The Environmental Impact of Crypto Mining: How Big Is It?

Environmental issues are at the forefront of the news cycle. First blush logic might dictate that the management and recovery of virtual money within the virtual space would take little, if any, energy. Blinkety–bop; the digital transfers and engagements happen in the blink of an eye…right? Hang on. Not so fast. Article published courtesy of https://coincruncher.com, and https://cloudcoin.global.

Believe it or not, cryptocurrency is quickly raising alarm bells for environmentalists.
The main area of concern is the use of fossil fuels to provide large scale energy for crypto mining. This use is exacerbated by the blockchain: long, clunky blocks of code that take hours to download, authenticate, and upload again…. and so on.

But in what way does this lead to heavy power consumption?

Bernard Lietaer is the author of The Future of Money and an international expert in the design and implementation of currency systems. He has a great deal to say about the cost of power–literally–in crypto mining. “A cryptocurrency’s mining process is power-hungry, requiring heavy calculations on computers to verify transactions” points out Lietaer. While some estimations vary, “researchers at Cambridge estimate that it consumes about 121 kWh per year” writes Lietaer. And by these numbers, he points out, even when blockchain trades run at a low point, mining takes tremendous amounts of electricity.  “In the event of a currency slump, it is unlikely to fall below 36 terawatt hours (TWh) per year.” (Lietaer)


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The Trouble with Blockchain Crypto Wallets and Public Exchanges Not All Are Created Equal

Most cryptocurrencies are stored via wallet, exchange, or use obscene amounts of storage on your personal devices. CloudCoin offers a light, simple authentication code that can be stored in photos, USB drives, or the coin itself. With CloudCoin, authentication codes are not only more secure–but completely anonymous. Article published courtesy of https://coincruncher.com, and https://cloudcoin.global.

What is a crypto wallet? 

When you access your physical wallet, at some point you, yourself, are putting cash in. You are able to physically view that cash, monitor and safeguard its security, and spend it as you will at any time. The idea behind a crypto wallet is to work much the same way. It is a software-based platform ostensibly designed to make your cryptocurrency more accessible to you. The goal is to give you the ability to store your crypto electronically and send and/or receive your crypto in much the same way as a physical wallet. What you put in, you should be able to just as easily take out. Or at least…that’s the idea.

But the devil is in the details.


Blockchain-based crypto wallets cannot be anything but pseudo-anonymous.

Unlike the cash in your physical wallet, which only you see and engage with, blockchain-based crypto wallets involve third-party accountability that requires surrendering a certain amount of privacy. Crypto wallets are the electronic platforms that most often require that you purchase software or pay per-transaction fees to use. Unlike your personal wallet, however, crypto wallets work less like a storage space and more like a record of transactions. That is to say, they are “pseudo anonymous”: they must not only track and record transactions, but also associate you with those transactions. You pay to use them, yet you are not afforded complete privacy. Using them can mean surrendering a certain degree of anonymity, and it’s a reality that few consider.

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Security Check up: Is Your Crypto Safe?Tips For Handling Security With Cryptocurrency

It is no secret that we take security very seriously here at CloudCoin. If you are new to cryptocurrency or feeling particularly uncertain about your trading habits, here are some tips for protecting yourself while trading online. Article published courtesy of https://coincruncher.com, and https://cloudcoin.global.

Always move your crypto from devices that need servicing

Does it seem like the battery on your computer isn’t lasting as long as you like? Has your PC seemed a little warmer than usual? Consider moving your crypto from devices that may have trouble on the way. You don’t need the most powerful computer to trade. You need a computer that functions properly. Consider the implications of getting your computer serviced with someone who will have full access to your files.

Never auto-generate or save crypto-related passwords

What if that PC gets the “blue screen of death”? What if your child decides today is the day to test the interaction between magnets and motherboards? Create strong passwords, but make sure you write them down! Although auto generating strong passwords through Google or Firefox is usually a reliable strategy for most daily online activity, it just doesn’t cut it if you are taking cryptocurrency seriously. Experts encourage using a strong password; but saving these passwords to your PC is a huge risk. 

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Crypto and Taxes: Do You Have to Address This With The IRS? Yes. Yes You do.

One of the beautiful things about decentralized currency and trading has been the silky gray areas that left it somewhere between the comfort factor of a home-cooked meal, and the rough and ready “anything goes” proposition of a steak over a cowboy fire in the wild west. But the comfort and freedom of that decentralization can be at risk, once the IRS gets involved.  Article published courtesy of https://coincruncher.com, and https://cloudcoin.global.

For the first few years of its existence, crypto enjoyed an anonymity that made it attractive to all kinds of characters: white hats and blackhats alike. So the good guys and bad guys, no matter who they are or where they come from, enjoyed some degree of separation from the general population, at least as it regarded their activity in virtual currency.

There was also a time when crypto seemed suitable only to those with a pretty good head for tech; early adopters of platforms that might have been risky or difficult to track and manage. These early adopters saw the benefit of crypto because, frankly…the tax authorities didn’t appear to take them seriously. Rules and regulations governing the exchanges were all but nonexistent.

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Metabank is the first decentralized bank in the metaverse. How to join early?

Metabank, the first decentralized bank in the metaverse

I just finished what became my North American tour with two countries (Canada & US), three cities (Toronto, Austin, and New York), and three major events (AIBC Americas, Consensus, and Battlefin). I have changed 7 planes in the process, and fortunately, everything went very smoothly, except for one being delayed for two hours, and another for 1 hour. Which is almost perfect having in mind the chaos happening these days at many airports. I have also changed 7 hotels, crossed the border from Canada to the US by foot at Niagara Falls (it was a first for me), started a hit song in a studio in Austin, perfected my scratch skills at another studio in New York, have met incredible people along the way, and realized that I have to be much more consistent with writing, sharing important things I have learned at these events with you. I only had my backpack in Toronto and went with the team from AIBC Summit at Niagara Falls so instead of going back to Toronto and taking the plane from there to Austin, I took a last-minute decision, and first went to a Hard Rock Cafe at Niagara Falls to eat a hamburger – it is my first in more than 10 years, as I am not a hamburger fan, and then crossed the border to US on the Rainbow Bridge which is a simple, but a fantastic experience, something people usually do in the movies. From there went to Buffalo airport, found a nice hotel, and flew to Austin the next day.

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Exit Festival launches new NFT collections with global music stars and celebrities

The NFT world is a fascinating one, especially when it is connected to the real world, and the entertainment industry has a massive, still untapped opportunity to step in. This is why I support such initiatives and am happy to give a shout-out to the organizers behind the Serbian famous EXIT Festival for their NFT initiatives.

EXIT NFT Collections Shades w/ Maceo Plex

Exit Festival launches new NFT collections with global music stars and celebrities. Unique NFT collections combine cutting-edge digital art and superior real-life experiences.

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NFTs for Beginners Crash Course

The NFTs (non-fungible tokens) are not something really new, they were here with us starting the ICO craze in 2017, but somehow, after 2020, they have started a new, upgraded life, and are considered as one of the next big things. They are a breed of unique digital assets — non-fungible, which are different from regular cryptos which are fungible (one can easily be replaced with the others). What is hard to digest for most of us is how these digital assets which range from art and music to in-game assets and luxury fashion, are selling like high-priced diamonds, sometimes in the range of hundreds of thousands, and even millions of dollars.

Adrian Niculescu speaking at AIBC Summit in Dubai
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How to understand NFTs?

Well, the million-dollar question is … what is an NFT? Anybody can perform a short Google search, and will see the definition by Wikipedia: “A non-fungible token (NFT) is a non-interchangeable unit of data stored on a blockchain, a form of digital ledger, that can be sold and traded. Types of NFT data units may be associated with digital files such as photos, videos, and audio. Because each token is uniquely identifiable, NFTs differ from most cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin, which are fungible.

NFT ledgers claim to provide a public certificate of authenticity or proof of ownership, but the legal rights conveyed by an NFT can be uncertain. NFTs do not restrict the sharing or copying of the underlying digital files, do not necessarily convey the copyright of the digital files, and do not prevent the creation of NFTs with identical associated files.

NFTs have been used as a speculative asset, and they have drawn increasing criticism for the energy cost and carbon footprint associated with validating blockchain transactions as well as their frequent use in art scams. The NFT market has also been compared to a Ponzi scheme.” But even after seeing this definition, the question comes up again: what is an NFT?

3D Sci-Fi rendition -RAIDA FT Sean Worthington. NFT Image
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Your Army of digital twins is waiting!

By going to many conferences where I am speaking I also spend a lot of time in the expo area looking to connect with new investors, and projects, and also reconnecting with people I know or I am already working with. I have an actual complex set of activities in the CMO/ CEO/ Advisor/ Venture Partner/ Startup Mentor & Investor areas so it is impossible to see me just standing with nothing to do. Yes, maybe from time to time, you could see me like this for a few minutes contemplating nice venues or ideas blowing my mind. If you remember, this newsletter is a little bit about what’s inside my head so expect some personal insights here also.

Adrian Niculescu speaker at AIBC Dubai, United Arab Emirates
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Up or out!

It took me two days to find a t-shirt with a meaningful message so I can wear it during one of the latest conferences I had the opportunity to speak at. Usually, I buy 80% of my clothes from New Yorker, the rest is split between Primark and other brands. New Yorker speaks my language, I can choose what I want in minutes, I feel great wearing their stuff. Maybe I will pitch them one day to become one of their influencers. I use to look at Sauvage commercials in shops and think that one day I will be able to be part of commercials like Johnny Deep is doing. I love the shopping experience at Primark, especially when I am in Uk on Oxford Street.

Usually, I buy stuff for my wife and three daughters for the same reason, it speaks my language when shopping for my girls, and other family dresses, so occasionally I purchase also stuff for myself. One month ago I took the weird decision to start a newsletter on Linkedin, and also a more in-depth version on Substack (feel free to subscribe on both) called Inside My Head: The New Entrepreneurship in The Digital assets Era.

Adrian Niculescu speaking at Agora’s Global Blockchain Congress in Dubai, United Arab Emirates
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The Quick Shortcut To Become Wealthy

10 years ago if you wanted to launch a business or even to test an idea you had to rent an office, furnish and create the IT infrastructure for it, spend a lot of dough as startup costs, and all that jazz.

Now you can create a funnel, put a team in a coworking space, plug the laptops in space’s IT infrastructure and bang, you can start something. The power of the internet has caused the transaction costs to become smaller and smaller, as time goes by. So, in theory, it is easier than ever to start a project but most of the beginner entrepreneurs are lured in the idea to raise funds and make money and are not focused on creating real, lasting value. And here is their biggest seatback.

What’s the biggest mistake that entrepreneurs are making? Many companies are just using the internet and technology to slash costs and they do everything possible to outsource as much possible. They focus on cutting the costs instead of using the internet and the tech facilities at hand today to actually create much better products. And this trend is helped by the gooroos promoting via books, courses, webinars, and seminars the mindset that you can just use the internet, don’t work at all, or maybe just a little bit, outsource everything and lay low on a sunny beach. The whole value building idea is somehow out of the equation. And this is wrong and it is bad both for the business, the customers and all other stakeholders.

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Americans with Disability Act [ADA]: What You Should Know!

Something is currently going on and it’ll only be a matter of time before it gets to you!
Website owners are being targeted and sued for a law they are ignorant of . It’s the ‘Americans with Disability Act [ADA]’ which requires businesses to make accommodations for people with disabilities in ALL their web content.
Click Here To Find Out If Your Website Is ADA Compliant!

 

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