Crypto Tamanga

By Japhet Kapambwe Mesa I am going to attempt to describe what a blockchain using a book analogy. Before we get to it let us take a look at some definitions. "A blockchain is a digitized, decentralized, public ledger of all cryptocurrency transactions. Constantly growing as completed blocks (the most recent transactions) are recorded and added to it in chronological order, it allows market participants to keep track of digital currency transactions without central record keeping." - investopedia.com  "The blockchain is an incorruptible digital ledger of economic transactions that can be programmed to record not just financial transactions but virtually everything of value." - Don & Alex Tapscott, authors of Blockchain Revolution (2016). Let us throw in one last definition shall we?  "Blockchain is a consensus based secure decentralized database which stores information immutably over a peer-to-peer (P2P) network" - Toshendra Sharma...

The recent 2 weeks has seen the price of Bitcoin surge a whooping 55.9% from US$6,010 to US$9,325 per Bitcoin (at time of writing). In similar fashion, all the other crypto currencies have followed suit. We expect that the talk about crypto currencies in general will shift from the proverbial "Bitcoin is dead", to "I do not want to miss out!". Suddenly, the general populace will awaken to the opportunities that are presented by crypto and will want to take part. The good thing is that it is never too late to join in. However, here a few tips before you can jump in: 1. Only invest/spend as much as you can comfortably lose without catastrophic consequences. 2. Do not be too much in a haste to make money. Do not rush into businesses that promise you astronomical returns within a very short period of time. 3. Take time to do your own research. 4. Do adequate due diligence. 5. Think more of medium to long term rather than short term. If you are in Zambia and ...

We came across this article on ictworks.org which talks about Eight Practicall Blockchain Use Cases in International Development. We decided to look at four of the use cases. To read more of this article please go here .   Government Services In principle, blockchain technologies could be used for providing government services that involve the overall handling and management of public documents which, at least in many developing countries, people have a hard time obtaining. More generally, blockchains could be used to support the overall provision of most public goods to citizens and stakeholders, especially those that demand personal interaction and require individual identification. An implicit link between blockchain technology and e-government does exist, and it is now being explored by a selected group of blockchain startups. Procivis , a Swiss startup, will be soon launching a blockchain-based app store delivering selected government services to the public. It wi...

In cryptocurrency, security is a big big issue. How do you secure your funds from being stolen or getting lost. Previously we have discussed various types of wallets. We touched on a type that is referred to as a COLD STORAGE wallet. Strictly speaking this is a wallet that is not used on the internet. You may want to use this type of wallet for storing funds that you will not want to access in the short term. A good practice is to only keep small amounts on your hot wallet. At Crypto Tamanga we have designed a Paper wallet (see image above). This wallet will be printed and supplied to everyone who attends a session with us or community members. The first one will be free while subsequent ones will have to be paid for. We can also supply to non community members at a small fee. The instructions for retrieving a wallet address and QR code are as follows: Route 1: If you already have a wallet in use. This is not strictly a cold storage wallet but this can be done for convenien...

By Japhet Kapambwe Mesa Hi all, Today I want to talk a little about how you can grow your investment in bitcoin. I will look at buying and holding (HODL) and also look at some investment platforms. Hodl  is a pretty safe strategy if you're risk averse. It is secure. You buy your bitcoin from an exchange like cex.io  or livecoin.net and you keep it in your wallet (not on the exchange). The bitcoin is fully yours as long as you have it in your wallet. Normally, the overall value of your bitcoin will grow over time despite the fluctuations. Now, what happens when the price of bitcoin falls extremely low such that even a rebound doesn't take you as high as the price at which you bought it for? Let's consider that you bought bitcoin when it was worth $20,000 and then it fell all the way to $5,000 per BTC. In this case even if it rebounded to $10,000 you'd still be in the red. In comes the second strategy - investing. Four months ago I'd have talked a...

Crypto Tamanga presents Bitcoin Workshop - Demystifying Bitcoin and Cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin has changed how financial transactions occur. It has opened up opportunities for ordinary individuals. Unfortunately, very people are aware of the opportunities. Our mission at Crypto Tamanga is to disseminate information and educate people so that they can take advantage of the Bitcoin technology. Join us as we discuss Bitcoin and cryoptocurrencies. Date: Saturday 31st March, 2018 Venue: Muzala Lodge, Kalundu, Lusaka Time: 0900 - 1300 Hours Fee: K250 (Comes with free Bitcoin) For details please email cryptotamanga@gmail.com or contact us on Facebook on Crypto Tamanga

Image courtesy of coincentral.com By Japhet Kapambwe Mesa Jaxx Blockchain wallet is a popular, multi-currency wallet developed by Decentral, a Bitcoin company well known for their ATMs, wallet, and other services in the digital currenc ecosystem. In this review I will look at the features of the Jaxx wallet, what makes it tick and the concerns currently. The wallet supports more than 50 different cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ethereum Classic, Bitcoin Cash and more. This is something definitely worth considering when choosing a wallet but it is not the thing that gets me. WHat does though, is how simple it is to use. I particularly like its minimalistic layout. The layout is intuitive making it extremely easy for a user, even a newbie to cryptocurrency, to use. The user can simply choose to receive, send or exchange their preferred coin by simply logging in and selecting their currency of choice. Let us take a quick tour of the menu offered by th...