Filecoin (FIL) vs Storj (STORJ): Decentralizing cloud storage

 Although cloud storage was a great innovation, it lacked backup protection and was controlled by a central authority. However, with blockchain technology, secure, cost-effective, and decentralized storage platforms have been launched. Storj and Filecoin belong to this category of platforms.

 Filecoin was founded in 2017 by Protocol Labs but the mainnet was launched in 2020 to serve as a platform for data storage and retrieval. It uses a proof-of-storage consensus mechanism which is made up of proof of replication and proof of spacetime to validate operations on the network. It occupies the second layer of the Interplanetary File System (IPFS). FIL is used to settle transactions.

 Storj was founded in 2017 by Storj Labs on the Ethereum network as an easy-to-use and affordable cloud storage platform. It makes use of farmers and renters; farmers provide storage space, and renters buy this space from them. Data are stored on the network using a sharding mechanism. STORJ serves utility purposes for payment and rewards.

 While Filecoin can store and distribute data, Storj can only store them. Storj was developed majorly for developers, but Filecoin supports a market for trading raw data. Moreover, Storj promises durable data storage. Of the two, Filecoin is more decentralised; Storj is both centralised and decentralised.

 Both support transactions between their service providers and users. Filecoin is made of a free match market where clients and data providers can freely interact. Whereas, Storj uses a market maker model where clients pay the platform to get their data services. Both don’t charge migration costs; Storj accepts payment directly from users, while Filecoin uses its blockchain to solve service and settlement matters.

 Filecoin uses an EC algorithm, whereas Storj depends on the Ethereum blockchain. In a world continually embracing decentralisation, Filecoin provides decentralised storage services. FIL is worth $23.69 right now with a market cap higher than STORJ with over $3.5 billion, showing that it’s experiencing mainstream adoption.

 While it would make a great investment, you should do proper research before investing. Deal wisely and only invest spare cash.

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PancakeSwap (CAKE) vs Sushiswap (SUSHI): The better DEX token

 Decentralised exchanges are platforms where users can conduct trades in a permissionless way without any intermediary. DEX tokens are used as governance tokens and for staking. They can be as a store of value. DEXs support the operations of DeFi platforms.

 PancakeSwap and Sushiswap are two of the most popular DEX platforms. They are both forks of Uniswap and are also automated market makers (AMMs). In essence, users provide liquidity pools by using the platform, thereby earning rewards.

 PancakeSwap was developed on Binance Smart Chain by anonymous developers and launched in September 2020. It uses smart contracts to aid the swapping of tokens. Users can swap or exchange their LP tokens for another token. Also, it supports yield farming and staking of tokens. PancakeSwap can be accessed from Metamask, Trust Wallet, Ethereum Wallet, Binance Chain Wallet, and Math Wallet.

 Sushiswap was released on the Ethereum network by Chef Nomi and 0xMaki in August 2020. However, ownership of the platform has been transferred to Sam Bankman-Fried. It can be accessed through Lattice, Coinbase Wallet, WalletConnect, and Metamask. Asides from yield farming and staking of tokens, users can also borrow and lend tokens. It uses the Minimal Initial Sushiswap Offering (MISO) to support the launching of new projects in its ecosystem.

 Due to being forks of Uniswap, they share various similarities. However, the cost of a transaction differs, with users paying 0.2% on PancakeSwap and 0.3% on Sushiswap. Moreover, Sushiswap is more flexible than PancakeSwap. Between the two, PancakeSwap has more traders with a market cap of $2.17 billion to $906.6 million of Sushiswap.

 Likewise, PancakeSwap supports NFTs and lottery in its ecosystem. It also has a separate token for unstaking CAKE. CAKE costs $8.15 right now, and SUSHi sells for $4.7. CAKE is the better DEX token of the two, and with the continuous adoption of the DEX, it will keep growing.

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Top 5 Cryptocurrencies to watch in February 2022

 A lot has happened since the year began in the crypto space, from the bearish run of January to the stance of the United States on cryptocurrencies. However, that shouldn’t stop you from watching out for some cryptocurrencies. They include:

1. Cardano (ADA)

 Cardano is the first open-source platform to use the Ouroboros- a novel proof of stake consensus algorithm. It is a flexible, scalable, secure, and energy-efficient blockchain. 

Due to using a peer-review mechanism, it is one of the most stable smart contract platforms, having over 1,200 smart contract scripts so far. There are plans to improve its scalability by launching the Hydra protocol.

A decentralised application, SundaeSwap, was released on the Cardano ecosystem; this might its price movement. ADA is the native token of the blockchain and there’s over 32 billion in circulation right now. Experts believe that ADA is currently undervalued. It costs $1.20 right now with a market cap of $38.4 billion.

2. Aave (AAVE)

Aave is one of the emerging decentralised finance (DeFi) platforms that aid borrowing and lending in the crypto space. The financial services are conducted in the absence of an intermediary at low fees and high-interest rates with increased security and transparency. 

It was released on the Ethereum blockchain and allows creating lending pools. Asides from this, it supports Aave clearing, Aave gaming, and Aave pay.

 Aave recently announced the release of a decentralised social media platform, Lens, on Polygon. As of today, its native token, AAVE, is worth $189.09 and can be staked or used to participate in governance. It has a max supply of 16 million, with 13.5 million in circulation right now. It reached an ATH of $661.67 in May 2021.

3. Ripple (XRP)

 Ripple is an open-source platform that supports payment and remittance among banks and financial middlemen. It supports the transaction of any form of currency at low cost and high speed. Although it is currently undergoing a lawsuit with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), experts believe winning the case would support its adoption and price.

The native token, XRP, is used to provide liquidity for transactions on the platform and can be traded on other platforms. It costs $0.89 as of today after rising by over 22% in the last few days. It is ranked 6th right now and has a market cap of $38.7 billion. 47.8 billion of the 100 billion max supply is in circulation now.

4. The Sandbox (SAND)

 The Sandbox is a metaverse created on the Ethereum blockchain that supports the creation and monetization of ASSETs and gaming experiences. It is powered by a decentralised autonomous organisation (DAO) and hosts non-fungible tokens (LAND and ASSET). It is in partnership with Snoop Dogg, UniX Gaming, Warner Music Group, and Ubisoft.

SAND is the native token of the metaverse. There is a max supply of 3 billion, and 1 billion is in circulation right now. It reached an ATH of $8.40 in December 2021 but is trading at $4.77 right now. It has a market cap of $4.9 billion.

5. Floki Inu (FLOKI)

 Floki Inu is a copy of the Shiba Inu based on Elon Musk’s Shiba Inu dog. It was created on the Ethereum blockchain. It plans to be more than a meme coin with some utilities to its name. This includes a play-to-earn game called Valhalla, a merchandise and NFT marketplace (FlokiPlace), and a content education platform (Floki university).

 FLOKI is the native token for accessing the applications on its ecosystem. It has dropped by 83.4% from its ATH ($0.0003365) in November 2021, and it’s currently trading at $0.00005569. It is believed to be the next big meme coin.

Closing thoughts

Cryptocurrency investment is extremely risky, do not dive in without doing proper research. Also, deal wisely and invest only what you can lose.

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10 Best Cryptocurrencies to Buy in February 2022

The following list contains the ten best coins you should invest in before February runs out.

1. Bitcoin (BTC)

 Amidst the environmental concerns, some countries are already legalising Bitcoin and using it as a store of value. Bitcoin is worth $44,199 with a market cap of $841 billion. The available supply is 2 million lesser than its total supply. Due to the halving that occurs every four years, experts predict that its price will surge between now and the next halving in 2024.

2. Ethereum (ETH)

 Ethereum is the first smart contract platform and has since been enjoying the first-mover advantage. Due to the concerns around the proof of work mining model, there are plans to move the blockchain to the proof of stake consensus algorithm. A move that experts believe would do its adoption and price good. It costs $3,193.3 as of today, with over 110 million in circulation, having peaked at $4,878 in November 2021.

3. Binance Coin (BNB)

 This is the native token of the giant exchange- Binance. It is used for settling transactions and staking purposes. It has a market cap of $70.8 billion with a unit price of $421.05. For a coin that is regularly burnt, it has maxed out its entire supply.

4. Polkadot (DOT)

 Polkadot is a blockchain of blockchains that run at low costs and high speed. It is aimed at combating the three key issues of pioneer blockchains. DOT peaked at $54.98 in November 2021 but is worth $21.95 right now. DOT is used to run the network.

5. Polygon (MATIC)

 Polygon is a layer-2 blockchain created to solve the problems of the Ethereum blockchain. Asides from that, it supports Ethereum Virtual Machine. MATIC is used to run the platform and participate in governance. It costs $2.03 right now, with a market cap of $13.8 billion.

6. Tether USD (UST)

 UST is the stablecoin created by Terraform Labs on the Terra blockchain. Unlike most popular stablecoins, it is stabilised by smart contract algorithms. It is used to avoid the volatility of other cryptocurrencies during bear runs. It costs $1.00 with an available supply of 11.3 billion.

7. Monero (XMR)

 Monero is the biggest privacy blockchain that supports private and censorship-resistant transactions. Ring signatures, stealth addresses, and ring CT are some tools used to make its transactions confidential and untraceable. XMR, the native token, has an available supply of 18.1 million. It costs $183.52 right now, with a market cap of $5 billion.

8. Terra (LUNA)

 Terra is a DeFi platform that enables users to create stablecoins. These stablecoins are stabilised by LUNA and smart contract algorithms. LUNA can be staked and used to participate in the platform’s governance. It costs $57.22 right now but peaked at $103.34 in December 2021.

9. Ripple (XRP)

Ripple is a blockchain that supports borderless transactions among banks, with over 200 banks already using it. It is faster and less costly than the traditional method. XRP is used to provide liquidity for these transactions. It costs $0.89 with a total supply of 100 billion and a market cap of $42.6 billion.

10. The Sandbox (SAND)

 The Sandbox is a metaverse that enables creating and monetising gaming experiences. SAND is used to power the platform and to settle transactions. It experienced a price increase of over 7000% and costs $4.78 right now. It has a market cap of $4.9 billion, with over 1 billion currently in circulation.

 While all these coins have great potential, you shouldn’t go ahead and invest in them without proper research. Cryptocurrency investment is very risky, so deal wisely.

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