The team here at MEDIA Protocol are deeply committed to creating a more direct, transparent and secure ecosystem for content creators, publishers, and consumers through the revolutionary application of blockchain technology. In fact, it’s the very revolutionary nature of the technology that really excites us.

We’d like to share our thoughts about blockchain technology and how we see it progressing into the future, hopefully demystifying and clarifying some of the misconceptions that currently exist about blockchain and its applications. We want to help create a common understanding of the technology for everyone’s benefit.

This series of articles aims to explore developments within blockchain technology, the relationship between institutional investors and blockchain, and the move towards regulation within the space. We want to help everyone — the marketeers, the technologists, and the content consumers — understand the potential for this game-changing technology.

Strap in, and welcome to the MEDIA Protocol Future Of Blockchain Series.

Part 5 — Trading Platforms

Unlike traditional fiat currencies like the dollar, the value of a cryptocurrency is not tied to regulations by a government or a central bank. This leads to cryptocurrency price swings, which can, and do, occur dramatically, potentially resulting in big profits, for the timely investor. However, consumers have to be aware that an investment that may be worth a couple of thousand in the morning, could literally be worth only a few hundred by night time. The catch? If the value goes down, there’s no guarantee that it will rise again.

Cryptocurrencies have the potential to be tomorrow’s global financial ecosystem. But for this to happen the system needs to earn the users’ trust by implementing clear policies and mechanisms that can reassure the user that their money is safe and secure.

Why Does Crypto Need Regulation?

Recently the crypto world faced a few shocking events. Several unauthorised transactions were recorded on Binance — one of the most successful and recognised cryptocurrency exchange platforms today. However, blockchain is a complicated decentralised system to hack. Therefore all suspicious trades were able to be reversed, and Binance’s CEO stated: “All funds are safe. There were irregularities in trading activity, automatic alarms triggered. Some accounts may have been compromised by phishing from before. We are still investigating. All funds are safe.”

In addition to this, Bitcoin’s value has decreased dramatically to $9,600 compared to December’s all time high value for this cryptocurrency at $19,783.06.

Many other cryptocurrencies suffered similar effects as soon as users started complaining about unauthorised transactions on their accounts and have felt uncertain about the safety of their funds.

The reality is that until regulators can set clear rules and parameters that guarantee the safety and wellbeing of the consumers’ funds, financial institutions will be resistant to buy and invest in cryptocurrencies.

Could Regulation Scare Investors Away?

Volatile markets and phishing scares are not the only reason why Bitcoin’s value decreased on Wednesday afternoon. The Securities and Exchange Commission issued a statement warning against unlicensed crypto exchanges. The commission confirmed that any trade needs to comply with existing SEC rules for transactions.

Even though at first glimpse this seems like a bad sign for regulating cryptocurrency exchanges, this is indeed the beginning of a new regulated system where its users can feel safe about handling their money online.

A Bright Future For Crypto Trading?

When it comes to cryptocurrency trades, users have plenty of options for platforms they can utilise for transactions. One of the most popular ones is Binance, which managed to gain a lot of popularity thanks to its impressive number of Initial Coin Offering (ICO) listings and their low trading fees. Another wildly popular platform is Bitfinex, branded as the favourite spot for experienced cryptocurrency traders across the globe. Trades in Bitfinex usually exceed $2B per day. Third in this list is Huobi which is dominant in Asian markets and focuses on independent cryptocurrency analysis for its users. However, the number of cryptocurrency exchanges emerging continues to grow, with more than 500 reported to exist in April 2018.

Very recently, the team at GBX announced that their Digital Asset Exchange was open to the public offering a complete token and digital asset experience via an institutional-grade platform, focused on good governance and industry best practices. GBX will truly make a difference in the cryptocurrency exchange ecosystem, offering its users a more supervised and trust-worthy trading experience.

Although right now many are wondering if implementing rules and regulations would be good for cryptocurrencies, there is growing consensus to suggest that regulation is indeed needed if crypto is going to achieve any form of stability and security going forwards. Controls and transparency are the only things that will indeed gain the trust of users at a global level and help drive the mass adoption of cryptocurrencies as a recognised and reliable asset class.

Once you’ve acquired some crypto, how do you keep it safe? Keeping your cryptocurrency safe and secure is the focus of Part 6 in this series, where we will be looking at custody solutions, and why they are needed.

Read All Parts In Our Future Of Blockchain Series

Part 1 — What Is Blockchain?

Part 2 — What Does The Future Hold For Blockchain Technology?

Part 3 — Why Aren’t Tokens Mainstream?

Part 4 — Investing In The Future

Part 5 — Trading Platforms (This article above)

Part 6 — Custody (Coming Soon)

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