Samara AG Emulates MicroStrategy, Commits €30 Million to Bitcoin Investment
German investment firm Samara Asset Group (AG) has revealed plans to expand its Bitcoin (BTC) portfolio. Relaying the company’s latest decision to the public, Patrick Lowry, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at Samara AG, noted that the investment firm will achieve its aim by issuing €30 million ($32.8 million) in bonds. “We are excited by the prospect of placing this Bond and look forward to using the proceeds to acquire more Bitcoin and continue to seed the world’s best-emerging managers,” Lowry added. Samara AG Aims to Attain MicroStrategy Feat While renowned investment firm Microstrategy is on the verge of becoming the “Largest Bitcoin bank,” Samara AG’s CEO hinted his company could follow in similar footsteps. Interestingly, part of the CEO’s words describing his interest in achieving MicroStrategy’s level went thus: “It would be a dream to stack as much as Michael Saylor’s firm.” Meanwhile, rather than merely imitating MicroStrategy, Samara AG hopes to stand out among other minor digital agencies. Consequently, it will attract traders with significant investment funds, making it one of the top choices for trading adventures. Is Samara AG Enroute To A Profitable Investment? Following recent market trends, it is apparent that the price movement of digital currencies has recovered considerably. Bitcoin, being the key determinant of market flows, portrays promising signals. Its trading price has finally risen above $65,000. Interestingly, Bitcoin’s 24-hour trading volume experienced a 67% upshoot, hitting the $27.29 billion mark after weeks of intense struggles. Meanwhile, at the time of writing, the flagship crypto is changing hands at about $66,350, reflecting a 5.9% upswing in the past 24 hours. Within the same timeframe, BTC fluctuated between $62,464.59 – $66,485.71, underscoring a significant recovery in just a day. Following its remarkable selling price increment, Bitcoin’s market capitalization saw a tremendous leap, bringing its valuation to about $1.3 trillion. In summary, BTC’s market actions testify that Samara AG’s investment decision is already massively paying off.
Bitcoin vs Gold: Which is the Better Inflation Hedge?
Can Bitcoin overthrow Gold’s centuries-old reign as the best hedge over inflation? This question has sparked curiosity among many individuals, financial advisors, and investors. Read Also: How to Get a Bitcoin Wallet Address Gold has been an unrivaled asset that protects currencies and investments over inflation for centuries. Its value has endured through economic storms and market turmoil. Still, things are shifting as Bitcoin, an innovative decentralized digital currency, has emerged to disrupt the traditional financial market as we know it. As inflation continues to rise globally and investors scramble for safe havens, the stage has been set for the showdown between these two assets. Can Bitcoin’s unique qualities outshine the traditional acceptance of physical gold? Will Gold yield to Bitcoin as a better inflation hedge, or will its centuries-old reign remain unbroken? Keep reading to find out more! Key Takeaway Inflation Mike Maloney once said, “Inflation is the hidden tax that destroys the purchasing power of a currency.” This is certainly true today. Inflation is the gradual increase in the overall price level of goods and services in an economy over time. It also measures how quickly prices are rising during a specific period. Here is an example to describe this better: Imagine you had $200 last year and could buy 20 of your favorite Ice Creams with it, but this year, these Ice Creams increased by 20%. Now, your $200 can only buy 16 of them. Read Also: Crypto Burning: Using Artificial Scarcity to Boost Demand That is precisely what inflation does. It reduces your purchasing power. Inflation can be caused by a good number of things, which include: Some notable inflation events in history include: During that period, inflation grew to over 15%, with stagnant economic growth and high unemployment. Prices were often quoted in foreign currencies to maintain a commodity’s price value. Today, inflation has had a significant impact on investments globally. Here are some of its effects: 1. Reduced purchasing power Inflation has slowly eroded the value of money, reducing the purchasing power of investments that generate fixed returns, such as bonds and savings accounts. 2. Stock market volatility Inflation has led to stock market fluctuations, as rising costs and interest rates affect companies’ profits and valuations. 3. Commodity prices Inflation has increased commodity prices, benefiting gold, oil, and real estate investors. 4. Interest rate changes Central banks have raised interest rates to combat inflation, affecting borrowing costs and asset prices. 5. Currency devaluation High inflation has led to currency devaluation, impacting international investments. And companies with strong pricing power pass on costs to consumers to benefit from inflation. Gold as an Inflation Hedge Gold has been considered a reliable store of value and an effective hedge against inflation for centuries. Gold’s price tends to rise during high inflation, maintaining its purchasing power. Here are some periods of high inflation and Gold’s performance. Regardless of these seasons, this asset can maintain purchasing power. This is due to its: However, this asset has some limitations as an inflation hedge, making it a dicey option for investors. These limitations include: Bitcoin as an Inflation Hedge With inflation continuously eroding the purchasing power of traditional currencies like the Dollar, risk-savvy investors quickly turn to alternative assets like Bitcoin to protect their wealth. Today, Bitcoin has emerged as an attractive asset to hedge over inflation. This is because of its limited supply, decentralized nature, and growing adoption. Many investors have touted this digital currency as a modern-day safe-haven asset. Below are some unique benefits that make this asset stand out from other investment assets. A Brief Historical Performance Bitcoin was launched into the world by Satoshi Nakamoto. Its price value was stated at $0.0009. Bitcoin’s price rose from $1 to $1,000 during a period of moderate inflation before it dropped again. Bitcoin experienced a price surge from $600 to $20,000 amidst global economic uncertainty. Bitcoin’s price rose from $7,000 to $64,000 during the COVID-19 pandemic, characterized by high inflation concerns. Bitcoin reached an all-time high of $76,000 amidst the approval of Bitcoin ETFs. Comparison: Bitcoin vs Gold The table below provides an overview of the unique characteristics of Gold and Bitcoin, highlighting their differences and similarities. Features Bitcoin Gold Market Size $1.16 trillion (current market capitalization) $17 trillion (estimated total value of all gold ever mined) Liquidity High liquidity in digital markets, increasing in institutional markets. High liquidity in physical markets, lower in paper markets. Volatility Highly volatile, 50-100% annual volatility. Relatively stable, 1-5% annual volatility. Use Cases Digital payments, smart contracts, decentralized finance (DeFi). Jewelry, coins, bars, industrial applications, payments, Investments. Store of Value Emerging store of value, hedge against inflation, currency devaluation, and systemic risk. Traditional store of value, hedge against inflation and currency devaluation. Durability Digital, not physical, but highly secure through cryptography. Highly durable and resistant to corrosion and decay. Portability Lightweight, easy to transport, and low storage costs. Heavy, difficult to transport, high storage costs. Supply Limited supply, 21 million total, 6.25 BTC mined per block (every 10 minutes). About 2500 – 3000 tonnes of Gold are mined yearly Demand Growing demand for digital payments, DeFi, and institutional investment. There is a high demand for jewelry, coins, and bars. Correlation Low correlation with other assets, emerging safe haven. Low correlation with other assets, traditional safe-haven. Counterparty Risk Low counterparty risk, decentralized, cryptographic ownership. Low counterparty risk, physical ownership. Regulatory Environment The evolving regulatory framework, varying global approaches. Well-established regulatory framework. Security Features Cryptographic security measures (public-key cryptography, blockchain). Physical security measures (vaults, safes). Environmental Effects Growing environmental concerns (energy consumption, e-waste). Alarming environmental impact (mining, processing). Strengths Emerging store of value, high portability, low storage costs, growing demand. Traditional store of value, low volatility, well-established regulatory framework. Weaknesses Highly volatile, regulatory uncertainty, environmental concerns. Heavy, difficult to transport, high storage costs. From the table above, Gold is a traditional store of value with a larger market cap and lower volatility than Bitcoin. This asset is highly recommended for investors with a lower risk
All You Need to Know About Aptos (APT) {Use Case, Market Performance, Roadmap}
Overview Aptos was launched in 2021 and is designed as a Layer-1, Proof-of-Stake (PoS) blockchain network. It was founded by Mo Shaikh and Avery Ching, both of whom have experience with Meta’s Diem project. Aptos (APT) aims to deliver a secure, scalable, and upgradeable blockchain, addressing key issues in existing systems such as high fees and low throughput. It is known for its modular design and the use of the Move programming language, originally developed for Diem. Technology and Underlying Blockchain The Aptos (APT) technology stack was built with key principles of scalability, safety, reliability, and upgradeability at its core. It introduces innovative mechanisms across various components of the stack, enhancing the overall functionality and performance of the network. Let’s explore the technology and underlying blockchain that drives this innovative project. Consensus Mechanism Aptos is a Delegated Proof-of-Stake (DPoS) Layer-1 blockchain that utilizes the AptosBFTv4 consensus protocol. AptosBFT AptosBFT, originally known as DiemBFT, has gone through four iterations during its development at Diem before being adapted for the permissionless Aptos blockchain. The initial version of AptosBFT was built on HotStuff, a consensus protocol derived from traditional practical Byzantine Fault Tolerance (pBFT) protocols. The latest version, AptosBFTv4, is now based on Jolteon, which reduces latency by 50% compared to HotStuff, thanks to a pBFT-style quadratic view change. To further address latency caused by faulty leaders, AptosBFT selects leaders based not only on their staking power but also on their performance, referred to as “reputation.” Quorum Store Aptos throughput was significantly enhanced with the introduction of Quorum Store in the Aptos V1.5 upgrade, completed on July 18, 2023. Quorum Store, an implementation of the Narwhal mempool protocol, optimizes consensus by decoupling data dissemination from consensus. In testing, Quorum Store demonstrated significant improvements, increasing transaction per second (TPS) limits by 12x in a consensus-only test and 3x in an end-to-end test. DPoS (Delegated Proof of Stake) In-protocol delegated staking was introduced on the mainnet on April 20, 2023. To participate as a delegator, users must stake a minimum of 11 APT. This has significantly increased community participation in staking, as becoming a validator requires a minimum stake of 1 million APT (approximately $10.5 million as of December 26, 2023). Staked tokens are locked in a global 30-day cycle. Validators on the Aptos network are compensated through inflationary staking rewards. Additionally, each validator sets their own commission rate, with the remaining rewards passed down to their delegators. Staking rewards are also allocated based on a validator’s reputation, which is determined by both their stake and performance. These rewards are distributed and automatically compounded at the end of each epoch, which lasts two hours. Blockchain Features Aptos (APT) introduces several key innovations to its blockchain architecture: Parallel Execution Aptos uses a parallel execution engine to process transactions more efficiently than many blockchains that rely on sequential execution. Instead of handling transactions one by one, Aptos processes multiple transactions simultaneously. Unlike networks such as Solana, which require users to specify transaction dependencies, Aptos uses Block-STM to manage transactions without these requirements. Block-STM, based on Software Transactional Memory (STM) and Optimistic Concurrency Control (OCC), allows transactions to be executed optimistically. Dependencies are checked afterward, and if conflicts arise, transactions are rolled back and retried. Aptos’s approach improves on traditional OCC by using a preset transaction order to better estimate dependencies and reduce aborts. In benchmarks, Block-STM achieved up to 170,000 transactions per second (TPS) with 32 threads, showcasing a significant performance advantage over sequential execution methods. This high throughput makes Aptos suitable for high-performance blockchain applications. Move Programming Language One of Aptos’ key differentiators is its Move programming language. Move is a bytecode language inspired by Rust, developed by the Diem and Novi teams. It is specifically designed to provide greater flexibility, safety, and minimize errors for developers compared to Solidity and other Web3 programming languages. Move operates with two types of programs, which are transaction scripts and modules. Transaction scripts are atomic and can only be executed once, while modules are published to the global state and persist indefinitely. In addition to the bytecode verifier, developers can use the Move Prover, a formal verification tool that helps ensure correctness. Storage When a block is committed, its data is saved in the storage layer. While blocks are committed collectively, each transaction is stored individually after execution within a Merkle tree. This allows all activities on the blockchain, such as transactions, state changes, and events, to be cryptographically verified against a summary known as the “root hash,” which is validated by the current validator signatures. Unlike other blockchains, which require tracing through a chain of blocks to verify past transactions, this method provides more granular and verifiable data access. To manage the extensive data, Aptos employs two types of Merkle trees, namely the Jellyfish Merkle Tree for disk storage and the in-memory Sparse Merkle Tree for rapid updates. These trees are designed to efficiently handle data storage and support concurrent updates. Read Also: Cold Storage vs. Hot Wallets: Which One Is Safe to Use? Native Token Aptos (APT) Aptos’s native token, APT, serves multiple purposes, which are to ensure security and Sybil-resistance through the validator and delegator staking, cover resource consumption via transaction fees, and facilitate on-chain governance. At its inception, 1 billion APT was allocated across different buckets with various lockup periods. The token distribution for Aptos (APT) has been carefully crafted to support community growth, reward key contributors, and acknowledge the foundational role of the Aptos Foundation and early investors. The distribution breakdown is as follows: Community and Foundation tokens are set to be distributed over ten years, with 125 million APT allocated to community initiatives and 5 million to the Aptos Foundation. This distribution will follow a monthly unlock rate of 1/120th of the remaining tokens, ensuring a controlled and gradual release. In contrast, tokens assigned to core contributors and investors are subject to a four-year lock-up period, reflecting a commitment to long-term development and value growth. Currently, over 82% of the total token