5 Fun Facts To Know About Cryptocurrency

For many, cryptocurrency is a mysterious industry. With time, more and more people are becoming interested in it and testing their luck with investing in digital currencies. But there are some things you probably didn’t know about the digital currency world. We’re here to show you some must-know facts about cryptocurrency.

Did you know

1. The total amount of bitcoin is limited

That’s right. If you thought it would be possible to buy an endless amount of crypto, think again. Cryptocurrency is a limited resource, like gold or oil. This is why currencies like bitcoin continue to increase in value as the supply goes down. Investors know that somewhere down the road, the number of bitcoins and alt currencies available will come to an end. 

2. No one knows who created bitcoin

So who is the person that’s created this virtual currency market? Well, no one actually knows. The most surprising fact about cryptocurrency is the person or organization who created ‘bitcoin’ is unknown. However, people refer to the creator of bitcoin as Satoshi Nakamoto. A popular belief is that the name is an acronym for leading tech companies – Samsung-Toshiba-Nakamichi-Motorola.

3. Cryptocurrency can’t be physically banned

Many countries worldwide have discussed banning cryptocurrencies; however, despite their desire to ban them, it’s physically impossible. Why? Because anyone can get a crypto wallet. Of course, countries can make regulations, but the cryptocurrency market itself cannot be banned. Some countries that have removed the rights around using cryptocurrencies are Alergia, Cambodia, Bolivia, Educator, Bangladesh, and Nepal. 

4. There are over 5,000 different currencies

Everyone wants to get in on cryptocurrencies. This is why new currencies are popping up in the industry daily. As of now, there are over 5,000 different currencies in the world. Naturally, most of these currencies aren’t worth much, nor will they be. However, there is always a diamond in the rough that people are hoping to grab. In other words, not all altcoins are useless. With over 5,000 cryptocurrencies available, some creative ones exist out there, such as Coinye (named after Kanye West), PizzaCoin, and Cabbage.

5. They’re taxable

Of course, depending on what country you live in. But since cryptocurrencies have now entered the mainstream markets, tax agencies worldwide are trying to make sure they get their slice of the virtual pie. Many countries expect you to pay tax on your cryptocurrency profits. In the United States, the IRS won a court case against Coinbase, requiring Coinbase to provide information on over 14,000 users who had annual transactions over $20,000 between 2013 and 2015. So, double-check the laws in your country.

Future of NFT gaming

Steam has decided to ban the NFT games

 

Steam is a company that sells and distributes video games digitally. It is one of the biggest leading gaming distribution services in the world. And after that comes Epic games. Steam recently banned NFT games or games that involved the use of cryptocurrencies. If you do not know what NFT games are then you can check my last blog post, it tells you what NFT games are and which games are on top currently. The link to my blog can be found here!

 

A screenshot of Steam app

Now for Steam banning these games could be a huge mistake for a number of reasons like:

·         Since last year NFT games have been on the rise. NFTs have grown from 14 million in 2020’s first 6 months to over 2.5 billion in sales in 2021’s second quarter. There is more growth to come.

·         These games are attracting a lot of people. Coca-Cola, sports games, a game by Louis Vuitton, etc. they all have collectibles in the games which can be traded with other players. Thus attracting many people.

·         Big gaming companies like Ubisoft, EA games are planning to develop blockchain games. These companies will also attract people to play the NFT games.

 

NFT Games

Banning them could be a big loss for Steam. The reason Steam banned them is they cannot trade NFTs with anyone. Their main goal is to sell games and give a portion of the profit to the game developers. Having NFT games on their domain was not resulting in a profit. But I believe they could have easily found a solution for that but I could be wrong.

 

It is a major selling point of crypto but it also allows for disintermediation of anything virtually. It creates benefits for users that no longer want the middlemen taking the cut. For instance, AAVE’s DeFi protocol allows p2p lending and borrowing. You can get a loan on their website at low rates with no credit check than what you would have got from a bank and you can pay it off without worrying about late fees. You can also loan your assets out instantly and you have 0 counter-party risk and you can get it back anytime you want. You loan your money to a bank and you get 1% maybe, you loan it to AAVE you get 10 times that.

 

NFTs present countless benefits to virtually every industry on the planet and every person as well. Gaming and art are drops in the bucket for what NFTs will be used for. In a few years everything will be connected to NFTs to some degree, the incentive is too high to not use them. People just don’t understand them yet and it will take a little time for them to figure it out. Businesses will figure it out very quickly.

You can read the article about steam banning the NFT games here.

 

What are your opinions on this? Comment below.

What Are NFT Games? And Top 5 NFT Games To Play in 2022

 What Are NFT Games and How Do They Work?

What are NFTs?

A Non-Fungible Token (NFT) is a digital, cryptographic token on the blockchain representing a unique item. An NFT has many use cases. It could be a digital asset in a game, a collectible piece of crypto art, or even a real-world object like real estate. NFTs have solved the long-standing issue of creating decentralized digital collectibility and ownership in a "copy-paste" world.

An NFT is non-fungible. This property means each token is unique and cannot be swapped identically for another token ever. You can trade 1 BTC for another 1 BTC equal in every single way. With an NFT, this is impossible, even with NFT art released in a series with multiple versions. In this case, each NFT's metadata will differ, just like you would have in a numbered series of prints.

How do NFT games work?

NFT games are different from just holding crypto-collectibles in your wallet. An NFT game will use NFTs in its rules, mechanisms, and player interactions. For example, a game could represent your unique character or avatar as an NFT. Digital items you find while playing the game could also be NFTs. You can then swap or trade your NFTs with other players for profit. A newer, play-to-earn model also allows you to generate income from NFT games which we'll discuss more later.

So how do you take NFTs and technically implement them into a game environment? To swap, create, and implement NFTs within a game, developers create smart contracts that make up the rules for the NFTs used. Smart contracts are self-executing pieces of code stored on a blockchain.

Top 5 NFT games

1. AXIE INFINITY

Axie Infinity is probably the most popular NFT game around at the moment. Like some other games here, this is a title that uses NFTs to enhance its gameplay. The title is similar to games like Pokémon, you have to collect fantasy monsters that you can breed or trade. The game’s monsters exist as NFTs. You can sell them within the game; marketplace alongside training them up or breeding them.

Axie Infinity is an impressive use of NFT technology, and it has amassed an impressive following. It uses AXS and SLP, two Ethereum-based cryptocurrencies and by July 2021, the value of the NFT collection in trades is estimated at around $50 million.

Although only available on Android, Axie Infinity is one of the most unique games to use NFTs.

Axie Infinity

2. SORARE

Sorare is another one of the top 5 NFT games currently running. It is a title that is based around fantasy football. As with any fantasy football, you put together a team based on your favorite players and get rewarded based on how they perform in real-life games. The difference here is that your team is represented by NFTs rather than just picking them out. This gives this one of the best NFT games a bit of a different feel.

Like with Axie Infinity, this game has an element of collection at work too. You need to collect and seek out the cards for players you want. Sorare has recreated the experience of collecting football cards, which makes it a unique game.

Sorare

3. EVOLUTION LAND

Evolution Land stands out on this list of the top 5 NFT games as it has a bit of a different approach. This game is more like a city builder game, where you can buy land, build buildings, and generally expand your space. Each of the continents on the game exists on a different blockchain. You’ll also need to use units called apostles which need to be collected to find unique units with expanded attributes. Evolution Land still has some elements of the collection, but the game stands out amidst the amount of Pokémon styled games that use NFTs.

Evolution Land

4. CRYPTOKITTIES

CryptoKitties is a pretty fun game that is based around Ethereum blockchain. It has you collect various cats which you can breed to get more. There are side tasks here like puzzle-solving that helps you to progress further in the game. This game is quite similar to a few others on here with a Pokémon style approach to the NFTs in-game. It is likely seen as the godfather of most NFT based titles due to its massive appeal and first introduction to the concept of unique digital asset trading and blockchain systems to the general public.

The game has seen a steady decline in popularity and player appeal due to this increased attention. As the media frenzy flocked to cover CryptoKitties and the innovative systems it implements, the appeal and overproduction of kittens threw the market out of whack and made the game unappealing to many.

Cryptokitties

5. F1 DELTA TIME

F1 Delta Time is an Ethereum blockchain-based game developed by Animoca Brands in partnership with motor racing championship Formula 1 ®. The game utilizes both Non-Fungible (NFT) and fungible tokens for its collectible items that can be used in its Racing Game. 

The Hong Kong-based multinational Animoca Brands isn’t new to the gaming industry; it has created numerous popular games and is the exclusive distributor of CryptoKitties in China.

F1 Delta Time

Everything you should know about cryptocurrency in 2022

What Is Cryptocurrency?

 

• Cryptocurrency takes the form of digital assets.
• Buyers use the money to buy assets (or a part of an asset).
• Buyers then exchange the assets online for goods or services.

Cryptocurrency

How Does It Work?

• Transactions are verified using Blockchain.

• Blockchain transactions are decentralized, meaning they're spread across many computers to manage and record transactions.

• Because Blockchain transactions rely on many computers, they are considered more secure than centralized currencies.

 

How cryptocurrency works

What Gives Cryptocurrency Value?

Like any non-fungible token (NFT), cryptocurrency gets its value based on what people are willing to pay for it.

• It's similar to fine art or real estate. The value of a cryptocurrency will go up or down based on how much demand there is for it.

• Housing prices across the U.S. fell by an average of 33% during the 2008 recession. By 2018, they had rebounded and increased by more than 50%.

• Monet died poor even though he had lots of paintings to sell, but now the average price of one of his paintings is about 7 million USD.

• The price of dogecoin, a cryptocurrency, dropped by 35% after Elon Musk called it a hustle.

Digital Currency vs. Cryptocurrency

For example

Housing prices across the US fell by an average of 33% during the 2008 recession. By 2018, they had rebounded and increased by more than 50%. Monet died poor even though he had lots of paintings to sell, but now the average price of one of his paintings to sell, but now the average price of one of his paintings is about 7 million USD.

The price of dogecoin, a cryptocurrency, dropped by 35% after Elon Musk called it a hustle.

What Are the Different Types of Crypto?

 

Different types of crypto generally fall into one of two categories:

 

• Coins, which can include Bitcoin and altcoins (non-Bitcoin cryptocurrencies).

• Tokens, which are programmable assets that live within the blockchain of a given platform.

 

Though many people use the words crypto, coins, and tokens interchangeably, it’s important to understand how they differ from one another in order to gain a basic understanding of cryptocurrency.

Types of Cryptocurrency

The 10 Most Common Types of Cryptocurrency

1. Bitcoin

2. Ethereum

3. Cardano (ADA)

4. Binance Coin (BNB)

5. Tether

6. Solana

7. XRP

8. Dogecoin

9. Polkadot (DOT)

10. USD (USDC)

 

What Is Bitcoin Mining?

 

Bitcoin mining is the process by which new bitcoins are entered into circulation; it is also the way that new transactions are confirmed by the network and a critical component of the maintenance and development of the blockchain ledger. "Mining" is performed using sophisticated hardware that solves an extremely complex computational math problem. The first computer to find the solution to the problem is awarded the next block of bitcoins and the process begins again.

Cryptocurrency mining is painstaking, costly, and only sporadically rewarding. Nonetheless, mining has a magnetic appeal for many investors interested in cryptocurrency because of the fact that miners are rewarded for their work with crypto tokens. This may be because entrepreneurial types see mining as pennies from heaven, like California gold prospectors in 1849. And if you are technologically inclined, why not do it?

However, before you invest the time and equipment, read this explainer to see whether mining is really for you. We will focus primarily on Bitcoin (throughout, we'll use "Bitcoin" when referring to the network or the cryptocurrency as a concept, and "bitcoin" when we're referring to a number of individual tokens).

 

Why consider investing in cryptocurrency

 

1. It could potentially become mainstream someday

 

Cryptocurrency has the potential to become life-changing. It could become a mainstream form of payment someday, it could provide a way to hedge against inflation, and blockchain technology -- the foundation behind cryptocurrency -- could also have an enormous impact on how we do business.

If crypto does become mainstream, its price could soar to new heights. Bitcoin is currently priced at close to $44,000 per token, but some experts predict it may reach up to $500,000 per token someday. Depending on just how widely adopted cryptocurrency becomes, there could be a lot of earning potential for early investors.

Of course, nobody knows for sure whether it actually will become mainstream. But if you're the early adopter type and believe cryptocurrency has a shot at changing society as we know it, now may be the time to buy.

 

2. You'd rather risk losing money than live with "what if"s

 

Even if you're a cryptocurrency skeptic, there's one other reason to consider investing: You don't want to live with the regret of not buying if it becomes mainstream.

If you're undecided about whether to invest, picture two different scenarios. First, think about how you'd feel if you bought cryptocurrency now, but it ended up failing and you lost every dollar you invested. Second, consider how you'd feel if you opted not to invest, but it became a massive success and you missed out on those earnings.

For some people, losing money is the worst-case scenario. That's fine, and it means crypto probably isn't the right investment for you. But if you'd rather risk losing money so you don't have to live with the "what if"s down the road, you might consider investing.