By Blockchain technology is best known for the first killer application built on top of it, bitcoin, the worlds first peer-to-peer, global, decentralized digital currency and payments network.
Blockchain is considered by many to be the most important invention since the internet with its ability to enable entirely new business models, and transform the way we live, work, entertain ourselves, and relate to one another.
Here are some ways you can begin capitalizing on blockchain technology today, beyond just owning some bitcoin
- What is Blockchain Technology?
- How does Blockchain Technology Work?
- How does Blockchain Technology make Money?
- How to make Money from Blockchain Apps
- How do you make Money with Blockchain Wallet?
- How can I Earn in Blockchain?
- What is the best way to Invest in Blockchain Technology
- How to Invest in Blockchain Without Buying Bitcoin
- How Blockchain Technology can Boost Growing Economy
What is Blockchain Technology?
Blockchain is a system of recording information in a way that makes it difficult or impossible to change, hack, or cheat the system.
Read Also: How to use Blockchain Technology in Converting Relevant Leads for Business
A blockchain is essentially a digital ledger of transactions that is duplicated and distributed across the entire network of computer systems on the blockchain. Each block in the chain contains a number of transactions, and every time a new transaction occurs on the blockchain, a record of that transaction is added to every participant’s ledger. The decentralised database managed by multiple participants is known as Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT).
Blockchain is a type of DLT in which transactions are recorded with an immutable cryptographic signature called a hash.
This means if one block in one chain was changed, it would be immediately apparent it had been tampered with. If hackers wanted to corrupt a blockchain system, they would have to change every block in the chain, across all of the distributed versions of the chain. Blockchains such as Bitcoin and Ethereum are constantly and continually growing as blocks are being added to the chain, which significantly adds to the security of the ledger.
How does Blockchain Technology Work?
First and foremost, blockchain is a public electronic ledger built around a P2P system that can be openly shared among disparate users to create an unchangeable record of transactions, each time-stamped and linked to the previous one. Every time a set of transactions is added, that data becomes another block in the chain (hence, the name).
Blockchain can only be updated by consensus between participants in the system, and once new data is entered it can never be erased. It is a write-once, append-many technology, making it a verifiable and auditable record of each and every transaction.
While it has great potential, blockchain technology development is still early days; CIOs and their business counterparts should expect setbacks in deploying the technology, including the real possibility of serious bugs in the software used atop a blockchain. And as some companies have already discovered, it’s not the be-all solution to many tech problems.
Blockchain standards organizations, universities and start-ups have proposed newer consensus protocols and methods for spreading out the computational and data storage workload to enable greater transactional throughput and overall scalability – a persistent problem for blockchain. And the Linux Foundation’s Hyperledger Project has created modular tools for building out blockchain collaboration networks.
While some industry groups are working toward standardizing versions of blockchain software, there are also hundreds of startups working on their own versions of the distributed ledger technology.
Why has blockchain been getting so much buzz? In a word, bitcoin – the wildly hyped cryptocurrency that allows for payment transactions over an open network using encryption and without exposing the identities of individual bitcoin owners. It was the first-ever decentralized one when it was created in 2009.
Other forms of cryptocurrency or virtual money, such as Ether (based on the Ethereum blockchain application platform), have also gained significant traction and opened new venues for cross-border monetary exchanges. (Ethereum was introduced in 2013 by developer Vitalik Buterin, who was 19 at the time.)
The term bitcoin was first… well, coined in 2008 when Satoshi Nakamoto (likely a pseudonym for one or more developers) wrote a paper about a “peer-to-peer version of electronic cash that would allow online payments to be sent directly from one party to another without going through a financial institution.”
For more than a year, however, Bitcoin has been on a roller coaster ride, with its value dropping from a peak of nearly $20,000 to a little more than $3,500, mainly due to the fact that it has no intrinsic value; its worth is based only on high demand and limited supply. Unlike fiat currencies or stocks, there is no institution or government backing the value of bitcoin.
That may change for cryptocurrencies someday.
Governments have already made overtures toward creating stablecoins, or cryptocurrency that’s backed by a stable asset such a gold or traditional fiat currency. Blockchain is also being used to digitize other assets, such as cars, real estate and even artwork.
How does Blockchain Technology make Money?
If you had invested $100 in Bitcoin back in 2011, you’d have about $1.7 million today. That doesn’t mean you’ve totally missed the boat on investing in this new family of technologies. Cryptocurrencies are just one offshoot of this technology and there are dozens of different kinds you could invest in.
There are also cryptocurrencies you can earn without exchanging actual money for them. These are things like attention tokens, cryptocurrency payments for freelance work, and even airdrops for holding stake coins in your active accounts.
You can play games for tokens, earn tokens for learning new things, and even mine cryptocurrency with your computer. You can even rent space from a server to do the same. There are more options for owning cryptocurrency than simple exchanging cash for Bitcoin.
Blockchain technology is the underlying framework for cryptocurrencies. Businesses are finding new applications for this technology daily.
Some companies are developing blockchain real estate records for use in places where government corruption can cause people to lose their land and their homes when politicians want to take them over.
Healthcare companies are banding together to use blockchain technology to create ledgers for non-protected health information, such as doctor’s office addresses and telephone numbers. The data can easily be shared and updated across networks with minimal human interaction, thereby saving the entire industry on non-healthcare related costs.
There are many ways to invest in these ideas. You can invest in companies such as IBM, which has developed the Hyperledger technology. Many companies are using it to develop their blockchain applications. You can also invest in mining and trading platforms that support the creation and transaction side of the cryptocurrency market.
There are also emerging blockchain-as-a-service providers, major companies making the transition to blockchain, and innovators developing completely new businesses based on the capabilities of blockchain. All of them are going to need capital from outside investors to make it happen.
You Could Get A Job In Cryptocurrency Or Blockchain
Did you know that the average career in blockchain pays 62% more than jobs in traditional industries? And just last year, there was a 300% spike in job listings for cryptocurrency and blockchain-related jobs.
You don’t even have to be a developer to land a job in this industry, though those are certainly the most in-demand jobs right now. One company advertised a job for a “meme specialist” about two years ago. There are opportunities for compliance, marketing, social media, and risk analysis professionals among many more. Cryptojobslist.com is a great place to search listings for these careers worldwide.
But even if you just want to dip your toes into this segment of the market, there are several platforms for hiring freelancers. Many of them pay in cryptocurrency of some kind. They include:
Storm– Earn cryptocurrency for performing microtasks
Ethlance- earn Ethereum for performing freelance tasks
BountyØx– Earn cryptocurrency for verifying the work of others
How to make Money from Blockchain Apps
With the gift of the internet comes the ability to find companies who want to give you cryptocurrency in exchange for your time. Once you receive your crypto-coins you can exchange them for either a bitcoin or a fiat currency.
Below are some of the companies that offer you a chance to earn crypto-coins without investing your own money.
PI Network
The first is the PI Network. This organization set out to find a way that would allow ordinary people to mine Bitcoins. Their solution means you can make money by mining crypto-coins from your phone. Simply download the app, and once a day open it and automatically mine Bitcoins.
Steemit
Steemit is a social media and blogging platform that pays users for posting content. You earn crypto-coins for posting your photos and publishing your posts.
You can then use this cryptocurrency to purchase goods or services on the platform or transfer it to various exchanges such as Bittrex and Binance, convert it to Bitcoin, or transfer it to your bank as fiat currency. You can download the app, called eSteem, on android or IOS.
Brave
Brave is a website browser that lets you earn tokens by viewing adverts. Due to the new General Data Protection Regulations, websites can only collect user data with consent. The Brave browser allows you to earn rewards by opting to see adverts. It is that simple.
What it does is give publishers back their fair share of internet revenue and you get a small amount for using the browser. They claim to be faster and have a higher level of privacy than Chrome. Go and test their browser for yourself.
SMS Chain
SMS Chain is for those with unused SMS text bundles or an unlimited SMS plan. According to their website, anyone who buys a SMSCHAIN Token and installs the app can earn money automatically by selling their unused SMS messages. App users can set up the number of messages sent, as well as the type of content to deliver (for example, transactional messages from Google, Facebook, Whatsapp etc.).
There are many other ways you can earn cryptocurrencies. Go out there and do your research! Remember, 10 years ago one bitcoin was worth a few dollars. As of March 2020, it’s worth almost USD 9,000. These currencies are a long term investment, but the above companies do not take time away from your day nor take money from your pocket. The perfect solution.
How do you make Money with Blockchain Wallet?
1. Mining bitcoin
No, you don’t have to raise the ground to get bitcoin. Not in that sense anyway.
So, why do you call it mining? Similar to gold miners, bitcoin miners have to bring out the gold, in this case, bitcoin into the surface.
While paper money has a government, who prints and distributes it, Bitcoin has miners who use special software to solve math problems and are issued with bitcoin in exchange. This system is what makes the Bitcoin network go round.
Mining Bitcoin used to be relatively simple, and the earliest miners were able to mine thousands of Bitcoin using their home computers. However, in today’s very competitive and volatile market, miners buy expensive computer parts, that the high street customer has little access to, required for more processing power in order to mine more difficult algorithms.
Since this is a race that can solve blocks faster, miners team up in what we call mining pools where they combine their processing power in order to solve each transaction first. The reward mostly comes from several miners’ fees, is then split up by members of the pool.
2. Pay To Click (PTC) Websites
There are several websites that will pay you in bitcoin if you watch an ad or click to a certain page containing ads. If you are ad immune and want to make quick crypto buck–this can be a good idea. Bear in mind, to make any significant money is still very hard work and a rather tedious task. BTC4ADS pays around 100 satoshis (0.00000100 ฿) and Coinadder pays around 25 satoshis per click.
3. Doing Micro Jobs
Much like Microworkers and Cloudfactory, which pay you a small fee to complete very simple tasks like watching a YouTube video or completing someone’s survey, there are several micro working sites that will pay you in bitcoin. Bitcoinget is the major player in this market which will pay you around 20,000 satoshis per task while there are several others like Cointasker that will pay you a slightly lower sum.
4. Writing about bitcoin
Cryptocurrency, in general, is a new niche and there is a scarcity of writers who genuinely know this niche. This means the market is flooded with newbie copywriters who simply rehash the content that contributes to the deterioration of quality. However, if you really know this niche and you have decent writing skills, you can actually make money.
CCN, Blockchain Aliens are among several websites that pay you for writing about bitcoin. You can also find a lot of related jobs freelance websites like Upwork and freelancer.com
5. Help others, get tipped in bitcoin
You can also get tipped in bitcoin by helping other people. One of the most notable platforms to do so is bitfortip, which tips bitcoin as an incentive for helping people. Bitcoin is a new technology and there are people who are genuinely passionate about it and excited about what is to follow so incentives like this help to build a positive vibe around the community and also help people solve their problems.
6. Gambling bitcoin
Though its not advisable to anyone, if you are self-aware enough, the bitcoin gambling market can still be a good source of income. Just like any form of gambling, the people in general always lose and the casinos always win but since bitcoin gambling is a very little heard of the term, you can get huge bonuses for joining or even several rounds of your stake to start with. Sites like Bitstarz and mbit are major players in the Crypto gambling business.
7. Buying and Holding
Start with creating a wallet to keep your bitcoin safe. There are many places that allow you to do so. Paxful, for example, provides a free digital wallet whenever you sign up for an account. This is the easiest way if you are planning on buying and holding bitcoin. Make sure that the website you’re using is a safe and reliable one.
Investing in Bitcoin is a waiting game of its value to rise. This lets you decide when is a good time to buy or sell. There are several factors that contribute to how bitcoin is valued and you never know what will trigger the next bear market.
“Hodl”, a term the Bitcoin community whenever they are holding their coin with the belief their coin will be profitable one day. The slang word earned the backronym “Hold On for Dear Life” in the cryptocurrency space.
Note that this method can be tricky so don’t take anyone’s advice about it. Research and learn about Bitcoin and come up to your own conclusion.
8. Running a signature campaign in Bitcoin Talk forum
Bitcointalk is one of the oldest bitcoin forum set up by Satoshi Nakamoto himself. This is probably the most popular forum in crypto sphere and used by millions of people. If you are an avid follower of the forum and you have racked up some authority from consistent posting, then your posts of bitcointalk will have a sponsored signature and you’ll get paid by sponsors for every post you make on the forum.
According to Steemit, you can easily make a bit of coin doing simple forum posting – for example, a full member can earn 0.0003 btc per post
9. Bitcoin Trading
There is potential to make big money trading bitcoin. Unlike buying and holding, trading bitcoin means you buy at a low price and sell them back at a higher price. This requires practice and knowledge of the market and to some extent a crystal ball. Given that the cryptocurrency market is extremely volatile, this method can be very risky.
How can I Earn in Blockchain?
Even if you are not earning directly from BTC’s exchange fluctuation or from launching your own ICO, there are other, simpler ways to take advantage of blockchains for monetary gains.
Here are a few to get you started:
1. Accomplish micro-tasks in exchange for cryptocurrency
You may recall the “Mechanical Turk” concept introduced by Amazon in 2005 as a crowdsourced marketplace for tasks. The concept is simple: Tasks can be easily done if these are broken down to smaller tasks and distributed to several workers. While limited to mostly tedious and repetitive tasks, there is value in this system, wherein users could earn micro-payments by doing small tasks, while the client is able to accomplish bigger projects faster.
The same concept could perhaps be applied with small-project freelancing sites like Fiverr, which started out as a freelancing site for tasks that are paid at least $5 each to accomplish.
Storm Token is the blockchain equivalent of these micro-task platforms. It is a gamified platform for micro-tasks that enables anyone to earn from virtually anywhere and using any device. For instance, users can earn cryptocurrency from doing certain tasks, which may include QA testing, data entry, and other peer-to-peer freelancing tasks.
The developers behind Storm actually have a good background in gaining traction and reach, having brought their Storm Play application across 1 million users in 187 countries so far. The company has ended it’s crowdsale in order to raise funds to improve and build their platform and raised over $30mm.
2. Participate in social curation
The internet is awash with fake news, and thus the “signal to noise” ratio is not quite acceptable. On social networks, this effect could be amplified, as there is the so-called “confirmation bias” wherein users primarily see topics they are interested in, and would tend to agree with posts and comments, even if many of these have fake sources.
The problem with social networks by far is that most are free, and it can be difficult for good content to stand out from the crowd if we are bombarded by sentiments from just about anyone. The blockchain can solve this by implementing a reward mechanism for active participation.
Steemit a project that resembles a Blockchain Reddit, has launched a social network that lets users curate user submissions, thus pushing up only those that they deem to have valid or interesting content.
This is done by sending small amounts of crypto tokens to posts that they deem good — somewhat similar to sending a micro payment for every “like”. This is in contrast to the free “likes” on social networks like Facebook.
These can be cheap, but if there is some monetary aspect to voting up a social media post, then each upvote will have some real value attached to it. The creators of Steemit believe this can help solve the fake news and noise issue on social networks. Meanwhile, content creators get rewarded by the crypto value of the “likes” equivalent.
3. Be part of crowdsourced intelligence
Part of the blockchain’s beauty is its distributed nature. And this is also the main reason for crowdfunding becoming so popular – particularly through ICOs. But another part of the crowd-based nature of the blockchain is crowdsourcing, particularly gathering information and intelligence from distributed sources.
This is exactly the concept behind startups that mine data and intelligence from the crowd. But one in particular,
Sharpe Capital, gathers financial intelligence from the crowd and rewards users for participation. Of course, being a tool for financial advice, Sharpe Capital utilizes an immutable reputation score, which is stored on the Ethereum blockchain.
The platform uses machine learning capability, and intelligence is acquired through an artificial neural network – meaning it is inspired by how the human brain works – in working its recommendation engine. And to make it easy for users to participate in the crowdsourcing platform, the solution uses natural language processing, in order to understand any sentiment or advice given by users without the need for complicated protocols or syntaxes.
In gist, the platform rewards users for their predictions about financial markets through cryptocurrency.
4. Buy and hold on
This is perhaps the most straightforward means of participating in cryptocurrency growth without having to be too active about it. If you’ve been watching the price of Bitcoin, it has grown significantly in almost a decade of existence. Thus, people who have bought and held on to their cryptocurrency see themselves reaping the rewards of an upsurge in value.
This is in stark contrast to active “trading” wherein a trader would buy low and sell high, and buy again when there is a dip. In hindsight, those who have held on to their BTC when it was still priced at around $200 each would probably be worth millions today. But an added worry today would be the naysayers, who would warn against trusting the system too much because we might be in a cryptocurrency bubble that could burst at any time.
What is the best way to Invest in Blockchain Technology
Along with its rapidly expanding user base, Bitcoin is now being considered for use by a number of financial services companies.
Paramount among the benefits offered by cryptocurrency is its ability to reduce the cost of transferring funds, particularly on a global scale. The impact of Bitcoin and the technology behind it on the finance industry has been likened to the disruption that the Internet caused in the music and publishing industries.
The good news is that opportunities for investing in blockchain technology abound, giving investors the chance to leverage the potential offered by this revolutionary technology. How the investor chooses to invest in blockchain technology will largely depend on the amount of risk he or she is willing to incur.
1. Stockpiling Bitcoin
Just as many investors have opted to stockpile gold in anticipation of its value rising, other investors are stockpiling Bitcoins. The difference, of course, is that gold is a tangible item and Bitcoins are not.
Still, the basic investment principles remain the same. Both assets are considered rare and finite. While the rate at which Bitcoins were generated in the early days of the technology was relatively fast, that rate has slowed over the last few years as the number in existence reached its built-in limit of 21 million coins.
That makes both subject to the law of supply and demand. When the supply of a product is limited and demand for it increases, its value rises.
Luckily for technophobes, there are ways to invest in Bitcoin and blockchain technology that do not involve a deep-dive into the murky world of direct Bitcoin trading.
2. Blockchain Penny Stocks
Yes, there are penny stocks for cryptocurrency. While Bitcoin is definitely the best-known digital currency, it is not the only one. Other types of digital currency include Litecoin and Altcoin.
Over the last few years, a number of alternative digital currencies have been developed in an attempt to compete with Bitcoin, and others were designed specifically to fill needs not met by Bitcoin.
For instance, cryptocurrencies have been developed to enable digital asset registry, provide increased privacy, and drive escrow services, among other applications.
Penny stocks representing cryptocurrencies or blockchain technology, or both, offer opportunities. Some current names include Weidai Ltd. (WEI) and GreenSky Inc. (GSKY).
It must be said that combining the phrase “bitcoin technology” and the phrase “penny stock” in the same sentence guarantees an astronomical level of risk. Don’t bet more pennies than you can afford to lose.
3. Crowdfunding
Crowdfunding has evolved into a mainstream method for raising seed capital for all types of investments. If you’re seeking to get involved in blockchain technology, one option to consider is a crowdfunding method that uses alternative coins.
In this case, the total supply of coins is pre-mined and then sold in an initial coin offering, or ICO, prior to the network being publicly launched. Bitshares is just one of the coin networks that used this method to get started.
Services and apps using blockchain technology have used this pre-sale method to raise funding. Investors are given the opportunity to purchase coins with the expectation that prices will increase if the service becomes popular.
4. Angel Funding and Startups
Angel funding is not a new concept but investing in startups built on blockchain technology is a relatively new variation.
As Bitcoin has become increasingly accepted by mainstream businesses, the number of entrepreneurs interested in experimenting with the technology behind the cryptocurrency has skyrocketed.
Providing startup and angel funding allows you to get in on the ground floor of what could turn out to be the next Google, Apple, or blockchain frontier. Or not. Carefully weigh the pros and cons of any venture seeking funding.
5. Pure Blockchain Technology Play
Pure blockchain technology plays are available.
A number of established companies including Intel Corp. (INTC) and IBM Corp. (IBM) are making significant investments in blockchain technologies for broad use by various industries. These can give investors a foothold in the space without betting the farm on it.
Others, like Galaxy Digital Holdings (GLXY) and Silvergate Capital Corp.
(SI) are all-in on cryptocurrency and blockchain technology.
If you want to keep your level of risk relatively low, the best option is to invest in one of the stocks issued by a major financial services company experimenting with the potential of blockchain technology for improving services, or a technology company investing in broader applications for blockchain services.
For investors who are able to tolerate a higher degree of risk, investing in one of the pure blockchain technology investment opportunities could deliver the right combination of risk versus potential return.
How to Invest in Blockchain Without Buying Bitcoin
In 2018, Bitcoin prices have been all over that map – dishing out anguish for anyone who’s not been on the right side of the wild swings.
Most long-term-minded investors have avoided the cryptocurrency altogether, partially because digital currencies feel philosophically flawed, and partially because they wanted to steer clear of all the volatility. But there’s still something compelling about the technology, even if a newcomer to cryptocurrencies can’t quite articulate why they see a future for them.
The key to navigating the volatility and looking past the noise? First and foremost, understand that Bitcoin (and other cryptocurrencies) isn’t the same thing as blockchain. Blockchain is the underlying digital record system that makes Bitcoin “work.”
It powers other digital currencies, too, and is being increasingly used in other ways, such as improving cloud storage or keeping track of legal documents. As such, blockchain should be around in the future even if Bitcoin itself falls off the radar.
Here’s a list of some of the top ways to invest in blockchain without directly exposing your portfolio to less predictable instruments like Bitcoin itself. These stocks and funds all have a stake in the future of blockchain, to varying degrees.
- Overstock.com
- MasterCard
- International Business Machines
- Eastman Kodak
- NvidiaReality Shares Nasdaq NexGen Economy ETF
- Amplify Transformational Data Sharing ETF
- Grayscale Bitcoin Investment Trust
How Blockchain Technology can Boost Growing Economy
When many investors in the U.S. hear the word “blockchain,” they immediately think of cryptocurrencies, and with good reason. The impressive new technology provides the support necessary for the decentralized, anonymized tracking and transaction of digital currencies around the world. However, as many industries are discovering, blockchain technology also allows for many other uses and applications as well.
From insurance and real estate to crowdfunding and data management, the potential applications of blockchain technology are numerous, and it’s likely that there will be new ways of adapting this technology to the mainstream business world in the future as well.
But one important use of blockchain technology may be outside the mainstream business world: Some of the world’s most impoverished nations may benefit from the integration of blockchain technology in various ways.
Protecting Children
The Democratic Republic of Congo, a central African country ravaged by a devastating and protracted war that has led to millions of deaths, is routinely listed among the poorest nations in the world. Now, a report from Bitcoin News highlights a project slated for launch later this year that could help to protect children there from forced labor.
This project will provide global manufacturers of high-tech devices like smartphones with a guarantee that cobalt used in lithium-ion batteries was not mined by children. Democratic Republic of Congo has a significant problem with informal mining sites, many of which include child workers.
The country holds half of the cobalt reserves around the world, and this could prove to be beneficial to the struggling economy in the years to come, particularly as electric cars are likely to become increasingly popular. Indeed, for the year 2016, Congo mined 54% of the 123,000 tons of cobalt generated around the world.
Basic Necessities
In Venezuela, where hyperinflation has prompted dramatic shortages of basic necessities and food, bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies could help ease the strain. Given its global usage and the relative ease of cross-border payments and transfers, cryptocurrency has been a viable alternative to an increasingly problematic local fiat money for many Venezuelan citizens.
Haiti, still reeling from hurricane and earthquake damage caused over the last decade, and with a gross national Income per capita of just $810, according to the most recent census, also stands to benefit from blockchain. The Haitian government has suggested that blockchain technology could be used to record and register property transactions, voting, intellectual property and other aspects of bureaucracy.
For Paul Domjan, global head of research, analytics and data at investment bank Exotix, emerging nations are the most promising beneficiaries of blockchain tech. He argues that, because “frontier markets in Latin America, Sub-Saharan Africa, and South Asia lag far behind [in the area of ownership recording], with average performance less than half that of the best-performing economies,” they are primed for the benefits of blockchain.
Amnesty International researcher Mark Dummett has voiced cautious support for the integration of blockchain into efforts to address these and other problems plaguing developing nations, saying that “you have to be wary of technological solutions to problems that are also political and economic, but blockchain may help. We’re not against it.”
Read Also: How big Banks and Financial Institutions are Banking on Blockchain
Besides the applications listed above, supporters of blockchain believe that it could enhance the distribution of government services in these nations, help to provide identity services and even help to enhance freedom of speech and anti-corruption activities as well.
All of these ideas are promising on paper, but as of yet major project implementation has yet to take shape, although various companies and projects have discussed plans and potential applications.
Final Thoughts
Earning from blockchains and cryptocurrency could be as straightforward as simply buying into the currency, which could involve a small investment. Or, if you are keen on earning from the micro-task, crowdsourced, or curation, ecosystem, you can do so from a mobile device.
In fact, the opportunities are potentially endless, with options appearing every so often. And while the doomsday predictions might eventually come true at one point, we should take opportunities and earn from Bitcoin and blockchains while the market conditions are favorable.
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