Updated the Robots website: https://schmitt-trading.com/robots Please read about the robots we invented: Imagine an acquaintance telling you about an ingenious stock exchange trading system with which he regularly earns so much money that it is enough for his daily life.
Imagine further that this acquaintance does not have to do anything for it, so that the account balance on his trading account continues to rise.
He explains that a friendly trading robot named Schmitti does all the work for him.
Schmitti was programmed in such a way that he reliably recognizes upcoming trend changes on the stock exchange in advance and then buys or sells them.
Schmitti does not sleep, Schmitti never gets tired. Schmitti is neither bored by the constant ups and downs of the stock market nor does he feel emotions like fear, greed or exaggerated euphoria.
Schmitti reacts only to his programmed algorithms and executes them reliably.
And that 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
Imagine further that there is the possibility that you could break out of your daily routine and reach a life of financial freedom.
Perhaps you wish to leave your own social class and ascend.
Do you want to make it from the lower class to the middle class?
Or from the middle class to the upper class?
The only class Schmitti cannot help is the upper class, because they are already at the top.
For everyone else, this is your chance to change your life!
As Bitcoin’s backers push for it to become acceptable mainstream currency, its value has become increasingly tied to attempts to break the public image that it’s just a currency for cyber criminals.
It’s for this reason that every suggestion the currency is gaining acceptance by governments sends its price soaring. In November, US Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke released a letter stating there was no need to regulate Bitcoin and that virtual currencies like Bitcoin held promise as a more efficient and more secure payment system.
This morning Glenn Stevens, Reserve Bank of Australia governor, told the Australian Financial Review virtual currencies like Bitcoin have long-term promise, “particularly if the technology leads to a faster, more secure and more efficient payments system”.
This shop in Korea accepts Bitcoins as payment alongside EFTPOS and cash. As Bitcoin loses its shady image, its price climbs. EPA/Yonhap
Bernanke’s oblique endorsement of Bitcoin helped lift its price to about US$1200 per Bitcoin. Conversely, negative statements like that made by China’s Central Bank that Chinese financial institutions should not accept Bitcoin sent its value plummeting by over 30% to a low of $814.
Fair value of $1300?
At the same time, analysts at Merrill Lynch have released a report stating Bitcoin has the potential to become a major means of electronic payment for e-commerce. The analysts put an estimate of its fair value at $1,300.
The basis of the report is the argument that Bitcoin provides a number of key attributes making it ideal as a means of electronic payment.
The first of these attributes is that Bitcoin offers lower transaction costs than normal credit card payment because it’s possible to exchange the currency directly between the buyer and seller without an intervening agency.
Secondly, Bitcoin is relatively secure and the public ledger that records transactions provides an audit trail making it easy to track potential illicit activity.
But this is somewhat mitigated by the fact that Bitcoin transactions are largely anonymous. So although you know that a transaction has taken place, in the absence of other identifying information, it is not possible to say who that transaction was with simply by viewing the ledger.
What is true is that it is not really possible to forge Bitcoins. New Bitcoins can only be created through so-called “Bitcoin mining”, using special software to solve math problems in exchange for a certain number of Bitcoins.
Merrill Lynch listed several disadvantages of Bitcoin as an electronic payment currency, including the volatility of its value and the fact that it takes 50 minutes for a Bitcoin transaction to be verified by the distributed checking system. Of course, as Bitcoin becomes more accepted as a means of payment, its volatility may ease and so the first disadvantage may become less of a problem.
Merrill Lynch’s valuation of Bitcoin at US$1,300 relies on the assumption that it will become a ubiquitous means of electronic payment and come to account for 10% of all electronic transactions conducted online.
And it assumes that a component of Bitcoins’ overall value comes from the fact that it is treated as an investment instrument rather than as a means of exchange. Taken together, the analysts calculated a total market capitalisation of $15 billion giving a maximum fair value of Bitcoin of US$1,300.
It is not clear how valid the calculation is or how relevant it is going to be to the actual price of Bitcoin, which is being driven largely by the Chinese market for Bitcoins that has overtaken the existing leading exchanges used by the rest of the world based in Japan and Europe.
The driver for Bitcoin in China is the belief that it is a safer currency than the national Renminbi because it is largely free of government oversight. Whether this is the case or not is another question. Governments can crack down on Bitcoin or decide to regulate it like any other currency, which would negate this particular advantage.
It seems likely that Merrill Lynch is correct in the view that Bitcoin will increasingly become a popular means of electronic payment once its price starts to stabilise and as it becomes simpler and more seamless to buy and sell.
What its price will be at that point is yet to be seen, but it likely to be significantly more than Merrill Lynch’s prediction of $1,300.
Civil law is a legal system originating in mainland Europe and adopted in much of the world. The civil law system is intellectualized within the framework of Roman law, and with core principles codified into a referable system, which serves as the primary source of law. The civil law system is often contrasted with the common law system, which originated in medieval England, whose intellectual framework historically came from uncodified judge-made case law, and gives precedential authority to prior court decisions.
Most people are bamboozled by Bitcoin. It’s shrouded in jargon and geek speak. It borrows physical metaphors from all over the place adding to the confusion. It talks of “coins”, but there are no physical coins. You’ll hear about “miners”, although there is no physical digging or drilling. You’ll also hear made-up words such as “blockchain”. People shake their heads in confusion. The Bitcoin community itself doesn’t even know for sure who invented Bitcoin – I even met one of those who claims to be the big founder.
But there are definitions of Bitcoin that even a five-year-old could understand. Bitcoin is an online form of money – each one is currently worth around £290. So, when you read “cryptocurrency”, think digital gold. Think virtual money.
You can buy and sell bitcoins or exchange them for goods and services in the physical world, and a small but growing number of businesses you’ve heard of accept them. What takes place is a wholly digital trade – no physical coins or notes exchange hands. If you want to cash out into physical paper money, you’ll probably have to pay a fee.
But bitcoins can be bought and sold without the need for those organisations. It does this by distributing what used to be our trust in one organisation across a system of many people. Trust is shared out. And here another metaphor borrowed from the physical world comes into play. We ensure that our digital transactions are true and secure by writing them onto a shared, public “ledger”. It’s a big, open, digital book of truth and openness.
This ledger is secure and transparent. It isn’t owned by one corporation – it’s shared and kept up to date by the Bitcoin community. And no one charges you for recording your transactions into that ledger. Instead, those who verify the truthfulness and reliability of those transactions are the bitcoin miners. They all compete to verify the bitcoin transactions we all make, and those who succeed, are rewarded with bitcoins. In a way, it’s a game. A clever competition, with high stakes. And the winners not only win bitcoins but also help the whole thing to keep working reliably.
A bit like gold, not all bitcoins have yet been discovered. You can buy and sell the ones that are “out there”. On average their value has been rising over the years. The ones yet to be discovered are prospected for by “mining”.
When Bitcoin was founded, a finite limit on the number of bitcoins was set, just as there is a finite amount of gold in the physical world. The number was 21m. So far, more than 12m are in circulation. That means that a little fewer than 9m bitcoins are waiting to be discovered. So there are people buying and selling already existing bitcoins. There are people buying and selling goods and services with bitcoins – some of whom exchange them for stuff and money back in the physical world. And then there are people trying to find those increasingly elusive golden tickets – they are mining the undiscovered bitcoins.
So how do you mine bitcoins?
Anthony Volastro offers a clearer description than most: “‘Mining’ is lingo for the discovery of new bitcoins – just like finding gold. In reality, it’s simply the verification of bitcoin transactions.” And how is that done? “It’s not just one transaction individuals are trying to verify; it’s many. All the transactions are gathered into boxes with a virtual padlock on them – called ‘block chains’ … Miners run software to find the key that will open that padlock.” And when they achieve that, new bitcoins are released as a reward.
They are tending the bitcoin garden, playing a kind of functional game – keeping the ledger true and the transactions verified. And it has all been set up so that, by doing that, you can find the unreleased bitcoins and dig them up.
To answer that question, it’s worth hearing from the practitioners – the digital diggers and drillers. “It took ages for me to mine bitcoins because of enormous competent people mining with excellent machines,” said one.
Mining has become more competitive and tougher. On discussion boards the advice is not to even attempt it solo. You’ll have to join a “pool” – a group mining together, with some pretty impressive computer kit. (Most are all-night coders in China). You’ll need access to some hardcore hardware and be ready to burn 24/7 electricity.
Some now claim that the hold just a few groups have now over the mining operation is a significant barrier to entry for anyone else, especially a rookie. There’s no going it alone. You’ll have to join a “mining pool” and you might just feel like you’ve ended up in another institution. Ironic, eh?
There are alternatives to Bitcoin, such as Litecoin or Quarkcoin. Yet these alternative forms of digital money are becoming increasingly competitive as well. And as they evolve and become more competitively turbulent, the rewards diminish as well.. If you are just starting out as a potential miner, you stand a better chance going for one of these newer alternatives.
So, unless you are ready to dive in with some serious hardware, investment of time and even real money, bitcoin mining is probably not for the little guy any more, if it ever truly was. Bitcoin is institutionalising around centralised groups and may well be becoming similar to the organisations the whole thing was set up to replace.
In law, common law (also known as judicial precedent or judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law created by judges and similar quasi-judicial tribunals by virtue of being stated in written opinions.
Around the world, bitcoin has a mixed reputation. Owning and using the cryptocurrency is legal in a majority of nations, tolerated in many others, and outlawed by a relatively small number.
El Salvador has just become the first nation to formally adopt the cryptocurrency as legal tender, and a handful of other Latin American leaders have indicated that they would follow suit. This marks a sharp change in bitcoin’s reputation on the global stage.
Backed by a public ledger called “the blockchain”, holders of bitcoin enjoy a fast and secure way to make payments or receive funds. And El Salvador clearly has a need to receive funds fast. Like many other nations, El Salvador’s economy is heavily dependent upon “remittances”, or funds sent home by citizens working abroad. Remittances totalled over 20% of GDP in 2019.
Currently, remittances are delivered by Western Union or other money transfer services which are necessarily centralised and highly regulated. Sending funds can be complicated, involving an in-person visit to an agent’s office and proof of identity for both the sender and receiver. Although there are over 500 Western Union offices across El Salvador, those living in rural areas of the nation are particularly inconvenienced.
By contrast, cryptocurrencies like bitcoin allow anyone with a mobile phone to send or receive funds, regardless of location. A software app known as a “wallet” manages the cryptocurrency as needed. Such wallets are safeguarded on phones and protected by passwords or biometric mechanisms like fingerprints.
Recipients of bitcoin realise their funds by connecting to the internet. Once bitcoin has been received, there are multiple ways to exchange cryptocurrency for cash.
El Salvador could be the first country to adopt bitcoin as legal tender. David Coker, Author provided
Embracing cryptocurrency as legal tender
Now, El Salvador is taking the relatively easy and rapid transfer of bitcoin a step further, by accepting it as legal tender. The cryptocurrency could be spent directly on goods and services, just as the US dollar is in El Salvador. Other Latin American politicians have since called for the adoption of bitcoin as legal tender.
Those without a bank account are discouraged from saving for at least two reasons. First, holding cash is risky. A bitcoin wallet, however, protects savings by means of a password or PIN, naturally facilitating the regular saving of small amounts over time. Second, savers are rewarded by receiving interest on their money. Without this incentive there is little upside to saving. But there are firms which allow bitcoin holders to receive interest on their cryptocurrency (albeit your funds are not protected if they cease trading). So holders of bitcoin can enjoy the services of a bank, without the need to open a bank account. A desire to help the unbanked is likely mirrored across Latin America, but the ability of bitcoin to rapidly send and receive payments is likely also a draw.
The downsides
Adopting bitcoin as legal tender is not without its downsides. The cryptocurrency is notoriously volatile; indeed, at the time of this writing it has declined roughly 50% from the April 2021 high of nearly US$65,000. I hold bitcoin, and view this drop in price as part of the asset class’s risk (hopefully there will be an attendant reward). But I don’t have all of my savings in bitcoin either. If I did, my reaction would be very different.
Also concerning is the prevalence of what are called “whales”, or those controlling wallets with large amounts of bitcoin. There are roughly 2,000 wallets containing more than 1,000 bitcoins each. It’s not known who controls these wallets, but if several whales decided to sell their bitcoin, there could be tremendous drops in price.
Another issue El Salvadorians and other adopters will face is the inherent deflationary design of bitcoin. The supply of traditional currencies such as the US dollar can be changed as economic conditions warrant. America’s central bankers manage the supply of money to stimulate, or slow, the economy as needed. And historically the supply of US dollars has increased to reflect population growth.
By contrast, the total supply of bitcoin is fixed at 21 million coins. At the time of this writing only some 2.2 million bitcoins are left to be mined. Prices, as expressed in bitcoin, will inevitably fall over time.
Also, many analysts suggest the price of bitcoin will rise over time, as both acceptance and demand increase amid decreasing supply. If the more bullish price forecasts for bitcoin are true, those Salvadorians lucky enough to acquire and hold bitcoin early may become wealthy, perhaps fabulously wealthy. This has already happened with those lucky enough to have purchased bitcoin before 2010, when it cost less than one dollar.
Finally, there are mounting concerns about bitcoin’s environmental impact to consider. While its not clear how this issue will be resolved, it should be evaluated as part of the decision to render bitcoin legal tender.
Considering these risks, one can only wonder why El Salvador hasn’t considered the adoption of what is called a “stablecoin”. By design, stablecoins such as Tether are fixed at the price of one US dollar. Stablecoins offer the security and rapid transmission speed of bitcoin, but without the volatility, or lottery-like payoff to early adopters.
Earlier this week, Chevrolet Performance teased us with a brief video overlaid with the sound of some impressive internal combustion noise. Now, the go-fast brand has pulled the sheets on the source of that soundtrack, namely the new Chevrolet Performance ZZ632 crate engine.
Framed at the largest and most powerful engine Chevrolet Performance has ever made, the ZZ632 create engine produces a head-spinning 1,004 horsepower and 876 pound-feet of torque when fed 93-octane gasoline. Peak power arrives at 6,600 rpm, while peak torque arrives 5,600 rpm. Redline is recommended at 7,000 rpm.
“The ZZ632 sits at the top of our unparalleled crate engine lineup as the king of performance,” said director of the Performance and Racing Propulsion Team, Russ O’Blenes. “It delivers incredible power, and it does it on pump gas.”
Highlights include eight port injectors and CNC-machined high-flow aluminum heads. The heads are equipped with symmetrical intake and exhaust ports, thus ensuring all cylinders produce the similar power output. The technology is dubbed RS-X Symmetrical Port cylinder heads as a nod to Ron Sperry, who also designed the symmetrical ports on the Chevy Small Block Gen III LS1 V8 cradled by the 1997 Chevy Corvette.
The ZZ632 includes a cast iron block, four-bolt main caps, a forged steel crankshaft and connecting rods, and forged aluminum pistons. The compression ratio is 12.0:1. Notably, the iron block shares a mold with the Chevrolet Performance ZZ572 crate engine, with the castings machined out to the impressive 632-cubic-inch (or 10.3-liter) displacement. Bore is up 0.040 inch, while stroke was increased 0.375 inch. Both the block and connecting rods were modified to accommodate the extra-long stroke.
According to Chevrolet Performance, a single example of the ZZ632 endured over 200 simulated drag-racing passes on a dynamometer during development.
As expected, the Chevrolet Performance ZZ632 crate engine will make an appearance at the 2021 SEMA Show next month. Deliveries are expected to ramp up early next year.
