Inc. (WTBA Quick QuoteWTBA – Free Report) will benefit from these developments.

Industry description

Zacks’ savings and loan industry consists of specialized US banks, generally locally owned, focused on expanding residential mortgage finance. Companies in the industry offer mortgages for residential real estate, commercial and industrial mortgages, home equity loans, vehicle loans, and other corporate loans. These institutions finance mortgages with savings insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). They usually offer high savings rates to attract deposits, which improves their ability to lend. Although the firms operate in a similar way to commercial banks in that they offer various banking services such as checking and savings accounts, they have so far been legally required to invest at least 65% of their assets in mortgages. With a ruling with effect from July 1, 2019, this restriction was lifted for institutions that are insured with the FDIC.

3 Trends in the Savings and Loan Industry to Watch Out For

Mortgages to Assert Yourself: Despite supply chain and price issues, low mortgage rates continue to provide significant incentives for Americans to buy homes. The low interest rate environment is likely to persist as the Federal Reserve has announced that it will keep interest rates near zero for the short term. These should also stimulate origination in the current year and drive growth in the industry in the coming quarters. According to the MBA Mortgage Finance Forecast, single-family home purchases are likely to increase in 2021. In addition, mortgage debt is expected to spike in 2021, should this trend bolster the outlook for the industry.

Credit growth in the cards: The macro outlook for the United States turns positive with the economy reopening and encouraging advances in vaccination. Consumer spending is also recovering and could be robust in the coming period. In such a scenario, consumer normalization will boost mortgage, commercial, educational and auto loans. This is intended to instill confidence among borrowers and support the demand for credit. Hence, despite low interest rates, credit growth should support net interest income and corporate margins to some extent.

Digitization initiatives as a breather: A number of challenges have arisen for the savings banks, including legacy technology and an unbalanced customer base. Hence, these companies have made efforts to drive the transition to carefully focused, technology-oriented and flexibly operating institutions in order to remain competitive and make profits in the rapidly evolving market. While technology upgrades are expected to increase noninterest expenses in the short term, it will support companies’ financial values ​​and increase market share over time.

Zack’s industry rank shows solid prospects

The group’s Zacks industry rank, which is essentially the average of the Zacks rank of all member stocks, suggests good near-term prospects.

Zacks’ savings and loan industry currently ranks Zacks industry rank # 57, making it in the top 23% of more than 250 Zacks industries. Our research shows that the top 50% of Zacks ranking industries outperform the bottom 50% by a factor of more than 2 to 1.

The positioning of the industry in the top 50% of the industries rated by Zacks is the result of the good profit prospects for the individual companies as a whole. Looking at the revisions to the aggregate earnings estimates, it appears that analysts are gaining confidence in the earnings growth potential of this group. It is noteworthy that the industry’s profit estimates for the current year have been revised upwards by 64.7% since August 2020.

Before we outline a few stocks to consider for your portfolio, let’s take a look at current stock market performance and the industry’s valuation picture.

Industry outperforms the sector and the S&P 500

The Zacks Savings and Loan Industry, a 35-strong stock group within the broader Zacks financial sector, outperformed the S&P 500 and its own sector over the past year.

While stocks in this industry together rose 48.2%, the S&P 500 Composite rose 36.3%. In the same period, the Zacks Finance sector grew 36.9%.

Annual price development

Image source: Zacks Investment Research

Current evaluation of the industry

One can get a good feel for the relative valuation of the industry by looking at the price-to-book ratio (P / TBV), which is widely used in valuing financial companies because of the sharp fluctuations in their earnings results from quarter to quarter.

The industry currently has a 12-month trailing P / TBV of 1.57X, which is below the median of 1.50X over the past five years. This compares to the highest level of 9.97X and the lowest level of 0.84X over that period.

However, the industry is trading at a discount to the overall market as the trailing 12-month P / E for the S&P 500 is 22.24X and the median is 11.67X.

Price-to-Tangible Book Ratio (TTM)

Image source: Zacks Investment Research

Since financial stocks tend to have low P / E ratios, it may not make sense for many investors to compare savings and loan providers to the S&P 500. However, comparing the group’s P / E to that of the broader sector ensures that the group is trading at a reasonable discount. The Zacks Finance sector’s trailing 12-month P / TBV of 4.52X for the same period is higher than the Zacks savings and loan industry ratios.

Price-to-Tangible Book Ratio (TTM)

Image source: Zacks Investment Research

3 savings and loan stocks to bet on

West Bank Corporation, Inc.: Headquartered in West Des Moines, IA, the company focuses on lending, deposit and escrow services for consumers and small to medium-sized businesses. The company has seen credit spikes in all of its markets over the past few quarters. A strong pipeline indicated by management is encouraging and will allow the company to experience robust growth. Strategic efforts to expand its presence in Minnesota should result in further spikes in lending, while the focus on commercial and industrial segments has supported strong deposit growth and the treasury management business. Credit trends are also likely to improve as the company forecasts a non-due loan sale in the next month.

West Bancorporation currently has a Zacks Rank # 1 (Strong Buy). The consensus mark for the current year is up 10.5% over the past week to $ 2.95. The company’s shares have returned 57.7% over the year to date. You can see the full list of current Zacks # 1 Rank stocks here.

Price and consensus: WTBA

Image source: Zacks Investment Research

New York Community Bancorp: The company offers traditional and non-traditional products and services and access to multiple service channels, including online banking and mobile banking. It is also a leading manufacturer of multi-family loans in New York City.

This Westbury, NY-based company’s declining cost base (due to store closings and divestments of unprofitable businesses) and expansion efforts through acquisitions should support its finances. Recently, shareholders in the New York community approved the proposed business combination with Flagstar Bancorp, Inc. In addition, the prevailing low interest rate environment is likely to support margins as the balance sheet is liability sensitive.

The stock currently has a Zacks rank of 2 (Buy). The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2021 shifted 3.3% north to $ 1.26 over the past week. The company’s shares are up 14.7% over the year to date.

Price and Consensus: NYCB

Image source: Zacks Investment Research

Provident Financial Services, Inc.: It is the holding company of Provident Bank, providing a variety of financial products and services through its network of branches in northern and central New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Queens Counties, New York.

Provident Financial has a significant exposure to mortgage loans, including residential mortgages, commercial mortgages, and multi-family mortgages. Given the robust outlook for mortgage lending in 2021, the company is likely to benefit from this trend due to its strong liquidity position. In addition, the recovery in consumer sentiment is also expected to boost the commercial and industrial loan portfolio. Efforts to manage operating costs and invest in new technology offer room for long-term growth.

The stock currently ranks Zacks 2. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2021 is up 8.7% north over the past week to $ 2.12. The company’s shares are up 22.3% over the year to date.

Price and consensus: PFS

Image source: Zacks Investment Research

source https://seedfinance.net/2021/08/06/3-top-stocks-to-buy-from-the-prospering-savings-loan-industry-august-6-2021/

[andongaustin]

Manchester United's 2019-2020 Season Brief Summary

The 2019-20  season for Manchester United was much of a dramatic one for the Red Devils. The season started with an impressive marketing during the winter transfer window of 2019 (getting players like Harry Maguire, Wan Bissaka, and Daniel James).

The Premier League

The season which kicked off with an impressive win over the Blues (Chelsea FC). But in the course of the first half of the season, the team suffered a set back, finding it difficult and encountered certain embarrassing defeats against teams like New Castle United, Watford, and certain other underdogs in the Premier League.

But despite all these, Manchester United was able to face off and beat up the league giants (Manchester City, Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspurs, Leicester City; with the exception of Arsenal and Liverpool FC). In this time Man United surprised many with being the only team not to be beaten by the League leader Liverpool FC in the first half of the season, and making Chelsea, Leicester City, and Manchester City their underdogs by beating them back to back.

After the winter transfer window, saw a different Manchester United team after they had signed their long time target the Portuguese Bruno Fernandez, and getting the Nigerian Odion Ighalo from China on loan to replace the then injured Marcus Rashford.

This new face of the team saw them having an impressive Premier League record in which they finished the season from February without a defeat. And the season ended dramatically with Manchester United ended third on the table (behind Liverpool FC and Manchester City), a scene which wasn't predicted by many given that Manchester United was seen earlier during the first half of the season in the relégation race.

The Europa League

Manchester United started the 2019-20 UEFA Europa League season in the group stage where they were placed in the same group with AZ Alkmaar, Partizan Belgrade,  and Astana. In this group stage were, they ended up top of the group, in which they won all the teams in the group in at least one leg.

The knock out stage of the competition started when the team was in great form with their new signings Fernandez and Ighalo. They were able to beat opponents like Cub Brugge and LASK on both legs before the Covid19 pandemic. When the competition resumed after the pandemic, they were able to narrowly win Copenhagen in a single legged game (Due to the new UEFA regulation to the rest of their competition in the season) United were seen as favorites in the competition at the stage.

Manchester United's Europa League race ended in the semi finals with a 2-1 defeat to Sevilla (who later won the competition). Thus Manchester United ended the UEFA Europa League in the semi finals, and the Manchester United Man Bruno Fernandez became the top scorer in the competition.

The FA Cup

Manchester United's FA Cup season started with them having a tough one against Wolverhampton Wanderers, an encounter in which they were able to win in a replay (making them the first team in Manchester to defeat Wolverhampton Wanderers since their return to top flight English football).

The FA Cup continued with United having great wins against Tranmere Rovers, Derby County, and a tough indoors game with Norwich City, in which they were able to win a narrow 2-1 after extra time.

United's FA cup race ended in the semi finals like in the  Europa League in an encounter against Chelsea FC (their first win against United in two seasons). This was a huge blow on the team as it was their first defeat since January.

The League Cup

Manchester United's EFL cup season started in a tough game against Rochdale at Old Trafford in a 1-1 encounter in which United were able to win on penalties.

The competition for United proceeded with an impressive 2-1 win over Chelsea FC (the second win against Chelsea in the season). And then followed other victory against Colchester United with a 3-0 score.

Just like in the FA Cup, and the UEFA Europa League, Manchester United ended up the League Cup in the semi finals with a 3-2 aggregate defeat against Manchester City (who were defending champions, and later the champion of the competition), a two legged encounter in which Manchester United lost 1-3 at home, and were able to win 1-0 away, but couldn't go through with the aggregate score.

In summary, Manchester United in the 2019-2020 season saw them ending in the top 4 flight of every competition they were involved in that season given that they ended in the semis of the Europa League, the EFL Cup, the FA Cup, and that they also finished third position on the Premier League. Thus given the seasonal performance, they were averagely good compared to the previous season.

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[yosttravis]

Cash Poor

One of the worst kept secrets around the National Hockey League is that the Ottawa Senators are in a financial bind. To what degree is up for debate, but cash flows are a huge problem for the organization right now.

The organization is asset rich and cash poor. What they carry in PP&E is offset by a lack of liquidity. And what that means is a big piece of the organization’s net income is utilized to service loan payments -- loan payments with high interest rates.

I wrote about this in depth during the summer of 2013, where the Ottawa Senators were in a similar cash flow bind. Those series of posts have since been, uh, erased, but a quick Google search can turn up at least seven or eight posts on Ottawa’s bleak financial outlook from back then. 

The Ottawa Citizen covered it a few months later, and wrote in pertinent part:

The result was that last autumn the Senators faced a series of financial stresses, including ongoing losses on operations, higher-than-usual debt interest payments, and probably more than $10 million in additional costs related to the lockout and the resulting loss of ticket sales.

The financial squeeze affected every level of the Senators’ organization, from payroll to marketing. Loose talk, misplaced as it turned out, held there wouldn’t be enough cash on certain weeks to settle paycheques. “There is no truth to the rumour that we had a payroll issue at any time under Eugene’s leadership,” said Senators president Cyril Leeder during a recent interview.

It was only after the league returned to action, allowing the Senators to generate revenues from ticket sales, that Melnyk finally arranged $150 million in fresh financing — this, according to Davies, the law firm that helped to negotiate the deal. He signed a four-year deal in April 2013 with a pair of U.S. specialty funds. By this time, the mantra of conservative spending was even more firmly embedded in the Senators’ financial culture. This posture would be an important factor in the ill-fated contract negotiations involving the Senators’ long-serving captain, Daniel Alfredsson.

You will note that ownership arranged $150mm in fresh financing on a four-year deal in mid-2013. Depending on the terms of the agreement, it’s likely that loan lapsed or is close to lapsing. 

I provide this brief background because I think it provides important color behind this past weekend, where ownership used the biggest platform possible to complain about the team’s financial situation married with thinly-veiled threats to relocate the team. It didn’t go over well with anyone. But, it must be noted that much of what was said is either accurate in totality or accurate to a reasonable degree -- ticket sales are slow, the team’s hemorrhaging cash because of debt issues, et al. (SensChirp took a swing at building core financial statements based on publicly available financial data last week, if you are interested in further reading. It’s worth your time.) 

This story has been around for some time. But 2017 is different. Four years ago, Ottawa was struggling. Mightily. And it led to a painful level of discussion about team-imposed budgets and corner-cutting (it’s worth noting here that ownership and team executives individually have said that this has occurred). But with a re-pop through fresh financing, the team was allowed to ‘punt’ on addressing core financial issues. For four years, anyway.

But those loans with high interest (perhaps bordering on predatory) rates have only served to cripple the team’s bottom-line in the long-run, as these loans tend to do in any industry. So when an owner comes out and says that he’s cut everything to the bone, he can probably be taken at his word. 

When money is tight, like it is in Ottawa right now, you hear a lot of stuff. And when you hear a lot of stuff, it’s difficult to differentiate between what’s real and what’s not. At aggregate, it’s clear that Ottawa’s corner-cutting on the cost side is having a real (and very negative) impact within the organization. But that doesn’t mean every single rumor about a potential investor or potential sale is real. 

I’ve spent the last few weeks talking to people and players around the league trying to differentiate between signal and noise. Some items of interest: 

1a. A story of significance that I don’t think has been written about enough? Daniel Alfredsson’s second-exit from the organization. As a quick refresher: Ottawa, some years ago, had Alfredsson extend on a team-friendly contract with a verbal guarantee of a true-up deal down the road. When Alfredsson’s deal expired, he hunted for that true-up deal, and Ottawa told him to kick rocks. Alfredsson ended up in Detroit for a little bit, then returned to the organization after reconciling most of what happened with most of the team executives. 

His second go-around with Ottawa had him working in an advisory role in hockey operations. From talking to people you get the sense Alfredsson liked his job and liked working for GM Pierre Dorion -- this was a pretty consistent refrain. Nevertheless, Alfredsson unexpectedly left Ottawa, again, in the summer of 2017. He vaguely cited family reasons as the driver of his exodus.

It’s worth revisiting a quote of his from the summer of 2016 regarding the position:

“This job has turned out to be exactly what I am looking for – the opportunity to be flexible and see so many of different requirements of working in an NHL front office.”

Is it possible that Alfredsson fatigued from the position in one year’s time? Surely. But many people seem to think that his exit was of the acrimonious variety. The prevailing theory was that money may have again driven Alfredsson from town.

I’m not entirely sure what that means. Did they not want to renew his contract? Did they low-ball him on an annual salary? Did they refuse to stipulate to his requests for clawbacks or equity in merchandise sales? Is Alfredsson running with another ownership group with an interest in acquiring the team? This is where the theories divide -- most people think it (a) ended on sour terms; and (b) had again to do with money; but (c) aren’t sure exactly what happened. 

To recap: I’m not entirely sure why Alfredsson left, even today. And I believe that Alfredsson does want to spend more time with his family. But I also believe that pay -- the contract, the structure, a potential non-offer, a refusal of a request for a piece of the margin on merchandise sales -- was a negative factor here. And I don’t think all of the relationships between Alfredsson and the team were truly repaired. 

1b.) On that Alfredsson rumor about his involvement in a potentially competing ownership group? I’m not sure I buy it. Not yet, anyway. 

2a.) I have extremely high confidence that we have only seen the beginning of Erik Karlsson vs. the Ottawa Senators.

First, some housekeeping: I genuinely believe Karlsson loves the city of Ottawa and wants to spend another decade there. And I believe the Ottawa Senators -- regardless of their financial situation -- recognize the importance of keeping a player of his magnitude around. That may mean cutting corners elsewhere, but Karlsson is just simply in a different stratosphere. If Hockey Ops had it their way, he’d probably be extended on the first possible day next summer.

But, this situation is much more complex than that. First, Erik Karlsson’s comments about hunting for a max contract a few weeks ago weren’t off the cuff -- they were extremely planned and have been brewing for some time. He’s not kidding when he’s saying he’s searching for top-dollar, and I have every reason to believe he’ll hold out until Ottawa or another team pays him. And if Ottawa doesn’t, about 28 other teams will be in-line to give him whatever he wants ... and then some.

You don’t even need to infer anything from Karlsson’s viewpoint to know that he understands how the organization is going to squeeze him. His best friend was pushed out of the team once (and perhaps twice) on financials. His other best friend was traded to Nashville and thinks that the owner didn’t want to sign him over money. And now the owner is publicly bragging about a “bare bones” hockey operation, with additional threats to cut SW&B from the roster in future years.

This cuts at Karlsson two ways. One, he is extremely pro-player (and, perhaps fair to say, extremely pro-union). The mere thought of a player taking a ‘hometown discount’ for a team that’s spent to the cap approximately zero times since he’s been drafted is surely unacceptable. Perhaps Karlsson would stipulate to a smaller contract if the team promised to re-invest that saved money in other players. (Then again, promises, like the Daniel Alfredsson v1 exit, haven’t been in the team’s wheelhouse.) 

Two, he is as passionate about winning as any superstar player in the league. You never know how much a player values pay vs. winning and how that seesaw balances, and that ratio historically changes over time. Karlsson, 28 next May, has played in zero Stanley Cup games.

And if Karlsson wasn’t happy with where things were a month ago, one only can wonder how he’s feeling today. 

2b.) In one of life’s biggest coincidences, Karlsson had to produce a list of teams on his limited no-trade clause just days after he mentioned he was hunting for a max contract. This would make all of the sense in the world if Ottawa was candid about their inability or sheer lack of desire to retain Karlsson in future periods. 

The justification provided was, well, neither of those:

Melnyk also weighed in on the increasingly interesting Erik Karlsson situation and his submission of a non-trade list, which, according to Melnyk, was all part of trying to balance the club's finances.

"This is where the (Karlsson) contract request emanated from," said Melnyk. "All material contracts are reviewed in a process called due diligence - from snow removal to food and beverage to players."

I have an impressively hard time believing this to be accurate. The biggest endorsement I received from anyone in the investment banking, corporate finance, or hockey media circles was that it was plausible, but unlikely. (Even if Karlsson provided this list as a result of a lender request in the summer, pre-dating his ‘max contract’ claims, the story doesn’t seem to hold up.) 

Let’s assume, arguendo, that Karlsson’s limited no-trade clause is material. Fine. i struggle with understanding why a lender would have any care in the world as to whether the league’s best defender would rather accept a trade to Tampa Bay and Arizona versus Montreal and Minnesota. No one in the industry is ever going to properly evaluate the marginal cost/benefit of that limited list -- I don’t even think it’s possible for someone in the industry with an incredible sense of the state of hockey and their fingers on the pulse of potential returns on investment. I have also never heard of this happening in any other sport, ever, but there’s always the possibility of it being the first time.

Oh, one other thing: Derick Brassard, eight days ago, said Ottawa hadn’t asked for his list of teams as it relates to his limited no-trade clause. Odd, that. 

2c.) People around the league feel quite certain that Karlsson has little intention of re-signing with the team under the current structure. I’m not as far down that road as others, but I do think that there is a strained relationship here in desperate need of immediate repair. Perhaps that was why team officials met with Karlsson last week -- though, if you take Elliotte Friedman at his word, that meeting was “tense”. 

One thing I will say -- a different ownership group and a different financial outlook would be big ‘good guys’ in terms of retaining Karlsson. That much is certain. But right now, the situation appears dire. 

3.) Hockey players have mostly been insulated from Ottawa’s cash issues. Team executives and lower-level employees, not so much.

Less than a year ago, longtime executive Peter O’Leary (story previously mentioned Cyril Leeder here) sued the Senators and cited, among other things ‘friction with Melnyk’. A series of severence agreements were reached with Senators executives this summer, but not O’Leary -- as far as I’m aware, that’s tied up in litigation. It’s a messy suit. 

The folks working on revenue-generating items have been at the brunt of much of the internal criticism. In one way, it’s been described as a “kill room”. This passes my smell test, since again, the owner is on-record with his frustration about how things are moving on this front. 

Ticket sales, or lack thereof, are the most prominent driver of organizational consternation. As just one example: I believe at least one team executive in Tom Anselmi was left behind from the Sweden trip as punishment for slow ticket sales. 

It’s also impacting the small-salary/waged employees. My (very high-level) understanding of how they manage their day-to-day work is through not your standard revenue software program, but a simple Microsoft Excel spreadsheet. This, as you might imagine, leads to an awful lot of litigation about what did or did not actually happen. 

There was plenty of separate reporting done this week by TSN regarding expense reports for scouts. The story was that these scouts were not being reimbursed for general travel expenses. Ownership shot that story down this weekend, for what it is worth. 

I will say this: if there’s any truth to it, you wonder if some scouts are going to start sitting home in lieu of traveling....

4.) The team does have a new CFO -- Brian Crombie has been ‘Acting CFO’ since Stephen Brooks, uh, resigned. Crombie’s background includes prior work for PurGenesis, Trimel, and Biovail. 

5.) Like you, I have heard a gazillion different stories about a sale. Ask ten people and you hear ten different versions. I’m not sure we are at a point where we can conclude anything on this particular item, though I will say it’s interesting that there’s so much speculation around this and that so few people who may or may not be involved refuse to answer questions or talk, generally, about potential interest in the team. But unfortunately, I haven’t heard anything outside of your garden variety rumor mill talk.

 And to that end, I’ll leave this one alone.

#NHL #Ottawa Senators

[ericfruits]

In bleak times for banks, India's digital-payments system wins praise

Bright spot In bleak times for banks, India's digital-payments system wins praise

Digital loans could be next

May 7th 2020

WHEN INDIA was hit both by the failure of a big bank and a nationwide lockdown in March, bankers, fearing runs from rattled depositors, rushed to stuff cash machines with notes. In fact the demand for cash was relatively subdued. Activity hummed along the Unified Payment Interface (UPI), an electronic-payments network that is on its way to becoming the country’s financial lifeline.

In the past two years three big banks or shadow banks have imploded. The severe economic disruption caused by covid-19 will only make lenders’ burden of bad loans heavier. Against this grim backdrop, UPI has shone. In November Google wrote to the Federal Reserve urging it to endorse a similar model for America. The Bank for International Settlements concluded in December that India’s digital financial infrastructure has the “potential to transform emerging markets and advanced economies alike”.

Before UPI was set up in 2016, cash reigned supreme. A large share of the population had no bank accounts, limiting card payments. Now hungry passers-by can pay for snacks like dosas and vada pav from street vendors using apps on their phones. At the start of 2020 nearly 1.3bn electronic payments were made each month, more than those using plastic. They accounted for 19% of banking transactions in the year to March 2019. Saurabh Tripathi of the Boston Consulting Group predicts that they will account for 59% of transactions within two years—three times the share of ATM withdrawals.

UPI usage dipped for the first time in March; that was followed by a fall of 20% in April. The collapse reflects the enormous drop in activity as the country shut down. Data for March suggest that the number of credit-card transactions fell further than that of digital payments, suggesting that UPI still gained market share.

The government has also used UPI to make emergency transfers to street vendors. A new programme is expected to be rolled out in June. This will enable companies to give workers vouchers that can be redeemed by labs testing for covid-19.

The payment system rests on the Aadhaar card, an identification system with which the fingerprints and irises of more than a billion Indians are registered. Take your card to a bank, as hundreds of millions of Indians have, and you can set up an account; you also become a “known customer”, clearing a regulatory hurdle. You can then, either through your bank or using various apps, send and receive funds instantly from anywhere in India.

Both the identity and the payment layers are controlled by the government, but open to others. As a result, using the system is cheap. Outside India payments tend to be handled mainly by private firms such as Visa, Mastercard, American Express or, in China, Ant Financial and Tencent. These own the pipes through which funds flow, and can charge heavily for their use. Their close relationships with users create high barriers to entry, putting new entrants at a disadvantage. By contrast, UPI is forbidden to charge merchants fees.

India’s set-up enables competition. The heavily regulated banking system still holds all the funds. However, layered on top are a number of lightly regulated private companies, with which customers interact directly. These apps initiate transactions and have access to account information but do not control money or networks. Paytm, a home-grown firm, and PhonePe, owned by Walmart, are big players. So too is Google, perhaps explaining its enthusiasm for the system. But the costs of switching are negligible, requiring just a tap on a phone.

UPI will next step into the realm of lending. Seven “account aggregators’’ are preparing to launch (although covid-19 has delayed their roll-out). Once granted a customer’s permission, these will compile a history of funds received and paid, which can be shared with lenders.

The benefits of such a system are clear. It would break the links between credit and collateral or personal relationships, and allow even small lenders to get loans based on their transaction histories and their income. When combined with cheap transfer costs, the cost of lending to even the tiniest business could fall. These now pay as much as 4% for a one-day loan.

But this is also where the drawbacks of UPI could become most apparent. Only a handful of transactions fail, but glitches have been known to occur. Aadhaar numbers have leaked before. Security matters more when access to credit is at stake. Another concern is the extent of the government’s control over parts of the infrastructure. In related areas it has not been above misusing its clout. In 2019, for instance, it shut down the internet in the troubled territory of Kashmir. Clever as India’s digital financial system is, such risks could mean that, for some, cash retains the edge. ■

This article appeared in the Finance & economics section of the print edition under the headline "Bright spot"

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[soccerdrawings]

8 Mind-Blowing Reasons Why Soccer Best Moves To Beat Defender Is Using This Technique For Exposure | Soccer Best Moves To Beat Defender

The European alteration window is open. Click actuality to analysis all the latest transfers and accumulate up to date with the latest account below.

8 Best Soccer Moves and Tricks to Beat a Defender - A Soccer .. | soccer best moves to beat defender Top chargeless agents in 2020 | What do Europe's aristocratic need?Barcelona attending set to become the front-runners in the afterward of Absolute Betis apostle Junior Firpo, as the Spanish club submitted an bigger £24 actor offer, Sport reports.The account won't absolutely be music to the aerial of Manchester United or Liverpool, both of whom acquire been affiliated with the 22-year-old over the summer.Barcelona had an antecedent bid of £18 actor rejected, with Betis acquisitive their Spanish counterparts can go as aerial as £27m to booty him off their hands. It's anticipation that Firpo could appear in to attempt with Jordi Alba at left-back. Added options Ernesto Valverde is reportedly because are David Alaba, Ricardo Rodriguez and Raphael Guerreiro.However, the Dominican Republic-born Spain under-21 all-embracing is able abundant to comedy on the larboard addition or at centre-back if required, acceptation he would additionally be a abundant asset for Liverpool or United.If Barca do not get a accord over the line, one of those Premier Alliance rivals could yet pounce.22.53 BST: We'll abutting Thursday's alive copy of Alteration Allocution with a done deal. Boca Juniors acquire active Italian adept midfielder Daniele De Rossi, the club appear on Thursday. Read the abounding story.22.27 BST: Toronto FC and striker Terrence Boyd are in the action of accordant to a alternate abortion of his contract, assorted sources told ESPN FC. The move will acquiesce Boyd to acknowledgment to Germany with an bearding club in the 3. Liga. While ancestors considerations are active the move in part, Boyd didn't achieve in Toronto afterwards actuality acquired from 2. Bundesliga ancillary Darmstadt 98 in preseason, declining to account in 13 alliance and cup matches. The forward's accepted abandonment should chargeless up some bacon cap amplitude for TFC, acceptance the aggregation to accomplish addition accretion in the summer alteration window. According to abstracts provided by the MLS Players Union, Boyd's affirmed advantage for this division is $213,833.21.56 BST: Newcastle acquire enquired about the availability of Southampton striker Charlie Austin, Sky Sports reports.21.09 BST: Wolves are in discussions with Absolute Madrid to accompany 22-year-old centre-back Jesus Vallejo to Molineux on a season-long loan, according to the Mail, as the Spain U21 all-embracing expects to acquisition account at the Bernabeu boxy to appear by afterward the accession of Eder Militao.20.22 BST: Cruz Azul are closing in on Houston Dynamo's Colombian avant-garde Mauro Manotas, letters ESPN Mexico, with the accord now aback on track, alike if it isn't yet 100 percent complete. The to-ing and fro-ing has been activity on all summer, with La Maquina drillmaster Pedro Caixinha mysteriously announcement on Tuesday that admirers could be in for a alteration abruptness on Thursday.19.35 BST: Callum Hudson-Odoi's assembly acquire asked Chelsea that their applicant be accustomed the No. 10 shirt as the 18-year-old nears a new arrangement in West London, writes the Evening Standard, but there's aloof one problem: Willian said about aftermost anniversary that he's been offered the No. 10 shirt and intends to booty it.18.48 BST: Should Manchester United advertise Romelu Lukaku to Inter, the Red Devils will accede replacing the Belgian avant-garde man with aloft Fulham and Celtic striker and accepted Lyon No. 9 Moussa Dembele, Sky Sports reports.18.01 BST: Napoli captivated talks today with the assembly of Nicolas Pepe and are now favourites to acreage the Ivory Bank international, according to the Mail, with the Serie A ancillary basic a bid of £45m additional Adam Ounas to allay Lille's £70m valuation.17.14 BST: Arsenal acquire accepted the signing of Saint-Etienne centre-back William Saliba, who will absorb the accessible division on accommodation at the Ligue 1 club.16.27 BST: American full-back Geoff Cameron has re-joined QPR on a chargeless alteration from Stoke City, signing a one-year accord with the advantage of a added year, the club has announced.Cameron, 34, spent aftermost division on accommodation at QPR, authoritative 19 appearances and scoring one goal."It's abundant to be back," Cameron said in a statement. "I'm actuality to advice the aggregation in any way that I can -- whether that's administration on the angle or off it."16.06 BST: Absolute Madrid acquire yet to accomplish a accommodation apropos outcast James Rodriguez's futureA antecedent abutting to the amateur denied on Thursday to ESPN FC letters in Spain that the player's agent, Jorge Mendes, has accustomed in Naples on to accommodate the Colombian winger's abeyant alteration to Napoli.Napoli are absorbed in signing James, 28, on a season-long accommodation with a acquirement advantage included in the accord but Madrid acquire angry that action bottomward as they appetite appetite to advertise the amateur and are able to delay until the appropriate action comes along.James, who alternate to Madrid afterwards spending the accomplished two seasons on accommodation at Bayern Munich, is accepted to leave the Spanish giants this summer.Atletico Madrid are reportedly absorbed in signing James, who is angry to Madrid until June 2021. However, the Rojiblancos acquire not amorphous negotiations with Absolute Madrid.15.33 BST: Aston Villa are putting their easily in their abridged again!The club acquire reportedly agreed a accord account added than £11m for Club Brugge midfielder Marvelous Nakamba, according to Sky Sports.Villa acquire already had a bid angry bottomward beforehand this summer, but can now move on to avant-garde stages of the proposed accord accepting agreed a deal.

Soccer Moves - Best 8 Soccer Moves To Beat A Defender .. | soccer best moves to beat defender 14.58 BST: Arsenal acquire appear the accommodation signing of Spain under-21 midfielder Dani Ceballos from Absolute Madrid.The 22-year-old -- who fabricated 23 alliance appearances in Absolute Madrid's boxy La Liga attack aftermost division -- has active on a season-long loan.Head drillmaster Unai Emery said: "We're aflame to see Dani accompany us. He is a accomplished amateur with big abstruse ability, adroitness and precision."14.45 BST: Aston Villa acquire connected their summer spending bacchanalia and acquire appear the signing of Brazil under-21 all-embracing Douglas Luiz from Manchester City, but is accountable to a assignment permit.The 21-year-old axial midfielder has spent the aftermost two seasons on accommodation at La Liga's Girona, and becomes Villa's 10th signing of the summer.14.04 BST: Mexico all-embracing Hector Moreno's approaching could be alfresco of both Europe and MLS, with the 31-year-old apostle because a three-year accord from a Qatari club, according to ESPN FC sources.The Absolute Sociedad apostle has been affiliated consistently with MLS and decidedly Inter Miami in contempo months, admitting accepting two years larboard on his arrangement with the Basque club.If a accord with MLS had been agreed, Moreno would've backward in Europe until the winter and again confused to MLS advanced of the 2020 season, like Carlos Vela did with LAFC, according to one source.But the defender's approaching is now added acceptable to be in the Qatar Stars Alliance sources told ESPN FC.Moreno is currently in Miami on vacation afterwards acceptable the Gold Cup with Mexico. He said beforehand this ages that he would be blessed to breach in San Sebastian, but added that he'd additionally like to comedy in MLS anytime and has an accommodation in Miami.13.28 BST: PSG are lining up Newcastle goalkeeper Martin Dubravka as a abeyant backup for Kevin Trapp, who spent aftermost division on accommodation at Eintracht Frankfurt, according to German aperture Kicker.Trapp spent aftermost division on accommodation at Frankfurt from PSG, and the German ancillary are reportedly agog to accompany the 29-year old aback on a abiding basis, abrogation PSG in charge of a replacement.Dubravka -- who abutting Newcastle in January 2018 -- played all 38 alliance matches aftermost season, befitting 11 apple-pie sheets.The 30-year-old was acquisitive to defended a new arrangement at Newcastle, but talks were put on authority afterwards cogent changes were fabricated at the top of the club.13.15 BST: The abettor of Man United ambition Sergej Milinkovic-Savic is in London to accommodate a accessible alteration to Old Trafford, according to Gazzetta dello Sport.Milinkovic-Savic's agent, Mateja Kezman, reportedly landed in London on Thursday and is set on accepting his applicant a move to Manchester this summer.The Serbia all-embracing will amount United £80m if they appetite to defended his services, with the amateur reportedly lined up to alter Paul Pogba if he leaves this summer.12.48 BST: Liverpool administrator Jurgen Klopp has said that arrangement extensions at the club are " our new signings," continuing to abolish rumours that the club will go aback into the alteration market, he said in an absolute account with ESPN FC.On arrangement extensions, Klopp said: "In our case, these are our transfers, new contracts, befitting these boys here, is a able arresting for the alfresco world."Klopp additionally disqualified out a Liverpool acknowledgment for Philippe Coutinho, adage that he hopes the midfielder "finds his luck at Barcelona."Coutinho larboard Anfield for Camp Nou in a £142 actor accord in January 2018, but has begin it awfully difficult to adhesive a starting atom in the centre of the esplanade for La Liga's champions or win over their fans.12.15 BST: Daniele De Rossi is inching afterpiece to acceptable a Boca Junior amateur as the midfielder was greeted by anarchy back he accustomed in Buenos Aires, Argentina.The adept midfielder, a animated Boca fan, will abide a medical on Thursday afore signing a one-year arrangement with the Argentinian giants.De Rossi, 36, larboard Roma aftermost ages afterwards spending 18 years at the club.11.52 BST: Wolves are absorbed in bringing Southampton outcast Mario Lemina to Molineux, according to Sky Sports.The 25-year-old midfielder -- who was affiliated with Man United and Arsenal beforehand in the window -- is reportedly not a capital antecedence for Wolves, but the club are still interested.

8 Easy Skill Moves To Beat Defenders | Dribbling Skills Tutorial For Footballers/Soccer Players - soccer best moves to beat defender | soccer best moves to beat defender The Saints acquire accustomed the Gabon all-embracing to allocution to added clubs and he is accepted to leave St. Mary's this summer.11.11 BST: Portugal left-back Fabio Coentrao has denied letters he has accustomed an action from FC Porto. The adept apostle is a chargeless abettor afterwards catastrophe his arrangement with Portuguese accouterments Rio Ave this summer. Affiliated with Porto, Coentrao said in a statement: "Due to the contempo letters and rumours of my closing alteration to FC Porto, in adjustment to end speculation, I analyze that in the accomplished few months I was formally contacted by assorted clubs apropos assertive projects."I did not acquire anon or alongside an action from FC Porto, article that acutely would ample me with pride. Appropriate now I don't apperceive what my able approaching will be at but I acquire the authoritativeness that whatever club I will represent, I will avert it."Coentrao, 31, was on the books of Absolute Madrid amidst 2011 and 2018, acceptable La Liga, the UEFA Champions League, FIFA Club Apple Cup, UEFA Super Cup, Copa del Rey and the Supercopa de Espana.Coentrao was loaned to AS Monaco and Antic Lisbon afore abutting Rio Ave on a abiding base in August 2018.10.50 BST: Watford apostle Ben Wilmot has abutting Championship club Swansea City on a season-long accommodation deal. The 19-year-old spent the additional bisected of aftermost division on accommodation at Italian club Udinese.10.39 BST: Crystal Palace acquire active Ghana all-embracing Jordan Ayew from Swansea on a three-year deal. The 27-year-old avant-garde spent aftermost division on accommodation at Selhurst Park, authoritative 20 Premier Alliance appearances as the Eagles accomplished 12th, 15 credibility aloft the assignment zone.10.23 BST: Sevilla are because signing Leeds goalkeeper Kiko Casilla, Marca reports.Sevilla acquire already fabricated 10 summer signings but are still adorable to strengthen their backline.Spanish goalkeeper Sergio Rico is accepted to leave Sevilla this summer with the club adorable for a replacement. Sevilla antic administrator Monchi wants to accompany a adept goalkeeper, who has acquaintance in La Liga and can attempt with No. 1 Tomas Vaclik.Casilla, 32, larboard Absolute Madrid in January and abutting Leeds as a chargeless agent. The Spaniard fabricated 19 league. Angry to Leeds until June 2023, Casilla was a ambition of Sevilla in antecedent seasons.10.04 BST: Gareth Bale's abeyant move to China is now absurd to happen, according to AS.The Spanish advertisement letters that Chinese Super Alliance ancillary Jiangsu Suning offered Bale a two-year contract, account €17m per season, with Absolute Madrid accepting €22m for the transfer. Those abstracts were accounted too low for both the amateur and the Spanish club.Bale's agent, Jonathan Barnett, told AS that there are added offers from Europe on the table for the Wales all-embracing and there will not be a blitz to accomplish a decision. Barnett said Bale's abandonment from Madrid could be a amount of canicule or years.Bale, 30, was larboard out of the band for aftermost week's defeat to Bayern Munich with his abandonment accede "imminent" but played in the additional bisected and denticulate in an All-embracing Champions Cup affray with Arsenal on Wednesday.Tied to Absolute Madrid until 2022, Bale prefers to abide in Europe and not move to China.09.35 BST: With Lookman gone, Everton acquire a amplitude in their band for a advanced forward. Could it be Wilfried Zaha that fills that spot?Sky Sports address that the Toffees will accessible talks with Crystal Palace this anniversary over a abeyant accord for the Ivory bank star.Arsenal acquire had a £40m bid for Zaha rebuffed by Palace, who amount the 26-year-old at bifold that price.If Everton are accommodating to pay up for Zaha, again they could be set for a absolute advance at leapfrogging the Gunners into the Premier League's top six abutting season.09.28 BST: RB Leipzig acquire appear the signing of England under-21 accompaniment Ademola Lookman from Everton.Lookman, 21, spent time on accommodation at the Bundesliga club in the 2017-18 season, and now joins them on a abiding accord for an bearding fee.09.13 BST: Tottenham acquire fabricated an access to Juventus for Paulo Dybala in a move that could breach their alteration almanac for a additional time this summer, according to the London Evening Standard.Spurs active midfielder Tanguy Ndombele from Lyon for £6.5m beforehand this month, but that fee would be eclipsed if they are acknowledged in their bid to accompany in Argentina antagonist Dybala.Serie A champions Juve amount the 25-year-old, whose arrangement in Turin runs until 2022, at £80m.The Evening Standard address adds that Dybala is additionally an adorable hypothesis for Spurs as his bacon expectations in affective from Italy would not agitate their allowance structure.

Top 8 Easy Skill Moves To Beat A Defender ��� Football . | soccer best moves to beat defender Tuttosport, meanwhile, letters that Dybala would acquire abrogation Juve this summer.08:51 BST: Boca Juniors drillmaster Gustavo Alfaro is acquisitive to add Daniele De Rossi's "experience and hierarchy" to his squad.The adept midfielder, a animated Boca fan, will access at Buenos Aires on Thursday and abide a medical afore signing a one-year arrangement with the Argentinian giants.A Apple Cup champ with Italy in 2006, De Rossi, 36, joins Boca as a chargeless abettor accepting larboard Roma aftermost ages afterward 18 years at the club."He will accompany acquaintance and hierarchy," Alfaro said in a account appointment back asked about De Rossi's arrival. "We appetite him to accommodate his ache to win. He will access on Thursday and we will see how he is physically. We are abacus a amateur that has a huge career and we appetite him to be one added in this group, that he dreams of acceptable aggregate with Boca."08.24 BST: Aloft Barcelona captain Xavi Hernandez says he would acceptable the acknowledgment of Neymar to the Camp Nou.Neymar has been acerb affiliated with Barca, the club he larboard in August 2017 to assurance for Paris Saint-Germain for a world-record €222m fee. Sources this anniversary acquire told ESPN FC that the Brazil striker and his associates are assured Barcelona will anon put calm a able cash-plus-players action to attract PSG into a deal.Al Sadd drillmaster Xavi, who played with Neymar for two seasons afore abrogation Barca in 2015 afterward their Champions Alliance final achievement over Juventus, told reporters: "Neymar is a hit, a abundant amateur but it's not me that has to accomplish the decision. But if they acquaint me that Neymar will acknowledgment to celebration at Barca, I would assurance him."I've had him as a assistant and I accede him a acceptable guy. If they acquaint me he is abiding to succeed, I would be the aboriginal to assurance him."08.00 BST: Jurgen Klopp has disqualified out a Liverpool acknowledgment for Philippe Coutinho, cogent ESPN FC he hopes the midfielder "finds his luck at Barcelona."The 27-year-old larboard Anfield for Camp Nou in a £142 actor accord in January 2018, but has begin it awfully difficult to adhesive a starting atom in the centre of the esplanade for La Liga's champions or win over their fans.Liverpool acquire been an accessible and accessible articulation accustomed Coutinho's four-and-a-half blessed years on Merseyside afore his advancing push, which included handing in a alteration appeal that was alone in the summer of 2017, to accompany Barcelona.And while Klopp abundantly appreciates the Brazil all-embracing as a amateur and person, he will not sanction a massive outlay to re-sign him."In general, Phil Coutinho helps anniversary aggregation in the world, still -- 100%," Klopp told ESPN FC during an absolute account in New York during Liverpool's pre-season tour. "It's not about that. I like Phil, I anticipate he's a absurd footballer and all that stuff, but it would be a big, big, big, big, big, big, big, big-money signing and it's not our year for that."It's aloof not possible. As I said, accepting him would accomplish anniversary aggregation bigger -- us included -- but I absolutely achievement that he finds his luck at Barcelona."Or maybe he begin it there. We acquire contact, but not that abutting acquaintance that I apperceive absolutely how he is doing, but the blow is alone bi-weekly allocution and actuality like that."If aggregate was accurate what newspapers address about me -- wow! If it's agnate to what they address about me, I would say he's absolutely blessed at Barcelona and wants to assurance a new six-year arrangement or whatever."Last season's Champions Alliance winners won't be signing Gareth Bale, Liverpool bang-up Jurgen Klopp said, speaking to Sky Sports.Bale is badly analytic for a new club afterwards a contempo fallout with Absolute Madrid administrator Zinedine Zidane led the closing to say it would be "best for everyone" if the Welshmen left. It had been rumoured that Bale could be abutting Chinese ancillary Jiangsu Suning, but that depended on affair his absonant allowance demands.Giving his thoughts on Bale's articulation to Liverpool, Klopp said: "He is an outstanding player. I like him a lot, but it is not about him. You acquire to actualize a team. A aggregation is not a accumulating of the best alone players. They acquire to assignment together."Newcastle United administrator Steve Bruce has warned that midfielder Sean Longstaff will not be sold, amidst belief that Manchester United are lining up a £30 actor bid for the 21-year-old, The Sun reports.Bruce, afresh appointed the new bang-up at Newcastle afterward Rafael Benitez's departure, did not chip his words, saying: "We don't appetite to advertise our best adolescent players, that's for sure. So that won't happen. I'm actual assured of that."Believing that Longstaff will be a key amount in Newcastle's band activity forward, Bruce likened him to aloft United midfielder Michael Carrick.-- Rumour Rater: Bale to China? Alves to Man City?-- Back does the alteration window close?-- All above completed alteration deals-- Afterwards Atletico Madrid allegedly concluded their absorption in Christian Eriksen, Manchester United acquire asked to be kept adapted on the bearings apropos the Spurs playmaker, according to the Daily Mail. The Denmark all-embracing has aloof one year larboard on his arrangement at Tottenham and could be awash for about £70 million. No official bids acquire been made.-- Not about to let a alteration ban stop them from actuality complex in the rumour mill, Chelsea acquire abutting West Ham and Ajax in befitting tabs on Portsmouth youngster Leon Maloney, The Sun reports. The 18-year-old, generally deployed as a winger, denticulate an absorbing 26 goals for the club's academy aftermost season, and Chelsea are hopeful that they can abate their ban and breeze Maloney up in January.

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[bitcoinbillionaireblog-blog]

Bitcoin Billionaire 6

Bitcoin Billionaire 6

Bitcoin will arrive like an unexpected tsunami for most people who will be shocked by all the changes to their daily lives and personal finances that this strange new currency will bring, seemingly overnight. They will think when they start hearing about crypto currency that it is some sort of social fad, or they may think that Bitcoin is an app like Facebook or maybe PayPal, something they can live without. The inevitable Bitcoin and Ethereum big-events, breakthroughs, milestones, hacks, and catastrophes    feel crucially important to everyone who is invested in the space both ideologically and financially. There are clearly serious political dimensions to Bitcoin as every nation, jurisdiction, and bank on the planet will be forced to come up with a Bitcoin strategy.  Blockchain enthusiasts see opportunities the so called, un-banked. They see the potential for micro- loan payments between people of the First World countries and women and men in the Second and Third World. There are consequential matters of freedom and empowerment, like Bitcoin’s potential for eliminating the huge fees migrant workers pay when they try to send money back home to their families. Billions of hard earned and badly needed dollars could stay in the migrant worker’s own hands if they transferred the money using Bitcoin with its comparatively tiny fees for the actual transfer and no foreign exchange fees for currency conversion.  We crypto currency enthusiasts learn all too soon that the world is not watching, that most people do not care, and in the end the big Bitcoin halving event, and the various hard and soft forks amounted to mere speed bumps during  a technological race that has moved on to new events at new locations by new participants. Bitcoin is a product of consensus, and consensus, in turn, is a function of mathematics, computer code, and game theory.

I wrote this book for new first-time Bitcoin adventurers. I also wrote it for serious players out there who are doing commerce in the blockchain and Bitcoin space, and who are trying to understand the new and fast-emerging body of laws and regulations, concerning their  business activities. My analysis of the American SEC or Securities Exchange Commission’s recent bulletin posted on their website about the Ethereum blockchain’s DAO hack will require a chapter unto itself. In another chapter about Bitcoin mining, I will write about my personal niche in the blockchain space:  real-estate and property titles, document securement, time-stamping, anti-tampering tools, and unbreakable encryption. I am a Bitcoin miner and I do it for profit, but just as important to me, only miners get to vote.  Mining is vital because it provides the essential electronic infrastructure that blockchains run on. The mining machines, or ‘transaction verification servers ’as I call them when I am selling the concept to skeptical authorities, connect to other nodes over the Internet worldwide in real- time to form unstoppable networks.

Open minded people who investigate what is now happening with blockchain technologies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum, and who then take a chance and invest will at a minimum have their lives enhanced by suddenly finding themselves making international contacts and doing global transactions. They will start thinking about the world in terms of politics, finance, economics, and technology. The profits in this new digital economy are staggering, and I must admit that it is completely exhilarating when these cryptos take off. The gambler’s rush from Bitcoin and Ethereum is better than holding a two dollar parlay bet on a longshot horse that becomes a wire to wire Triple Crown winner;  because the thrill of victory often lasts for several months at a time, and making a killing  is not a one time event. These digital assets often take off with afterburners blazing and they fly straight up the charts with near vertical trajectories. We are talking about seeing your money double in two months, and then do it again the following month, and then rise by 30% in a week. We are used to seeing thousand percent annual increases on ICO or initial coin offerings, and on crypto tokens of which there are hundreds. There is around one-hundred billion dollars invested in the tokens right now, with an additional several hundred million dollars of capital invested by corporations such as Microsoft, Wanxiang, and IBM, by venture capital companies such as Fenbushi, and by governments, and the major accounting firms such as Deloitte, and consortiums of big banks like those that   have partnered with Blythe Masters. Whether Blythe Masters becomes the first Bitcoin Billionaire remains to be seen, but I think that her Digital Assets will have the greatest dollar volume of all the global crypto currency and blockchain companies by far. They are just now finishing a complete rebuild of the ASX Australian Securities Exchange, and she has her eyes on the Toronto Stock Exchange among others.  Her blockchain distributed ledger systems will be used by many large international banks.

 In early 2016, I started exploring Bitcoin. I bought my first Bitcoin for $630.  Today, a year and a half later, Bitcoin is trading at $4,066 and people are saying that although it is down today it will most likely break $5,000 soon. Others say that until it hits $10,000 the big money will sit on the sidelines and wait and see. Most financial analysts and economists would agree that if only five-percent of the money that is currently invested in gold or gold derivatives worldwide transferred into Bitcoin that the increase in the value of a single Bitcoin would be astounding!

Sandra Ro and her CME group have teamed up with the Royal Mint in London, England to create digital gold tokens. Sandra Ro already exhibits the staid confidence and presumed authority of a billionaire.  If my guess is right, she has more than one traditional  billionaire backing her efforts. This gives rise to the question of whether an Ethereum Billionaire is in the same category as Bitcoin Billionaire, and for the purposes of this book any crypto billionaire will qualifies in the race for the first crypto currency or blockchain billionaire.

Jen Lee is ZenGold’s CEO and Viewfin vice president. ZenGold or ZGC is a token on the Metaverse blockchain. Metaverse is located in China and is available  on the Internet at mvs.live .  Metaverse  prides itself on being the first public blockchain in China. ZenGold offers   smart contract gold derivatives.  ZenGold backs the  ZGC  token  with physical gold held at the Shanghai Gold exchange.   My friend Philip McMaster lives in China and is helping me find used mining equipment. He introduced me to Eric Gu at Consensus 2017 in New York. Eric Gu is the founder and CEO of Viewfin, the company that developed Metaverse.  Given the head start that Eric has, his huge target market, and his solid connections to the largest investors in China, Eric Gu  may well be the one to become  the first Bitcoin Billionaire. I predict big things for Metaverse and for the ‘Entropy’ ETP token. Westerners are puzzled at the choice of that name because we have a generally negative connotation rather than an image of a positive change of state like ice melting into water which is how it was intended, and  how the Chinese interpret it.  Possibly they are better informed of the second law of thermodynamics that states entropy can only increase over time. Consider China’s biggest project of the century ‘One Belt One Road’. This name leaves us confused in the West as we have trouble relating ‘One Belt’  to  a string of transportation infrastructure projects that are being constructed  to  restore the ancient Silk Road overland intercontinental trading route. Language problems are always severe to say the least, and doing business with China requires a thick skin and a willingness to get over the constant communication hurdles. The biggest app in China is WeChat. The app is an aggregator that has games, banking, messaging, and so on. It is like going back to the early AOL model of a closed environment. Metaverse intends to follow the aggregator model, and has Avatars which are personalized to represent the person who owns the account. People, companies, or even Avatars themselves can own other Avatars or fractions of other Avatars.  Avatars can shop and do business independently and anonymously. Metaverse  has pioneered the use of   Oracles that act as guarantors for transactions done by the Avatars. The fundamental philosophy of Metaverse is that the blockchain environment should not exclude lawyers, accountants. and regulators but should accommodate them as Oracles. Metaverse has a new social network that I am one of the few westerners to have joined. Did I panic and flee when the application   to join  had a box requesting that I give them my blood type? Should one be alarmed that the growth of Metaverse will hopefully result in a ‘Programable Society’?  No, that is exactly the kind of flexibility to cultural differences that is needed to get things done. That, and a tolerance for major time zone adjustments, visa requirements, language barriers, and seventeen-hour flights.

I needed some cash today so much like digging in the couch for lost coins and raiding the piggy bank, I surprised myself when I raised $485 from QuadrigaCX, my crypto currency exchange in Vancouver, Canada.  I sold   three and a half Litecoins for $63, each which was great because I had paid just three dollars each for them eighteen months earlier. I also sold a half of an ETH or Ether, the Ethereum token for $270. Just some residual pocket change from closing out an old wallet with a small balance that had grown to become significant.  I then received $6.07 worth of Bitcoin from Genesis Mining to my Blockchain.info bitcoin wallet on my iPhone. On top of it all that evening I made $23 from my Steemit blog account at   https://steemit.com/@doubleeagle  where just under four hundred dollars remains of my eighty-dollar investment.  I earn about seventy cents per day from Slushpool  for the hashes produced by my noisy old, Antminer 5 Bitcoin miner. The seriously outdated but reliable rig has paid itself off many times over and is still running fine.  The key to my system of investing in Bitcoin is that I think of that seventy cents daily payout in Bitcoin which is around   17,000 to 18,000 Satoshis per day.  Imagine a time when a Satoshi is like a dollar is today, and when a Bitcoin will be worth well over one million dollars. I would say that this is all highly speculative, but in my view for the average person the extraordinary returns from crypto currencies are matched only by the lotteries which offer low odds of winning.  Ironically it seems to me that there are very high odds in favor of windfall profits if the Bitcoin is held long term. May I suggest redirecting some of your discretionary lottery budget to investments in crypto?

There is a reason why so few writers have tried to write a book about what is happening with Bitcoin. This, although it is probably the story of the century, and marks a great epoch in human history. Trying to write a book on this topic is like trying to drink from a much-referenced fire hose. Change is everywhere, and unexpected dramatic change happens weekly. Writers must feel as I do that the important things that they have researched and written about are largely irrelevant in mere months. There is an immediacy  due to the needs of real-time  day trading investors are looking for instant news. Most people find four or five trusted sources for news and then  follow these writers on YouTube and Steemit. There are major thefts of Bitcoin from exchanges now and then affecting prices, or news from China, or some new pump and dump hype, and FUD or ‘fear uncertainty and doubt’. There is always the potential for the digital tokens to disappear if they are not handled correctly or even sometimes if they are. This reminds me of how the penny mining stocks used to be, in the days of commodity exchanges like the VSE Vancouver Stock Exchange. Bitcoin is said to be economically modeled after a commodity such as gold. Bitcoin like gold has a limited supply of twenty-one million and is always becoming more expensive to produce.

Bitcoin went through the planned second ‘Halving Event’ in July of 2016 where the payout per ten- minute block dropped from twenty-five bitcoins to twelve and a half bitcoins per block until the next halving four years hence. The current volume of Bitcoin mined per day is $7.3 million dollars. This does not include transaction fees.  Miners are being rewarded about $300,000 USD per hour or $50,000 for each single ten-minute block. As you can imagine there is intense competition among miners to get these prizes. It is a mathematical probability decision as to whether a miner should gamble and go it alone where if the block is found the entire reward may be kept. I opted instead to join a large group of other independent miners from all over the world who plug our hash rate into Slushpool. Now the mathematical probability equation works in my favor. Marek Palatinus aka ‘Slush’ started this the world’s first mining pool at   Prague, in  the Czech Republic.  I chose Slushpool because they have demonstrated having the most successful experience of anyone to adapting to change.  We share the payouts including fees, we get to cast votes on critical issues, and we receive reliable daily revenue, which arrives in my Bitcoin wallet. I should say that I do not receive daily mining payouts any longer because when I went to spend the rewards with large transactions there were inordinately high fees due to the composite nature of all those little payouts. I have since switched my payouts from Slushpool and Genesis Mining to 0.01 BCT lots, and just leave them building at the pool or with Genesis. I intend to devote time in a later chapter to, Genesis Mining CEO and CFO Marco Streng and Marco Krohn, these two guys are prime candidates to become the world’s first Bitcoin Billionaire. Together these two world- class players have built l big mining operations for Genesis Mining in secret locations around the world including Iceland.  The island nation  has  obvious geothermal electric generation potential, and similar cold weather to Manitoba. These two guys are much more secretive than Bitmain’s two CEOs  Jihan Wu and Micree Zhan who appear  a little later in this  book. Surely from an academic perspective questions arise as to if companies having dual CEOs will become a trend in business? The only team in the past that I can think of would be Google’s Sergey Brin and Larry Page and that turned out to be  a roaring success.

Japan has surged ahead in Bitcoin adaptation nationally among the other G20 economies by adapting point of sale Bitcoin terminals in several hundred-thousand retail stores. The People’s Republic of China is still the dominant world player in Bitcoin because of all of mining and equipment manufacturing design that takes place there, and because their government has had the best Bitcoin strategy. Bobby Lee the CEO of BTCC the first, and still the largest Bitcoin exchange in China, who is a definite contender for the first Bitcoin Billionaire title, said recently that his company did not encounter much friction from the People’s Bank of China as they were growing their business because the PBOC views Bitcoin as a digital asset rather than as a currency. He also says we should not expect terminals to pay for goods with Bitcoin in China because even Hong Kong dollars are not permitted for use in China only the Renminbi China’s official currency may be used as legal tender.  Jihan Wu and Micree Zhan are co-CEOs of Bitmain the major manufacturer of Antminer Bitcoin ASIC Bitcoin mining equipment. Given the enormous scale of their operations which also include Antpool;  both of them would have to be leading contenders for the  first Bitcoin Billionaire title.  Bitmain’s Bitcoin mining hardware is chronically backlogged with orders for mining equipment. Their position is understandable.  Why should they sell the machines instead of just plugging them in and keeping both the machine and the money earned everyday Bitcoin mining?

The Bitcoin revolution comes at a most opportune time for the Chinese. They have excess hydro-electric generating facilities and they need cash for their rapid expansion. Bitcoin mining creates immediate cashflow that is both local and lucrative.  The situation is much the same in my home province of Manitoba, Canada; with our many large hydro-electric dams on the Nelson river that flows into the Hudson Bay. That’s right, the Hudson Bay, Manitoba has polar bears! We are quite far up north and even with global warming we can offer free cooling for eight months of the year because of our cold weather. The mining equipment  runs very hot and needs  constant cooling which accounts for a major percentage  of overall power usage . I have an ongoing lobby with a  mission  to promote Bitcoin mining in Manitoba. We are exploring the feasibility of importing one or two large shipping containers of used Bitcoin Miners from China to Winnipeg. I try to lobby the government, and Manitoba Hydro the electric utility which is a Crown Corporation to get involved. That is why I took some extra steps during my visa application to attend Devcon 2 the big worldwide Ethereum Developer’s Conference in Shanghai which I will go into later.

I watched a YouTube video today that was put out by Roger Ver who would definitely be in contention for the first Bitcoin Billionaire title. He says that he holds over half of the Bitcoins in Peter Smith’s Blockchain.info wallet, which is my recommended Bitcoin wallet. The wallet web portal is based Luxembourg,  but it seems that most transactions are routed through   some small islands off the west coast of Africa, and has more funds than all of the other  Bitcoin wallets combined. I keep my Bitcoin in my Blockchain.info wallets on my Samsung S7 Android, and on my iPhone 6, and I also have a matched version on my main desktop  PC. I really like the way the Blockchain.info wallet user interface works. They have fifteen million wallets in use and have completed one hundred million transactions. Peter Smith is another player with the potential to be the first Bitcoin Billionaire.

Ver was criticizing the Bitcoin Core team and Blockstream a closely related company that employees many Bitcoin Core developers. Adam Back heads up  Blockstream and he is a very respected long time Bitcoin developer. I sat across from him at lunch at Construct 2016 the invite only San Francisco developer’s conference put on by CoinDesk and sponsored by IBM. I said loudly so as to catch his ear that I liked the idea of flexible fees. I have interests in Bitcoin mining and I like earning mining fees.  So yes, I admit that I am biased, but  I still want fees to be fair for migrant workers and people in the third world. There are about two- hundred and fifty thousand dollars per day paid to miners in  fees. Roger Ver is saying that people will leave Bitcoin for alternative crypto currencies if fees get to high or the network has delayed confirmation times, what he warns could become a poor user experience. This was in fact happening and fees had risen from being nearly free to fifty dollars and more sometimes, which Core points out people were willingly paying albeit with a grumble. But everyone had made such high profits just on the increase in the value of Bitcoin alone that they could bear the fees with ease and they did.

Vitalik Buterin is an extremely intelligent young man who started out writing about Bitcoin and then created Ethereum, which is Bitcoin’s biggest competing currency.  The focus was no longer to be on the value of the Ethereum token ETH, but rather on the ability of coded ‘smart contracts’ to use the immutable blockchain in the EVM for legal commerce whereby the funds are not released until certain conditions are seen to have been fulfilled by the smart contract.   I must say that no one is complaining that Vitalik’s original vision of a cheap token did not work out, and Ethereum has soared to recent prices as high as four hundred dollars and can boast a total capitalization of thirty- billion dollars USD with rapid global multi faceted growth. So, will Vitalik be the world’s first Bitcoin Billionaire? I do not know, but he has been voted the most influential person in crypto by industry participants. Like so many intellectuals before him Buterin seems to eschew riches, instead, he is happy in his role as "Chief Scientist" for the Swiss non-profit Ethereum Foundation and in experiencing extensive travel and learning foreign languages. His sudden ability to speak Chinese surprises audiences as he takes questions and gives lectures in Mandarin. I was surprised to see Vitalik speaking fluent Russian when he met Vladimir Putin recently. Vitalik just announced that Metropolis will be released in late September of 2017 with a hard fork. ‘The Plasma Framework’ scalability solution will be done in coordination with Joseph Poon of ‘Lightening Network’ fame, and will feature 'zk-SNARKs' or zero knowledge proofs. Vitalik does not like mining, he says that it wastes electricity and computing power. He and Vlad Zamfir have been working on ‘Casper’ a Proof of Stake system that does not require Proof of Work mining. POW or Bitcoin Mining makes it too expensive in terms of electrical costs, equipment costs, maintenance costs, programming costs, and in the time needed to download the entire blockchain; for a hacker to build a super- computer and try to overpower or out-speed the blockchain in a malicious attack to harm the blockchain or to commit fraud.

In 2016 big money flowed into the development of Ethereum from Microsoft the sponsor of the event along with Wanxiang Blockchain Labs and Fenbushi the largest venture capital firm in Asia. We are talking an easy hundred million dollars committed with every indication that ‘all systems are go’ for even bigger things to come soon. The Devcon 2 event in Shanghai was successful beyond all measure and caused me to really stand up and take notice of what these alt-coin pioneers had already accomplished, and where they were headed.

There is a video commentator from Epicentre that I like to watch online named Meher and I wound up sitting beside him for a while in Shanghai at Devcon 2. I let him know that I liked it when he and Sebastien Couture and Brian Fabian Crain did online shows for Epicentre and that I was a fan. I was interested to see how he would describe the experience to his co-hosts and their viewers when he got back to Europe.  I tuned in on YouTube when the video came out. In the program, he said the event and the city of Shanghai seemed like “science fiction”. That it was like living a scene in a science fiction movie. He was spot on as usual. That is what it felt like to me as well only probably a lot more because being so much older I see so many things that would have looked like science fiction in the 1950s and 60s. It started right at the airport where I was chauffeured to the Hyatt on the bund hotel in an BYD all-electric car instead of taking the Maglev high-speed train into the crowded and colorfully  lit  streets of downtown  Shanghai.

Vlad Zamfir was received enthusiastically by the crowd of nearly 2,500 Ethereum professionals at DEVCON 2.  Vitalik   praised him highly to the crowd and thanked him for his assistance in dealing with a serious DDOS or dedicated denial of service attack some bad actors tried pulling in the middle of the night before in Shanghai. The attack was obviously planned to catch everyone in Ethereum off- guard because so many staff were in Shanghai and away from London and Switzerland, and to exploit the time zone differences.

The Construct 2017 conference in San Francisco was held in the Palace of Fine Arts an historic symbol of technology in the Bay Area.  I observed that it was a two Tesla event although, there was also a BMW electric car there which I thought was very futuristic. Vlad Zamfir seemed to me to be a little down at the conference and he looked tired. When he started his presentation on Casper, and how proof of stake was going for him and Vitalik, he was shocked to see that many people were doing other things and several were not even listening to what was really important news. He went through the very interesting talk anyway and I guess he realized that maybe either these were Bitcoin guys or maybe they intended to watch the video when it came out.  Later that day I listened to him again when there was a plenary on the threats of AI or artificial intelligence. Vlad clearly said that he was worried about inventing something that in the future might have unintended consequences that might somehow   technologically harm people instead of freeing them from state and banker’s control. He fears a government somewhere could somehow use some of this to control the entire population. Vlad was seeing the bad side of the world because he had been spending months   running game theory scenarios looking for fatal flaws that could be exploited by hackers of the Casper Proof of Stake Protocol that Vitalik has promised will take Ethereum away from mining. He  said that he was pushing as hard as he could ahead but the weight on his shoulders was a tremendous responsibility and was becoming a heavy burden, although he was more than up for the challenge. Thirty- billion dollars worth of Ethereum at risk now, and a perhaps a slight  risk  that despots somehow misuse these tools. Several months of serious game theory will do that to you. I think that by doing a full risk analysis Vlad is being responsible, and I am sure he will never end up doing anything but good.

There are plenty of good reasons to be suspicious about malicious bad-actors behind the scenes. State actors, money launderers, tax cheats, ransomware hackers, all manor of criminals that hide in the dark could try to use crypto to avoid the law. On the dark web Tor browser sites like Silk Road have already enabled criminal activity. It is common knowledge that the Tor browser was released by  US Office of Naval Research and DARPA in  2002. We also know about how Bit Torrent enabled peer to peer file sharing that could be used for pirating copyrighted material, and that there is pornography on the Internet or  how prostitutes could be contacted on the backpage website. So, do we just shut down the Internet?  Of course, we don’t, and we can’t because the Internet has become a huge indispensable sector of our society and economy.

We still do not know who Satoshi Nakamoto was or if he was just a cover name for  an operation of the United States or some other government. Possibly Bitcoin was designed as a fall back plan  because in 2008 a sudden catastrophic meltdown in the American economy based on bad mortgages took place that was becoming a crisis nearing that of the Great Depression of 1929, and a total collapse was feared imminent  by many top level officials at that time. Banks were failing and major companies where in terrible financial shape. Some people still claim that some of the larger Bitcoin transactions today are funding Black Ops worldwide. European authorities have also reported  that the Islamic State terrorist  cells   in Paris and Belgium  had used Bitcoin to fund operations before the horrible attacks.

I find it unfortunate that this  generation has to  function in a trust -less society in cyberspace and in  a trust-less society in the real world. The real world has fake news, propaganda and lies, and the crypto world has alias usernames, encryption, and reputation.  This crowd has a very strong need  for consensus and avoid contact with people who have been  shunned for the social transgression of saying that the group might be wrong about something. Algorithms on MSN and Facebook and many other social media sites give the viewer content that has been determined to appeal to them by their politics. I was determined not to say anything about the recent  American election because I am not a citizen of the United States. The Construct 2017 San Francisco event opened with exasperated announcements that many attendees were having trouble at the airport because of the tremendous confusion because  President Trump had just announced his immediate  travel ban. There were   terrible scenes on television  of families at the airport with their travel plans disrupted and their lives turned upside-down, some innocent travelers  were being held  in custody because of all of the confusion. Someone took the microphone on the stage and addressed the crowd with a defiant suggestion that the programmers  should fight to make blockchain based identity documents so that refugees with no passports or birth certificates could prove that they were legitimate refugees rather than the sleeper cell terrorists they were being accused of being.

Later at the lunch that I had basically shouted across the table  that I liked flexible fees for the benefit of Adam Back, I turned the topic as to whether or not judges could be trusted, because as I told them all that I find it shocking that they really do not trust judges or their  legal systems. I told  Matt Smith the  bright young  senior developer from   Gem  in  Los Angeles, that maybe it was generational, but   I still trusted judges.  I give everyone the benefit of the doubt and an assumption of honesty.  They had been conditioned to expect the worst from people  because  their real world ethics had begun to reflect their  cyber ethics, and  their game theory ethics.  I tried to argue that if one does not believe in ‘the good man or woman’ one probably will feel like a sucker trying to be  a ‘good man or woman’.  They got the last word in with “ Look at our last election”  to which I was pledged not to comment, everyone agreed  it  was a winning argument.

We still do not know who Satoshi Nakamoto was or if he was just a cover name for  an operation of the United States or some other government. Possibly Bitcoin was designed as a fall back plan  because in 2008 a sudden catastrophic meltdown in the American economy based on bad mortgages took place that was becoming a crisis nearing that of the Great Depression of 1929, and a total collapse was feared imminent  by many top level officials at that time. Banks were failing and major companies where in terrible financial shape. Some people still claim that some of the larger Bitcoin transactions today are funding Black Ops worldwide. European authorities have also reported  that the Islamic State terrorist  cells   in Paris and Belgium  had used Bitcoin to fund operations before their despicable  attacks.

I had one mission at the Construct 2017 event in San Francisco. I had driven  in winter through the mountains  from Winnipeg to San Francisco   to ask Zooko Wilcox a question about ZCash mining. I intended to walk right up to Zooko and ask him  about Claymore’s new ZCash mining software. Zooko is a tall thin man, kind of a tough guy like Clint Eastwood or maybe an eccentric billionaire type  like Howard Hughes. He was really on his guard because he had recently stated  publicly that he feared for his safety and was rushing ahead with unbreakable encryption because he feared the government would try to stop him in any way they could. His logic was  once it was launched he would be safe. I watched how he inter-acted with the other big-name speakers, like Joseph Poon , and Vlad ,and others  who genuinely liked him.  He was obviously very popular and he had  decades of experience and achievements.

He was standing alone for the first time and I pounced. I stood right in front of him and I said “ Hello Zooko. I am Jeremiah a miner from Winnipeg and  I  have just one quick question about the Claymore ZCash miner if you can spare me a minute”. He smiled warily sizing me up and by that I mean he probably was thinking … “Is this fat bastard from the NSA?”.

I stood my ground  and held his eyes in a lock and waited. He smiled a little at my audacity and reached down and turned up my identity tag to this invite only event where press were expressly prohibited. CoinDesk took a post event survey and have announced that next years event will welcome the media. He read Double Eagle BTC and stared at me accusingly. “Yes I said I am a miner from Winnipeg and as you are the main guy for ZCash tell me if you think I should  trust Claymore”? He said “Mining, I don’t have anything to do with mining”. I said “Well, Claymore sells for forty dollars on a plug and play mini 16 GB SSD drive that auto mines ZCash but they take a minute and a half per hour and use your resources as they want. They might mine the same coin, or mine another coin”. My point was could they do something I did not want happening on my system during that time. IPFS or the Interplanetary Filing System has proven  that networks of idle computers can rent out their storage space. Zooko knew what I meant but either he really did not know much about mining or he was playing dumb to fit with his ‘Ceremony’ narrative ; which has bizarre cloak - and -dagger elements that I do not know enough about  to go into it in much depth, although he did go over it in some detail on stage. It involved his attempt to assure people that there had been no pre-mine of ZCash and that no one had a universal key. It involved six computers in different locations that all cut a DVD with one sixth   of the code.  Then the computers that had been previously stripped down  and their hard drives were destroyed. I think this example of the social trait of millennials in general and techies in particular demonstrates counterproductive  ways that the ‘no good man or woman’ mindset can impact beliefs and behaviour. Reputation played a role as Zooko  has a very good reputation, and his other participants lent their excellent reputations to the effort as well. Still Zooko said on stage that he felt that he could not just say trust me. My question is why couldn’t  Zooko just say trust me?

In any event as I write this about eight months later ZCash has a market capitalization of $566 million USD and is priced at $274.66. It looks like a real winner because several  of the best new Ethereum wallets such as  Jaxx  are using ZCash  for anonymity. My pool Slushpool has started mining ZCash and it seems  Claymore’s mining program was just fine but I have several other new ZCash mining programs available for free. Genesis mining now has ZCash mining contracts available, along with Ethereum, Monero, Dash, and Litecoin. I really made fantastic profits  on the X-11 Dash contracts that I bought from Genesis Mining  last year. We can take a deeper dive into comparative experiments that I have done to calculate the value of home mining versus cloud mining such as buying contracts with companies such as Genesis.

The Bitcoin blockchain forked on August 1, 2017. That means that if you had a tenth of a Bitcoin on July 31 you got a matching tenth of a  BCH BitcoinCash token.  You doubled your token count you now hold equal amounts of BTC Bitcoin and BCH BitcoinCash. The sudden unexpected decision that Bitcoin would   fork on August 1st must have been made in late May at the Consensus 2017 event in New York sponsored by Barry Silbert. He is America’s premier crypto currency entrepreneur.  He would be my pick and he would get the highest rating in my handicapping of the Bitcoin Billionaire’s Stake Race. He has over fifty  crypto currency related companies in fifteen  countries. I really feel like a small thinker when I watch the maneuvers of a big thinker like Barry Silbert, owner of the Digital Currency Group, Grayscale Investment Trust, and  CoinDesk magazine. I invested in his  new Bitcoin ETF derivative GBTC  units from Grayscale, and I did ok with them. They only deal with accredited investors with net worth of over one million dollars exclusive of residence or income of over two hundred thousand dollars a year for each of the past two years. Luckily for me the oil business was not yet completely dead  so I qualified on income.  The units are based on NAV net asset value rather than being a fraction of a bitcoin as many people mistakenly believed when the fund was launched. I balked and sold out after receiving an offer to invest two hundred and fifty thousand dollars at four o’clock PM that would be priced at NAV regardless of where the unit price had ended trading on close at 4 PM.  I could not see much difference between this overly attractive offer and the late- trading issues mutual funds  had seen many years ago.

I must admit  that I was wrong earlier when I was very critical of   Silbert when he started buying Ethereum Classic ETC tokens after the Ethereum fork. As Andreas Antonopoulos the best promoter of Bitcoin on earth whose opinion I value highly warned in a video I watched about the resurrection  of Ethereum Classic  ETC by Charles Hodkinson  after an unknown hacker in Russia using the handle Arvicco first revived the discarded pre-fork Ethereum blockchain. “When one is most absolutist in their position, that is often the time when one is most likely to be completely wrong” and time has shown that such was the case.    I attended the  Consensus 2017 conference with my pitch for Bitcoin mining in Manitoba,  but had no inkling about what was happening behind the scenes in the five floors of meeting rooms at the New York Marriot Marquis hotel located on Broadway in bustling  Times Square. A so called “New York  Agreement” was signed   by many big time Bitcoin companies and exchanges in some exclusive  back room negotiations. A week or two after the event it was  announced that an unstoppable fork would take place on August 1, 2017, as it later in fact did, just as predicted with the precision of a total solar eclipse.

The one-megabyte block size will remain the same with slight capacity improvements as part of Segregated Witness off chain features are added that save space. This is an improvement that Erik Lombrozo has been promoting for the Core team, and that Andreas Antonopoulos has recommended as a good BIP or Bitcoin Improvement Proposal. This will mean that fees will remain higher than they would be if the block size went to two- megabytes as many thought it was poised to do, or to an eight- megabyte size that many users had also been lobbying for during the past year.  Transactions may be slower because of the full blocks but the ten-minute block benchmark is adjusted by a mechanism called the ‘difficulty’ which adjusts every two weeks in Bitcoin and every four hundred blocks in the much faster fourteen- second Ethereum blockchain.  So far I have not seen problems with high fees or slow confirmations. People said yes, I want that free money and welcomed the new BCH received after the split. My company website  https://smartpropertyblockchain.ca  has  live prices for Bitcoin and Ethereum  posted on the home page from widgets provided by Cryptocompare.com .  Bitcoin is at $5,352.55 Canadian Dollars and BCH or BitcoinCash at $899.23 CAD. The Ethereum blockchain had seen a previous fork and stable trading patterns have evolved over the past year my website shows Ethereum priced at $418.03 CAD and ETC at $18.90. These forks are a little bit like stock splits but there is no guarantee that you can access the cloned token unless you have made arrangements. The combined price of BTC and BCH is greater than BTC was before the fork. Everybody won.

I know that I look like an old cop and I try not to freak people out. It did not matter that I looked like an old cop when I was in Fort Collins Colorado and I explored  the civic culture of recreational marijuana stores  so as to get an idea of what to expect at home now that Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has legalized it.  I was also very interested in the Fort Collins Solar Clean Energy Collective. They had a great set up with local people buying unit shares. Their large array of collectors were not dual axis solar tracking as I would suggest  but it was up and running and was financially viable. I have found that many  programmers have a side interest in solar. That was the main thing  the two engineers  from Microsoft wanted to talk about in San Francisco.  Elon Musk has some new solar roof tiles  that are lighter, cheaper, more attractive, harder to break, and easier to install than ordinary roof tiles, and his whole package of a Tesla in the garage, with a Powerwall 2   battery for the house and solar panels or roof tiles intrigues young engineers . I find a lot of excitement about this at Bitcoin conferences by programmers. One of the best applications that I discovered  at Consensus 2017 was an idea that  Susan Furnell described:   a micro-token that is self generated and powered by  the  solar panel that it is monitoring , the token is then sold automatically  through smart contracts with utilities and exchanges. I have been  trying to design a  dual axis solar tracker program using a raspberry pi  mini-computer and Arduino controllers.  I am  going back for the third semester of computer programming at the University of Winnipeg next month.  I decided a long time ago that rather than to  first take code off of Github, I would put some good code on. I have nightmares of Trace Mayer shouting in my face “where is your code, show me your code, you will never make the team, you’re just not good enough”. Trace is rough on rookies but when he goes on Jeff Berwick’s Dollar Vigilante YouTube Channel   to debate Roger Ver. He does argue a good case and he is obviously a guy who would make any team.

Talking about the unknown origins of so much of this new technology the recent story of  ‘ Mimble Wimble’. Named from Harry Potter it is super encryption that suddenly appeared posted online. The ramifications of this new super encryption technology are being discussed but no one knows where it came from. It is really the next big thing and by the time I get this book up to that chapter hopefully it will be better understood.

One does not have to look at the latest mathematical encryption techniques to find the actual conceptual barrier that the over 55 crowd has the most difficulty understanding.  This new paradigm changes everything that we have grown up believing about business, proprietary assets, and value. I think that it all started in 1991  with Linus Torvalds who  released  the Linux operating  system for free, all he wanted to retain for himself  was control  of the name Linux. Torvalds probably  would not wish to be entered in the Billionaire sweepstakes. Judging  from how  he acted  in sharp contrast with Linux as  to what Bill Gates, who is most certainly a Billionaire, had done with Microsoft. Torvalds later set up GitHub which is a stack based open source code repository that has become the main gathering place for programmers.  Many companies do their development on GitHub. This means that everything is out in the open and nothing has a patent or trademark or needs a licence to be copied.  Elon Musk shocked investors when he bravely re-declared Tesla’s commitment to open source. From the size of the lithium battery that goes into the battery pack, to the weight of the Powerwall 2, everything is open for competitors to see, and that includes autonomous automobile navigation systems. Competitors could potentially save millions of dollars in development costs that Tesla had to spend to get the same information, or to get the design to that stage.  Satya Nadella the visionary CEO of Microsoft understands   and he has made Azure Microsoft’s big new  BaaS blockchain as a service and  data base management system open source. He has announced plans for Excel spreadsheets to have Bitcoin as an available currency, and of course Microsoft accepts Bitcoin on their website for any of their products. IBM is dabbling with open source by participating in the   hyper-ledger project but it is certainly not ready to sanction a change in policy yet.

Maybe I should give an example from my own business situation of how this plays out in the real world. I have smartpropertyblockchain.ca which is a new company in Canada that has a stated purpose of offering a blockchain alternative to the Torrens style paper- based government Land and Property Title Registries that the government or it’s surrogates run. What if your government was Venezuela, or Libya? Land fraud is common in many countries and it is hard to protect yourself from  the risk of it. One or two bribed clerks with a rubber stamp, or maybe a lawyer with some bogus or altered documents, and anyone could be in jeopardy of losing their property. There is a company in Austin Texas called Factom and by the looks of the smiling faces on their website it is a great place to work. The company has been very successful and has many major law enforcement agencies on it’s client roster including the Department of Homeland Security. Factom’s CEO Peter Kirby is quoted in CoinDesk as having said “We really believe that when you move all of the data in the world into the blockchain you can create a lot of transparency and value”.  Early investor Tim Draper is quoted in the same article saying “Centralized data is prone to critical failure by any individual mistake, whether by user error or malicious hacking. By decentralizing data through the blockchain, Factom avoids critical failures due to user error or hacker”.  Their code for Factom is open source and they state clearly that if it will help any new Startup they would be happy to share their code free of charge.

Factom is doing very well with big new contracts, and a token called Factoids that has tripled recently, or  as Jim Cramer from CNBC’s Mad Money investment show would say “en fuego”. My website shows the price of Factoids FCT in Canadian dollars as   $38.57. They all look like great people and I know what a great city Austin, Texas is as I have been through there a few times. How does it harm  them or in any way compete with them, for me, way up here, across the border in Winnipeg Canada,  to do  local property titles on a cloned blockchain?

Smartpropertyblockchain.ca may find some new technique for electronic appraisals because  automated real estate valuation modeling is one of our main features in development with working regression AVM models in hand. If in the future by  some twist of fate Factom could use our code for appraisals or perhaps our geomatics technology integrating drone surveys and digitized records on the blockchain, they would be welcome to it.

Blockchain forks and a new chain is born. That is the ethos of the new world.  People will attend a seminar and pay a few hundred dollars for the event. They will ask if the slides from the presentation are available on the web. It is understandable that the lecturer might feel that keeping the slides unavailable might be a good idea for job security. Not so, not in this new world. Many older managers will never get the concept and will be eased out of their positions and retired. I have a rule of thumb that I use  for my personal time management, and the older that you are the more important that time management becomes. I must devote a minimum of  four hours per week, or two full days out of every month devoted expressly to learning new things in technology and computer science so I can keep up with the progress around me in. It might be my newest smartphone or keeping my wireless printer mated to my desktop PCs Windows 10 after the latest update. Maybe it is my trucks Magellan GPS navigator, or our home satellite system or WIFI router.  Perhaps I am just taking an hour to take a look at Rust or Python.  Honestly, for me trying  to keep up with the times  is usually a challenging and often frustrating time out of my busy schedule. I can imagine that a lot of people just don’t bother and are tired of always having to relearn programs after they upgrade. A symptom that people should look out for is if they are getting   confused on their  city or government websites  because of their lack of computer skills; they should wake up and realize that they need some training. At a minimum, people should know all about using Windows 10 ,how to search the web using  google,  basic email security rules, and how to buy things or make reservations online, including how to make  payments with credit cards or PayPal online.

The idea that computer coding is for everybody is also quite a stretch in my opinion. Judging by the attrition rate among my classmates at the University of Winnipeg Applied Computer Sciences program.  I have observed that even really bright tech- savvy students find learning Java for example quite difficult.

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