How Can You Profit from a Sudden Decline in Cryptocurrency Prices?

Problem scenario
You have a significant amount of cryptocurrency, but you want to benefit from what you think will be a certain decline. You want to hedge against loss to insure your total investment is not purely correlated or dependent on high cryptocurrency prices. How do you short cryptocurrency prices (to make money)?

Answer
Short selling is an option. You must be cognizant of the risks.

What is Layer 2 in the Context of Cryptocurrency?

Question
What is layer 2 in the context of cryptocurrency?

Answer
It is a secondary blockchain that facilitates smart contracts (link). Layer 2 is a second layer of a blockchain, an assistant blockchain, or a sidechain (https://www.ledger.com/academy/topics/blockchain/what-are-ethereum-layer-2-blockchains-and-how-do-they-work). A layer 2 for a cryptocurrency can support more features and more transactions per second (thus more users). A layer 2 can increase the speed which can be attractive to the adoption of a given cryptocurrency.

Will the Price of Bitcoin be Cut in Half at the Halving?

Question
You heard about the Bitcoin halving. Will the price be cut in half or will the quantity of Bitcoin in circulation be cut in half when the halving happens?

Answer
Neither of those things will happen. New Bitcoins are awarded to miners regularly. When the “halving” happens, the Bitcoin reward for mining will be cut in half.

What is Cryptocurrency Forking and Cryptocurrency Inflation?

Question
You want to know about cryptocurrency forking and inflation. What are these concepts?

Answer
Cryptocurrency can have inflation; for example as more bitcoin is mined, there is more in circulation. See [1] for more information about cryptocurrency inflation. Cryptocurrency forking can mean two different things [2]. There can be a new type of cryptocurrency that is not compatible with the older coin (a hard fork).

What is the Definition of a Security insofar as the Securities and Exchange Commission is Concerned?

Problem scenario
You want to know if a security should be registered with the SEC based on the Securities Act. When is an asset considered to be a security?

Solution
It depends on if it is an investment contract. The 1946 lawsuit of SEC v. W.J. Howey Co., 328 US 293 provides guidance or a test. https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/328/293/

The four criteria for a scheme or asset for the “Howey Test” are as follows:

  1. An investment of money
  2. In a common enterprise
  3. With the expectation of profit
  4. To be derived from the efforts of others

(The four points were taken from https://www.investopedia.com/terms/h/howey-test.asp;

Why Is Your Cryptocurrency Selling for a Lower Price?

Problem scenario
You see the US Dollar rate of a cryptocurrency that is much lower than you thought it would be. You have found on www.coinmarketcap.com and www.coingecko.com an expected rate. The exchange you use does not have fees. You want to convert a cryptocurrency into a different coin. But the value/rate is discrepant with other sources. Why is there an error in the rate for the exchange website you use?

What Does “Not Your Keys, Not Your Coins” Mean?

Problem scenario
You have seen the initialism NYKNYC. What does it mean?

Solution
NYKNYC means “not your keys, not your coins” or “not your keys, not your cryptocurrency.” A private key is a non-tangible key that is not supposed to be given to other people. A public key is an address that may be given to other people.

You have to protect that private key because if anyone else gets their hands on it,