Bibin Wilson, Author at cryptotechies

How to Buy Any Altcoin (Ripple, Cardano etc) : Step by Step Guide

January 5, 2018January 4, 2018 by Bibin Wilson

There are many interesting Altcoin projects. The one question I get most of the time is that how to buy altcoins?

There are many ways to purchase altcoins. However, in this post I will go through few exchanges I trust and use for buying altcoins.

Note: Do not invest just because some random guy on youtube said so. Always do your research before investing in any cryptocurrency. Understand blockchain technology and do your research on what real-world problem does the crypto coin solve? Also check out its GitHub contributors, whitepaper, and reviews from blockchain experts.

How to Buy Any Altcoin

Many exchanges are there for Altcoin purchase. However, not all exchanges will have all the altcoins.

You should go with the ones which are trusted by the crypto community. My favorite altcoin exchange is binance.com.

Find the Altcoin Exchange

1. Go to coinmarketcap.com Here you will find all the details about the current altcoins in the market.

2. Search for the coin that you heard about or willing to buy. For example, I will search for Verge (XVG) . Click on the coin and it will take you to the coin information page as shown below. On the left side, you can find all the details about the coin website, GitHub repo, announcements.

3. Now, If you click on the markets tab, you will find the list of exchanges where you can buy the specific altcoin. It will show the trade volume, current price, and the trade history.

4. Most of the altcoins can be bought from binance.com. It is my favorite exchange as of now. The buying process is very easy and it is accessible from all the countries.

How to Purchase Altcoins From Binance

You will have to do the Following.

Create Binance account.
Deposit Ethereum to Binance account.
Use Ethereum to purchase other Altcoins.

Let do that one by one.

Create Binance Account:

Sign up for a binance account. If your purchase volume is less than 2 bitcoins, you don’t need to verify your identity. If it is more than 2 bitcoins, you should get your ID’s verified.

Deposit Ethereum To Binance:

To purchase any altcoin in binance, you should have Bitcoin or Ethereum in your binance account. I would suggest Ethereum because bitcoin transactions take longer times and the transaction fees are more.

You can purchase Ethereum using a credit card (Fiat Currency) from any of the following exchanges.

Coinbase (US, Canada, Europe, UK, Australia and Singapore and I use it)
Cex (Support All countries and I personally use this exchange)
Koinex (India and I use it)
Coinmama (Supports Most of the countries)

Transfer Ethereum to Binanace account. Go to Funds –> Deposit Withdrawals. Search for ETH and click the deposit option for ETH. You will see the Ethereum address for the deposit as shown below. For Ethereum to transfer to your binance account will take some time.

Buy Altcoin Using Ethereum:

Once Ethereum is deposited to your binance account, you can buy any altcoin listed in binance.

1. Go to Exchange –> Basic from the top left menu option. Select ETH from the right side panel as shown below.

2. Use the search box to search for the Altcoin that you want to buy. For example, I will search for ADA (Cardano Coin) as shown below. Click on the Ada coin as highlighted below. You will see the buy option as highlighted.

3. Now, you can specify the amount of coin that you want and click the buy button. If you want to use a certain percentage of your Ethereum to buy the Altcoin, you can use the percentage option in the buy option. So only for that particular percentage of Ethereum you hold, the coins will be bought.

4. Once purchased, you can view your coin balance in Funds –> Deposit Withdrawals dashboard.

Litecoin vs Bitcoin – Everything You Should Know About Litcoin

December 15, 2017 by Bibin Wilson

You might be reading about the Litecoin (Altcoin) a lot these days. Numerous people are talking about Litecoin vs Bitcoin all over the internet. If you are amongst the people who are confused about what a Litecoin is and who wins the Litecoin vs. Bitcoin debate, we have it all covered for you. Read below to know everything about Litecoin.

What is Litecoin?

A Litecoin is a digital currency that is used all over the world to make various transactions. In more technical words, a Litecoin is a peer-to-peer cryptocurrency that was developed after Bitcoins to act as the silver to the Bitcoin gold. Litecoin can be used all over the world without the involvement of the banks in any kinds of transactions. The Litecoin vs Bitcoin debate goes on because both these are the same kind of cryptocurrencies that do not come under any jurisdiction. Hence no authority manages them.

History of Litecoin

To follow the suit of the Bitcoin, Litecoin was released in 2011. It was developed by Charlie Lee and was released on GitHub.com. As already mentioned, Litecoin was developed as the silver to Bitcoin gold it forked out of the Bitcoin. In the beginning, it did not catch the attention of the users, and for the first one and a half year, its growth rate was less. However, during November 2013, the value of Litecoin showed a sudden hike in the next 24 hours. With this new advancement, there was no looking back for Litecoins. They became so huge that they were now a topic the Litecoin vs Bitcoin debate.

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The Growth of Litecoin

Ever since November 2013 when the Litecoin crossed a $ 1 million capitalization, its growth has been fast and steady. The market capitalization numbers for Litecoin in November 2017 were $ 4,600,081,733. This incredible growth has made it the fourth largest and the most famous cryptocurrencies. Although it mostly loses the debate of Litecoin vs Bitcoin, the growth of Litecoin has been impressive over the years.

Future of Litecoin

The future of Litecoin is decided by its usability to the customers all over the world. The Litecoin is being preferred by more user with each passing day. The traders are seeing the fast-paced services of the Litecoin and are shifting to it in large numbers. It will not be long when the Litecoin vs Bitcoin debate does end by declaring Litecoin, the winner. Litecoin is emerging as one of the most reliable and less volatile cryptocurrency. Most of the places in the world have started accepting them as their currency.

Litecoin vs Bitcoin- Which one is better?

The developer of the Litecoin, Charlie Lee said that he created the Litecoins to compliment the Bitcoins and not compete with them. Hence from the developer’s point of view, the Litecoin vs Bitcoin debate is invalid. However, in reality, the Litecoin vs Bitcoin debate is pretty serious as these are the topmost cryptocurrencies in the world. Hence here is how Litecoin differs from Bitcoins:

The transaction speed of the Litecoin is much higher than the Bitcoin. This happens due to the faster generation of the blocks. Additionally, a more significant number or Litecoins can be transacted in the smaller period in comparison to the Bitcoin.
This point gives the Litecoin an upper hand in the Litecoin vs. Bitcoin debate. The total number of coins is fixed in both the cases and turns out that there are more Litecoin in the market than the Bitcoin. There are 21 million bitcoin and 84 million Litecoin that can be mined.
The devices that are used to create Litecoin are much more challenging to develop than they are for Bitcoin. The reason for this is the usage of the complicated algorithm in the mining process.

Buying and Trading Litecoin

If all this discussion has sparked your interest in Litecoins and you want to try your hand at them, you can mine them. However, if you are not technologically advanced, and mining Litecoin is not your piece of cake, you can easily buy them at various websites. These websites are known as exchanges and provide the facility to buy the Litecoin in numerous currencies all over the world. The Litecoin when purchased is stored in a Litecoin wallet. These wallets have unique passwords for each and can be in the form of a website or a mobile application. The Litecoin you have purchased can be used to make end-to-end transactions without the interference of any third party. Additionally, you can also trade your Litecoin and gain profit from them. The prices of the Litecoin keeps changing from time to time and if you want to have some benefits, buying the Litecoin for a lesser price and selling it for a more significant price is the best possible solution.

Litecoin is a very useful cryptocurrency and can be used in the place of any other currency in the world. With the feature of the fast transaction without the interference of a third party like a bank, this can also be the most accessible digital currency of all times.

List of Best Altcoins Based on Project and Popularity

December 11, 2017 by Bibin Wilson

Before we begin, for the sake of some of our viewers here who might be perplexed about the term, altcoin and other akin terms, let’s briefly redefine this concept before discussing the best altcoins.

What is Altcoin?

Basically, altcoin is a designate for ‘alternative to Bitcoin‘ which is also a form of digital cryptocurrency (just like the Bitcoin). It is a quite different from the radical concepts portrayed by that of a Bitcoin because it follows a peculiar standard paradigm or actually initiates and develops a typical concept in cryptocurrency. However, most prevalent altcoins tend to undergo similar fundamental building blocks like the Bitcoin itself. This is merely due to a way of attaining the simple approach rendered free by the open source platform on Bitcoin.

Also, altcoins are said to depict a healthy competition with Bitcoin because, in one way or the other, they intend to improve, enhance or replace various components offered by Bitcoin. Nonetheless, many altcoin critics feel that to an extent, altcoins are somewhat irrelevant to cryptocurrency, especially since Bitcoins facilitate optimal services in this field already.

How to Decide the Best Altcoins to suit Preference

For starters, you need to be much acquainted based on the altcoin’s project protocols and predominance (if necessary). You will also have to consider its concept, paradigms and potential so as to suit, say, your investment processes. You can start by reviewing the Coin Market Cap since it depicts the price, circulating supply and relative volume- the Market Cap is the product of the circulating supply (the best estimate of the number of coins involved in circulation in the market) and the price. The volume, however, is the amount of dollar based on a crypto traded during a specific period. Try to also look at the relative features that the altcoin offers particularly- what solution does it covey? What significant value does it add? Or what are the rate of validity and the credentials deemed by the team behind the scheme?

Lastly, I infer you observe the charts and search for critical comments about the altcoin just to be certain its system goes with what you’re looking for.

In addition, below is an evaluated content list of some top and ideal altcoins today!

Top 10 Best Altcoins You Can Find In Market

I don’t think we can all agree on a classification of altcoins in the form of hierarchy because we consider preferences and tastes, so we’d be looking at these from a holistic perspective

#1 Ethereum

The Ethereum platform offers a methodology that chiefly decentralizes applications on its blockchain. These applications tend to function precisely as facilitated in order to have zero traces of third party interference, sources of dilatory activities or counterfeit of any kind. With the highly developed blockchain(for conveying values and property ownership), the smart wallet enables one to use the ether and related crypto-assets with full security and engage in deploying processes, as well as smart contracts.

#2 Litecoin

Litecoin is a decentralized cryptocurrency that uses a peer-to-peer infrastructure and open-source blockchain protocol to enhance protected transaction processes on its platform. Its key improvement (when compared to bitcoin) is its short time interval when generating blocks. Consequently, it offers a greater volume of transactions due to its rapid block generation.

#3 Zcash

This is an altcoin cryptocurrency that is peculiar to its high protection services that include privacy of transactions even without cognition on cryptography. The payments involved are published on the platform’s blockchain. However, the core processes of the transaction are kept confidential all through- this is a system used to depict its transparency in subsequent transactions.

#4 Ripple

It is a cryptocurrency (conspicuously similar to Bitcoin) that enables an aspect of digital currency as well as open payment network within which a particular currency can be transferred. It mainly specializes in developing its approach to decentralized digital currency and optimizing monetary transaction flow. It also offers secure activities such as prevention of counterfeit coins and intervention of third-party software.

#5 Siacoin

The Siacoin (aka Sia) is a prominent altcoin that tends to raise and enhance the blockchain technology so as to employ flexible distribution of networks in reaching consensus with optimal security. It ensures that there is no form of interference within the platform by third-party software with the aid of its cryptographically protected contracts. It also facilitates faster and cheaper cloud storage platform as its key function.

#6 Stratis

This is a formidable and exclusively flexible altcoin cryptocurrency platform for blockchain development, specifically created for financial services and relative transaction processes for various organizations that want to carry out and develop certain activities on the blockchain. Its services make it easy for developing blockchain applications and speeds up the development lifecycle for projects tested on the blockchain. All these processes for testing, deploying or developing are performed with free security guarantee as well.

#7 WINGS

It is basically, a decentralized crypto-platform used to create, join or manage certain projects. WINGS offers the capability to share rewards, that is, the token holders can forecast on various projects and also be eligible to obtain tokens offered by future campaigns. TransparencyDAO ownership is fully protected by smart contracts and blockchain technologies. Thus, the WINGS platform’s open source facility is based on secured public ledgers around.

#8 Ardor

This is a blockchain service platform that employs one to maximize and utilize the blockchain technology with the aid of childblockchains. Slightly different from bitcoin, all coins are said to come from NXT (a cryptocurrency with program code) initially. It seems to have also added a feature recently which is known as, Testnet, and is available to all individuals or organizations. The key is to enable users to test all kinds of features from Ardor’s platform so that its development team can work and improve its crypto-database to be more efficient to the users.

#9 Golem

Golem is another powerful altcoin cryptocurrency that has become significantly valuable as a digital currency platform and relative popularity. It genuinely intends to develop its global network and extend its facility as an open sourced platform. Also, it renders intensive cryptography projects to maximize its efficiency.

#10 Gnosis

The last, but maybe not the least is this altcoin, Gnosis, a decentralized cryptocurrency that is actually based on the Ethereum Protocol which mainly focuses primarily on forecast trade and marketing. The team behind the platform have modified an online crypto-platform to allow the provision of steady information based on the results of events within the network- the better the exchange of information, the greater the chances of boosting business. This is also the apt cryptocurrency mostly used by individuals who engage in trading related to virtual securities.

The best altcoins list ends here. We will udpate this list based on new project, the problem it solves and the adoption rate. Subscribe to our email list to get the latest updates.

Going All Digital With Ethereum? Here Are The Top Five Best Ethereum Wallets

December 10, 2017 by Bibin Wilson

Ethereum has emerged as a tough contender in the world of cryptocurrencies, threatening the position of Bitcoin as the number one. There are speculations that Ethereum may even successfully replace Bitcoin from its position and enjoy the number one spot for quite some time. This strong trust that many cryptocurrency enthusiasts and investors have laid on Ethereum is the main driving force, the propellant that is making it a force to reckon with.

However, with a growing trend of buying Ethereum based coins, investors should also ensure that they are going for the most trustworthy and best Ethereum wallets. This would ensure them a safe, secure and powerfully encrypted Ethereum trading tool, which will effectively keep out malware and hackers reaching their Ethereum deposits.

Best Ethereum Wallets

We have brought you a list of top five, the best Ethereum wallets and hopefully even for the next year that will provide you with all the security and transactional features.

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Let us take a look at who they are and what features they provide you.

For The Beginner, For The Simple User: Ethereum Wallet By Coinbase:

Go To: Coinbase Wallet

If you are a beginner to the cryptocurrency world and do not want to face complexities in setting up your Ethereum wallet, this is the best option that you can go for. It is effortless to set up, along with its security settings.

However, it comes with some issues. First, the company Coinbase holds your private key, which means that you are not in the control of your Ethereum account. So they may shut your account down for any possible reason. And this has happened to some before.

Also, it does not support Ethereum Classic. There you go another inconvenience if you are an Ethereum Classic currency holder.

For The Security Obsessed: Hardware Wallets:

Yes, we realize that this is not one single brand and a category. But the whole category is so peculiar that it deserves to be explained as one. If you are extremely particular about the security of your Ethereum account and cannot trust software based sources for security, you better go for a hardware wallet. The best Ethereum wallets in hardware are:

The tradeoff here are the prices. These hardware wallets cost anywhere from $50 to $100, not including the shipping charges. So if you are ready to shell this much moolah, go ahead! Also, if you lose them, times are going to be hard.

For Those Who Already Coinbase: Jaxx Ethereum Wallet:

Go To: Jaxx Wallet

Why the title, you may ask. The reason is quite evident that the features provided by Jaxx are the exact opposite of those provided by Coinbase, except for its simple interface. This wallet supports Bitcoins as well as Altcoins, which is in itself a big deal. On the other hand, its user interface is quite easy to use, even for cryptocurrency noobs.

However, the most significant uptick that Jaxx gets is that it supports both Ethereum as well as Ethereum Classic, which makes it an attractive contender on this list despite being new here. Also, the company does not control your private key, unlike Coinbase.

Find A Middle Ground On Desktop – Welcome Exodus Wallet:

Go To: Exodus Wallet

But middle ground from what? Between Coinbase and Jaxx. But before discussing that, let us talk about its core value. Exodus is one of the most trustworthy and highly secure desktop based Ethereum wallet available today. Its simple interactivity, coupled with security helps it get a place on the list.

However, unlike Jaxx, it does not support Ethereum Classic, it supports only Ethereum on your desktop. And unlike Coinbase, it does not store your private with itself, but rather on your machine.

One downside to Exodus Wallet is that it is not open source.

Ethereum On The Web – MyEtherWallet:

Go To: MyEtherWallet

This Ethereum wallet allows the user to manage their Ethereum account online, without having to hand over your private keys to it. So despite being an online service, it still lets you keep your private keys.

When you initially create an account, it asks you the currency of your choice. When you create an account, it will generate public and private keys that will be password protected, password of your choice. The website will also send you a file along with the public-private key for future use.

Therefore, whenever you are storing Ethereum on your online wallet, you will have to upload this file.

Concluding Words

Buying an Ethereum wallet is not much of a head-scratching task at all. If you know what you need and especially what platforms you are fine with to store your Ethereum, you can easily choose your wallet, of course after considering the trade-offs.

Best BitCoin Wallets: Top 10 List of Hardware, Hosted and Mobile Wallets

December 14, 2017December 6, 2017 by Bibin Wilson

When I started investing in Bitcoins, I used hosted bitcoin wallets like coinbase, Zebpay etc. Its the same case with everyone. However, if you are investing continuously you should consider using harware and other mobile wallets for storing your bitcoins safely. In this article, I have talked about the few best bitcoin wallets (Hardware, Hosted, Mobile and Desktop).

Top Best BitCoin Wallets

The following are 10 of the best Bitcoin wallets to store your Bitcoins safely :

1. Ledger Nano

Ledger Nano is similar to the Trezor wallet and is a direct competitor to it. Ledger Nano uses a technology similar to the one Trezor users to store Bitcoins, but the Ledger Nano comes with a metal frame and looks much sleeker. Also, the user interface of this wallet is much more intuitive and user-friendly.

You can get ledger nano discounts from here: Ledger Nano Coupons

2. Trezor Wallet

Trezor is a hardware wallet created by the company – Satoshi Labs, a startup based in Europe. This wallet is in the form of a USB which connects to desktops and laptops. Trezor was designed especially for those who are looking for a highly secure way to store their Bitcoins. It uses a two-step authentication which makes it near impossible for hackers to get your passkey and steal your Bitcoins.

3. Mycelium

Mycelium quite is easily one of the most loved Bitcoin wallets in the world. It is in the form of an app that can be installed on your smartphone and take anywhere with you; this enables you to have instant access to your wallet anytime, anywhere.

The best thing about Mycelium is its features. The more adept Bitcoin users will love this wallet. The wallet is well supported by a dedicated development team that constantly tries to innovate thus adding new features every few months. Mycelium also offers a cold storage service in the form of a small prepaid card which you can carry anywhere with you.

4. Coinbase

Coinbase is one of the most popular Bitcoin trading services in the world. It is mainly a brokerage service that sells bitcoins in return for fiat money such as US Dollars, Pounds, Yen, Euros, etc., but it also has a subsidiary website called GDAX which allows Bitcoin to Bitcoin trading.

Coinbase also offers a wallet service with the following features such as support for multiple accounts, requesting and sending of Bitcoins to other users, buying Bitcoins using different payment methods, etc. Signing up for the wallet service is very simple, and the interface is user-friendly meaning that you can easily learn how to use this wallet in a matter of minutes.

5. Exodus

Exodus is the first Desktop based cryptocurrency wallet which can store bitcoin and many other altcoins like ETH, DASH, LTH and more.

Exodus has a very good integration with Shapeshift exchange. You can use Exodus wallet in MAC, Windows and Linux systems.

6. Blockchain wallet

Blockchain is one of the most popular Bitcoin wallets at the moment. The wallet is known for its intuitive user interface that is easy to use. Bitcoin wallet stores your information on their services thereby increasing third-party risk, but they have an excellent security record. The wallet is hierarchical deterministic which means that it does not use the same address for more than one transaction, thus giving an extra layer of security. Blockchain is rich in features and offers many different options that most other wallets lack.

7. Breadwallet

Breadwallet is an open source software that is available in the form of a smartphone app. It is designed in a certain way to make sure that the wallet can be used by everyone, both beginners and those adept at trading Bitcoins.

Breadwallet is hack proof for the most part as there is no central server. It is a standalone client that uses SPV mode to connect directly to the Bitcoin servers. The performance of the wallet is ultrafast, and user interface very easy to learn, thus making it one of the best Bitcoin wallets out there.

8. Copay

Copay is what experts call a Hierarchical Deterministic wallet. What this means is that in case you lose any data in your wallet, they can be restored with the help of previous backups, this helps in reducing the risk of loss to a great extent.

Another important feature of Copay is that it is open source and is not backed by any company or organization. Also, Copay allows users to check the current trading rates of Bitcoins in over 150 different currencies.

As far as security goes, Copay uses different Bitcoin addresses for each transaction which largely reduces the risk of a hack. Copay also offers various other features like remote backup storage, HD address generation, etc.

9. Electrum

Electrum is an open source Bitcoin wallet that is available for download on Windows, Mac, Linux and on smartphones running Android and iOS. Electrum is known for being extremely fast when compared to most of the other wallets. The application does that by using a technique where it does not download the entire blockchain onto your device, but by rather using a network of special servers that create an index of the blockchain. It is also highly secure as all your data is encrypted and stored in your hardware and not anywhere else.

10. Armory

Armory is a highly secure Bitcoin wallet filled with features available for users across different platforms. It is widely rated as the most the most secure bitcoin wallet around. Providing such a high level of security comes at a cost, and here it is complexity. It takes to for one to fully understand the different features of Armory, but once the user gets the hang of it, it is quite easily one of the best Bitcoin wallets to use.

11. MultiBit

MultiBit is another open-source Bitcoin wallet that is very much similar to Breadwallet. This wallet was created by the same people who created KeepKey, one of the best hardware Bitcoin wallets around. Like Breadwallet, MultiBit also connects directly to the Bitcoin servers using SPV. Also, this wallet comes with a restoration option where you can restore your previous backup by entering a passphrase.

What is a BitCoin Wallet and Types Of Bitcoin Wallet

December 4, 2017 by Bibin Wilson

Bitcoin has been grabbing the headlines of all financial news media for the past few weeks. It is largely thanks to the fact that the value of Bitcoin has grown nearly ten times since the start of the year. And the most amazing part about this is, it is only predicted to grow further.

So, if you are looking to invest in Bitcoins, this is the perfect moment to do so. Bitcoins have a high value these days, which is why it is essential to save them in a safe and secure place. And that is where Bitcoin wallets come in.

What is a Bitcoin Wallet?

Bitcoin wallets are like banks for Bitcoins, but with a difference. Unlike regular money, Bitcoins cannot be stored anywhere. So, what exactly does a Bitcoin wallet store? Every Bitcoin has an address, and all these addresses have keys to access them. Without these keys, you lose access to your Bitcoins, hence storing them in a secure location is of high priority. A Bitcoin wallet stores these keys in a safe and a secure place.

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Types Of BitCoin Wallets

There are many different types of Bitcoin wallets, here are some of them :

Desktop Wallet:

A desktop wallet is in the form of software that can be installed on your desktop computer or laptop. It can only be accessed from the computer it was installed on, thus making similar to cold storage. Storing your Bitcoins in a desktop that is not connected to the internet prevents any threat of hacks.

Online wallets:

These wallets are online services that store your keys on their encrypted servers. Only you can access them with the help of a password or passphrase. Online wallets can be accessed from anywhere at anytime.

Hardware wallets:

Hardware wallets are small devices that are not connected to the internet or any other network, These devices are portable and are used only to store your Bitcoins. Trezor is a famous example of this kind of wallet.

Mobile wallets:

Wallets that come in the form of an application that can be installed on your phone is called a mobile wallet. These wallets can be both connected to the internet or not connected to it.

Physical wallets:

Physical wallets are nothing but address keys printed on a piece of paper. This paper can then be stored in a secure location to prevent loss of theft. Websites offer services through which users can print the address keys on paper.