Is Ripple The Next Hot Cryptocurrency? Some Are Calling It ‘The Bitcoin That Banks Like’ - Michael Snyder THE ECONOMIC COLLAPSE BLOG

Is Ripple The Next Hot Cryptocurrency? Some Are Calling It ‘The Bitcoin That Banks Like’ Posted: 03 Jan 2018  Michael Snyder  THE ECONOMIC COLLAPSE BLOG After Bitcoin, can you name the second largest cryptocurrency?  Until recently it was Ethereum, but now it is Ripple.  At the start of last year, Ripple was trading for less than a penny, and even just a few months ago you could still get Ripple for about 20 cents.  But now the price of Ripple has absolutely exploded, and as I write this article it is sitting at $3.15.  At this point Ripple has a market cap of more than 120 billion dollars, and those that got in when Ripple was under a penny have seen their investments go up by more than 40,000 percent. If you can believe it, the price of Ripple is up more than 1,000 percent in the last 30 days alone.  So why is Ripple doing so well right now? Well, many analysts are pointing to the very strong relationships that Ripple has been building with financial institutions… XRP’s price has benefited significantly from Ripple’s new partnerships with banks, noted Chris Keshian, co-founder of the Apex Token Fund, a tokenized crypto fund-of-funds. He added that as XRP “surpassed ETH as the second largest cryptocurrency, market hype continued to drive the price.” There are some that believe that Ripple will eventually surpass Bitcoin simply because it is a better way to send and receive money. And without a doubt, functionality is the key for the long-term survival of any cryptocurrency.  Speculative investment can take a cryptocurrency a long way, but at the end of the day it needs to function well in the real world, and that is one key advantage that Ripple appears to have.  According to the Express, Ripple is being called “the Bitcoin that banks like”… Bitcoin is feeling the pressure from another cryptocurrency hot on it’s heels. Ripple has attracted tens of millions of dollars worth of investment leading to it being dubbed the Bitcoin that banks like. The company uses block chain technology, powered by its own cryptocurrency, to send money across the world in real time settlements, according to the company’s CEO Brad Garlinghouse. It does not hold the level of anonymity that bitcoin does, which makes the currency more favourable to banks. One thing that has been holding back the price of Ripple is the fact that it is not listed on some of the key exchanges.  But there are persistent rumors that Ripple will be listed on Coinbase very soon, and that could potentially drive the price of Ripple much higher. Before you get too excited, let me share a word of caution.  Investing in cryptocurrencies is extremely risky, because they are purely digital creations that do not actually possess any intrinsic value at all.  Right now there are more than 1,000 cryptocurrencies in existence, and most of them are eventually going to zero. But for the moment, those that were able to capitalize on the cryptocurrency trend in a major way have become incredibly wealthy.  Ripple’s co-founder Chris Larsen is now worth an astounding 37 billion dollars, and that makes him the 15th richest person in America. Of course he doesn’t actually have 37 billion dollars.  If he does not sell his coins and Ripple eventually goes back to zero, all of that “paper wealth” will be gone. The big danger is that global governments will start cracking down on cryptocurrencies in a major way, and in late December we did see South Korea impose restrictions on the trading of cryptocurrencies in order to “limit speculation”.  If more governments start piling on, that could absolutely crush the cryptocurrency bubble. For now, Bitcoin has been rebounding from that announcement, and Ripple just continues to roar higher.  But let us not forget that a single big announcement could change all of that in a single moment… The South Korean Government’s threats of shutting down exchanges seemed to have little influence on Ripple at the end of the year, but with news hitting the wires of just how much of an impact South Korean exchanges had on Ripple’s December rally and it’s not surprising that Ripple has been defending its gains at the start of the year. Bitcoin may have been the fallout guy when it came to the regulatory chatter at the end of the year, but if the exchanges are closed, it’s not just Bitcoin that will suffer and, if the reports are correct of the South Koreans driving up Ripple trading volumes, things could get messy very quickly. Whatever happens in the short-term, it appears that Ripple has a real chance to be a long-term solution for global payments.  In a recent statement, the Ripple team noted that using Ripple is faster, cheaper and more efficient than using Bitcoin… In a year punctuated by the dramatic rise of digital assets, XRP has out performed the entire sector and looks likely to end the year up more than 45,000%. XRP’s performance is driven by a keen focus on solving a real global payments problem for real customers – and at fractions of a penny and about 3 seconds per transaction – it is cheaper, faster and more efficient than BTC or ETH. As others have pointed out, Bitcoin isn’t going to solve a payments problem when a transaction costs $40 and takes hours to complete. The market seems to increasingly understand that there’s real utility for XRP in solving a massive cross-border payments and liquidity problem that is measured in the trillions of dollars. It is that sort of utility that could make Ripple a long-term success. But of course new competitors are coming online with each passing day.  The “Facebook of cryptocurrencies” may not have even been invented yet, and this industry is evolving at an absolutely breathtaking pace. So Ripple may be the hottest cryptocurrency for the moment, but that could change completely by next week. Nobody knows exactly what is going to happen next, and that is what makes the cryptocurrency market so exciting.  Fortunes will be won and lost in the blink of an eye, and there will be some very big winners and some very big losers. Michael Snyder is a pro-Trump candidate for Congress in Idaho’s First Congressional District, and you can learn how you can get involved in the campaign on his official website. His new book entitled “Living A Life That Really Matters” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com.

2018 Predictions: BITCOIN Bubble? GOLD to $5000? The Truth About GOLD vs Cryptocurrency - Pastor Steve Cioccolanti & Discover Ministries

2018 Predictions: BITCOIN Bubble? GOLD to $5000? 

The Truth About GOLD vs Cryptocurrency

Pastor Steve Cioccolanti & Discover Ministries

YouTube: Published on Dec 31, 2017

This is NOT financial advice. This clip was from a one-of-a-kind seminar on "BLOCKCHAIN & the BIBLE" - perhaps the world's first cryptocurrency seminar from a Christian perspective in any church. You can now replay the 2 and 1/2 hour seminar from the Discover.org.au/bookshop Give God BITCOIN: 1DR1GKfZP6A5vquzKsoPdNiKqQP862y9Zc Give God ETHER: 

0xB94a66A51fcfe0CF455a4a2302785a3187A14F46 (If you send Bitcoin to the Ether address, it's lost forever. If you give Ether to the Bitcoin address, it's a goner.) START MINING one of 4 coins 

today: https://hashflare.io/r/7C2B4AC7 "Mining" is the process of creating decentralized digital currency. This is one of the most profitable ways to be involved in crypto's explosive growth while protecting yourself from the price volatility. Invest prudently, not more than 10% of your savings. Christians need to get educated and not be negative about what they don't understand nor be afraid of new technologies.

MUSIC CREDIT: Original music made exclusively for Discover Ministries by world-class composer Tom Hanke. Check him out!
http://www.tomhankemusic.com

WATCH the educational seminar: "Blockchain & Bitcoin from a Christian Perspective" a 2 and 1/2 hour replay by private link we will send you: https://discover.org.au/bookshop/repl...

LEARN the 7 parallels between Blockchain and the Bible from Pastor Steve Cioccolanti's financial educational seminar! Pay the price to become spiritually and financially educated!

BONUS: CRYPTO CHRISTIAN CLUB! Those who purchased Pastor Steve Cioccolanti's replay of "Blockchain & Bitcoin from a Christian Perspective" and "Our Blockchain Bible, Blockchain Universe" are eligible to join our network of Christians discussing tips and trends, scams and opportunities in a closed group. This is not financial advice, investments carry a risk of total loss, therefore you should not "bet the house" or invest everything. Send your proof of purchase to missbitcoin2009@gmail.com to request to join The Crypto Christian Club.

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Are The Banksters Creating Their Own Cryptocurrency Called ‘Utility Settlement Coin’? - Michael Snyder THE ECONOMIC COLLAPSE BLOG

Are The Banksters Creating Their Own Cryptocurrency Called ‘Utility Settlement Coin’? Posted: 26 Dec 2017 Michael Snyder  THE ECONOMIC COLLAPSE BLOG Independently-controlled cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum and Litecoin may or may not survive in the long run, but blockchain technology is definitely here to stay.  This technology has revolutionized how digital financial transactions are conducted, and it was only a matter of time before the big boys began to adopt it.   Previously, I have written about how the Washington Post is hyping something known as ‘Fedcoin’, but Fedcoin does not yet exist.  However, a digital currency that uses blockchain technology that is called ‘Utility Settlement Coin’ is actually very real, and it is currently being jointly developed by four of the largest banking giants on the entire planet.  The following was recently reported by Wolf Richter… UBS, BNY Mellon, Deutsche Bank, Santander, the market operator ICAP, and the startup Clearmatics formed an alliance in 2016 to explore the use of digital currency between financial institutions and central banks, using blockchain. The ultimate goal of the project is to create a digital currency known as Utility Settlement Coin (USC), which will facilitate payment and settlement for institutional financial markets. I decided that I had to know more about Utility Settlement Coin, and so I decided to go to the source. This is what the official Deutsche Bank website says about Utility Settlement Coin… USC is an asset-backed digital cash instrument implemented on distributed ledger technology for use within global institutional financial markets. USC is a series of cash assets, with a version for each of the major currencies (USD, EUR, GBP, CHF, etc.) and USC is convertible at parity with a bank deposit in the corresponding currency. USC is fully backed by cash assets held at a central bank. Spending a USC will be spending its paired real-world currency. UBS and Clearmatics launched the concept in September 2015 to validate the potential benefits of USC for capital efficiency, settlement and systemic risk reduction in global financial markets. The project was initially incubated as part of the UBS Crypto 2.0 Pathfinder Program, UBS’s initiative for research and experimentation on blockchain. This could ultimately turn out to be a complete and total gamechanger.  UBS, BNY Mellon, Deutsche Bank and Santander are four of the biggest banks in the western world, and the fact that they are working on this project together is a sign that they are very serious about succeeding. Will the general public still be willing to pay a huge premium for independently-controlled cryptocurrencies once the banksters start coming out with their own versions? The cryptocurrency revolution is still in the very early stages, and nobody is exactly sure how it will end, but without a doubt the banksters will be a major player in this drama.  If you doubt this, just consider what one of the top executives at UBS is saying about Utility Settlement Coin… “Digital cash is a core component of a future financial market fabric based on blockchain technologies,” said Hyder Jaffrey, Head of Strategic Investment & FinTech Innovation at UBS Investment Bank. “There are several digital cash models being explored across the Street. The Utility Settlement Coin is focused on facilitating a new model for digital central bank cash.“ Digital central bank cash? I don’t like the sound of that at all. We definitely do not want the banksters to co-opt this movement.  Blockchain technology should be used to free humanity from debt-based central banking, but instead the exact opposite could end up happening. If someday independently-controlled cryptocurrencies are completely banned or suffocated nearly out of existence by oppressive regulation, the way would be clear for the banksters to force everyone to use their own digital currencies.  There are many nations around the world that have already gone nearly cashless, and the potential for tyranny in a cashless system where all digital currency is controlled by the banksters would be absolutely off the charts. Michael Snyder is a Republican candidate for Congress in Idaho’s First Congressional District, and you can learn how you can get involved in the campaign on his official website. His new book entitled “Living A Life That Really Matters” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com.

Would This Have Happened Under President Hillary? Holiday Retail Sales Soar Compare To Last Year Posted: 26 Dec 2017 05:07 PM PST We are nearly a year into Donald Trump’s presidency, and the economic numbers continue to look quite good.  On Monday, we learned that U.S. retail sales during the holiday season are projected to be way up compared to 2016.  Yes, there are all sorts of economic red flags popping up all over the place, and I write about them regularly.  And without a doubt, 2017 has been one of the worst years for brick and mortar retail stores in a very long time.  But when something good happens we should acknowledge that too, and many are giving President Trump credit for the fact that retail sales are projected to be up 4.9 percent this holiday season compared to last year… Despite thousands of store closings this year, Americans supplied a final flurry of spending to give retailers their best holiday season sales since 2011, figures released Tuesday show. U.S. year-end holiday retail sales rose 4.9% compared to the same period last year, a welcome gift to U.S. retailers amid new signs of consumer confidence. Of course this doesn’t mean that things have completely turned around for the retail industry.  We still absolutely shattered the all-time record for store closings in a single year, and the final number is going to be somewhere right around 7,000.  The following comes from CNBC… A larger-than-average slew of retail bankruptcies and stores being shuttered rocked the industry this year, making headlines and dragging even some of the better-performing companies such as Home Depot, TJ Maxx and Costco down with the dismal news. So far in 2017, 6,985 store closure announcements have been made, according to a tracker from FGRT (formerly Fung Global Retail & Technology). That’s up more than 200 percent from a year ago, based on the firm’s findings. More specifically, the number of store closings is up 229 percent compared to last year. So yes, we are still very much in the midst of a “retail apocalypse”. And actually, earlier this month we got news that Toys R US has filed for bankruptcy protection and could soon close as many as 200 stores… It’s hardly fun and games for the toy industry this holiday season with the bankruptcy of Toys ‘R’ Us hurting the fortunes of toymakers Mattel (MAT) and Hasbro (HAS). The sector’s prospects aren’t expected to improve anytime soon. Toys ‘R’ Us, which filed for bankruptcy in September, is now said to be considering closing as many as 200 U.S. stores, roughly 21 percent of its brick-and-mortar locations, because of lackluster sales. The fact that retail sales are up so much during this holiday season may slow the retail apocalypse, but it certainly will not end it. We have got so much work to do to turn the economy around, but at least we have taken a few small steps in the right direction.  The recent tax bill that Congress passed was one of those small steps, but there is still so, so much more that needs to be accomplished. Michael Snyder is a Republican candidate for Congress in Idaho’s First Congressional District, and you can learn how you can get involved in the campaign on his official website. His new book entitled “Living A Life That Really Matters” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com.