Thai Crypto Companies Hope to Change 'Improper Tax Measures'
Thailand’s leading blockchain and cryptocurrency-related companies are set to meet finance ministry officials to discuss the government’s tax laws, amid fears high levels of taxation will force businesses abroad.
Earlier this month, the government rubberstamped a new decree requiring investors to pay 15% capital gains tax on their cryptocurrency earnings.
The government is also mulling further VAT (value added tax)-related crypto regulations and corporate-specific crypto tax laws – while there has also been talk of a possible initial coin offering ban. The country’s central bank, meanwhile, has requested that all commercial banks refrain from investing and trading in cryptocurrencies.
Thailand’s leading blockchain and cryptocurrency-related companies are set to meet finance ministry officials to discuss the government’s tax laws, amid fears high levels of taxation will force businesses abroad.
Earlier this month, the government rubberstamped a new decree requiring investors to pay 15% capital gains tax on their cryptocurrency earnings.
The government is also mulling further VAT (value added tax)-related crypto regulations and corporate-specific crypto tax laws – while there has also been talk of a possible initial coin offering ban. The country’s central bank, meanwhile, has requested that all commercial banks refrain from investing and trading in cryptocurrencies.
The explanation sounds surreal because it is - cryptocurrency is helping us transcend the traditional sense of humor and elevate our minds to a new plane of consciousness. Or something like that. It does not take an AI to write nonsensical sentences, although they do it better.
The comment section of the video features many people who have seen the light: some ask “why does this make sense?” Others write, “Thanks for this video, I was very confused before and now I know everything.” There are those who are already ordering framed prints of especially great sentences, such as “Hashing that code to get some of that Bitcoin” or getting themselves counterfeit coffee. The possibilities are endless.
The comment section of the video features many people who have seen the light: some ask “why does this make sense?” Others write, “Thanks for this video, I was very confused before and now I know everything.” There are those who are already ordering framed prints of especially great sentences, such as “Hashing that code to get some of that Bitcoin” or getting themselves counterfeit coffee. The possibilities are endless.
🔔Subscribers, our rubric 1 etherium per week continues.😵
💎 Sent 1 ETH every week to the new ICO, after 12 months, see what happens. 💎
And the next step was the project "DFINITY"
⭐️Evaluation of ICO DFINITY ⭐️
♻️Project DFINITY (Decentralized InFINITY) – is a public network of client computers providing a "decentralized world compute cloud" where software can be installed and run with all the usual benefits expected of "smart contract" systems hosted on a traditional blockchain. The underlying technology is also designed to support highly resilient tamperproof private clouds that provide the added benefit that hosted software can call into smart contracts on the public cloud.
☹️I'm here without BONUS
Egretia project website: https://dfinity.org/
Overview of ICODrops: https://icodrops.com/dfinity/
Level of Interest: High
—------------------------------------------------ —----------------------
🚀Portfolio of the experiment: https://portfolio.icodrops.com/ 🚀
—------------------------------------------------ —----------------------
✅P.S I remind you that all information and analytics comes in priority in the closed club CryptoTime.
💎 Sent 1 ETH every week to the new ICO, after 12 months, see what happens. 💎
And the next step was the project "DFINITY"
⭐️Evaluation of ICO DFINITY ⭐️
♻️Project DFINITY (Decentralized InFINITY) – is a public network of client computers providing a "decentralized world compute cloud" where software can be installed and run with all the usual benefits expected of "smart contract" systems hosted on a traditional blockchain. The underlying technology is also designed to support highly resilient tamperproof private clouds that provide the added benefit that hosted software can call into smart contracts on the public cloud.
☹️I'm here without BONUS
Egretia project website: https://dfinity.org/
Overview of ICODrops: https://icodrops.com/dfinity/
Level of Interest: High
—------------------------------------------------ —----------------------
🚀Portfolio of the experiment: https://portfolio.icodrops.com/ 🚀
—------------------------------------------------ —----------------------
✅P.S I remind you that all information and analytics comes in priority in the closed club CryptoTime.
Manufacturing and Blockchain: Prime Time Is Yet to Come
Since the Industrial Revolution in the 18th and 19th centuries, manufacturing has exponentially increased in volume and demand; supply chains have grown ever more complex, and industry has progressively required less direct manual labor.
To add even more complexity, we now have a need not only for supply chain management (SCM) but also for business process outsourcing, as well as for corporate social responsibility and sustainability. To succeed, one must continuously innovate and keep up with a rapid technological change.
Since the Industrial Revolution in the 18th and 19th centuries, manufacturing has exponentially increased in volume and demand; supply chains have grown ever more complex, and industry has progressively required less direct manual labor.
To add even more complexity, we now have a need not only for supply chain management (SCM) but also for business process outsourcing, as well as for corporate social responsibility and sustainability. To succeed, one must continuously innovate and keep up with a rapid technological change.
Bitcoin Faces First Close Below This Key Long-Term Support in 2.5 Years
Bitcoin risks closing below the 50-week moving average (MA) – an important long-term support not breached for over 2.5 years.
With the bears already on the offensive following the recent sell-off, prices are likely to suffer if bitcoin closes on Sunday below the key level, currently seen at $7,611.
More worryingly for the bulls, since the cryptocurrency has not traded below the 50-week MA since October 2015, acceptance below it would only add credence to the argument that the long-term bull run has ended.
Bitcoin risks closing below the 50-week moving average (MA) – an important long-term support not breached for over 2.5 years.
With the bears already on the offensive following the recent sell-off, prices are likely to suffer if bitcoin closes on Sunday below the key level, currently seen at $7,611.
More worryingly for the bulls, since the cryptocurrency has not traded below the 50-week MA since October 2015, acceptance below it would only add credence to the argument that the long-term bull run has ended.
Pink Taxis, Red Flags: A Deep Dive Into a Sketchy ICO
It's no secret "buyer beware" has become a mantra in the world of ICOs, where blockchain startups are raising millions, sometimes with just a white paper, a bright idea and a few lines of code.
Indeed, The Wall Street Journal recently found that 271 of 1,450 ICOs it analyzed displayed "red flags that include plagiarized investor documents, promises of guaranteed returns and missing or fake executive teams."
It's no secret "buyer beware" has become a mantra in the world of ICOs, where blockchain startups are raising millions, sometimes with just a white paper, a bright idea and a few lines of code.
Indeed, The Wall Street Journal recently found that 271 of 1,450 ICOs it analyzed displayed "red flags that include plagiarized investor documents, promises of guaranteed returns and missing or fake executive teams."
Sberbank Piloting Russia’s First Official ICO
Russian bank Sberbank CIB and the National Settlement Depository (NRD) are behind the effort of the country’s first official Initial Coin Offering (ICO) which uses the Bank of Russia’s regulatory sandbox, according to local media.
Sberbank CIB is the investment banking arm of major state-owned bank Sberbank, while NRD is part of the Moscow Stock Exchange Group. The two entities are now finalizing plans with the central bank to launch the project by the end of summer 2018.
Igor Bulantsev, head of Sberbank CIB, said that the bank considers the Russian ICO market to be “highly promising.” According to him, many of the bank’s clients “are interested in this new way of fundraising.” All proceeds from this experimental ICO will be used to launch new tokenized online services by Level One, the company running Moscow’s largest lecture hall, according to reports.
Russian bank Sberbank CIB and the National Settlement Depository (NRD) are behind the effort of the country’s first official Initial Coin Offering (ICO) which uses the Bank of Russia’s regulatory sandbox, according to local media.
Sberbank CIB is the investment banking arm of major state-owned bank Sberbank, while NRD is part of the Moscow Stock Exchange Group. The two entities are now finalizing plans with the central bank to launch the project by the end of summer 2018.
Igor Bulantsev, head of Sberbank CIB, said that the bank considers the Russian ICO market to be “highly promising.” According to him, many of the bank’s clients “are interested in this new way of fundraising.” All proceeds from this experimental ICO will be used to launch new tokenized online services by Level One, the company running Moscow’s largest lecture hall, according to reports.
How to Regulate the Future Now and How to Unchain Blockchains
Countries need to experiment, learn, make mistakes and collaborate if they want to succeed in the emerging world of blockchains and tokens.
This could be one way to summarize the content of talks delivered at a conference ‒ “Blockchain – The Game Changer of the 4th Industrial Revolution” ‒ held in Brussels this Thursday. Representatives of the European Commission, European Parliament, European Central Bank, as well as a few hundred attendees including industry regulators, startups, investors, entrepreneurs, and academics from Europe, North America, Australia and Asia were all present at the event.
“Blockchain has empowered a young girl in Zimbabwe not to save her money but to invest and change the lives of many people and hopefully one day get a good return on her investment,” enthused Antanas Guoga, MEP and host of the conference organized in cooperation with Blockchain Centre Vilnius and the diplomatic representations to the EU.
Countries need to experiment, learn, make mistakes and collaborate if they want to succeed in the emerging world of blockchains and tokens.
This could be one way to summarize the content of talks delivered at a conference ‒ “Blockchain – The Game Changer of the 4th Industrial Revolution” ‒ held in Brussels this Thursday. Representatives of the European Commission, European Parliament, European Central Bank, as well as a few hundred attendees including industry regulators, startups, investors, entrepreneurs, and academics from Europe, North America, Australia and Asia were all present at the event.
“Blockchain has empowered a young girl in Zimbabwe not to save her money but to invest and change the lives of many people and hopefully one day get a good return on her investment,” enthused Antanas Guoga, MEP and host of the conference organized in cooperation with Blockchain Centre Vilnius and the diplomatic representations to the EU.
The Record-Breaking $152 Million Battle Over Blockchain Betting Tool Augur
Three years ago, Augur, a prediction market system that runs on the ethereum blockchain, held one of the first initial coin offerings (ICOs), long before the funding mechanism gained mainstream momentum.
Between August 7 and September 5, 2015, the project issued 8.8 million reputation (REP) tokens from a maximum circulating supply of 11 million tokens, each priced below $0.60, to raise over $5 million for the project.
Supported by only a handful of team members, Augur devised a decentralized protocol where outcomes of events could be forecasted in a trustless, peer-to-peer manner and rewarded for accuracy with the financial incentive of a native cryptocurrency: in other words, betting, but without the worry of platform providers or government bureaucrats taking control.
Three years ago, Augur, a prediction market system that runs on the ethereum blockchain, held one of the first initial coin offerings (ICOs), long before the funding mechanism gained mainstream momentum.
Between August 7 and September 5, 2015, the project issued 8.8 million reputation (REP) tokens from a maximum circulating supply of 11 million tokens, each priced below $0.60, to raise over $5 million for the project.
Supported by only a handful of team members, Augur devised a decentralized protocol where outcomes of events could be forecasted in a trustless, peer-to-peer manner and rewarded for accuracy with the financial incentive of a native cryptocurrency: in other words, betting, but without the worry of platform providers or government bureaucrats taking control.
Why the Centrica share price still looks a far safer bet than bitcoin
Having fallen by 28% in the last year, the performance of shares in Centrica (LSE: CNA) has clearly been hugely disappointing. The company has experienced challenges in parts of its business, while regulatory risk has caused investor sentiment to weaken.
However, the company’s recent update suggested that it may be in the process of delivering improved performance. With a turnaround strategy in place, it could offer a better investment opportunity than the perennially volatile virtual currency bitcoin.
Improving outlook
Having fallen by 28% in the last year, the performance of shares in Centrica (LSE: CNA) has clearly been hugely disappointing. The company has experienced challenges in parts of its business, while regulatory risk has caused investor sentiment to weaken.
However, the company’s recent update suggested that it may be in the process of delivering improved performance. With a turnaround strategy in place, it could offer a better investment opportunity than the perennially volatile virtual currency bitcoin.
Improving outlook
How to Regulate the Future Now and How to Unchain Blockchains
Countries need to experiment, learn, make mistakes and collaborate if they want to succeed in the emerging world of blockchains and tokens.
This could be one way to summarize the content of talks delivered at a conference ‒ “Blockchain – The Game Changer of the 4th Industrial Revolution” ‒ held in Brussels this Thursday. Representatives of the European Commission, European Parliament, European Central Bank, as well as a few hundred attendees including industry regulators, startups, investors, entrepreneurs, and academics from Europe, North America, Australia and Asia were all present at the event.
Countries need to experiment, learn, make mistakes and collaborate if they want to succeed in the emerging world of blockchains and tokens.
This could be one way to summarize the content of talks delivered at a conference ‒ “Blockchain – The Game Changer of the 4th Industrial Revolution” ‒ held in Brussels this Thursday. Representatives of the European Commission, European Parliament, European Central Bank, as well as a few hundred attendees including industry regulators, startups, investors, entrepreneurs, and academics from Europe, North America, Australia and Asia were all present at the event.
EOS Tripling by End of July? John McAfee Thinks So
The hype around the EOS digital asset has three days to go - a last chance to quickly register token balances through the official EOS site, or to send the tokens to an exchange. Afterwards, the tokens become inactive and owners may have to wait for a workaround to receive assets on the new EOS blockchain.
With five more auctions including today, EOS has settled around the $12 range. The market price is around $12.91, with a 4% growth overnight. However, the hype is wearing out, and EOS peaked weeks ahead of the mainnet launch.
The hype around the EOS digital asset has three days to go - a last chance to quickly register token balances through the official EOS site, or to send the tokens to an exchange. Afterwards, the tokens become inactive and owners may have to wait for a workaround to receive assets on the new EOS blockchain.
With five more auctions including today, EOS has settled around the $12 range. The market price is around $12.91, with a 4% growth overnight. However, the hype is wearing out, and EOS peaked weeks ahead of the mainnet launch.
Amid Chaos, Our Decentralized Future Is Being Built
Bitcoin was not alone in this volatility, either. In the eleven months following Consensus 2017, $8.3 billion was raised in initial coin offerings, according to CoinDesk's ICO Tracker. At its peak in early January, the market capitalization for all cryptocurrencies and digital tokens listed on coinmarketcap.com surpassed $831 billion, a 900 percent rise from May 2017. As Consensus 2018 wrapped up recently week it was $375 billion.
With all this money being made and lost, and the "What the hell is going on?" questions it provoked among the general public, bitcoin, cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology were thrust into the headlines. Suddenly, they were topics of conversation at dinner tables. Mothers were asking their crypto-obsessed teenagers what coin to buy.
And those of us who'd floated around the space for some years were looked upon with intrigue: Are you one of them? A bitcoin billionaire? (For the record, I most decidedly am not.)
Bitcoin was not alone in this volatility, either. In the eleven months following Consensus 2017, $8.3 billion was raised in initial coin offerings, according to CoinDesk's ICO Tracker. At its peak in early January, the market capitalization for all cryptocurrencies and digital tokens listed on coinmarketcap.com surpassed $831 billion, a 900 percent rise from May 2017. As Consensus 2018 wrapped up recently week it was $375 billion.
With all this money being made and lost, and the "What the hell is going on?" questions it provoked among the general public, bitcoin, cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology were thrust into the headlines. Suddenly, they were topics of conversation at dinner tables. Mothers were asking their crypto-obsessed teenagers what coin to buy.
And those of us who'd floated around the space for some years were looked upon with intrigue: Are you one of them? A bitcoin billionaire? (For the record, I most decidedly am not.)
A New Twist On Lightning Tech Could Be Coming Soon to Bitcoin
Bitcoin's lightning network may be just starting to send transactions over the blockchain, but already its developers are looking to rearchitect the technology.
That's because, while touted as a way to significantly boost bitcoin's capacity, the network itself does require users to store a significant amount of data, which makes it difficult to download and run. As such, several lightning developers – Lightning Labs co-founder 'Laolu' Osuntokun and Blockstream's Christian Decker and Rusty Russell – have published a new proposal which imagines an alternative, "simplified" way of making off-chain transactions called eltoo.
But the new proposal isn't only about condensing the amount of data users need to store, it's also about keeping users' cryptocurrency safe.
For instance, all this data poses another problem in that if users accidentally broadcast older data, they might lose money. As such, this data has been coined "toxic information."
Bitcoin's lightning network may be just starting to send transactions over the blockchain, but already its developers are looking to rearchitect the technology.
That's because, while touted as a way to significantly boost bitcoin's capacity, the network itself does require users to store a significant amount of data, which makes it difficult to download and run. As such, several lightning developers – Lightning Labs co-founder 'Laolu' Osuntokun and Blockstream's Christian Decker and Rusty Russell – have published a new proposal which imagines an alternative, "simplified" way of making off-chain transactions called eltoo.
But the new proposal isn't only about condensing the amount of data users need to store, it's also about keeping users' cryptocurrency safe.
For instance, all this data poses another problem in that if users accidentally broadcast older data, they might lose money. As such, this data has been coined "toxic information."
Crypto Payroll Processor Bitwage Launches ICO Advisory Firm
Cryptocurrency payroll service Bitwage wants to make it easier for companies to launch initial coin offerings (ICOs).
The company announced on Tuesday that it has created a new advisory firm called Inwage, which seeks to help traditional companies develop and hold token sales. The company's platform includes modules for know-your-customer procedures, payment processing and dividends, as well as a customizable front page and an administrative portal, according to the startup.
In addition, Inwage will provide assistance with creating and auditing smart contracts, as well as website security. Clients can also get assistance with marketing and public relations through the new service.
BitWage president Jonathan Chester said the creation of Inwage was prompted by individuals and companies who began asking for advice around the technical and marketing aspects of ICOs.
Cryptocurrency payroll service Bitwage wants to make it easier for companies to launch initial coin offerings (ICOs).
The company announced on Tuesday that it has created a new advisory firm called Inwage, which seeks to help traditional companies develop and hold token sales. The company's platform includes modules for know-your-customer procedures, payment processing and dividends, as well as a customizable front page and an administrative portal, according to the startup.
In addition, Inwage will provide assistance with creating and auditing smart contracts, as well as website security. Clients can also get assistance with marketing and public relations through the new service.
BitWage president Jonathan Chester said the creation of Inwage was prompted by individuals and companies who began asking for advice around the technical and marketing aspects of ICOs.
Can Bitcoin disappear as a whole?
Apart from the security and privacy of your coins there are also other concerns around Bitcoin’s stability and security that deserve our attention. These risks are endemic to Bitcoin’s design and its young ecosystem, and they are often outside of our control.
While there is little we as individuals are able to do about them, understanding these risks helps us understand Bitcoin as a whole, and allows us to make better decisions about how much we can trust the network.
Its proponents advertise Bitcoin as a decentralized network that cannot be controlled by anybody. Indeed, the cryptocurrency experiment now valued at more than US$300 billion is close to impossible to shut down—even its users don’t know how to turn it off.
Some obvious things could stop Bitcoin, of course. But they often raise more complications and are themselves highly complicated.
Apart from the security and privacy of your coins there are also other concerns around Bitcoin’s stability and security that deserve our attention. These risks are endemic to Bitcoin’s design and its young ecosystem, and they are often outside of our control.
While there is little we as individuals are able to do about them, understanding these risks helps us understand Bitcoin as a whole, and allows us to make better decisions about how much we can trust the network.
Its proponents advertise Bitcoin as a decentralized network that cannot be controlled by anybody. Indeed, the cryptocurrency experiment now valued at more than US$300 billion is close to impossible to shut down—even its users don’t know how to turn it off.
Some obvious things could stop Bitcoin, of course. But they often raise more complications and are themselves highly complicated.
2 More Reasons To Be Bullish About Ripple (XRP)
As the crypto-market shows some signs of life, some good news beckons for the Ripple (XRP) community. Two more financial institutions have embraced Ripple technologies in a manner that will improve their daily operations tremendously.
The first institution is a UK-based foreign exchange broker and international payment provider known as Currencies Direct. The firm has successfully completed testing of the xRapid platform that uses XRP. This announcement adds to similar announcements made by Ripple with regards to another round of successful pilot tests of xRapid. These tests managed to save the institutions using xRapid at the time, between 40% to 70% in transaction costs and lowered the time of the transaction from the regular 2 days to 2 minutes.
As the crypto-market shows some signs of life, some good news beckons for the Ripple (XRP) community. Two more financial institutions have embraced Ripple technologies in a manner that will improve their daily operations tremendously.
The first institution is a UK-based foreign exchange broker and international payment provider known as Currencies Direct. The firm has successfully completed testing of the xRapid platform that uses XRP. This announcement adds to similar announcements made by Ripple with regards to another round of successful pilot tests of xRapid. These tests managed to save the institutions using xRapid at the time, between 40% to 70% in transaction costs and lowered the time of the transaction from the regular 2 days to 2 minutes.
Top 5 Coins With Best Investment Risks & Rewards Grades
Weiss Ratings, a veteran firm dedicated to analyzing investments, was the first such institution to publish ratings for cryptocurrencies. Based on what the company calls a, “groundbreaking model that analyzes thousands of data points on each coin’s trading patterns, technology, and usage,” it has drawn the ire of many crypto aficionados after its first release for the low scores it gave most coins.
The ratings agency recently published an updated version of the list, and interestingly, the category of Investment Risk/Reward boasts incredibly low grades. With not a single coin rated above C+ (C = fair), only a total of five is above C-. The five winners, for lack of better word, are listed below.
read more
Weiss Ratings, a veteran firm dedicated to analyzing investments, was the first such institution to publish ratings for cryptocurrencies. Based on what the company calls a, “groundbreaking model that analyzes thousands of data points on each coin’s trading patterns, technology, and usage,” it has drawn the ire of many crypto aficionados after its first release for the low scores it gave most coins.
The ratings agency recently published an updated version of the list, and interestingly, the category of Investment Risk/Reward boasts incredibly low grades. With not a single coin rated above C+ (C = fair), only a total of five is above C-. The five winners, for lack of better word, are listed below.
read more
Long-Time Bitcoin Critic, Nobel Laureate Gives a Hope to Crypto
“Something good may come out of this,” Nobel-winning economist and Yale professor Robert Shiller said when asked about cryptocurrencies in a recent interview with CNBC.
Also, he stressed that Bitcoin is not a bad thing: “I don’t mean to be dismissive of Bitcoin. It looks like a bubble, but it’s getting people enthusiastic and they’re making different kinds of cryptocurrencies.”
However, in his opinion, Bitcoin might fade away, be renamed and go through many hard forks, and might turn out to be a bubble. “Bitcoin won't look anything like it is today. It will have a different name, if it exists. There will have been many hard forks, changing it and changing it. And, it'll be a matter of dispute whether it exists or not.”
When asked whether his students are interested in cryptocurrencies, he laughs and says yes. One even asked him if he could keep his laptop open during a final exam to complete a trade, and he let him as it showed true enthusiasm.
https://youtu.be/u4hR0Q5_8p4
“Something good may come out of this,” Nobel-winning economist and Yale professor Robert Shiller said when asked about cryptocurrencies in a recent interview with CNBC.
Also, he stressed that Bitcoin is not a bad thing: “I don’t mean to be dismissive of Bitcoin. It looks like a bubble, but it’s getting people enthusiastic and they’re making different kinds of cryptocurrencies.”
However, in his opinion, Bitcoin might fade away, be renamed and go through many hard forks, and might turn out to be a bubble. “Bitcoin won't look anything like it is today. It will have a different name, if it exists. There will have been many hard forks, changing it and changing it. And, it'll be a matter of dispute whether it exists or not.”
When asked whether his students are interested in cryptocurrencies, he laughs and says yes. One even asked him if he could keep his laptop open during a final exam to complete a trade, and he let him as it showed true enthusiasm.
https://youtu.be/u4hR0Q5_8p4
YouTube
Yale’s Robert Shiller Suggests Bitcoin’s Future Is In Jeopardy | Trading Nation | CNBC
Nobel Prize-winning economist Robert Shiller questions whether bitcoin will be around in 100 years; he discusses with Sara Eisen. » Subscribe to CNBC: http:/...
The EOS Blockchain Launch: What Should Happen (And What Could Go Wrong)
The world's fifth most valuable cryptocurrency is set to formally release its software this weekend.
First announced in 2017, the EOS project has been fundraising for nearly a year, raising a reported $4 billion in what many are claiming is the largest amount ever collected by a team creating a custom cryptocurrency. As such, the launch, expected for Saturday, has come with no shortage of hype.
The fervor around the unveiling is, in part, due to the diverse discussions long surrounding the project. As detailed by CoinDesk, EOS has long been a target of criticism for its vision and execution, though it has attracted advocates who believe it offers a decentralized alternative to the cloud hosting services that currently dominate the lucrative market for data storage.
The world's fifth most valuable cryptocurrency is set to formally release its software this weekend.
First announced in 2017, the EOS project has been fundraising for nearly a year, raising a reported $4 billion in what many are claiming is the largest amount ever collected by a team creating a custom cryptocurrency. As such, the launch, expected for Saturday, has come with no shortage of hype.
The fervor around the unveiling is, in part, due to the diverse discussions long surrounding the project. As detailed by CoinDesk, EOS has long been a target of criticism for its vision and execution, though it has attracted advocates who believe it offers a decentralized alternative to the cloud hosting services that currently dominate the lucrative market for data storage.