Introduced in 2008, blockchain is a system which records <a href="https://blockchain.works-hub.com/learn/How-Blockchain-is-Changing-Cross-Border-Payments">cross-border digital transactions</a> made in bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies across numerous PCs that are connected in a peer-to-peer network. In other words, a blockchain is a fast and secure way to buy and sell digital assets. The best part about a blockchain is that it provides <a href="https://blockchain.works-hub.com/learn/blockchain-technology-for-logistics-learn-about-its-impact-87876">supply chain visibility to suppliers and retailers</a>. Moreover, blockchain systems are decentralized and implemented with open source software, in the sense that no government body regulates them.

Blockchain: The Premise

The aim of introducing blockchain was to replace banks with software and it is said to be initiated by “Satoshi Nakamoto” by launching a project called “bitcoin.” Each blockchain user is called a node and a node in the blockchain technology market initiates a digital transaction using its private key. The private key generates a unique digital signature and makes sure that no one can change it. Once done, the transaction gets broadcast to the verifying nodes.

The Mysterious Founder

The blockchain platform can use different methods to verify the validity of the transaction. If the transaction is found to be authentic, it will get a place in the ledger. It is believed that blockchain has the potential to revamp the stock market. Also, many organizations and banks have incorporated blockchain into their businesses.

The Blockchain Transaction

Blockchain technology had seen a significant rise in institutional investments in 2021 leading to its tremendous growth. Last year alone, we saw credit card companies partner with blockchain companies to offer Bitcoin rewards. In January, Visa <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/select/visa-backs-first-credit-card-to-offer-bitcoin-rewards/">partnered with BlockFi</a>, and in April, Mastercard <a href="https://www.reuters.com/technology/mastercard-digital-currency-exchange-gemini-launch-crypto-rewards-credit-card-2021-04-27/">partnered with digital currency exchange Gemini</a>.

The Growth Of Blockchain

Seeing the growth of blockchain and its growth potential, it would be interesting to learn which are the top blockchain companies to watch in 2022.Companies that have proven to contribute significant value to the blockchain space and improve the maturity and professionalization of the industry by offering effective blockchain solutions. List of top Blockchain Companies:<ul><li>Binance</li><li>Coinbase</li><li>Chorus One</li><li>Synthetix</li><li>Chainlink</li><li>Gemini</li><li>Circle</li><li>Steem</li><li>Argo Blockchain</li><li>Hive</li></ul>

Top Blockchain Companies

Binance is the world’s leading digital currency exchange platform. The company provides a platform to exchange cryptocurrencies while taking care of liquidity and security. Founded in 2017 by Changpeng Zhao and Yi He, Binance is now one of the largest companies dealing in digital technology and finance with headquarters in George Town, Cayman Islands, Malta and various other locations globally.

Binance - Crypto Exchange

Coinbase was founded in 2012 by Brian Armstrong (former engineer at Airbnb) and Fred Ehrsam (trader at Goldman Sachs). They wanted to provide users with an easy-to-use portal to buy and transact cryptocurrencies. At the time, Coinbase has become the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the US and succeeded in its mission.Coinbase estimated total revenue of $1.8 billion during 2021’s first quarter to give you some financial details about its magnitude. On top of that, the crypto exchange caters to 56 million verified crypto users.

Coinbase - Crypto Exchange

Chorus One has established itself as one of the most trustworthy and professional staking and validator services in the blockchain space. They’ve proven that you can run a viable staking business. At the moment, users have trusted $1,659,144,530 worth of assets staked with Chorus One.They also support a massive list of proof-of-stake networks.

Chorus One - Staking And Validation

Synthetix allows developers to <a href="https://www.gemini.com/cryptopedia/synthetix">issue synthetic assets</a> on the Ethereum blockchain. This is a compelling concept as you can transform any asset into a tradable asset while removing its potential restrictions.Synthetix has opened up many new use cases for traders seeking new financial instruments. It wasn’t possible to employ trading bots for many traditional financial products to give you a concrete example. When trading synthetic assets, this becomes possible. The Synthetix platform brings non-blockchain-based asset exposure to the crypto ecosystem.

Synthetix - Trade Synthetic Assets

<a href="https://chain.link/">Chainlink</a> created the concept of decentralized oracles that make off-chain data available to smart contracts in a deterministic way. To get back to the temperature example, let’s assume we have ten nodes that request temperature data from different data providers. Then, we calculate the average temperature, and we write this number via a transaction to the blockchain. Now, our gambling smart contract can access the temperature data and execute its logic without leaving the blockchain ecosystem.

Chainlink - Decentralized Oracle Network

Gemini is a crypto exchange founded by the famous Winklevoss twins in 2014. It’s a private exchange that also offers <a href="https://www.gemini.com/custody">custodian services</a>. The name Gemini refers to the Latin word for twins. The Winklevoss brothers have the vision of marrying both forms of money: fiat money and cryptocurrencies. They do this by offering various trading pairs where they map a cryptocurrency like Bitcoin against a fiat currency like the US Dollar (BTC/USD).

Gemini - Bitcoin Exchange and Custodian

Circle brands itself as the payment infrastructure for internet businesses and are active in the crypto space since 2013. They are the company behind the popular <a href="https://www.circle.com/en/usdc">stablecoin USDC</a>, with a market cap of $11,241,731,453. The USDC stablecoin has its value “pegged” against one US Dollar. It means that Circle holds $1 in collateral for every USDC token they issue. It’s one of the most widely adopted stablecoins besides Tether (USDT).

Circle - Stablecoin USDC

Steem is a blockchain company providing services to social media users, developers and entrepreneurs. Founded in 2016 by Ned Scott and Daniel Larimer, the company launched the Steemit social media platform as its first application built upon the Steemit blockchain. On Steemit, anyone can earn rewards by posting quality content, upvoting and investing in Steem-based currencies.

Steem - A Social Blockchain

Argo is a publicly-traded blockchain technology company based in London, United Kingdom. Known for large-scale cryptocurrency mining. Argo Blockchain is the only blockchain company listed on the London Stock Exchange. The company was established in 2017 by Mike Edwards and Peter Wall with the sole aim of making mining a legitimate operation. In 2020, Agro Blockchain earned a revenue of $18.96 million.

Argo Blockchain - Large-scale Cryptocurrency Mining

Hive Blockchain Technologies Ltd. is a crypto mining blockchain company that claims to use renewable energy for mining Bitcoin and Ethereum. The company is jointly funded by Genesis Mining and Fiore Group to provide robust blockchain solutions and accelerate the development of the blockchain sector through traditional capital markets and develop the leading listed blockchain infrastructure company.Founded in 2013 by Olivier Roussy Newton, Hive Blockchain Technologies Ltd. is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada. In 2020, the company earned $33 billion in revenue, for a $9 billion annual growth.

Hive - Renewable Energy for Mining Bitcoin and Ethereum

\##Blockchain OverviewIntroduced in 2008, blockchain is a system which records cross border digital transactions made in bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies  across numerous PCs that are connected in a peer-to-peer network. In other words, a blockchain is a fast and secure way to buy and sell digital assets. The best...

crypto

Cryptocurrency

moneyandinvestments

Money & Investments

Top Blockchain Companies in 2022

Boxed cake mixes before 1933 required only water. But when Duncan Hines' cake mix forced the consumer to add fresh eggs as well, sales soared.Adding friction is a counterintuitive strategy that makes something slightly more challenging, increasing its appeal.

Adding Friction

Whether you're running a Slack, Discord, Circle, or in-person meetups, it's crucial to connect one-on-one with members.Schedule calls with new members to get a sense of their needs and to learn about their interests and expertise. Not everything needs to be scalable.

Unscalable Organic Interactions

<ul><li>In a time when there's more competition than ever, sometimes the only way to stand out is to lead with value.</li><li>Trust that the investment will come back to you.</li><li>Over time, people will get to know you for your high-quality work.</li></ul>

Give Value And Quality To Paying Customers

<ul><li>Master one channel, then scale.</li><li>Create a flywheel that gets both repeat content and allows you to scale with decreasing friction.</li><li>Anything worth doing takes time, but once you start to see momentum, it becomes easier to expand your efforts and get a greater return on your investment.</li></ul>

Narrow Your Focus to Sustain Healthier Growth

<ul><li>Tap into underleveraged marketing channels and you can reap the benefits before these channels go mainstream.</li><li>Niche or smaller email lists tend to have high open rates and click-through rates, which means they're ripe for sponsorships.</li><li>Not everything can be low-hanging fruit.</li></ul>

Get Greater ROI from Smaller Channels

Instead of hiding the cancel subscription button, create trust with the customer by sending reminders that their recurring charge is about to be debited. They should have the 'skip' option ready in case they don't want the services anymore. This is counterintuitive to the hilt but helps build word of mouth and loyalty.

Remind Customers of Recurring Charges to Foster Loyalty

<ul><li>Encouraging your email subscribers to opt out so that they stay in is counterintuitive.</li><li>Check who hasn't opened your emails in the past 90 days and delete those who don't click.</li><li>Hitting that delete button will hurt your gross numbers, but your open rates and clickthroughs will thank you.</li></ul>

Delete subscribers to improve your email program

<ul><li>Give free press to brands who share your similar audience, ethos, or approach.</li><li>Align yourself with other brands by promoting them in your work.</li><li>You'll earn goodwill, potential reciprocation, and unlock doors for future collaboration.</li></ul>

Give free PR to others to enhance your credibility

Cold outreach is typically seen as a numbers game: hit as many inboxes as you can, assuming 5% or fewer will convert. But I’ve never agreed with that

marketingandsales

Marketing & Sales

business

Business

8 Counterintuitive Marketing Strategies That Actually Work - SparkToro

This is the most common approach that senior marketers take for setting their marketing budget that is based on the previous year's expenses. A survey reported that 41% of their respondents base their yearly budget the previous year's expenses and then adjusted during the year if needed.

Creating a Yearly Budget

Include (based from the CMO survey):<ul><li>Building the budget from scratch every year based on new needs and objectives - 28%</li><li>Setting the budget as a percentage of projected revenue - 21%</li><li>Resetting the budget every month/quarter depending on what's needed to meet the objectives - 10% </li></ul>

Other common approaches

The most common approach marketers take for setting their marketing budget is to create a yearly budget based on the previous year's expenses. See the research.

How Senior Marketers Set Their Budgets

More than half of the surveyed customers are overwhelmed by the number of online streaming services scrambling for their attention.The trend of cord-cutting, where consumers removed cable/pay-TV and opted for online streaming content, has been replaced by cord-stacking, where both pay-TV and streaming services are used.Most respondents of the survey wish that there were more free ad-supported streaming services to keep their costs down.

Too Many Streaming Services

A survey conducted by Verizon Media and Publicis Media suggests cord-cutters are having trouble with all the choices.


personaldevelopment

Personal Development

technologyandthefuture

Technology & The Future

Are there too many streaming services? 56% of connected device users are overwhelmed

There is a natural tendency to spend the money we earn, instead of saving or investing. If we watch how rich people utilize wealth, we can learn a lot from them and change our financial mindset.
One has to invest money no matter how less the income is, choosing something that is secure and gives decent returns, like an index fund.

How We Use Money

Remember that money is freedom. 
Whenever we buy something, we are giving up our time and freedom, because if we save that amount, and become extremely rich, we would have a lot more freedom to do whatever we want.

Money Is Freedom

The more we learn, the more we can apply that to create value for other people. The more value we create for others, the more we would earn.
Like knowledge, one has to be generous with money, trying not to cling to it. Even if we lose some money in some get-rich-quick scheme or dumb investment, we can easily earn it back, provided we don’t lose our character or soul.

Learning Is Like Building Wealth

We need to adopt healthy financial habits, taking care of our money and trusting the process that builds wealth through saving and investment. 
Keep content with your current life and enjoy what you can, while saving big. As you grow into your thirties and forties, save and invest as much as you can.

Trust Your Financial Habits

Don’t be scared of what will happen to you when you retire. If you have followed the basic principles of saving, investing and learning(self-improvement), you will do fine.
Have a year’s worth of financial buffer and work on your skills to keep improving and seeing more money added to your account as you progress.

Don’t Obsess Over Your Retirement

These money principles might sound obvious, but it’s not obvious or simple to live by what you know. What matters is that we execute.

Money Principles I’d Tell My 17-Year-Old Self - Darius Foroux

Most electric car batteries are lithium-based and just like any other battery, they will degrade over time, which means that they won't be holding charge as long as they used to do and the range of it will reduce.
If you overcharge the battery or try to charge it at the wrong voltage then it will degrade even quicker. Always make sure to check whether the manufacturer offers a warranty on the batteries because most of them do and these last from 8-10 years.

The Lifespan of an Electric Car Battery

<ul>
<li>Renault Zoe - 394km (245 miles)</li>
<li>Hyundai IONIQ - 310km (193 miles)</li>
<li>Nissan Leaf e+ - 384km (239 miles)</li>
<li>Kia e Niro - 453km (281 miles)</li>
<li>BMW i3 120Ah - 293km (182 miles)</li>
<li>Tesla Model 3 SR+ - 409km (254 miles)</li>
<li>Tesla Model 3 LR - 560km (348 miles)</li>
<li>Jaguar I-Pace - 470km (292 miles)</li>
<li>Honda e - 201km (125 miles)</li>
<li>Vauxhall Corsa e- 336km (209 miles)</li>
</ul>

Approximate Ranges of Different Electric Cars

More and more places are putting in street charging points and lots of electric cars have apps installed in them that will direct you to the nearest charging point. If not, there are a host of websites and apps that will do the job.
Some public charging points are easy to use but there are also some that charge a flat fee for monthly access.

Public Charging Points

It is significantly cheaper to charge an electrical car than to fill up a tank. The cost depends on the electricity tariff you're covered by, but most manufacturers will suggest that you switch to an Economy 7 tariff to pay less for electricity during the night.
The estimated average cost of each driver will use between £450 to £750 a year for additional charging for the electric car.

The Cost of Charging Your Car at Home

If you have a driveway and can park your car beside your house then you can just plug it straight into your domestic main electric supply. However, if you don't, then find a parking space on the street outside your home so you can run a cable out, but make sure to cover the wires to avoid tripping passers-by.
The charging time takes time and it depends on the size of your car's battery which can range from 8-14 hours or a full 24 hours.

Charging an Electric Car

We answer your top questions on electric cars - on charging, on range and on battery life.

How electric cars are charged and how far they go: your questions answered

<ul><li>Rule No 1: Never lose money.</li><li>Rule No 2: Never forget rule No. 1.</li></ul>If you work from a loss, it's much harder to get back to where you started, not to mention earn gains.

Never Lose Money

<ul><li>Price = what you pay.</li><li>Value = what you get.</li></ul>You lose money when the price you pay does not match the value you're getting. For example, when you're paying high interest on credit card debt or spending on stuff you hardly use.You gain money when you look for opportunities to get more value at a lower price: For example, buying quality merchandise when it is marked down.

High Value at a Low Price

Most of your behavior is habitual. You can change your habits and the earlier you start, the better.Saving is a habit. Learn the habits of saving properly early. Pay attention to your money habits. Strengthen those habits that help your finances, and break the habits that hurt your finances.

Form Healthy Money Habits

Warren Buffet built his wealth by getting interests to work for him.<ul><li>Many people fail because of liquor and borrowed money. You can make a lot of money without borrowing.</li><li>Avoid credit cards, because the interest rates are very high on them. “Sometimes they are 18 percent. Sometimes they are 20 percent. If I borrowed money at 18 or 20 percent, I’d be broke.”</li></ul>

Avoid Debt

To ensure security, always keep cash or cash equivalent reserves available.Businesses and individuals may desire to put liquid cash to work through investments. When bills are due, only cash is legal tender. Be sure to have it on hand.

Keep Cash On Hand

You are your own biggest asset. Invest as much of yourself as you can. Improve your own talents and make yourself more valuable. Nobody can tax or steal it.If you are addicted to your salary there is no way you can become rich.

Invest in Yourself

Part of investing in yourself should be learning about managing money. Risk comes from not knowing what you're doing. Educate yourself about personal finance. Read a lot. Make sure you get to bed smarter.

Learn About Money

For the average investor, Warren Buffet advocates for index funds. <ul><li>Put 10 % of the cash in short-term government bonds.</li><li>Put 90 % in a very low-cost S&P 500 index fund.</li></ul>

Low-Cost Index Fund

Warren Buffet said that if you're in the luckiest 1% of humanity, you owe it to the rest of humanity to think about the other 99 %.You can enrich your life and others' by giving back.

Give Back

Invest with the future in mind. A tree planted today will give shade in the future. Nurturing seed of financial success now will lead to shade later on, for example, freedom from debts, a secure retirement or college fees for your children.

Money is a Long-Term Game

All the actionable tips you need to get you on your own investing path

books

Books

How to Start Investing Today

Unbelievable how basic these are, but they made Buffet one of the richest man alive. 

By Elyssa Kirkham, GBR Staff Writer Warren Buffett is one of the greatest investing and business minds today. But aside from his exponential investing success, Buffett is probably most famous for his humorous insights, colorful commentary and wise advice.

Best Money Tips of All Time (From Warren Buffett)

Managing your finances and budgeting is all about removing the unnecessary so that only the essentials remain, similar to minimalism.
Other than financial necessities, in order to easily manage our finances, we must identify the purchases that matter to us because it's easier to let go of the things that don't.

Identify what matters to you

You should never force yourself into a tracking system for your spending habits without examining your purchases and purging those that aren't working for you.
Even if you track your spending but you spend more than what you can afford, you're only giving yourself a false sense of progress and never getting to the root of whatever financial stressors you have.

Declutter first, organize second

Remove the daily, weekly, or monthly purchases that are not important to you or that you simply will not miss such as that extra charge in your phone plan or your gym membership subscription.

Start with easy-to-declutter items

Assign your money into a savings category in order to be prepared for both expected and unexpected expenses.
Some saving category ideas:
<ul>
<li>Emergency funds</li>
<li>Retirement savings</li>
<li>Fun money.</li>
</ul>

Every dollar needs a category

Managing your finances should be a daily habit. Make it a part of your daily routine to log into your bank account, check your balances, and look over your purchases. 
This will not only help you keep track of your money but you'll also be able to keep yourself updated as to what your money is doing and be ahead of any possible issues in the near future.

Declutter daily

Both minimalism and budgetary wellbeing require standard upkeeps. 
Neither process is easy to work and it is something that requires constant attention.

Finance management decluttering is a journey

The same strategies that can help an overwhelmed newbie minimalist declutter can also help a financially struggling minimalist get a better handle on her money. Here are some decluttering strategies that can double as tips for money management.

6 Ways to Apply Decluttering Principles to Your Finances

Many legends from different cultures share the idea that jewels are of divine or superhuman origin.
<ul>
<li>The Amythyst was said to have been created from the tears of the Greek god Dionysus.</li>
<li>The onyx from Venus's fingernails.</li>
<li> Opals are said to be created when the Aboriginals' ancestral God came to Earth in a rainbow.</li>
<li>Moonstone was believed to be a way of communicating with the gods.</li>
<li>Jade still is used to attract good fortune,</li>
<li>Rubies are said to help in warfare.</li>
<li>Emeralds to protect travellers,</li>
<li>Diamonds to have powers over love and health.</li>
<li>Pearls were a symbol of power for kings, queens, Maharajas, and Chinese Emperors.</li>
</ul>

Special powers attributed to gems

The power of jewels has been exploited by diplomats, traders, and lovers. The famous marketing slogan of De Beers is 'a diamond is forever' and creates the idea that all engagement rings must have a diamond.
However, a big sparkly diamond is not what makes jewellery so unique. People desire to have something more individual and affordable.

Exploitation of jewels

history

History

artsandculture

Society, Arts & Culture

How jewellery got personal

<ul>
<li>In the 17th century Vienna, the Turkish army left behind a massive surplus in coffee beans causing citizens to experiment with new brewing methods.</li>
<li>Another tale proposes that iced coffee comes from Mazagran - a French beverage consisting of espresso, lemon, and ice.</li>
</ul>

The First Iced Coffees

Iced-coffee is enjoyed by 38 percent of people in the U.S. between the ages of 18 and 24.
One explanation for iced coffee's popularity is that young people, who have been raised on iced-cold and sugary sodas want to integrate it into their coffee-drinking experience. Another reason is that ice-cold coffee can keep you alert. It offers similar benefits as a Red Bull.

The Popularity of Iced Coffee

A cup of coffee costs more cold than hot. This is because iced coffee requires more materials to serve.
It requires a plastic cup that costs more than paper cups. Customers use more napkins because of condensation. Iced coffee requires an ice machine for the ice. Cold brewing coffee also requires more time.

Iced Coffee is Pricey

<ul>
<li>In Europe, iced coffee is more like a Frappuccino - a coffee milkshake with whipped cream, chocolate syrup, and crushed ice.</li>
<li>The Japanese method involves brewing hot coffee and pouring it over ice, drawing out its fruity tastes.</li>
<li>Cold brewing consists of mixing coffee grounds and water and letting it sit in the fridge for at least 12 hours. It is more caffeinated and has a nutty, chocolatey, and less acidic flavour.</li>
</ul>

Iced Coffee Variations

food

Food

health

Health

communication

Communication

Coffee Culture

It’s common knowledge that coffee is the closest thing to hard evidence that God does, indeed, exist. But while waking up to a hot cup of freshly-brewed coffee is wonderful in winter, with spring's official onset, it's iced coffee season. But where…