Cryptocurrency

Taken From Fool.com – Refreshed Review Updated Feb. 17, 2022

Bybit is a cryptocurrency derivatives exchange with a wide range of advanced trading tools. It has top-notch security and a no-down-time commitment, but it’s not available in the U.S. Read our full Bybit review to find out if it’s right for you.

Full Bybit review

This cryptocurrency derivatives exchange is a good fit for: Non-U.S. cryptocurrency traders who want to use margin and other derivatives.

Pros

• Up to 100x leverage on crypto
• Advanced tools supported by great technology
• Risk-free test environment to learn and experiment
• Educational resources

Cons

• Not available in the U.S.
• Crypto derivatives are extremely risky
• Not suited to spot trading
• May share your data with third parties for marketing

Top perks

Before we get into the perks, let’s take a quick look at what exactly derivatives are. Derivatives are financial instruments — also known as contracts — that base their value on an underlying asset. You don’t own the asset. Instead, you own a contract to buy or sell that asset at a specific price in the future. In this case, that asset is cryptocurrency. Bybit is a cryptocurrency derivatives exchange, which means it’s a place where those contracts are bought and sold.

Up to 100x leverage on crypto

You can trade cryptocurrencies on Bybit at up to 100x leverage. This means you could trade a position of $10,000 from a $100 investment. Experienced traders can make high profits from leveraged trading as it magnifies the potential trading rewards. But it also magnifies the risk.

Users can go long or short on the 15 available currencies (bet on the price rising or falling, respectively). Bybit offers a range of advanced trading options.

Technology and tools set it apart

Bybit says it can handle 100,000 transactions per second, which is significantly faster than its competitors. It does everything possible to avoid any server downtime, a problem a number of exchanges face whenever a change in the market pushes a lot of people to trade at once.

Its charting tools are popular with traders as they have a lot of functionality and extra features. You can also download data in various formats.

Risk-free testnet environment

Bybit has a testnet site where new traders can test strategies and learn how to use the site without using real money. If you’re new to derivatives, it’s a way to get used to these advanced — and sometimes complex — tools.

Since leveraged trading can be extremely risky, it makes sense to gain confidence in the test environment before risking your hard-earned cash. If you decide to trade for real, start small and make sure you understand how to minimize risk.

Educational resources

Bybit has an impressive selection of resources, news, and insights for traders of all levels. For example, “Bybit Learn” explains how to use technical tools and understand chart patterns. It teaches users about decentralized finance and has detailed analysis of individual coins. Plus, Bybit hosts classes on social media twice a week.

That’s a good thing, since futures and margins are advanced financial tools and you’ll need to have a sound understanding before you use them.

What could be improved

Not available in the U.S.

The United States has strict regulations in place to control both derivatives trading and cryptocurrency exchanges. Bybit is not available to customers in the U.S. and some other countries, such as the U.K. To use its site, you have to actively confirm you are not from the U.S.

How Bybit works

Bybit does not have any KYC requirements, so you only need a phone number or email address to open an account. You can deposit cryptocurrencies or use a third party app to buy Bitcoin with fiat (traditional) money.

It offers margin and futures trading at up to 100x leverage. Bybit users can get 100x leverage on Bitcoin and 50x leverage on other currencies. Customers can also take out short-term insurance against losses. For advanced traders, both the website and mobile cryptocurrency app are packed with useful features.

Is your cryptocurrency safe with Bybit?

Bybit has a number of security measures in place to protect your assets. It stores 100% of client funds offline in cold storage. It also individually reviews each withdrawal request manually to avoid unauthorized withdrawals.

Bybit participates in a bug bounty program that encourages ethical hackers to report any loopholes in its system. It also carries out background checks on all its employees.

At a user level, Bybit has enabled two-factor authentication for withdrawals and changes to account security settings.

Bybit is right for you if:

• You’re a non-U.S. resident who wants to trade with margin.
• You are confident using advanced trading instruments.
• You want to learn to use cryptocurrency derivatives and are comfortable with the risk.

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BY THE DAILY CALLER NEWS FOUNDATION – SEPTEMBER 8, 2022

Jack McEvoy on September 8, 2022

The White House believes that the federal government should reduce cryptocurrency mining as it is threatening the Biden administration’s climate agenda, according to a report released Thursday.

The White House claims that mining cryptocurrencies are endangering the Biden administration’s climate goals as they generate substantial amounts of carbon emissions and consume large amounts of electricity, according to a report produced by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. The report, which was commissioned by the Biden administration as part of a March executive order on digital asset regulation, recommended that the federal government impose crypto mining regulations to curb the power usage that mining requires.

“Depending on the energy intensity of the technology used, crypto assets could hinder broader efforts to achieve net-zero carbon pollution in line with US climate commitments and goals,” the report said. “Global electricity generation for the crypto-assets with the largest market capitalizations resulted in a combined 140 ± 30 million metric tons of carbon dioxide per year, or about 0.3% of global annual greenhouse gas emissions.”

The White House instructed the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Energy as well as other agencies to create environmental regulations that would reduce crypto mining’s energy consumption. However, the report stated that the White House and Congress should pursue legislation to restrict or eliminate crypto-asset mining if the agencies failed to regulate the industry effectively.

“Should these measures prove ineffective at reducing impacts, the Administration should explore executive actions, and Congress might consider legislation, to limit or eliminate the use of high energy intensity consensus mechanisms for crypto-asset mining,” the report states.

Crypto mining operations to acquire new tokens as well as validating transactions on the cryptocurrency blockchain require a substantial amount of power as multiple computers must be used to solve complex math problems, according to Business Insider.

Crypto mining operations in the United States account for between 0.9% and 1.7% of the nation’s total energy consumption; moreover, the U.S. mines about 38% of the world’s bitcoins in 2022, compared to 3.5% in 2020, according to the report.

The White House did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.

“Should these measures prove ineffective at reducing impacts, the [Biden] administration should explore executive actions, and Congress might consider legislation, to limit or eliminate the use of high energy intensity consensus mechanisms for crypto-asset mining”

BitcoinBTC +0.1%, using the energy-intensive proof-of-work consensus mechanism, could be banned in the U.S. under a proposal made by the White House Office of Science and Technology.

Subscribe now to Forbes’ CryptoAsset & Blockchain Advisor and successfully navigate the volatile bitcoin and crypto market

Following an executive order made by U.S. president Joe Biden in March in the aftermath of an extraordinary 2021 bitcoin price surge, the Office of Science and Technology said the government “has a responsibility” to “protect” people from pollution caused by cryptocurrencies.

The proposal comes amid a crypto market shake-up caused by ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency after bitcoin, beginning its long-await transition from proof-of-work to the far more energy-efficient proof-of-stake—something some think could trigger a massive bitcoin price crash.

“Electricity usage from digital assets is contributing to [greenhouse gas emissions], additional pollution, noise, and other local impacts, depending on markets, policies, and local electricity sources,” the report reads, adding: “The U.S. government has a responsibility to ensure electric grid stability, enable a clean energy future, and protect communities from pollution and climate change impacts.”

The climate impact of bitcoin mining has become a hot topic in recent months as the soaring bitcoin price pushed up bitcoin’s energy demands and fears over climate change reached fever pitch.

The bitcoin price rocketed higher at the end of 2020 and into 2021 only to crash back this year—though it remains around twice its mid-2020 level.

The bitcoin network is thought to use roughly as much energy each year as some smaller countries, with the Cambridge Center for Alternative Finance recently calculating it consumes around 110 terawatt hours per year, or 0.55% of global electricity production, equivalent to the annual energy demands of the likes of Malaysia and Sweden.

The Office of Science and Technology recommends creating so-called clean energy “performance standards” for bitcoin and cryptocurrency mining—which involves using powerful computers to both secure the blockchain network and create new coins—including encouraging the “use of environmentally responsible crypto-asset technologies.”

“Should these measures prove ineffective at reducing impacts, the [Biden] administration should explore executive actions, and Congress might consider legislation, to limit or eliminate the use of high energy intensity consensus mechanisms for crypto-asset mining”—referring to bitcoin’s proof-of-work.

Earlier this year, internal European Union documents revealed Swedish financial regulators and the EU’s European Commission discussed the possibility of banning bitcoin’s proof-of-work mining mechanism due to its environmental impact.

Meanwhile, ethereum, which still currently uses the proof-of-work system pioneered by bitcoin, has begun a long-awaited switch to proof-of-stake, removing its reliance on miners while reducing the ethereum network’s carbon footprint by 99%.

Ethereum is expected to complete its transition to proof-of-work around mid-September.

Billy Bambrough – Senior Contributor to Forbes.com
September 8, 2022

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