List of questions about [Crypto Investment]

If you've been in the crypto space for a while, you've certainly heard of Elrond. It was a project that generated immense excitement for its promise of incredible speed and scalability. But if you search for it today, you'll find yourself redirected to a new name: MultiversX. Are they the same thing? Is the original project gone? Let's clear up the biggest point of confusion right away. Yes, they are the same project. The change from Elrond to MultiversX represents a strategic evolution, a doubling-down on a new vision for the future of the internet. As your guide, I'll walk you through Elrond's original promise, its transformation into MultiversX, and what the EGLD crypto is used for today.

The Original Vision: Solving the Scalability Problem

The project first known as Elrond launched with a clear and ambitious goal: to solve the blockchain "trilemma" of being simultaneously decentralized, secure, and scalable. Its main innovation was a technology called "Adaptive State Sharding." Think of a busy highway with only one lane, causing a massive traffic jam. Sharding is like splitting that highway into dozens of parallel lanes. By processing transactions simultaneously across these multiple "shards," the Elrond network was designed to achieve incredibly high speeds—thousands of transactions per second—at a very low cost, a significant advantage over older, slower blockchains.

The Rebrand: A New Focus on the Metaverse

In late 2022, the Elrond team announced a major strategic pivot by rebranding to MultiversX. This wasn't just a marketing change; it was a signal of their new primary focus: building the infrastructure for the metaverse. While the core technology of the blockchain remains, the company's efforts are now aimed at creating a suite of powerful, vertically integrated products for this new digital frontier. These products include xFabric, a deployable blockchain module for brands; xPortal, a super-app that acts as a gateway to the metaverse; and xWorlds, a platform for creating interoperable virtual worlds.

The Role of the EGLD Crypto Token

The native cryptocurrency of the network is EGLD, which stands for "eGold." It is the fuel that powers the entire MultiversX ecosystem. The EGLD crypto serves several critical functions within the network. It is used to pay for transaction fees, much like gas on Ethereum. It is also used for staking, where holders can lock up their EGLD to help secure the network and, in return, earn rewards. Finally, EGLD is used for governance, giving holders a say in the future direction of the project.

How to Evaluate MultiversX Today

As an investor, understanding this evolution is key. The project is no longer just a high-speed blockchain; it is a direct bet on the future of the metaverse and Web3. Its success now depends on the adoption of
its new suite of products. When researching MultiversX, you should focus on the growth of its developer community and the quality of the partnerships it forms for its new metaverse-focused tools. Its core value proposition remains its high-performance blockchain, but its future growth is tied to this new, ambitious vision.

Beyond Bitcoin: The Ethereum vs. XRP Ledger Duel Defining Crypto’s Future

Forget thinking of them as just coins. Ethereum and XRP represent two fundamentally different philosophies in the blockchain universe, each building a distinct future. One is the chaotic, creative engine of a decentralized internet. The other is the streamlined, institutional-grade highway for global money. Understanding this split is key to navigating the crypto landscape.

The Core Divide: Decentralized Bazaar vs. Efficient Corridor

Picture Ethereum as a vast, open-source metropolis. No single entity owns it. Its skyline is constantly changing, built by thousands of independent developers and secured by a volunteer army of over 8,000 validators worldwide. This decentralization is its bedrock and its creed, fostering incredible innovation at the cost of sometimes chaotic complexity.

Now, envision the XRP Ledger as a precision-engineered, high-speed rail network. It’s built for one primary mission: moving value instantly and cheaply. To achieve this, it opts for a more efficient, coordinated design. Its consensus relies on a trusted Unique Node List (UNL) of over 35 validators out of 135+, a structure that critics call centralized but proponents argue is essential for the speed and predictability demanded by financial institutions. Ripple, the company, is the chief architect and main promoter of this network.

This foundational difference—decentralized playground vs. efficient payment utility—echoes through every other comparison.

The Engine Room: How They Actually Work

Here’s where the technical visions clash:

A Defining Moment for Decentralization: Flow's Rollback Reversal and the Unyielding Power of Community Voice

The cryptocurrency landscape was rocked this weekend by a seismic event that transcended a mere security breach. The Flow blockchain, a network designed for scalability and mainstream adoption, found itself at the epicenter of a profound philosophical crisis following a sophisticated $3.9 million exploit. What unfolded was not just a race to recover funds, but a dramatic clash between expediency and principle, culminating in a stunning governance reversal that may redefine how blockchain communities handle future crises.

The initial response from the Flow Foundation was one of decisive, top-down action: a proposed rollback of the layer-1 chain. In technical terms, this meant orchestrating a blockchain reorganization—effectively rewriting recent history to invalidate the malicious transactions and restore stolen assets. For many traditional institutions, this would seem a logical, swift remedy. In the world of decentralized trust, however, it was perceived as nothing short of heresy.

The Community Backlash: A Line Drawn in the Digital Sand

The announcement of the rollback plan ignited an immediate and fiery storm of protest across social platforms and developer forums. The backlash was not merely about the method but the profound precedent it threatened to set. Critics argued that the immutable, unstoppable nature of a blockchain is its cornerstone virtue; to violate that, even in the face of theft, is to undermine the very social contract that attracts users to decentralized systems.

Leading the charge was Alex Smirnov, founder of cross-chain bridge deBridge, whose vocal critique on platform X resonated with a broad swath of the community. He decried the plan as a "rushed decision" with the potential to unleash "financial damage far exceeding the impact of the original exploit." His argument struck a deep chord: if a foundation can rewind the chain once, what stops it from doing so again under different pressures? This, for many, was a slippery slope toward recentralization, transforming the blockchain from a public ledger into a mutable database controlled by a select few.

This wave of dissent was not a marginal murmur but a tidal wave of collective will. Validators, developers, and everyday token holders united in a rare show of consensus, forcing the Foundation to confront an existential question: should they save $3.9 million in assets at the potential cost of $3.9 billion in trust?

The Pivot: A Victory for Principle Over Expediency

In a move that will be studied in future blockchain governance case studies, the Flow Foundation publicly and completely scrapped the rollback plan. Their updated statement was unambiguous and carried the weight of a hard-learned lesson: “There will be no chain reorganization. All legitimate transactions that occurred prior to the halt remain valid and will not require resubmission or reconciliation.”

This declaration was more than a change in tactics; it was a reaffirmation of core values. The Foundation chose to prioritize the long-term integrity of the network's decentralization over a short-term financial recovery. The new path forward is a complex, multi-phase technical recovery plan that acknowledges the messier reality of blockchain security:

1- Immediate Triage: Affected accounts were temporarily restricted, and EVM operations were placed in a read-only state to prevent further movement of exploited funds.

2- Careful Relaunch: The plan involves a meticulous, sequential restart of the network's core components, beginning with its native smart contract language, Cadence.

3- Transparent Timeline: The Foundation has been clear that full recovery will take several days, tempering expectations while committing to continuous updates.

While this approach does not guarantee the recovery of the stolen $3.9 million, it safeguards something arguably more valuable: the network's credibility as a decentralized and immutable ledger.

Market Fallout and the Imperative of Secure Access

The psychological and financial impact was instantaneous and severe. The FLOW token, a barometer of ecosystem confidence, nosedived over 20% in the immediate aftermath, reflecting the market's acute sensitivity to both security flaws and governance instability. This volatility serves as a powerful, real-time lesson in crypto market dynamics, where trust is the most valuable—and most fragile—asset.

We have all heard the stories. The friend of a friend who put $500 into Shiba Inu and bought a house a year later. The college student who bought Solana when it was trading for pennies. These stories spark a specific kind of envy in every investor. We look at the charts, seeing the vertical green lines, and ask ourselves one painful question: Why didn't I see that coming?

The truth is, finding the next big winner—the "100x gem"—isn't just about luck. While luck plays a role, the investors who consistently win are the ones who treat crypto not like a casino, but like a job. They don't just buy what’s trending on Twitter; they act like digital detectives. They dig through the trash to find the treasure.

This process is called Fundamental Analysis, or in crypto slang, DYOR (Do Your Own Research). If you want to stop being the "exit liquidity" for other people and start finding opportunities before the crowd arrives, you need to learn how to investigate a project like a pro.

Start with the Problem, Not the Token

The biggest mistake new investors make is falling in love with a solution looking for a problem. They see a project with cool sci-fi branding and buzzwords like "AI-powered decentralized quantum ledger," and they hit the buy button. But successful investing starts with a simple question: Does this actually need to exist?

While many crypto projects aim to improve upon existing financial systems, the SORA network has a far more ambitious goal: to create an entirely new, decentralized economic system. It is a complex and visionary project that goes beyond simple transactions to address macroeconomic theory.

This guide will explain the SORA ecosystem, the role of its native XOR crypto token, and the key products that are bringing its vision to life.

What is the SORA Network?

SORA is a blockchain project that describes itself as a "supranational, decentralized central bank." Its primary goal is to create a fair and efficient economic system that can coexist with and provide services to other blockchains. The SORA network is built on the Polkadot ecosystem, leveraging its interoperability and security to connect with other blockchains.

The XOR Token Explained

The native utility and governance token of the SORA network is the XOR crypto. It is a central piece of the project's economic model and is designed to have an elastic supply, managed by a token bonding curve. This means the supply of XOR can expand or contract based on a set of on-chain economic principles, similar to how a central bank manages a fiat currency. The primary use cases for the XOR token are paying for transaction fees (gas) on the network and participating in governance.

Key Products: Polkaswap

The most prominent application built within the SORA ecosystem is Polkaswap. It is a cross-chain, non-custodial Automated Market Maker (AMM) and decentralized exchange (DEX). Polkaswap is designed to be the primary liquidity hub for the Polkadot and Kusama ecosystems, allowing users to trade assets from many different blockchains in one place. This provides a tangible, real-world utility for the SORA network and its XOR token, which is used to power the exchange.

The Investment Perspective

Investing in SORA and its XOR token is a bet on a highly ambitious, long-term vision. The project is not simply a new blockchain; it is an attempt to build a new model for a global economy. Its success is tied to the adoption of its economic principles and the utility of its products, like Polkaswap. The project's complexity and grand scope represent a higher degree of risk compared to more straightforward crypto projects but also offer a unique value proposition for those who believe in its transformative goals.

To understand more about the architecture SORA is built on, read our article on Polkadot and its parachains.

Unlocking the World of Crypto Trading: Your Guide to Navigating the Digital Gold Rush

Let’s be honest. You’ve heard the stories. The life-changing profits, the dizzying volatility, the feeling of being on the cutting edge of finance. Cryptocurrency trading has captured the global imagination, promising a new frontier of financial opportunity. But for many, it remains a confusing and intimidating world. The question isn't just "how do I start?" but  how do I succeed without losing my shirt?

This isn't about quick fixes or so-called  secrets. Real success in trading crypto comes from a foundation of knowledge, a clear strategy, and the discipline to stick to it. Whether you're watching the markets from New York, London, Mumbai, or Lagos, the core principles remain the same. This guide is designed to walk with you, from your first tentative step onto an exchange to the development of a confident, strategic approach. So, take a deep breath. Your journey into the fascinating world of cryptocurrency trading starts right here.

Beyond the Hype: What Does It Truly Mean to Trade Crypto?

At its heart, trading cryptocurrency is about speculating on the price movements of digital assets like Bitcoin, Ethereum, and thousands of other altcoins. Unlike the traditional stock market that sleeps on weekends, the crypto market is a 24/7, global arena. This constant motion creates a unique environment of both immense opportunity and significant risk.

Think of it not as a lottery ticket, but as a skill to be honed. It’s about learning to read the mood of the market, understanding the narratives that drive prices, and making calculated decisions rather than emotional ones. For someone in a country with a volatile local currency, it might be a hedge against inflation. For a tech-savvy individual in a stable economy, it might be a high-growth investment vehicle. The  why  is personal, but the how  is universal.

Laying the Groundwork: Your First Steps into the Market

Before you place a single trade, there are essential foundations to build. Rushing in is the most common mistake, and it’s one we can easily avoid.

Your first major decision is choosing a home for your trading activities—the exchange. This is where you will buy, sell, and hold your digital assets. The landscape is vast, with platforms catering to different needs. Some, like Coinbase, are renowned for their user-friendly interfaces, perfect for a beginner. Others, like Binance, offer a staggering array of tools and coins for the more advanced user.

The crypto landscape is a vortex of innovation and uncertainty, a universe expanding at breakneck speed. As new chains, tokens, and use cases burst onto the scene almost daily, a pressing question confronts every investor: in a future we can barely imagine, how do you place a bet?

According to Matt Hougan, Chief Investment Officer at Bitwise Asset Management, the answer is becoming strikingly clear. The era of the crypto index fund is not just coming—it’s poised to dominate the next chapter of digital asset investing.

The Complexity Conundrum: Why Picking Winners is a Fool’s Game

Gone are the days of a simple Bitcoin-or-bust mentality. The crypto ecosystem is now a sprawling metropolis of layer-1 blockchains, DeFi protocols, real-world asset tokenization, and speculative memecoins. This dazzling complexity, while a sign of maturation, presents an immense challenge.

Hougan pulls no punches in his assessment: At this stage of crypto’s development, I’d argue it’s unknowable. He speaks from the front lines, with a deep network of experts, yet admits that predicting which chain will triumph or how the regulatory and technological dominoes will fall requires  supernatural foresight.

The market’s recent trajectory proves his point. Prices soared on political shifts, then wobbled under macroeconomic pressures like tariffs and interest rate fears. The future hinges on execution, regulation, luck, and the actions of a handful of key individuals. In such an environment, backing a single project isn’t just risky—it’s akin to buying a lottery ticket when you could own the entire lottery.

The Elegant Solution: Owning the Map, Not Just a Single Treasure

Faced with this fundamental uncertainty, Hougan’s strategy is elegantly simple: I buy the market.

Specifically, he advocates for a market-cap-weighted crypto index fund—a single investment that holds a broad basket of the largest and most significant digital assets, proportionate to their size. This is the  set it and forget it  foundation for the crypto age.

Think of it not as a bet on any single technology, but as a bet on the entire thesis of a digitized, decentralized future. Whether it’s Bitcoin cementing itself as digital gold, Ethereum powering a new financial system, or a currently obscure chain solving a problem we don’t yet know we have, a broad index captures the collective upside.

Hougan’s conviction is staggering. He believes the total crypto market could grow by up to 20 times in the coming decade.  Stablecoins will matter more. Tokenization will matter more. Bitcoin will matter more,  he states, envisioning a wave of adoption across prediction markets, DeFi, and digital identity.

The nightmare scenario for any investor is missing the wave entirely by choosing the wrong vessel.  Imagine correctly calling a market that goes up 100,000x,  Hougan warns,  and still underperforming because you backed the wrong horse.

The 2026 Inflection Point: Index Funds Go Mainstream

While these multi-crypto funds exist today, Hougan pinpointed 2026 as the year they become  a big deal. As the market grows more convoluted, the appeal of a simple, diversified on-ramp will skyrocket for both institutional and retail investors. It’s the same logic that made the S&P 500 ETF a cornerstone of traditional portfolios—applied to the most disruptive asset class of our time.

The message is powerful and resonates far beyond crypto natives. For anyone intrigued by blockchain’s potential but bewildered by its pace, the index fund offers a solution. It’s a way to participate without having to become a full-time analyst, a hedge against your own prognostications, and a foundational core for a forward-looking portfolio.

In the end, Hougan’s approach is one of humble confidence: confidence in crypto’s transformative future, but humility about anyone’s ability to chart its precise path. In a world of unknowable outcomes, sometimes the smartest bet is on the entire field.

Takeaway: As the crypto universe fragments into a thousand possibilities, the wisest investment may no longer be a choice between assets, but the choice to own the ecosystem itself. The index fund is evolving from a niche product into the essential bedrock for the next generation of crypto exposure.

Ready to Take Control of Your Crypto Journey? Start Trading Safely on BYDFi

As debates over privacy, innovation, and regulatory freedom continue to shape America’s crypto future, one truth remains: your ability to buy, trade, and build wealth in crypto shouldn’t depend on politics.

Navigating the Crypto Tax Maze: How a Simple Misstep Could Cost You a Fortune in Spain

chances are you've felt that mix of excitement and anxiety that comes with the crypto world. The dizzying highs of a portfolio in the green, the complex thrill of DeFi, and that nagging voice in the back of your mind every time tax season looms:  Have I done this correctly?

Let's be brutally honest. For many traders and investors across Spain, from the tech hubs of Barcelona to the sunny coasts of Málaga, cryptocurrency has evolved from a curious experiment into a significant part of their financial lives. But while the blockchain is decentralized, the tax authorities are very much centralized, and they are catching up fast. I've sat across from too many bright, ambitious individuals in my offices in Madrid and Valencia who saw their hard-earned gains evaporate not because of a market crash, but because of a tax oversight they never saw coming.

The landscape in 2025, shaped by Spain's own regulations and the EU's sweeping MiCA framework, is more complex than ever. This isn't meant to scare you, but to empower you. Understanding the nuances of crypto taxation isn't just about compliance; it's a strategic skill that protects and grows your wealth.

The Unseen Risks in Your Digital Wallet

The fundamental challenge with crypto taxes in Spain is the illusion of invisibility. Unlike the dividend statement from your traditional broker, there's no neatly formatted document arriving in your mailbox summarizing your yearly gains and losses. The responsibility falls entirely on you, the investor, to reconstruct a year's worth of transactions—often across multiple wallets and exchanges—and translate them into a coherent report for the Spanish Tax Agency, the Hacienda.

The Hacienda classifies cryptocurrencies as a taxable asset, meaning any profit from their sale is subject to Capital Gains Tax. While the rate can be up to 26%, the real danger isn't just the tax itself, but the layers of complexity beneath the surface. For instance, if your trading activity is frequent and substantial enough, Hacienda may consider you a professional trader, which catapults your tax situation into an entirely different bracket under Corporate Tax, with all its accompanying obligations.

I remember working with a client, a software engineer from Bilbao, who was a brilliant trader but had no background in finance. He operated on the assumption that he only needed to pay tax when he converted his crypto back into euros on his main exchange. He had no idea that swapping one token for another, or providing liquidity in a DeFi pool, constituted a taxable event. This single misunderstanding created a chain reaction of unreported gains, which, when we finally untangled it, had put him at risk of a five-figure penalty.

The Most Common, Costly Misconceptions

Let's walk through some of the most frequent pitfalls I encounter. These aren't abstract concepts; they are real-world scenarios that create real tax liabilities.

First, consider the concept of "free" money. An airdrop from a new project or coins you receive from a hard fork feel like a gift. In the eyes of the tax authority, however, they are considered income at their fair market value at the moment you gain control of them. I once advised a client who had received Ethereum Classic from the original Ethereum fork years prior and had forgotten about it. When he finally sold it during a price surge, he was facing a tax bill on the entire value, as the cost basis was essentially zero. What felt like a windfall suddenly came with a hefty price tag.

Then there is the labyrinth of staking and yield farming. The rewards you earn for securing the network or providing liquidity are treated as ordinary income, taxed at Spain's progressive income tax rates, which can soar to 47% for top earners. Many investors mistakenly lump these rewards with their capital gains, leading to significant miscalculations.

A real estate investor from Madrid I worked with was staking a substantial amount of Solana and earning impressive yields. He had assumed it was all a long-term capital gain, but we had to reclassify it as income, which drastically changed his tax planning strategy for the better.

For those of you using international platforms, the complexity multiplies. Spain's Modelo 720 declaration for foreign assets requires you to report holdings over €50,000 held outside the country. The penalties for failing to file this form are notoriously severe, starting at a minimum of €10,000 per data item. It’s a regulatory trap that has ensnared many unsuspecting investors.

Your Financial Compass: The Role of a Crypto-Savvy Advisor

So, where do you turn when the DIY approach becomes a source of stress? This is where the specialized expertise of a crypto-focused financial advisor or CPA becomes invaluable. Think of us not as accountants who have learned a few crypto terms, but as financial translators and strategists. We speak the language of blockchain—gas fees, layer-2s, NFTs—and we translate that activity into the language of tax law and euro-denominated reports that the Hacienda requires.

A true specialist does more than just fill out your Form 100. We help you build a system. We analyze your transaction history to identify every possible deductible cost, from exchange fees to network gas fees, which can substantially reduce your taxable gain. We help you structure your holdings to be as tax-efficient as possible, considering factors like Spain's Wealth Tax if your portfolio grows beyond a certain threshold. For the active trader, we can implement strategies like tax-loss harvesting—strategically selling assets at a loss to offset gains—which can preserve thousands of euros of your capital.

This isn't about finding loopholes; it's about applying a deep understanding of both the technology and the law to ensure you are not paying a single euro more than you legally owe. The fee you pay for this service is not an expense; it is an investment in peace of mind and financial optimization that often pays for itself many times over.

A Practical Path Forward: From Chaos to Clarity

If you're feeling overwhelmed, the first step is to pause and get organized. You don't need an MBA in blockchain, but you do need a methodical approach.