Cryptocurrency was created to accommodate a fully-decentralized, global economy. Still, as new blockchains continue to pop up year over year, many don’t consider how their chain will interact with those that already exist. This issue defeats the purpose that many of these digital assets set out to achieve. WanChain’s goal is to solve this issue by connecting the isolated blockchains and allowing the world’s digital assets and data to flow freely between the various chains.

WanChain So Far

WanChain first released its ICO in October 2017. With the assistance of their fundraising specialist, Benn Godenzi, WanChain raised an impressive 122,000 ETH during its ICO phase. 

WanChain swiftly began working on its cross-chain infrastructure after its ICO phase, and in December 2019, WanChain switched from a proof-of-work (PoW) consensus to proof-of-stake (PoS). Their move to PoS made the project more environmentally conscious than before. Alongside the change in consensus, Wanchain released a proof-of-stake-enabled desktop wallet.  

In early 2021, WanChain introduced the world’s first decentralized bridge between BTC and ETH. The BTC-ETH bridge was the culmination of nearly five years of hard work, and shortly after, in August 2021, WanChain officially released its WanChain Web tool. WanChain Web gives users the ability to initiate cross-chain transactions without the need for intermediary networks. WanChain Web supports Bitcoin, Ethereum, EOSIO, Binance Smart Chain, Litecoin, Wanchain, XRP Ledger, Moonriver, Avalanche, and over a dozen other cryptocurrencies.

Most recently, WanChain partnered with Polygon to build a layer-2 cross-chain bridge for Polygon and Arbitrum. The partnership was announced in December 2021 and marked the first time a cross-chain bridge will utilize decentralized liquidity pools to power the bridge. Liquidity pools are essential but often misunderstood tools that many decentralized-finance projects need to run smoothly. Centralized exchanges often use a “maker and taker” model in which buyers and sellers are matched on either side of the transaction for people to buy and sell assets. Alternatively, liquidity pools serve as an automated way for people to process these transactions without needing a buyer or seller to accommodate the trade.

Blockchain Interoperability Alliance

In 2017, Benn Godenzi helped WanChain, Aion, and ICON launch the Blockchain Interoperability Alliance; this alliance allowed the three interoperability-focused companies to assist each other in creating a brighter future for cryptocurrency enthusiasts. 

Much like WanChain, Aion builds trustless technologies that pass assets from one blockchain to another without intermediaries. Likewise, ICON aims to solve the same problem as WanChain and Aion. It makes sense that the three entities would work together to improve blockchain interoperability. Still, before forming the Blockchain Interoperability Alliance, WanChain, Aion, and ICON were taking three different approaches to solve the problem.

Since the Blockchain Interoperability Alliance came to be, all three companies have made tremendous progress towards true interoperability. There’s no doubt that WanChain owes a portion of its success to the information-sharing and collaboration from the alliance.

The stock market has had a long great run but recent events have investors nervous. Inflation, negative economic performance, the Russia-Ukraine war and continued supply-chain disruption, delays and shortages and other factors are all contributing to the daily ups and downs of the market. 

How Do You View the State of the Market?

There are a couple of schools of thought when it comes to investing in the market. There’s the old adage on Wall Street that the market climbs on a “wall of worry.” When everything seems like it’s all doom and gloom, stock prices start rising when investors begin to show the first glimmer of confidence. Instead of simply looking at Q1 2022 economic data, analyze the reasons behind the data. For instance, inventories fell in comparison to Q4 2021 because there was a huge buildup of inventories last year. Government spending was also down when pandemic-relief efforts were scaled back.  Add to this, the fact that consumer spending and business investments were both up in Q1 2022. This view has some continuing to invest, particularly when they can buy stocks at a lower price.

On the other hand, some analysts predict that the market will continue to suffer massive losses – or at the very least, will experience a significant correction. Some argue that public companies have produced an overpriced stock market, excessive corporate debt, and insufficient levels of investment. Furthermore, these analysts believe the reason that U.S. stock valuations have remained high for so long is due to the Federal Reserve’s support of Wall Street via low interest rates and successive bouts of quantitative easing. Inflation is changing this picture because as interest rates rise faster than corporate cash flows, businesses are being forced to de-leverage and cut investments. Following this mindset, the valuation of U.S. stocks could plummet.

Assessing Investments in a Volatile Market

• Don’t sell solely based on current market movements. Shut out the noise, calm the fear and stay the course while evaluating your portfolio. 
• Gauge your risk tolerance. How well positioned are you to handle large swings in the market? Do you have enough cash on hand to meet your immediate goals? If not, look at moving some of your investments. 
• Diversify and rebalance your portfolio if needed.  Swings in the market can uncover the need for your portfolio to be better diversified and the mix of stocks rebalanced to better reflect your intended total asset allocation. Market fluctuations can also cause your allocation strategy to deviate from its original goal. Assets that have appreciated in value will account for a larger portion of your portfolio over time, while those that have declined will account for less. Rebalancing entails selling positions that have become overweighted in comparison to the rest of your portfolio and reinvesting the proceeds in positions that have become underweighted. 

Robert Tweed is primarily involved in real estate investing. He has purchased and flipped a ton of properties, including both single-family and multi-family homes. While most of the investments that Mr. Tweed has made have been positive, there have been a few times where he has lost money. Fortunately though, it wasn’t completely a loss, as he gained valuable lessons, and he has been able to take what he has learned and avoid those mistakes down the road. Here are a few of the lessons Mr. Tweed learned when he lost money and how you can avoid making the same mistakes he did.

Robert Tweed Explains a Key Mistake He Made Was Assuming Real Estate Always Increases

Robert Tweed says that one of the biggest mistakes he made when it came to real estate investing was assuming that real estate always increases in value, but never decreases. The real estate market crash was rough on many investors, including Mr. Tweed. Up until that point, real estate had not declined in some time. While it is rare that real estate decreases in value, it can happen, so investors always need to watch the real estate market and look for signs that the market may be cooling or prices may be declining.

Robert Tweed Details How Overspending Leads to Losses

Robert Tweed says another lesson he learned when he lost money on real estate investments was that you can over-improve some properties. While marble floors or quartz countertops may look beautiful, they may not be great choices for starter homes or homes in cheaper neighborhoods. You need to always know comps in the area where you are looking to flip a home and be mindful not to overspend, or you may not get all of your investment back.

Robert Tweed States That Not Knowing Tax Code Also Caused a Loss

Robert Tweed explains that the final lesson he learned is that you need to talk to an accountant or tax professional before you start investing in real estate. A great tax professional or accountant can help you realize what write-offs you may be able to claim and how to defer capital gains. Taking advantage of these types of things can help you save a ton of money on your taxes, which ultimately leaves you with more money in your pocket.

Robert Tweed knows that investing in real estate can be a great investment most of the time, but, if you are not careful, it can lead to losses. Learning from expert real estate investors, such as Mr. Tweed, can help you avoid common mistakes and help you to maximize the gains from your investments.

If you’ve spent time exploring the Defi space, you may have heard of Benn Godenzi. Benn has been a crypto-enthusiast since 2010 and has helped launch numerous cryptocurrency projects, but some people may still be unfamiliar with the name. If you’re interested in learning more about Benn, taking the time to understand the projects he is affiliated with is a great way to learn more about him.

Benn Godenzi’s Career

Benn is an early adopter of Bitcoin, having first begun investing in the popular cryptocurrency in 2010. As the director of Outlast Nutrition, Benn has always been well-versed in marketing strategy and networking, so it’s only natural that he would eventually combine his love for marketing with his passion for cryptocurrency. Benn first began working with cryptocurrency companies in 2017 when he became the director of marketing for Aion.

Much of Benn’s focus in the cryptocurrency space has been on ICOs. Now, Benn runs an advisory firm that aids cryptocurrency projects with adoption strategies and designing token utility ecosystems. 

ICOs

ICOS are a cryptocurrency’s “initial coin offering.” An ICO is similar to initial public offerings (IPOs) that traditional companies offer on a stock exchange. Throughout his time working with cryptocurrency, Benn Godenzi has assisted numerous cryptocurrencies with their ICOs. 

• Wanchain – Benn was an advisor and fundraising specialist for the interoperability-focused cryptocurrency, Wanchain. Among other things, Wanchain is credited with building the first decentralized bridge between BTC and ETH.
  
• GoChain – GoChain is a decentralized blockchain that supports smart contracts and various distributed applications. In 2018, Benn served as an advisor for GoChain, assisting them with their initial coin offering.
  
• Origo Network – Benn served as an advisor for Origo Network in 2018, aiding them in raising their goal of $30,000,000. Origo Network is a privacy-focused ledger that uses smart contracts to protect users’ privacy when transacting on the blockchain.
  
• CryptoCurve – CryptoCurve is a cryptocurrency project that makes using cryptocurrency easier for people to understand. With Benn’s assistance, CryptoCurve reached its goal of raising $16,000,000 during its ICO.
  
• Quarkchain – Quarkchain is a lightning-fast cryptocurrency capable of achieving millions of transactions per second. During their 2018 ICO, Benn aided Quarkchain in raising $20,000,000 with its ICO.
  
• EdenChain – EdenChain gives users an easy way to tokenize tangible and intangible assets such as real estate, labor, reputation, and commodities. In 2018, Benn joined Edenchain as an Advisor, helping them raise $24,000,000.

Blockchain Interoperability Alliance

One of the most impressive things Benn Godenzi has accomplished throughout his career is co-founding the Blockchain Interoperability Alliance. In 2017, with the aid of Godenzi,  Aion, Wanchain, and ICON joined forces to promote more connectivity between various blockchains. Since joining forces, the three companies have shared go-to-market strategies and blockchain interoperability knowledge across the three projects, significantly accelerating their growth.