Welcome to the WealthUnion Insider newsletter. Crypto news, financial market moves, & company spotlights.

What we're covering this week...

• Did the new British PM buy the dip?

• Is FTX Sam spreading “FUD” and becoming crypto king?

• Three reasons why you should thank a trader

• The latest on the market's big bounce

• HODL into the Apocalypse

🛍️ DID THE NEW BRITISH PM BUY THE DIP?

Crypto bros rejoiced with "one of us!" as Rishi Sunak was appointed the UK’s new Prime Minister.

Earlier this year, while serving as Chancellor of the Exchequer, Sunak shared his desire to make Britain a global center for cryptocurrency innovation by spearheading the passage of crypto-friendly measures. Sunak said: “It’s my ambition to make the UK a global hub for crypto asset technology, and the measures we’ve outlined today will help to ensure firms can invest, innovate and scale up in this country.”

The new measures include regulations for stablecoins, which will open up their usage in the UK as a recognized form of payment. And the measures even have the Royal Mint working on Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs).

After the news of Sunak's appointment, Adam Jackson of Innovate Finance, a UK tech industry body and crypto advocate, described him as a “champion of FinTech” and added that Sunak would benefit the crypto sector.

It sounds like the Brits won’t have time for tea and crumpets anymore; they’ll be too busy buying the dip along with their PM.

👑 DETHRONED! SBF IS NOT THE KING OF CRYPTO

[Updated November 16, 2022: Sam Bankman-Fried, known as SBF, is not the king of crypto but a financial criminal. This article was written before the failure of his crypto exchange, FTX. We've changed this article's original title and image to reflect reality. The rest of the article remains largely unchanged to serve as a reminder that SBF had so many people fooled.]Sam Bankman-Fried, the CEO of the crypto exchange FTX, has stated that FTX will launch a stablecoin. Could it be called the "Fried Universal Dollar," or "FUD" for short? FTX already allows its customers to use a variety of US dollar-pegged stablecoins as collateral, but now it seems they want to push the competitors off a cliff in favor of FUD.

While plenty of crypto exchanges have their own stablecoins, Tether, which has the same owner as the Bitfinex crypto exchange, is the big dog with a market cap of $69 billion. Binance launched its BUSD stablecoin in 2019 and, in only three years, has a market cap of $21 billion. USDC, a stablecoin that Coinbase and Circle jointly launched in 2018, has a market cap of $43 billion.

Sam sent FTX on a shopping spree for struggling crypto companies. FTX made a partial purchase of Robinhood, and a complete acquisition of BlockFi, for $240 million. FTX is currently raising $1 billion, so they can acquire more crypto companies.

Sam believes Coinbase is losing billions of dollars due to its high overhead. Coinbase primarily serves the US market and caters to retail traders. FTX appeals to more hardcore traders. The majority of FTX’s revenue comes from derivatives trading. Swallowing up Coinbase would give FTX the additional exposure to the US market it wants.

Sam recently published his thoughts on possible digital asset industry standards, which include a centralized system for freezing the crypto wallets of criminals and even paying criminals part of the funds if they return the majority stolen. In response, the crypto community was up in arms because the thought of a centralized party freezing crypto wallets is counter to the ideals of decentralization. But centralization is good for FTX because it is a centralized platform. Moreover, such ideas put FTX and Sam in the good graces of financial regulators that want to impose controls on the movement of crypto.

In summary, FTX’s FUD stablecoin may become a heavyweight in the battle of the stablecoins. In addition, the FUD coin would undoubtedly be the preferred option for the businesses FTX owns, which might end up including Coinbase. And FTX is making friends with regulators, which could lead to broad adoption of its stablecoin on and off crypto exchanges. With all his moves, Sam Bankman-Fried might be waving his FUD stablecoins as the undisputed king of crypto when the dust clears. [As mentioned, this article above was written before the spectacular collapse of FTX. SBF is definitely not the king of crypto.]

🤔 THIS WEEK'S CHALLENGE

What did Elon bring to Twitter headquarters on his first day?

• Cookies for the executive team

• Halloween candy

• A kitchen sink

You'll find the answer later on in the newsletter!

🫶 3 REASONS WHY YOU SHOULD THANK A TRADER

It’s time to call up your favorite crypto trader and thank them for their service. Or, pat yourself on the back if that's you because we are diving into three reasons you should thank a trader for their contributions to the cryptocurrency market.

1. Price Discovery

A new asset with no price history leaves little confidence for big money to invest, so traders step in to help price a new asset. Price discovery occurs when the buyers and sellers find an equilibrium in the asset price.

2. Efficiency of Markets

Traders help to make markets more efficient by competing against each other. Think of it as a game of chess. One trader makes a move, and another tries to counter that move. This process helps to create an efficient and fair market for all participants.

3. Providing Liquidity

In financial markets, liquidity refers to how deep an order book is, meaning the volume of dollars in bid and ask offers.

Low-liquidity markets are inefficient because they're volatile and have too much variation between the bid/ask price, known as slippage.

To buy and sell, quantities of an asset must be available, so some traders specialize in making assets available to trade. Making an asset available to trade is called providing liquidity.

Market makers are a type of trader that provide liquidity by keeping active buy and sell orders in such a way that they’re constantly filling both and making a profit on the delta between the bid and ask prices. In short, we need traders to provide the assets we want to trade.

Well, that’s a wrap. Thanks for reading the three reasons to thank a trader. Now we suggest you say Thank You, Danke, Mahalo, and Merci, to your favorite trader.

"Rich people have small TVs and big libraries, and poor people have small libraries and big TVs"

- Zig Ziglar

📈 THE TRADING CORNER

All eyes are on Bitcoin and Ethereum this week. Following Bitcoin’s move, Ethereum has broken upwards to retest its all-time high trendline. Now we are waiting for a market reaction, but getting through resistance this strong can take time, and the price can reject multiple times on the trendline. A bullish scenario will be consolidation in price near the trendline or staying above $1,500, which will create stable support and signal a higher chance of a price breakout. A bearish scenario will be a break below $1,480, leading to more downside price action. Over the next few months, WealthUnion expects a move back to $2,400 if the price breaks above the bear market trendline.

Bitcoin has broken out of the wedge on William %R, shown by the two yellow arrows on the far bottom indicator. Breaking out of the wedge on William %R signaled the end of the 2018 bear market. However, it took weeks before there was momentum to the upside in 2018. So is the signal telling us things are on the way up, or is the current crypto market sentiment still too weak for a price boost? We’ll wait to see if history repeats.

Chain Challenge Answer: A kitchen sink

Elon Musk showed up at Twitter HQ with a kitchen sink on his first day as CEO.

 🤪 JOKE OF THE WEEK

If a hot girl sends you a DM about crypto...

Ignore him

 😂 COMIC OF THE WEEK

That’s a wrap for this week. If you want more, follow us on Twitter (@Wealth_Union)

Our content is for informational purposes only; you should not construe any such information or other material as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice. Nothing on WealthUnion.io constitutes a solicitation, recommendation, endorsement, or offer. Learn more.

Welcome to the WealthUnion Insider newsletter. Crypto news, financial market moves, & company spotlights.

What we're covering this week...

• Get paid to be a Whistleblower

• Is Aptos a dumpster fire?

• Creative ways to survive a recession

• Why the bottom might be in

• Cash in your Bitcoin with a comic

😗 GETTING PAID TO BLOW WHISTLES

Need some extra cash in the bear market? The SEC’s Office of the Whistleblower offers monetary rewards for qualifying whistleblowers who disclose violations of securities laws.

The SEC will pay you 10% to 30% of the funds they collect from law breaking crypto bros that you tell them about. If you’ve had your eye on a Lambo during the bear market, just find a crypto bro to throw under the bus. The SEC will be your only friend left, but you’ll drive away happy.

Since the SEC whistleblower program was established in 2010, more than $1.3 billion has been awarded to over 280 whistleblowers. Over the past three years, the SEC received over 1,400 whistleblower submissions related to cryptocurrency.

And don’t worry, the SEC does not disclose any information that could identify a whistleblower, so blow away! To learn more and claim your whistle, click here.

🔥 APTOS: $1B+ DUMPSTER FIRE OR...?

Last week, Aptos, a new proof-of-stake layer-1 blockchain, was on fire during their token launch. Things got off to a rocky start when the token price crashed 30% within the first hour of trading.

The project got heat for:

❌ Failing to disclose that the team and the Aptos Foundation own over 50% of the token supply (a bit greedy).❌ Listing the Aptos token on crypto exchanges while failing to explain the tokenomics (that’s shady).❌ Claiming the blockchain can process 100,000 transactions per second (TPS) when it can only handle 4 TPS (turtles move faster).❌ Ignoring their community by muting the Aptos Discord channel (so rude).

Aptos Labs was co-founded by Mo Shaikh (CEO) and Avery Ching (CTO). Both worked on Meta’s never launched blockchain called Diem.

Diem was built upon Move, Meta’s new programming language designed to bring more safety and scalability to smart contracts. Since Meta abandoned Diem, Aptos is the first blockchain to launch that uses Move.

What a score for the VCs! First, Meta pays to develop a programming language and a blockchain. Then the US government gets afraid a Diem stablecoin could usurp the US dollar and pressures Meta to change course. Meta bows to the pressure from Uncle Sam, and it's goodbye Diem.

Then key team members from Diem start Aptos. And finally, the VCs, including Coinbase Ventures, A16Z, FTX Ventures, and Binance Labs, bang down the door at Aptos Labs and hand the team $400 million.

The VCs love this project. They won't let a few negative comments ruin their yacht party. In its first week of trading, the Aptos market cap is hovering over $1 billion, and the price is consolidating. So instead of a dumpster fire, we think this project might be on fire in a good way, and maybe the next stop is the moon.

🤔 THIS WEEK'S CHAIN CHALLENGE

What is the first known commercial Bitcoin transaction?

• A man bought two pizzas with it in 2010.

• A woman used it to rent a bike in 2009.

• A florist accepted it for flowers in 2008.

You'll find the answer later on in the newsletter!

😲 CREATIVE WAYS TO SURVIVE A RECESSION 

You might need to get creative to survive the recession. Sure, there are obvious ways like paying-off debt, building new income streams, and making sure you have job stability - but what about really juicy ways to earn some extra cash? Let's look, shall we?

1. Start an OnlyFans

OnlyFans still has room for growth. If you think people will pay to see you in your birthday suit, this revenue stream could be what you need. And for an even greater income boost, consider selling your loyal fans “extras” such as dirty bath water or two-day worn underpants.

2. Sell body parts you don't need

This untapped market is HOT! There are not enough donors for body parts these days, so the sky is potentially the limit when it comes to earning extra during this recession. And it's a double-win - the less of you there is - the less it costs to feed and maintain your body. Wondering where to sell your body parts? Look for potential “collectors” on Craigslist and for science laboratories paying big $.

3. Launch a crypto newsletter

If you've already tried the first two things without much success, be like us at WealthUnion and start a crypto newsletter! Even though most readers will just scroll to the comic at the bottom - it’s still so much fun to write a newsletter - you'll forget about the recession entirely.

"The four most expensive words in the English language are, ‘This time it’s different." 

- Sir John Templeton

📈 THE TRADING CORNER

The Dow Jones Index gives us easy-to-read signals for the monthly open in October. These signals show the low is likely in since the high of January 2022, and potentially for this bear market cycle. 

Let’s take a look at the signals:

• Price closed perfectly on monthly support at 28,700 at the end of September and saw a massive reversal in October.

• Monthly RSI closed perfectly on the RSI Trendline from the 2008 financial crisis bottom, which occurred in 2009, and the covid crash of 2020. 

• William Percent Range (William %R) signaled two bear market lows in 2002 and 2009, and now in 2022, at the value of -98.98 (shown by the three red arrows in the chart).

The Dow Jones has been on a bull run since 1981 when the Fed started to loosen monetary policy after a decade of high-interest rates. After the 2008 financial crisis, the market went parabolic due to quantitative easing, which caused the global money supply to increase exponentially. 

As a result, Warren Buffet and every other financial expert in the last 40 years have told you to bet on the stock market for retirement because it seemed like a sure thing. 

Now times are changing. 

We may be entering the end of the macro bull market cycle.

Extreme volatility is typical as we enter near the end of a bull run. The pullbacks are more violent and have a shorter duration than the bull cycle's beginning. 

The WealthUnion analysts believe there could be one last melt-up before a catastrophic collapse.

Historically these collapses have coincided with a new US monetary policy. Every 20-30 years, the US adopts a new policy. 

Here’s a quick summary: 

• 1863 National Bank Act

  • Enabled a centralized banking system

• 1873 First fiat currency called Greenbacks

• 1913 Federal Reserve Act 

  • Created the Federal Reserve to manage monetary policy

• 1933 Suspension of the gold standard 

  • Allowed US dollars to decouple from gold

• 1944 Bretton Woods Agreement 

  • Guaranteed foreign currencies were convertible into US dollars, which were exchangeable for $35 per troy ounce of gold

• 1971 Termination of Bretton Woods 

  • Removed the ability to exchange US dollars for gold 

• 2020 Fed allowing inflation to rise higher than the 2% target 

  • Short-term high inflation rates but targeting an average of 2% over time

2020 wasn’t a policy change but a “kick the can down the road” attempt to battle a failing system. A fiat currency no longer on the gold standard with runaway inflation is a recipe for disaster. 

How long can the US government keep the US dollar propped up? The US is overdue for a monetary policy change. That usually happens during periods of fear, depression, and uncertainty. So is a policy change around the corner?

Chain Challenge Answer: Pizza in 2010.

On May 22, 2010, a man in Florida paid 10,000 Bitcoins for two Papa John's pizzas.

 🤪 JOKE OF THE WEEK

Q.) What is the first question crypto traders will ask their Mom this Thanksgiving?

A.) Hey, is my old room still available?

 😂 COMIC OF THE WEEK

That’s a wrap for this week. If you want more, follow us on Twitter (@Wealth_Union)

Our content is for informational purposes only; you should not construe any such information or other material as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice. Nothing on WealthUnion.io constitutes a solicitation, recommendation, endorsement, or offer. Learn more.

Welcome to the WealthUnion Insider newsletter. Crypto news, financial market moves, & company spotlights.

What we're covering this week...

• Why billionaires are poor now

• Crypto regulation that affects you

• Your Ethereum address can be "Googled"

• Updated analysis on the crypto market

• Elon joins WealthUnion Comics and a joke

WHY BILLIONAIRES ARE POOR(ER) NOW

In the Bloomberg Billionaire Index's top 25 fortunes, there are nine American technology billionaires, several of whom rank among the wealthiest people in the world. However, according to Forbes, the five tech-focused billionaires below collectively have lost close to $236 billion in net worth since September 2021 due to the stock market sell-off.

Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta Platforms, took the biggest hit of about $76 billion. Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, the world’s richest man, lost around $63 billion. Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, is worth almost $56 billion less.

Founder of Microsoft, Bill Gates, and the fourth richest man in the world, lost about $28 billion, while Steve Ballmer, the former CEO of Microsoft, saw his wealth drop by around $13 billion.

And they are not alone. The United States of America's national debt has surpassed $32 trillion for the first time in history. If every American adult gave the federal government $100,000 tomorrow, there would still be over $5 trillion in debt left to pay off! So, you are poorer now too!

 👮CRYPTO REGULATION IS ON THE WAY

Sounds scary, right? Not necessarily. Regulatory clarity for crypto will help the industry move forward in the US and Europe.

Congress has introduced multiple pieces of legislation related to cryptocurrencies and blockchain technologies. The legislation includes the Digital Commodity Exchange Act of 2022, the Lummis–Gillibrand Responsible Financial Innovation Act, and the Digital Commodities Consumer Protection Act of 2022.

See the latest on crypto regulation here.

🤔 THIS WEEK'S CHAIN CHALLENGE

Who is the #1 corporate holder of Bitcoin?

• Gemini

• MicroStrategy

• Grayscale

You'll find the answer later on in the newsletter!

🔍 IS YOUR ETHEREUM ADDRESS ON GOOGLE?

Google is getting into the crypto game. No, they’re not launching a native token. Instead, the company is taking a baby step to cozy up to crypto.

That baby step is making Ethereum addresses searchable. So if you head to Google.com and search for an Ethereum address, you’ll see the balance of that address and chain activity.

Click here to learn why your Ethereum address might be on Google already.

"Buy when everyone else is selling and hold until everyone else is buying. That’s not just a catchy slogan. It’s the very essence of successful investing." 

- J. Paul Getty

📈 THE TRADING CORNER

The market is signaling a potential bottom for Bitcoin. Last Friday, September CPI (Consumer Price Index) numbers were released. The CPI measures the price change for the average urban consumer for a basket of goods and services and is mainly used to measure inflation. There is an 8.2% increase in CPI compared to last year. Compared to August 2022, the rate is a 0.1% decrease. Overall, inflation seems to be improving slightly since the Fed has increased the Fed rate.

Core CPI is a subset of the CPI which removes volatile food and energy prices. It offers a more accurate measure of long-term price changes than CPI. Core CPI came in 0.6% higher vs. August at 6.6% year-over-year. That’s a new 40-year high. Core CPI has been the main focus, as it's a more accurate measure of inflation. The higher Core CPI percentage drove a massive sell-off of stock and crypto at Friday's stock market opening.

In last week's newsletter, we discussed looking for Bitcoin to retest the bear market's all-time-high trendline, which can be found here. The CPI report drove Bitcoin's price right into the trendline, as shown by the white arrow in the chart above. There was a massive reaction to the upside. We believe BTC upside buying pressure will begin from the bullish reaction.

Bitcoin's macro outlook is still undecided. Using price, we can determine areas of support and resistance. These are price levels where buyers or sellers step in to keep Bitcoin's price above or below a price level. We can use these levels to help determine future price action. The bullish retest on the trendline is a good signal, but we are still sitting on our hands until we have confirmation of a trend reversal.

If a macro trend reversal to the upside were to occur, it would be indicated by higher highs in price and higher lows in price on a high time-frame chart. For example, the weekly chart above would require Bitcoin to break $25.2k (the second red line from the bottom), which was the previous weekly major high.

Historically we have seen Bitcoin's 4-year boom and bust cycle highs and lows about one year apart from each other. We are approaching that time frame since the all-time high was Nov 10th of last year. Could this be another repeat in the 4-year cycle to start the next one?

The Dollar Index (DXY) measures the US dollar's strength against a basket of major world currencies. It's been on a parabolic run, up 25% since the low in January 2021.

The surge in demand for US dollars while other global currencies have plummeted is a primary driver in crypto and stocks entering a significant pullback. DXY is starting to signal a major top on the weekly chart.

Relative Strength Index (RSI) is a price oscillator that shows momentum in oversold or overbought assets. It is a widely used technical analysis indicator. RSI helps to help predict changes in price trends. The chart above shows three weekly bearish divergences where the price makes a higher high and RSI makes a lower high.

A reversal in DXY should correlate to WealthUnion's analysis of Bitcoin. When that happens, we expect relief from people hoarding US dollars and a return to investments in risky assets such as stocks and crypto.

Chain Challenge Answer: Grayscale654,885 Bitcoin, or 3.12% of the total supply, is held by the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust.

 🤪 JOKE OF THE WEEK

Did you hear about the vampire that got into crypto?

No, you didn't because he died when he tried staking!

 😂 COMIC OF THE WEEK

That’s a wrap for this week. If you want more, follow us on Twitter (@Wealth_Union)

Our content is for informational purposes only; you should not construe any such information or other material as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice. Nothing on WealthUnion.io constitutes a solicitation, recommendation, endorsement, or offer. Learn more.

Google is getting into the crypto game. No, they’re not launching a native token. Instead, the company is taking a baby step to cozy up to crypto.

That baby step is making Ethereum addresses searchable. So if you head to Google.com and search for an Ethereum address, you’ll see the balance of that address and chain activity.

The most popular block explorer for the Ethereum blockchain, Etherscan, powers the Ethereum address search results for Google.

Ethereum Addresses Are Public Anyway

Ethereum is the largest cryptocurrency by market value behind Bitcoin. It hosts billions of dollars worth of decentralized finance and nonfungible token transactions, and Ethereum is a public blockchain.

Since Ethereum addresses are public, anyone can explore them to see token balances, transactions to and from addresses, and which decentralized applications were accessed.

No Love For Bitcoin?

The Google search engine does not yet offer searching capability for Bitcoin addresses.

That said, Google is increasingly interested in blockchain technologies, Web3, and cryptocurrencies.

Google To Accept Crypto Payments

In 2023, Google will allow enterprise customers to pay for their Google Cloud Platform (GCP) usage with cryptocurrencies. This payment option is for Web3 companies that prefer to pay their cloud infrastructure bills with crypto.

Google has partnered with Coinbase to process crypto transactions. Payment processing allows Coinbase to diversify its revenue to be less reliant on the income it makes from crypto trading fees.

Coinbase will shift its cloud infrastructure from Amazon to Google as part of the relationship.

Crypto Is Part of Google’s Future

Between the searchable Ethereum blockchain addresses and forthcoming crypto payment options, Google is signaling that rapid adoption of blockchain and cryptocurrency-based solutions are part of the company’s plan for future business growth.

Where US Crypto Regulation Stands Today

Congress has introduced multiple pieces of legislation related to cryptocurrencies and blockchain technologies. The legislation includes the Digital Commodity Exchange Act of 2022, the Lummis–Gillibrand Responsible Financial Innovation Act, and the Digital Commodities Consumer Protection Act of 2022.

All three bills aim to have the CFTC regulate cryptocurrency trading unless the law defines them as a security, in which case Gary Gensler and the SEC would control them instead.

The CFTC and the SEC have attempted to regulate cryptocurrencies, but they have done so differently. These bills would clarify their respective regulations and provide additional guidance for the industry.

SEC and CFTC Joint Oversight on Digital Asset Markets

Representatives of financial companies, Timothy Massad and Howell Jackson, have been working to make the case that the SEC and the CFTC should establish a joint oversight body to regulate cryptocurrencies.

Timothy Massad is a member of the PayPal Advisory Council on Blockchain, Crypto, and Digital Currencies. Howell Jackson is an independent trustee of CREF and affiliated TIAA-CREF mutual funds.

The two have issued a paper stating that a self-regulatory organization (SRO) to regulate crypto could be established without the need for the passage of an Act by Congress.

Their proposal builds upon existing frameworks used to govern the futures and options marketplaces and does so without undermining the authority of either the CFTC or the SEC. Instead, they propose that both agencies oversee the SRO.

Moreover, they've highlighted how their proposal avoids the pitfalls of creating a separate cryptocurrency-specific regulator because it allows regulators to focus on the risks posed by specific products rather than addressing broader questions about how to treat digital assets generally.

How Europe will Regulate Crypto

The European Union has approved a draft set of regulations for cryptocurrencies called Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA).

MiCA has an 18-24 months transition period before the new laws come into force, so they will start by the beginning of 2024.

The MiCA regulation, first proposed in 2020, covers many aspects of crypto and defines required licensing. In addition, it grants companies operating in one country within the European Union access to the entire European market.MiCA will also provide a regulatory “sandbox,” which will help new crypto-related businesses test concepts before needing to comply with all regulations.

Welcome to the WealthUnion Insider newsletter. Crypto news, financial market moves, & company spotlights.

What we're covering this week...

• Where McDonald's is stashing your Bitcoin

• How to find the safest DeFi returns

• What Web3 infrastructure is (and why it's hot right now)

• Fresh analysis on the crypto market in "Uptober"

• The launch of WealthUnion Comics and a mysterious joke

Does Ronald McDonald Have Your Bitcoin?

He could if you are eating at a McDonald's in Switzerland. Recently, McDonald's started accepting Tether and Bitcoin as payment methods in Lugano, Switzerland. As a result, the area has become a hotspot for crypto adoption in Europe.

A video in a viral tweet from Bitcoin Magazine shows somebody ordering food on a McDonald’s digital kiosk and paying for it with Bitcoin. Check it out below!

🕵️ FINDING THE SAFEST DEFI RETURNS

The decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem has been growing since its inception in 2017. Today there are billions of dollars in Total Value Locked (TVL) within DeFi platforms.

DeFi's popularity has been mainly due to the myriad of high-interest earning options available on many DeFi platforms. But with high-interest rates also comes risk.

Here's how you can find the safest DeFi returns.

🤔 THIS WEEK'S CHAIN CHALLENGE

As of September 2022, roughly how many cryptocurrencies are there?

• 12,000

• 18,000

• 22,000

You'll find the answer later on in the newsletter!

🔍WHAT ARE WEB3 INFRASTRUCTURE PROTOCOLS?

Think of Web3 infrastructure protocols mainly as business-to-business services that power decentralized applications.

They provide the "technical stuff" that runs in the background, similar to cloud computing platforms like Amazon Web Services, but decentralized.

So what does Web3 infrastructure look like? Click here to read more.

"Timing, perseverance, and 10 years of trying will eventually make you look like an overnight success." 

- Biz Stone

📈 THE TRADING CORNER

Last week Bitcoin broke the trendline holding it down since the all-time high. Then last Friday, Non-Farm Payroll (NFP) came in higher than expected at 263k vs. 250k, causing a sell-off in pre-market opening hours.We're looking to see if there is a reaction at the retest area. Will it be a bullish continuation or a break below the trendline? A bullish reaction could signal the low and end of the bear market, while a break below could mean a false breakout and continued crypto winter.

DXY (Dollar strength index) has been a good indicator of market reversals, and we are expecting a turnaround at current levels showing confluence as BTC approaches a potential reversal point. If we break below the 20-year resistance level at 109.81, we expect large buying pressure in crypto and traditional markets.

Major world economies are beginning to take action to control inflation for their native fiat currency, as the FED has, and this parabolic run in the US dollar will likely come to a halt. 

Chain Challenge Answer: 12,000As of September 2022, more than 12,000 digital currencies exist. You can’t buy them all on an exchange, but they are out there, somewhere. 

 🤪 JOKE OF THE WEEK

Knock Knock! Who's there? Satoshi Nakamoto.

Satoshi Nakamoto who?

You Will Never Know! 

 😂 COMIC OF THE WEEK

That’s a wrap for this week. If you want more, follow us on Twitter (@Wealth_Union)

Our content is for informational purposes only, you should not construe any such information or other material as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice. Nothing contained on WealthUnion.io constitutes a solicitation, recommendation, endorsement, or offer. Learn more...

What Are Web3 Infrastructure Protocols?

Think of Web3 infrastructure protocols mainly as business-to-business services that power decentralized applications.

They provide the "technical stuff" that runs in the background, similar to cloud computing platforms like Amazon Web Services (AWS), but decentralized.

So what does Web3 infrastructure look like?

It Runs in the Background

The "technical stuff" mentioned above are the services you don't even realize you are interacting with. Still, they help store and move data on the blockchain, process transactions, and even fetch pricing for your favorite cryptocurrencies.

These projects and protocols that run in the background help make other projects run or become more efficient. Together, they make up the foundation of the cryptoverse.

New infrastructure solutions launch every month. However, some Web3 infrastructure projects highlighted below have the first-mover advantage and are part of other top protocols and projects.

So let's break down some of the Web3 infrastructures categories and examples from each.

Storage Infrastructure

With storage infrastructure, a network of computers stores and displays files stored on the blockchain. Examples of storage include Filecoin and Arweave.

Filecoin (FIL)

Filecoin is an innovative way to store files online. It combines with the InterPlanetary File System (IPFS), a decentralized file-sharing system, to create a more efficient and secure internet.

The Filecoin network is structured with many decentralized storage providers and developers, creating a robust, reliable service that scales.

Arweave (AR)

Arweave is a type of storage that backs data with perpetual and sustainable endowments, allowing developers and users to store data forever.

It is essentially a collectively owned hard drive that never forgets. It indefinitely allows the remembrance and preservation of valuable information, apps, and history.

Data Infrastructure

Data infra­structure is a digital system for promoting, sharing, and consuming data. It resembles physical structures, including roads, bridges, buildings, or tunnels.

That physical infrastructure is required for the operation of a city and the services or facilities necessary to support an economic system. Data works in much of the same way. Examples of data-based Web3 infrastructure include Pocket Network and The Graph protocol.

Pocket Network (POKT)

Pocket Network is a decentralized RPC network governed by a DAO with a contributor-based ecosystem. dApps need to provide blockchain data for end users, but developers don't want to deal with the hassle of running their own nodes.

The Pocket Network protocol incentivizes a decentralized network of remote procedure call (RPC) nodes to relay data from Pocket-supported blockchains to the dApp users who need it.

Then, dApps send their RPC requests to Pocket's global network of nodes, which relay the requested blockchain data back to those dApps. Node operators also earn rewards for providing this decentralized service.

The Graph (GRT)

The Graph is a protocol for querying and indexing data from blockchains. Developers build applications with open APIs called subgraphs to easily access on-chain data indexed by a network of node operators.

Subgraphs are open source, so anyone can use the APIs to build decentralized applications. Many applications on Ethereum, for example, have already made subgraphs and use them today, including ENS, Audius, Uniswap, Opyn, DAOstack, Synthetix, and more.

Oracle Infrastructure

One could make the case that oracles could be classified under data infrastructure, but oracles are so crucial - we believe they stand out as a category to themselves. Oracles have to be fast and accurate.

Oracles provide the framework for smart contracts to fetch data not contained in the blockchain and help connect off-chain external data, for example, the price of a stock or supporting other open-source blockchains.

Chainlink (LINK)

Chainlink is a decentralized oracle network that provides tamper-proof inputs, outputs, and computations to support smart contracts on a blockchain.

It expands the capabilities of smart contracts by enabling access to real-world data and off-chain computation while maintaining the security and reliability guarantees inherent to blockchains.

Augur (REP)

Augur also functions as a decentralized oracle by verifying real word events and encoding the outcomes on-chain.

Filecoin and Pocket Network Are Prominent

Filecoin and Pocket Network accounted for 91% of the overall Web3 Infrastructure sector revenue of projects evaluated in a recent report from Messari.

The report also includes Arweave, Storj, Livepeer, The Graph, Helium, Sia, and Akash.

Source: Messari

Expect More Infrastructure Protocols To Enter the Ecosystem

With the pace of technological development, expect more Web3 protocols to enter the ecosystem. For investors, the great news is that more infrastructure protocols mean more investment opportunities that can help push Web3 forward.

How to Find the Safest DeFi Returns

The Rise of DeFi

The decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem has been growing since its inception in 2017. Today there are billions of dollars in Total Value Locked (TVL) within DeFi platforms.

DeFi's popularity has been mainly due to the myriad of high-interest earning options available on many DeFi platforms. But with high-interest rates also comes risk.

Unfortunately, since DeFi platforms hold billions of dollars of investor funds, hackers and scam artists are constantly trying to steal from DeFi.

DeFi vs. Traditional Finance

DeFi is an emerging financial technology that challenges the current centralized banking system.

The main difference between DeFi platforms and traditional finance is that DeFi operates entirely using smart contracts instead of intermediaries like banks, insurers, or brokers.

DeFi utilizes smart contracts on blockchains to provide financial products and services. For example, DeFi can be used to create loans, hedge investments, exchange currencies, and much more.

Decentralized financial systems are built upon layers of abstraction and highly composable components, which makes it easy to create complex financial products.

Since smart contract code runs the show, there are no unnecessary fees and commissions to pay to intermediaries.

Source: DeFi Pulse

The Future is DeFi, But With a Catch

DeFi isn't perfect. For example, although it eliminates intermediaries, as in traditional finance, DeFi doesn't always offer the security we expect from financial products. For instance, while your funds are insured in a bank with FDIC insurance, in most cases, funds used in DeFi are not insured.

Sometimes DeFi platforms contain bugs or gaping security holes that allow hackers or rogue programmers to steal funds from the platforms.

While the benefits of DeFi over traditional finance cannot be understated, research falls on your shoulders when investigating where to put your money to work with DeFi. Researching these DeFi protocols is the crucial first step in not getting scammed or hacked.

Tools That Can Help You Find Safer DeFi Returns

You don't need to be a coding expert or know how to read smart contracts to perform a basic audit. Free tools can help you identify potential issues with tokens, protocols, or projects you're considering for investment.

DeFi Safety

DeFi Safety's quality reviews follow a straightforward, standardized, and established procedure, which allows them to provide reproducible results to anyone who follows the review document posted on their website.

DeFi Safety's Process Quality Review (PQR) allows investors to make informed decisions about which protocols they invest in. Learn more about DeFi Safety and their PQR here.

The DeFi List by DeFi Pulse

DeFi Pulse is a website where you can find the latest analytics and rankings of DeFi protocols. Their rankings track the Total Value Locked (TVL) into the smart contracts of popular DeFi applications and protocols.

Additionally, they curate The DeFi List, a collection of outlets and protocols in DeFi. You can monitor projects like Aave, Compound, and others here on the DeFi List and the current returns available.

Other Concerns in DeFi to Look Out For

More than just monitoring DeFi protocols and projects themselves, there are other concerns that you need to be aware of when interacting with DeFi. For example, Honeypots, Compromised Ads, and Phishing are all additional hazards you should educate yourself about.

Honeypots

Cryptocurrencies are highly volatile, meaning their prices can change dramatically from one day to another. However, if a new cryptocurrency only rises in value without signs of people wanting to sell it, it could indicate a honeypot scam.

Honeypots are where scam artists lure in unsuspecting buyers with an increasing token value, but the only way for them to sell their tokens is through an obscure exchange.

Cryptocurrency is an increasingly popular topic among mainstream news sources, so it's no surprise that we've seen a rise in stories about how people lost money investing in it.

However, just because major publications cover something does not make it legitimate. It can be hard to distinguish between a press release and an actual news article. Honeypot scammers have used press releases to promote their projects quickly.

Advertising (Ads) on Google Search and Websites

The first Google results for a cryptocurrency project may not point you in the right direction; instead, they could be directing you toward a scam.

Google does not always verify the authenticity of websites before selling advertisement space; Google ads shouldn't be taken as proof of legitimacy. The same is true for display ads on websites too.

Look for more reliable sources (like the official Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn account) of the project to find the website of the DeFi project you are interested in.

Phishing by Email or Social Media

Phishing scams are widespread in cryptocurrency. They usually involve scammers pretending to be legitimate companies to get people to reveal their private keys.

You should avoid posting specific keywords on social media like "MetaMask," or "Wallet Support" because they may attract spammy replies from scammers trying to steal your wallet address (or whatever else).

Scam artists often pose as real celebrities on social media. For example, they may claim they're offering assistance or advice but then ask for personal information or cryptocurrency.

Some scam artists create fake YouTube accounts and solicit donations from unsuspecting viewers. For example, someone lost $1.14 million to scammers impersonating Michael Saylor, the founder, and CEO of MicroStrategy.

Consider reading our SIM swap safety guide to help prevent many phishing attacks from draining your DeFi funds.

DeFi is the Future, But More Work is Ahead

These days we can't go a week without hearing about millions of dollars stolen from another DeFi platform. DeFi platforms must improve their security and safety levels before mainstream adoption will happen at a grander scale.

Welcome to the WealthUnion Insider newsletter. Crypto news, financial market moves, & company spotlights.

What we're covering this week...

• Why Kim Kardashian owes $1.3 million to Gary Gensler

• How you may have lost $30,000

• Staying safe from SIM Swap Hackers

• Follow-up on last week's market analysis

• A meme about geometry and losing your crypto

WHY KIM KARDASHIAN OWES $1.3 MILLION TO GARY GENSLER AND THE SEC

At the beginning of the week, Gary Gensler at the SEC announced charges against Kim Kardashian. They stem from a June 13, 2021, Instagram post that Kim K made promoting an ICO token offered by EthereumMax. The SEC says she failed to adequately disclose her compensation, which violated Section 17(b)of the Securities Act.

Kim K promoted the EthereumMax offering by saying she had a "BIG ANNOUNCEMENT." The post linked to the crypto's website, providing instructions for potential investors to purchase the tokens. While Kardashian included #AD at the bottom, she didn't disclose the compensation she received for promoting the company.

😳 STOCK MARKET LOSS SO FAR - $30,000 PER PERSON

You may have lost $30k, how you ask? There have been almost $10 trillion worth of losses for the US economic system so far in 2022, equating to about $30,000 per person. Citing Federal Reserve data and several news reports, along with the steady decline in NYSE stock prices since the beginning of the year, the US has been wiped out of nearly $9 trillion in investor wealth!

The truth is, we may be close to hitting $10 trillion in total stock market losses in 2022. Read more about your losses and what's going on with crypto right now...

🤔 THIS WEEK'S CHAIN CHALLENGE

What is the largest amount of Bitcoins ever created?

(Hint: It's not what you think!)

• 23 Million

• 100 Million

• 184 Billion

You'll find the answer later on in the newsletter!

💡HOW TO STAY SAFE FROM SIM SWAPPING

Criminals are taking over phones by convincing carriers to connect a phone number to a SIM card they can access. These scammers can essentially take over any mobile phone’s number, unfortunately.

And with SIM swap fraud on the rise, scammers are exploiting a weakness in two-factor authentication and verification. So when it comes to safeguarding your crypto, it's time to follow our steps for SIM safety over here.

"Empty pockets never held anyone back. Only empty heads and empty hearts can do that." 

- Norman Vincent Peale

📈 THE TRADING CORNER

We gave a detailed technical deep dive in last week's newsletter (please review it here if you haven't already). As expected, the Dow Jones Index closed the month at monthly support and reacted significantly to the upside, giving us insight that buyers are confidently stepping in to defend that level.

This has coincided with our thoughts that crypto is most likely bottomed and ready for a relief rally as it just broke upwards through the trendline since the all-time high. So we expect further buy pressure now through this market signal.

Overall we remain cautiously optimistic here and still believe it's a great time to invest in or add to your positions on your favorite projects as everything is on extreme sale.

Chain Challenge Answer: 184 Billion - How?In August 2010, in an event known as the “value overflow incident,” a code vulnerability allowed someone to send a transaction that created 184 billion Bitcoins! The mistake was fixed quickly, and the network returned to its fixed limit of 21 million coins.

 🤪 JOKE OF THE WEEK

How do you make $1 million trading Bitcoin?

Start off with $2 million!

 😂 MEME OF THE WEEK

That’s a wrap for this week. If you want more, follow us on Twitter (@Wealth_Union)

Our content is for informational purposes only, you should not construe any such information or other material as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice. Nothing contained on WealthUnion.io constitutes a solicitation, recommendation, endorsement, or offer. Learn more...

Building dApps For Passive Income

Some of the best passive income revenue streams take leg work up front to get going - but once you have set the foundation, earning that income passively is much easier. dApps, or Decentralized Applications, can work in much the same way.

What are Decentralized Applications Anyway?

A decentralized application (or dApp) is an application that transfers control and decisions from a central authority to a decentralized system. dApps are a solution that can allow developers, creators, or businesses to control their digital assets and data.

dApps can require the use of tokens for features like gaming, trading, staking, or earning interest, and they can be built to collect passive income streams in various ways, depending on the business model you opt for.

Ways to Earn Passive Income Using a dApp

So let’s talk about making some passive income from your dApp. First, we’ll discuss the different ways you can monetize your dApp. Then we’ll discuss the different types of dApps out there and go through the best dApps to start earning passive income.

Before we jump into developing dApps, you may also want to consider the costs associated with producing them. dApps don't follow the traditional monetization strategy used by regular business applications; instead, they use different methods, the most popular method being transaction fees.

There are already significant dApps with millions of active users, such as Augor, Basic Attention Token, and Compound Finance. These dApps provide multiple ways for users to earn tokens through various means.

Earning With Transaction Fees

One way to earn some income passively from a dApp is to charge users for using your services through transaction fees. You may want to consider charging users for using your dApp, if your dApp can offer something valuable, like an item or an act of service.

One example of earning with transaction fees comes from the variety of crypto exchanges and wallets that earn fees every time you trade, swap, or send crypto using their platforms.

dApps Subscriptions for Passive Income

If you want to be sure that a particular piece of code runs only when someone subscribes or pays for access, you can add a "membership" or "subscribe" feature to a smart contract itself.

Either a "Usage-limited" mode that allows the user to use the application for so long before they're blocked from using it again or a "Time-based" mode where the user gets access to the service until X number of minutes/hours/days have passed.

Blockchain Fueled Advertisements

Advertisements do play a role in how decentralized applications make money. So if you're considering including it on your list of dApp business models, you should consider doing so after comparing the traditional model.

If your idea is to build a dApp for passive income in the advertising space, consider AdsDax, Blockchain-ADS, and Presearch on how these names are tackling the advertising side of blockchain and earning revenue.

Create Digital Goods & Marketplaces

One of the most essential uses for Ethereum dApp development is when this monetization model is used. NFTs are a great example of this. Artwork that can be replicated and scaled for sale on various outlets, all in a "hands-off" mode once the project is complete. Some NFT artists have even included consistent percentages of revenue earned on each sale or resale of an NFT.

NFT marketplaces allow users to sell, purchase and even generate their own unique digital assets. If your business involves a related activity, you can utilize the tokenized payment model to increase overall revenue in your dApp.

Gaming dApps

You can generate some income through sponsorship or pay-to-play models once your game is built. Gaming dApps and blockchain-based games are one of the fastest-growing investment sectors.

We've written about the exceptional growth in GameFi investments that might inspire your next great idea for a passive income-generating dApp.

Decentralized Payment Applications

With payment dApps, users can stream funds in real time without paying gas fees. For example, your business payment dApp can generate revenue through the percentage of the fees it receives from clients.

Every time a payment is made or sent using your payment dApp - you would collect a small percentage of the transaction for hosting the dApp that made the payment collection and redemption possible. So it's basically transaction fees with a different name.

You're Still Early

Blockchain is still very early. There remain several decades ahead for this industry to see maturity. Take advantage of these early days to get your dApp up and going so that it can generate passive income in the future, reaping the rewards for a long time.

With its low costs, reliability, and high security, decentralized apps make an irreplaceable business strategy for future applications. Now, all you need to do is to get inspired and act on your idea. Here is a great video to inspire you on profitable business ideas for the next ten years.

Begin by sketching out your dApp for passive income and what problem it can solve. Then find blockchain developers for your project and get building! You don't have to look too far to find projects that can help motivate you to build your next dApp!

Sample Resources To Help You Build dApps For Income

Evmos dApp Store

Evmos is a fully EVM-compatible Layer 1 built from the ground up to enable a more sustainable dApp ecosystem. dApp developers can also attract users through sustainable incentives built into smart contracts.

This workshop will dive into how builders can activate these sustainable growth mechanisms through participation in the Evmos dApp Store.

The Pocket Portal

The Pocket Portal is a gateway to a decentralized RPC network, where developers can create blockchain network endpoints for their applications. Portal users can monitor network performance and configure custom security features around their endpoint.

The Pocket Portal acts as your one-stop-shop to manage, and monitor your application's connection to blockchain data. You can deploy within minutes to a decentralized infrastructure that can service your dApp from thousands of nodes.

The Ethereum Boilerplate, A Fast Way To Build A Web3 dApp

One way to start your web3 development journey is by using the Ethereum Boilerplate created by Moralis. You can skip all the hurdles you may have had in setting up a decentralized application and speed-track your development with Web3 authentication, wallet transactions, token transfers, NFT balances, and more.

US Stock Market Losses in 2022, $30,000 Per Person

Almost $10 trillion worth of losses for the U.S. economic system so far in 2022, equating to about $30,000 per person.

Citing Federal Reserve data and several news reports along with the steady decline in NYSE stock prices since the beginning of the year, the US has been wiped out of nearly $9 trillion in investor wealth and may be close to hitting $10 trillion in total stock market losses in 2022.

As of Summer 2022, American households held an estimated $33 trillion worth of stocks and bonds, according to the latest Federal Reserve data released. But as these numbers are three months old, analysts say they expect losses of up to $9.5 trillion, pushing the overall value of household assets to below $40 trillion for the first time since 2008.

Comparing 2008 Stock Market Losses

The 2008 stock market losses were a series of large-scale declines in the U.S. and global stock markets that began on October 9, 2007, and continued through March 2009. The losses occurred during the financial crisis of 2007–08, which was caused by the subprime mortgage crisis. In addition to the United States, other major countries also experienced significant drops in their stock markets which created a global recession.

Inflation Problems Compounded The Losses

Inflation data released earlier showed prices rising faster than expected, sending shockwaves through financial markets around the world. While the Fed had hoped that moderate growth and low unemployment would lead to slower price increases, the latest figures show that inflation is accelerating.

The central bank said recently that core consumer prices rose 0.3 percent in July, compared with June's 0.1 percent gain. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast a 0.2 percent rise. The Fed also said wholesale prices increased 1.0 percent last year, topping forecasts for a 0.9 percent rise. That means inflation accelerated to 2.8 percent annually from 2.7 percent in 2016. The U.S. economy grew at a 3.2 percent annual pace in the second quarter, slowing from 4.1 percent in the January-March period.

A Growing Divide Remains

Despite the financial and economic crisis caused by the Covid-2019 pandemic, and according to an Oxfam report, there were 573 new billionaires emerging on the markets just in the past 2 years.

According to the latest Economic Confidence Index score from Gallup, August ratings represent the public's most pessimistic views of the country's economic condition since the recession ended in 2009, with 47 percent reporting pessimism with 16 percent saying things are going well.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average has lost one-fifth of its value since hitting an all-time high on January 4th. Two consecutive months have shown a decline in the economic activity of the United States. and as for the jobs situation, there seem to be fewer people working than ever before.

How Crypto Markets Have Faired

Bitcoin’s price has been hovering around $20,000, but whether it‘ll keep climbing from there remains to be seen. Volatile swings in Bitcoin’s price underscore the increased volatility that cryptocurrencies have experienced over recent months.

After the Fed raised interest rates for the third time, Bitcoin saw a brief dip in its price but has since recovered. It was down almost 4% over the last several days.

Recent price movements and interest rates through Macroeconomic events have historically been volatile for cryptocurrencies. However, they appear to be stabilizing now that the economy has become predictable.

The crypto industry has continued to grow despite market conditions. In fact, the largest asset manager, BlackRock's Coinbase partnership has opened for institutional investors to invest in cryptocurrencies. And one of the biggest financial firms, Fidelity Investments, is considering adding cryptocurrency trading options to their existing brokerage platform.

Welcome to the WealthUnion Insider newsletter. Crypto news, financial market moves, & company spotlights - We do the heavy lifting so you don’t have to!

What we're covering this week...

• What Hurricane Ian and the Bank of England have in common

• Why Crypto VC funds are still growing

• How you can invest in blockchain-based startups

• Where the markets may be heading

• Something that will blow you away! (stay tuned to the end)

Note: This is the first week we’re sending this newsletter, so please give us some feedback in the poll at the bottom of the email.

WHAT HURRICANE IAN AND THE BANK OF ENGLAND HAVE IN COMMON

What could Hurricane Ian and the Bank of England possibly have in common you ask? They are both spurring evacuations! One from the bond market, and the other from the coastline.

The Bank of England has announced unlimited bond purchases in hopes of preventing an imminent crash in the markets.

Purchases of $1.07 billion of securities maturing in 20 years or more have already kicked off, and operations will continue every weekday through October 14.

All this while Hurricane Ian is causing some disruptions in the southeast US with airports closing and a wave of evacuations taking place as residents head to higher grounds.

🚀 CRYPTO VC FUNDS ARE STILL GROWING!

Crypto VC funds are seeing exponential growth even though a macro bear market has set in. Venture capital firms are on track to break last year’s record of investments. See where they are investing...

🤔 THIS WEEK'S CHAIN CHALLENGE

Guess the NFT project!

• In the past bull cycle, their current market capitalization was around $1.1 billion.

• Their Metaverse is called the Otherside.

• Rappers Eminem and Snoop Dogg performed as their avatars at MTV's Video Music Awards last Sunday.

You'll find the answer later on in the newsletter!

💡 HOW TO INVEST IN BLOCKCHAIN STARTUPS

As the crypto industry matures, we are beginning to see a flood of traditional accredited investors looking for crypto venture capital deals in blockchain startups. Here's how you can...

📈 THE TRADING CORNER

Bitcoin

BTC is showing early signs of a potential major reversal that is unconfirmed. Let’s take a look at the technical analysis:

•  Currently have an unconfirmed bullish divergence on the weekly timeframe.

•  We are seeing a similar William R indicator wedge that ended the 2018 bear market (pointed out by the blue arrow downward in 2018/early 2019) showing a repeat could happen when we are close to exiting the bear market.

• $20K has been defended very strongly by buyers, which was the all-time high in the last cycle.

• Almost exactly a 1-year time frame from the high to the low from 2017 to 2018; could we see the same here (potentially bottoming a little faster?).

• Fibonacci levels line up perfectly from high to low with major resistance areas where relief rallies usually head to, around .618 ($37.2k). 

• Approaching a major trendline from both highs in the bear market. Breaking this will most likely result in the bear market being over.

• Midterms historically drive stock market rallies from October into the elections.

While it’s too early to tell if the bottom is in, we feel that the risk to reward here is much better being long than short. Prices are very attractive here on many cryptocurrencies at these levels and we believe this is a great time to start building mid to long-term investment positions.

Ethereum

Ethereum saw a major reaction off lows due to the ETH 2.0 merge, which successfully was implemented on 9/15. The market was still in a downward trend due to consistently worse inflation reporting and the FED’s reaction to raising rates. The merge itself was a non-event and led to a sell-off after people realized Ethereum would not rally after it.

• ETH came back to very strong support at $1250 where it’s made a bullish reversal structure and has started to break out with BTC.

• We see the long-term trendline since the high around $1,700. If the market continues to rally we see this to be the next resistance point and a good place to watch how the entire market reacts near these levels.

Total Market Cap

Total Market Cap wicked perfectly into 2018 highs. These levels have been defended 3 times now, with sharp bounces, making higher lows showing strong conviction that the low is most likely in.

Dow Jones Index

The Dow Jones Index (DJI) continues to fall due to the FED raising interest rates. Fear has taken over the market due to runaway inflation.

• The monthly is back to the high before the covid sell off.

• William R is down to levels that have only been seen before as almost the exact bottom in the past 2 major recessions (dot-com bubble in 01/02 and 2008 financial crisis).

• Most stocks have already drastically sold off and seem priced in for current market conditions.

• Markets usually don’t top until the FED stops raising the rates (once they announce no more rate hikes is historically the time to look for your exit).

During the covid crisis, no one was focused on the fact that there was a pandemic and the markets were irrational rocketing upwards to crazy levels because everyone was making easy money. Now that some shock has hit the market on how real inflation is we see an opportunity to buy when everyone is fearful as the market is still in a bullish structure and is at monthly support.

BTC/Nasdaq Performance

If we compare BTC’s movement over the price of Nasdaq (NDQ) we can see BTC has drastically underperformed it since the bear market high in November, but now we have hit very strong support levels and bounced off.

The main takeaway is when BTC is ready to outperform traditional markets that usually means an enormous upside for crypto markets historically and vice versa for underperforming. It seems there could be a strong chance for a relief rally from bouncing strongly off support adding more confluence that a more significant move is coming.

Dollar Strength

DXY (Dollar Strength Index) continues to rise due to the FED fighting inflation and the US dollar being the strongest and most demanded currency among global currencies.

• We are currently at the top of the channel showing confluence for a possible reversal downward causing stocks and cryptocurrency to rise (a weaker dollar usually correlates to strong dollar paired assets).

• European Central Bank has also started to raise their rates drastically as they just did a 75 bps largest rate hike in their history to fight inflation. If other global countries fight inflation, we should see those currency pairs rebound vs. the US dollar.

Continued parabolic movement on the US dollar is not sustainable. Many countries have taken a massive rate decline vs. the US dollar and we believe the market will look to shift out of the US dollar for trade opportunities if other countries start taking deflationary monetary policy actions.

Conclusion

Overall, it’s still too early to tell if BTC has bottomed and if we are ready for a relief rally, but major signs from indicators to price action are starting to show this could be a great time to build positions for a major reversal.

Everyone was telling us when we hit $65K on BTC that it was going to $100K and only a very few could see this was the top. It feels the same at these levels. The FED has spooked enough fear into retail where they feel we are going to enter a long winter and the economy will enter a recession. The masses are usually wrong though and end up buying tops and selling bottoms.

The US is technically in a recession already with GDP being lower in the past 2 quarters, but the economy is still very strong. While the FED says they are pivoting to control inflation history shows the only tool they have been using for the past 4 decades is quantitative easing. This has been a “kick the can down the road” approach that we believe will eventually cause most fiat currencies to lose most of their value.

We will leave you with the classic quote from Warren Buffet saying “When people are greedy, be fearful, and when they are fearful, be greedy”. There’s always opportunity out there if you take away the emotions of the market and focus on what smart money is doing.

Chain Challenge Answer: Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC)

😂 PIC OF THE WEEK

Our content is for informational purposes only, you should not construe any such information or other material as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice. Nothing contained on WealthUnion.io constitutes a solicitation, recommendation, endorsement, or offer. Learn more...

As the crypto industry matures, we are beginning to see a flood of traditional accredited investors looking for crypto venture capital deals in blockchain startups.

VC financing is becoming an essential part of the crypto industry. It is where new ideas are turned into successful ventures. Let's take a look at where Crypto VCs are investing.

First, What is Crypto Venture Capital?

Crypto venture capital funds are composed of a pool of investors wishing to make a considerable return on capital more quickly than average, and this also tends to have a bit more risk.

In traditional funds, fund managers send out a prospectus to potential investors inviting them to participate. A prospectus is essentially a document that sells an investor on the idea of investing in a company.

And for further understanding of the background, VC managers invest significant amounts of time reviewing the business plans, financial statements, and performance of potential investments.

Venture capital firms like to spread their investments across multiple projects. This way, they don't risk putting all their money into one single project that could fail.

There’s a lot of competition in the traditional venture capital funding game. You may not be able to find firms that want to work with you.

As a result of the former, blockchain startups have been avoiding seeking out traditional VCs for financing and have been focused on firms who understand the crypto space better.

Times are changing though as VCs begin to take a serious look at how they can invest in cryptocurrencies and new blockchain opportunities. What are those opportunities?

Let's take a look at the current state of the crypto investment world and how it is subject to evolve.

What Crypto VCs Have Been Focused On

The NFT market and DeFi space are among the most popular areas in the cryptocurrency industry attracting venture funds. Neither of these areas are exclusive, but they have seen some large crypto venture capital investments as of late.

The NFT Market

The NFT market is an emerging area of the Internet of Things. NFTs are an emerging application of blockchain technology and the visual use of digital assets, which are based on smart contracts.

Digital assets are innovative types of assets that can be used as a means of payment for goods and services. NFT stands for non-fungible token and they can represent a single piece of digital information, such as a specific person, place, or thing. An NFT can represent a musician, a real estate property, or a piece of art for example.

The DeFi Space

Decentralized Finance, or Defi for short, is another area where venture capital has flocked over the past year. For example, one of the latest funds to enter the space is a $100 million crypto-focused investment fund from US-based hedge fund Tiger Global Management.

The fund they offer, called Crypto Fund, will focus on investments in stablecoins, tokenized assets, decentralized finance, and digital asset lending platforms.

Tiger Global is one of the largest investors in blockchain startups globally, having previously invested in Coinbase, Ripple, Blockstream, and Circle Internet Financial Limited. According to the report, Tiger Global is also planning to launch its own stablecoin.

However, the large-scale adoption of DeFi products that could be considered as a real alternative to traditional financial institutions has yet to evolve.

In the meantime, many investors are still focused on cryptocurrencies as a place for parking venture capital as other investments have become lackluster in macroeconomic conditions.

How to Invest in Blockchain Startups Like a Crypto VC

As hinted at previously, VC funding in the crypto space is not entirely different from typical venture capital funding. In the cryptocurrency market, the startups that benefit from financing operate in the blockchain sector instead of the traditional market, and that's the key difference.

Institutional investors are beginning to view the cryptocurrency market as a less risky investment than stocks, bonds, and other traditional investments as institutional players enter the space. Much like VC funding in general, the advantages and disadvantages of cryptocurrencies are similar already.

One of the most crucial parts of becoming a Venture Capitalist in crypto is to research reputable partners to find private crypto investment opportunities.

WealthUnion is a great place to begin your journey, by signing up for our free newsletter and getting to know us better or jumping right into the application for private crypto investing to see if you are a good fit for WealthUnion opportunities.

We are striving to build a community of sophisticated investors who wish to not only participate in blockchain startup investments but also help drive an open-minded and engaged group.

WealthUnion is looking for individuals who are active, responsive, and motivated to learn, grow and participate in some of the best crypto deals that 99.9% of investors won't have access to. You can learn more here or subscribe to our newsletter below.

Crypto VC funds are seeing exponential growth even though a declining market has set in. Venture capital firms are still on track to break last year’s record of investments.

Venture capitalists are investing millions of dollars in cryptocurrencies. The crypto community is growing rapidly, and this means that there are many opportunities for investors to continue to make money.

Crypto Growth & Opportunity Still In Hyperdrive

While the crypto VC fund industry has been on the rise for the past several years for many firms, 2022 continues to see momentum surge. The crypto community is growing exponentially and there are hundreds of crypto companies being formed as the current bear market goes largely ignored.

More and more investors are interested in investing in crypto ventures and are simply waiting out the current market conditions. With fewer opportunities for high returns outside of crypto, many are looking for ways to invest their capital and drive the growth of the digital asset industry.

Even with a current bear market in play, venture capital firms are still on track to break 2021's record high of investments into blockchain and other crypto startups in the face of a "Crypto Winter" that has sent multiple cryptocurrency projects to new yearly lows.

VC funds are committing massive amounts of new capital into blockchain and Web3 startups, and by the end of next year, are subject to surpass the total amount of funding these crypto VC funds have already committed to the space in prior years.

Where Crypto VC Funds & Firms Are Most Active

The United States is the biggest VC funding hotspot over the past few years, and the latest data shows that this trend is still the same. North America's crypto markets will likely continue to attract more investors due to lower prices, and capital on the balance sheet being available. 

This is creating a stronger pipeline for new startups to enter the market, especially those with high utility use cases such as GameFi.

GameFi Has Generally Ignored The Bear Market

GameFi is getting more and more attention from investors, who are now pouring millions of dollars into platforms focused on gaming, betting, and similar digital assets. These gaming segments received more capital than projects within trading and lending.

We expect more interest in GameFi as we see big names such as Epic Games, SEGA, and Bandai Namco take interest in the Metaverse and blockchain investing.

It is interesting to see that a focal point of investments made so far in 2022 is in GameFi utility tokens. This is understandable because other tokens are more complex than GameFi utility tokens to understand at times, but it’s a clear sign that the demand is increasing steadily.

Multi-Chain Solutions Are On The Radar

Developers are also increasingly targeting multi-chain ecosystems. For example, two leading blockchain games, DeFi Kingdom and STEPN, have extended to two chains already. Gaming has also been one of the least affected sectors in crypto, through play-to-earn games and game-related NFTs.

As the old saying goes, gamers are going to game, regardless of economic conditions. The same GameFi NFTs and "Play To Earn" games comprise the least affected sector in all of crypto during the current bear market, per DappRadar.

Image Credit: DappRadar

What Spurred The Bear and What's Next?

Central banks around the world started raising interest rates aggressively this year, as well as enacting unconventional monetary policies to support the economy and prevent a full-blown recession.

The value of the entire crypto market has shrunk since its peak last year, the value of Bitcoin specifically has crashed more than 65% since the record high set in November 2021. The price of other cryptocurrencies have collapsed more sharply.

But, with multiple new catalysts on the horizon after Ethereum's Merge to PoS and an appetite for continued investment in the crypto VC fund space, blockchain has solidified itself for continued extreme growth in the years to come with the assistance of this influx of venture capital.

Opportunity cost refers to what you miss out on by going with one investment choice over another comparable option. The concept is an important part of investing, especially in the fast-moving world of cryptocurrency.

In other words, opportunity cost investing means that when you make an investment decision, you are making a decision about what you are going to miss out on in the future.

There is an opportunity cost to every decision you make. This is a very important concept to understand because it can help you make better investment decisions on what to hold versus what to let go of. It can also be used to explain why some projects are so successful while others struggle to gain adoption.

Do You Ever Compare Your Crypto Investment Thesis?

When it comes to opportunity cost in crypto investing, one of the biggest risks you can have is holding on to (or embracing) a failed narrative with changes that happen from cycle to cycle. For example, popular cryptocurrency projects of the past cycle may not be the winners of the next one.

A mistake that some crypto investors made this past cycle was either holding onto cryptocurrency projects from the previous bull cycle ending in early 2018 or taking profits from newer projects that were still doing well and rotating into those same older projects because they "had not run yet" and the "potential for returns was higher" - but never really did perform before the market crashed and the bear market began.

That is an opportunity cost example and sometimes it is a form of investing thesis that needs a reality check or "wake-up call" if you might say. Because of the "waiting for something to take off" approach, some investors of the past cycle were caught-off by newer projects that stole the spotlight.

So the question is, are you considering factors that are changing from cycle to cycle instead of what has not changed (like buy the rumor and sell the news events) or other considerations?

Being a smart investor takes recognizing that our own thesis may need to be compared and fact-checked periodically in order to maximize our strategy.

Here are just a few considerations to make that can help avoid opportunity-cost when crypto investing for the next bull cycle, and hopefully, increase your returns and improve your investment choices.

Who are the new participants this cycle and what interests them?

As a seasoned crypto investor, you may have some bias about what worked for participants of the past cycle. But it is important to identify what the new entrants are interested in, where they are getting their information from, the changing demographics of investors, and more.

Compare what they are discussing now to what was popular in the past cycle in order to avoid opportunity-cost that could be staring you in the face. One good move is to always ask at least a few people, both younger and older than your own age group, what crypto projects they like and why.

Next, where and what are the points of entry for participants?

As investing in cryptocurrency matures and evolves, so do the entry points and onboarding. In past cycles, there were more limited means on how people bought and sold crypto. From the early days of forum exchanges to previous cycle limitations of just a few trusted exchanges.

But as each new cycle is formed, so will the places that market participants will use to buy and sell crypto. And what projects do the masses have the easiest access to? Mainstream investment services like Robinhood and PayPal now offer crypto for buying and selling, so is that going to affect what you invest in? Who, having access to what is more important than ever.

With changing points of entry, the cryptos those points offer, and the pairings they have, can affect your thesis. Compare these more mainstream offerings and availability to your own narrative and entry points of the past.

We are dealing with technology, and it improves fast. But does it matter?

To an extent, of course, it does. But the next project that is bigger, better, faster, and stronger may still not be enough to get it across the finish line in the end. In the same sense as discounting established projects for newer and flashy cryptocurrencies - how will the new ones compete against the first-mover advantage of more senior projects? Will traction for your newer project be harder or easier?

Technology improvements will continue to get better over time. There will always be a new chain for example that is faster than older ones. Project A chain may be a split-second faster than Project B chain, but does that matter if the Project A chain can not garner the adoption that Project B chain has? It is also assumed that an older chain can not be upgraded or made improvements somehow.

In the opposite form of what we have already discussed, opportunity cost also happens when we simply discount the established for something new and flashy. It works both ways.

Where Do We Go From Here?

All of this is not to help you decide which investment to choose, it is about helping you make a decision about what you are going to miss out on, or could miss out on if you don't take a moment to compare your investment thesis to changing factors.

Cryptocurrency moves too fast to think otherwise. You are making a decision about the future of your financial outcome so it is important to slow down and consider the opportunity cost of that outcome.

There is no one-size-fits-all investment path. There is no one-size-fits-all business model either. But there are many ways to be successful when investing in crypto.

Some of them are better than others, some of them are not but had a great narrative at the time and that narrative no longer applies. Sometimes we fail to see it.

The real question is: What is the vision for what you want when investing and will you be open to considering when you are wrong? Will you take the time to compare your investment thesis and be willing to adapt in order to truly be successful?

The answers to these questions will help you define what you need to do to get where you want to go. But you also need to have some kind of strategy for how you’re going to avoid opportunity-cost again. You need a plan ahead this time and constantly compare your thesis to change.

Start Considering Opportunity Cost With Your Investments

In summary, opportunity-cost in investing is an important topic that gets ignored often. And it is something you should understand deeper if you want to earn more from your investments. Even the smartest of investors do not know that they are making mistakes when it comes to investing in crypto.

Every amount you invest in one area, means you are subject to losing money in other areas. When it comes to these areas, there is a better chance of winning when you periodically check your investment thesis and review the crypto projects you have in your portfolio. Know what you hold and why you continue to do so.

The Ethereum Merge was a success. Aside from Bitcoin halving events, "The Merge" was the biggest narrative on the crypto scene. So what's next with the event now behind us? Today, we take a look at 3 new catalysts on the horizon.

Ethereum has been the fastest-growing blockchain in history so far. It is a decentralized platform. Having the first-mover advantage, many businesses and applications are building on top of it. And investors are looking at it as one of the more lucrative future investment opportunities as Ethereum becomes deflationary in time.

As we saw in the past, the network was not very scalable. It was getting harder to scale Ethereum as its popularity grew, but Ethereum 2.0 changed all of that. The Ethereum community decided to address this issue by initiating the merge event. This was a huge change, planned and tested for years.

The Ethereum 2.0 network has a different approach. Instead of using the Proof-of-Work (PoW) algorithm, it will use a Proof-of-Stake (PoS) system.

But with "The Merge" now complete and behind us, there are a series of new catalysts for the crypto markets on the horizon. The first of those is what projects Ethereum miners will migrate to fill the immediate void.

What's Coming #1 - Where Will Ethereum Miners Migrate?

When the merge happened, the mining rewards were dissolved. Because of this, many of the miners had to switch their rigs to another blockchain. Some of the miners went back to mining Bitcoin, but others have their sights set on other PoW projects.

One of the first catalysts already underway is a boost to other PoW projects and growing ecosystems. Some of the more prominent ones being discussed are Ethereum Classic (ETC), EthereumPoW (ETHW), Ravencoin (RVN), Flux (FLUX), and Kadena (KDA).

EthereumPoW (ETHW)

EthereumPoW has announced it will be focusing its efforts as "the original PoW-based Ethereum network" as the Ethereum Foundation is shifting to PoS. F2Pool, Poolin, Nanopool, and BTC.com have announced they will support EthereumPoW after the merge.

EthereumPoW, at the time of this writing, does not have an established circulating supply nor a market capitalization and is listed on Gate.io, Poloniex, and Bitrue with mixed support circulating from other mining pools and exchanges.

Other Mining Alternatives

Ravencoin (RVN), Flux (FLUX), Kadena (KDA), Ergo (ERG), Kaspa (KAS), and Ethereum Classic (ETC) have all seen a boost in hash rate following the merge event - and seem to be some of the early winners as miners switch to these projects over the last few days.

What's Coming #2 - Regulation Development

A second catalyst on the horizon is cryptocurrency regulation and likely with it, more clarity. There are two types of cryptocurrency regulation. One type is when governments regulate the industry. The other one is when corporations regulate the industry.

Currently, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regulates the securities market while the Commodities and Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) regulates the futures market. The SEC and the CFTC have been going back and forth with "what" falls under who. Currently, the SEC regulates the exchanges where investors can trade at.

We expect new talks, laws, and even executive-level action to come about over the next 6 to 12 months that could give more clarity and defined rules for all parties involved in the cryptocurrency industry.

What's Coming #3 - The Next Bitcoin Halving

Yes, it will soon be time to prepare once again for the Bitcoin halving event. In just over a year (and we know how fast a year goes by) somewhere early 2024 is shaping up to be the timeframe of this catalyst that has traditionally spurred new bull markets for cryptocurrency.

Bitcoin is still the most popular cryptocurrency. It has been around for years. It is decentralized. There is no central bank. It is peer-to-peer-based. All of which continue to give Bitcoin a favorable stance for investors and supporters alike.

3 Things To Watch For After "The Merge" Wraps Up

There you have it. Three different catalysts for cryptocurrency markets in just over a year. From new PoW ecosystem growth on multiple networks to regulatory developments, and on to the next Bitcoin halving event - investors have several catalysts to monitor and plan for after the successful Ethereum 2.0 merge event has finished.

It's time to find out all about Bitcoin Mining and learn about using a calculator, rig setup, best software, and how to maximize your future profitability with miner companies.

Bitcoin has taken the world by storm. It has been declared dead hundreds of times, only to rise again and set new highs each cycle. So naturally, Bitcoin mining continues to be a highly researched topic and an area that more mining companies continue to grow their operations.

In this report, we will discuss everything you need to know about Bitcoin mining. We will cover what it is, how it works, and whether or not it is profitable anymore. We'll even throw in some future forecasting on profitability before we round things out.

So, What Is Bitcoin Mining And The History Of It?

Bitcoin mining is the process of verifying and adding transactional records to the public ledger. The ledger is a virtual record of all Bitcoin transactions that have ever been made historically speaking. Miners are rewarded with newly created Bitcoins, as well as transaction fees.

Mining is a computationally intensive process that requires powerful computers and a lot of electricity, but more on the future of power consumption later on.

In modern terms, when most people think of Bitcoin mining, they think of the large warehouses filled with rows upon rows of computers solving complex mathematical problems.

However, Bitcoin mining is not just about solving math problems. It's also about verifying transactions and ensuring the security of the network. Without miners, there would be no Bitcoin.

So how does Bitcoin mining work? When a Bitcoin transaction is made, it is broadcast to the network. Miners then verify the transaction by solving a complex mathematical problem. Once the transaction is verified, it is added to the blockchain, which is a public ledger.

Mining for Bitcoins can still be done on a personal computer these days, but it is no longer profitable. This is because Bitcoin mining has become a very resource-intensive process.

In order to be profitable, miners need to have access to specialized hardware and software. They also need to have cheap electricity in order to keep their operating costs low.

There are two main types of Bitcoin miners: those who mine for themselves and those who mine for a pool. Miners who mine for themselves keep all of the rewards from the blocks they mine.

Miners who mine for a pool share their rewards with the other members of the pool. Rewards are typically calculated to determine profitability.

How Do You Use A Bitcoin Mining Calculator?

A Bitcoin mining calculator is an online tool that allows you to determine how much your mining operation will set you back you in terms of electricity, hardware, and other associated costs.

This information is critical in order to calculate whether or not Bitcoin mining is a profitable endeavor for your goals.

There are a number of different Bitcoin mining calculators available online, and they all offer slightly different features. However, the basics are generally the same.

How so? Well, you input your current Bitcoin mining setup, including factors such as hash rate, power consumption, and electricity cost, and the calculator will output an estimate of how much you can expect to be rewarded over a given period of time.

The Traditional Rig Setup

Mining rigs are special computers that mine for new Bitcoins. They are designed specifically for the task of mining and are very efficient at it. Mining rigs usually have very powerful processors and a lot of memory, so they can mine for Bitcoins very quickly.

If you want to get into Bitcoin mining at home, then you'll need to invest in a good mining rig. There are a lot of different rigs on the market, so you need to do your research and choose one that is right for you. You also need to make sure that you have a good internet connection, as mining can be very data intensive.

The first thing you need to do is purchase a few graphics cards. The AMD Polaris graphics cards were a good option for mining in the past, as they offered a good hash rate-per-dollar ratio. You will need to purchase a CPU and motherboard that can accommodate all of the graphics cards.

Next, you will need to purchase a power supply unit, otherwise known as a PSU for short. Make sure that the PSU has enough wattage to power all of your graphics cards.

You will also need to purchase a frame to house your rig and secure the stability of it. This can be anything from a simple open-air frame to something more elaborate in nature. Once you have all of the hardware, you will then need to select and download Bitcoin mining software to get started.

Configure Your Bitcoin Mining Software

If all the above starts to sound a bit overwhelming to piece together, don't forget you still have software to download and configure before you can begin your Bitcoin mining journey!

Bitcoin mining software is something that every miner needs in addition to the hardware requirements above. In order to have your very own Bitcoin mining operation, you will need to invest in trusted mining software, and yes, there is some research involved there too.

The first thing you need to consider when looking for Bitcoin mining software is what operating system you will be using. There are many different software programs available for Windows, Linux, and Mac. Each operating system has its own set of programs and configurations.

The next thing you need to consider is what type of Bitcoin miner you will be using. There are two main types of miners for Bitcoin: CPU miners and GPU miners.

CPU miners use the processing power of your computer's CPU to mine.

GPU miners use the processing power of your computer's graphics card to mine.

Once you have considered these factors, you can begin to look for the Bitcoin mining software that meets your needs.

CGMiner

One popular option is CGminer. This software is easy to use and provides a variety of features, including support for multiple mining pools and devices. It also has a number of other advantages, such as being able to automatically detect new blocks and submit them to the network.

BFGMiner

Another option is BFGMiner. This software is more complex but provides a number of features that CGminer does not, such as support for ASICs. It also has a number of other advantages, such as being able to automatically detect new blocks and submit them to the network.

Which option is best for you will depend on your needs and preferences. Both CGminer and BFGMiner are widely used and respected options, just be careful to get the official versions of either of these software programs.

Often, mining software that does not come from the source, such as a third-party download website, may have viruses bundled with it. So, many malware protection products designate Bitcoin mining software as malicious because of this. Always verify that you get your software for mining Bitcoin from a reputable source.

The Profitability Of Mining Bitcoin

While Bitcoin prices continue to rise over time, so does the mining difficulty. This means that if you want to be profitable in Bitcoin mining, you need to have access to cheap electricity and a fast internet connection.

If you have these two things, then you can make a profit by mining Bitcoin. However, if you don't have access to cheap electricity or a fast internet connection, then Bitcoin mining will not be profitable for you.

There are a few things that you need to know in order to make sure that you are profitable in Bitcoin mining. First, you need to make sure that you have a fast internet connection.

If your internet connection is slow, then it will take longer for you to mine a block of Bitcoin. This means that you will have to pay more electricity fees.

Second, you need to make sure that you have access to cheap electricity. If your electricity costs are high, then it will eat into your profits.

Third, you need to make sure that you have a good Bitcoin mining rig as described above. If you don't have a good Bitcoin mining rig, then you will not be able to mine effectively.

Is It Too Late To Get Into Bitcoin Mining?

In order to answer the question of whether it is too late to get into Bitcoin mining, you must first understand what factors will affect the profitability of mining.

One key factor is the difficulty of mining Bitcoin. The difficulty of mining Bitcoin refers to how difficult it is to find a hash that satisfies the given target. For miners, a higher difficulty means that it will take longer to find a hash that satisfies the target, and thus they will receive fewer mining rewards.

As more and more companies begin to mine Bitcoin, the difficulty of mining Bitcoin will increase. This is because the network adjusts the difficulty so that a new block is found, on average, every ten minutes on average. As more miners join the network, the difficulty will increase so that blocks are still found.

Another key factor that will affect the profitability of mining is the price of Bitcoin. If the price of Bitcoin goes way down, then it will be less profitable to mine Bitcoin.

However, if the price of Bitcoin goes up much higher, then it will be more profitable to mine Bitcoin. Bitcoin is no stranger to extreme price swings in both directions, and sometimes the popularity of mining follows this volatility.

The future challenges of mining include environmental concerns and regulation. As mining requires a lot of energy, there are concerns about the environmental impact of mining. In addition, as mining becomes more popular, governments may start to regulate it.

But, the good news is there are multiple improvements being made that will keep Bitcoin mining better for the environment and also profitable at the same time.

New energy sources are being introduced or improved upon each year, including those such as Flare Mining, Solar Power, and Wind Turbine Farms.

Thus, whether it is too late to get into Bitcoin mining depends on a number of factors, but the future still looks very favorable for doing so.

Positioning yourself correctly in times of a down market through discounted hardware purchasing or new contract agreements with miner companies can still make it possible to be profitable with Bitcoin mining in the long term.

The Pocket Network provides RPC access to Ethereum, Polygon, and many more blockchain and crypto networks. They are the "Index Fund for Blockchain Infrastructure" that is helping scale Web3 with a steady supply of nodes.

What Makes Pocket Network Unique

With Pocket Network, usage requests can be routed to 1000's of independent full nodes, meaning applications do not have to worry about random outages or data leaks. Projects and blockchains no longer have to settle for a single service provider or point of failure when Pocket Network's trustless API is highly distributed.

Pocket Network's mission is to provide open access to the world's public data by empowering anyone to provide unstoppable infrastructure. Pocket Network provides a censorship-resistant node network that addresses Web3's access handling side, with zero downtime and no sunk cost to applications.

The Pocket Network plans to target and improve a specific part of a blockchain transaction - in an Ethereum transaction, for example, smart contracts are typically filled with logical, EVM-compatibility directives.

When interacting with Ethereum smart contracts, users first need to submit their request to an Ethereum full node powered by the EVM and this full node can be an external or local node.

Image Credit: Pocket Network

Running a local full node allows the user to not only read chain data, but to validate transactions to be broadcasted to the network - without the need for an external connector.

Running a full node can be costly and an inefficient activity however when not done at scale. And one that is limited by performance issues, such as high latency and downtime. Businesses need to be profitable and they have overhead costs that protocols do not have.

It can be expensive, time-consuming, and may not always produce results when relying on a single business. However, by using Pocket Network - a decentralized protocol instead of a single centralized business - Web3 projects can cut down on unnecessary costs and maximize uptime.

Whenever nodes compete to provide applications with the best data processing, applications benefit by tapping into the power of thousands of nodes run by decentralized infrastructure.

The Index Fund For Blockchain Infrastructure

Now that it is understood Pocket Network is a blockchain data platform built for applications that use cost-efficient economics to coordinate and distribute data at scale, and what makes them unique, we see them becoming the leader of node services from not only how their network is designed - but their plan to support hundreds (and eventually thousands) of blockchains.

Pocket Network could be called the "Index Fund for Blockchain Infrastructure", at least from the technical side of things. To help simplify the concept of just what Pocket Network is for investors, think of index funds.

Index funds are a portfolio of stocks or bonds designed to mimic the composition and performance of a financial market index. Now, remove the financial idea and replace it with the technical node infrastructure of Pocket Network and that leaves you with "Pocket Network is a decentralized network of nodes designed to support composition and performance of multiple blockchains".

And unlike centralized counterparts run by companies, Pocket Network is marching towards full decentralization with Web3 infrastructure done the right way in supporting multiple crypto applications and blockchains.

The End Game: To Infinity and Beyond

Pocket Network has plans to integrate with numerous blockchain networks, providing them with essential data and information. Multiple projects and protocols have already begun to request API handling services from Pocket's distributed node system.

As demand for blockchain-based applications continues to grow, the market's supply side is focusing on two types of nodes to ensure that the demand for information is met: service nodes and validator nodes. The growth of Pocket Network's node population has now reached a point where it can provide premium service levels to multiple projects simultaneously.

Pocket is releasing a major upgrade, V1, which greatly improves the scalability and enterprise-grade service quality of the Pocket network.

When we say the "Index Fund of Blockchain Infrastructure" it might make more sense to really get a feel for where Pocket Network is now in support of how many top-tier blockchains are already supported: Algorand, Avalanche, Binance Smart Chain, Binance Smart Chain Archival, Boba, DFKchain Subnet, Dogechain, Ethereum, Ethereum Archival, Ethereum Archival Trace, Ethereum Goerli, Ethereum Kovan, Ethereum Rinkeby, Ethereum Ropsten, Evmos, Fantom, FUSE, FUSE Archival, Gnosis Chain, Gnosis Chain Archival, Harmony Shard, IoTeX, Klaytn Mainnet, Meter, Metis, Moonbeam, Moonriver, NEAR, OKExChain, Optimism, Osmosis Mainnet, Polygon, Polygon Archival, Polygon Mumbai, Solana, Swimmer Network Mainnet, and new blockchains being added monthly.

It's not hard to see that Pocket Network has the momentum going and will help lead Web3 into a truly decentralized and scalable future with room for all.

Passive Income has its benefits anytime, but especially during a bear market cycle. When everything is down or flat, passively earning money can help you build wealth.

The generally accepted definition of passive income refers to earnings in which a person is not actively involved, such as those from real estate rentals, limited partnership companies, or for those in crypto, running nodes to support blockchain networks or lending via DeFi are examples.

Many Passive Income Ideas, But Too Few Utilize Them

There are many ideas of course to passively earn income aside from those mentioned above, but our focus for today is the importance of earning this passive income during a bear market. Time and again, investors are failing to build passive income sources to help make them wealthier.

Bear markets can be brutal, bringing about lows in stocks and crypto prices that many could think would never be reached. It happens, and it is a normal part of the economic cycle that everyone should prepare for.

There is really no place to "hide" during a bear market either. Almost every company and market type will be affected when the bear comes roaring.

But, bear markets bring opportunity. And with that opportunity comes the ability to purchase assets that were previously out of reach for many investors during the bull cycle. This is where passive income can help you acquire those assets during the bear market and more investors should be focusing on building those income sources out during the bull cycle.

Bear Markets, Extreme Fear, and Big Deals

Bear markets may be scary, but they also present a unique opportunity for investors to get ahead. When the market corrects, there's a transfer of wealth from those who sell off their holdings out of panic to those who buy them when deal searching.

Successful investors have treated bear markets as their time to go shopping and have reaped the rewards from doing so. By taking advantage of extreme fear during a bear market, you can set yourself up for success in the long run.

Passive income and Dollar Cost Averaging strategies are great choices for investors, especially crypto investors, who want to make money in a bear market and scale into those opportunities that are on sale during the fear cycle.

It's important to remember that during a bear market, emotions can run high and investors may be tempted to sell their holdings at a loss. However, if you've made significant gains during a bull market, it's vital to hold on to this wealth and continue growing it during a bear market. This is one of the key ways to achieve financial freedom in your life.

Use Passive Income For Dollar Cost Averaging On Those Deals

Dollar Cost Averaging is an investment strategy in which an investor allocates a fixed sum of capital into their investment portfolio at equal time intervals. The Dollar Cost Averaging strategy using income that you are earning from passive income sources has been shown to be a more successful strategy than trying to time the market.

This helps you take emotion out of investing, which can often be detrimental to decision-making. This is especially true during bear markets.

By investing small sums of money into an asset at fixed intervals, Dollar Cost Averaging allows an investor to buy more units when the price is low and less when the price is high. This technique smooths out the effects of volatility, reducing the risk that comes with trying to time market entry and bottoms.

Passive Income During A Bear Market For The Win

Employing such a bear market investment strategy can help crypto investors to preserve portfolio value, increase holdings, and grow long-term wealth regardless of market conditions. Not only will you survive the bear market, but you'll also be better positioned for the bull cycle when it does come back.

By buying assets at a lower overall price, smart investors can increase their holdings while preserving value and growing their wealth in the dreaded bear market. You too can do the same.