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4 Major Risks and Challenges of Zero Confirmation Transactions

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Due to its speed and convenience, zero confirmation transactions have grown in popularity over the past few years. But with their advantages come dangers and difficulties that must not be disregarded. The four main dangers and difficulties posed by zero confirmation transactions will be covered in this essay.

Risk #1: Double Spending

One of the most significant risks associated with zero confirmation transactions is the possibility of double spending. Double spending happens when a user attempts to spend the same funds in two different transactions. In traditional payment systems, this risk is avoided by confirming transactions before they are added to the blockchain, ensuring that the same funds are not spent twice. To trade more effectively, you may consider using a reliable trading platform like immediatefuture.io

Zero confirmation transactions, on the other hand, do not go through a confirmation procedure before being recorded on the blockchain. This implies that a dishonest user may be able to spend the same money several times, which would result in a substantial loss for the retailer.

Attackers can try to double spend in a transaction with zero confirmation in a number of ways. One such technique is to broadcast two distinct transactions that use the identical cash to the network. As a result, there may be a race between the two transactions, with the blockchain finally confirming just one of them.

Risk #2: Fraudulent Transactions

One of the significant risks associated with zero confirmation transactions is double spending. Double spending occurs when a user attempts to spend the same funds in two different transactions. In a traditional payment system, this risk is mitigated by the fact that transactions are confirmed before being added to the blockchain, ensuring that the same funds are not spent twice.

There are several ways that attackers can attempt to double spend in a zero confirmation transaction. One common method is to broadcast two different transactions to the network, both spending the same funds. This can lead to a race between the two transactions, with only one ultimately being confirmed on the blockchain.

Risk #3: Network Instability

Network instability is another risk associated with zero confirmation transactions. Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies rely on a decentralized network of nodes to process and confirm transactions. If the network experiences instability, such as increased traffic or technical issues, it can lead to delays or even failures in confirming transactions.

One factor that can contribute to network instability is the transaction fee. If the transaction fee is too low, miners may prioritize other transactions over the zero confirmation transaction, leading to delays or even failures in confirming the transaction.

To mitigate the risk of network instability, users can consider setting a higher transaction fee to increase the likelihood that the transaction will be confirmed quickly. Users can also monitor the network status and transaction confirmation times to ensure that the network is stable before making a zero confirmation transaction.

Risk #4: Lack of Transaction Finality

Another risk associated with zero confirmation transactions is the lack of transaction finality. In traditional payment systems, once a transaction is confirmed, it is irreversible and cannot be reversed without the consent of both parties. However, in zero confirmation transactions, there is no confirmation process before the transaction is added to the blockchain, leading to a lack of finality.

If a user attempts to reverse a transaction after it has been broadcast to the network, it can lead to a double spending scenario or a loss for the merchant. This can occur if the user initiates a transaction and then attempts to cancel it before it is confirmed on the blockchain. In this scenario, the funds are still available to be spent, and the user can potentially spend the same funds again in a different transaction, leading to double spending.

To mitigate the risk of lack of transaction finality, merchants can implement measures such as waiting for a certain number of confirmations before releasing the goods or services.

Conclusion

Although they provide a practical method of processing transactions on the blockchain, zero confirmation transactions also carry a number of serious hazards that users and merchants should be aware of. Users can reduce the risk of losses and guard themselves against the potential drawbacks of zero confirmation transactions by taking the proper precautions and putting in place the necessary security measures.

5 Reasons Why You Should Choose HODL As Your Investment Strategy

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abstract background of crypto currency Market hodl or hold on for dear life and technical analysis chart graph

Introduction

HODLing and mining are two well-liked cryptocurrency investment strategies. HODLing, which stands for “hold on for dear life,” is purchasing and keeping cryptocurrency over a lengthy period. On the other hand, mining entails the use of specialized machinery to resolve challenging mathematical puzzles and verify transactions on the blockchain. HODL may be a better investing plan than mining for several reasons, even though both methods have their advantages and disadvantages. In addition, you can start your Bitcoin investment by trading in a reputable trading platform like BitIQ trading system

Reason #1: Less Stressful

Investing can be a stressful endeavor, especially when trying to make short-term gains. HODL, on the other hand, is a long-term investment strategy that can significantly reduce the stress associated with investing.

HODLing involves buying and holding onto investments for an extended period, typically years, without making any changes based on market movements. This means that HODLers do not need to constantly monitor and adjust their investments, which can be time-consuming and emotionally draining.

By eliminating the need to monitor the market constantly, HODLing reduces stress levels and frees up time for other activities. It also removes the pressure of trying to time the market and make quick gains, which can lead to emotional decisions and increased stress levels. 

Reason #2: Long-Term Focus

One of the key features of HODLing is its long-term focus. Unlike other investment strategies that seek to make short-term gains, HODLing involves holding onto investments for an extended period.

By taking a long-term approach to investing, HODLers can benefit from the power of compounding, which means that their investments can grow exponentially over time. This is because the longer an investment is held, the more time it has to grow and generate returns.

Furthermore, a long-term focus helps investors avoid the pitfalls of short-term market fluctuations. By not reacting to short-term market movements, HODLers can stay focused on their investment goals and remain disciplined in their investment strategy.

Reason #3: Less Time-Consuming

Another advantage of HODLing as an investment strategy is that it requires less time and effort than other active trading strategies.

HODLing involves buying and holding onto investments for a long period, typically years, without making any changes based on market movements. This means that HODLers do not need to constantly monitor and adjust their investments, freeing up time for other activities.

In contrast, day trading and other active trading strategies require constant monitoring of market movements and making quick decisions based on short-term market fluctuations. This can be time-consuming and emotionally exhausting, leading to burnout and reduced returns.

Reason #4: Potential for Higher Returns

While HODLing is typically associated with a conservative, long-term investment strategy, it still has the potential to generate significant returns.

Over the long-term, HODLing can benefit from the power of compounding, which means that the returns on investments can grow exponentially as they are reinvested over time. This can lead to significant returns over the long-term, especially when investing in high-growth assets such as stocks, cryptocurrency, or real estate.

Furthermore, by avoiding the pitfalls of short-term market fluctuations, HODLers can avoid making emotional decisions that could negatively impact their investment returns. This disciplined approach to investing can result in higher long-term returns than short-term, reactive investment strategies. 

Reason #5: Lower Risk

One of the most significant advantages of HODLing as an investment strategy is its lower risk profile compared to other active trading strategies.

HODLing involves buying and holding onto investments for a long period without making any changes based on short-term market movements. By taking a long-term approach, HODLers can ride out market volatility and avoid the risk of making emotional decisions based on short-term market fluctuations.

Furthermore, by avoiding active trading strategies that involve buying and selling investments frequently, HODLers can reduce the risk of making poor investment choices based on market noise or incorrect predictions.

Conclusion

In conclusion, HODLing can be a beneficial investment strategy for investors looking to take a long-term, disciplined approach to investing. By avoiding the pitfalls of short-term market fluctuations and emotional decision-making, HODLers can benefit from potential higher returns and lower risk. Overall, HODLing can be an excellent investment strategy for investors who are willing to take a long-term approach to investing and avoid the pitfalls of short-term market fluctuations and emotional decision-making.

Communicate VALUE, forget cost!

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Communicate VALUE because that is what customers pay for; few care how much you have spent to create the product. Yes, do not use a cost-plus pricing (cost plus markup) model in your company. It is a very non-optimized pricing playbook. Customers do not buy your products because of how much it costs you to produce them. What they want is VALUE! 

So, when you price, focus on value, and that means, use a value-based pricing model. Of course, as you do that, you need to understand your cost, including the fixed and variable costs. 

In elementary physics, friction is a force. To overcome friction, you need another force. In the market, customers’ problems are market frictions. To overcome them, you need to create products, the powerful forces in market systems. Products deliver value! Communicate VALUE, forget cost! 

Congratulations! You have built this awesome company. You have products and services, and now you want to price them. The pros discuss the constructs of cost-based pricing and value-based pricing: “Value-based pricing is the setting of a product or service’s price based on the benefits it provides to consumers. By contrast, cost-plus pricing is based on the amount of money it takes to produce the product”. Deciding the model to adopt for the optimal value creation, in your startup, is the next level as you fix the launch date.

You possibly have some marketing guys to assist. Marketing is a great profession. The bests in the field understand how to present their product offerings to customers to get them  to open their wallets. Irrespective of the quality of the product or service, a very poor marketing campaign could be very disastrous. This field is full of psychology. They focus on mastering the behavior of man under his limited scarce resources. He must make choices and bring that concept of opportunity cost in action; and making sure your product wins in this choice makes a star marketer.

Mechanics Of Startup Product Pricing

The CBN Guidelines on Dormant Accounts / Unclaimed Balances / Financial Assets in Banks and Other Financial Assets in Nigeria

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The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in April 2023 released the Guidelines on Dormant Accounts & Unclaimed Balances as a follow-up to guidelines earlier issued on October 7, 2015 to curb abuses in the operation of dormant & inactive accounts to set regulatory standards.

This article will be looking at the provisions of these new guidelines, with a focus on :-

– Their scope.

– Their objectives.

– Stakeholder roles and responsibilities. 

– Dormant account reactivation.

– Compliance requirements.

What is the applicability scope of the guidelines?

The guidelines apply to :-

– All Financial Institutions under the licensing and regulatory jurisdiction of the CBN.

What are the eligibility requirements for classifying an account as dormant?

Dormant Accounts include :-

– Account balances that have remained with an FI for a period of 10 years and above.

Assets that can also fall under the dormancy categorization include :-

– Current, savings and term deposits in local currency.

– Domiciliary accounts.

– Deposits towards the purchase of shares & mutual investments.

– Prepaid card accounts and wallets.

– Proceeds of uncleared & unpresented financial instruments belonging to customers & non-customers of FIs.

– Uncleared salaries, wages, bonuses and commissions.

– A judgment debt for which the judgment creditor has not claimed the judgment award sum.

What type of accounts and financial assets are exempted from the jurisdiction of the guidelines even though they are dormant?

Accounts and assets that would fall under this exemption category include :-

– Government-owned accounts.

– Accounts that are the subject of litigation.

– Accounts under investigation by a regulatory body or law enforcement agency.

– Encumbered accounts including but not limited to collaterals and liens.

What are the objectives of the guidelines?

The objectives of the guidelines are :-

  1. To identify dormant account/uncleared balances and financial assets with a view to reuniting them with their beneficial owners.
  1. To hold the funds in trust for beneficiaries.
  1. To standardize the management of dormant accounts.
  1. To establish a standard procedure for the reclamation of warehoused funds.

Which parties are regarded as stakeholders for the purposes of the guidelines and what are their prescribed roles and responsibilities?

The stakeholders identified by the guidelines along with their roles and responsibilities are :-

  1. The Central Bank of Nigeria 

Roles & Responsibilities

– To open and maintain an account earmarked for the purpose of warehousing unclaimed balances in eligible accounts. The account shall be called the “Unclaimed Balances Trust Fund Pool Account” or UBTF Account.

– Establishing a management committee to oversee the operation of the UBTF pool account. 

– To monitor and enforce compliance with the guidelines.

– To manage dormant and unclaimed funds in line with the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act (BOFIA) 2020.

– To resolve escalated complaints relating to the reclaim of warehoused funds.

  1. Financial Institutions (FIs).

Roles & Responsibilities

– To monitor inactive accounts & notify the customers as well as protect such accounts from unauthorized usage.

– To establish procedures that will ensure continuous contact with customers to reduce the incidence of inactive and dormant accounts. 

– To maintain records of procedures and periodic efforts to contact customers with inactive accounts.

– To advise customers in writing on the need to communicate changes in their names, addresses, numbers, email addresses and next-of-kin details or particulars of directors, authorized signatories & business addresses in the case of corporate entities.

  1. Account Holders/Beneficiaries of other financial assets

Roles and Responsibilities

– To inform FIs of changes in their names, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, next of kin details and in the case of corporate entities, their directors, authorized signatories, business addresses and any other customer information update. 

– To submit applications for reclaim to FIs.

–  To provide appropriate information and proof of ownership for the reclaim of balances transferred to the CBN.

What are the provisions of the guidelines on dormant account reactivation? 

For reactivation of dormant accounts and the reclamation of unclaimed balances, FIs and customers shall respectively :-

FIs

– Require the account owner to complete a reactivation form in person.

– Verify the information provided in the reactivation form.

– Not charge any fee for the reactivation of dormant accounts.

– Reactivate the dormant account with the approval of 2 authorized officers of the FI with one being at least the branch operations manager.

Customers/Beneficial Owners

– The beneficial owners can access the list of unclaimed balances transferred to the CBN via the CBN/FI’s website or newspapers.

– The beneficial owners shall visit any branch or office of the FIs to complete an asset reclaim form.

– The FIs shall verify the claim and initiate the request to the CBN within 10 working days.

– Beneficial owners shall not make partial claims.

– For FIs in liquidation, the Nigerian Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) shall assume the role of the FI. 

Who has the major responsibility of ensuring full compliance with the guidelines?

Ensuring full compliance with the guidelines is the responsibility of the heads of compliance in all FIs.

What are the provisions of the guidelines on Dispute Resolution?

The guidelines state that customer complaints should first be lodged with FIs for resolution & redress within a maximum period of 15 working days.

What are the applicable sanctions prescribed for non-compliance with its provisions by the guidelines?

The guidelines prescribe a flat punitive fine of 2 Million Naira for violation of its provisions and then a daily fee of 20 Thousand Naira for further infractions.

Twitter Notify Users to Have A Verified Checkmark to Continue Running Ads on The Platform

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Microblogging platform Twitter is reported to have notified users of the need to have a verified checkmark to continue running ads on the platform.

Several users have taken to their Twitter handle to post screenshots of an email reportedly sent by Twitter, stating that from April 21, verified checkmarks are required to complete the continued running ads on the platform.

Social media and industry analyst Matt Navarra took to his Twitter handle to disclose the content of the email sent.

The email reads,

Building a better Twitter through verification

“Hello! Starting April 21, your @account must have a verified checkmark or subscribe to either Twitter Blue or Verified Organizations to continue running ads on Twitter. Business accounts spending in excess of $1000 per month already have gold checks or will soon, and they’ll continue to enjoy access to advertising without interruption at this time.

This change aligns with Twitter’s broader verification strategy: to elevate the quality of content on Twitter and enhance your experience as a user and advertiser. This approach also supports our ongoing efforts to reduce fraudulent accounts and bots. Subscribing to either of these services means you have been verified by Twitter as a real person and/or business.

Amongst other features, you’ll have a more visible organic presence and a broader range of creation tools. We’re excited for you to get started and to benefit from a superior Twitter experience.”

Twitter seeks to ensure that individuals or businesses that want to post an ad will have to subscribe to $8 per month for Twitter Blue or $1,000 per month to be recognized as a verified organization. This move is in line with Twitter’s new policy to build a better platform through verification.

Following ads moderation on the platform, Twitter CEO Elon Musk last year disclosed that he is planning a content moderation council representing diverse viewpoints that will tackle inappropriate content and reassure advertisers, but it would take a few months to put together, as he notes that the biggest concern for big advertisers is brand safety and risk avoidance.

Musk intends to revamp Twitter’s ad targeting system to resemble that of Google’s search ads, which primarily focus on keywords searched for rather than a user’s activity or profile data. It is interesting to note that Musk has been trying to improve Twitter ads since he acquired the company.

While it is uncertain whether altering Twitter’s ad targeting system to prioritize keywords, similar to Google ads, will result in better quality advertising, experts in the field have raised questions and identified potential drawbacks.