Cryptocurrencies, based on and led by the veritable powerhouse, Bitcoin, have shown promise as infrastructure for semi Anonymous online payments, cheap remittance, trustless digital asset exchange, and smart contracts. However, Bitcoin-derived blockchain protocols have inherent scalability limits that compromise between throughput and latency, which negates the full realization of this potential.

When it first appeared on the cryptocurrency scene, Bitcoin, with the novelty factor, provided a glimpse, to financial pundits and enthusiasts, a sneak peek into the future of trading. Digital assets and their online lives have never been so interesting before. With Bitcoin, remaining semi-anonymous and yet making free or dirt cheap transactions, with no third-party bureaucratic oversight, became a reality. Transfers were lightning fast and the technology on which it was based, blockchain, seemingly impregnable. Hence, a security system with no scope of monetary fraud became an instant hit. Over a period in time, hundreds and perhaps, if you consider the ones that do early deaths, thousands of copies of Bitcoins, flooded the cryptocurrency scene. Each crypto came up with its own version of transaction modes and enhanced services. This led to an overall increment in technology as well as appreciation from a discernible crowd.

Despite its potential, blockchain protocols face a significant scalability barrier. The maximum rate at which these systems can process transactions is capped by the choice of two parameters: block size and block interval. Increasing block size improves throughput, but the resulting bigger blocks take longer to propagate in the network. Reducing the block interval reduces latency, but leads to instability where the system is in disagreement and the blockchain is subject to reorganization. Bitcoin currently targets a conservative 10 minutes between blocks, yielding 10-minute expected latencies for transactions to be encoded in the blockchain. The block size is currently set at 1MB, yielding only 1 to 3.5 transactions per second for Bitcoin for typical transaction sizes. Proposals for increasing the block size are the topic of heated debate within the Bitcoin community. To overcome this issue, Bitcoin came up with Bitcoin NG, a scalable version of Bitcoin. A blockchain protocol built on the same trust model but sans the limitations. Bitcoin-NG’s latency is limited only by the propagation delay of the network, and its bandwidth is limited only by the processing capacity of the individual nodes. Bitcoin-NG achieves this performance improvement by decoupling Bitcoin’s blockchain operation into two planes: leader election and transaction serialization.

Islam is one of the fastest-growing religions in the world. As many as 1.6 billion Muslims, estimated to represent 23 percent of the entire human population, live over an area spread wide across Asia. Northern Africa has its own share.

Fintech as per the Shariah

Shariah lays down specific rules when it comes to banking and finance. It prohibits specific interest rates as well as investments in certain areas such as liquor. However, in spite of restrictions, major banking corporations have envisaged interest to enter this area. The International Monetary Fund did have its first-ever session on Islamic banking.

The rise of Bitcoin and the recent developments in fin-tech has taken the world by storm. Such advancement has not left the Islamic world untouched. Quite a few Muslim countries are making efforts to slowly open up their economies to these advancements.

UAE has already got its Bitcoin exchange calling it BitOasis and they also offer services Bitcoin wallet. BitOasis is not limited to UAE though but has spread its wings into the neighboring countries too. Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Saudi Arabia are some of the countries where BitOasis offers its services. Bitcoin Indonesia and Coinbox of Malaysia offer Bitcoin like services in the APAC region.

So is Bitcoin halal?

As per the Shariah Law, riba or usury is prohibited and maslaha its social benefits with positive external factors are encouraged. On both these counts, Bitcoin scores well. Cryptocurrencies by its nature is a positive activity adding benefits to its numerous users. It is also safe and free of cost, almost in a few cases.

So does this make Bitcoin halal?

The answer to this has been a unanimously Yes and one of the primary reasons why it is so is because Bitcoin can be considered as both a currency and a payment system. Shariah is quite comprehensive when it comes to the explanation of the financial structure of its followers.

Proponents of Islam argue that modern currencies are based on debt, something which is prohibited in Islam. Usury is a sin as per the book of religion. Bitcoin does not base itself as a vehicle of debt and hence can be considered more halal than most fiat currencies. Shariah talks about Gharar or uncertainty. Now while Bitcoin has had a tumultuous past, currently it is seen as an epitome of stability and that works in its favor too.

Investors are a harried lot. They wish to make long term investments in minimal spending.

Why cryptocurrency you may ask?

New are investors want to change the way conventional investments are made. The old world way to make investments on shares and bonds and commodities do not provide with the same returns cryptocurrencies do. Just to give an idea, as of 2017:

Ethereum is up 2,000%.

Bitcoin is up 744,233%.

Litecoin is up 750%.

Hence, with these kinds of insane numbers, attraction to invest multiplies manifold.

With the floodgates open, early investors got quickly used to four-figure returns. However, there was a flipside to this. With returns, the buying price of the above coins increased too. A viable option needed to be found. In appeared Ripple.

What is Ripple?

To call Ripple just a cryptocurrency would be blasphemous.

Ripple is not the traditional cryptocurrency that investors trade. It is so much more. Ripple is revolutionising the way transactions take place and soon the way we bank and conduct business will change.

It is pertinent to understand that Ripple is primarily two parts.

One it is the Ripple Transaction Protocol or RTXP and XRP the digital currency. XRP operates within RTXP.

The RTXP or Ripple transaction Protocol is the real-time payment gateway, which allows money to be exchanged between individuals irrespective of their positions or banks.

The digital asset or cryptocurrency that runs the Ripple network is XRP. When you are buying Ripple, it would mean you’re also purchasing XRP. If you’re a newbie to investing in digital currency, the best way to think of XRP is as a currency or fuel that powers Ripple.

However, it is also important to know that while it is preferable to use XRP to run the RTXP network, it is by no way mandatory.

An important bit of information for investors, eager to put money in the Ripple network, it is being backed by the following investors:

Andreessen Horowitz, FF Angel IV, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Vast Ventures, and Bitcoin Opportunity Fund.

What makes Ripple unique other than the fact is that it is still being traded at $1 is that it does so much more. It transfers not just cryptocurrencies but money and information too. 

Ripple’s uniqueness lies in the fact that anything can be transacted through its secure pathway. That makes it a powerhouse in the world of cryptocurrencies.

All along with the Cryptocurrency story, we have heard of individuals minting money. There were rags to riches tales aplenty and earlier cryptocurrency investors made it big. Real big. And why not? A combination of safety and ease of operation, sans the overarching enthusiasm of institutional bureaucracy, made it the darling of the masses.  Blockchain became the byword for a technological miracle and newer areas of its usage we’re being explored. In the meantime, the world of cryptocurrency flourished. And how? After the advent of Bitcoins, numerous cryptocurrencies joined ranks. Litecoin, Thorium became synonymous with tech disruption and staggering profits. However, in 2017, Bitcoin crashed. From a high of $20000, it lists up to 75% of its value and went down under. However, over the years this has not been the only loss story, pertaining to cryptocurrencies. There have been a few others. Let us look at some of them:

Scaling Mt. Gox

The exchange which was handling almost 70% of all Bitcoin transactions, declared bankruptcy in early 2014, on account of a hacking operation which wiped off 850,000 coins or $500 million. The more recent valuation of that would be approximately $5 billion. A Tokyo District Court has directed the authorities to begin a civil rehab program, and that may bring some succour.

The Ripple Effect

Chris Larsen, the co-founder of Ripple, marched into 2018, with a total valuation of $60 billion. Ripple was being traded at $3.65 a unit. However, a golden rule in any business is to diversify which unfortunately did not happen here. Ripple tumbled and went down to almost 45 cents. That meant, almost $44 billion of personal wealth was wiped off Chris Larssen’s portfolio. Even though at $16 billion he is not exactly poor, however, it still remains one of the largest falls in the history of cryptocurrency.

Ripped Van Winkle

The Winklevoss twins are known for their association with Facebook. After moving out of the former they jumped right into the whirlpool called Bitcoin. 120000 coins were bought or 1% of all bitcoins in circulation. The year was 2012 and Bitcoin was valued at only $10. They were worth a whopping $2.34 billion. However, with the crash, they are now valued at $720  million. A loss of $1.62 billion. However, since the coins were bought at $1.2 million the impact had been not much. The brothers never broke a sweat.

In spite, of these setbacks, cryptocurrencies remain the future of financial transaction.

Right from the time, Bitcoin appeared on the scene, there has been a buzz in the financial market. Based on a peer to over decentralized system, Bitcoin offered unbridled freedom to individuals. There was no third party oversight and regulations that would stifle the system. This bought the turnaround time down and transaction charges were nil. Bitcoin also hit the stratosphere in 2017, when it got valued at $20000. This led to an entire universe of cryptocurrencies or projects, each peddling their own little dreams.

One such project was Ethereum.

This was, like, Bitcoin, an open-ended system allowing transactions across the board and continents, with nil government or third-party intervention. Launched in 2015, ETH soon became the silver to Bitcoin’s gold. And there was plenty of reason for it. Even though Ethereum resembled Bitcoin, or for that matter any cryptocurrency in every way, there was one difference it bought to the fold, Either (ETH), it’s cryptocurrency.

So what made Ether any different from the plethora of cryptocurrencies or Altcoins.

The very fact that Ethereum was programmable, made it a darling to the developers’ community. It meant that programmers can create apps using Either. These apps we’re called DApps or Decentralized Apps because they were being created on a decentralized system.

These DApps gained from the combination of cryptocurrency and Blockchain. It not was secure thanks to the impenetrability of the premise but was also not owned by any single entity. It would also behave in the exact manner it was programmed to, once uploaded.

This became the basis for some of the most interesting developments if recent times.

Many of the apps that we are using right now have been created on the Ethereum platform.

Cryptocurrency wallets that help you make cheap, instant payments with ETH or other assets

Financial applications that let you borrow, lend, or invest your digital assets

Decentralized markets, that let you trade digital assets, or even trade “predictions” about events in the real world

Games where you own in-game assets, and can even make real money

The list is endless.

Given the robustness of the system, there is no doubt that the digital world will one day be ruled by applications created on ETH. To make matters more public and equitable, Ethereum community is the world’s largest blockchain community. And it is quite active too.

You have heard unreal tales of early investors raking in millions from their investments in Bitcoin. However, those were the days when the cryptocurrency was an absolute newbie and was being valued at less than a cent. It has since risen to $20000 and has crashed subsequently, only to stabilise at a shade below $6000. That would mean one unit of Bitcoin would cost you a bit less than $6000, which by every mean, is an extremely costly proposition. For new-age investors, who do not wish to fall for the gamble, but gradually build their baskets would then need to shift their focus on Altcoins, some of which are still peddled at less than $10 a unit. These are the early days for these coins, and can genuinely turn into serious money-spinners, in the near future.

Let us quickly look at some of sub $10 cryptocurrencies to help you make an informed decision:

Nano (NANO)

A purely basic cryptocurrency currently enjoying the trading value of $1, Nano does have a bright future. It currently mimics the bigger cryptocurrencies and has no transaction fee. Point to be noted that Nano does not yet have the full confidence with the crypto ecosystem, but would find its place in the Sun, soon.

EOS

Currently being valued at $3, EOS is at present in the centre of a financial embarrassment. It has been linked to a Ponzi scheme, which has been dumping large volumes into Bitcoin. However, it is being expected that EOS will be able to extricate itself out of this mess and start performing. It has been valued at as high as $20 and there is a possibility that it would again.

Ripple (XRP)

Ripple is quite a dichotomy of sorts. It a massively popular cryptocurrency and yet it trades are around 25 cents. The reason it is so ridiculously underpriced is because of the way Ripple is designed. Payment protocol XRP serves requires huge volumes of XRP to function well. Hence the sheer volume of XRP in circulation is keeping the price at rock bottom. However, there is light at the end of the tunnel. As the Ripple protocol will gradually grow and become more merged with real-world payment services, the value too will make a steep rise. It is currently looking at a high of $3.85 and us ideally suited to be invested in.

Basics of TRON:
Justin Sun founded this TRON or Tronix(trx) cryptocurrency in September 2017 whose headquarter is in Singapore. This is one of the most popular cryptocurrencies in the market nowadays as it is different from other cryptocurrencies. Its main motto revolves around entertainment sector.

How is it different:
• There are no middlemen in between the user and the creator.
• Creators could receive their revenue directly from the consumers.
• This not only eliminates middlemen but also reduces the dependence on different sites.

Advantages of TRON:
This coin lets you spread your data without any restrictions. In fact, if a user uploads any of his/her data they will earn their digital assets too. They will receive their profits according to their contribution, as TRON focuses on individual people rather than an organization. The transactions of this currency are easily traced without any obstacles, as it takes place on public records hence, Tron mining is not possible.

You can store TRON coins in Tron wallet. It is supporting wallets on different websites that are available for different operators like chrome, Mac, Windows, iOS, and Android. You can download your own wallet and just remember your password for it and never share it with anyone. As we have talked about the wallet of Tron then we should be knowing the value of it also, as for now it is 0.058 USD till June 2018 but it is sure it will reach 1USD soon because the rate of TRX is increasing in Asian market exponentially, though cryptocurrency can swing in any direction TRX shows a promising future.

What makes it different is its application power, as they keep a track record of the data privacy and keep collecting information about the general population and use it as a key factor in their business models. They have monetized each and every content on the internet so that they can reward them accordingly. Just like Vamos using the blockchain method for the cryptocurrencies, Tron is also doing the same. And they do not take any help of advertisements on social media because these sites can access our personal data. TRX is a safe option for the investors of a long race though cryptocurrencies world is full of swings.

It is simple for beginners to go to cryptocurrency exchange websites and exchange cash for the desired cryptocurrency. The payment methods used are simple including the most widely used Paypal.

Once your account is set up, you can start buying cryptocurrency on the exchange. Most exchanges are just like stock-trading platforms: you can buy and hold your cryptocurrency, or you can exchange it for another cryptocurrency.

Some of the most extensively reliable websites to trade in cryptocurrency are Coinbase, Coinmama, CEX.io, Bitstamp and many more.

 

How to spend your Cryptocurrency on Amazon?

 

You cannot buy directly from Amazon using your bitcoin cash. So you need a middleman. A middleman here is, for instance, is Purse.io that would introduce you to the thousands of users who would accept bitcoins in exchange for their hard cash. But, they wouldn’t be paying you directly and neither would you. They would buy your product from Amazon and send it to your mentioned address and in exchange will be rewarded with a similar amount of cryptocurrency in their crypto wallets.

Here is another very well known way is to purchase a gift card from Amazon for the desired amount. You need to enter the gift card amount and you will be given a bitcoin price to pay. Now you need to go to Amazon, choose your item and add it to your cart. After you are finished packing your cart, go to checkout and enter your delivery address. When you are redirected to payment methods, choose to pay using Amazon Gift Card. Here you enter the Amazon gift card you purchased earlier using your cryptocurrency. These are some of the profoundly used ways to spend your cryptocurrency on Amazon.

 

Reversing the process?

 

There’s also another side to Purse.io. You could also earn bitcoins by doing what other users are doing for you. It means you could be listed as a “Shopper” and shop from Amazon for other users using your hard cash and receives bitcoins for that.

This is one of the many ways to obtain some cryptocurrency in your wallet.

 

Conclusion

 

Using cryptocurrency at Amazon is not as easy as ordering delicious Spanish Tapas  because of the fluctuating prices of the currency and the user is difficult to cope up with it. But, these were some above-mentioned ways by which you could get yourself to spend your cryptocurrency on Amazon.