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HOW TO OPTIMIZE YOUR EMAIL MARKETING CAMPAIGNS

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HOW TO OPTIMIZE YOUR EMAIL MARKETING CAMPAIGNS

 

Since the dawn of social media marketing, it’s been purported that email marketing will cease to be of any value as a marketing strategy. On the contrary, email continues to be one of the most popular digital channels that marketers can use to communicate with customers and subscribers, bringing in significant ROI for businesses worldwide. 

According to Statista, daily email users will climb to 4.6 billion by 2025. Despite the growth and prominence of mobile messengers and chat apps, e-mail is an integral part of everyday online life. Email is a great way to connect with busy clients on the move, eating breakfast, commuting, at work, in bed, or just about anywhere with billions of users per day.

Furthermore, the number of emails sent and received globally has increased since 2017. While roughly 319.6 billion emails were estimated to have been sent and received each day in 2021, this figure is expected to increase to over 376.4 billion daily emails by 2025.

Email Marketing

Email marketing has managed to defy its predicted demise and remain central to digital communication, and continues to grow in acceptance. Notably, email has seen higher click-through rates than social media regarding online advertising.

Past studies and marketing statistics have found that 4.24% of visitors from email marketing will make a purchase compared to only 2.49% of visitors from search engines and 0.59% from social media. 

The email has been around for decades, and the concept of email autoresponders as a strategic marketing tool was invented by the Founder and CEO of Markethive, Thomas Prendergast. He subsequently refined and established the system and the concept of Automated Marketing which we now call Inbound Marketing.

 

Optimize Your Email Campaigns

As the number of emails sent and received each day increases globally, data experts agree that more than 120 business and consumer emails are sent and received by the average person. It would be fair to say not all those emails are read or even opened. 

Given the statistics above, it's crucial to reevaluate your email marketing campaigns periodically and look for ways to make your emails stand out. To capture your recipient’s attention, you need to craft an intriguing subject line, purposeful salutation, and opening sentence.

Almost two-thirds (59%) of B2B marketers say email is the most effective channel, and marketing through email is the most effective tactic. The same group of B2B marketers surveyed claimed there are some dynamic tactics they can take to make their emails even more effective. 

For example, according to Experian, 56% of email marketers who use emojis in their subject lines have a higher open rate. When used in subject lines, emojis stand out and separate your email from the mountains of other emails. 

 

 

Adding emojis to headlines started in 2015 and has become more prevalent in subsequent years. Studies have shown that emotional content can increase the effectiveness of a marketing campaign by as much as 70%. Emojis show a facial expression related to the message conveyed or an icon related to the product or brand.

Emojis help break the language barrier as they generally hold the same meanings. They also create a more visual element and can retain your customer's attention. They can generate urgency or trigger emotions when used in a subject line, particularly for B2C.

Be sure to keep it relevant to your email subject and not overdo the number of emojis. More than two will look spammy and can put people off. You will need to discern what works for your brand and audience. In some cases, emojis might not be the best option. 

Industries considered serious like law, accounting, and B2B may see it as unprofessional. However, your industry shouldn’t dictate what may work for your emails. Many emojis could be suitable, like calculators, clip boards, stop signs or dollar symbols, etc. There are many options to find the right emojis for your company.  

Appboy conducted a poll and found that people enjoy emojis in general. More than 64% like or love emojis, compared to only 6% who dislike them. Consumers are exposed to emojis regularly in their everyday life: 87% use them in their texting and messaging, and 68% receive a message with emojis from friends or family once a day or more.

The good news for marketers is that 39% of participants thought the emoji touch in emails from brands was fun. Although there has been a steady rise in emoji-focused email campaigns, 60% said they received emails from brands only once a month, and 35% have never received an emoji campaign. 

 


Image source Optinmonster

 

Tips For Using Emojis In Your Email Marketing

  • Use sites such as Emojispedia to find emojis. Simply copy and paste the emojis you want to use in your email subject line.
  • Don’t use emojis just for the sake of using them. Make sure the emojis are relevant to your audience.
  • When using emojis, tone and context do matter. Use emojis that complement your message.
  • Ensure your audience responds well to emojis before sending them in emails to all your subscribers. A/B test emails with and without emojis allow the difference in open rate to help you determine what is working.
  • Finally, don’t go overboard. While emojis are fun to use, it’s easy to overdo them. Maybe just reserve them for special occasions.

By using emojis in the correct context, you could create the top email subject lines in your industry. Not only do emojis capture interest, but they can boost your email's response rate, too.

 

Why Are Engaging Email Introductions Important?

Now that we’ve caught the recipient's attention with a fetching and novel subject line, a robust email introduction encourages your reader to continue scanning the body of your message. 

The best emails have an engaging greeting and opening sentence that secures the recipient’s interest and buy-in. Ideally, a captivating introduction ultimately leads readers to take action. 

A thoughtful email opening sentence is helpful when asking recipients to:  

  • Click on a link
  • Respond to a question
  • Participate in a survey
  • Provide additional clarity
  • Review a document or other information
  • Provide business-related support
  • RSVP

A compelling opener sets the tone for your message, and it can also entice recipients to spend more of their time with the message and help your email sidestep the terrible “trash bin.”

 

Six Strong Ways To Start An Email

Below is a list of email greetings and opening sentences that keep recipients and their time a priority.

Appropriate Salutations

1. Dear %%Name%%
This email greeting is an appropriate salutation for formal email correspondence. It’s typically used in cover letters, official business letters, and other communication when you want to convey respect for the recipient. Personalization can improve open rates by up to 26%

Although honorifics like “Mr.” and “Mrs.” were once accepted, they risk misgendering or erroneously assuming the reader’s marital status. So, just use either first name or full name to be on the safe side.

2. Hi or Hello
As far as email greetings go, an informal “Hi” followed by a comma is acceptable in most work-related messages. If a slightly more formal tone is preferred, consider the salutation “Hello.” 

Although this is considered an informal greeting, it also conveys a straightforward and friendly tone.

3. Greeting A Group Of People
When writing an email message to two or more people, you have a few options. “Hi everyone,” “Hi team,” or “Hi %%department name%% team” are informal yet professional ways to greet a group of people.

They also avoid gender-specific addresses to a group, like “Hi guys,” “Hi ladies,” or “Gentlemen,” which might not accurately describe the recipients.

Engaging Email Opening Sentences

4. I hope your week is going well, or I hope you had a lovely weekend
These are effective email opening sentences because they acknowledge your reader first and help build rapport with a colleague you already know or with whom you want to develop a friendly working relationship. 

5. I’m reaching out about . . . 
Beginning an email with “I’m reaching out about . . . ” is polite and direct and clarifies the purpose of the email. With hundreds of email correspondences transmitted in a single business day, this approach shows you’re being conscientious about the recipient’s time by getting straight to the point.

Stating your intent also avoids miscommunication or confusion about what you need from the reader. 

6. Thanks for . . . 
Expressing gratitude is another way to put the reader first. If the email you’re writing is in response to an email or action by the recipient, acknowledging that at the start builds on workplace companionship.

 

Six Ways Not To Begin An Email

The salutations and opening sentences below carry a stiff tone and, in some cases, suggest a careless approach. If your goal is to come across as genuine and thoughtful, it’s best to avoid these phrases. 

Salutations To Avoid

1. To whom it may concern
Although “To whom it may concern” seems like a professional salutation, it’s impersonal and overused. It suggests that you didn’t care to confirm who your recipient is or whether your message pertains to them.
This also applies to the email greeting, “Dear Sir or Madam.” In this case, the gender-binary greeting is dated and could be considered noninclusive.

2. Hi %%Misspelled Name%%
Confirm that you've used the correct spelling when using the recipient’s name in an email salutation. Typos happen, but misspelling a person’s name sends a red flag that you didn’t write your message with care or attention to detail. 

3. Dear %%ENTER NAME HERE%%
Misspelling a recipient’s name in an email greeting should be avoided, as should another salutation blunder: entirely forgetting to enter their name into a prewritten template.

Using an email template without any personalization in the hope of captivating your reader will likely be ineffective. If you must use a templated message for efficiency, always double-check that you’ve changed any placeholders in the salutation with the recipient’s correctly spelled name. 

Opening Sentences To Avoid

4. Can you do me a favor?
When you don’t know the recipient and email them for the first time, an opening sentence like “Can you do me a favor?” can feel abrupt and has a self-serving tone. 

Instead, consider an email opening sentence that concisely explains the problem you’re hoping to solve with their assistance, like “I’m reaching out about . . . ”

5. I know you’re busy, but . . . 
This email introduction, at best, assumes the reader’s time is precious. At worst, it suggests that you’re aware of that fact, but you deserve their attention nonetheless. 

Regardless of your relationship with the reader, avoid this introductory sentence and briefly explain why you’re messaging them.

6. Let me introduce myself
This email opener is typically used for email recipients for the first time. Beginning an email with “Let me introduce myself” is like narrating your introduction, and it sounds declarative but wastes time. Instead, cut to the chase. 

Additional tips for an engaging email introduction

  • Know your audience. The email salutation and opening sentence for your message should reflect your relationship with the audience. Consider whether you’re writing for a client, a professional acquaintance, or a close colleague. 
  • Make your purpose clear. When the purpose of your email is unclear, it can leave the reader confused or frustrated. To avoid missing this critical factor, try incorporating the intention of your email into the opening sentence.

It’s essential to realize what you need to do to get the attention of your customers when their inboxes are already saturated with messages. Take the time to think about improving your email marketing strategy to ensure your emails rise above the clutter.

Markethive – The Holistic Approach

Email marketing is the undisputed leader in terms of ROI. From a marketing perspective, the statistics on reach and engagement show email open rates are generally 20-30%, unlike the organic reach on Facebook at only 2-6%. (i.e., the number of your fans who see your posts in their Newsfeed)

Likewise, click-through rates (CTR) from email are generally in the 3% range, while CTR on LinkedIn is in the 0.6% range. However, email marketing is not in competition with social media, nor are they separate entities. Combined, they offer a more holistic approach and provide a seamless experience for customers. 

Markethive offers a comprehensive, inclusive platform integrating a social interface, remote broadcasting to other social media and digital sites, and inbound marketing mechanisms that bring brands and customers together. 

Email delivery is a top priority at Markethive and a powerful aspect of our inbound marketing system. It has earned the reputation of producing an emailing system that delivers your messages to 97% of your recipients’ accounts with 100% delivery to their INBOX.

The Markethive email autoresponder system is free when you join Markethive and is built for beginners through to Entrepreneurs and Business Owners at any level. There are no limitations on the amount or size of your list of subscribers and no upcharges. 

Email reaches your customers one-on-one, and the social aspect of Markethive is ideal for driving customers as communities. Markethive has paired them together for the most effective and dynamic marketing strategy.

 

What’s Coming To Markethive? 

The current email autoresponder in Markethive sends a series of emails out linearly. Segments are sequenced to be delivered every day, alternate day, or whatever day you choose when configuring your email campaign. 

The great news is that we have an alternative new email system being developed, consisting of more in-depth programming that will make the delivery of your emails more dynamic and intuitive. The program will identify what emails were opened and send out the following email aligned with the first email. 

The recipient's actions within that email will determine which type of email will subsequently be delivered to them. If the email is not opened, it will not follow up with a second email. So the system will fork off the original email depending on any given outcome. 

The report on your email delivery will have more concise data displaying how many overall emails went out, how many were delivered, how many were opened, and how many bounced back as rejected due to errors in the address or full inbox issues. 

The whole purpose behind this is not to spam people or hit them with messages they don’t want but to produce quality material that helps educate people and those looking for answers to their particular problems through systems like this.  By using these methods, you establish authority, and the credibility that your sphere of influence you create will appreciate what you are doing.

You will be able to keep using Markethive’s original autoresponder; you will now just have a choice.

For all the latest updates on what’s happening in Markethive, come to our weekly meetings on Sundays at 10 am Mountain time. The link to the meeting room is in the Markethive calendar. 

See you there and God Bless You 

 

 

General

Your Secret Business Tool – Social Media

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Your Secret Business Tool – Social Media

Over time, some social media platforms can lose their initial popularity or significance. However, 'socialness' never changes. Regardless of the platform, each one gives businesses unequaled access and insight into their customers. When this information is used thoughtfully, businesses become privy to their customer's innermost thoughts, questions, interests, concerns, and dilemmas. In this post, we will look at how and why social media is the secret tool for operating a successful business.

 

Start With Building Trust

Without question, trustworthy companies are created from enduring relations. Customers initiate their transactions with 'company reps', irrespective of the company's status. So, to grow these business relationships, trust must be involved. But how do you start building trust? Here's how:

You Need To Be Present

The key is being available to the community members. For example, answer and follow up with all the direct messages and comments from users. Give value to those who read and interact with your posts. View them as people who may promote your business. Not as data or credit cards. They are people.

Display Your Humanity

Showing your face in a video or an occasional selfie can really resonate with customers. Seeing you online for a long time can make them feel like they know you because they've seen how you interact with people and what you post. Showing some humanity is valuable because your followers are interested in knowing you, not just what's being marketed. Examples are posting photos of fun company staff outings or perhaps retweets from admired companies/individuals.

Additionally, don't forget the power of humility. Trust can be built by admitting your mistakes. Sharing content describing what you've learned along the way is a great place to start, along with adding a bit of humor.

Be Transparent

Trust gets built from being helpful and being honest. Just as you can see that with friends, it's also true on social media. Honesty should be applied to your customer's questions and queries. Transparency shows that you do care about them. Responding quickly and even quirkily to every customer query, whether or not they're worthy of being answered in the first place, can generate higher engagement and often praise from the social media community.

Along with being honest and transparent, having a consistent tone is vital to building trust across social media. If the best manner of voice for your business is friendly and conversational, reflect that in all the captions, answers, and messages you post and send to your users.

Even though it can take a lot of time to build up trust, it takes very little time to break it. Trust can be destroyed in an instant if people' sense' you are misleading, deceptive, or you promote some specific cause and do nothing to support it.

Learning to Listen

So far, we've outlined the importance of building trust by being present, human, and transparent. Now we'll focus on understanding the power of listening. Most people listen with the intent to reply rather than the goal to understand. Especially with social media. No matter if it's what people say about your product or service, what your competitors are doing, or what the buzz is in your industry, the key to success is listening with the goal of complete understanding. When you know what's going on in your respective industry, you're more apt to find your way to participate in that conversation.

 

Creating Valuable Content

The term "valuable content" for digital users has different meanings for different people. A useful identification filter to use is "help, don't hype."

Listen to the questions being asked in your industry and answer them with your product or service. Inherent value is created when problems such as "How is this done?", "Where can I find that?" or "How does this work?" are resolved rather than just selling your products. Users get the distinct impression that you know what you're doing, and they can really trust your products or services, even if a specific product isn't mentioned anywhere in the blog post.

Here are some ways to begin creating content that's of value to your users, no matter what your area of business:

Make Your Content Customer-Focused

Many companies nowadays post information about their business. The content becomes more valuable to a customer when it's personalized for them, answers a problem they might have, or inspires them. Customer-focused content is what helps your customers make informed decisions and keeps them returning to you.

Request Real Feedback

The famous phrase, "There's no such thing as a stupid question." is especially true when it involves your audience. Encourage them to ask questions and provide their feedback. You cannot define what is valuable. Only your audience can. So ask. Every question that your ideal client asks is an opportunity to create valuable content that answers that question. To determine what content appears to deliver the largest impact on your audience, review your website analytics. You can also check your website analytics to find out which content seems to have the most audience impact and concentrate on producing additional content in the same arena.

Produce Content That Reflects Your Business

Valuable content helps people to understand your product or service and stimulates positive engagement amongst the users. However, this doesn't mean re-strategizing content purely for higher engagement levels. For success on social media, your content needs to be useful and informative, or people will look elsewhere.

Which Platform Works Best for Relationship Building?

Your best social media platform to use is the one where the people you want (your potential customers) are the most active. It might be Twitter, Instagram, or one of several others.
You will need to review your business and resources. Here are some of the top social media platforms:

  • Facebook. Here you are able to interact with possible customers, competitors, professionals in my space, find new friends, and increase value. It has the most members worldwide based on population percentage. You can interact with other members, build connections, and trusted relationships. Additionally, you can benefit from Facebook ads along with 'audience tracking'. You have a dynamic retention tool in Facebook groups, where you can have one-on-one exchanges regularly with platform members.
  • Instagram. Because of its pictorial nature, Instagram is inherently very appealing. With its feed and content, members are able to have interactions in various ways from the same location.
  • Twitter and LinkedIn. The Twitter and LinkedIn platforms are a dynamic pair for social marketing. They help you to engage prospects, find alternatives, and maintain connections until people are ready to buy or would refer you to someone else.
  • Markethive. Markethive delivers an Inbound Marketing platform equal or superior to Marketo and Hubspot. It includes email autoresponders, blogging platforms, landing pages, social media broadcasting, Tracking analytics, SEO, backlinking automation, messaging, e-commerce, and SEO. The benefits of these systems are to "attract," "convert," "close," and "delight." Building a large loyal long term customer base.

Improvement Of Your Social Media Presence

Social media is never a 'One and Done' relationship. It is always ongoing and evolving. What's critical is knowing it's not only concerning increasing your number of customers but also about extending your capacity and impacting your business sector. With the intention of advancement, review these useful guides:

  • Compose a conversation. Keep in mind you should be talking, not broadcasting. Since Social media utilizes conversational platforms, you should concentrate on creating conversations. That includes listening, questioning, and speaking with people, not at people. These days audiences are sick and tired of being talked at by individuals that just broadcast. They want to connect, and you can make the connection by involving yourself in their conversations.
  • Update & Optimize your social media Bio's. This is the initial image that potential connections will have of you. Unless your profile stands out from all the others on social media, your results will be less than you would like. Identify your points of difference and share them.
  • Try A/B testing. First, brainstorm for interesting, fresh topics that would reflect your business's image. Next, run the projects through a test in terms of their subject matter, post times, and headings by managing the results. If the results are favorable, proceed to the next test. For example, on Facebook, post a rough draft on a certain topic and see the response, i.e., questions asked, comments, and likes. From there, you can determine whether to leverage the quick post into longer-form content, such as a blog post or email.

 

Looking Ahead

Always remember, it's not about the technology; it's about the people. Social media platforms, without a doubt, can bring us together on both a personal and professional level with others. Perhaps the best way to move ahead, no matter how big or small your business, is using social media as a tool for understanding people. When your business prioritizes this understanding using open and honest engagement, trust can be slowly built, and success can indeed be had.

 

ecosystem for entrepreneurs

 

A Markethive Entrepreneur and a strong advocate of the Markethive mission for technology, world progress, and freedom of speech. I support change and endeavor to help others understand, grow, and move forward with enthusiasm to achieve their goals.

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General

A Time Of Reckoning For Some Emergence For Others

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A Time Of Reckoning For Some, Emergence For Others

A time of reckoning for social media

With the turbulent state of affairs social media giants are experiencing, where does that leave users and advertisers? Some think they have nowhere else to go when in reality a whole new social and market media is emerging. 

If you thought that there was a surge in social media usage as a result of the global pandemic you may be surprised to hear that although many people used social media to stay in touch with family and friends, the covid element has not substantially increased the number of people using social networks or messaging apps simply because 4 out of 5 users already engage in the activities pre-pandemic. 

According to these statistics, they speak of existing users’ engagement, not of changes in the total number of users. In the US alone, the social network user space is saturated already with 81.3% of adult internet users and 73.2% of users of all ages, so there’s little room for new growth.

On a global level, there are 4.57 billion people using the internet with 3.81 billion active social media users and 5.16 billion unique mobile phone users. GlobalWebIndex found that tutorials and how-to videos are amongst the top kinds of content that consumers want more of during the COVID-19 crisis, and these may represent a particularly compelling opportunity for B2B brands.

As you would expect, this year did see a surge greater than expected in the number of live video users, video game viewers, and subscription over-the-top (OTT) users due to the pandemic, but social networking activities have not experienced the same hike.   

Notably, the ongoing and escalating problems of fake news, misinformation, divisive content, and censorship have created a somewhat toxic environment causing past users to have little incentive to rejoin or log in and current users may feel the need for a break from the cognitive dissonance. 

A New Sense Of Urgency

A social media reckoning, post the US election of the far-reaching power of Facebook and Google is at hand and the role social media giants play in dividing us or uniting us has taken on a new urgency with long-term trends in polarization leading to an evermore fractured America. 

The percentage of Americans that use social media surprisingly is the exact same number of people saying social media has a mostly negative effect on how the state of what’s happening in America at the moment where the people are politically divided. 

Of that, 25% say it’s neither negative nor positive with only 10% saying it helps people stay informed and aware. Coming in at 3rd place was the ability to connect, communicate, and sense of community. Lastly was the visibility of marginalized groups and activism of social movements. 

People will still continue to use social media and are reflective of society at large. They continue to use it even if they are fed up with what they are seeing on the platform. This indicates the reality of how social media is embedded in our culture and reflects on what is actually going on around us. 

The intent of many users though, is to catch up with loved ones and friends and don’t focus on the divisive or high profile content so there is a disconnect, however, many look for or are subject to some kind of news. 

When asked, people said the biggest frustrations and reasons social media has a negative effect is in order of preference with an overwhelmingly lead being;

  1. Misinformation and fake news 
  2. Hate, harassment, and extremism
  3. People believing everything and not knowing what to believe 
  4. People bothered by censorship and bias
  5. Too much negativity 

A Rise In Cognitive Dissonance 

Cognitive dissonance is a primary issue and experienced by many users which can happen when we are exposed to differing opinions on social media, and when we are not able to choose which is the right one, we experience cognitive dissonance.

This behavior is more evident online and on social networking sites where people continue to bombard others with differing thoughts and opinions. With Facebook as an example, what started out as a platform to catch up with family and friends has turned into a stage for activism and movements, disinformation, segregation, politicization, and diminishing self-esteem and mental health in individuals in many cases. 

With emerging technology and the post-pandemic normal way of life, we won’t see a shift away from social media in general. However, individuals need to understand how to cope with the emotional upheaval that comes with cognitive dissonance. 

Some of the emotions that we experience as a result of cognitive dissonance are dread, guilt, anger, frustration, anxiety, stress, etc. Most of us are aware of our belief systems. However, when we realize that there may be a grain of truth in another person’s views and opinions, it conflicts with our own beliefs. 

One of my favorite sayings is “live and let live” so by accepting that there are opposing views around us and if we hold true to ourselves these conflicting opinions have no power over us. 

Lack Of Critical Thinking Skills A Culprit

At a roundtable conference, a panel of industry insiders discussed the issues about the spread of disinformation on social media. It was identified that many people are not trained well in the skill of critical thinking. They are unable to differentiate a biased or untrustworthy source of information from a reliable one. 

It was suggested to aggressively teach both confirmation bias and argumentative theory at a young age so an individual can learn to self-mitigate. A sure defense would be to equip everyone to be their own best advocate and critically evaluate all the information and the motives behind that information. 

Laura DiDio, a high tech analyst remarked,

"Everyone needs to check and vet their sources of information and not simply jump to conclusions and retweet or share so-called 'facts' before they are certain that it is the factual and correct information." 

"Think for yourself and question everything! That's a good start." 

 

Will Advertisers Stay On These Platforms? 

Throughout the years we saw greater user adoption that led to a popular explosion and expansion of these tech giants, more and more companies and brands came on board to increase their exposure to social media users reaching into the billions. 

However, according to pundits that believe social media reckoning has already started, many companies may be questioning whether these controversial platforms are actually good for business. They may well be revisiting their priorities and social responsibilities, what they stand for, and whether they match up or want to be associated with what they are now seeing on the social platforms. 

Well over 90% of Facebook's revenue comes from advertising with 8 million active advertisers, however as recently cited in the Washington Post “outrage is built into Facebook’s ability to profit”, it seems that the most divisive and emotive content tends to be more effective. 

It’s also been the platform’s algorithms placing ads alongside this type of content that has provoked many brands to question their presence on the platform. So advertisers are suffering twofold; They are funding the continued success of Facebook by purchasing ad space in its “outrage based” ad model plus their brand name and ads are placed automatically in content that could well be damaging to their public perception. 

The Kindness Economy 

Mary Portas, creative director and well versed in the fashion and retail sector for many years spoke about how we are entering a new phase and culture she labels “kindness economy”. She explained in a recent talk on a TEDx event that people are increasingly taking into account the moral values of a brand when choosing who to buy from. 

Mary believes an economy built on kindness is not weak, but strong leading to a foundation of a business that has truth, integrity, longevity, and commerciality.  Any business that organizes itself around this kinder way of behaving, will be the ones that win. The triple bottom line is people, planet, and profit – in that order.

This philosophy rings true for many high-profile brands such as Unilever, Verizon, Starbucks, HP, Microsoft, and Coca-Cola who have already pulled their advertising from Facebook realizing an increasing need to instigate change, also self-reflect and think about how to improve the ways they communicate with consumers as an industry. 

This stance is not just about a political statement, it’s also about the chance to reassert some control over their marketing.  

 

Tech Giants Time Of Reckoning

The social media monopoly will either be facing some kind of reform and regulatory risk, as the US Congressional antitrust hearings with the CEOs of Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google that recently concluded, hand down their findings. The investigation addressed claims that big tech firms wield too much dominance over the market. 

Any legislation of antitrust action may take some time subject to the political and bureaucratic red tape but whatever the regulators decide, users may well become alienated by the increasingly poisonous atmosphere on social media. A decline in user engagement would negate the incentive for businesses to pay for advertisements.   

We could see a mass exodus of users decamp from their once believed sanctuary as other platforms rise up as the solution to the advancing dystopia caused by the “too big to fail” data harvesters of Web 2.0. 

 

The Irony Of It All

Ironically Facebook sold the idea of privacy to early users, back in the MySpace era. At that time, privacy was the currency and since social media was free, the promise of privacy was an important distinction and pivotal in competition. 

Facebook made this promise initially: “We do not and will not use cookies to collect private information from any user.” In contrast, MySpace had a policy in which anyone could see anyone else’s profile. So MySpace users jumped on the Facebook train. 

As Facebook gathered market share, it attempted to roll back some of those privacy promises and in 2007, Beacon was released which tracked Facebook users while they visited other sites. The “like” button was introduced in 2010 and that also enabled the company to track users.

 By 2014, Facebook publicly announced that it would be using code on third-party websites for tracking and surveillance purposes. This is a blatant reneging on their promise it had used to establish market dominance initially. 

Facebook was fined $122 million in 2017 in Europe for violating a promise it made not to share the data from WhatsApp with the rest of the company. And in 2019, it paid a $5 billion settlement to the FTC for a variety of privacy violations. Too big to fail or too big for its boots? We’ll see. 

 

The New Disrupters – A New Dawn

Many have already escaped the dictatorial protocols or they’ve been banned, making their way to more sovereign platforms using Blockchain technology and cryptocurrency, making it a no-brainer for individuals and companies to take advantage of monetization with the added benefits of autonomy and privacy afforded by this technology. 

Known as the new disrupters they are capturing user attention and the associated advertising revenue. These platforms may not be as big or popular as Facebook, Twitter, or YouTube, yet, but given time and the way things are going, they’ve come just in the nick of time.

Companies, marketers, brands, and individuals looking for a new home in social networking and advertising now have a choice. A Market Network has emerged to give back the control to its users whether it be social, marketing, affiliate, inbound, influencer, et al, various campaigns and publishing with the SaaS tools including tracking, analytics, also digital wallet and payment processing with access to an increasing user base of entrepreneurs and publishers. 

The marketing industry in general is an incredibly sociable industry that thrives on building relationships. Markethive at its core has grown into a thriving ecosystem and is a most effective way to earn an income online, drive sales, and increase brand awareness. If the essential issue is one of control then Markethive with its varying modes of marketing puts you, as the brand in ultimate control. 

 

ecosystem for entrepreneurs

 

Deb Williams
A Crypto/Blockchain enthusiast and a strong advocate for technology, progress, and freedom of speech. I embrace "change" with a passion and my purpose in life is to help people understand, accept, and move forward with enthusiasm to achieve their goals. 

 

 

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Bitcoin continues its steady recovery, rising above $8,000/more

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Bitcoin continues its steady recovery, rising above $8,000

Other cryptocurrencies match bitcoin’s march higher

Bitcoin continued to move above $8,000 on Thursday,
taking a cue from global equity markets, which appeared to be stabilizing somewhat after a week of extreme volatility. The price of a single bitcoin BTCUSD, +2.72% gained 6.7% to $8,091.23, bouncing off a session low of $7,576.25, according to CoinDesk data. The price of bitcoin remains well below a level of $10,000 seen a week ago, and its December peak above $19,000, but has recovered from a drop below $6,000 on Tuesday. Ether, the coin on the ethereum network, saw a similar rise, up 6.3% to $806.63, while bitcoin cash was at $995.25, up 3.5%. Litecoin rose 2.7% to $142.66, and Ripple gained 3.4% to 75 cents, CoinDesk prices indicated.

Winklevoss:
If you can’t see bitcoin at $320,000, you just lack imagination

‘We believe bitcoin disrupts gold’

Tyler Winklevoss and Cameron Winklevoss are still fired up about bitcoin.

‘You know the criticisms are just a failure of the imagination.’

That’s what Tyler, one of the Winklevoss twins, had to say to the skeptics — and there are many — who fail to see the massive potential for bitcoin BTCUSD, +2.33%  and the rest of the crypto space. “Cryptocurrencies aren’t really important for human-to-human transactions… but when machines-to-machines trade economic value, they are going to plug into protocols like bitcoin and ethereum,” he explained to CNBC. “They are not going to open bank accounts at J.P. Morgan… those were invented by bankers before the internet existed. Trying to use them as payments or money on the internet is a square peg in a round hole at best.” His brother, Cameron, says bitcoin will one day be worth 40 times today’s price, which is currently just over $8,000, thanks to a double-digit rally.

“We believe bitcoin disrupts gold GCH8, -0.01% We think it’s a better gold if you look at the properties of money. And what makes gold gold? Scarcity,” Cameron said. “Bitcoin is actually fixed in supply so it’s better than scarce … it’s more portable, its fungible, it’s more durable. Its sort of equals a better gold across the board. We think regardless of the price moves in the last few weeks, it’s still a very underappreciated asset.”

Neither Cameron nor his brother put a specific timeline on the prediction during the chat, but they did say they’re taking the 10-to-20 year view. The Winklevoss twins were hailed as the first crypto billionaires, after riding the hype and creating an exchange that processes $300 million in daily transactions. The brothers are currently No. 4 on the Forbes list of wealthiest players in the space, behind the Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao.

February Bitcoin futures on the Cboe Global Markets XBTG8, -0.30%  slipped 2.4%, to settle at $8,040, while those on the CME Group Inc. BTCG8, -1.52%  fell 3.6% to $7,970. Cryptocurrencies have drawn some support this week from a Senate hearing to discuss regulations for the industry , which was viewed as generally positive. But bitcoin and its rivals have been not escaped the volatility that has at times whipsawed global equity markets.

Chuck Reynolds

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Alan Zibluk – Markethive Founding Member

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What is cryptocurrency?

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What is cryptocurrency?

 

Bitcoin is a form of cryptocurrency 

Cryptocurrency is a form of digital money that is designed to be secure and, in many cases, anonymous. It is a currency associated with the internet that uses cryptography, the process of converting legible information into an almost uncrackable code, to track purchases and transfers. Cryptography was born out of the need for secure communication in the Second World War. It has evolved in the digital era with elements of mathematical theory and computer science to become a way to secure communications, information and money online. The first cryptocurrency was bitcoin, which was created in 2009 and is still the best known. There has been a proliferation of cryptocurrencies in the past decade and there are now more than 900 available on the internet. Here's everything you need to know about cryptocurrencies. 

How do cryptocurrencies work? 

Cryptocurrencies use decentralised technology to let users make secure payments and store money without the need to use their name or go through a bank. They run on a distributed public ledger called blockchain, which is a record of all transactions updated and held by currency holders.

Units of cryptocurrency are created through a process called mining, which involves using computer power to solve complicated maths problems that generate coins. Users can also buy the currencies from brokers, then store and spend them using cryptographic wallets. Cryptocurrencies and applications of blockchain technology are still nascent in financial terms and more uses should be expected. Transactions including bonds, stocks and other financial assets could eventually be traded using the technology.  

What are the most common cryptocurrencies? 

  • Bitcoin:
         Bitcoin was the first and is the most commonly traded cryptocurrency to date.  The currency was developed by Satoshi Nakamoto in 2009, a mysterious figure who developed its blockchain. It has a market capitalisation of around $45 billion as of July 2017. 
  • Ethereum:
         Developed in 2015, ethereum is the currency token used in the ethereum blockchain, the second most popular and valuable cryptocurrency. Ethereum has a market capitalisation of around $18bn as of July 2017. However, ethereum has had a turbulent journey. After a major hack in 2016 it split into two currencies, while its value has in recent months reached as high as $400 but crashed briefly to as low as 10 cents.
  • Ripple:
         Ripple is another distributed ledger system that was founded in 2012. Ripple can be used to track more kinds of transactions, not just of the cryptocurrency. It has been used by banks including Santander and UBS and has a market capitalisation of around $6.3 billion.
  • Litecoin: 
    This currency is most similar in form to bitcoin, but has moved more quickly to develop new innovations, including faster payments and processes to allow many more transactions. The total value of all Litecoin is around $2.1 billion.

Why would you use a cryptocurrency?

Cryptocurrencies are known for being secure and providing a level of anonymity. Transactions in them cannot be faked or reversed and there tend to be low fees, making it more reliable than conventional currency. Their decentralised nature means they are available to everyone, where banks can be exclusive in who they will let open accounts.  As a new form of cash, the cryptocurrency markets have been known to take off meaning a small investment can become a large sum over night. But the same works the other way. People look to invest in cryptocurrencies should be aware of the volatility of the market and the risks they take when buying.

Chuck Reynolds


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Please click either Link to Learn more about -Bitcoin.

Alan Zibluk – Markethive Founding Member

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Why the feds took down one of Bitcoin’s largest exchanges

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Why the feds took down one of Bitcoin’s largest exchanges

Tracing Mt. Gox’s stolen coins led feds to Alexander Vinnik

  This week, one of Bitcoin’s largest and most notorious coin exchanges

was brought down by law enforcement — and police and prosecutors are now beginning to explain why. On Thursday, the Department of Justice unsealed an indictment against Alexander Vinnik — thought to be the operator, or one of the operators of Bitcoin exchange BTC-e — charging him with 21 counts of money laundering and other related financial crimes. The counts range from operating an unlicensed money transmittal business to a variety of money laundering charges, including laundering associated with ransomware payouts and a theft from the now-defunct Mt Gox exchange. More generally, the indictment paints BTC-e as a hub of criminal activity, laundering the proceeds of everything from drug trafficking to ransomware attacks.

As some suspected, Vinnik’s alleged crimes go beyond just operating the exchange. Feds believe he played a role in the theft of more 800,000 bitcoin — about $400 million at the time — from Mt. Gox, a staggering loss that ultimately shuttered the exchange. According to the indictment, 530,000 of those bitcoin ended up passing through wallets controlled by or associated with Vinnik, although his role in the larger scheme remains unclear.Vinnik’s alleged crimes go beyond just operating a Bitcoin exchange

Vinnik himself is in custody, arrested while on vacation in Greece, but the Bitcoin world is still sorting through the larger implications of his arrest. BTC-e was one of the last major exchanges outside the reach of conventional finance, and now that it’s gone, it’s unclear what might replace it. There are many legitimate uses of Bitcoin, but Bitcoin transactions have also become essential for online crime — whether it’s ransomware or Silk-Road-style online marketplaces. There will continue to be demand for exchanges like BTC-e, and ____. With feds directly targeting exchanges that don’t play by the book, the split between the two halves of Bitcoin is becoming starker and starker.

BTC-e, founded in 2011, always stood out as an anomaly among the major Bitcoin exchanges. Even a cursory look at BTC-e flagged it as a little strange. “Their exchange prices always seemed weird and out of line with every other exchange, and I had wondered why,” Matthew Green, a professor at Johns Hopkins University told The Verge in an email.

Nicholas Weaver wrote at Lawfare that BTC-e was noted for its “sketchy ownership and control.” The exchange was supposedly located in Eastern Europe, but there were no clues as to who ran it — until now.300,000 bitcoin from Mt. Gox went to wallets tied to “BTC-e administrative accounts” But the big surprise in the indictment is how closely tied BTC-e is to a massive theft at Mt. Gox, one that eventually bankrupted the exchange in 2014. Founded in 2010, Mt. Gox dominated the Bitcoin world for years, at one point processing 80 percent of all bitcoin-to-currency transactions. Mt. Gox first suffered a multimillion-dollar theft in June 2011. When the exchange collapsed in 2014, the equivalent of nearly half a billion dollars was unaccounted for.

On Wednesday, in the wake of the arrest of Vinnik, WizSec published a blogpost presenting the findings of an investigation into the Mt. Gox thefts that they have apparently been preparing for years. According to WizSec, the Mt. Gox hot wallet private keys were stolen sometime in 2011, and the hacker (or multiple hackers) continued to steal bitcoin through 2012 and 2013. The bitcoin were laundered through wallets controlled by Alexander Vinnik. The indictment claims that 300,000 bitcoin were stolen from Mt. Gox went directly to three connected BTC-e accounts “directly linked” to “BTC-e administrative accounts” that only BTC-e admins and operators could have had access to.

At least one of the accounts — under the name “Vamnedam” — was controlled by Vinnik and “others known and unknown.” (The “others known” are either not named in the indictment or have been redacted from the published document.)Many of the charges allege more straightforward money laundering" More bitcoin from the theft were sent to other Mt. Gox wallets and wallets at a third exchange — the now-defunct Tradehill, which operated out of San Francisco, California. From there, they eventually ended up at BTC-e, in an account that was directly controlled by Vinnik. WizSec also claims that the wallets that laundered Mt. Gox coins also handled “coins stolen from Bitcoinica, Bitfloor and several other thefts from back in 2011 and 2012.”

It’s not clear whether Vinnik was directly involved in the Mt. Gox theft, or how close he is to any of those previous thefts, or even the CryptoWall ransomware hackers whose funds he is accused of laundering. But when it comes to Mt. Gox, at least, BTC-e’s proximity to the theft is fairly suspicious.“Anybody who thought about this for a second understood that law enforcement was working on a case against BTC-e" While the Mt. Gox allegations are the most eye-catching, many of the charges that brought down BTC-e allege more straightforward money laundering. The very first count listed in the indictment is for operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business: a criminal charge based on failing to register with FinCEN, an intelligence network that’s mandatory for all financial companies dealing with US customers.

Participating in FinCEN comes with a range of requirements, from registration to internal anti-money laundering programs. Since 2013, it’s been clear that Bitcoin exchanges had to follow those same rules, and for the most part, exchanges have complied — and prosecutors haven’t been shy about filing charges against services that don’t. In recent years, BTC-e has been the largest Bitcoin exchange not registered with FinCEN, a distinction that made it an obvious target for law enforcement, even without Vinnik’s alleged Mt. Gox involvement. “Anybody who thought about this for a second understood that law enforcement was working on a case against BTC-e,” said Jerry Brito, executive director of Coin Center. “The question was just whether the government would catch them.”“designed so that criminals could effect financial transactions under multiple layers of anonymity”

Where other counts in the indictment focus on money transfers linked to theft and ransomware, the first two — operation of an unlicensed money transmitter and conspiracy to commit money-laundering — focus on the technological capabilities of BTC-e itself, claiming that the exchange had a “criminal design.” “BTC-e’s system was designed so that criminals could accomplish financial transactions with anonymity and thereby avoid apprehension by law enforcement or seizure of funds,” the indictment says, pointing out that BTC-e only required “a username, password, and an email address,” unlike “legitimate payment processors or digital currency exchangers.” The indictment also points to suspicious usernames like “ISIS,” “CocaineCowboys,” “blackhathackers,” “dzkillerhacker,” and “hacker4hire” as additional support for the money-laundering allegations.

The language in the indictment about BTC-e’s “criminal design” mimics the indictment against Liberty Reserve — an anonymous currency service taken down by law enforcement in 2013 — which also accused the online exchange of having a “criminal design” and a system “designed so that criminals could effect financial transactions under multiple layers of anonymity.” (The Liberty Reserve indictment also took the time to point out that account names on the site included “Russia Hackers” and “Hacker Accounts.”) BTC-e’s website claimed that they required customers to provide proof of identity — namely, a scanned ID card and a scanned utility bill or bank statement — and forbid any US customers, letting them off the hook for FinCEN registration. But neither turned out to be true, according to the indictment.“Exchanges will go one of two ways. Either they’ll clean up their act… or they’ll go fully underground.”

Now that BTC-e is down for good, it could have a profound impact on the criminal ecosystem more broadly. BTC-e handled about 5 percent of total Bitcoin transactions, but recent research found that as much as 95 percent of ransomware cashouts happened through the platform. With most comparably sized exchanges already registered under FinCEN, the takedown could make it both harder and riskier for criminals to cash out — something law enforcement seems to be counting on. In the same Lawfare piece, Weaver says he thinks taking down BTC-e “will probably prove more important than the AlphaBay and Hansa takedowns” in fighting online crime. For Bitcoiners less invested in law enforcement’s war on dark web marketplaces, the lesson is a more ambiguous one. Cornell professor Emin Gun Sirer says the focus on FinCEN compliance could lead to a lasting split in Bitcoin markets, as exchanges face the choice of whether to comply with US government demands.

“Exchanges will go one of two ways,” Sirer says. “Either they will clean their act, by first shopping for the most lenient jurisdictions and complying with relevant KYC/AML laws, or they'll go ‘fully underground,’ and operate with no rules, behind Tor and other anonymous communication technologies. The most colorful drama ahead will involve exchanges, such as Bitfinex, that operate in the gray zone, where they seem to neither comply with relevant laws nor go fully underground.” For a technology with a surrounding community built on libertarian ideas, that may be a difficult pill to swallow. But as the past week has made clear, those that don’t will be taking a very serious risk.

Chuck Reynolds


Marketing Dept
Contributor
Please click either Link to Learn more about -Bitcoin.

Alan Zibluk – Markethive Founding Member

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Bitcoin Cash: Why It’s Forking the Blockchain And What That Means

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Bitcoin Cash:
Why It's Forking the Blockchain And What That Means

 

Bitcoin's scaling debate finally seems to be shaking out,

but some users aren't happy with the results. After a few years of debate, it was perhaps to be expected that at least some were going to come away empty-handed. Controversial scaling proposal Segwit2x tried to remedy this by joining two code change ideas – the code optimization Segregated Witness (SegWit) and a block size increase. Today, SegWit is just a couple of steps away from activating on bitcoin, but some bitcoin users are unhappy about the outcome.

Others who originally backed the Segwit2x proposal appear to be losing confidence in an eventual block size increase and are now taking matters into their own hands by making their own version of bitcoin – and they're doing so on a short timeline. On August 1, at precisely 12:20 UTC, the group claims that they will split off from bitcoin, creating a new cryptocurrency called Bitcoin Cash. Developer Calin Culianu, who's contributing code to an implementation of Bitcoin Cash, is one user who doesn't like SegWit, suspecting that others feel the same way.

Culianu told CoinDesk:

”If the Segwit2x agreement fails to implement the 2x part, which is not entirely unreasonable, and only ends up being being basically SegWit without the 2x, many miners will likely defect to Bitcoin Cash."

What is Bitcoin Cash?

So, what is it? And how does it differ from bitcoin? There are two main changes of note:

  • It increases the block size to 8 MB.
  • It removes SegWit, a code change that might activate on the bitcoin blockchain by the end of August.

Some, including a few of the project's supporters, call Bitcoin Cash an "altcoin," a term that usually denotes a fork of the software that creates a new cryptocurrency, with its own market. Indeed, the cryptocurrency is currently trading at $461, meaning it's worth about 18% of bitcoin's current price of $2,568, in an already-open futures market. Unlike other altcoins, though, Bitcoin Cash's transaction history would be the same as bitcoin's – at least up until the point of the split. So, if and when Bitcoin Cash splits off, users would have bitcoin on both blockchains.

Another difference is the project says it will support multiple implementations of its software, a move that's not surprising given the criticism that Bitcoin Core's software is too dominant on the bitcoin network. BitcoinABC is the first software to implement the Bitcoin Cash protocol, but the goal is for there to be many implementations. Culianu said that both Bitcoin Unlimited and Bitcoin Classic, other implementations that aim to increase bitcoin’s block size, are working on a version compatible with Bitcoin Cash. These might or might not be ready for August 1.

Who's involved?

So far, most bitcoin companies, mining pools, users and bitcoin developers seem uninterested in the effort. Yet, there are some eager supporters.Beijing-based mining firm ViaBTC, which boasts roughly 4% of bitcoin’s computing power, is the clear ringleader. The firm, which also operates an exchange, has become the first to list the cryptocurrency and also has plans to launch a new mining pool dedicated solely to Bitcoin Cash. (Though, so far, it's not clear how much of its 4% mining hashrate it will commit to the effort.) Asked if he believed Segwit2x would fulfill its roadmap, CEO Haipo Yang responded: "I doubt it."

Further, Bitcoin Cash has attracted support from some users who want a block size increase, as well as developers of other proposals such as Bitcoin Classic and Bitcoin Unlimited. What might be more surprising, though, is who's not involved. Even former supporters, including mining firms Bitcoin.com and Bitmain, seem hesitant to back the effort. For now, they remain committed to controversial scaling proposal Segwit2x. Mining company Bitmain even inspired Bitcoin Cash. Yet, the firm said that they only planned on going through with making the switch under certain conditions. Still, the firm might support both Segwit2x and Bitcoin Cash in the future.

In a PSA statement, Bitcoin.com said that it will allow miners in its pool to choose if they want to mine the Bitcoin Cash token BCC. For now, though, it will mine on Segwit2x chain, though it said it "will immediately shift all company resources to supporting Bitcoin Cash exclusively" if the block size increase part of SegWit, scheduled for roughly three months from now, falls through.

Wait, but why?

There are a few reasons users and mining pools might like to break off from bitcoin:

  • These users want an increase in bitcoin's block size parameter, and believe that the cryptocurrency's future depends on it.
  • SegWit is likely going to activate soon and some users want to avoid the feature.
  • There's a possibility that Segwit2x's block size parameter increase will ultimately fall through.

This mix of ideological and technical reasons was also on display in conversations with users. When asked by CoinDesk what BitcoinABC's goal is,

Culianu responded:

"To save bitcoin. We want to scale bitcoin up so that it won't die. It's already a bit sick and dying."

What's different here?

Many other efforts over the last couple of years have said they would split off from bitcoin, if they gained enough support from those operating the computers that secure the network. But, to date, no group has actually carried through with this plan so far. Bitcoin Cash might be unique in that it's actually committing to a deadline to split bitcoin into two, and that deadline is less than a week away.

If miners and users indeed go ahead with the split, it would mark the first time a cryptocurrency split off from bitcoin, carrying with it bitcoin’s transaction history. Like past efforts intended to replace the bitcoin used today with a new bitcoin, however, Bitcoin Cash has the same goal, but it seems willing to wait and see if users join the effort. Rather than call it bitcoin, ViaBTC, as well as a group of bitcoin companies in China, signed an agreement to label it a "competitive currency," not the "real" bitcoin. The move could set up the split to happen more quickly, as in the past exchanges have expressed confusion over how to handle a fork.

What's next?

If a new cryptocurrency splits off from the main bitcoin network, it will mark a first. So, some users are curious to see what happens. Still, without much support from miners and users, it might not end up having that much of an impact on the course of the main network. Nonetheless, it might if be worth watching if the second half of Segwit2x falls through. That's when it might see some more supporters.

Culianu, for example, concluded on an optimistic note:

”My secret gut feeling is Bitcoin Cash may surprise all of us. It is not entirely impossible that it will be the de-facto bitcoin after a few months. The much roomier 8 MB block space is attractive."

Chuck Reynolds


Marketing Dept
Contributor
Please click either Link to Learn more about -Bitcoin.

Alan Zibluk – Markethive Founding Member

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Wall Street stunned over AMD’s blowout results due to cryptocurrency mining demand

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Wall Street stunned over AMD’s blowout results due to cryptocurrency mining demand

  • Wall Street is surprised over AMD's strong earnings and guidance due to digital currency mining demand for its graphics cards.
  • AMD shares have rallied 102 percent through Tuesday in the previous 12 months compared with the S&P 500's 14 percent return.
  • That performance ranks No. 4 in the entire S&P 500, according to FactSet.

Investors are mesmerized with AMD's impressive second quarter

as cryptocurrency mining demand drove the company's financial results above Wall Street's expectations. The chipmaker reported better-than-expected second-quarter earnings and guidance Tuesday. Its shares surged more than 10 percent in after-hours trading following the report and were up more than 9 percent in early regular trading Wednesday.

"AMD turned in a solid beat to our and consensus estimates as the company's new Ryzen desktop CPU ramped into production and GPU demand outstripped supply," Stifel analyst Kevin Cassidy wrote in a note to clients Wednesday. "While management wasn't specific on how much, the GPU revenue upside was driven by cryptocurrency applications."
AMD shares have rallied 102 percent through Tuesday in the previous 12 months compared with the S&P 500's 14 percent return. That performance ranks No. 4 in the entire S&P 500, according to FactSet. Cryptocurrency miners use graphics cards from AMD and Nvidia to "mine" new coins, which can then be sold or held for future appreciation. AMD traditionally has a better reputation for mining cryptocurrencies.

Ethereum cryptocurrency is up over 2,400 percent year-to-date through Wednesday, while Bitcoin is up about 160 percent this year, according to data from industry website CoinDesk. In June, AMD shares jumped after the company told CNBC that the dramatic rise in digital currency prices has driven demand for its graphics cards. At the time, major computer hardware retailers had sold out of AMD's recently launched RX 570 and RX 580 models. Digital currency mining was the key topic during AMD's earnings conference call with Wall Street Tuesday evening. Analysts asked company management three times for clarification on the magnitude and sustainability of cryptocurrency mining demand.

One analyst noted the company is working to mitigate future downside risk and is not incorporating continued digital currency mining outperformance in its guidance. "Crypto mining helped stimulate demand for AMD GPUs in Q2, which we think could translate to a risk should cryptocurrency values decline, AMD is working to manage the crypto risk by targeting supply to the core GPU gaming market, and working with some of its AIB [add in board] partners to offer specific feature sets to segment the market between gaming & mining," Jefferies analyst Mark Lipacis wrote Wednesday. "AMD is not including upside from mining in its outlook."

Lipacis reiterated his buy rating on the company and raised his price target to $19 from $16, representing 35 percent upside from Tuesday's close. To be sure, some analysts are still skeptical on AMD after its big run. "We were surprised at the aftermarket reaction for the stock," Morgan Stanley analyst Joseph Moore wrote Wednesday. "We continue to be somewhat cynical on the long term intrinsic value of the stock, despite being excited about Zen and maintaining numbers that are above the Street. As street numbers start to catch up, absolute valuation levels are going to matter more." Moore reiterated his equal-weight rating and $11 price target for AMD shares.

Chuck Reynolds


Marketing Dept
Contributor
Please click either Link to Learn more about -Bitcoin.

Alan Zibluk – Markethive Founding Member

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Bitcoin Virus ‘Has Infected 30% Of Russian Devices’: Putin Advisor

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Bitcoin Virus ‘Has Infected 30% Of Russian Devices’: Putin Advisor

 

Russia’s chief presidential advisor on the Internet

has stated a Bitcoin mining virus has infected up to 30 percent of Russian computers. Speaking in interviews with RNS and RBC, Herman Klimenko said that although infection rates varied by region and device, it involved at least 20 percent of machines. “In regions with lower bandwidth instances are reduced, but we’re looking at 20 to 30 percent of devices being infected – iPhones and Macs are less prone,” he commented.

The figures, if true, are alarming, yet Klimenko’s assessment has already come under public criticism. Speaking to RBC in light of the findings, Internet Ombudsman Dmitry Marinichev called them “rubbish.” “These viruses appear for example on devices of users who have given permission for them to start running,” he said, adding the issue was not about Bitcoin mining but stolen credit card details and similar characteristics. Klimenko, meanwhile, also chimed in on the motives of the hackers behind the recent international WannaCry cyberattack. “In the case of WannaCry, the perpetrators managed to accrue around $50-100,000,”

he told RNS.

“I’m therefore convinced the perpetrators of WannaCry were children because they do not understand where they can earn money in the Internet sector.”

Earlier this month, Russian research lab Group-IB warned of a domestic Android virus circulating consumer devices which would gain access to and empty any associated bank accounts.

Bitcoin, Altcoins Meet London Art As ‘Gray’ Artsy Nets $50 Million
 

 

London’s “tradition-bound” Cork Street art empire is getting an innovation injection

as customers meet Bitcoin and even Monero as payment options. As the BBC reports Tuesday, one gallery, Dadiani Fine Arts, has begun accepting cryptocurrency in what its owner describes as an “intuitive” move. "This is not a demand-driven decision at all, it's intuitive based on the way things are going," Elena Dadiani told the publication. With the global art market worth around $60 bln and average purchase amounts high, the benefits of additional payment channels are obvious. The gallery is not stopping at Bitcoin; Ethereum, Ethereum Classic, Dash, Litecoin, and soon Monero will also be featured. "For me, the Blockchain is going to be the biggest thing since the Internet,” nonetheless hinting she intends to convert at least part of the payments to fiat currency as a matter of course.

Like Blockchain, meanwhile, the art industry itself is undergoing rapid change. Artsy, the online art marketplace seeing huge expansion, this week announced the closure of a $50 mln funding round, something already causing suspicion in a manner strikingly similar to some recent Ethereum-based ICOs. “The news has left many in the industry with two questions,” industry news resource Artnet reports describing the platform as a “gray market.” “First, since Artsy has chosen to keep its actual valuation pitch-black to the public, how much is the company really worth? Second, and just as important, how is that valuation justifiable?”

Chuck Reynolds


Marketing Dept
Contributor
Please click either Link to Learn more about -Bitcoin.

Alan Zibluk – Markethive Founding Member

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Delaware Governor Signs Blockchain Legislation Into Law

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Delaware Governor Signs Blockchain Legislation Into Law

 

The governor of the US state best known as the home

to a majority of the country's incorporated businesses has officially signed a bill making it explicitly legal for those entities to use blockchain for stock trading and record-keeping. After weeks of anticipation, Delaware governor John C. Carney Jr. signed the bill on Friday, effectively bringing closure to an effort that began in May 2016 when his predecessor, Jack Markell, launched an initiative to promote blockchain efficiencies in government.

First publicized in March this year and introduced formally in May, the bill, which amends Delaware's General Corporation Law, saw a swift passage by state lawmakers. The move further comes weeks after it passed a key vote in the state legislature, a milestone advocates sought to label as "historic" given the state's history and the increase in experimentation that could result from legal certainty. Just how impactful could the law be? Industry analysts suggest that by giving the greenlight to experimentation, the law could make it possible for the custodianship, issuance, redemption and trading to take place on a distributed ledger.

Equity Markets on a Blockchain: Delaware's Potential Impact

Noelle Acheson is a 10-year veteran of company analysis and the author of CoinDesk Weekly, a custom-curated newsletter delivered every Sunday, exclusively to CoinDesk subscribers.Last week, Delaware passed amendments to state legislation that, once signed into law by the end of July, will give corporations registered in the state the right to issue and trade shares on a blockchain platform.While this may on the surface sound like a small modification, it is a big deal. Companies and exchanges around the world have been investigating how distributed ledgers could help with issuance, execution and settlement (some have even issued shares on a blockchain). However, they have been doing so under a cloud of regulatory uncertainty, unsure of whether the stakeholders – including the relevant governing bodies – would allow the innovations to take hold.

For the first time, businesses will be able to experiment with new processes knowing they have the protection of the law. This is likely to pave the way for the entire life cycle of a share – the issuance, custodianship, trading, shareholder communication and redemption – to be enacted on a blockchain. The result could be a reframing of the global securities network, one of the cornerstones of our modern capitalist economy. The equity infrastructure used in most markets today evolved around paper-based issuance, and essentially has the same conceptual backbone as in the 17th century. Processes are complex, involving several steps, each with fees. Centralized clearing creates systemic risk by presenting a single point of failure, and since in most jurisdictions legal ownership rests with the transfer agents, true ownership can be obfuscated – in turn, this can violate rules that limit shareholdings. Furthermore, a paper-based system – even a digitized one – is vulnerable to fraud, and centralized databases can suffer security breaches.

Settle for less

With a blockchain system, investors and issuers can interact directly with each other, in theory cutting out brokers, custodians and clearing houses, thus reducing transaction costs. Settlement can happen within hours instead of days, releasing funds and lowering carrying fees. Legal ownership would be restored to investors and companies, and would be more transparent. Dividends and stock splits could be automated, reducing cost and error.

Also, a distributed ledger platform would remove the single point of failure risk, help make proxy voting more transparent and accurate and make it easier to manage cap tables as well as collateralisation. There are disadvantages. Transparency, for one: not all investors want their positions to be visible. Error resolution is another: mistakes happen, and on an immutable ledger, how do you fix them? What’s more, counterparty risk doesn’t go away, it just shifts. But as work on services and solutions picks up in the light of regulatory approval, so will the development of solutions.

Share the benefits

That this milestone was reached in Delaware is significant. The state is 49th in the nation in terms of size and 45th in population, but it boasts two-thirds of US listed companies and 85% of IPOs. It has more registered legal entities than it has residents. This is due to its relatively flexible business legislation and tax framework, and to its reputation for being a standards bearer in corporate law. What’s more, the recent amendment is part of a larger initiative to streamline corporate and governmental processes. The Delaware Blockchain Initiative, launched over a year ago, commits the state’s government to incorporating blockchain technology in the handling of official documents such as land titles, birth and death certificates, professional licenses, collateral claims and company filings.

So, here we have the US state with the largest concentration of registered corporations, and a reputation for supporting innovation, offering businesses the chance to test a new form of financing and governance. While adoption will probably be slow, at least at first, the pace is likely to pick up as the benefits become even more apparent. Other jurisdictions could follow suit to avoid losing a chunk of their domiciled businesses. And the structure of financial markets could start to gradually, but fundamentally, change. While the Delaware amendment won’t create a market revolution overnight, it does raise a question which highlights the systemic importance of the move: Will traditional equity markets still exist 10 years from now?

Chuck Reynolds


Marketing Dept
Contributor
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Alan Zibluk – Markethive Founding Member