Environmental assets are a form of Socially Responsible Investing [SRI], which allow you to invest in ways that benefit the environment and have a social impact.



Pioneered by institutional investors such as the Yale Endowment Fund and Wellcome Trust, this form of investing has also been shown to have the potential for strong investment returns thanks to powerful macroeconomic trends.



For a new generation seeking more than a financial return from investments, our new tier of environmental assets provides a perfect choice.



At Uphold, we are democratizing access to environmental assets by supporting tokens created by the Universal Protocol Alliance, a coalition of leading cryptocurrency companies seeking to accelerate the mainstream adoption of crypto. 



Universal Carbon Tokens [UPCO2] are transparently minted on the Ethereum blockchain and are backed 1:1 by a Verified Carbon Unit - a digital certificate from a respected standards agency (such as Verra) certifying that one tonne of carbon pollution has been averted by an underlying environmental project, such as rainforest protection.
 


Our first environmental token breaks new ground as the world’s first tradable carbon credit that can be bought, held, and sold as an investment - or burned to offset a carbon footprint. 



Our second Token launching soon creates the cleanest form of a leading cryptocurrency by making every transaction on its network carbon neutral.

Now virtually anyone can participate in the battle against climate change.

What are Environmental Assets?

You should choose environmental assets if you are looking for more than a financial return from your investments.



The tokens we list allow you to participate in the battle against climate change and be confident in the integrity of what you are buying. Every token is transparently substantiated by a digital certificate from a respected standards agency verifying that one tonne of carbon has been averted by an audited rainforest project.



Universal Carbon [UPCO2] is the first asset in our environmental portfolio and every token is backed by one certified carbon credit.



Powerful macroeconomic forces underpin the Voluntary Carbon Unit market and, according to some experts, could drive up prices as more countries introduce and tighten emission-control targets, forcing companies to offset their emissions by purchasing credits. Furthermore, a growing number of firms (and individuals) are choosing to offset their carbon footprints voluntarily. 



Research by the IMF and Morgan Stanley suggests that the price of carbon credits would need to rise to US$75 per metric tonne by 2030 to limit the planet’s warming to 2°C. The average current price is US$12.


Integrating environmental assets into portfolios has already proved successful for some institutional investors seeking social benefits as well as increased returns. The UPCO2 Token now allows virtually anyone to participate in this growing trend.


According to the World Bank, in 2020 humanity compensated for just 22 percent of global emissions through the purchase and retirement of carbon credits, and yet the proportion of countries operating regulated carbon markets has risen from 40 percent of global GDP in 2016 to 70 percent in 2020. 



The result is a wall of demand that may far outstrip the production of new carbon credits, which is limited by the painstaking process of carbon project certification.

Like any new token, UPCO2 may initially be subject to low levels of liquidity, which could result in wide spreads when you sell. The UP Alliance expects that many exchanges will want to list UPCO2 since it is linked to such an important and growing global issue.

Early adopters should be aware, however, that initially the UPCO2 token can only be sold on the Uphold platform and may be subject to high spreads until it achieves wider adoption.

Additionally, the price of the underlying carbon credits has historically been volatile and can be affected by external market dynamics and potential legislative and regulatory changes. See here for more information concerning risks specific to holding digital assets.

Why you should buy Environmental Assets with Uphold

We’re excited to offer the world's first tradable carbon credit token - UPCO2 and the cleanest form of Bitcoin - Bitcoin Zero

Corporate Website Page - Products Environmental Assets

Your opportunity to help combat climate change by investing in carbon credit tokens that support certified projects in the world’s rainforests 

With Uphold, you can buy digital currencies in just 11 clicks -  even if you don’t have an account yet. 

Nothing could be easier.

Here’s how easy and fast it is to get started:

Buying and selling crypto at Uphold couldn’t be easier. 


Just select your funding source in From - banks, cards, crypto wallets - and pick the crypto you want to buy-in To.

Tap in the amount and everything else is calculated for you.

There’s even a clever equivalent field that allows you to specify the value of a crypto-to-crypto trade in your local currency - e.g., when you’re buying $50 USD worth of bitcoin using XRP.

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The iShares iBoxx High Yield Corporate Bond ETF was launched in April of 2007 to track the investment results of an index comprising U.S.-dollar denominated high-yield corporate bonds.

Among the most widely used vehicles to replicate the high-yield sector, HYG covers a broad range of income-generating companies, some 1,250 of them. About one-third of the holdings carry maturities of 3 to 5 years. More than half (55%) are rated BB by Standard & Poor’s. 

As an exchange-traded fund, HYG trades like a stock. Performance-wise it tends to behave like a risk-asset, moving in correlation with the swings of the stock market.

It has $25.7 billion in assets (as of October) making it the largest ETF in this asset category. Among HYG’s top holdings are blue-chip companies that have fallen below investment grade. These include Ford Motor Company, Sprint Corporation and Caesar’s Entertainment.

*U.S. stock trading is not available in the U.S., U.K., and certain other jurisdictions.

This article is for informational purposes only and takes no account of particular personal or market circumstances, and should not be relied upon as investment, tax, or legal advice. For investment, tax, or legal advice, and before taking any action you should consult your own advisors. Note that assets such as equities present unique risks for investors.

This content is correct as of November 2020

At roughly $87 per share (as of early December 2020), HYG is up 3.4% since the start of the year. It’s up 5% since inception.

With equities rallying in the second half of 2020, high-yield corporate bonds followed suit, having the best performance within the wider fixed-income realm; high-yield funds overall saw $1 billion in inflows during November 2020.

Most online brokerages offer the ETF at zero commission. BlackRock collects an annual 0.49% management fee, or $49 per $10,000. 

In a world where institutional investors are ravenous for yield, the prices on high yield corporate bond ETFs like HYG are near historic highs but could revert to historic levels longer term.

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iShares iBoxx High Yield Corporate Bond

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JPMorgan Chase & Co. is one of the world's oldest and largest financial institutions.

With roughly $350 billion in market value as of December 2020, this financial holding company is viewed as a proxy for banking and financial services as well as the global economic picture more generally. The company has more than $3 trillion in total assets on its books, making it the world’s seventh-largest bank in terms of assets held. JPMorgan operates in four segments: Consumer & Community Banking; Corporate & Investment Bank; Commercial Banking; and Asset Management. 

Earnings growth is a key characteristic. Prior to the pandemic roiled the economy, JPMorgan’s earnings per share had enjoyed double-digit gains for the previous eight quarters when EPS ranged between 18% and 23% growth. The first quarter of 2020 saw steep losses. However, the bank has seen a surge in trading revenue which has offset those losses, and which led to, in the third quarter of 2020, an earnings increase of 9%.

This content is correct as of December 2020

At roughly $120 per share (as of December 2020), JPM is down 12% since the start of the year. Many analysts are bearish because of the outlook for rates to remain low for the next two to three years. As always, short-term volatility is possible. Some two dozen analysts have issued guidance on the price of JPM with the median forecast showing a return of 2% in the next 12 months, according to CNN Money.

JP Morgan Chase & Co

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Founded in 1969, Washington, D.C.-based Danaher Corporation is a globally diversified healthcare conglomerate. It’s best-known as a manufacturer of medical devices.

As of December 2020, Danaher had a market capitalization of $166 billion.

In March 2020, the company acquired the GE Biopharma business and renamed it Cytiva. During the ambitious, complicated vaccine roll outs in the coming months, Cytiva will be called upon to do its part. Indeed, the U.S. government has entered an agreement with the Danaher division to expand the manufacturing of products needed to make COVID-19 vaccines.

Danaher is viewed as having healthy growth opportunities, owing to the coming role in the vaccination mission but generally due to robust fundamentals and an improving operating environment. If anything, Danaher is diversified. Just look at Danaher's Life Sciences segment. This business line alone provides: mass spectrometers; cellular analysis, lab automation, and centrifugation instruments; microscopes; genomics consumables; filtration, separation, and purification technologies. 

At roughly $226 per share (as of December 2020), DHR is up 47% since the start of the year. It’s been as high as $250 and as low as $120 over the past 12 months. Heading into 2021, DHR stock is roughly 140% higher than it was at the beginning of 2018.

Currently, Wall Street’s consensus estimate for earnings in 2021 is pegged at $6.99, an increase of 10%. Danaher’s P/E is up to about 53x, compared to 27x in 2018.

Danaher believes in rewarding shareholders through dividend payments. In the first nine months of 2020, the company distributed dividends totaling $445.4 million to its shareholders, reflecting an increase of 15.7%.

In third-quarter 2020, according to Zacks, Danaher’s earnings and sales surpassed estimates by 25.5% and 6.6%, respectively. Zacks rates it as a buy opportunity.

Danaher

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 UnitedHealth Group (UNH) is the largest healthcare insurance company globally measured by revenues at more than $240 billion in 2019. The Minnesota-headquartered company has a history that goes back four-plus decades and a business that includes segments focused on health coverage for large employers, Medicare and retirement benefits, state, and municipal public programs, and an international business unit active in 130 countries.  

Over the past five years, earnings growth at UNH has been robust with a gain of 165% for the period. With a change of presidential administrations now underway (as of December 2020), investors were closely watching for signals of policy shifts that could impact UNH’s business model.  While the number of Americans without health insurance rose by 1.3 million during the Trump administration, the GOP was unsuccessful in an attempt at eradicating the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Generally, analysts view the incoming Biden administration as good news for UNH and the health insurance industry as a whole as more consumers get coverage.

As the U.S. economy emerges from the pandemic, UNH is expected to see revenues and earnings normalize. 

At $336 a share, UNH has a stellar track record for delivering shareholder returns. The stock has provided positive returns for the past 11 consecutive years.  In five of those years, the stock rose by more than 35% with dividends included. Currently, the trailing one-year return for UNH is nearly 18% as of mid-December 2020.  

With a market capitalization of $320 billion and an average daily volume of more than 3 million shares, UNH is the largest and among the most actively traded U.S. healthcare stocks.  UNH currently has a dividend yield of 1.48% and the stock trades at a multiple of 19x earnings as of the most recently reported period.

United Health Group

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SPDR Gold Shares was hailed as an innovative exchange-traded fund (ETF) when initially introduced in 2004. Each share of GLD represents an ownership stake in a trust which physically holds gold bullion, making a share of GLD a direct investment into gold as a commodity. The GLD trust holds over 25 million ounces of gold bullion, making it one of the top ten holders of the precious metal on earth.  

Used as a store of value throughout human history, gold has historically exhibited a low or sometimes negative correlation to other financial asset classes, particularly during periods of economic volatility. The history of gold as a strategic asset used defensively by investors during periods of geopolitical crisis, ranging from war to natural disasters and hyperinflation, has long been documented. 

Before the arrival of digital currencies, gold held a unique role in global markets as a surrogate of monetary value with a continuously quoted globally quoted price.

Unlike ETFs which hold securities including stocks and bonds, the assets held by GLD are taxed in the U.S. as if they held a pro rata share of the underlying bullion and are subject to tax rates for collectibles.

At $171 per share (as of mid-December 2020), GLD has performed admirably with a year-to-date increase of 23%. GLD has outperformed equities and fixed income broadly on a 1- and 3-year basis.

As a result of the direct physical ownership of gold bullion, as well as deep trading liquidity, shares of GLD track the spot price of gold and gold futures very closely. Conversely, the cost of storing and insurance for the underlying bullion contributes to an expense ratio of 0.40%, which is four times higher than the fees charged by the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY).

SPDR Gold Shares

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The Financial Select Sector SPDR provides investors with easy access to a basket of the largest publicly held U.S. financial service companies. As an exchange-traded-fund (ETF), it trades just like a stock. With an average daily volume greater than 35 million shares, XLF is among the top 10 most liquid listed ETFs in the U.S.

XLF provides investors with the ability to easily trade the financial services sector of the U.S. economy, which has historically been sensitive to interest rate fluctuations, macroeconomic factors, and political policy shifts. The past year (2020) has proven to be a challenging time for banks and insurers as the pandemic depressed economic activity; ultra-low central bank rates, meanwhile, have eaten into the profitability of lenders.

The XLF portfolio contains shares of 65 different companies, held on a capitalization-weighted basis, across segments, including commercial banking, consumer lending, insurance, and exchanges. The individual companies in the XLF portfolio include Berkshire Hathaway and JPMorgan and, as a group, account for more than 10% of the S&P 500 Index. Like many ETFs, XLF has a low expense ratio and liquid trading volume.

At $28 per share, XLF has declined by roughly 7.5% year-to-date even after a double-digit rebound after the stock market bottomed during the spring of 2020.

Longer-term performance has been equally difficult with XLF underperforming the S&P 500 on a total return basis on a 1-, 3-, 5- and 10-year basis.

At 2.16%, the current yield on shares of XLF is attractive for income investors but can make short selling expensive.

The Financial Select Sector

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Ethereum is a decentralized open-source blockchain featuring smart-contract functionality. Ether is the cryptocurrency generated by Ethereum miners as a reward for computations performed to secure the blockchain. 

The project’s goal is to democratize the internet by creating a ‘world computer’. It seeks to replace the traditional model of servers or clouds hosting data with a new proposition – ‘nodes’ provided by volunteers. The creators of Ethereum aim to introduce an alternative solution for data and apps that isn’t dependent on big technology firms. 

This article is for informational purposes only and takes no account of particular personal or market circumstances, and should not be relied upon as investment, tax, or legal advice. For investment, tax, or legal advice and before taking any action you should consult your own advisors. Note that digital assets such as cryptocurrencies present unique risks for investors. Please see our disclaimer regarding risks specific to holding digital assets before investing.

May not be available in all jurisdictions.

This content is correct as of October 2020

The market through the forces of supply and demand. Simply put, like most assets, the price of Ethereum is based on how much people are willing to pay for it. 

Since Ethereum is stored and transferred online, the price is determined globally. It should be the same wherever you are. It can differ slightly from exchange to exchange, but big variations can’t arise, since traders would quickly arbitrage out any gap.

The total supply of Ether was approximately 110.5 million as at mid-April 2020. In 2017, mining created 9.2 million new Ether, which led to a 10% increase in total supply. 

There is no hard cap on the total supply of Ethereum, unlike Bitcoin, which is limited to 21 million. Ethereum has opted not to set an upper limit. This has raised concerns in the industry about inflation in the Ethereum ecosystem from inception. Advocates point out that the rate of supply of Ether will decline over time. 

Ethereum is slow:
Like many cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum has struggled with speed. Its proof of work mechanism has made the network congested and slower.

Is it already out of date?
Ethereum has an unfortunate disadvantage: it was one of the first. In recent years, new ICOs and cryptocurrencies have learned from Ethereum's teething problems and executed ‘improved’ variations of the network. This is a threat of unknowable magnitude, but well-backed upstarts, such as EOS, Tron, and others, - can potentially build better networks and scale greater heights

Regulation:
The SEC ruled in June 2018 that Ethereum is not a security. This is a big deal and helps to legitimize the Ethereum network in the industry where regulation remains nascent. The ruling made clear that the platform does not come under the scope of US securities regulation, which dispelled a dark cloud.

Community:
This is what powers most projects in the cryptocurrency industry - and they don’t come bigger than the Ethereum community.


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Ethereum

Buy Ethereum - buy ETH - Uphold

Created by the mysterious figure of Satoshi Nakamoto back in 2009, Bitcoin is the original cryptocurrency built on a decentralized ledger, known as the blockchain. This peer-to-peer network provides the ability to send and receive transactions in a permissionless, trustless manner, as detailed in its white paper, released a year earlier in 2008.

The project is built on open-source software, which means anyone in the world can audit, contribute, and improve its code and/or documentation.

A common opinion about Bitcoin is that it has no intrinsic value.

However, while this may ring true with other traditional financial instruments, being a completely new asset class, Bitcoin, and blockchain technology, does in fact hold high perceived value. This greatly affects both positive and negative sentiment among traders, increasing short to medium-term volatility.

As a young, still growing industry, the size of the market remains relatively small, with equally low amounts of liquidity. With that being said, it is a known fact that volatility has been on a continuous decline in recent years, mostly due to Bitcoin's increasing adoption and network effect.

At the same time, BTC  is scarce; only 21 million UNITS will ever exist. Looking at the current Bitcoin price, the crypto already appears unaffordable to people in many parts of the world. But with crypto, You don’t have to buy a whole unit of BTC, in stark contrast to the traditional model for company stocks. You can buy fractions of a cryptocurrency, which makes it more accessible. In fact, a single BTC is divisible BY up to eight decimal points, with 0.00000001 being the smallest unit, known as a "satoshi".

1 BTC is therefore 100,000,000 satoshis. Bits is another popular denomination, with 1 BTC corresponding to 1,000,000 bits.

Bitcoin is too complex:
After more than a decade, usability remains a big question mark. Sending, receiving, and securing large amounts of BTC is still too difficult for non-tech-savvy users. 

Transactions are slow and expensive:
Bitcoin has unsolved scalability issues. None second layer solutions have been massively adopted yet.

Bitcoin has a murky history:
From Silk Road to its very own mysterious creator, Bitcoin has too many questions left unanswered.

Bitcoin is a better, digital version of gold:
Scarce, non-confiscatable, highly divisible, and easily transportable.

A hedge to inflation:
“All fiat currencies eventually go to zero value” resulting in the inevitable loss of purchasing power.

The internet of money:
Just as we use one Internet, only one blockchain will succeed. Bitcoin’s blockchain is transparent, immutable, and highly secure.

With Uphold, you can buy digital currencies in just 11 clicks - even if you don’t have an account yet. 


Bitcoin

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Cosmos wants to create ‘The internet of blockchains.’ A network of blockchains that can communicate in a decentralized manner.

Cosmos is a network comprised of many independent chains, all of which utilize the byzantine fault-tolerant (BFT) consensus algorithms. Cosmos allows developers to build both permissionless and permissioned blockchains. The network launched with the release of its first blockchain, the Cosmos Hub, in 2019.

Back in 2017, the Interchain Foundation, a Swiss non-profit organization that funds open-source blockchain projects, contracted for-profit Tendermint, Inc. (which also utilizes the name All Bits, Inc.) to develop and launch the Cosmos software. 

Tendermint was launched in 2014 by Jae Kwon, who developed his own byzantine fault-tolerant (BFT) consensus mechanism and started the company to develop business-related opportunities for the algorithm. 

Kwon co-wrote the Cosmos whitepaper and Tendermint raised $9 million to continue the project through a Series A funding round in March 2019.

Note: this cryptocurrency is not available for withdrawal to external crypto wallets. It can be bought, held, and sold on Uphold.

The team behind Cosmos plan to accomplish their vision via a set of open-source tools. The Cosmos network is composed of three separate technologies. The Tendermint protocol, responsible for governance; the Cosmos software development kit (SDK), an easy way to develop applications; and the Inter-Blockchain Communication (IBC) protocol.

The network supports token, data, and asset exchanges between blockchains. The Hubs that connect all these fluctuating blockchains require validators staking the ATOM currency, which will earn ATOMs for staking, thus the more connected the network becomes, the greater the potential for passive income to be generated through staking.

How much COSMOS/ATOM is on the open market?

ATOM has a large supply, there is 201,794,916 ATOM on the market, with a total supply of 259,579,519 tokens. 

Too long a lock-up?
There is a minimum lock-up period to stake your tokens of three weeks. For the casual investor, this presents a problem through a lack of flexibility. The lock-up makes it hard if you want to sell up quickly.

Hype: Arguably many cryptos full into this category; many enjoy hype they can’t possibly live up to.

Infighting:
Back in February 2020, there was a huge falling out between the co-founders, which started strangely. Jae Kwon accused Zaki Manian of blasphemy, arguing over whether this software was “godly” and demanding that Manian renounce his “self-professed godliness.” Yup, all true, not something from a Star Trek episode. For potential investors, this kind of stuff can be off-putting. 

Cosmos SDK:
Their platform to build apps is more user friendly and customizable than other solutions in the market. With the SDK, Cosmos wishes to reduce the development time of a new blockchain from years to weeks.

Partnerships:
ATOM has some fantastic partnerships with the likes of Binance and also with the Oracle Corporation and high profile cryptos such as OmiseGo.

With high profile partnerships and working with top companies to build on blockchain exclusively, there are many reasons for investors to be happy.

Cosmos

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DigiByte is a cryptocurrency focused on security, speed, and decentralization. It started back in 2013 and is one of the older crypto projects. 

Despite its age and ongoing development, Digibyte has kept below the radar compared with the hype-train of some competitors. 
Digibyte supporters reckon DGB is the ‘Sleeping giant of crypto.’ 

Digibyte is a faster, more secure version of Bitcoin and is only created (like Bitcoin) by mining. Its USP; a currency to be used online as a payment method, but also as a store of value. 

In May 2019, DigiByte launched DigiAssets, their scalable second-layer architecture, which sits on top of the DigiByte blockchain offering decentralized issuance of DApps and smart contracts.

Like most altcoins, Digibyte was created to fix the deficiencies of Bitcoin. The core issue for Digibyte is security. Virtually everything we now do is online – real-time information, data, finances etc. 

Although there have been countless attempts to improve online security, none has really succeeded

DigiByte aims to provide absolute security for data, information, and resources, as well as decentralization for users. Most cryptos are not wholly decentralized as they are controlled by individuals and private companies rather than the community. 

Digibyte’s open-source mining system is widely considered to be among the most decentralized in the business. Its latest mining algorithm, Odocrypt, rewrites itself every ten days. MultiShield followed real-time adjustment mechanism DigiShield, and both are regarded, in the cybersecurity industry, to be groundbreaking.

DGB is in plentiful supply. There are 13,465,726,269 DGB in circulating supply. The total supply is 21,000,000,000.

Trouble at the top?
Back in May 2020, Jared Tate, the founder of Digibyte, stepped down from the day-to-day operations of the project, citing too many investors in the space abusing crypto and just using it as a mechanism to profit. 
This could worry investors, but Digibyte is still a project to watch in the short to medium term. 

Hype & volatility:
Sometimes it can be hard to get behind a project when the hype train is going full steam ahead. In early 2020, the token rose over 900% in price and then crashed into bear territory. Volatility of such magnitude scares off investors.

Security:
Security is a massive USP for Digibyte. This could be the key to attracting new partnerships to enable the project to scale. 

Community:
Remember, Digibyte has been around for a long time compared with the new kids on the block. With this comes a loyal fanatical following.
How did they get a community so loyal? Because their project is truly decentralized and their mission has always been to create a project centered on people and social values. 

Scalability:
Digibyte can support over 48 million transactions a day – that’s ten times the current transaction volume of the top 50 blockchains by market cap. There is a lot to be positive about if they can get adoption.


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… and you’re off to the races!

Just start trading.

Digibyte

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Chainlink aims to build a bridge between payment services and blockchain systems. A marriage between Amex, Visa, plus banks like HSBC and the brave new world of blockchains such as Ethereum and Bitcoin.

Originally called ‘Smart Contract’, the project soon changed its name to Chainlink, and the ticker symbol ‘Link’. 

Chainlink held an ICO in September 2017 and was noted for being the world’s first decentralized oracle service. This means it improves on the original smart contract model on Ethereum by allowing contracts to access data feeds and APIs. 

Chainlink is built on the Ethereum network and the native Link token compensates node operators for the retrieval of data from external sources, turning it into a blockchain readable format.

To bring interoperability to payment providers and cryptocurrencies. A good way to look at it is that Chainlink wants to act as a bridge between the old world and the new. 

The goal is to open up blockchain on a global scale by, for example, connecting data to insurance providers to calculate premiums, tracking goods on global supply chains. 

The Chainlink project thinks big - and it doesn’t get much bigger than a partnership with SWIFT, the global payment service.

Connecting smart contracts to “real actionable” data presents a vast opportunity. Without access to such data, smart contracts are limited to use cases relying on on-chain data - information stored on the blockchain. 

Chainlink has created a decentralized network that connects smart contracts to off-chain services, such as a payment network like Worldpay.

How much Chainlink/Link is on the market?

Chainlink has a large supply, which means a low entry price and good accessibility to the network. But Chainlink is unlikely to reach the kind of prices enjoyed by Bitcoin, which has only around 21 million units available. 

There is 350,000,000 LINK on the market, with a total supply of 1,000,000,000 tokens. 

Is SWIFT its Achilles heel?
There is no denying that having a partnership with SWIFT is a huge advantage for Chainlink. But could it also hold the project back? 
Diversification through many partnerships can be a surer way to long-term success. 

Marketing:
Many cryptocurrencies rely on hype and don’t have a great product. Chainlink, on the other hand, doesn't do much marketing. Some analysts believe this is a mistake and that they should be doing more to attract the right partnerships. 

One of the best teams:
The Chainlink team is one of the best and most experienced teams in the sector, with the parent company, smartcontract.com, opening in 2014. The domain name was registered back in 2008, before even Bitcoin. 

Interoperability:
A huge deal if the project takes off. The opportunity is to create improved interoperability between off-chain services. 

Chainlink

Buy Link - Buy Chainlink - Uphold

Decred (DCR) is a cryptocurrency that is focused squarely on decentralization. All changes on its blockchain are subject to a user vote, which include miners and currency holders.  

The project was born out of a community of Bitcoin enthusiasts who wanted to improve  BTC’s protocols. One of the main issues was centralization. 
Miners are too powerful on Bitcoin. Decred wanted to create a currency where miners and users had a more equal say over developments. 
Disagreements over Bitcoin centralization have led to splits and forks already, such as Bitcoin Cash and Bitcoin Gold. 

Decred runs its voting protocol using a hybrid model employing both proof of work and proof of stake. The principle is that each block must be mined with the correct nonce and ratified by at least three verifiers. 
The system addresses the weaknesses of both the proof of work and proof of stake models. Miners still receive block rewards while the staking verifiers get smaller rewards.

Decred wants to eliminate the risk of hard forks, especially ones that divide the community philosophy. While a hard fork is technically possible - in fact, the project just navigated its first user-driven hard fork - Decred's voting protocol ensures users get to vote on changes first. When a vote passes, the changes go live. Decred’s goal is to fix what they see as the biggest flaw of Bitcoin and become the ‘Bitcoin of governance’. 

So far, Decred has delivered what they set out to do - itself is pretty rare in crypto. After implementing the lightning network, they increased privacy and converted Decred into a decentralized autonomous agency (DAO). There’s more to come in the coming months.

DCR has a capped supply of 21 million tokens, giving it similar economics to Bitcoin, which means it should achieve higher unit prices than ecosystems with billions of tokens.

There are 11,915,800 DCR in circulating supply. Total is 21,000,000 DCR.

Is it different enough?
The idea of creating a better version of Bitcoin is a good one. But many cryptos are trying to do that and many have died. 

Some people like centralization:
Centralized projects have more chance of becoming regulated and adopted by financial institutions. Decentralization tends to alienate investors and partners. No surprise that some of the most successful cryptos are centralized -  NEO, XRP, and BNB to name just a few.

Top team:
The team has been in the business for a long time and knows what it’s doing. Decred started with Jake Yocom-Piatt, the co-founder of Conformal Systems (now known as Company 0), an open-source software company focused on privacy and security. He got involved in crypto after hearing about Bitcoin in 2011 and created a tool for Bitcoin developers called btcsuite.
Decred was announced in 2015 and went live in 2016.

Community: 
Decred has been around for a long time compared with the newer kids on the block. With this comes a loyal following and the community have given Decred the success it has enjoyed so far. This is one of the big advantages of a decentralized project. 


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Decred

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Cisco Systems, Inc. (CSCO) is an American technology company based in San Francisco, California. The company specializes in the design and manufacture of a wide range of Internet Protocol (IP) services and products, including networking, security, and cloud technologies.

Cisco was founded in 1984 by Leonard Bosack and Sandy Lerner. The pair of computer scientists from Stanford University were pioneers in the development of the system for connecting computers in different locations, also known as local area network (LAN).

The company’s line of high-technology solutions include networking hardware and software, telecommunications equipment, routers, network, and domain security, wireless technology, access points, firewalls, Internet of Things (IoT), and synchronous optical networking.

Cisco has acquired a broad range of companies over the years, including Jabber Inc., Jasper Technologies, and OpenDNS. These strategic moves have helped the company expand its presence into specific and innovative tech sectors. 

Cisco clients are spread across many industries, from providing infrastructure to private service providers, to public institutions and governments.

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The Cisco share price, like those of other publicly-traded companies, is directly related to the company’s quarterly and annual revenues, which reflect the demand for its products and services.

Cisco reached a market capitalization of $224 million in 1990, right after going public, followed by a record-high of $500 billion (amidst the dot-com bubble) in 2002, to become the most valuable company in the world.

However, many analysts have been disappointed by Cisco’s subsequent performance. Recent US-China trade war tensions have also affected many U.S. tech companies, with no sign of improvement in the near term. That said, CSCO stock remains a consistent performer and the company continues to bet on new technologies to reignite growth.

For many people, a single Cisco Share may look unaffordable. However, at Uphold you don’t have to buy a whole share, and, as with cryptos, you can buy fractions from as little as $1.00.

The Cisco stock price is ultimately determined by the law of the market: supply and demand. Traders around the world put up ask (selling) and bid (buying) orders, and the result is the current CSCO price, which is in constant change.

Cisco never recovered from the dot-com bubble peak:
CSCO's past peak valuation is still fresh in many investors' minds, who keep pondering if Cisco's glory days as a high-growth company are over.

The US-China trade war is only getting started:
China, once a major market for Cisco, is now holding back orders over national security concerns.

Competition from all sides:
The company faces varied competitors, from emerging markets to highly innovative startups and more established, well-funded companies alike. The shortlist includes Microsoft, Juniper, Aruba, Huawei, HP, and IBM.

Recent acquisitions promise new growth:
Intriguing recent acquisitions such as ThousandEyes, a network intelligence company, confirms Cisco's intention to move into more innovative technologies.

Too big to fail:
Cisco is one of the top U.S. companies in terms of cash flow, with an established infrastructure that for many clients can prove to be too costly to replace. Network security is also an increasing priority for many businesses and governments around the world.

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