CRYPTOTRIFECTA Part Deux: IOTA, TenX, NEM

The crypto market is in a bloodbath. A perfect storm of record-breaking ICOs cashing out of Ethereum, massive profit taking, and the crescendo of Bitcoin scaling civil war about to reach a climax this coming August all provide a backdrop for the market mayhem. Veteran crypto traders are speculating that it's the start of a bear market. Some are already convinced that winter is coming. But not me.

My original Cryptotrifecta was all about Bitcoin, Ethereum, Dash. It's stronger than ever since I wrote that blog post. Ethereum was around $20 back then. As of this writing, Ethereum has "crashed" from a high of $390 to $192, which means that I'm still about 10X ahead (since March). Bitcoin and Dash are doing great too. That's why I'm chill. I've been in crypto long enough now to stay calm whenever the market is in correction mode. Yeah, I probably could've made a killing if I took profits when the market was at its recent peak. But I'm a holder, not a trader. My strategy is to buy low when everyone is panic-selling. That's why I'm embracing this market correction as a buying opportunity. It's during this market downturn that I've completed my Cryptotrifecta Part Deux.

So how do I decide which cryptos to pick? Well, it's a combination of "instinct" (which is backed by countless hours of research), and whether I like the project or not. Also, I tend to favor protocols and actual cryptocurrencies rather than overhyped short-term profit oriented coins and tokens. When I jumped in on Ethereum back in 2014 it was pure instinct and belief on my part that the project was a no-brainer. Smart contracts was the next evolution in blockchain technology.

Bitcoin was the first-killer app in the blockchain space. ICOs is the killer-app of Ethereum. So what's next? Allow me to expound on my next generation crypto picks.

 

 

IOTA (MIOTA)

"In the beginning there was an address with balance containing all the tokens." ~ Gospel of IOTA Tangle

IOTA has been on my radar for a while now. But I missed out on its early token distribution. It skyrocketed in the top 10 on CoinMarketCap when it debut on Bitfinex a few weeks ago. Its market cap exceeded $1 Billion. The price was too high for me to get into it at that time. But the price has already dipped more than 50% in the recent crypto market crash. So I took this opportunity to swoop in and solidify my position.

IOTA is a keeper. It's the most technologically advanced project in the crypto space. It has solved the glaring problems plaguing blockchain technology by leapfrogging blockchain altogether with DAG (Directed Acrylic Graph, aka Tangle). Its stated primary use case is to be the protocol for machine-to-machine transactions in the coming age of Internet of Things (IOT) as well as to provide a communication between blockchains (i.e. by acting as an oracle). But, in theory, once smart contracts are added to its protocol, it can eat up all blockchain technology. Think about it: IOTA has zero fees and scales infinitely as more transactions are added to the network. It's the holy grail for micro payments. But don't just take my word for it. Educate yourself, read up on it, and check out the IOTA Reddit AMA.

If the crypto space is a race between the best tech, then it's game over. IOTA has won it by now. However, the best technology doesn't always win. First mover advantage, network effects, user adoption, and market ignorance trump technology. That's why Bitcoin and Ethereum are the alpha cryptos despite their scaling problems and unusability for micropayment transactions. But whether it will stay that way a year or two from now is another story. The crypto space is in flux and constantly moving fast and furious. IOTA's success is not guaranteed. But I believe in the superiority of its technology enough that I'm supporting this project by scooping up shitloads of MIOTA (mega IOTAs). If and when IOTA succeeds, then hold on to your butts. It will render blockchain technology obsolete and could even bring about the birth of Skynet :)

TenX (PAY)

"...making any blockchain asset spendable instantly" ~ TenX Whitepaper

TenX is a unicorn ICO that already had a working product before its token sale. It has a clear mission and vision in its roadmap. It's backed by a solid team of passionate people. And it's the most transparent team I've seen in the crypto space. I always look forward to Dr./Pro Kite Surfer/CVO Julian Hosp's uber-enthusiastic updates on their team's latest developments. But more importantly, I'm backing this project because I want to get my hands on the TenX card once it's available in the U.S. It just looks so slick and usable!

If TenX succeeds then everyone can spend their digital assets anywhere in the world where VISA and Mastercard are accepted. Granted, this use case is in a highly competitive space. But I believe that TenX has a big lead ahead of its competition and with a more solid and ambitious vision.

In addition, TenX is not just a debit card. It's also building the COMIT protocol which will enable instant transactions on any digital asset. The TenX team is ready to slug it out in the crypto space for the long haul. Based on what I've seen so far, I'm convinced that they have a dedicated and passionate team which can pull it off with a high probability of success.

NEM (XEM)

"NEM is a movement that aims to empower individuals by creating a new economy based on the principles of decentralization, financial freedom, and equality of opportunity." ~ NEM Technical Reference

NEM is the most marginalized crypto among the top cryptos. It rarely gets a mention on mainstream crypto news sites, and barely get the attention of mainstream financial news media. Go figure. Good thing it has a strong community backing in Asia (i.e. Japan).

But make no mistake. NEM is a sleeping giant. It has smart contracts, multisig transactions, namespaces, and Mosaics (similar to Ethereum ERC20 tokens). It's Ripple and Ethereum rolled into one (without the evil part of Ripple). The most unique feature of NEM is its consensus mechanism -- Proof of Importance (PoI).

"NEM’s primary contribution to the crypto currency landscape is a new consensus mechanism called Proof of Importance (PoI). Unlike Proof of Work (PoW), it is environmentally sustainable and does not require large scale computing resources in perpetuity. PoI is similar to Proof of Stake (PoS) except that it is not solely derived from the size of an account’s balance. It incorporates other behaviors that are believed to be positive for the holistic economy. In this way, it attempts to reward active economy participants at the expense of inactive ones and dampens the rich getting richer effect that is inherent to PoS."

In the world of NEM, there are no electricity-sucking tera-hashing centralized mining farms. There's no juvenile civil war between camps with different ideologies. There's no Craig Wright telling everyone who uses Raspberry Pis to "fuck off." The activity of mining is replaced by "harvesting." The release of Catapult promises to extend NEM blockchain with more features that can be utilized by financial institutions. For the latest updates on NEM, there's a new Youtube channel called "Inside NEM." It's about time that NEM gets the marketing attention it deserves. I believe that its technology is sophisticated enough to capture a niche market in the financial industry, specifically in Asia. But it's possible that it could even make an impact on the global banking market once people in the banking industry realize that its technology is way ahead of Ripple.

 

So those are my picks for Cryptotrifecta Part Deux. As I write this the crypto market is bleeding hard. The TaiFu™ 30 Cryptocurrency Market Index is at 68.18. People are in panic, taking profits, losing money, diving in, trolling on Twitter, and praying to the gods of cryptos to make it all stop and get back on going to the moon.

But who the hell knows what will happen in the near future. This coming August is a crucial month for Bitcoin. The cult of SegWit vs. SegWit2x vs. UASF vs. "Stiff Shit, Fuck Off" are in an all-out war. A part of me wants Bitcoin to get out of it intact and be the badass honey badger that it once was. And yet, a part of me just wants to see the grand blockchain experiment explode in a spectacular fashion to make way for next generation decentralized cryptos with sophisticated governance systems, unimpeded by juvenile bickering, trolling, and irreconcilable political ideologies.

There's bloody mayhem in the crypto market. But the future never looked so bright. Stay strong Crypto Jox! See you on the bright side of the moon.