DENTON
January 2018
Business
CHRONICLE
www.dentonbusinesschronicle.com
Banking on Bitcoin
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Locals offer perspectives on headline-grabbing cryptocurrencies By Kyle Martin
I
f you’re just now hearing of cryptocurrency and you are thinking about how to invest your money, you’ve got some catching up to do. But fret not. Because if you’re a coffee drinker, or like chips and salsa, you need little more than a few nearly microscopic fractions of digital currency to buy a pound or two locally from an online business in Denton; moreover, you can more or less choose one of the major digital currencies to do it. In fact, Andrew Hime, who operates as owner of online market CryptoMercado.com under the moniker “El Jefe,” says he often facilitates someone’s first-ever trial transaction using the online monies known as cryptocurrencies. “I hated the perception at the time that this was only for illegal purposes,” Hime said. For those new to the world of cryptocurrency, there are some things you’ll need to understand to make sense of the paragraphs above. To begin: Cryptocurrencies (e.g. Bitcoin, Litecoin, Dogecoin, Ethereum — just to name a few), are
online and digitally archived monies, otherwise called coins, that hold a specific monetary value that changes often, similar to that of a share of stock. The currencies hold a store of value, and can be exchanged for goods, services or anything the virtual world has to offer. A negative connotation surrounds cryptocurrency, as it has a tainted history involving online purchases of drugs, pornography, illegal services and more via an underground online black market called the Silk Road that was shut down by the feds in 2013. The first cryptocurrency that made it to a major market was Bitcoin, developed by an entity called Satoshi Nakamoto. Legend has it that Nakamoto may not actually exist, and a true identity of the person (or people) has yet to be found out. BITCOIN | CONTINUED ON PAGE 2
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Andrew Hime of Denton is the owner of online market CryptoMercado.com. Hime has been an investor in cryptocurrencies since 2010, and he accepts about 20 different forms of the virtual money.
Three money resolutions worth getting right in 2018 By NerdWallet
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Another new year, another chance for well-intentioned resolutions to start with a bang and fizzle out. But unlike failing to drop those last five pounds, falling short on financial goals you’re banking on in 2018 could cost you for years to come. Generally, attainable goals follow the SMART approach: They’re specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-based. But that doesn’t mean attainable goals are all easy. A recent study indicates certain money
goals that fit these criteria can remain challenging for some who are striving toward them. Here are some 2017 financial resolutions that proved hardest to hit, with reported achievement rates, according to NerdWallet’s 2018 New Year Money Report. ■ Americans who intended to stick to a monthly budget: 52 percent achieved. ■ Those who planned to save for an emergency fund: 42 percent achieved. ■ Those who planned to save for
a home down payment: 28 percent achieved. “Setting big goals is admirable, but if they are too big a leap from your current financial status, you could be setting yourself up for disappointment,” says Kimberly Palmer, personal finance expert for NerdWallet. “You can make them more achievable by breaking bigger goals into smaller ones.” Achieving any one of these three money goals can bring you closer to
GOALS | CONTINUED ON PAGE 4
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