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Can Ethereum Scale?
The Ethereum platform was launched in 2015 in order to simplify the creation of decentralized online services, as well as to facilitate the process of implementing the blockchain technology. Unlike the Bitcoin network, Ethereum provides for the use of smart contracts – self-executing algorithms designed to enter into and maintain commercial contracts in the blockchain technology. In this connection, the Ethereum network in the shortest possible time has become the second most popular platform on the cryptographic market not only among startups wishing to conduct an ICO, but also the largest software developers such as Microsoft, IBM, and Acronis.
But, as in the case of the Bitcoin network, with the growing popularity of Ethereum, problems of its scalability became obvious. Recall that at the end of 2017, because of the launch of the CryptoKitties game, the Ethereum blockchain encountered significant difficulties due to network congestion and the inability to process transactions. Therefore, Ethereum developers proposed several solutions.
Raiden Network
In December 2017, Ethereum developers launched the Raiden Network project in their network — an off-line technology that, like the Lightning Network solution for the Bitcoin network, allows instant transactions on the Ethereum network with minimal fees. Thus, the main idea of the technology is to scale the blockchain through the use of payment channels that allow you to safely conduct transactions outside the network. With the help of the Raiden Network, according to the developers, the throughput of Ethereum and the derivatives of it tokens can grow from 25 to 1 million operations per second.
Sharding
Sharding is another of the proposed solutions to the Ethereum scalability problem, the development of which has become one of the top priorities in the funding program launched in January of this year. The idea is based on the traditional scaling technique – “database sharding”, in which the database is divided into parts, and each of them is stored on a separate server.
The purpose of sharding on the blockchain is to eliminate full nodes due to load sharing between nodes. Instead of saving each transaction and the current state of the entire network, the node stores a subset – only a part – of this data and confirms only those transactions for which it is responsible. If the node wants to get information about transactions or blocks that it does not store, it can refer to other nodes. Although the sharding technology is still under development, members of the Ethereum community are already proposing changes at the protocol level that will be possible due to sharding.
Payment channels State Channels
On April 10, a team of researchers at the University of Warsaw published a white paper titled “Fundamentals of the State Channel Networks”, describing Perun, a protocol that operates on the “state channels” principle, that essentially transfers the Lightning idea implemented in the second-level protocol for the Bitcoin network to smart Ethereum contracts, but providing enhanced safety features.
Card Review: Centra Bitcoin Debit
The debit card for Bitcoin is the trend of the last few years. Such means for storing cryptocurrencies are not very popular, but some users, nevertheless, prefer to keep their digital coins on their usual piece of plastic. In this article, we will talk about one exact bitcoin debit card that we think is worthy.
The bitcoin debit card issued by the Centra exchange currently supports most popular cryptocurrencies and among them Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ethereum, ERC20, Ripple, and Dash. The Centra card allows users to spend their money in real time with a 0% exchange. Centra Tech has individual licenses in 38 states: Alabama, Mississippi, Nevada, Nebraska, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, and other states.
Wallet of card
Of course, the debit card comes with its own crypto wallet called Centra Smart Wallet. Wallet allows not only to store whatever cryptocurrency user may have but also allows its users to register for Centra debit cards.
You can also use the application to perform normal banking functions – for example, turn on and off your card, for this you do not even have to spend your precious time going to the bank. Or you can use the app to send money in more than 5 currencies in more than 100 countries without any fees. There are no fluctuations in interbank exchange rates or excessive fees. All funds stored in your Centra wallet are safe, protected and protected against theft, hackers and scammers.
Transaction fees
As many other cards on the market Centera card has some fee that company charges for different reasons. The cost of card activation is $ 20. The annual fee for each card varies from $50 in the CTR for the Blue version to $500 in the CTR for the Black version. Also, a fee of $2.50 is charged when withdrawing USD from ATMs and $1.00% + $3.00 for withdrawing other currencies. Commissions for making purchases and exchange operations for all three cards are 0%.
Mobile app
In bundle with the wallet Centra’s ecosystem contains a mobile where users can find many useful information and functions. First and the main function is checking the balance online and sending and receiving funds. Also, it has some security features for example in case of loss of card itself users can disable the card from the mobile app.
Types of cards
Unlike other cards, the company decided to issue one regular (blue cards) and two premium cards (gold and black). You do not need anything special for getting blue, but premium cards are available only to the company’s investors. If you are a holder of a Centra Black or Gold card, then these restrictions increase.
Centra Black has a spending limit of $ 100,000 per day, for example, a cash withdrawal limit of $ 5,000 and a 2% reward for a token for each purchase.
The gold card has a spending limit of $ 50,000, a cash withdrawal limit of $ 2,000, and 1.25% remuneration for each purchase.
First of all, you need to register a wallet where you will store Bitcoins. After registration, you need to set up a security system for your wallet, linking mail and a phone number to it. In this case, even if someone steals your password, he most likely will not be able to get into the wallet: to enter, he will need to follow the link in the email and/or enter the code received via SMS. Wallets are of different types, here are some:
- Bitcoin mobile wallet app
- Bitcoin desktop wallet
- Hardware Bitcoin wallet
- Cryptocurrency exchange account
- Bitcoin debit card company
You can purchase Bitcoin immediately
Now we have a Bitcoin wallet, and we also have a certain amount of money to buy cryptocurrency. The logical question is: where to get bitcoins? Our readers may consider the following ways to buy bitcoin:
- Exchange online services;
- Cryptocurrency exchanges;
- Terminals and ATMs;
- Exchange with other people for Fiat gift vouchers.
You can purchase Bitcoin on an exchange
So we moved to the second method of buying BTC – through cryptocurrency exchanges. Exchange – a platform for trade. That is, the course on them is “pure”, formed by the market supply. The most famous service for tracking cryptocurrency trading exchanges is Coinmarketcap. It contains information about the volume of trading on each site, as well as the current rate. When buying a better focus on the exchange with the lowest rate. After all, we can get BTC at the best price. Among the most popular exchanges include:
- Binance
- CEX.io
- BitMart
- Livecoin
You can purchase Bitcoin with PayPal
On the Internet, there are niche services that facilitate the exchange of money for cryptocurrency online. The exchange service is notable for supporting a large number of payment systems for depositing and withdrawing funds, as well as popular Internet banking services. There are over a hundred exchangers, and they bring great profits to those who own them.
Here are the most popular ones:
- Virvox
- LocalBitcoins
- eToro
You can purchase Bitcoin with cash
In big cities, you can buy bitcoins through ground exchange points for cash. Also, there are special ATMs and terminals, using which you can easily get hold of digital coins. And let these ground points to buy cryptocurrency is not so much, but their number is constantly growing. A few of the most popular P2P exchanges are:
Bitcoin ATMs
ATMs and terminals with the possibility of buying Bitcoin – are not yet very common. In the big cities, there are only a few of them, but the situation is changing quite quickly: there is a list of ATMs on the CoinATMRadar website. Such devices are easy to use – quite a few operations with the card and the ATM itself and the cryptocurrency will be credited to your wallet. Terminals work with bills.
You can purchase Bitcoin anonymously
In countries such as Austria, South Korea, Mexico, and several other countries, there is an interesting option for buying BTC – through gift cards. You just need to replenish them at par and then enter the code on a specialized website. The “sellers” of such cards profit from commissions reaching 3-8%. However, the method is still in demand because of its simplicity and anonymity.
The best place to buy Bitcoin
Another lesson in cryptocurrency literacy has come to an end. Now you know how and where to buy Bitcoin for Fiat. The main thing to remember is that there is no ideal and universal place to buy Bitcoin. For each person the best place and unique. There is nothing difficult in this – there would be a desire and means to buy. Whether you should do this is up to you.
Shift Review
Shift is issued by Coinbase –an American cryptocurrency exchange firm. Since they are an exchange firm, they are always aware of the latest trends in the Cryptocurrency. This is a unique and helpful testament that you are in good hands. But this is not the only edge the company offers. There are various other benefits that come with the Shift Bitcoin debit card. The foremost benefit is that all monthly charges are waived for the card users. Another perk is that all the purchases instantly convert Bitcoin to USD in the Coinbase wallet.
Sounds interesting, no? Well, there are many other perks and only a few drawbacks of the Shift Bitcoin debit card so let’s get right into it.
Advantages
- The Shift debit card is mastered with Visa. This makes it acceptable in 99% of the stores worldwide, making it quite popular and practical.
- Conversions are made in real-time as Coinbase instantly exchanges the currency. This is one of the many features that sets Shift apart from its competitors.
- There are zero converting fees when exchanging from USD to Bitcoin.
- The card is available in most parts of the US.
- Many believe that it is much easier to use the Coinbase wallet directly than an actual wallet.
Disadvantages
- Users who are token enthusiasts might find Shift Bitcoin debit card limiting as it only offers Bitcoin as the primary cryptocurrency.
- The debit card is available in 46 of the 50 US states. However, the exchange firm confirms that they are working on distribution channels to make it available throughout the USA soon.
- The debit card comes with a Coinbase wallet only. This is a disadvantage for all those who like to keep a separate wallet.
Shift Bitcoin Debit Card Charges
- The physical card costs $20 to issue. There isn’t any hidden currency exchange fee when converting from Bitcoin to USD.
- There are free domestic transactions as a bonus for a limited amount of time.
- ATM withdrawals domestically cost $2.50.
- International ATM withdrawals cost a standard $3.50. There is a 3% transaction fee on an international transaction.
- One of the biggest perks of Shift Bitcoin Debit card is that there are no monthly maintenance fees involved.
Summary
- Physical card: Yes
- Virtual card: Yes
- Card type: Visa
- Mobile app: Yes
- Supported cryptocurrencies: Bitcoin (BTC)
- Supported fiat currencies: USD
- Anonymous: No
Final Word
Fans of the exchange Coinbase love the Shift Bitcoin debit card for its solid product. Customers who trade on Coinbase can apply for a shift debit card at any time they want. It makes money management easier, all thanks to its Coinbase wallet. There are also no monthly charges as a maintenance fee, unlike most of the other debit cards in the market. One downside, however, is that the card is only available in the US. This means that the rest of the world can’t benefit from its exceptional services at the moment. Even in the USA, it only caters to 46 states yet, making it slightly impractical for users in the remaining states. And lastly, it only supports one cryptocurrency i.e. Bitcoin. Fans who deal in multiple other cryptocurrencies are disappointed with this limitation.