Artificial Intelligence:

• Alphabet Inc. (Google)
• Microsoft Corp.
• NVIDIA Corp.
• Intel Corp.

AI technology is revolutionizing numerous industries including healthcare, finance, and transportation by improving efficiency, accuracy and productivity.

E-Commerce:

• Amazon.com Inc.
• Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.
• Shopify Inc.
• JD.com Inc.

E-commerce has disrupted the traditional brick-and-mortar retail industry by providing convenient and accessible online shopping experiences, transforming the way people purchase goods and services.

Clean Energy:

• Tesla Inc.
• NextEra Energy Inc.
• Brookfield Renewable Partners L.P.
• First Solar Inc.

Clean energy is disrupting the traditional fossil fuel-based energy industry by promoting sustainable energy sources such as solar and wind power, reducing dependence on non-renewable resources, and mitigating environmental impact.

Cryptocurrency:

• Bitcoin Investment Trust (GBTC)
• Ethereum (ETH)
• Binance Coin (BNB)
• Ripple (XRP)

Cryptocurrency is disrupting traditional finance by offering decentralized, secure, and transparent financial transactions without the need for intermediaries such as banks.

Automation:

• ABB Ltd.
• Siemens AG
• Rockwell Automation Inc.
• Fanuc Corp.

Automation is disrupting various industries including manufacturing, logistics, and healthcare by automating tasks and processes, increasing efficiency, and reducing the need for manual labor.

Virtual Reality:

• Facebook Inc. (Oculus VR)
• NVIDIA Corp.
• HTC Corp.
• Unity Technologies

Virtual Reality (VR) is disrupting the entertainment and gaming industries by providing immersive and interactive experiences. It also has potential applications in fields such as education, training, and healthcare.

Biotechnology:

• Moderna Inc.
• Amgen Inc.
• Gilead Sciences Inc.
• Biogen Inc.

Biotechnology is disrupting the healthcare industry by developing innovative treatments, therapies, and technologies based on the understanding of biological systems and processes.

Drones:

• DJI Technology Co. Ltd.
• AeroVironment Inc.
• Lockheed Martin Corp.
• Parrot SA

Drones are disrupting various industries including agriculture, delivery, and surveying by providing cost-effective, efficient, and innovative solutions for tasks that were previously performed by humans.

Internet of Things (IoT):

• Cisco Systems Inc.
• International Business Machines (IBM) Corp.
• Intel Corp.
• Alphabet Inc. (Google)

IoT is disrupting various industries including manufacturing, transportation, and healthcare by connecting and automating devices, enabling real-time data collection and analysis.

5G Technology:

• Qualcomm Inc.
• Ericsson AB
• Nokia Oyj
• Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd.

5G technology is disrupting the telecommunications industry by providing faster, more reliable, and more secure wireless communication, enabling the development of new and innovative products and services.

Blockchain:

• Square Inc. (Cash App)
• Ripple Labs Inc.
• Chain Inc.
• Coinbase Global Inc.

Blockchain is disrupting various industries including finance, supply chain management, and real estate by providing secure and transparent record-keeping, reducing the need for intermediaries, and increasing efficiency.

Cybersecurity:

• CrowdStrike Holdings Inc.
• Palo Alto Networks Inc.
• FireEye Inc.
• Symantec Corp.

Cybersecurity is disrupting various industries including finance, healthcare, and government by providing innovative solutions to protect against cyber-attacks, data breaches, and cyber threats.

Renewable Energy Storage:

• Tesla Inc. (Powerwall)
• LG Chem Ltd.
• Enphase Energy Inc.
• Sunrun Inc.

Renewable Energy Storage is disrupting the energy industry by enabling the efficient storage and distribution of renewable energy, reducing dependence on traditional fossil fuels, and improving energy security.

Space Technology:

• SpaceX
• Blue Origin LLC
• Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc.
• Maxar Technologies Inc.

Space Technology is disrupting various industries including telecommunications, earth observation, and space exploration by providing cost-effective and innovative solutions for accessing and utilizing space-based resources and capabilities.

Robotic Process Automation (RPA):

• UiPath Inc.
• Automation Anywhere Inc.
• Blue Prism Group PLC
• WorkFusion Inc.

Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is disrupting various industries including finance, healthcare, and customer service by automating repetitive and manual tasks, reducing errors, and improving productivity.

Quantum Computing:

• IBM Corp.
• D-Wave Systems Inc.
• Google (Alphabet Inc.)
• Rigetti Computing

Disruptive Industry: healthcare, and cryptography by providing exponential computing power and enabling the solution of complex problems that are beyond the capabilities of classical computers.

Electric Vehicles:

• Tesla Inc.
• General Motors Co.
• Nissan Motor Co. Ltd.
• Volkswagen AG

Electric Vehicles (EVs) are disrupting the automotive industry by providing cost-effective, efficient, and environmentally friendly alternatives to traditional internal combustion engine vehicles.

Smart Home Technology:

• Amazon.com Inc. (Ring)
• Alphabet Inc. (Google Nest)
• Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Control4 Corp.

Smart Home Technology is disrupting the home automation industry by enabling the integration and control of home appliances and systems through a centralized platform, improving comfort, convenience, and security.

Advanced Manufacturing:

• GE Additive (General Electric)
• 3D Systems Corp.
• Stratasys Ltd.
• Materialise NV

Advanced Manufacturing is disrupting the manufacturing industry by providing new and innovative ways of designing, producing, and delivering products through the use of digital technologies such as 3D printing and computer-aided design.

We should all remove our coins, tokens, and crypto from exchanges and into secure wallets where only the user has the private key and can access the wallet.

Here are some great wallets for holding your crypto:

1. Coinbase Wallet
2. Metamask
3. Exodus
4. Trust Wallet
5. Ledger Nano X(Hardware/Cold)
6. Trezor Model T(Hardware/Cold)
7. Ledger Nano S(Hardware/Cold)

Photo by olieman.eth on Unsplash

Static Websites

Assuming the source code is in a git repository online(GitHub, GitLab, BitBucket, etc)

1. Go to netlify.com and create an account
2. Click “Add new site”
3. Select “Import an existing project”
4. Select Git provider_(I’m on github)_
5. Authenticate and Authorize
6. Select the repository
7. Enter build command e.g this site’s build command is “hugo –gc –minify”
8. Enter publish directory e.g this site’s publish directory is “public”
9. Click “Deploy site”

That’s it. Depending on the static version you used. It will take some time.

NB: Just plain HTML, CSS, and Javascript will take less than 3 seconds and does not need a specified build command or publish directory, Hugo takes anywhere from 10 seconds to 1 minute depending on how large your site is.

Dynamic Websites

Now, this depends on what tech stack you are using. I won’t lay down the details. Rather I’ll provide you with a few hosting solutions, both free and paid.

1. Heroku
2. Digital Ocean
3. Truehost(Affordable)
4. Namecheap

Making Your Website Web3 Compliant

As far as I know, the only possible way is by making a static site web3 compliant. I don’t know how to make a dynamic site web3 compliant hence will only cover static sites.

There are four URL options:

1. Constant Hashes => serve as links within ipfs and have been discussed in my previous article.

2. DNSLink => Simply put, a regular Web2.0 domain name from a DNS record.

3. ENS => Dynamic Url with a ’ .eth ’ ending and that is more readable than IPNs links. I would argue that this is the best domain choice for establishing a website, but the first option is free :)

1. Unstoppable Domains => Dynamic Url with multiple endings. My recommended choice.

Static Sites

1. Go to fleek.co and create an account
2. Follow the same process as Netlify
3. Select either IPFS or Internet Computer. Your choice.

Earn Money From Your Content Website

Here I won’t cover affiliate marketing and other popular ways to monetize your website as there are enough resources in the web.

1. Web Monetization

To monetize your site, you must:

1. Set up a web monetized receiver (wallet) for receiving payments. Supported wallets.

2. Get your wallet’s payment pointer. E.g. $wallet.example.com/alice

3. Create a special <meta> tag that tells Web Monetization providers how to pay you. e.g.

   <meta name="monetization" content="$wallet.example.com/alice">
   

4. Add the <meta> tag to each page of your website that you want to monetize. E.g.

   <!doctype html>
   <html>
   <head>
   <title>Web Monetized Site</title>
   <meta name="monetization" content="$wallet.example.com/alice">
   </head>
   </html>
   

5. For a more detailed look at web monetizing your site, see the Web Monetization explainer.

6. Congratulations! Your website is now web monetized.

2. Basic Attention Tokens

Follow this and this.

3. Digital Product

Create an account on Gumroad, and start creating digital products and selling. Then use their overlay widget on your website

Photo by Le Buzz on Unsplash

1. Verasity

2. Green Life Energy

3. Veechain

4. Decentraland

5. Ethereum

To buy any of these cryptocurrencies I suggest you use Binance.

Binance is a cryptocurrency exchange that is currently the largest exchange in the world in terms of the daily trading volume of cryptocurrencies.

Register by visiting this link: Binance

Photo by Ferhat Deniz Fors on Unsplash

NFT Generator

1. Bitcoin
2. Solana
3. Luna
4. Green Metaverse Token
5. Synthetix
6. Alpine
7. Lazio
8. Kusama
9. Apecoin
10. Ethereum
11. Filecoin
12. Veechain
13. Keep3r
14. Polygon
15. Green Life Energy
16. Basic Attention Token
17. Monero
18. Mines of Dalarnia
19. Project Galaxy
20. Decentraland
21. Verasity

NOT FINANCIAL ADVICE

Part 2 + short term coins coming soon.

To buy any of these cryptocurrencies I suggest you use Binance.

Binance is a cryptocurrency exchange that is currently the largest exchange in the world in terms of the daily trading volume of cryptocurrencies.

Register by visiting this link: Binance

Photo by Quantitatives on Unsplash

1. Bitcoin(BTC): As you know from a previous article, I hold some bitcoin. In 2022 I’ll be buying more with the goal of reaching 3 BTC in my portfolio.
2. Ethereum(ETH): Same as Bitcoin. The goal is to reach 10 ETH
3. Solana(SOL): Named the Ethereum killer. Lots of interesting projects are being developed using its blockchain.
4. Ripple(XRP)
5. Stellar
6. Decentraland(MANA)
7. Enjin Coin(ENJ)
8. The Sandbox(SAND)
9. Star Atlas(ATLAS)
10. Metaverse Index Token(MVI): This is not really a cryptocurrency but definitely worth checking out. It contains all/most of the metaverse tokens.
11. Polkadot(DOT): Has potential
12. Chainlink
13. Polygon(MATIC): A must-buy for me. Amazing projects built and more coming.
14. Pancake Swap(CAKE)
15. Uniswap
16. Illuvium
17. Moonriver
18. Loopring
19. Cardano(ADA): I have some and want more
20. Veechain
21. Shiba Inu(SHIB)
22. Dogecoin(DOGE)

Cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin and ether offer a number of benefits, and one of the most fundamental is not requiring trust in an intermediary institution to send payments, which opens up their use to anyone around the globe. But one key drawback is that cryptocurrencies’ prices are unpredictable and have a tendency to fluctuate, often wildly.

This makes them hard for everyday people to use. Generally, people expect to be able to know how much their money will be worth a week from now, both for their security and their livelihood.

Cryptocurrency’s unpredictability comes in contrast to the generally stable prices of fiat money, such as U.S. dollars, or other assets, such as gold. Values of currencies like the dollar do change gradually over time, but the day-to-day changes are often more drastic for cryptocurrencies, which rise and fall in value regularly.

Stablecoins in a nutshell

Stablecoins try to tackle price fluctuations by tying the value of cryptocurrencies to other more stable assets – usually fiat currencies. Fiat is the government-issued currency we’re all used to using on a day-to-day basis, such as dollars or euros.

Usually, the entity behind a stablecoin will set up a “reserve” where it securely stores the asset or basket of assets backing the stablecoin – for example, $1 million in an old-fashioned bank (the kind with branches and tellers and ATMs in the lobby) to back up one million units of a stablecoin.

This is one-way digital stablecoins are pegged to real-world assets. The money in the reserve serves as collateral for the stablecoin – meaning whenever a stablecoin holder wishes to cash out their tokens, an equal amount of whichever asset backs it is taken from the reserve.

There is a more complex type of stablecoin that is collateralized by other cryptocurrencies rather than fiat yet still is engineered to track a mainstream asset like the dollar.

Types of stablecoin collateral

Using this framework, stablecoins come in a range of flavors, and the collateralized stablecoins use a variety of types of assets as backing:

• Fiat: Fiat is the most common collateral for stablecoins. The U.S. dollar is the most popular among fiat currencies, but companies are exploring stablecoins pegged to other fiat currencies as well, such as BiLira, which is pegged to the Turkish lira.
• Precious metals: Some cryptocurrencies are tied to the value of precious metals such as gold or silver.
• Cryptocurrencies: Some stablecoins even use other cryptocurrencies, such as ether, the native token of the Ethereum network, as collateral.
• Other investments: Tether’s USDT was once supposed to be backed 1-for-1 with dollars but its collateral mix has shifted over time and in a breakdown provided in 2021 the company said nearly half its reserves are in commercial paper, a form of short-term corporate debt. It has not disclosed the issuers of this paper but claims it is all rated A-2 or higher (A-2 is the second-best grade available for a corporate borrower from credit rating agencies like Standard & Poor’s). Circle’s USDC, similarly, lists unspecified “approved investments” alongside accounts at federally insured banks (notably, it does not say whether the accounts themselves are insured) in its monthly disclosures.

Popular Stablecoins

• Tether(USDT)
• USD Coin(USDC)
• Binance USD(BUSD)
• Terra USD(UST)
• Dai(DAI)

A typical way many try to make a return in crypto with little to no involvement is through buying and holding crypto – also known in the industry as “HODLing.” This means an investor is prepared to purchase a digital asset with the mindset that its price will hopefully rise significantly sometime in the future. Such investors are ready to go the distance as this long-term strategy might require them to hold their positions anywhere between six months to five years. Through the duration of this investment, an investor does not have to be proactive in the crypto market. They only need to buy the digital asset and store it in a secure wallet – preferably a non-custodial wallet.

• A wallet is a device or app where you can store a special key (private key) that gives access to your cryptocurrencies. The non-custodial variants let you store the private key in your personal devices, including a computer, mobile phone, or purpose-built wallet devices. With this, you have complete control over your private keys and, ultimately, your digital assets. By comparison, with a custodial wallet, a third party controls your private keys.

However, simply buying and holding a crypto asset for any length of time does not guarantee you will make a profit. In fact, it’s very possible you could lose money. As such, exclusively HODLing crypto cannot be considered a truly passive income generator.

Proof-of-stake (PoS) staking

Proof-of-stake is a type of blockchain consensus mechanism designed to allow distributed network participants to reach an agreement on new data entering the blockchain. Note that blockchains enable open and decentralized networks where participants contribute to governance and processes involved in validating transactions. This is critical because such a community-focused approach eliminates the need for central authorities like banks. In most cases, blockchains randomly pick participants, elevate them to the status of validators, and reward them for their efforts.

The systems used to pick validators vary from blockchain to blockchain. Some blockchain networks require users to deposit or commit their financial resources to the network. Here, the blockchain selects validators from a pool of users that have staked a specified sum of its native digital asset. In return, validators earn interest on the staked funds for contributing to the validity of the network. This validation mechanism is what is called proof-of-stake. It provides an opportunity for holders (those in it for the long haul) to generate passive income.

Knowing fully well that transaction validation might be technically tasking, you could opt for PoS blockchains that allow you to delegate your stakes to other participants who are ready to take up the technical requirements of staking. Understandably, the reward distributed to validators is slightly higher than that of a delegator. Some of the PoS blockchains you could consider are:

• Cardano
• Ethereum 2.0
• Polkadot
• Solana

For even more convenience, you could adopt one of the several staking services available today. With these platforms, you can deposit a fraction of the number of digital assets required by the blockchain. For example, you normally have to deposit a minimum of 32 ETH on the Ethereum 2.0 blockchain to become a validator. With a third-party Ethereum staking service, however, you could deposit as little as 5 ETH to start accruing interest.

Interest-bearing digital asset accounts

Holders can take advantage of interest-bearing crypto accounts to earn fixed interest on their idle digital assets. Think of this as putting money in an interest-earning bank account. The only difference is that this service supports only crypto deposits. Instead of holding digital assets in your wallets, you can deposit them in these accounts and receive daily, weekly, monthly or yearly earnings, depending on the predefined interest rates. Crypto service providers that offer such products include:

• Nexo
• Celsius Network
• SwissBorg
• BlockFi

Lending

Lending has become one of the most popular crypto services in both the centralized and decentralized segments of the crypto industry. As an investor, you can lend your digital assets to borrowers for a chance to earn interest. There are four main lending strategies you could opt for:

Peer-to-peer lending: Platforms that provide such services enable systems that allow users to set their terms, decide the amount they want to lend and the interest they intend to generate on loans. The platform matches lenders with borrowers, similar to how P2P (peer-to-peer) trading platforms match buyers and sellers. Such lending systems provide users with a certain degree of control when it comes to crypto lending. However, you have to deposit your digital asset on the lending platform’s custodial wallet beforehand.

Centralized lending: In this strategy, you rely solely on the lending infrastructure of third parties. Here, the interest rates are fixed, so are the lock-up periods. Like P2P lending, you have to transfer your crypto to the lending platform to start earning interest.

Decentralized or DeFi lending: This strategy allows users to execute lending services directly on the blockchain. Unlike the P2P and centralized lending strategies, there are no intermediaries involved in DeFi lending. Instead, lenders and borrowers interact with programmable and self-executing contracts (also known as smart contracts), which autonomously and periodically set interest rates.

Margin lending: Lastly, you could lend your crypto assets to traders interested in using borrowed funds to trade. These traders amplify their trading position with borrowed funds and repay the loans with interest. In this case, crypto exchanges do most of the work on your behalf. All you need to do is make your digital asset available.

Cloud mining

Unlike the proof-of-stake mechanism explained earlier, some blockchains, including Bitcoin, opt for a more computer-intensive approach where users need to prove the eligibility of their claim to become validators (more commonly called miners) by competing against each other to solve highly complex mathematical puzzles. This process is called crypto mining. Due to the competitiveness of this consensus mechanism, miners have to invest in powerful computers and pay exorbitant electricity bills.

Undoubtedly, this venture is time-consuming and technical. And so, investors often opt for an alternate approach called cloud mining. With this, you can pay third parties to take up the technical aspect of crypto mining on your behalf. In essence, you pay a platform that offers such services a lump sum to rent or buy mining machines from their mining facilities. After this first payment, you might have to pay a daily maintenance fee so that the cloud mining service provider can help you manage your mining rigs.

As exciting as this sounds, it comes with lots of risks. Cloud mining has been a subject of controversy ever since it became widely adopted. There have been several cases of scams due to the remote nature of this mining venture. Therefore, you should carry out due diligence before opting for this option.

Dividend-earning tokens

Certain tokens offer holders a fraction of the revenue of the company that issued them. All you need to do is hold the token, and you are automatically eligible to receive a certain percentage of the company’s revenue. The number of tokens you own determines the share of the revenue you would receive. An example of this is KuCoin Shares (KCS), where holders receive a daily share of transaction fees accrued by the KuCoin blockchain asset exchange. The amount received is proportional to the amount of KCS tokens each holder stakes.

Yield farming

Yield farming is another decentralized, or DeFi, method of earning passive crypto income. This is made possible by the dynamic operations of decentralized exchanges, which are basically trading platforms where users rely on the combination of smart contracts (programmable and self-executing computer contracts) and investors for the liquidity necessary to execute trades. Here, users do not trade against brokers or other traders. Instead, they trade against funds deposited by investors – known as liquidity providers – into special smart contracts known as liquidity pools. In turn, liquidity providers receive a proportional amount of trading fees from the pool.

To start earning passive income via this system you first have to take up the role of a liquidity provider (LP) on a DeFi exchange such as Uniswap, Aave, or PancakeSwap.

To start earning these fees, you have to deposit a specified ratio of two or more digital assets into a liquidity pool.

• For example, in order to provide liquidity to an ETH/USDT pool, you will need to deposit both ETH and USDT tokens into it.

Once you deposit liquidity, the decentralized exchange will transfer LP tokens representing your share of the total funds locked in the liquidity pool. You can then stake these LP tokens using supported decentralized lending platforms and earn additional interest. This strategy allows you to earn two separate interest rates from a single deposit.

The crypto passive income opportunities listed in this guide are just some of the many ways you can make extra profit with your idle digital assets. Note that none of these opportunities are risk-free. Hence, it is advisable to carry out your own research, seek professional guidance from a qualified financial advisor, and determine what best suits your investment goals.

I’d like to introduce to you: Binance.

The best crypto exchange. Binance has a specific feature known as the Binance Vault that enables you to earn passive income on the crypto you hold with relatively low risk. With Binance, you can just buy crypto, add it to your Earn Vault and sleep knowing your crypto is growing.

To use this, kindly register with Binance using this link: Register With Binance and Get 20%

Source: CoinDesk

The original concept behind the invention of blockchain technology is still a great application. Money transfers using blockchain can be less expensive and faster than using existing money transfer services. This is especially true of cross-border transactions, which are often slow and expensive. Even in the modern U.S. financial system, money transfers between accounts can take days, while a blockchain transaction takes minutes.

2. Financial exchanges

Many companies have popped up over the past few years offering decentralized cryptocurrency exchanges. Using blockchain for exchanges allows for faster and less expensive transactions. Moreover, a decentralized exchange doesn’t require investors to deposit their assets with the centralized authority, which means they maintain greater control and security. While blockchain-based exchanges primarily deal in cryptocurrency, the concept could be applied to more traditional investments as well.

3. Lending

Lenders can use blockchain to execute collateralized loans through smart contracts. Smart contracts built on the blockchain allow certain events to automatically trigger things like a service payment, a margin call, full repayment of the loan, and release of collateral. As a result, loan processing is faster and less expensive, and lenders can offer better rates.

4. Insurance

Using smart contracts on a blockchain can provide greater transparency for customers and insurance providers. Recording all claims on a blockchain would keep customers from making duplicate claims for the same event. Furthermore, using smart contracts can speed up the process for claimants to receive payments.

5. Real estate

Real estate transactions require a ton of paperwork to verify financial information and ownership and then transfer deeds and titles to new owners. Using blockchain technology to record real estate transactions can provide a more secure and accessible means of verifying and transferring ownership. That can speed up transactions, reduce paperwork, and save money.

6. Secure personal information

Keeping data such as your Social Security number, date of birth, and other identifying information on a public ledger (e.g., a blockchain) may actually be more secure than current systems more susceptible to hacks. Blockchain technology can be used to secure access to identifying information while improving access for those who need it in industries such as travel, healthcare, finance, and education.

7. Voting

If personally identifiable information is held on a blockchain, that puts us just one step away from also being able to vote using blockchain technology. Using blockchain technology can make sure that nobody votes twice, only eligible voters are able to vote, and votes cannot be tampered with. What’s more, it can increase access to voting by making it as simple as pressing a few buttons on your smartphone. At the same time, the cost of running an election would substantially decrease.

8. Government benefits

Another way to use digital identities stored on a blockchain is for the administration of government benefits such as welfare programs, Social Security, and Medicare. Using blockchain technology could reduce fraud and the costs of operations. Meanwhile, beneficiaries can receive funds more quickly through digital disbursement on the blockchain.

9. Securely share medical information

Keeping medical records on a blockchain can allow doctors and medical professionals to obtain accurate and up-to-date information on their patients. That can ensure that patients seeing multiple doctors get the best care possible. It can also speed up the system for pulling medical records, allowing for more timely treatment in some cases. And, if insurance information is held in the database, doctors can easily verify whether a patient is insured and their treatment is covered.

10. Artist royalties

Using blockchain technology to track music and film files distributed over the internet can make sure that artists are paid for their work. Since blockchain technology was invented to ensure the same file doesn’t exist in more than one place, it can be used to help reduce piracy. What’s more, using a blockchain to track playbacks on streaming services and a smart contract to distribute payments can provide greater transparency and the assurance that artists receive the money they’re owed.

11. Non-fungible tokens

Non-fungible tokens, or NFTs, are commonly thought of as ways to own the rights to digital art. Since the blockchain prevents data from existing in two places, putting an NFT on the blockchain guarantees that only a single copy of a piece of digital art exists. That can make it like investing in physical art but without the drawbacks of storage and maintenance.

NFTs can have varied applications, and ultimately they’re a way to convey ownership of anything that can be represented by data. That could be the deed to a house, the broadcast rights to a video, or an event ticket. Anything remotely unique could be an NFT.

12. Logistics and supply chain tracking

Using blockchain technology to track items as they move through a logistics or supply chain network can provide several advantages. First of all, it provides greater ease of communication between partners since data is available on a secure public ledger. Second, it provides greater security and data integrity since the data on the blockchain can’t be altered. That means logistics and supply chain partners can work together more easily with greater trust that the data they’ve provided is accurate and up to date.

13. Secure Internet of Things networks

The Internet of Things (IoT) is making our lives easier, but it’s also opening the door for nefarious actors to access our data or take control of important systems. Blockchain technology can provide greater security by storing passwords and other data on a decentralized network instead of a centralized server. Additionally, it offers protection against data tampering since a blockchain is practically immutable.

14. Data storage

Adding blockchain technology to a data storage solution can provide greater security and integrity. Since data can be stored in a decentralized manner, it will be more difficult to hack into and wipe out all the data on the network, whereas a centralized data storage provider may only have a few points of redundancy. It also means greater access to data since access isn’t necessarily reliant on the operations of a single company. In some cases, using blockchain for data storage may also be less expensive.

15. Gambling

The gambling industry can use blockchain to provide several benefits to players. One of the biggest benefits of operating a casino on the blockchain is the transparency it provides to potential gamblers. Since every transaction is recorded on the blockchain, bettors can see that the games are fair and the casino pays out. Furthermore, by using blockchain, there’s no need to provide personal information, including a bank account, which may be a hurdle for some would-be gamblers. It also provides a workaround for regulatory restrictions since players can gamble anonymously and the decentralized network isn’t susceptible to a government shutdown.

Blockchain is in its infancy

Blockchain technology has only been around for a dozen years, and businesses are still exploring new ways to apply the technology to support their operations. With the growing amount of digital data used in our lives, there’s a growing need for the data security, access, transparency, and integrity blockchain can provide.

Source: The Motley Fool

CBDC stands for “central bank digital currency,” a new type of currency that governments around the world are experimenting with. What sets a CBDC apart from established currencies is that proponents hope it can use new payment technology, typically a blockchain, to potentially increase payment efficiency and lower costs.

This new type of currency is still early in its development. Most countries are still only starting to explore the idea, such as the U.S. form of a digital dollar. A few ambitious countries, including China with its digital yuan, South Korea, and Nigeria with eNaira, have already finished a demo and are piloting the technology. But a CBDC has yet to be deployed on a large scale.

Each country exploring a CBDC has its own approach. Several CBDCs are based on the same general principles and blockchain technology underlying Bitcoin, the original cryptocurrency.

Blockchain technology allows many different entities to hold a copy of a history of transactions so that history is distributed and not controlled by a single entity.

Several countries are known to be experimenting with blockchain-inspired CBDCs. Venezuela was a pioneer in this respect, launching its own cryptocurrency, the petro, in 2018. However, the petro is plagued by problems and very few Venezuelans actually use it. Besides Venezuela, the Chinese government is probably the furthest along in creating a CBDC. It is already trialing a digital yuan across several cities. The U.S. Federal Reserve Bank of Boston is collaborating with the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to experiment with a digital dollar as well. Kenya has expressed interest in creating its own.

In DeFi, a smart contract replaces the financial institution in the transaction. A smart contract is a type of Ethereum account that can hold funds and can send/refund them based on certain conditions. No one can alter that smart contract when it’s live – it will always run as programmed.

A contract that’s designed to hand out an allowance or pocket money could be programmed to send money from Account A to Account B every Friday. And it will only ever do that as long as Account A has the required funds. No one can change the contract and add Account C as a recipient to steal funds.

Contracts are also public for anyone to inspect and audit. This means bad contracts will often come under community scrutiny pretty quickly.

This does mean there’s currently a need to trust the more technical members of the Ethereum community who can read code. The open-source-based community helps keep developers in check, but this need will diminish over time as smart contracts become easier to read and other ways to prove the trustworthiness of code are developed.

Source: Ethereum Website

• Some people aren’t granted access to set up a bank account or use financial services.
• Lack of access to financial services can prevent people from being employable.
• Financial services can block you from getting paid.
• A hidden charge of financial services is your personal data.
• Governments and centralized institutions can close down markets at will.
• Trading hours often limited to business hours of specific time zone.
• Money transfers can take days due to internal human processes.
• There’s a premium to financial services because intermediary institutions need their cut.

A comparison

1. Axie Infinity(AXS): $136 or Ksh 15,320.40
2. Decentraland(MANA): $4.5 or Ksh 496.79
3. Enjin Coin(ENJ): $3.40 or Ksh 383.10
4. Gala(GALA): $0.605 or Ksh 68.11
5. The Sandbox(SAND): $6.31 or Ksh 710.82
6. Illuvium(ILV): $1,699.31 or Ksh 191,342.31

To buy these, I recommend you use Binance: The best cryptocurrency exchange where you can make passive income just for holding your crypto in their savings vault: Register for Binance Today and Get 5%

To find more gaming tokens, check out: CoinMarketCap

As per a recent Bloomberg report, Bank of Tanzania Governor Florens Luoga mentioned that Tanzania was contemplating following Nigeria’s precedent in rolling out its own central bank digital currency. Luoga allegedly mentioned that the central bank had “allegedly begun preparations” for a digital shilling, Tanzania’s currency since the year 1966.

Amidst the preparation to launch a central bank digital currency, the governor mentioned that Tanzania is also mulling over expanding research into digital currencies and reinforcing the capacity of central bank officials. If the plan comes out to be successful, the nation would be among a select group of jurisdictions presently exploring a rollout of a CBDC.

Numerous industry experts are looking at China guiding the way to the next CBDC launch from a major world economy. The nation’s central bank has carried out pilots in major cities since the month of April 2020 and is planning a substantial test at the Beijing Winter Olympics, next year.

As per Luoga, the initiative from Tanzania’s central bank was impelled by Nigeria’s launch of its own central bank digital currency, the eNaira, last month. It is to be noted that the CBDC is only the 2nd to be fully available to the public subsequent to the Bahamas becoming the 1st country in the world to launch a CBDC in the month of October, last year.

Source: TheFutureisNow

What is an NFT?

An NFT is a digital asset that represents real-world objects like art, music, in-game items, and videos. They are bought and sold online, frequently with cryptocurrency, and they are generally encoded with the same underlying software as many cryptos.

Although they’ve been around since 2014, NFTs are gaining notoriety now because they are becoming an increasingly popular way to buy and sell digital artwork. A staggering $174 million has been spent on NFTs since November 2017.

NFTs are also generally one of a kind, or at least one of a very limited run, and have unique identifying codes. “Essentially, NFTs create digital scarcity,” says Arry Yu, chair of the Washington Technology Industry Association Cascadia Blockchain Council and managing director of Yellow Umbrella Ventures.

This stands in stark contrast to most digital creations, which are almost always infinite in supply. Hypothetically, cutting off the supply should raise the value of a given asset, assuming it’s in demand.

But many NFTs, at least in these early days, have been digital creations that already exist in some form elsewhere, like iconic video clips from NBA games or securitized versions of digital art that’s already floating around on Instagram.

For instance, famous digital artist Mike Winklemann, better known as “Beeple” crafted a composite of 5,000 daily drawings to create perhaps the most famous NFT of the moment, “EVERYDAYS: The First 5000 Days,” which sold at Christie’s for a record-breaking $69.3 million.

Anyone can view the individual images—or even the entire collage of images online for free. So why are people willing to spend millions on something they could easily screenshot or download?

Because an NFT allows the buyer to own the original item. Not only that, it contains built-in authentication, which serves as proof of ownership. Collectors value those “digital bragging rights” almost more than the item itself.

How Is an NFT Different from Cryptocurrency?

NFT stands for non-fungible token. It’s generally built using the same kind of programming as cryptocurrency, like Bitcoin or Ethereum, but that’s where the similarity ends.

Physical money and cryptocurrencies are “fungible,” meaning they can be traded or exchanged for one another. They’re also equal in value—one dollar is always worth another dollar; one Bitcoin is always equal to another Bitcoin. Crypto’s fungibility makes it a trusted means of conducting transactions on the blockchain.

NFTs are different. Each has a digital signature that makes it impossible for NFTs to be exchanged for or equal to one another (hence, non-fungible). One NBA Top Shot clip, for example, is not equal to EVERYDAYS simply because they’re both NFTs. (One NBA Top Shot clip isn’t even necessarily equal to another NBA Top Shot clip, for that matter.)

How Does an NFT Work?

NFTs exist on a blockchain, which is a distributed public ledger that records transactions. You’re probably most familiar with blockchain as the underlying process that makes cryptocurrencies possible.

Specifically, NFTs are typically held on the Ethereum blockchain, although other blockchains support them as well.

An NFT is created, or “minted” from digital objects that represent both tangible and intangible items, including:

• Art

• GIFs

• Videos and sports highlights

• Collectibles

• Virtual avatars and video game skins

• Designer sneakers

• Music

Even tweets count. Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey sold his first-ever tweet as an NFT for more than $2.9 million.

Essentially, NFTs are like physical collector’s items, only digital. So instead of getting an actual oil painting to hang on the wall, the buyer gets a digital file instead.

They also get exclusive ownership rights. That’s right: NFTs can have only one owner at a time. NFTs’ unique data makes it easy to verify their ownership and transfer tokens between owners. The owner or creator can also store specific information inside them. For instance, artists can sign their artwork by including their signature in an NFT’s metadata.

What Are NFTs Used For?

Blockchain technology and NFTs afford artists and content creators a unique opportunity to monetize their wares. For example, artists no longer have to rely on galleries or auction houses to sell their art. Instead, the artist can sell it directly to the consumer as an NFT, which also lets them keep more of the profits. In addition, artists can program in royalties so they’ll receive a percentage of sales whenever their art is sold to a new owner. This is an attractive feature as artists generally do not receive future proceeds after their art is first sold.

Art isn’t the only way to make money with NFTs. Brands like Charmin and Taco Bell have auctioned off themed NFT art to raise funds for charity. Charmin dubbed its offering “NFTP” (non-fungible toilet paper), and Taco Bell’s NFT art sold out in minutes, with the highest bids coming in at 1.5 wrapped ether (WETH)—equal to $3,723.83 at time of writing.

Nyan Cat, a 2011-era GIF of a cat with a pop-tart body, sold for nearly $600,000 in February. And NBA Top Shot generated more than $500 million in sales as of late March. A single LeBron James highlight NFT fetched more than $200,000.

Even celebrities like Snoop Dogg and Lindsay Lohan are jumping on the NFT bandwagon, releasing unique memories, artwork and moments as securitized NFTs.

How to Buy NFTs

If you’re keen to start your own NFT collection, you’ll need to acquire some key items:

First, you’ll need to get a digital wallet that allows you to store NFTs and cryptocurrencies. You’ll likely need to purchase some cryptocurrency, like Ether, depending on what currencies your NFT provider accepts. You can buy crypto using a credit card on platforms like Coinbase, Kraken, eToro and even PayPal and Robinhood now. You’ll then be able to move it from the exchange to your wallet of choice.

You’ll want to keep fees in mind as you research options. Most exchanges charge at least a percentage of your transaction when you buy crypto.

Popular NFT Marketplaces

Once you’ve got your wallet set up and funded, there’s no shortage of NFT sites to shop. Currently, the largest NFT marketplaces are:

• OpenSea.io: This peer-to-peer platform bills itself a purveyor of “rare digital items and collectibles.” To get started, all you need to do is create an account to browse NFT collections. You can also sort pieces by sales volume to discover new artists.

• Rarible: Similar to OpenSea, Rarible is a democratic, open marketplace that allows artists and creators to issue and sell NFTs. RARI tokens issued on the platform enable holders to weigh in on features like fees and community rules.

• Foundation: Here, artists must receive “upvotes” or an invitation from fellow creators to post their art. The community’s exclusivity and cost of entry—artists must also purchase “gas” to mint NFTs—means it may boast higher-caliber artwork. For instance, Nyan Cat creator Chris Torres sold the NFT on the Foundation platform. It may also mean higher prices — not necessarily a bad thing for artists and collectors seeking to capitalize, assuming the demand for NFTs remains at current levels, or even increases over time.

Although these platforms and others are host to thousands of NFT creators and collectors, be sure you do your research carefully before buying. Some artists have fallen victim to impersonators who have listed and sold their work without their permission.

In addition, the verification processes for creators and NFT listings aren’t consistent across platforms — some are more stringent than others. OpenSea and Rarible, for example, do not require owner verification for NFT listings. Buyer protections appear to be sparse at best, so when shopping for NFTs, it may be best to keep the old adage “caveat emptor” (let the buyer beware) in mind.

Source: Forbes

1. Register in a Cryptocurrency Exchange. There’s Binance, Coinbase, and more. I suggest Binance. So if you’d like to register. here’s the link: Register on Binance Today!

   You’ll be required to submit proof of identification.

2. Set up how you will buy them e.g card, bank, or mpesa

3. Go buy your first crypto. I suggest Ethereum or Bitcoin

Simple as that!

DeFi is short for “decentralized finance,” an umbrella term for a variety of financial applications in cryptocurrency or blockchain geared toward disrupting financial intermediaries.

DeFi draws inspiration from blockchain, the technology behind the digital currency bitcoin, which allows several entities to hold a copy of a history of transactions, meaning it isn’t controlled by a single, central source.

Asset Management

One of the biggest impacts of Defi is that users can now enjoy more control of their own assets. Many of the top DeFi projects are offering solutions that allow the users to manage their assets, including — buying, selling, and transferring digital assets. Thus, the users can even earn interest from their digital assets too.

On contrary to the traditional financial system, DeFi allows users to maintain the privacy of their sensitive data. Think of the private keys or passwords for your financial accounts — you had to share that information with relevant organizations earlier.

Now, different DeFi projects, like Metamask, Argent, or Gnosis Safe are helping the users to encrypt and store those pieces of information on their personal devices. This ensures that only the users have the access to their accounts and can manage their assets. So, asset management is one of the most practical decentralized finance uses cases to the users.

Complying to AML and CFT Measurements through KYT Mechanism

Traditional financial systems focus heavily on Know-Your-Customer (KYC) protocols. KYC guidelines are its biggest compliance tool for implementing Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Countering-the-Financing-of-Terrorism (CFT) measurements.

However, KYC guidelines often contradict the privacy efforts of DeFi. DeFi answers this issue with a newer concept called — Know-Your-Transaction (KYT) mechanism. This mechanism suggests that the decentralized infrastructure would focus on transaction behaviors digital addresses rather than the identity of the users.

So, KYT solves two issues at the same time — monitoring the real-time behavior of the transactions and ensuring the privacy of the users. This makes KYT one of the major scopes for decentralized finance use cases.

Read More: What is DeFi?

Decentralized Autonomous Organizations or DAOs

The DAOs are the counterpart of centralized financial organizations in DeFi — making it one of the pillars of decentralized finance use cases.

In the traditional system, centralized financial organizations play a massive role. These organizations serve as administrative entities that manage the core financial operations, such as — fundraising, managing assets, implementing governance, etc.

The Ethereum blockchain ecosystem introduced decentralized organizations to serve the same goals. However, DAOs are by nature decentralized and don’t adhere to the boundaries imposed by central governments or authorities.

Analytics and Risk Management Tools

Transparency and decentralization paved the way to discover and analyze an unprecedented amount of data for the users. With access to these data, users can make well-informed business decisions, discover new financial opportunities, and adopt better risk management tactics.

A new breed of data analytics with useful blockchain tools and dashboards has emerged from this industry trend. DeFi projects like DeFi Pulse or CoDeFi Data are bringing an impressive amount of value with analytics and risk management tool.

Now, businesses have become more agile as they are enjoying unforeseen competitive advantages. This is surely one of the more impacting decentralized finance use cases.

Derivatives and Synthetic Assets

Smart contracts allow the creation of tokenized derivatives and it has become one of the most unique DeFi use cases. Tokenizing a derivative means setting the value of a contract based on an underlying financial asset or a set of assets. This underlying financial asset works like a traditional security, meaning it could include — bonds, fiat currencies, commodities, market indexes, interest rates, or stock prices.

Now, tokenization of derivatives is secondary securities, and their value changes with the value of the primary securities (bonds or fiat currencies). Thus, derivatives are essentially creating synthetic assets.

Synthetix and dYdX are some of the leading DeFi projects focused on tokenized derivatives.

The Network Effect of Infrastructure Tooling

In the DeFi ecosystem, the components within a system can connect and interoperate. This design feature is known as composability and acts as a core infrastructure development protocol. As a result, DeFi projects are continuously integrated through a network effect.

The infrastructure tools are notable DeFi use cases. Different DeFi projects, such as — TruffleSuite or InfuraAPI, are good examples in this case.

Improved Digital Identity

Blockchain-based digital identity systems are already getting much traction in recent times. Pairing DeFi protocols with these identity systems could help people access the global economic system.

The traditional approach prizes one’s income or accumulated asset as the nominators for creditworthiness. With DeFi-paired digital identity, it’s possible to consider the other practical attributes, such as — financial activities or professional prowess.

This new type of digital identity could help the underprivileged to access the DeFi applications from anywhere with an internet connection. It could surely be one of the potential use cases.

Insurance

Insurance is one of the major financial industries and has already proven to be one of the major DeFi use cases. The current insurance system is bottlenecked with an abundance of paperwork, age-old audit systems, and bureaucratic insurance claiming procedures.

With the successful implementation of smart contracts, all of these issues with the current system could be solved.

Many DeFi projects (Nexus Mutual, Opyn, and VouchForMe) are even offering blockchain for insurance coverage against DeFi or smart contract risks.

P2P Borrowing and Lending

As DeFi is saying goodbye to the traditional banking systems, a vacuum for the borrowing and lending market has emerged. So, borrowing and lending protocol is one of the vital DeFi use cases.

However, the DeFi ecosystem is more suitable for peer-to-peer (P2P) borrowing and lending efforts. Multiple DeFi projects have already entered the market focusing on this particular use case. Among these projects, Compound and PoolTogether are two well-known names. These projects have autonomous interest-based protocols for borrowing and lending assets.

Payment Solutions

One of the core drivers for DeFi was serving the unbanked or underbanked from the get-go. The inherent traits of DeFi make it well-suited for solving the issues of the current global payment systems. DeFi offers faster, safer, and more transparent solutions compared to legacy systems.

As DeFi drops down the need for middlemen, making payments simpler and more transparent, the DeFi-based blockchain in payment solutions could become appealing to the unbanked population.

Gaming and eSports

Long gone are the days, when video games were nothing but a form of entertainment. Most of the new video games have in-app purchases and loot box features in them. These features enable users to use real-life currency to buy new skins for their characters and tools.

With the use of DeFi, game developers can implement the newer incentive or reward models with DeFi coins. In fact, gaming and eSports will likely become one of the major markets as the users are more tech-savvy and open to newer technologies.

Margin Trading

Margin trading is a common feature of the traditional trading system. In simpler terms, it refers to the act of borrowing money from the brokers to invest and gain short-term gain.

With the use of DeFi, traders don’t need to rely on brokers to borrow. Instead, they could smart contracts to enforce decentralized and non-custodial lending protocols. DeFi projects, such as Compound and dYdX have already implemented such lending blockchain protocols. Some are referring to this practice as — the autonomous money markets.

Prediction Platforms

Despite the stigma around the concept, prediction platforms and the market are very large and attract many users. The rise and use of DeFi, has created an opportunity to develop DeFi-based prediction platforms where users could trade value by forecasting or predicting the outcome of future events. These prediction platforms are peer-to-peer, decentralized, and offer global access.

Augur is one of the leaders in the DeFi ecosystem that specialize in the prediction market. This platform allows the users to place bets on events like — sports, world events, economics, election results, and more.

Savings

Due to the high inflation rate of fiat currencies and the low-interest rates, saving money has become a challenge in the current economy. In fact, the risk-averse middle-class citizens around the world are desperately seeking alternate investment/savings solutions.

Different decentralized finance (DeFi) projects have taken the opportunity to introduce new solutions. Projects like PoolTogether, Dharma, or Argent are showing promises with their no-loss savings ideology.

Tokenization

Asset tokenization is one of the core features of the DeFi ecosystem. Tokenization is the process of — creating, issuing, and managing digital assets on a blockchain network. As any kind of asset could be tokenized and stored on a blockchain, it is essentially creating a new form of economy.

For example, the NFTs are tokenizing unique digital assets that hold value based on the rarity and the demand for any particular digital asset. A plethora of decentralized finance projects are working on tokenizing digital assets for creating, storing, or trading value.

Source: 101Blockchains

DeFi is short for “decentralized finance,” an umbrella term for a variety of financial applications in cryptocurrency or blockchain geared toward disrupting financial intermediaries.

DeFi draws inspiration from blockchain, the technology behind the digital currency bitcoin, which allows several entities to hold a copy of a history of transactions, meaning it isn’t controlled by a single, central source.

Applications and Use Cases of DeFi

• Decentralized exchanges (DEXs): Online exchanges help users exchange currencies for other currencies, whether U.S. dollars for bitcoin or ether for DAI. DEXs are a hot type of exchange, which connects users directly so they can trade cryptocurrencies with one another without trusting an intermediary with their money.
• Stablecoins: A cryptocurrency that’s tied to an asset outside of cryptocurrency (the dollar or euro, for example) to stabilize the price.
• Lending platforms: These platforms use smart contracts to replace intermediaries such as banks that manage lending in the middle.
• “Wrapped” bitcoins (WBTC): A way of sending bitcoin to the Ethereum network so the bitcoin can be used directly in Ethereum’s DeFi system. WBTCs allow users to earn interest on the bitcoin they lend out via the decentralized lending platforms described above.
• Prediction markets: Markets for betting on the outcome of future events, such as elections. The goal of DeFi versions of prediction markets is to offer the same functionality but without intermediaries.

There are more applications that I’ll talk about in part 3 of DeFi.

For now:

Have a nice day!

Once a transaction is carried out in a traditional banking system, its details are recorded in a private ledger owned and monitored by a financial institution. However, in DeFi, the financial transactions are stored in a computer code on a decentralized public ledger. All participants using DeFi applications and platforms have an identical copy of the general ledger.

This ledger holds the information of every transaction in encryption code. Since decentralized blockchain platforms and applications are immutable, the records of ownership cannot be modified or deleted by a third party providing security in verifying transactions and storing their data.

Decentralized Finance works on the traditional financial system and replaces the intermediaries or central authorities with smart contracts. A smart contract is an automated merger, enforces agreements without intermediary involvement, and is easily accessible by anyone with an established internet connection. Most of the protocols work on the Ethereum blockchain, and the decentralized applications are often created using Ethereum.

1. Live below your means

Never before has there been such a rise in self-comparison especially with the invention of Instagram. But forget that for a second. Remember 50% of those people you see flaunting money and living in luxury are in debt and are using loans to keep the facade.

Embrace minimalism and essentialism. Live below your means. Don’t focus on how people view you, focus on yourself. I can assure you 70% out of the 50% are living miserably and in debt. They are depressed and sometimes desire to commit suicide.

Live below your means. Here’s how you know you are living below your means.

You retain close to 30% of your monthly income after all the deductions including water, rent, food, and other bills.

2. Create an emergency fund

An emergency fund usually entails saving up money capable of taking you 3 to 12 months with zero income.

You create an emergency fund by adding up all the bills you need to foot including rent, food, waste, and transport, then adding the occasional self-treatment/payment/enjoyment/leisure, then adding up medical costs/insurance, and finally adding up 20% of the aforementioned additions times 3 or 6 or 12.

Basically, an emergency fund is a fund capable of keeping you alive and healthy for 3 to 12 months. This means food, rent, bills(internet, electricity, waste, water, health, car, among others) times 3 months or 6 months or 12 months. The further the better.

Mine comes up to Ksh. 40,000 or 400 USD per month, now times 6 = Ksh. 240,000 or 2400 USD. Don’t get extravagant because you’ll need to save up the amount you end up with. Remember BASICS and 20% of the basics(for leisure).

3. Manage debt

Not all debt is created equal, there’s good debt and bad debt. Find the difference and manage it. If you can eliminate all debt. The top 10% know how to use debt to create income. Make sure the income is 3x higher than the debt to prevent issues.

4. Invest

Invest immediately you get your income. I’d suggest you invest in index funds if you live in the US and other first-world countries.

Generally, I suggest you invest in stocks, cryptocurrencies, mutual funds, unit trusts, ETFs, NFTs, and others. Rule of thumb: Invest 30%(50% is great) of your income, if you can invest more, do it. Working on an ebook that will teach you more ways to invest and even simplify investing.

Also Read:

5. Get a job or build a business

This is a no-brainer. Apply to jobs or build a business, even better: do both. You need as much money as possible. Don’t be afraid to do “low caliber” jobs. If you can do multiple small jobs without burning out or experiencing degrading health, do it.

6. Create multiple streams of income

This is very important. Find ways you can build multiple streams of income e.g you can write articles even as you build your business or do your job. This will eventually grow into something that makes money for you while you sleep.

The creative economy is a great thing, research and create products then sell them on platforms like Gumroad or Podia. You can also productize your service and sell them.

7. Stay healthy

By staying healthy you keep yourself from getting sick and having to use the money to pay for bills. But that’s not the only thing that it will help with. You will also be in better shape to earn more money and build wealth. Also, consider investing in medical insurance. Find a good one, research the pros and cons before settling.

See a previous post on how you can become healthy.

Remember: Low/NO Sugar, No Soy, Moderate Sodium, High Fat, Low Carbs, More Veggies, More Meat, More Water, More Fiber, Fewer Fruits, More Eggs and Less Frequently(One Meal A Day, One And A Half Meals A Day, Intermittent Fasting, Autophagy)

Also Remember More Sun, More Fermented Foods, More Movement/Exercise.

Also Read:

8. Learn & build your skills

Building skills makes you high value, which means you become twice as likely to be hired every time you learn a new skill or master an old one. The same is true for business, the more skills you learn the more likely you are to attract potential clients.

Also Read:

I’d suggest signing up for Skillshare, use this link to get 1 free premium month worth of content: https://skl.sh/3wxbE9O

I’m currently learning

• Financial Literacy
• Web Design with Figma and Webflow
• Copywriting
• Facebook ADS
• Graphic Design
• Python
• Ruby on Rails
• Golang
• Web Development

9. Start a retirement fund

I know, I know, you are in your teens and twenties, you think you are still young. But trust me, if you want to build wealth, start a retirement fund. Try Roth IRA, 401k, you could also ask your bank if they offer retirement accounts or go with your country’s retirement fund. But make sure you get the most bang for your buck. Requirements for a good retirement fund: 1. The company is regulated and was founded 10 years ago or later 2. The rates are very good(you’ll need to research multiple funds to know if the rate of the one you choose is great) 3. Can be hooked up to your bank of choice, employer and supports manual payments(not primary) - Basically, you need to have an automatic payment system in place where money is automatically deposited into the funds but allows you to top up.

10. Stop gambling

Gambling is a bad habit and could cost you everything.

11. Take responsibility for your life and finances

That’s the end of this post.

To all who take the initiative to put the above into action, “Greatness is coming!”.

More ways will be explained in my ebook: “How to Invest and Build Wealth”. I still don’t have a date but my newsletter subscribers will be among the first to be notified together with a 50% coupon code.

Subscribe to my newsletter down below.

See you soon.

1. Bitcoin(BTC)

2. Ethereum(ETH)

3. Dogecoin(DOGE)

4. TetherUS(USDT)

5. Ripple(XRP)

Go check them out, especially with Dogecoin. Implement the HODL technique. This drop and rise so don’t be afraid and only invest money you don’t mind losing.

To buy these I suggest you try Binance using this link, you’ll get 5%: Binance

See you next time. Stay safe!

Disclaimer: I am not a financial expert, down below is purely my opinion.

1. Money Market Funds ^{Low Risk}

A money market fund mainly invests in short-term debt securities with high credit quality such as treasury bills and commercial paper. This fund is ideal for the conservative low-risk investor who leans towards stability and security for capital invested. Interest is calculated on a daily basis, and credited to the client’s account net of costs.

For example Cytonn’s money market fund can go up to 11% depending with the market.

Currently there are more than 8 Money Market Funds in Kenya.

Here are the ones I know about.

1. Cytonn Money Market Fund
2. Icea Lion DigiTrust
3. Britam Money Market Fund
4. CIC Group Money Market Fund
5. GenCapHela Imara Money Market Fund
6. UAPOld Mutual Money Market Fund

2. Real Estate & Land ^{Moderate Risk}

Real Estate & Land is mainly the buying, selling or renting of real estate or land. Land and Real Estate are assets known to appreciate in value and one of the contributing factors to this, is that the world is running out of land and land prices keep increasing because of it’s demand. Real Estate on the other hand is important as well. Investing in this usually means you are buying a piece of land or housing then wait for it to appreciate in value and then sell or rent it. Many have devised a ploy where they rent land then rent it to other people and they deduct their profits while paying the rest to the official landlord.

Real Estate is a moderate risk high return investment, which means before attempting to invest in this. Lay aside an emergency fund as prices depreciate too. Take a look at this season we are in, it’s prime season for those looking for housing or land but not so good to the sellers.

I know of only 3 way of investing in land and that is through

1. Safaricom Investment Cooperative
2. Cytonn Real Estate
3. Stanlib Fahari - Stanlib Fahari I-REIT is Kenya’s first Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) providing investors with a steady income stream and capital growth. The fund invests at least 75% of its Total Asset Value (TAV) in real estate in strategic locations in Kenya. A maximum of 25% of its TAV is invested in cash investments and cash-like instruments.

3. Shares ^{Moderate Risk}

I talk about this here: How To Buy Your First Share

4. ETFs(Exchange Traded Fund) ^{Moderate Risk}

An exchange traded fund (ETF) is a type of security that involves a collection of securities—such as stocks—that often tracks an underlying index, although they can invest in any number of industry sectors or use various strategies. ETFs are in many ways similar to mutual funds; however, they are listed on exchanges and ETF shares trade throughout the day just like ordinary stock.

The only ETF I know is

1. Absa NewGold ETF - The Barclays/Absa NewGold ETF is an instrument that tracks the price of gold in line with the international markets. It is listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange and trades under the symbol GLD. Any local investor can purchase it through placing an order through their stockbroker.

   If an investor buys the security/share of the NewGold ETF he is effectively buying approximately 1/100th of an ounce of Gold which is held in a secure depository on behalf of investors and is backed by physical gold.

5. Cryptocurrencies ^{High Risk}

A cryptocurrency (or “crypto”) is a digital currency that can be used to buy goods and services, but uses an online ledger with strong cryptography to secure online transactions. Much of the interest in these unregulated currencies is to trade for profit, with speculators at times driving prices skyward.

Just recently they crypto market(all cryptocurrencies) surpassed 1.2 Trillion US Dollars, that’s 131,340,000,000,000.00 Kenyan Shillings. One Bitcoin, the most popular cryptocurrency is at 5,103,850.51 Kenyan Shilling. So you can see the potential cryptocurrencies have. They are a great investment. But you have to be careful as this is a high risk investment, i mean very high risk. Bitcoin and the likes aren’t regulated, if for example hypothetically bitcoin was to disappear from the internet, so would you money. It’s a high risk high return investment.

Here is a list of some cryptocurrencies

1. Bitcoin at 5,103,850.51 Kenyan Shillings
2. Ethereum at 196,334.71 Kenyan Shillings
3. Litecoin at 20,720.36 Kenyan Shillings
4. Bitcoin Cash at 56,694.36 Kenyan Shillings
5. Monero at 16,504.40 Kenyan Shillings

6. Forex ^{High Risk}

Basically investing/trading in other currencies eg USD.

One way to do this is to register with FXPesa

That’s it for today I know I haven’t covered all of them so I’ll save the rest for another day.

Go check out my other post on how I started investing.

Have a great day everyone.

My name is Stephen and welcome to “How I Started Investing”.

My investment journey started with YouTube videos. Specifically Nabo Capital, Money Wise by Rina Hicks and Caroline Mutuko.

I just stumbled upon Nabo Capital’s Money Market video, I researched Money Market Funds and found Cytonn.

So my first investment was 400 bob. It was all I had that day, I downloaded their app, registered and deposited that.

After a few days I met a video by Rina Hicks which helped me further understand Investing.

I immediately put 400 in Bitcoin later that day and within a weeks time got 500. Out of excitement i withdrew, took out the 200 and reinvested 300 in Cytonn’s Money Market Fund. After a while, I invested 450 in bitcoin, sadly I was impatient(thinking i was going to lose my money) and withdrew after 3 weeks at 440, a ksh.10 loss.

Since then I have invested ksh. 2,000 in shares, 700 + on Cytonn Money Market Fund and 500 in Bitcoin.

My shares have a 9% profit but sometimes i get as low as -12% loss in a day, I am still holding on.

Got ksh. 4 + in my money market fund(after 3 weeks).

Got ksh. 79 + in Bitcoins.

My number 1 tip would be: Don’t rush, don’t be impatient, don’t fret when your investment goes into a loss, just hold on a little longer and I can assure you, you won’t regret it.

So that’s it, I suggest you check out there channels.

I personally use Cytonn for Money Market Fund(You can start with as little as ksh. 100), Genghis for shares(same as above, there are share going for as low as 1.23 and the minimum share amount is 100, so that’s ksh. 123.) and Local Bitcoins(where you can also buy for as low as ksh. 100)

Have a great day!

Today I’d like to show you how i bought my first share and how you can too for less than ksh. 200.

1. First you’ll need to get into the right mindset, are you a holder waiting for dividends, are you a semi permanent holder waiting for dividends but once the price shoots up you sell or are you a trader, buying low and selling high almost as fast as a day? Once you identify your category then you can proceed. All the tips below are generalized but i may lean more to my side, the semipermanent.

2. Research investment platforms. A good idea will be to find one that is registered with the Capital Markets Authority(CMA), has a website with online trading support, has a good customer service, supports M-Pesa(if you are a Kenyan) and has an app for whatever device you use(android or iPhone). Once you find that out, you can proceed, I chose Genghis Capital so I’ll be using this down below but you should be able to do the process almost exactly the same.

3. Registration. Now, you will be required to enter your name, ID, bank details and other personal information in order to open a CDS account. I can’t specify because each registration will be different depending with the bank you choose. It will take about a day or 2 for registration to be completed. During this period download their app and research potential stocks or you could just choose the stocks of products and services you like and use.

4. 2 days have passed and you have received your confirmation via email, congrats! You can now call yourself an inve…. Not so fast, you haven’t bought any stocks. They will provide login details or if you registered through the app like me, you’ll be able to login.

5. Now find an investment option, and click shares or stocks or equities. It may be one of those. Once there, you should be greeted with a list of stocks like this one

   

6. Deposit and buy 100 shares or more, minimum is 100 shares, now remember all shares are different, some sell for 1.38 per share others at 1,000 per share, choose according to how much you have and diversify your portfolio. That’s it. You are a share holder and a proud investor. Keep watching the market. You can become a billionaire just by trading stocks like Warren Buffet for example.

Have a wonderful day