Bitcoin updated post 4 years key changes November start - The first Bitcoin update of the last 4 years has been approved and everything points to it coming with a lot of features that will change completely and offer very interesting benefits.

The update that goes by the name Taproot will land in November and will bring greater privacy and efficiency of transactions and will bring with it smart contracts that are able to eliminate intermediaries from the most complex transactions, according to CNBC.

"Taproot matters, because it opens up a wide range of opportunities for interested entrepreneurs

in expanding the usefulness of bitcoin, " explains Alyse Killeen, founder and managing partner of bitcoin-focused venture firm Stillmark.

The update has almost universal support, since they are radical improvements in the code unlike the one that happened in 2017 due to the ideological division that it brought with it.

Bitcoin updated post 4 years key changes November

The most important change has to do with digital signatures. Right now the cryptocurrency uses something called an "elliptical curve digital signature algorithm" that ensures that only the rightful owner can use the bitcoins. With Taproot it will use Schnorr firms, which manage to make transactions with multiple firms illegible, according to Alejandro De La Torre, vice president of Poolin, a major mining group based in Hong Kong.

In practice this translates to greater privacy, as the keys will not have an exposure in the chain. ” You can hide who you are a little better, which is good, " says Brandon Arvanaghi, a former security engineer at the Gemini crypto exchange.

This does not mean that there is greater anonymity, but it will make simple transactions indistinguishable from the more complex and composed of multiple signatures.

Bitcoin updated post 4 years key changes November

There will also be changes in smart contracts, which can be used for any type of transaction, from paying the rent each month to buying a car.

Taproot makes smart contracts cheaper and smaller, in terms of the space they occupy on the blockchain. Killeen is clear that this enhanced functionality and efficiency presents " mind-blowing potential."

Bitcoin updated post 4 years key changes November: Currently, smart contracts can be created on both the core protocol layer and Lightning Network, a payment platform built on top of bitcoin that allows instant transactions. Now, developers are putting the rest into this latest technology, anticipating the upgrade that will allow for very specific contracts.

"The most important thing for Taproot are ... smart contracts, " says Fred Thiel, CEO of Marathon Digital Holdings, a cryptocurrency mining specialist. "It is already the main driver of innovation in the ethereum network. Smart contracts essentially give you the opportunity to actually build applications and businesses on blockchain."

Bitcoin updated post 4 years key changes November

More news:

Advantages of the 'Buy & Hold' strategy: investing in the very long term, even holding positions over decades

"If you don't feel comfortable holding a stock for ten years, you shouldn't own it for ten minutes. My preferred investment horizon is forever." This is how Warren Buffet explains his desire for the long term when betting on a value, a company or a sector. Why this choice, what is the reason that leads many other experts to recommend this route? We explain the advantages of the Buy & Hold strategy, which includes even maintaining positions over decades.

Although translating it into practice entails some difficulties, this line of inversion is simple in theory. It consists of acquiring titles of a company and holding its property over time, as its name indicates ‘buy and hold’. There is no consensus on the length of the long term, but, at least, it ranges from five to ten years, according to the sources, and can be extended for a lifetime.

As already noted, the Buy & Hold philosophy is simple. However, there is a fundamental step in the process. It happens when the selection of companies is made-it should be several -, when shaping the portfolio for which you are going to bet in the long term. What businesses are interesting in this field? For, in principle, on a generic basis, those who meet these conditions:

• Have a solid structure.
• Operating in stable sectors and territories.
• That have a sufficient critical size, preferably large companies.
• That present a wide tour in the parks as listed companies.
• Distribute dividends to their shareholders, better if they are succulent.
• That present recurring earnings.

Also, given the time horizon of the investment, it is appropriate to avoid allocating money to it that may be necessary in the short or medium term. That is, the capital to dedicate to the Buy & Hold must be dispensable in the day to day.

Advantages of the 'Buy & Hold' strategy

Among the positive aspects of this philosophy are the following:

• Being a long-term investment, the risks of loss are reduced.
• One only has to look at the evolution of stock exchange circuits over broad horizons to see that, relying on them, profits are much more likely to be made. If you take any 30-year index, by setting a long-term assumption, the positive performance is virtually certain.
• As they are stable positions, it is possible to continue adding fixed amounts-monthly, for example - to increase the number of securities in the portfolio.
• There is also the option to add to the initial capital the amounts received as dividends. That way, the investor will get a return on the compound interest through the reinvestment of profits.
• Having made a good choice to form the portfolio, the profits distributed by companies can be an interesting extra income for their shareholders.

Buy & Hold Risks

As there is no risk-free investment, the following threats must also be considered:

• Obviously, the selection of companies to make up the portfolio is key. Therefore, we must try not to be carried away by companies that, at first, may seem ‘the goose of the golden eggs’ and then remain in a mere mirage. We must not lose sight of the fact that, in this long-term strategy, we must bet on stable and regular companies.
• As with most investments, diversification is essential. In this case, more if possible, due to the temporary peculiarities of the Buy & Hold.
• Get carried away by panic. If a position with a long time horizon is maintained, it is most likely to experience losses or negative results at a given time. When the investor is in that scenario, he should try to keep in mind that his strategy is long-term. All values go through crises or specific declines. In fact, you can even take a tiller and take advantage of these situations to expand the portfolio by buying more shares of the same company at a lower price.