More Than 15% of Crypto Projects Have Serious Red Flags: Wall Street Journal

According to new research from the Wall Street Journal,

more than 15% of crypto projects raising funds through initial coin offerings (ICOs) have serious red flags that should give investors pause. The investigation, which analyzed the whitepapers of 3,300 cryptocurrency offerings and ICOs launched in 2017 and 2018, found that 513 of them likely committed plagiarism, misrepresented the identities of project founders, or promised unrealistic returns.

Significant Number of Crypto Projects are Highly Questionable

The Wall Street Journal examined the white papers of all 3,300 projects which it found listed on ICOBench.com, Tokendata.io, and ICORating.com. To identify plagiarism, the reporters compared sentences in all the reports to find duplication, with reporters identifying over 10,000 sentences that appeared more than once. The papers were also searched to identify offerings where no team members were provided, and the publication reverse image searched photos to identify fake team listings. Lacking or fraudulent team, founder, or sponsor details have long been a red flag for illicit crypto projects and should be one of the first details an investor scrutinizes for accuracy.

To find “improbable” promises of returns the whitepapers were keyword searched for critical marketing terms like “high return” and then analyzed manually before reporters decided they were an unrealistic “can’t miss” opportunity. Of the 513, over 30 are already under scrutiny by regulators, and over half of the project websites are unavailable. Each of the over 250 unavailable websites was pinged electronically and also checked manually. Reporters reached out to all 513 flagged offerings for comment on the findings. Very few could be reached or chose to respond.

Unsurprising Results?

Tron (TRX), the 10th-largest cryptocurrency by market cap, received a red flag for possibly plagiarizing portions of its whitepaper, as CCN previously reported. | Source: Wall Street Journal The Wall Street Journal results are hardly surprising given other recent reports on the ICO market and the intense regulatory scrutiny, and increasing measures, against offerings. It’s true that many ICOs have failed, many companies took advantage of a new funding model to launch less than credible projects and, many other projects have been judged scams.

Forrester Research recently found that most ICOs have struggled to produce viable projects or adequately prepare for a cryptocurrency bear market. The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has been conducting an ever-increasing program of clampdowns on ICOs. In May, US and Canadian regulators launched “Operation Crypto Sweep” after concluding that fraud was widespread.

More recently the SEC has called for international support in continuing its enforcement as many ICO sponsors are located outside of the US but offer investment opportunities within the country. The global nature of cryptocurrencies is causing a similar problem in other regions. For the SEC, other recent measures including hitting celebrities who promoted ICO scams with fines and other enforcement actions.

Change Ahead for 2019?

That said, there are many very real projects to have been funded through an ICO mechanism, take the SIRIN Labs Finney and Brave Browser — both of which have produced working products — as examples. On the flip side, fraudsters take advantage of all trendy investment classes, not just cryptocurrency.

SEC chairman Jay Clayton has received criticism in recent weeks that his harsh approach is restricting innovation. There is hope that balance can be found in 2019, that credible projects will continue to innovate, and that the growing scrutiny on fraudulent offerings will begin to deter them. With increased attention from regulators, crypto startups are already moving away from ICOs, seeking funding instead via more traditional routes of private and venture capital funding. Others are looking to a new model, the security token offering (STO), seeking to bring themselves into compliance rather than eschew it.

Article Produced By
CCN-ICO News

https://www.ccn.com/more-than-15-of-crypto-projects-have-serious-red-flags-wsj/

David https://markethive.com/david-ogden

3 Conflicts That Will Shape Blockchain Tech in 2019

Beyond the flashy headlines,

though, larger trends are manifesting. I believe three areas of conflict, between six “incompatible truths,” have been slowly taking shape, and that 2019 will see them unleashed in full force.

1. Ideology vs product-market fit

Venture capital funding is dead, so they say. By crowdfunding token creation events early, blockchain startups have taken a different route to market than the unicorns we know today. Web 2.0 startups raised in tranches. Web 3.0 startups raise early, in bulk. Web 2.0 startups wrote a ridiculous valuation around their Series D. Web 3.0 startups obtain a ridiculous valuation on day one. Both startups look for product-market fit, but the biggest difference between the two is that Web 3.0 companies need, and advocate, their ideology as the final product on day one. From ideology all else follows. Ideology is the coordinating principle between all parties taking part in the ecosystem.

Amazon set out to to use internet protocols to transform book buying into the fastest, easiest and most enjoyable shopping experience possible. Although Google has kept its mission statement of “organizing the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful” for over 14 years, its interpretation of the statement has changed dramatically.

Such a change is relatively easy to achieve in a centrally organized company. Now imagine that when proposing a change of direction, Amazon and Google needed buy-in from all their stakeholders. Would they still be where they are today? Maybe, but probably not. Aligning and evolving ideology at scale is tremendously complex. In 2019, we will see a shift. Open-source initiatives will still crowdfund from the garage-phase onward, but Web 3.0 companies with a profit function will to wait until they demonstrate early product-market fit, typical for an A-round. In short, 2019 will be the comeback of the VCs.

2. Market capitalization vs adoption

Consider two numbers: 131,000,000,000 and 10,000. The first one is the total crypto market capitalization in dollars, which is spread over 2,000 crypto-assets. The latter is the total dapp user base of ethereum. Now let’s look at adoption. Close to 14,000 venues worldwide accept bitcoin. Look at all that impressive red. Until you realize that in the U.S. alone there are 47,481 people named John Smith. “But, wait,” you say. “Crypto’s main feature is a currency!” Reality hits again. The most popular ethereum decentralised exchange (DEX) has just over 700 daily active users (DAU).

We could argue only a subsection of those active within the crypto space frequents DEX daily. However, games, which encourage DAU as a metric, aren’t doing much better. In 2019, we’ll realize that the valuation metrics we use as a sector are broken. The metric of multiplying circulating tokens with price is ridiculous. Together with exponential adoption of distributed ledger technologies (DLT) and crypto assets alike, we’ll see the industry mature in how we evaluate these new models of creating value.

3. Believers vs non-believers

Every time a Jamie Dimon or Nouriel Roubini gets a platform, a tweet storm to set the facts straight is not far away. A shouting match ensues between the “crypto bros” and the “bitcoin-is-a-scam” camp, doing little for mutual understanding or empathy. Historically, every major shift has required a strong foundation of support. Evangelists who keep challenging, challenging, and challenging the status quo, until it dents. The DLT community has got tenacity in spades.

Now it needs a new narrative.

The market is moving at a thousand different paces. We’ve seen teams who completed a successful token creation event, but were swallowed by their communities. The ones who keep their heads down, build and deliver (shout-out to 0x). Corporations who are tight-lipped about their stance on DLT, but are working like maniacs behind the scenes. Fortune 500 companies who are engaging in shiny innovation theater, but with no true intention to ever bring those PoC’s in-house.

Christine Lagarde, managing director of the IMF, got it right: ?

“?There are new and evolving requirements for money, as well as essential public policy objectives. While the case for digital currency is not universal, we should investigate it further, seriously, carefully, and creatively.”?

I would echo those sentiments for the wider promise of DLT, because we are not there ?yet. But we might get there in 2019.

Article Produced By
Arwen Smit

David https://markethive.com/david-ogden

The Meaning of 888:

The Meaning of 888:

The triple number 888 is one that’s seen as positive and progressive.

If you’ve been seeing this number a lot lately, prepare for a world of abundance and opportunities coming your way in a short while. The number 888 or any other angel numbers are sent to us with a clear message about our lives.

Sometimes the message could be a reinforcement of our current behavior, telling us that what we are doing is right while, other times, the numbers that we see mean that we need to make some changes in our lives. 888 reveals itself when your thoughts and vision for your life are in alignment. It serves as a reminder that whatever you’re doing is right and that you should keep at it until you get your break.

In addition, you might want to consider starting new relationships, signing contracts and agreements once you see this number set since you’re more likely to be successful going forward thanks to the backing that you are about to receive from your angel guides and the universe in general.

The number 888 is also a sign that you should do everything in your power to make sure that your finances are in check. This is because coming into a small fortune as a result of seeing this number set may cause you to act in a reckless manner which may end up in you losing the windfall that the universe just sent you.

Make sure to double check all your transactions to make sure that there aren’t any missing zeros or misused funds. The number 888 is all about positive changes. This is especially true if you’ve been hit by misfortune after misfortune over the last couple weeks, months or year. The universe and your angel guides are conspiring to change the status quo and give you a chance at succeeding in your endeavors for once.

Number 888 may guide you to success either physically or financially, spiritually, or in health. Listening to the messages your Angel is trying to send you will lead you down the path fit for your life. Using positive energy and life cycles allows number 888 to send messages to his followers. Whether through screen, license plate, street sign, ticket number or money, seeing the 8’s in sequence is a sure sign the number 888 is attempting communication.

If you turn the number 8 on its side you get the symbol for infinity. At a surface level, this means that you have been working hard and you will soon reap the reward in terms of financial abundance and material wealth. You should expect money to come your way soon.

The angel number 8 is often related to power, this could be in political or other areas of life. People who correspond with the number 8 are good at working for a cause and achieving recognition for their work. Angel number 8888 is a Karmic number that is associated with abundance, wealth, money, financial stability, windfall and good fortune.

Those good deeds from the past are coming back around in your fortune. A double 8 or 88 is a message to keep your finances in check and to not be overly materialistic. This will lead to solid foundations for you and your loved ones.

This Article Published by

Dedication

Dedication to the teachings of Quantum Consciousness Formula. To View all posts by Dedication go to link below..

https://www.markahaughton.com/angel-numbers/meaning-of-888/

David https://markethive.com/david-ogden

Seven Cryptocurrency Trends to Look out for in 2019

Seven Cryptocurrency Trends to Look out for in 2019

Another year is coming,

filled with fresh optimism and newfound determination to make 2019 the year when cryptocurrencies take over. Having gotten their calls badly wrong for 2018, so-called experts will be hesitant to make bullish price predictions for 2019. That’s probably for the best since there are far more interesting things to focus on than price action. Here are seven trends that should dominate the cryptosphere over the next 12 months.

2018 Didn’t Play Out the Way it Was Promised

This time last year, all kinds of bold predictions were being issued for what 2018 would hold for the crypto space. In the event, the biggest trend of the year was one which few futurologists foresaw – stablecoins. 2018 will go down as the year the markets went south and ICOs died off, leaving a new wave of digital assets to shine – dollar-pegged stablecoins. Love, hate or tolerate them, there’s no denying that stablecoins were a recurring motif this year. Whether they will continue to dominate in 2019 depends to a large extent on how conventional crypto assets perform. Should the current bear market persist, or bite deeper still, stablecoins will remain ubiquitous. If more favorable market conditions return, however, stablecoins will be forced to take a back seat, leaving the following trends to joust it out in 2019.

New Privacy Protocols Will Gain Traction

With the Mimblewimble-powered Grin and Beam cranking into life, the stage is set for 2019 to be the most private year in crypto in a long time. The last few years of encroaching blockchain surveillance have stripped away a lot of the anonymity that cryptocurrency users once took for granted, but the fight back has begun. It’ll take more than a single privacy protocol to restore the imbalance of course, so it’s just as well there’s a host of privacy-minded tools set to come onstream.

Aside from the Mimblewimble coins, there’s the prospect of Bitcoin Core getting Schnorr signatures next year, which could open the door to privacy tech such as Coinjoin at some point. Before then, we’ll be seeing a lot of other pro-privacy platforms, apps and protocols gaining traction. Wasabi Wallet, a privacy-focused BTC wallet, will hoover up new users, while Ethereum may get its own take on confidential transactions courtesy of Aztec protocol. Stablecoins could get private too should Zkdai – zero-knowledge DAI transactions – become a thing. Pro-privacy projects like Dust and Loki should also make progress, while new projects such as Resistance, a privacy coin and accompanying DEX, are in the works.

STOs Will Replace ICOs

2018 was meant to be the year of security tokens until it wasn’t. That prediction can be rolled over to 2019, however, when it might just come true provided the technical and regulatory hurdles can be cleared by enough applicants. What’s beyond dispute is that 2018 killed the ICO, and no one is tipping the crowdfunded utility token model to rise again. The increased legal and compliance costs of holding an ICO, which now average around $1 million, have put paid to the vast majority of initial coin offerings.

The ICO market died off dramatically in 2018.

Amazix head analyst Jose Macedo believes the security token offering (STO) will become the standard model most crypto-based projects deploy. “While utility tokens are far from dead, what the industry has now realized is that few of these token economic models actually made sense in terms of long-term value capture,” he explains. “As a result, we’re seeing a lot of projects come to us looking for help in either launching their STOs or restructuring their ICOs as STOs,” adds Macedo.

He continues:

We’re also seeing a lot more STO infrastructure be built out in terms of quality legal, token sale platforms, book-building firms, exchanges etc … As of right now, we have about $1B worth of STOs partnered with us looking to launch in 2019.

While security token projects are poised to launch in proactive territories like Malta and Gibraltar, where regulatory frameworks have been drawn up, slower progress is expected in the U.S., where fundraising options are limited. There, the SEC will likely deem most ICOs to be issuing securities. American crypto-based projects are no closer to being granted Reg A+ approval to launch an STO, despite some, such as Gab, having filed the paperwork over a year ago.

Decentralized Credit Networks Will Take Off

Decentralized credit networks made huge strides this year in terms of infrastructure development. The tools necessary to facilitate collateralized loans, social credit and open finance have been fine-tuned and proven to work. 2019 will be when they scale up and start to serve the sort of users they were envisioned for – global citizens who’ve been excluded by the current financial system.

Crypto debt markets and credit networks will be bolstered by the growth of projects like Dharma Protocol, GEO Protocol, Nexo, and Maker DAO. Maker’s system of multi-asset over-collateralization will be emulated, having proven its robustness through extreme market volatility this year. Multi-collateral dai will see a wide range of applications in 2019, as the number of users grows with the number of assets that can be collateralized. 2018 was all about ETH, but in 2019 Maker will accept BTC, ERC20s and other crypto and non-crypto assets.

Other Trends to Expect in 2019

It’s possible that 2019 could be the year when one or more dapps finally sees mass adoption, but don’t count on it. It may also prove to be the year when the first viral blockchain game arrives. At the very least, crypto collectibles and virtual reality projects will attract fresh investment, with non-fungible tokens (NFTs) tethering them to public blockchains to facilitate the trading of digital assets. Once Decentraland’s virtual world launches in 2019, a meeting ground for all kinds of crypto games and projects will be established.

The Bitcoin Cash community will continue to find new ways to spend and receive peer-to-peer cash, while the BTC brigade will have optimism that 2019 will finally be the year when the Lightning Network proves its suitability for something more than purchasing stickers. Custodial services for institutional investors will improve, bringing new money into the crypto space (but probably not propelling crypto assets to new highs). NYSE’s Bakkt will launch, bringing physical BTC futures contracts, and there’s an outside bet the SEC might approve a bitcoin ETF. Stripped of much of the greed that characterized the dawn of 2018, and with 12 months of robust infrastructure work completed, 2019 is shaping up to be an exciting time for cryptocurrency users from all tribes, countries and continents.

Article Produced By
Kai Sedgwick

Kai's been playing with words for a living since 2009 and bought his first bitcoin at $19. It's long gone. He's previously written white papers for blockchain startups and is especially interested in P2P exchanges and DNMs.

https://news.bitcoin.com/seven-cryptocurrency-trends-to-look-out-for-in-2019/

David https://markethive.com/david-ogden

Would you Join a Free Social/Market Network If â¦

Would you Join a Free Social/Market Network If …

…1: The following is their Privacy Policy?

You own your personal information and content. It is explicitly not ours.
You will never receive a targeted advertisement or 3rd party content based on what you do or say online. We think it is unethical.
You see every post in timeline order from your friends, family and groups.
We do not manipulate, filter or change the order of your content or what you see.
Permissions and privacy are your rights. You control them.
You control who can access your content.
You control what, if anything, others can see in member searches.
We're a private network. That means we do not track or profile you.
Your privacy means that we do not share your personal information with anyone.
Your 'likes' and 'loves' are for you and your friends. We do not monitor or mine your data.
Your face is your business. We do not use facial recognition technology.
You have the right to delete your account and take your content with you at any time.
We do not store or archive our logs.

When you join this social/network and for any reason do not like it, you can delete your account. Be forewarned, if you delete your account there is no getting it back. We do not archive your information.

2: Would you join a free social/market network if there are 4 levels of security tied into your digital wallet?

The Markethive wallet is a software program that stores private and public keys and interacts with various blockchains to enable users to send and receive digital currency and monitor their balance, with the additional options to send payments through the messaging system. The wallet also receives Markethive auto revenue payments.

The initial subscription into Markethive requires a mature social network and a cell number is the second level of verification. But further verification is required to conduct business. This is where the 2FA process requires documents that when approved, they are encrypted, and the Wallet becomes the only point giving the subscriber the only access to their own privacy

Security blockchain end to end, private key for verification access to the Markethive platform. KYC documentation is stored in the blockchain and only accessed via your wallet with the wallets 2FA. Upon logging into Markethive, the wallet delivers several layers of protection.

Decentralized messenger, p2p, blockchain, voice, text, 3+ call ways, groups and channels, built-in whiteboard and desktop share webinar. Encrypted, private, crypto coin transfers, shapeshifter, runs from the wallet. Pays to use it. Reads and publishes to the Markethive Newsfeed.

3: Would you join a free social/market network if there is a simple model to evaluate digital money viability?

The above image shows a simple model for evaluating

if our digital money is viable. The Three Pillars Community, Technology and Liquidity must each be as strong as the other.

There must be a community involved. Markethive has that and it is growing every day. Our Alexa Ranking decreases every day, which means there is more and more traffic to the website.
Markethive has tools that were discussed above. Soon we will be on the Blockchain, with our own Wallet. Micro-payments will be possible, an Airdrop will be implemented and more.
Finally, there is Liquidity. We will have our own Exchange which will make it easy to exchange our coin. The coin will be used inside Markethive. There will be Market Makers that will assure the coin can be traded all of the time.

Markethive fits the qualifications for being a viable coin.

4: Would you join a free social/market network if there are free built-in marketing tools?

• Content Marketing
• An Autoresponder with full configuration, control and is not limited!
• Groups
• Campaigns
• Conference Rooms
• Leads Funnels
• Lead Management

• Marketplace
• Social Media
• SEO
• Backlinks
• Analytics/Tracking
• Banners
• Link Hubs

5: Would you join a free social/market network if you get paid for participating?

There are 4 ways that you can earn income as a Free Member of Markethive.

Markethive will have an Infinity Airdrop. The first drop will give away 500 Markethive Crypto Coins for everyone already in the system and every new subscriber will receive 500 Markethive coins. Thereafter, as the Markethive coin increases in value, the number of coins given away will decrease, but the Airdrop will remain in force.
The first thing someone will want to do when they join is complete the System Tutorials. When you complete a section, you will receive a Micro Payment in Markethive Coin. This will go directly into your wallet, that we talked about in earlier in the article.
Another way to earn income is through micropayments. You will have to refer 3 people who are verified, to get paid micropayments for everything you do in the system. You create a post, you get paid. You create a group, you get paid. You give a comment, you get paid. You fill out your Profile, you get paid. You get the idea!
Markethive will be doing away with the Like Button. It will be replaced with a Tip Jar Button. If someone thinks that the article you wrote was good they will be able to Tip you with the Markethive coin.

6: Would you join a free social/market network if there is an optional upgrade and 14 more ways to earn income?

When you upgrade to Entrepreneur and someone joins using your link, they will get an Airdrop of 500 free crypto coins and you will get a matching bonus of the same amount of free coins. Advertising Marketing Co-op Rotator. Your share of new associates signing up through Markethive Advertising campaigns. Entrepreneurs will each get their own Portals where they can set their own prices for the services.

Portals like:

Big Caboodle (a website maker, like Wix)

Blog Creator (connected to WordPress)

Hiveroom (conference room, like Zoom)

Bee Lancers (A Marketplace)

Markethive Exchange (Cryptocurrency Exchange)

AboutBitco.in (Crypto News Website like Coinmarketcap) and many more.

As an Entrepreneur, we can sell the services that each Portal provides and charge whatever we want.

Exclusive free Banner Advertising

through-out the system and traffic portals. 3 sizes in top positions in well-traveled areas. Exclusive self-replicated ICO like ILP(Initial Loan Procurement) Markethive.io investment site where new investors are coded to you earning additional ILP notes shares. When someone purchases an ILP, through your link, you will then get shadow shares in the same amount. The Shadow shares become active when ILP’s are funded.

The Entrepreneur Upgrade is $100 per month or $1000 per year if paid by the year. If you do not miss a payment for 12 consecutive months, you will be given a 1/10 ILP shadow share. If you do not miss a payment for 10 years you will have earned a full ILP and its benefits. You will get your money back and much more each year. This option is only available to 1000 Entrepreneurs at any given time.

http://markethive.co

May you have success in all that you do!

Article Produced By
Deb Williams

I am a freelance writer for the Market Network and crypto/blockchain industry. I'm a strong advocate for technology, progress, change and freedom of speech.

https://steemit.com/blockchain/@trueword/would-you-join-a-free-social-market-network-if

David https://markethive.com/david-ogden

A deep dive into the factors that matter and factors that don’t for a startup to succeed

A deep dive into the factors that matter and factors that don’t for a startup to succeed

While running a startup,

a question that constantly hovers around the entire founding team is what will make the company successful. While one can sit, think and speculate all sorts of reasons like motivation, perseverance, emotional intelligence, intellectual property and what not. The challenge is to find the one that works for the company. Data talks, so here based on an analysis published last year by a venture capital firm First Round Capital, we have listed some of the factors that weigh out most of the speculated ones.

Believe it or not, the importance of having a female co-founder is far more than you might have imagined. The research suggests that companies with at least one female co founder performed 63% better than those having an all male co founding team. Re-emphasizing the importance of female entrepreneurship again, its high time startups bring some gender diversity to the teams.

A young founding team has its own perks. While you might get shooed away by a lot of investors on the basis of your inexperience and the so called immaturity which the investors swear upon, gets filled with age, the research suggests otherwise. Founding teams with an average age of under 25 performed nearly 30% above average. Although the average age of a founder raising capital was 31.5. This suggests that a founding team should have age diversity as well. This balances your chances of getting funded and succeed as a company.

In the startup world, we frequently talk about outliers like Facebook, Apple and Uber who made it big, defying all odds. One thing common in all of them is not only that the founders are college dropouts, it is also the kind of colleges they once went to. The research supports this fact as well. Teams with at least one founder who went to a top school (Ivy League, Stanford, MIT and Caltech) tend to perform the best by a whopping margin of 220%. So even if you decide to drop out and start your own thing, pay attention to the place you are dropping out from.

Having a former employee of a top notch company like Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google, Microsoft or Twitter (the ones included in the research) as a cofounder increases the success rate by as much as 160%. Interestingly founders with past experiences at any of these companies also landed pre money valuations nearly 50% lager than their peers. The kind of foundational skills these jobs provide clearly makes a difference.

Investors pay more for repeat founders. The pre money valuations of the repeat founders tends to be higher than the first timers. This is because of the fact that repeat founders are priced higher in the market. So having a cofounder with a past startup experience gives you the scope for better valuations.

Being a solo founder is the worst thing you can do to your startup. Teams with more than one founder outperformed solo founders by a humongous 163%. Also solo founders led Startups’ seed valuations were 25% lesser than teams with more than one founder. The data suggests the optimal number of cofounders to be two.

Article Produced By

https://chandigarhangelsnetwork.com/startup-success-decoded/

David https://markethive.com/david-ogden

ConsenSys Reportedly Planning to Lay Off Up to 60% of Its Staff

The Verge reported that ConsenSys

On Thursday (20 December 2018), technology news outlet The Verge reported that ConsenSys, an Ethereum-focused blockchain incubator ("venture studio") and solution provider, was planning to spin off most off of its 50+ startups ("spokes"), and that this could mean up to 60% of the company's staff could be laid off. ConsenSys, which was founded in 2015 by Ethereum co-founder Joseph Lubin, currently has "over 1100 employees distributed globally in every continent except Antarctica." It primarily sees itself as "a venture production studio focused on building and scaling tools, disruptive startups, and enterprise software products powered by decentralized technology, specifically Ethereum," and describes its mission as using "these solutions to power the emerging economic, social, and political operating systems of the planet."

ConsenSys refers to incubator (or venture studio) part of its business as ConsenSys Labs, and says that this "incubates the best teams of Web3 across the globe, providing them capital, mentorship, and access to ConsenSys’s network of top-tier projects and talent." A few examples of the over 50 projects currently being incubated by ConnsenSys Labs are AirSwap, Civil, Gnosis, Infura, and MetaMask.

The Verge reports says:

"A term sheet reviewed by The Verge and given to at least two incubated startups within the company showed that ConsenSys is beginning to spin out its large portfolio of blockchain projects, often without the financial support they’d need to find outside funding and succeed. When reached for comment, a representative for ConsenSys did not deny that layoffs were impending, and only said that the company is speaking with every spoke and project to 'determine a path forward, whether that will be internally as a part of ConsenSys 2.0, or as an external entity.' The vast majority of people working at spokes are ConsenSys employees, and many spokes don’t yet have a revenue-viable product."

On December 6th, ConsenSys confirmed to Coindesk that was laying off

13% of its staff:

“Excited as we are about ConsenSys 2.0, our first step in this direction has been a difficult one: we are streamlining several parts of the business including ConsenSys Solutions, spokes, and hub services, leading to a 13% reduction of mesh members… Projects will continue to be evaluated with rigor, as the cornerstone of ConsenSys 2.0 is technical excellence, coupled with innovative blockchain business models."

In an interview with Coindesk on December 5th, Lubin had referred to the restructuring of ConsenSys as "a refocusing of priorities on more rigor, more structure, more sustainability, more accountability." He also said that his firm has been spending more time with external investors in order to “open up” fundraising opportunities for its

startup ventures:

“Certainly one goal is to enable ConsenSys and its projects to not be dependent on the price of these value tokens, that essentially they are all thriving businesses in their own right."

Lubin also told Coindesk that ConsenSys wanted to change its focus for its ventures from cool

to viable/profitable:

“We’ve definitely been more focused on doing cool things in the past, and now we’re just focused on being a set of viable and successful businesses in a real business ecosystem… Blockchain is getting very, very real. It’s about the maturation of the company.”

One source told The Verge that ConsenSys is "using the 13 percent announcement I would imagine to give comfort to potential investors about the small-scale downsizing."

Article Produced By
Siamak Masnavi

Siamak received his PhD in Computer Science from University of London in 1992. He has worked as a research scientist, technical author, software developer, and journalist. Since 2014, he has been researching cryptocurrencies and other applications of blockchain technology.

https://www.cryptoglobe.com/latest/2018/12/consensys-reportedly-planning-to-layoff-up-to-60-of-its-staff/

David https://markethive.com/david-ogden

Pricing and Costs of Mortgage Lead Generation

If you are considering trying to increase your sales by obtaining real estate leads,

you need to learn what to expect. Most mortgage … If you are considering trying to increase your sales by obtaining real estate leads, you need to learn what to expect. Most mortgage sales leads improve your sales, but they are typically not guaranteed. For this reason, you should not spend every last penny you have on mortgage leads. Instead, find out the pricing and costs of mortgage lead generation, and develop a budget. Before you decide to buy real estate leads, consider your options. Decide what types of leads are most important to you. Do you want to have only unique leads, or do you want to save some money and find free or cheap leads? Think about your options:

1. Consider purchasing exclusive mortgage sales leads.

2. Find out the typical cost of detailed real estate buyer leads.

3. Seek out inexpensive or free leads.

Spend the extra money on exclusive or semi-exclusive sales leads for mortgage for promising results

You will find that most exclusive sales leads are somewhat expensive, and with good reason. Leads that have not been called recently by others in the mortgage industry are considered fresh and most likely to be turned into sales. You will find that the cost for such leads starts in the double digits, from about $40 to more than $100. Semi-exclusive leads are cheaper, as they might be sold to two or three people, and range from $20 to $40.

Purchase real estate sales leads that include many details

The more details in a lead, the better, as it is easier for you to decide if the potential customer even fits your requirements. Don't waste your time on a lead that has few details, as it could be for someone who is unlikely to purchase property. Leads with a good number of details are usually about $12 to $20.

Look for free or inexpensive real estate agent leads

Some mortgage lead generation companies offer cheaper leads than others. Usually, such leads are older, less detailed or sold more often than typically desired, but they can still work. If you cannot afford exclusive, detailed or fresh leads currently, these may be better than nothing. Many companies also offer a few free leads to start, or perhaps free leads after you buy a certain amount. Cheap leads are usually less than $10 each.

When choosing a lead type, realize that often the higher quality the lead, the more likely you will close a sale in a short amount of time. While cheaper mortgage broker leads can be good for your budget, consider the amount of time you will have to spend to close an older, less detailed or less exclusive lead.

Article Produced By
Autumn Rivers

https://www.business.com/articles/pricing-and-costs-of-mortgage-lead-generation/

David https://markethive.com/david-ogden

ICO Projects Liquidating Eth at Increasing Rate: Diar Research

The liquidation of the initial coin offering (ICO)

Ethereum bonanza of 2017 and early 2018 has reached its highest rate yet, according to the cryptoasset research analytics firm Diar. The collapse in cryptoasset prices since February of 2018 has hit many firms and projects involved in the industry, contributing to the liquidations. Ethereum was the perfectly suited cryptoasset to act as a vehicle for token sales. Its “smart contract” capability allows anyone to create a digital asset on its platform, in whatever quantity and with whatever characteristics and mechanics are desired.

According to data taken from the recent NKB Group report on token sales, $9.97 billion was raised for token sales between December of 2017 and June of 2018, with a large portion of that raised via Ethereum. Dozens of cryptoasset startup projects thus became huge shareholders of Ethereum’s ether tokens.

Diar find that the projects they have been tracking

have sold their ether tokens at an increasing rate beginning in the summer. Between February and June, the amount of ether held by these projects dropped only from roughly 4.4 million to 4.2 million; from June to now, however, the amount of ether held has fallen from 4.2 to about 3.5 million. All told, 24% of Ethereum tokens have been sold off among the holders in question. The value of all those tokens has also fallen dramatically, too, from the mid-$400 area during the summer to just $115 at time of writing.

DigixDAO (DGD) is now the top holder of ether tokens among the projects in question. DigixDAO purports to be a gold-backed stablecoin, with each DGD token representing one gram worth of gold bullion. Diar claim that the Aragon (ANT) project has sunk a large portion its ether tokens into DAI – an algorithmically-backed Ethereum stablecoin pegged to the US dollar – presumably in an effort to take refuge from the collapsing prices hounding the market of late.

Languishing Projects, Increased Professionalization

There have been many notable examples of the 2018 bear market biting, with some projects closing their doors (virtual or otherwise). Perhaps the leading developer group of Ethereum Classic (ETC), ETCDEV, was forced to shut down recently citing lack of funds. And the preeminent Ethereum development company itself, Consensys, recently fired 13% of its staff, in addition to restructuring its management strategy.

But although at least two recent reports on token offerings have concluded a dramatic fall in funds raised through the – perhaps now defunct – ICO method, they also conclude that overall funding from venture capital firms is up and rising – reflecting an increasing professionalization of the industry.

Article Produced By

Colin Muller

Colin studied history and political economy at some pretty good universities. He also did other things. He thinks changing the nature of money will change the nature of humanity.

https://www.cryptoglobe.com/latest/2018/12/ico-projects-liquidating-eth-at-increasing-rate-diar-research/

David https://markethive.com/david-ogden

Markethive Prepares to launch an Entrepreneurial Universal Income Market Network

Markethive focuses on empowering entrepreneurs through
the advantages of the blockchain.

DIGITAL.MONEY- VIABILITY

SHELL, Wyo. – July 22, 2018 – PRLog — It is now clearly evident, in today's economic culture, long term employment is a thing of the past. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports in 2016 many workers now work for 4 years or less. Reid Hoffman founder of LinkedIn is quoted saying, "All human beings are entrepreneurs."Universal Income has become the new focus of the elites, like Elon Musk told the crowd at the World Government Summit in Dubai, "I think we'll end up doing universal basic income" and "Universal Income's going to be necessary."

The downside of that projection is that millions of people would wind up out of a job — a possibility Musk discussed at the summit. "There will be fewer and fewer jobs that a robot cannot do better," he said. "I want to be clear. These are not things I wish will happen; these are things I think probably will happen." Thomas Prendergast, Founder and CEO of Markethive, stated, "In the pursuit of supporting entrepreneurs and the importance to understand today current growth and trends, especially the new paradigm of crypto currency, we have made the decision to use the power of Markethive to deliver a universal income for the entrepreneur. From our innovative infinity airdrops, delivering valuable MH coins, to building a superior advanced social networked inbound marketing platform that pays the subscriber for every action taken. This paradigm develops a sustainable income while the entrepreneur uses the Markethive system to build their future dreams."

Douglas Yates, Co Founder and CTO added, "Inspired from the Bitcoin faucets of days passed, Markethive has taken the faucet concept and applied it to incentivize entrepreneurs to engage in building their futures. Markethive is going to become the dream machine as it replaces the Facebook model of negative drama engagements." Markethive focuses on users first with intuitive automated instructional videos, that pay the subscriber to complete the assignments there of, that are not over complicated. They are bringing their decades of experience helping inexperienced users tackle extremely technical and complicated courses to the cryptocurrency world. Markethive's webinars do not require any kind of download, no registration, and come completely 100% encrypted so participants are safe with secure anonymity which not only protects attendee identities but also computers from potential unwanted activities.

Chris Corey, Markethive's CMO, added, "Markethive is setting up live webinars focused on the entrepreneur for the foreseeable future such topics as 'making money on eBay', 'teaching people how to secure their wallets for Bitcoin', 'How to be compliant and secure against the government and Criminal exploitations', 'what is an ICO' and how to 'use Coin Exchanges securely and effectively', are among the Forefront of topics discussed in our live webinars." Markethive webinars are held 5-10 times a week and will continue with this schedule for the foreseeable future. Interested participants need to simply visit http://markethive.com for next available scheduled webinar event.

Media Contact
Markethive Inc.
Founder Thomas Prendergast
ceo@markethive.net
3072549329

David https://markethive.com/david-ogden