Secrets of Profitable Forex Trading Strategies!

Hello Dear Friends!
My name is Michael John.
In this article you will learn all the secrets that will help you find or make your forex trading strategies better!
All successful traders currency market forex know these secrets and use them along with their forex trading strategies, each day during trading on forex!
Many times I saw my fellow traders who forget to use these secrets, once found, or made their profitable forex trading strategies do not get good results, but when they used these secrets of their income was much higher and the risk of a loss of many times less!
Use these secrets every day during the trading on the forex, or add these secrets in your forex trading strategies and you will see how to increase your profits!
Secret 1 - Choose to trade the most popular currency!
The most popular currencies to trade the forex is the EUR USD and GBP USD
On popular currencies change in the price point more than others, and even if you're a little late with the opening of a warrant, you may still have time to make money!
Changes per day are the most popular currencies are at least 250-500 pips and more!
Secret 2 - Determine which of the trading session is your currency!
Trading session - the time when the prevailing trade currencies of countries from certain parts of the world (for example - in the Asian session the most trade Japanese yen, Chinese yuanyu, etc.), respectively, and changes in the price of your currency will be much more during your trading session!
In the forex market has three trading sessions:
Asian - Getting Started: 23:00 pm
The end of: 8:00 am
This time, forex, while you see in the box chart of currency in your forex platform, while the same on all platforms!
European - Getting Started: 9:00 am
The end of: 19:00 pm
American - Getting Started: 14:00 pm
The end of: 00:00 am
Now you can easily determine which currency is your currency and when you need to trade!
Attention - American session is the most dangerous, U.S. traders can turn any currency in the other direction at the most unexpected moment for you, be careful!
Secret 3 - Do not open the warrant, if not published news high importance of the countries belonging to your currency pair!
Currency pairs should be taken into account news high importance of only two countries!
For example: if your currency pair GBP USD (pound and dollar), then watch news high importance from the UK and the USA!
An exception is the currency pair EUR USD, you should consider dollar news high importance the United States and the euro news high importance of all countries in Europe, as this single currency for all countries that are members of the European Union!
Factors that influence the change in currency prices, and a lot of news high importance are one such factor, but the news high importance are not the main factor for price changes! Many times I have seen how the market ignored the news very high importance, but ignoring the order to open the news high importance is a big risk!
If you want to open an order, make sure that the news high importance have already been published, and after at least 30 minutes if your desire to open an order has not changed then go for it!
Every day we see a lot of news and how easily all of the news and understand what news is news high importance!
The answer is, go on and get a free chart forex news in a specified time, importance (we are only interested high) country, news updates in real time and more!
Secret 4 - Use the golden rule banker!
The golden rule of the bankers is - let me take less profit, but absolutely reliable and everyday!
Opening a order you need to know exactly how much money (points) you will need to obtain and close the order!
Determine the successful direction of prices for a week, a month or more with all the surprises the market, it is very difficult!
Traded during your trading session, and after you open an order and received 50-100 points (in any currency pair) arrived immediately close the warrant, even if there were no signals that the price change in the opposite direction.... If you do not understand why, Read again the golden rule of bankers!
Secret 5 - Use the golden rule of currency traders!
The golden rule of currency traders this - open the warrant, make money and have a rest!
Many currency traders to earn (the golden rule of bankers 50-100 points in one trading session), they see that the price continues to rise or fall and open a new warrant in the same direction as forgetting about the different factors and rules of your forex trading strategies, and end up losing money!
Do not be greedy, take profit, relax, and tomorrow with renewed vigor and fresh ideas start trading!
Secret 6 - Use during trading at least two time frames of your currency pair!
Open order better when you get a signal or have found any factor, or (in your forex trading strategie) on at least two time frames!
For example: I like to use while trading in forex candlestick analysis.
Candlestick analysis is one of the main methods for determining the direction of prices, candlestick analysis helps to find the beginning of a new direction prices!
I look at time frame H1 and M5 or M15, if I see a signal on the M5 or M15, that the price trend has started to slow down or flat, and the H1, I saw a signal that the price trend has changed, only if I open an order (there are other factors when I open the warrant), you can use your factors and signals to determine the direction of prices, but the order should be opened only after you've seen at least two signals in two time frames!
I am sure that if you learn to candlestick analysis, you will be surprised how easily and accurately you can determine the direction of the price!
Secret 7 - Automate your forex trading strategie!
Sooner or later, every successful trader knows that he must trade with automated forex trading strategie, since it is smaller than admit errors due to fatigue, inattention, impulsivity, fear, and so on!

Bitcoin has been the buzz word in the financial space. As of a matter of fact, Bitcoin has exploded the scene in the last few years and many people

Spread Betting With Currencies

To be successful with Spread Betting it is important to understand at least the various spread betting markets available today.
Spread betting can simply be defined as a bet on a future result or an outcome. Money is made by choosing the correct outcome for a particular bet instrument. The outcome is determined by the underlying market price of a bet instrument.
This article will explain the real basics of currency spread betting and provides a simple example.
Currencies are the largest liquid financial market today and can be very risky. However, if you manage your risk correctly, profits derived from currency trading can be worth the while.
Currency spread betting is similar to your traditional foreign exchange trading and is primarily based on at least the performance of two currencies and how both effect one another. The most popular and most active traded currency pairs these days are the USD/GBP, USD/EUR, USD/JPY and USD/CHF. For those not familiar with currency symbols, USD refers to the United States Dollar, EUR to the European Euro, JPY to the Japanese Yen and CHF to the Swiss Franc.
With spread betting you can bet on whether a currency will strengthen (going long) or weaken (going short) compared to the base currency.

Bitcoin has been the buzz word in the financial space. As of a matter of fact, Bitcoin has exploded the scene in the last few years and many people

Take for example the USD/GBP currency pair where the USD is the base currency. If the entry USD/GBP (1 USD =? GBP) price is 0.6366 when you place a spread bet order, and you believe that the GBP will strengthen, you can wager $ X.XX amount per decimal movement in the price buy placing a SELL order (you believe the price is going to fall).
If the GBP did indeed strengthen and the USD/GBP was say 0.6100 three hours from when you opened the trade, your profit will be based on what you wagered multiplied by the decimal spread movement. In currency trading one decimal/basis point movement is also referred to as a "pip". If you bet $ 1.00 on a decimal movement and you expect the GBP to strengthen then your unbooked profit will be:
6366 - 6100 = 266 x $ 1.00 = $ 266.00
Remember that (for the example above) if the market moved towards the GBP weakening and you bet on the GBP strengthening, you would make a $ 1.00 loss for every decimal movement in the opposite direction of your entry trade price (0.6366). If the USD/GBP moved towards 0.6632 your unbooked loss would be:
6366 - 6632 = -266 x $1.00 = $ -266.00
Take Profit and Stop Loss Levels
Spread betting platforms should show you your live unbooked profits and losses for every open trade. It is normally up to you to instruct the betting platform when you would like to book a profit or loss.
You can close trades manually or give automated instructions beforehand. For example, you can when you place your bet set a "Take Profit" value so that the betting platform can book your profit when a market instrument moves in your direction and reaches your desired take profit value. You should also be able to set a "Stop Loss" value to instruct the platform to close your order when the market moves against you and you do not want to lose your entire position.
Deposit Margins
Most spread betting platforms attempt to fully or partially insure you and them against a potential loss. The value of this insurance is determined when you open a trade and is referred to as the 'margin'. The deposit margin will usually ensure you have enough reserved funds in your trading account to cover any potential losses that might occur if the market moves against you and your order is ultimately closed out.
The margin is calculated automatically based on various factors internally known to the betting provider. Some of the factors include a percentage of the value of your opening bet, the stop loss value you set as well as the volatility of the chosen market or instrument.
When a trade is closed manually or automatically, your reserved margin is released to your account for offset against any profits or losses booked against your account.
The deposit requirement usually set by spread providers for a trade within a new betting account is equal to the maximum loss for that particular trade. This means the maximum you can lose equals the deposit margin. However, certain betting providers allow more experienced traders to lose more than the initial margin without closing the trade. When this happens, betting providers will usually issue margin calls forcing traders to top-up the initial margins.
Currency spread betting will always be risky as you are betting on a future outcome.
Risky Business
Do not attempt spread betting without having at least basic knowledge of how it moves, what affects it, any underlying volatility and any forthcoming market announcements that may have an impact on prices. The key to currency trading success is to ensure you have enough knowledge to react quickly to various market news and announcements.
This type of trading carries a high level of risk to your capital with the possibility of losing more than your initial investment and may not be suitable for all investors. Ensure you fully understand the risks involved and seek independent advice if necessary.

Bitcoin has been the buzz word in the financial space. As of a matter of fact, Bitcoin has exploded the scene in the last few years and many people

200 EMA Forex Strategy - Easy For Beginners

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Are you a relatively new trader looking for a solid forex strategy?

A challenge facing many new traders when developing their forex strategy is the ability to identify the overall trend for intra-day trading.

The 200 EMA (Exponential Moving Average) can solve the problem.

The 200 EMA is one of the most popular indicators of all time with Forex traders the world over, and for that reason alone is worth noting due to the psychological effect on the market place price can have when hovering around the 200 EMA.

Using The 200EMA Strategy

To use this very powerful Forex strategy, create charts on 3 time frames:

• 4 hour


• 1 hour


• 15 minute

Now plot a 200 EMA indicator on each chart and, as a suggestion, color it red, for easy visual impact.

Preferably tile the 3 windows containing your 3 charts into a vertical fashion so you can see the 3 time frames next to each other. It will squeeze up the information on the charts somewhat but for the purpose of this strategy that doesn't matter.

Now scroll through the various currency pairs you like to trade.

If you prefer to trade only pairs with a smaller pip spread, they amount to about 9.

They are:

• EUR/USD


• GBP/USD


• USD/CHF


• USD/JPY


• EUR/JPY


• USD/CAD


• AUD/USD


• NZD/USD


• EUR/CHF

What you are looking for is any currency pair that bucks the 200 EMA on the 15 minute chart.

So for example, look at the EUR/USD pair and note the position of price relative to the 200 EMA on the 3 time frames.

If price is well above the 200 EMA on the 4 hour chart, well above the 200 EMA on the 1 hour chart, but BELOW the 200 EMA on the 15 minute chart, price is bucking the trend.

The overall trend is up, price has temporarily gone against the trend and is currently in a retracement.

Using the fundamental trading principle of "buy the dips in an uptrend", "sell the rallies in a downtrend", look for a suitable entry point.

In the example given above you would look for an opportunity to buy the EUR/USD, perhaps watching for a candle signal that price has exhausted it's downward momentum, bucking the 15 minute chart 200 EMA and will soon resume it's upward momentum.

This is an easy exercise and it can be done once or twice a day, taking just a few minutes.

Watch For Price Bucking The Trend

Once you see price bucking the 200 EMA on the 15 minute chart, whereas it is on the opposite side on the 4 hour and 1 hour charts, sit up and take note. Watch carefully and grab the opportunity to get in and make some pips.

After a little practice you will see how extremely powerful this simple Forex strategy is - certainly deserving a place in your trading tool kit.

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Source by Michael A Jones

Forex Trading: Understanding Currency Pairs

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In Forex trading, the two currencies being traded make up a currency pair, and there are many different pairs that Forex day traders can trade. Traders can choose "major pairs," "crosses," and "exotics," and there are pairs that are common like EUR/USD (euros and U.S. dollars) and much less common like USD/MXN (U.S. dollars and Mexican pesos).

For starters, though, let's take a look at what a currency pair consists of. Currency pairs are made up of a base currency (the first) and a counter currency (the second). In the EUR/USD currency pair, EUR is the base currency and USD is the counter currency. If the exchange rate of a pair is rising, the base currency is rising in value relative to the counter currency. When the exchange rate falls, the opposite is happening.

Additionally, when we look at exchange rates, the rate is the amount of the counter currency needed to buy 1 of the base currency. For example, if GBP/USD is priced at 1.5000, it would take 1.5 U.S. dollars to buy 1 British pound.

What are the Major Currency Pairs?

It's widely assumed that there are four major currency pairs, although some say there are 6 or 7 "majors." These four pairs drive the most action in the Forex market, and they are the most heavily traded. That means there is tons of trade volume and liquidity in each of these pairs, and therefore, the behavior of these pairs is more predictable.

The four major pairs include:

• 
  "Euro" - EUR/USD (euros and U.S. dollars)
  


• 
  "Cable" - GBP/USD (British pounds and U.S. dollars)
  


• 
  "Gopher" - USD/JPY (U.S. dollars and Japanese yen)
  


• 
  "Swissie" - USD/CHF (U.S. dollars and Swish francs)
  

Of these four, the "Euro" tends to be the most popular trading pair. The reason: The U.S. and European Union are the two largest economies in the world, they are the most widely held currencies, and this pair is the most widely traded. Yet, all four feature massive volume and they are all heavily traded.

In general, many of the major currencies make similar movements in the markets. For example, EUR/USD and GBP/USD tend to move in a similar direction; if one is falling, the other will likely be falling. That's not always true, but it happens quite frequently. Thusly, a trader would likely not hold similar position in these currency pairs, as it would double up their risk. USD/CHF, though, has a negative correlation with GBP/USD and EUR/USD; that means as EUR/USD rises, USD/CHF falls and vice versa. These are not rules, but generalities. So they may not apply in all circumstances.

Additionally, several commodity currencies including the Australian, New Zealand and Canadian dollar may also be considered major currency pairs. These pairs are AUD/USD, NZD/USD, and USD/CAD. Gold and silver are also commodities and are paired with the U.S. dollar: XAG/USD and XAU/USD.

Crosses and Exotics: Other Types of Currency Pairs

Traders may want to diversify their trades and move away from the major currency pairs. Crosses and exotics offer that opportunity. Crosses are currency pairs in which neither currency is the U.S. dollar, and there are several benefits to trading crosses.

First, traders can avoid speculating on the movement of the USD. This strategy might be useful if major U.S. economic news is expected like a jobs report or interest rate changes, both of which can create volatility in the market. Additionally, the crosses tend to have stronger trends due to diverging interest rate expectations and other economic factors. This enables more accurate trend trading. Common cross pairs include:

• 
  EUR/AUD
  


• 
  AUD/CAD
  


• 
  GBP/CAD
  


• 
  AUD/JPY
  


• 
  EUR/JPY
  

Finally, there are also "exotic" pairs to choose. These are the currency of a developed country paired with that of an emerging country. It's much less common for traders to speculate in the exotic pairs for several reasons. First, these pairs are much volatile making it more difficult to predict price movement. Additionally, the spread tends to be much larger. With major pairs, the spread may be as little as 2-5 pips; the spread for exotic pairs, though, may be as large as 50 pips or more. This makes it much more difficult for a day trader to profit. A few example exotic pairs include USD/BRL (U.S. dollars and Brazilian reals) and USD/MXN (U.S. dollars and Mexican pesos).

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Source by Matt Davis

What are PIPS?

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When you do Forex trading, the most common lingo you'll hear among your trader friends is PIPS. "Hey, I made 35 PIPS today." "Oh, I lost 22 PIPS yesterday." "Yes, I made 122 PIPS last week."

A pip is the smallest price movement in the charts. It's the last decimal place to which a particular exchange rate is usually quoted. The Pip is how you measure your profit or loss.

For example, if you were to see this:

USD 1 = AUD 1.1017

Then for this currency pair, 1 pip means AUD 0.0001.

If the USD / AUD goes from 1.1017 to 1.1018, that is an increase of ONE PIP.

Now let's say this happens:

On Tuesday 8pm, USD / AUD = 1.1017 On Wednesday 8pm, USD / AUD = 1.1044

This represents a 27 pip move.

1.1044 - 1.1017 = 0.0027 = 27 PIPS

Most currencies have four decimal places, so 1 pip equals 0.0001 for these currencies. A notable exception is the USD / JPY, which has two decimal places. For example:

USD / JPY = 108.48

So for this pair, 1 pip would be 0.01

If the USD / JPY moves from 108.48 to 108.34, this represents a 14 pip move.

108.48 - 108.34 = 0.14 = 14 PIPS

Now here comes a key question: How do you make a profit?

If the market direction moves as you have speculated, you make PIPS. If the market moves in the opposite direction as you have speculated, you lose PIPS.

Example 1: You speculate that the market is going to go up, and you click buy (long position).

If the market does go up and you exit at a higher price, you make PIPS. If the market goes down instead and you exit at a lower price, you lose PIPS.

Example 2: You speculate that the market is going to go down, and you click sell (short position).

If the market does go down and you exit at a lower price, you make PIPS. If the market goes up instead and you exit at a higher price, you lose PIPS.

Now comes another question: How much money is one pip worth?

Different currency pairs have different pip values. Here are the pip values ​​for the 4 major currency pairs.

EUR / USD: 1 pip = $ 10 USD (fixed)

GBP / USD: 1 pip = $ 10 USD (fixed)

USD / CHF: 1 pip = $ 8.3 USD (approx)

USD / JPY: 1 pip = $ 9 USD (approx)

Now you will notice that some currencies have fixed pip values, while others have approximate pip values. Whenever the USD is quoted as the counter currency, 1 pip is always $ 10 USD. But when you have other currencies as the counter currency, the pip value will vary according to the existing exchange rate. Let me explain ...

In Forex, whenever you make a profit, you always make the profit on the counter currency. Eg for the USD / JPY, you make a profit in Yen (and not in USD). And so, to convert it back to US dollars, you are subjected to the existing exchange rate again. That's why the pip value will vary from time to time. The good news is, if you use our trading platform, you don't have to perform any calculations at all. It's all calculated for you automatically.

All you have to do is click buy or sell, and the numbers are all generated for you on the platform. Isn't that great?

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Source by Mario Singh

Forex - Trade The Right Currency Pair

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Neither all currencies nor all currency pairs are created equal. Selecting certain currency pairs over others may give you a better chance at success in the foreign exchange (FOREX) market. This article will help you analyze and navigate the uncertain waters of trying to decide which currency pair(s) will bring you the greatest probability of success in trading.

Is the Pair Liquid?

Liquidity indicates whether there are enough participating buyers and sellers in the marketplace to facilitate the trading transactions with ease. If liquidity is lacking, then a buyer may have a tough time closing out the trading position at or near the desired price. The consideration here is whether the international investment community finds the currency pair interesting and profitable enough to trade and to what extent it is desirable. You must determine whether the currency pair is traded in sufficient volume preferably during all three major sessions constituting the 24-hour trading day. Financial journals and brokers can help you with this information.

How Much Is the Spread?

In the FOREX market, brokers are not paid commissions as a stock broker would receive. Instead, they are paid something called the spread. The spread is the difference between the ask (price at which the broker sells to the investor) and the bid price (price at which the broker buys from the investor) of a currency pair. A currency pair that does not have much liquidity tends to have a much higher spread than one which is widely traded. The less the spread, the more money the investor gets to keep. You should look for a currency pair where the normal spread is not more than two to five pips. Incidentally, during important economic news releases such as the U.S. Non-farm Payroll Report (NFP), the spread on the major currency pairs impacted by the report will usually increases tremendously, sometimes up to twenty-five pips.

Behavior of the Currency Pair

Like children and pets, each currency pair seems to have its own unique personality as expressed in its behavior pattern. For example, the EUR/USD (Euro/U.S. Dollar) tends to be more stable than the GBP/USD (Great British Pound/U.S. Dollar). For the scalper or day trader, more erratic movement in a pair may be preferable to movement which stays the trend. If you like trading the news, it will be beneficial to observe how the currency pair reacts to important economic releases like the U.S. NFP report, when sudden price spikes occur in U.S. Dollar-connected pairs.

Top Two Currency Pairs

Despite its general decline in the past several years, the U.S. greenback continues to generate attention from individual, corporate and institutional traders all over the world. Consequently, when paired with other strong currencies like the pound and the euro, it provides fantastic trading opportunities. Based on the liquidity, volume, international interest and overall stability of the underlying governments, the EUR/USD and the GBP/USD are generally regarded as two of the most desirable pairs for trading. Still, you must decide according to your own trading style, analysis and preference which pair(s) will work best for you.

Sandy Robinson, J.D., Copyright 2007

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Source by Sandy Robinson, J.D.

Reading a Forex Quote

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Reading a Forex quote may be confusing at first, but will eventually get easier as you get used to it. The major challenge you need to deal with is familiarizing yourself with the different terms associated with the quote. Primarily, codes using three letters are used in identifying and distinguishing the different currencies across the world.

Buying one currency and selling another is always simultaneously done in any Forex transaction. The two currencies involved in the foreign exchange transaction form the currency pair. To identify the current pair, indicate the base currency first, followed by the quote currency or counter currency. A slash would also be found between the two currencies. Two prices will also be posted. The first of these would be the selling or the bid price and the second would serve as the asking price. Similar to the currency pair, a slash should also be posted between the two prices. In indicating the bid price, only the last two decimal places will be posted.

An example of a foreign exchange quote would be USD / JPY 119.68 / 75. Here, the US Dollar is the base currency, while the quote currency is the Japanese Yen. Thus, this sample foreign exchange quote would indicate how many Japanese Yen you would receive for selling one unit of the base currency, which is US Dollars. The selling or the bid price is set at 119.68, while 119.75 serves as the asking price. In this sample foreign exchange quote, the dealer wishes to sell one US Dollar for 119.68 Japanese Yen. In the meantime, the dealer is also willing to buy one US dollar for 119.75 Japanese Yen.

Other important concepts in foreign exchange transactions that you need to be familiar with are the 'spread' and the 'pip'. The spread refers to the difference between the selling or the bid price and the ask price. Pips are the tiny 0.01 units. In our example of USD / JPY 119.68 / 75 mentioned earlier, the spread is 7 pips. Small pips are common among the currencies that are commonly used in trading. A spread of one pip is also a possibility due to intense competition. A small spread is also not automatically proportional to losses or profits.

In foreign exchange trading, a group of currencies are considered as the 'majors', namely the US Dollar, the Japanese Yen, the Euro, the British Pound, the Swiss Franc, the Canadian Dollar, and the Australian Dollar. Meanwhile, US Dollar / Japanese Yen (USD / JPY), Euro / US Dollar (EUR / USD), British Pound / US Dollar (GBP / USD), and US Dollar / Swiss Franc (USD / CHF) are the four most actively traded currency pairs. Dealers usually prefer trading using the majors since these currencies also rank high in liquidity.

In understanding currency prices, a number of factors must also be taken into consideration such as the country's economic and political issues. Issues such as political stability and inflation will have a great influence on currency prices.

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Source by Pauline Go

How to Value Currency Pairs

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Typically, in the FOREX market, currencies are traded in pairs. For example, Euro/US Dollar or US Dollar/Japanese Yen. Whenever you trade currencies online, you are then, buying one currency and selling another. Currency pairs are abbreviated. The above pairs would be EUR/USD and USD/JPY. The currency on the left is called the base currency, and the one on the right is the cross currency.

The value of a currency pair is determined by the strength or weakness of the base currency in relation to the cross currency. The base currency value is always 1. That means when you see a quote of 1.4652 for the EUR/USD, its value means 1 Euro will buy 1.4652 dollars. The next day you may see a quote for the EUR/USD of 1.4725. If you listen to the financial news you will hear them say something along the lines of, "the Euro gained strength against the Dollar today", or "the Dollar fell today against the Euro". In pocketbook english, that simply means it takes more dollars today to buy 1 Euro than yesterday.

Let's say you have an online FOREX account and bought the EUR/USD yesterday at the above price of 1.4652 and today you sold, or closed out your trade at 1.4725. That would leave a profit of 73 pips. What the heck is a pip you might ask. Well a pip has two definitions but they both mean the same thing, dollar wise at least: Price Interest Point and Percentage In Point. I have never been able to get a clear difference in the definitions no matter who I have asked, and don't really worry about it anymore because, like I said, they mean the same thing dollar wise.

When you trade currencies online you will have to open an account with a forex dealer. You can open either a standard account or a mini account. In the standard account a pip is worth approximately $10 dollars, and in the mini account it is worth approximately $1 dollar. It used to be the pip was the smallest unit of value in the FOREX market. Today however, many forex dealers quote in tenths of a pip. They have carried out the quote one extra decimal number to give better and more accurate spreads. So the above quote might have read 1.47253, where the 3 is the tenth of a pip. So its value would be either $3 dollars or $.30 cents depending on the type of account you have.

You may have noticed that I said pip values are approximately $1 dollar. That's because each currency pair has its own pip value. The true value is determined by mathematical formulas and the exchange rate of the currency pair. Some pip values are fixed and others fluctuate slightly as one currency rises or falls in value relative to the other currency in the pair.

Currency trades are made in fixed dollar amounts called lots. One lot in a standard account is equal to $1000, which controls $100,000. One lot in the mini account is equal to $100, and controls $10,000. Both standard and mini accounts typically have a 1% margin which allows the FOREX trader 100 to 1 leverage on their investment dollars.

If you trade currencies online, the ultimate goal is to capture as many pips as you can, and not get bogged down in the details of what the exact value of each currency pair is. Unless you are interested in becoming an economist or some such thing, the information presented here is more than enough to let you get on with putting as many pips in your account as possible.

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Source by James Theiss

The Bitcoin Mining Game Has Changed

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ASCI or application-specific integrated circuit machines have arrived in the Bitcoin mining market. The first machine arrived at a miner's home in late January and ever since reports have been trickling in of shipped ASCI machines finding their way into miner's Bitcoin mining rigs.

Since ASCI machines are designed specifically for the task of mining Bitcoin, they are highly effective machines at what they are designed to do. High end ASCI machines have a per second hash rate of over 1 million. A typical CPU running Bitcoin mining software has a per second hash rate of 1.5.

Needless to say the shipment of ASCI machines have been a game changer in the Bitcoin world. CPUs are no longer even supported by Bitcoin mining software because a CPU running 24 hours a day would likely not see a Bitcoin for several years, even if it was mining in a pool.

This trend favors those interested in mining who also happen to have thousands of dollars lying around to be used on expensive hardware, as well as the early adopters of Bitcoin mining who likely have made a hefty profit from their early mining efforts. Those early profits could be rolled into the latest and greatest hardware and rig setup to continue generating Bitcoins well into the future.

Those miner who are running relatively powerful GPUs are being hit the worst by the ASCI development. The difficulty in successfully mining a block of Bitcoin has increased to a level that may make the cost of electricity outweigh the payout a GPU miner will see in Bitcoin from year to year.

All of this speculation is tied heavily to the stability of the price of Bitcoin going forward. If Bitcoin stays around the current 30 usd level then innovation will continue to progress. ASCI in part has contributed to the rally that Bitcoin has seen over the last 2 months. The USD exchange rate for Bitcoin has soared from 10 usd to 30 usd. It is hard to find an investment with that kind of return anywhere on the planet, so it is natural for Bitcoin to be drawing attention in recent days. But will this attention last? And if so will it bring more scrutiny and volatility than stability on the young digital currency? In the long term relative stability is the one trait that Bitcoin must establish if it is to accomplish the original goal of being a viable and competitive currency on a world scale.

So will Bitcoin transcend the current label of speculative instrument? The answer lies in a tangled web of variables that include the broad spectrum of humanity: politics, psychology, finance, fear, freedom, privacy, security ... etc. Regardless of the outcome it is sure to be a fascinating show.

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Source by Robby Andrews

Why Many Educated People Think Bitcoin Is a Fad

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It was my senior year of high school and one of our teachers called us in a room full of new computers. We were instructed to sit down and "surf the web."

"Surf the web?" What did that even mean? At the time I did not live anywhere close to the beach and couldn't really understand this concept of web surfing. It was clunky and pages were slow to load. There was no way that this was going to be useful. I went back to the library later that day during study hall and read the newspaper. You know, the ones you see in hotel lobbies and occasionally outside of restaurants.

All kidding aside, when people are used to doing something a certain way for so long it truly becomes part of who they are. I have operations management experience and every time I attempted to change the process or way of doing something to make it more efficient I was typically met with resistance.

Some people are far more married to certain ideologies than others. We see it everywhere. I see it with the older generation at church not liking the newer music. Or, for example, the National League baseball purists despising the idea of the designated hitter. How about even simple things like when Facebook or Twitter changes the user interface? Don't mess with my timeline! LOL.

Why then should it be any different for Bitcoin or any cryptocurrency? I talk to people every day who are educated and successful and yet still can't wrap their heads around cryptocurrency. To me it is like explaining how to surf the web to people in 1994.

For centuries people have had it ingrained in their brains that money issued by the government meant it had value.

Fiat currency (money issued by a government - USD, Euro, Ruble, etc) has this connotation behind it that because the government printed this it MUST be of value. While it is true that our dollars have value, most people think it is because it is backed by something. As a society we have decided that shiny minerals we dig up from the ground are "valuable" and therefore so is our money.

When economies are humming along and governments aren't overbearing and people have a relative "trust" in them then yes, fiat currency works quite well. What happens when we tip that scale and things don't go so well? Economists have varying opinions on that, but most of the time governing bodies will step in and try to stimulate the economy. This is done by manipulating the economy via tactics such as lowering interest rates or quantitative easing. Governments love to turn on the printing press when things go bad.

These types of scenarios can lead to distrust, or far worse. Recessions can turn into even bigger problems such as price controls or food shortages. Just ask the people of Venezuela who are protesting in the streets on a daily basis. This is because their government backed Bolivar now has seen triple digit inflation and it's not even worth the paper it's printed on. Let that sink in.

The distrust of centralized banks, governments and corporations has led to people seeking financial refuge elsewhere. It can be incredibly difficult and costly to move money around the world as well. I used to manage banks and the process was tedious and required many eyeballs on it for verification purposes.

Blockchain technology is changing all that. It is completely decentralized meaning that no one President, Dictator, government or corporation can control it. The online digital accounting ledger known as the blockchain maintains trust and multiple persons nearly instantly verifying transactions for each other. People are financially incentivised to do so. It's a genius peer to peer operation that relies on people's greed to verify each transaction. Because of this, blockchain transactions are also the safest and most secure transactions ever invented.

What the internet did for information, blockchain technology is doing for transactions. Bitcoin is not backed by any shiny material in the ground, but by something far greater. The lack of trust in traditional fiat currency is causing people from all over the world to move their money into cryptocurrencies. It is a secure and relatively easy method of payment. I can send Bitcoin to anyone in the world for almost no fee at all and they receive it instantaneously. They can keep it in Bitcoin or they can instantly trade it on an exchange back into the local currency of their choice.

Not only that, but merchants around the world are starting to take notice and many are now accepting Bitcoin as a method of payment themselves. If I owned a store, I would be BEGGING people to pay me in Bitcoin. Those who accepted Bitcoin since the start of 2017 have now TRIPLED their profit.

And it is only getting started. Right now only about 1% of the population is confident in conducting regular transactions with Bitcoin. Imagine when that number moves to 3%. Then to 10%.

What many people don't realize is that the more people that jump into cryptocurrency the more value it will have. This is because the amount of Bitcoin that will ever be created is FINITE. And you can't have a Ponzi scheme with a finite resource. That number happens to be 21,000,000. That's it. Once that happens there will never be another Bitcoin created again.

Because we have 7 billion people on the planet and probably only 15 million people invested in cryptocurrency, there will come a day that 1 Bitcoin alone will be more than enough to retire on.

Now you can certainly continue singing those same songs. In fact, I like the occasional hymn now and again, but with more guitar. You can continue to fight something you don't fully understand or dismiss it as a fad while Fortune 500 companies and governments are starting to realize it's not.

Let me close with this. Eventually we all put down that newspaper in study hall and began to catch up on the news and other interests we have by surfing this web. You can't argue that or you wouldn't be reading this article!

Thank you for reading this and, as always, I would love to hear from you.

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Source by David Astman

U.S. Dollar's Effect on Commodities

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Beginners in trading, often ask why the U.S. dollar affects the price of many commodities in the market. To answer this question, it is important to understand first what a reserve currency is.

Reserve currencies are currencies that are stored by Central banks and major financial institutions in very large quantities. These currencies are used for major investments, massive transactions, and all aspects that are related to the global economy.

One of the most notable reserve currency in the world is the U.S. dollar. It is widely known for its liquidity and it is the currency of America, one of the world's most powerful and stable economy. Commodities are usually priced in reserve currencies. Gold, oil, steel, platinum and many others are priced with the U.S. dollar. Oftentimes, commodity buyers use the U.S. dollar to purchase various commodities. Thus, a sudden change in the price of the dollar can widely affect a number of commodities in the market.

Commodities and the U.S. dollar have an inverse correlation. If the price of the dollar rises then commodity price falls and if the price of the dollar decreases then commodity prices increase. An increase in the U.S. dollar value indicates that the buyer will have to spend more of their own currency to purchase a certain amount of a commodity. When commodities become more expensive its demand will fall resulting in a price decrease.

Every commodity has its own peculiar attributes. These attributes often affect the price of various commodities. But the value of the dollar has a superior influence on commodity prices compared to the different attributes of commodities. Even history has its testimonies with the inverse relationship between the U.S. dollar and commodities. In the year 2014, a significant number of commodity prices fell when the dollar appreciated by approximately 23%.

As a trader, it is important to always monitor the price of the dollar and even the aspects that will affect its price. It is common knowledge that commodities and the U.S. dollar move in opposite directions. This insight doesn't assure a specific investment decision but it can guide in making reliable decisions.

Another reason for the influence of the dollar is that commodities are global assets. They trade all over the world. Foreign buyers purchase U.S. commodities such as corn, soybeans, wheat, and oil with dollars. When the value of the dollar drops, they have more buying power because it requires less of their currencies to purchase each dollar.

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Source by Stephanie Torres