Topic: SIGEN is a cryptocurrency trading platform. Exchange, P2P platform and exchanger - page 12. (Read 3292 times)

Ethereum (ETH) trading is now available on SIGEN.pro!
 
Dear friends, Ethereum (ETH) — the leader of crypto market –– has been added to the SIGEN.pro platform. Ethereum is known as the world’s second-most popular cryptocurrency by market capitalization (over $63 billion) having millions of users.  Now you can use our exchange, P2P platform and instant exchanger for transactions with one of the world's leading cryptocurrency.
 
Ethereum's Features and Advantages:

• Transaction speed is a few seconds. In Ethereum the block generation time is set from 5 to 30 seconds and the network betters Bitcoin’s 10-minute transaction speed or Litecoin's 2.5 minutes by using the Ghost protocol.
• Transaction cost is a few cents. In the Ethereum network transaction fees do not depend on the transfer amount, and cost only a few cents.
• Blockchain 2.0. Ethereum is a new stage in the evolution of cryptocurrencies. It is not only a cryptocurrency but also a powerful decentralized blockchain platform where it is easy to create smart-contracts, release new tokens and blockchain-based projects. The function implemented in ERC-20 token standard helps the web client to interact with token and blockchain more efficient and fast.
• Profitable mining. It is a lot easier to mine Ethereum than Bitcoin as Ethereum mining does not require as powerful equipment as Bitcoin miners use. An Ethereum mine can mine ETH independently without joining a mining pool. Unlike Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, the ETH supply in unlimited, and the reward for mining doesn't half every four years.

Now, the SIGEN.pro platform supports ERC-20 token standard and soon we will add new tokens you will be able to trade and make more profit.
 
More about Ethereum (ETH) - https://www.ethereum.org/
Start trading now! - https://sigen.pro/trading/ETHBTC
 
P. S. Please note that we have no fees charged for cryptocurrency deposits/withdrawals while the transaction fee is just 0.1%.
 
Happy investing and trading!
Best regards,
SIGEN.pro Team

Accumulating and Distributing: a Thing or Two About the Accumulation/Distribution Indicator
 
The Accumulation/Distribution indicator (AD) was first described by L. Williams in 1972 in his book “How I Made One Million Dollars”. Let's talk about it in a little more detail.
 
AD
 
Accumulation/Distribution is a volume-based indicator accounting for the general trend, volume of trading as well as the opening/closing prices and low/high prices. On the plus side, this indicator is synced with the price rather than based on calculating an average value. AD is primarily a trend indicator that both adequately determines the price at the observed point in time and is a useful tool for making forecasts. If selected, this indicator is usually displayed below the main chart of security price movement.
 
Interpreting AD
 
There's a mathematical formula that helps interpret this indicator. However, most traders confine themselves to the visual observation since the Accumulation/Distribution indicator is sufficiently insightful in itself.
 
The indicator shows that the nearer the closing price is to the high or low price, the bigger share is obtained by the bulls (traders operating for a rise) or bears (traders operating for a fall).
 
Accordingly, if the indicator shows the price closing in a downtrend (the indicator value is less than zero), bears are dominating; if the price closes in an uptrend (the indicator value if greater than zero), bulls are dominating. On other words, the market is owned by the former or the latter.
 
Moreover, if the trend updates the extreme value (maximum or minimum) while AD does not reproduce this update, it may mean the trend is about to reverse.
 
As we can see, the Accumulation / Distribution indicator may be the key indicator for selecting the trading strategy on the cryptomarket.

How Can You See the “Double Bottom” and Use It to “Hit the Skies”?
 
A lot of trading players look forward to the so-called “double bottom”. The name derives from a very particular charting pattern. Why this name and what's interesting about it?
 
Chart
 
The “double bottom” looks like the letter W. This chart pattern is generated when the price hits a low (the “first bottom”), then rebounds and drops again (the “second bottom”) to finally soar.
 
This movement demonstrates that the market is out of balance, with traders fighting to close transactions during the “first bottom”. When the price starts to rebound, some traders open positions, and the price drops. Traders with a good reaction manage to make quite a profit from the W-shaped pattern. Holders, i. e. traders who hold their assets and do not respond to minor market movements.
 
The “double bottom” may be forecast even before it starts to form. For example, when a long-term slump in price is interrupted by good news and the price starts to slowly grow.
 
Using the double bottom
 
It's important to promptly notice that the “double bottom” is forming: drop – rebound — drop and subsequent price growth. The point is that a part of investors leaves on each curve of this pattern believing that they know how the trend is going to change further. Obviously, they make the same mistake three times before they can see that the price, having gone through the drop – rebound – drop sequence, starts to soar.
 
In this case, the most patient players are the ones that win. This patience is based on a better knowledge of how to use the tools for price movement analysis and on not jumping to conclusions.

Movement in the order book: Trend and Manipulation
 
As mentioned in the previous publication, the order book may be a useful aid in determining the trading strategy on the cryptomarket.
 
Trend
 
The information in the order book clearly reflects the predominating market sentiment — buy or sell. You can see how demand and supply correlate. Each trader makes their own decision as to how they are going to trade using the order book data. However, most of them will follow the trend while strengthening it further.
 
When the price change dynamics is especially high, aspiring traders must be very careful not to fall victim to the stir around buying at a high price and not to take part in the panic selling of cryptocurrencies.
 
The trend may be modified by a big player or multiple players who create very big orders against the general trend. The price may also change under pressure from a lot of traders who simultaneously respond to certain events on the cryptocurrency market, such as the news.
 
Manipulations
 
Aspiring traders often confine themselves to the order books since the latter visualize things very well, and traders think they don't need any other tools. This strategy, however, is a mistake.
 
The truth is the order book does not show the entire picture of the market:

• Big players may create false order and later cancel them. This will cause the trader to respond to changes in order book data randomly and incorrectly, thus suffering losses.
• Big orders with the price being 1 or 2 points lower or higher than the market price can be created for manipulation purposes, to create the feeling a massive buy or sell is about to happen.
• Some players don't even create orders — they just store coins on their balance and sometimes use orders previously created by other players; therefore, the order book will not reflect the real demand / supply picture.

Order books are often manipulated; to prevent it, you need to crosscheck order book data using other tools for price movement analysis or even turn to the order book as the last thing. If price movement seems suspicious, you should compare prices on a few exchanges.

What is an Order Book on the Cryptoexchange?
 
An order book is a serious and efficient tool that can be used to analyze the cryptocurrency situation. This is how it works.
 
Buying and selling
 
The order book is a visualization of bids and asks on the exchange. It provides you with in-depth information about the correlation and volume of cryptocurrency demand and supply in real time.
 
On SIGEN.pro the blue part (green or other colors on other exchanges) of the order book shows Buy Orders. The red part shows Sell Orders. Consequently, the market price is most often between the best sell price and the best buy price.
 
Information in the order book reflects the depth and sentiment of the market and can be used to make pretty accurate forecasts regarding cryptocurrency price movement. The order book shows the biggest orders that can be used to make trading decisions.
 
Pricing
 
The order books allows you to simultaneously see two price categories: the topmost Buy Order reflects the highest price buyers are ready to pay for cryptocurrency while the topmost Sell Order reflects the lowest price sellers are ready to sell the asset for.
 
For instance, the price in the order book is fixed the following way: when cryptocurrency is sold at a favorable price, it's replaced by another order with the ask price higher than in the previous order. Transactions follow one another, with each subsequent one more expensive than the previous one. With falling prices, the situation is similar, except that the buyer creates a low-price order and when this order “plays out”, another order is created, with an even lower price.
 
As a rule of thumb, picking the entrance point with the help of the order book works best for players who aim to hold their positions over some trading sessions.
 
Whatever purposes you are to use the order book for, you should do so carefully. Why? We'll tell you in our next publication.

How Do You Find a Broker?
 
Some people who wish to make money from cryptocurrency can't or don't want to trade personally, for various reasons.  In this case a crypto investor counts on a broker to help them. But how do you find a really efficient broker?
 
Indications of trustworthiness
 
The key criteria to be taken into account when choosing a broker are legality, trust and regulation. These characteristics must be confirmed, for instance, by a CySEC assurance in EU countries. CySEC is an authority that regulates activities of legal brokers.
 
Other countries also have institutions that monitor broker activities. If there's none since cryptocurrencies are an emerging market, there's always a risk. In this case, key attributes of a trustworthy broker are their experience in trading, number of customers, size of managed assets and customer reviews. Obviously, one must also consider what currencies the broker trades in.
 
Fees
 
It's important to take note of the fees the broker charges. Successful brokers who are confident of the outcome will not charge their customers a lot. Most brokers get paid for their services with the difference between the buy price and the sell price of cryptocurrency in the same point in time, i. e. the spread. A lot of brokers charge a fee for swaps, i. e. long-term retention of items by customers.  In each case you need to carefully calculate your expenses, potential profit and loss before you select a broker offering certain terms and conditions.
 
Leverage
 
You should use broker's leverage very carefully. This is borrowed money the broker lends to the customer for trading purposes. Using leverage may result in a high profit, but it's also a high-risk tool on the cryptocurrency market. Even more so since cryptocurrency volatility allows you to make money without applying such serious tools. In any case, you should refrain from using leverage if you have just started your journey on the cryptocurrency market. SIGEN.pro recommends you to use your personal funds only.

Cryptocurrency Trading Strategies: Arbitrage
 
In previous publications, we talked about some popular trading strategies, such as scalping and news based trading. Today, we'll tell you about another strategy — arbitrage.
 
The arbitrage strategy is when a trader trades on multiple exchanges. They use the difference in cryptocurrency prices on different exchanges and makes a profit on this difference. The trader compares prices on multiple exchanges and calculates the profit: where cryptocurrency can be bought at a lower price and sold at a higher price. In other words, the trader compares the price of the same cryptocurrency on different exchanges and calculates when the profit will be larger.
 
Arbitrage is not an easy-to-use strategy, but it's quite profitable
 
This strategy cannot be regarded as an easy-to-use strategy, but such trading can be the most profitable. To engage in arbitrage, you need to register accounts on multiple cryptoexchanges and carefully analyze and memorize their respective functionalities. You need to do it to rapidly respond and not to lag behind when you create buy/sell orders.
 
It's important to correctly calculate fees to be paid for transferring funds between exchanges and to account for the deposit/withdrawal rate. You should also analyze and memorize how prices usually change on specific platforms. Just like with any other strategy, it's good to master analytical tools, learn how to rapidly and competently read and understand charts.

Cryptocurrency Trading Strategies: News Based Trading
 
It is rightfully assumed that cryptocurrency prices are strongly affected by news. News based trading is one of the popular methods to trade on cryptoexchange. Let's have a closer look at some of the fundamental principles you need to adhere to in order to preserve and increase your funds.
 
Most traders operate as follows:

• When news are bad, all traders fear a drop in price and engage in a “sale”.
• When news are good, they buy cryptocurrency.

This is an adequate response to news. However, in terms of making profit this is not always the right strategy.
 
If you want to make profit, the right strategy would be the opposite one:

• When news is bad, buy cryptocurrency.
• When news is good, sell cryptocurrency.

In this case, you'll be able to make profit since cryptocurrency price is lower when news are bad.
 
Sources
 
A lot of beginning investors and traders notice that news have an impact on the Bitcoin price. A lot of them try to trade based on their own interpretation of the news. They soon can see that they suffer losses or fail to make profit by misinterpreting an event.
 
The key reason for misinterpreting is using an unreliable source of news or, more often, a source that publishes the news too late for making trading decisions.
 
Therefore, you need to find an adequate source of news. One of the best sources is forums and blogs. It's also important that forum and blog participants share their trading knowledge and experience and analyze errors and problems.
 
Local manipulators
 
Some players on cryptocurrency exchanges set up groups tasked with initiating cryptocurrency price movement in the right direction. They can have significant means and use them to rapidly increase or decrease the price.
 
However, local manipulators don't need to spend their own funds — they could just make a stir around a piece of news and force traders buy or sell cryptocurrency. This is exactly when manipulators make a profit by making the right bids.  If an exchange has a chat, it's an advantage for manipulators since they can use it to directly influence traders.
 
There's some speculation — though having no proof just yet — that certain global news regarding cryptocurrencies are also initiated by manipulator groups. Operations of some exchanges were even suspended this and last years on suspicion of using insider information.
 
Therefore, even if you trust your source, you must always double-check all news, employ analytical tools and compare price movement on various trading platforms.

Cryptocurrency Trading Strategies: Scalping
 
Cryptocurrencies as a trading asset have not been around for long, but many traders have figured out pretty fast that cryptocurrency trading has its own patterns which allow to develop trading strategies. One of these strategies is scalping.
 
Basics of scalping
 
Scalping is the execution of multiple short-term transactions aiming to make profit on the intraday fluctuations of cryptocurrency prices. Profits made in each transaction are small, but they can compound into a large gain.
 
The trader will first carefully study cryptocurrency price trends using charts, latest transactions and the order book. They will then position their orders and closely monitor cryptocurrency behavior to make an instant profit.
 
Advantages of scalping
 
Scalping uses the high volatility of cryptocurrency prices while decreasing dependence on market trends. In other words, the trader who uses this strategy can make profit in any market conditions: both on the rise, and on the downturn. Even though this strategy requires a great deal of concentration and self-discipline, it can also bring in a fair daily return.

Europe to Get More Involved with the Blockchain
 
Some time ago the European countries signed a Declaration creating a Digital Single Market and establishing a Blockchain Partnership. This is a massive success for the blockchain technology that could change the European Union and subsequently the entire world for the better in the near future.
 
Declaration
 
The document was signed by 22 countries, including Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia and the UK which is still an EU member.
 
The Declaration envisages that member states will exchange experience in the development and implementation of the blockchain technology across various sectors.
 
This is how Mariya Gabriel, EU Commissioner for Digital Economy and Society, commented on the signature of the agreement: “In the future, all public services will use blockchain technology. This is a great opportunity for Europe to promote user trust and to protect personal data, to help create new business opportunities benefiting citizens. The Partnership launched today enables Member States to turn the enormous potential of blockchain technology into better services for citizens.”
 
What will happen next?
 
What could be the practical outcome of Europe's blockchainization? It's likely single blockchain standards will be developed for the entire European Union. At this point in time, blockchain is best used for document management and logistics optimization, therefore it will be widely used in these sectors.
 
Blockchain-based documentation management will make processing of documents faster and more accurate, free up a lot of government officials who only work on technicalities and, therefore, cut down public spending and the tax burden on citizens.
 
In logistics, blockchain will significantly accelerate trade turnover between European countries and will make products cheaper.
 
We have only mentioned two industries to be improved using blockchain — in reality, there's a lot more. In future, blockchain will give a powerful boost to the EU economy.

What is a Hardfork for Cryptocurrency?
 
Last year, the term “hardfork” that only experienced users of cryptocurrency used to know became known to a lot more. But quite a few users don't understand why a hardfork is needed and how it can be useful. Let's try to get things straight.
 
Problem
 
Cryptocurrency operations are based on certain rules set up at the development stage. Over time, however, grave technical flaws that slow down network operations may be identified, or some users might dislike certain restrictions hardwired into the source code.
 
Bitcoin is the most typical example. The network can process 7 transactions per second, and it was more than enough while the community was small. When, however, Bitcoin price and popularity surged, this processing rate turned out to be insufficient leading to hanging transactions and rising fees.
 
Solution
 
In this case, one of the radical solutions to the problem is a hardfork in the cryptocurrency network. A hardfork is splitting a cryptocurrency into two separate parts using software-based methods. In this case, developers don't just improve the cryptocurrency - they modify its source code. A new coin - a “fork” - appears, and basically it's supposed to be better than its “source”.
 
The result is that either all users make a move to the new branch or the community splits up into advocates of the new version and the old version. In the case of Bitcoin, it has had a few hardforks that created some new coins, but it's still the dominating cryptocurrency. None of the “forks” could entirely surpass its “parent” in terms of all its features.
 
Still, one can view Bitcoin Cash as a successful example of a seamless hardfork. It resulted from a hardfork in the autumn of 2017, and it now hovers between the second and the fourth place in the Top 5 list of cryptocurrencies below the main cryptocurrency, i. e. Bitcoin.

What is a Softfork for Cryptocurrency?
 
A softfork aims to improve the existing cryptocurrency network. It happens without users noticing the very moment of interference — they just take its consequences for granted.
 
Incomplete update
 
A softfork does not require a major interference with the cryptocurrency's master code, and all changes are backward-compatible. This is the main difference between a softfork and a hardfork, with the latter, roughly speaking, generating a new coin. A softfork happens within the existing network, and its objective is improving network operations without making significant changes.
 
It's a sort of regular software update we all have to make by uploading updated versions of old software, e. g. word processing or image editing apps. Old versions accumulate too many non-critical mistakes, or users request some improvements to be made. It leads to the need for an update; in case of cryptocurrency — for a softfork.
 
How it happens
 
In the Bitcoin network, a softfork happens as follows: the system is “rolled back” in time, and new blocks replace the old blocks while the chain of blocks remains unchanged. New blocks are identical to the old blocks in terms of structure. After the softfork, “old” blocks are validated along with the new blocks. All transactions before and after the softfork remain equivalent in value.
 
A softfork is usually administered by a team of developers after they discuss the idea with the user community. Since, however, cryptocurrency has an open source code, a useful change may be implemented by any user if they approach the community with an idea and the community approves of it.
 
The most well-known softfork in the Bitcoin network is SegWit that was successfully implemented without a hardfork.

Number of Potential Bitcoin Users Has Grown by 1.8 Bln
 
In early April this year, Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies were declared Halal, i. e. permissible under Sharia law, in Muslim countries. Halal is anything that is allowed and permissible in Islam.
 
Just to remind you, late last year Egypt's grand mufti Shawqi Allam issued a fatwa which declared cryptocurrencies “con and fraud” and a tool of speculation, thus being in full contradiction to Islamic canons. This viewpoint was also supported by the authorities in other Muslim states which resulted in cryptocurrencies being banned in these countries.
 
But — and it's official now — the ban has been lifted!
 
Blossom Finance, a startup where mufti Muhammad Abu Bakar is a counsellor, published a research which concluded Bitcoin was money. Muslims can now use cryptocurrency unless local authorities disallow it. In actual fact, they can use it.
 
This decision could help the cryptocurrency market significantly expand and grow stronger by welcoming new people — potentially, it's 1.8 bln new users. We can see first effects already — Bitcoin's price is growing followed by a rise for most other cryptocurrencies.
 
But, above all else, it means cryptocurrency continues to grow and break new ground. Cryptocurrency holds the key to the future!

Price Analysis: Moving Averages

In our previous posts, we introduced you to some analytical tools, such as volume indicator, relative strength and zig zag. Another tools that is popular with traders and used to analyze cryptocurrency price fluctuations is the moving average. Let's look into what it is and why this tool can be useful.
 
Moving average
 
Moving average enables traders to analyze average prices over a time period or interval. The resulting chart is displayed on top of the current price movement, and we can see the trends prevailing in the market.
 
Obviously, if cryptocurrency price is above moving average, most traders would assume the price will continue to rise. If it's below moving average, it's going to decline. Moving average over a longer time period is seen as more conclusive and accurate. Moreover, a chart may contain more than one moving average.
 
Three moving averages
 
MACD (Moving Average Convergence Divergence) tool enables you to analyze three moving averages providing you with more accurate forecasts. For example, if moving averages cross, it's like that the main trend is about to change.
 
When you first enter crypto market, you don't want to start by using moving average. However, after you've had some training with volume, relative strength and zig zag indicators, you will find it easy to understand moving average. You should use this tool in combination with other indicators. This will significantly improve that quality of your forecasts.

TREZOR Cold Storage
 
Storing cryptocurrencies in the so-called “cold” wallets is a lot safer than using online wallets or the exchange for the same purpose. One of the most well-known wallets of this type is TREZOR. Let's have a look at its features.
 
Real wallet
 
TREZOR looks like a real wallet, even though it's electronic: it's a small device that stores your cryptocurrency assets. Coins are not actually stored in the wallet, but you cannot run any transactions without it. Moreover, whenever you make a transaction, your cryptographic signature is affixed within the device, in the offline mode, and does not leave the wallet. The wallet is compatible with multiple software-based crypto wallets, including Android-based devices. The wallet supports transactions with Bitcoin, Litecoin and altcoins based on them and other cryptocurrencies. 
 
Security
 
TREZOR is protected against virtually all types of attacks. Hackers won't be able to get their hands on your money even if they want to. Even if you're robbed and held at gun point (unfortunately, such incidents have already been registered), you can always buy your freedom with a small amount, and the criminal will have no way of knowing how much money you own. Moreover, you can even connect your wallet to virus-infected computers. No one will get your money even if your wallet is lost or broken. The owner can, of course, restore the account and the money using a secret phrase. Keep your mnemonic SEED phrase safe and secret.

Cryptocurrency Faucets — What They Are and What They Do
 
The cryptocurrency industry is sufficiently well developed and offers you a lot of various ways to make money. One of them is the “cryptocurrency faucet”. Let's talk about it in more detail.

Faucet dispensing money
 
Cryptocurrency faucets are websites where a user can register and complete some simple tasks. They are rewarded with a small amount of cryptocurrency, e. g. BTC or LTC. But these amounts are really, really small.
 
As a rule, these websites have captcha and a timer. Sometimes they only have captcha. The reward is paid out after filling out the captcha. Although these web-sites are all alike, they differ in functionality, payout size and some other features.
 
Types of faucets
 

• Accumulating faucets will add small amounts of cryptocurrency to your internal balance, and you can withdraw it in a certain day of the week or after a certain amount has accumulated.
• Instantly paying faucets make payouts instantaneously.

You need to simply fill out a captcha or complete a task in order to get your reward. Tasks may differ in terms of completion time and, consequently, payout size. As a rule, users who pay a lot of attention to faucets make a list of faucets and divide their time between them to maximize their profit and minimize the time spent on task completion.
 
In part, these administrative tasks are completed by the so called faucet rotators — web-sites that aggregate dozens of faucets.
 
One should also note that only a small number of faucets will last longer than a year; they are mostly very short lived. Although some faucets are “long-living”.

Hodlers as the Basis of the Crypto Market
 
The HODL strategy on the cryptocurrency market refers to an investor holding onto their assets despite all events.
 
I AM HODLING
 
The term “HODL” is derived from a misspelling by a Bitcoin investor back in 2013 when a post titled “I AM HODLING” was published at one of the forums. What he meant was “to hold”, but Bitcoin supporters enjoyed this misspelling so much that they started using it to denote their faith in Bitcoin's ultimate success. Hodlers even have a kind of a motto: “Hold On for Dear Life” — hold your assets as if your life depends on it. Putting emotions aside, this strategy is the easiest for the investor: having bought or mined bitcoins or other cryptocurrencies, the investor has to refrain from selling or exchanging it, they just have to hold it in their wallet. But is it profitable?
 
Hodler's profit
 
Historically, being a hodler in the crypto market is quite profitable. Let's look at Bitcoin as an example and see how its price changed over time. In 2013, when the term was coined, Bitcoin cost $600. In 2014 and 2015, its price plunged by almost two times, but in 2016 it shot up to $1,000 and continued to rise until late 2017 when it reached $20,000. Even now, after Bitcoin price plummeted, it still costs over 10 times more than back in 2013. If we compare the current price of Bitcoin with its launch price, many hodlers are actual millionaires.
 
Hodlers “hover” behind many cryptocurrencies. For example, hodlers who bought Litecoin before March 2017 when it cost around $3 per coin made a decent buck. By late 2017, the price of Litecoin surged to almost $400. The profit margin was over 100 times. Even if Litecoin costs about $120, hodlers are at an advantage in any case.

Lightning Network Technology: What It Is and How It Works. Part 2
 
Today we continue to discuss the Lightning Network technology and how it works.
 
Designated channels
 
To make a payment in the Lightning network, a designated payment channel is opened — this is a separate network for specific transaction parties on top of the Bitcoin blockchain. For instance, if you want to transfer money to a friend, a separate multi-signature network is created for the two of you.
 
You can specify a certain balance amount in BTC you will own in the channel. If you need to make a transfer within this channel, you can specify the amount, and your transfer is immediately received by the recipient, with a minimum fee.
 
You can specify any balance amount for the channel and use it for multiple payments — funds will be transferred from your balance as you spend them. You can close the channel at any time and transfer the remaining amount to your address in the bitcoin network.
 
But what about the blockchain?
 
The blockchain is obviously still out there. But it does not record all payments you make — it only saves information about opening and closing of the payment channel in the Lightning Network. Payments are made within the channel based on multi-signatures, as mentioned in Part 1. In other words, it does the same thing as Bitcoin, but there are no queues and huge fees.
 
How can channels be used?
 
Developers of the Lightning Network have tried to ensure maximum convenience for the users. You don't have to open a separate payment channel with each particular recipient. If you don't have your own channel, you can use channels owned by other network users. All channels in the Lightning Network are interconnected — it might not be a direct connection, but they can be connected through other channels. Therefore, if you want to transfer money to a friend and you have a friend in common with an open channel, you and your friend just need to join the channel of your other friend and make transfers. 
 
This useful innovation is already being adopted by the bitcoin network. The network now includes over 1,500 Lightning nodes with about 6,000 payment channels. With each passing day, these numbers grow — we can clearly see the progress!

Lightning Network Technology: What It Is and How It Works
 
Part 1
 
Since Bitcoin is continuously developing and gaining more and more popularity, with more and more users joining the network, it also means a rising number of transactions. This is why the bitcoin network experiences occasional overload problems: transactions expect validation for a long time while fees grow. It creates an inconvenience for the user and generates extra costs.
 
Even the introduction of SegWit could not completely remedy the situation. This is why developers started looking for another solution and found one. This is the Lightning Network technology that we're going to tell you about in this and the next publication.
 
Lightning Network enables instant transactions with minimum fees.
 
The technology was developed by Joseph Poon and Thaddeus Dryja. They started working on it in 2017 when queues in the bitcoin network became so long that it slowed down operations on some exchange platforms. In addition, transaction fees became unreasonably high — over 20 times higher than before. Clearly, both network developers and users were dissatisfied with this situation.
 
Lightning Network enables you to make transactions without broadcasting to the blockchain which means transactions are not added to the general queue and, consequently, you don't have to pay high fees for speeding up processing — transactions are completed instantly with almost no fee. At the same time, it does not affect security in any way. “Is that even possible?” you may ask. Yes, it's possible. Our next publication will be about how Lightning Network works.

Smart Contract: Technology of the Future Already in Use
 
Smart Contract is one of the most promising technologies that is already successfully used and is revolutionizing multiple sectors.
 
What is Smart Contract?
 
In the first place, Smart Contract is a program or electronic protocol designed to transmit information and control terms of contract execution by both parties. In practical terms, Smart Contract rules out situations when a party does not comply with contractual terms. When conventional contracts are signed, you cannot entirely eliminate the risk of a bad faith party refusing to execute the contract. However, Smart Contract is smart for a reason: it ensures that both contract parties comply with the required terms.
 
How Smart Contracts are used
 
Smart Contracts are created in a blockchain network, i. e. a decentralized system comprising multiple computers with no single center of command. The blockchain can be used to transmit information, including information with real value. It's not transmitted via a centralized server — it is passed from one user directly to the other.
 
Assume that you have signed a contract regarding delivery of goods for a payment the customer has promised to transfer to you:
 
You have concluded a Smart Contract that responds to real transactions rather than promises to comply with its terms. The Smart Contract controls how contractual terms are executed, i. e. you cannot fail to deliver the goods if this provision is included in the contract.
 
However, the goods will only be shipped to the customer when the blockchain can “see” that the system has received the payment. This is a rough procedure of how Smart Contracts work. As you can see, it needs no intermediaries, notaries or courts to adjudicate contractual disputes.
 
Smart Contracts are not a technology of a distant future — it is rapidly developing now getting a foothold in payment systems, logistics and retail e-commerce. A revolution is taking shape right before our very eyes.