Welcome to the cryptocurrency group on Zapread!

Fell free to post about cryptocurrencies.

Transaction fees in BTC - ETH - LTC and NANO

Publish0x just Integrated Loopring LRC Token for free Tipping on thier platform!

You can easily earn free LRC tokens, BAT or DAI for voting on articles or you can write your own topic and get even more. All your earnings you can simply swap to BTC on lightning using https://fixedfloat.com/  exchange if you want. Really good idea to stack more sats. :)

You can use my invitation link https://www.publish0x.com/?a=lNbWQ8Qeyg  or rigister directly on publish0x.com

'Red Wedding' lawsuits were filed against Binance, BitMEX, Tron Foundation and other major crypto companies alleging they sold unregistered securities.

"In a coordinated strike against some of the best-known companies in crypto, a US law firm issued a barrage of class-action lawsuits aimed at Binance, Block.one, Bitmex, Tron and several others. The lawsuits allege that the firms bilked investors by selling unlawful securities in the form of digital tokens.

First spotted by the website Offshore Alert, the 11 suits were filed on Friday by the New York “litigation boutique” firm Roche Cyrulnik Freedman. The suits named 42 defendants in more than a dozen countries, including the British Virgin Islands, Canada, Cayman Islands, China, Estonia, Hong Kong, Israel, Japan, Malta, Seychelles, Singapore, South Africa, Switzerland, Taiwan, US, and Vietnam.

Offshore Alert called the event crypto’s own “Red Wedding,” in reference to a coordinated massacre that took place in the popular HBO series Game of Thrones.

Roche Cyrulnik Freedman was notably the same law firm behind the Bitfinex market manipulation suit in October 2019. The firm also represents the Kleiman estate in its billion-dollar lawsuit against self-professed Bitcoin inventor Craig Wright..."

https://decrypt.co/24532/class-action-lawsuits-filed-against-7-bitcoin-companies

Binance’s real headquarters are in the Cayman Islands

While Malta may be Binance’s “spiritual home,” it’s actually located in the Cayman Islands—and the Seychelles.

"Crypto exchange Binance is registered in the Cayman Islands and the Seychelles, according to the registry offices of each country.

While this has been previously reported in part by the Financial Times, it is not common knowledge. A poll yesterday showed that few in the crypto community had any idea where Binance was based. But company documents clear up the confusion..

Where is Binance located?

In 2017, Binance registered Binance Holdings Limited in George Town, Cayman Islands. According to a corporate linkage document seen by Decrypt, it’s registered as Binance’s headquarters. In March 2018, Binance used the address when registering multiple trademarks of the Binance name and logo.

This may affect Binance's operations in the European Union (EU). The EU has already stated it will be putting the Cayman Islands—a British overseas territory—on a blacklist of tax havens, just two weeks after Britain's withdrawal from the trading bloc.."

https://decrypt.co/19191/binances-real-headquarters-are-in-the-cayman-islands

"Pornhub models can now accept the US dollar stablecoin Tether (USDT) as payment. In a recent statement, Pornhub said that adding the cryptocurrency was a direct response to PayPal’s decision to cut off payments to models in November 2019.

According to Tron CEO Justin Sun, it will use the TRON variant of USDT, building on Pornhub’s existing partnership with TRON. 

“This is a brilliant way to support the victims of centralized payment platforms like PayPal,” tweeted Sun..."

https://tothemoon.blog/cryptocurrency/pornhub-utilizes-crypto-to-bypass-paypal-ban/

Today we're going to take a look at a new contender in the marketplace of crypto wallets and managers that is poised to become among the most widely used Dapps and the new face of Web 3.0. We'll learn why it's going to help revolutionize the accessibility and usability of cryptocurrency,  usher in cryptocurrency adoption, and why it in fact takes the title of Best Dapp.

Conceived originally as a competitor to purely Ethereum network based Metamask, Equal is a browser based wallet extension that "aims to solve the problem of the lack of blockchain interoperability by being blockchain agnostic and therefore truly integrated with Web 3.0" (David Di Stefano, CEO). In addition to multi chain support, the Equal Wallet will introduce a much needed improvement in user experience to crypto users, inexperienced and experienced alike. 

The Problems

Having used crypto and its related applications since summer 2017, I remember coming back to Metamask after not using it for some time, only to find a recently updated version that left me more confused than ever. I had never really understood it very well in the first place. I was amazed at how cumbersome crypto still is. I'm not completely tech illiterate, and yet this wallet extension was still so foreign to me. Serious knowledge barriers persisted.

I remember thinking..."If after all this time, I still have this much trouble using something which is designed to make crypto easy, what chance is there the average person will ever adopt crypto in daily life?" It seemed obvious that the crypto space was in dire need of a more intuitive version of the Metamask concept. This must be exactly what the founders at Equal were thinking when they started the project. And they have boldly set about solving this issue ever since.

Metamask also so far only supports the Ethereum network, unnecessarily limiting the reach of the application. After all, if you're leaving out a huge chunk of all cryptocurrency transactions, you cannot be the face of Web 3.0, and you certainly cannot be the Best DApp! Equal on the other hand is building a crypto agnostic interface, and already offers multi-chain support including BinanceChain in addition to Ethereum, with support for Bitcoin and other chains on the way. It seems like an obvious step and yet one Metamask so far doesn't seem very ambitious about. 

In addition, many people continue to have issues with Metamask hosted transactions not going through. I've personally gone to increase the gas fee and the extension won't allow me to change it for whatever reason. Then I have to cancel the transaction, incur the associated fee, and start the whole process all over again, only to have another issue with adjusting the gas fee. Others have had this and similar issues. 

Solutions and Features

Equal was designed to integrate seamlessly with various Dapps and DEX's with the goal of making crypto users' notoriously cumbersome experience less so, and being the go-to application for users the world over to interact with the emerging decentralized web. 

Divided by categories such as Finance, Social, Games, and Marketplaces--right within the extension is a Dapp store with links to Dapps that have already been integrated, with more to be added in the future. Hopefully the team will decide to stick with only quality Dapps that people actually use regularly so as to keep the interface uncluttered. After all, the goal here is a pleasant user experience, and no one wants to use a wallet that's overcrowded with junky apps no one even uses. 

Some of the popular Dapps currently included that you might already be familiar with are: Binance DEX, IDEX, BountyOx, Nexo lending platform, MakerDAO, Cent, CryptoKitties, and Request. I decided to see what happened when I clicked on IDEX, and was pleased to see that once I landed on the IDEX login page, all I had to do was select IDEX's software wallet login option and it automatically linked to my Equal wallet. I was set to trade any funds I had in my Equal wallet with only two simple clicks.

Next I decided to see what happened when I clicked on Cent, a somewhat popular Ethereum based social media platform. I haven't used a wallet in conjunction with Cent often, but I found my way to 'settings' and there it told me that my "current wallet is not authorized." But I could see that the current wallet it was referring to was indeed my Equal wallet. So all I had to do was click one button to affirm that I wanted it authorized for use and I was ready to use my Equal wallet with the Cent platform. Nice! So far the "seamless integration" claim has held true twice. 

With support for an already robust and ever growing list of supported tokens, Equal will also automatically update your token portfolio for you. No more needing to manually add tokens to your wallet. I purposely sought out a very obscure token with almost no exchange volume, and after sending to my wallet, Equal found and displayed the name and amount in my portfolio automatically!

Equipped with both light and dark modes, the team at Equal has also clearly put a lot of thought and design effort into the extension as it has a much warmer, less clinical look than Metamask and is just generally much more aesthetically appealing. Considering that it's well known that the attractiveness and layout of applications and websites plays a large role in attracting regular users, this alone should go a long way toward encouraging growth of cryptocurrency use.

Another great--and let's face it, ultimately necessary--feature Equal has included, is an automatic gas fee calculator for all your Ethereum based transactions. I've always felt setting gas fees was a huge turn-off to new crypto users. It's just so much fuss to go through to make a simple transaction when we're all used to just swiping a card or letting Chrome automatically enter our account numbers and then hitting the purchase button. Equal has taken care of this, as there is now no need to look up the current average gas price to make sure you're not overpaying in fees. Or even worse, underpaying, resulting in a transaction that gets stuck for days, or even fails entirely. Ain't nobody got time for that! Equal has put an end to the gas fee guessing madness as it will find and automatically apply the best fee for you. 

Equal features that trump Metamask

• Built-in Dapp Store
• Automatically updates your portfolio with wide array of supported tokens when you receive them. No need to do it manually
• Better seamless integration with many Dapps and DEX's. No more obtrusive full page signing screens that take you completely away from the page you were navigating, as Equal has proven them unnecessary 
• Multichain support (Ethereum and BinanceChain, with Bitcoin and more on the way)
• Automatic best gas fee finder/setter
• Warmer more pleasant aesthetic and more intuitive interface
• All balances displayed in local currency
• NSA grade security
• Generally overall better user experience 

The Equal Wallet will set the standard of product development that all Equal powered services should be aiming to reach, in regards to ease of use, design and an overarching goal to allow for the mainstream adoption of simple to use crypto services.

 

Roadmap

In addition to adding support for additional chains, Equal's roadmap includes

• In app swaps between tokens
• Bitcoin Integration
• Multi-country credit card buying support
• Internal swapping exchange
• Wyre Integration for funding via bank account
• Automatic add support for more tokens
• integration of additional Dapps and Dexes
• Android and IOS apps
• NFC (non-fungible token) implementation

 

Critique

Metamask may actually currently have a slight edge on Equal in one regard, and that is ENS support. As many are already aware, ENS stands for Ethereum Name Service, which is a service that connects Ethereum and other blockchain addresses with a human readable address name. So rather than users providing each other addresses which are a long string of random numbers and letters, they can use an address which is user friendly, such as "Publish0x.ETH." 

However the recently reorganized Equal team has announced that support for another reputable human readable name service, Unstoppable Domains, is coming soon. Unstoppable Domains currently offers support for more than fifty cryptocurrencies, with more to be added. And while it hasn't yet been announced, there is no reason ENS support can't be integrated down the road.

Also one thing I still find cumbersome about crypto wallets is the constant automatic sign outs. I can appreciate that it's a security measure, but it is indeed frustrating to be logged out after only a few minutes of inactivity. Of course our banks do the same thing, but whereas my bank gives me about twenty minutes, Equal gives users closer to five. Plus when I do online banking, I'm usually in and out, without significant periods of inactivity. With crypto, you may be doing many different things at roughly the same time. For instance you might log in just to check your balance. Then a few minutes later you want to connect to a DEX or a social media platform, only to find you're already signed out and have to do it again. It can be a real hassle and a barrier to mass adoption as far as I'm concerned. 

 

Conclusion

Despite these minor issues, and even with Equal still being a Beta product, so far my experience with it trumps Metamask significantly. It shows great promise in achieving what it has set out to do--improve upon the browser extension wallet concept, but also expand on it. For this reason it is easy to nominate it for Best D'App.

Browser extension wallets offer a level of accessiblity in managing and sending and receiving our crypto that no other type of wallet allows, and for this reason are bound to play a vital role in cryptocurrency adoption. But without advancements in their design and implementation, new potential crypto users may get turned off by an otherwise overly cumbersome experience. It is time one of the main entry points into crypto gets a user experience overhaul, and an aesthetic make-over with more mass appeal.

Equal is a great management tool with a team that not only has recognized this need, but has executed their vision accordingly. Equal seems to simply suffer from a lack of awareness and perhaps marketing at the moment. It seems like almost no one even know about it. But often this is a sign of a project that has got its head down and is more focused on building than showing off. Equal gives me new hope that crypto may indeed make it into the daily lives of people everywhere, and for that reason, it is my pleasure to submit it as the Best Dapp for 2020 and beyond.

If you'd like to learn more about Equal you can do so here.

Earn OXT (Orchid Protocol) and EOS on Coinbase Earn if you haven't already

 

The title contains a sort of odd proposition. Why are Facebook and Twitter being lumped in with a seemingly very different platform like Patreon as potential disrupt-ees by the same new platform? 

What is Flote anyway? 

Flote is a sort of hybrid social network and crypto-monetized marketplace. With backing by Boost Venture Capital, Flote.app acquired crypto focused Patreon contender Bitbacker.io early in 2019. Led by lead developer Kingsley Edwards, Flote consists of a small four person team effort to bring integrity back to the monetization of online content. By now, most of us have heard at least one story of a content creator who had spent countless hours over the course of years developing a following on YouTube, Patreon, or other monetized platforms -- only to be suspended, banned, de-monetized, or otherwise de-platformed, often without warning and with little to no explanation or sensible justification. This experience can completely blindside and be quite traumatic for people who have come to rely on their channel or account as a regular source of income, in many cases, their main income. This increasingly common problem was the inspiration that led to the vision and development of Flote.app.

Market Disruption Potential

Sometimes billing itself as a decentralized, censorship resistant alternative to Patreon, Flote also sometimes is seen by its community members as a potential alternative to even Facebook and Twitter. Probably that's because in addition to the paywalled features of Patreon, the UI/UX is a lot more social media oriented, and blends many of the characteristics of Facebook and Twitter into a very crisp, clean, intuitive interface. Flote incorporates many features we're used to, such as re-sharing content, liking (indicated on Flote with a Star icon), and a very easy to access livestreaming feature--in addition to some unique features we've seen before, but perhaps not in a while, such as audio upload capability with an mp3 player (MySpace anyone?). So in theory, you could even throw Soundcloud or podcasting type platforms into the potential disrupt-ees mix. And yet somehow, Flote seems to be doing all this without creating an overly busy interface. In fact, it's among the most simple, clean looking interfaces I've ever had the pleasure of using.

Our goal is to deliver a fun, engaging social experience where information and payments can flow freely

 

Features

With that introduction out of the way, let's take a look at this robust list of some of Flote's most unique selling points. Many of these features are not yet available, but in the meantime, the app is still very functional with ever increasing user activity. That said, being a Beta product, there are occasional bugs.

• Built in livestreaming feature right on the home page
• Support creators directly with no middle man
• Crypto agnostic
• Simple built-in Bitcoin wallet with other cryptocurrency wallets on the roadmap
• Ability to set up paywalled content for regular subscribers
• Ability to set tiers of access to paywalled content for subscribers
• Anonymous donations and pledges for member-only feeds
• Free speech friendly and Censorship resistant
• Audio upload ability
• Storefronts where users can sell their products and services (roadmap Q1 2020)
• Ability for creators to earn a share of ad revenue (coming soon)
• Boards (akin to Subreddits or Facebook groups, coming soon)
• Anytime withdrawals
• No fees! 
• Android and IOS apps
• Super easy connection to your Facebook, Twitter and more

Summary

With this many features and advantages over more centralized social media and marketplace channels, perhaps the greatest obstacle to Flote adoption is the relatively still obscure use of cryptocurrency (sources give varied information, but worldwide crypto ownership appears to be roughly 5%). But Flote certainly is an impressive step in the right direction in terms of disrupting the legacy platforms which seem, almost by the day, to take more and more advantage of the very people who give their platforms value in the first place. 

And after trying over a dozen crypto monetized social platforms over the past two years, I believe that due to its simple no-fuss interface, familiar feel, and unique selling points, Flote (along with Publish0x) is among the most likely contenders to have mass appeal to the yet most untapped market -- people with little to no experience with cryptocurrency.

Go here if you want to try Flote. Be sure to follow me @jmbsol, and after using it a bit, come back here to tell us what you think! 

Billing itself as a "next generation search engine powered by the community," PreSearch aims to disrupt the hold the likes of Google have on search engine users by building a community driven, decentralized alternative that rewards its users.

Existing users of PreSearch are likely to know that to date, when you sign up for PreSearch and use the extension for your online searches, you've really been using your choice of existing search engines like Google or DuckDuckGo. It was a way for PreSearch to gather data and also a user base while they worked on building their own decentralized search engine. And users got to be rewarded tokens for their organic searching behavior. 

Well recently PreSearch has announced the launch of their native search engine called DSearch. And to help promote the launch and get existing users to switch over to DSearch as their default search engine, they will be paying all DSearch users twice the usual amount of tokens when using the search function legitimately and naturally. PreSearch has a sophisticated algorithm to detect unnatural search behavior and assigns users levels accordingly. Users then are only able to withdraw the percentage of tokens earned according to the merit level assigned to them. So it's in your own best interest to only use the engine as you normally would and not fall prey to any temptation to do fake searches in an effort to get more tokens.

During the whole month of December, users that use Dsearch as their search provider will receive 0.5 PRE tokens per search instead of 0.25 PRE tokens. With this promotion we hope to encourage people to give Dsearch a shot, while also enabling our users to easier earn the max. number of rewards per day without gaming the system

If you're new to PreSearch, you can simply register and install the extension here and DSearch will automatically be selected as your default search engine. Then all you need to do is use the search function naturally, and for the duration of December you will earn double the usual amount of tokens which are rewarded.

If you're an existing PreSearch user, you will need to go here and change your default search engine to DSearch. It's easy. Just make sure you're logged into your account, and at the top of the screen under "Default," you'll see icons for the various engines you can use. Just drag the DSearch icon to the left until it fits in the box. 

That's it. You're all set to be doubly rewarded during the month of December!

PreSearch is currently listed on HitBtc and Probit. If you don't already have PreSearch, you can use my link to get it here and help support my writing in the process.