As regards the growth of the forum,i do not really feel handing out merits should be left entirely in the hands of those who have racked up numerous merits,or the big guns in the forum,it makes the forum lack the transparency it ought to have.I think merits should be handed out to users by separate individuals or bodies whose duty it will be only to hand out merits and nothing more..
Leaving it to individual discretion makes it look more like a situation when one pops into facebook and likes a random post,the like actually means nothing to the initial poster,but in here merit is so so important as its required to get up the ranks. You hear statements like "make a quality post and you get a merit",who decides if the post is a quality one,an individual can go through a quality post and yet not hand in merits,probably he's not in a good mood,then how is that a criteria or a sine qua non to get merits..
I think other ways to get merits ought to be introduced to make the forum fair to all an sundry.

To study more about the cryptocurrency and know exactly where bitcoin and other crptocurrencies came from,what they do and how they work,here are six(6)books every crypro user must read.
1)"Digital Gold" by Nathaniel propper
2)cryptoassets;the innovative investors guide to bitcoin and beyond by Chris Burniske and Jack Tatar
3)"Blockchain Revolution" by Don Tapscott and Alex Tapscott
4)"The age of cryptocurrency" by Paul vignar and Michael j.casey
5)"American kingpin" by Nick Bilton
6)"The internet of money" by Andreas Antonopoulos.

You can also watch movies with the following titles:"The rise and rise of Bitcoin" and "Bitcoin; The end of money as we know it" both released in 2014,when global public knowledge of cryptocurrency remained a fraction of current levels.

I totally concur with you as most people hitherto view the cryptocurrency world with indifference,they are not so sure what to expect from a digital platform or a blockchain technology,they are kinda scared to get scammed.But I think if we are open minded and share the knowledge we've garnered with them,then the crypto world will keep growing rapidly,and teach them how to invest wisely.

Without a doubt etherium is the king of the ICO as it is used by over 95% of ICO programs,its also the king of the Altcoin and second to only the bitcoin.It has a very strong team with wonderful managers

Poor and wee understanding of the blockchain technology has been a sort of constraint to most people,the more reason why I think crptocurrency education should be inculcated in our local towns and schools.people see the system as utter scam and shy away from it, not knowing the system is one for the future and is definitely gonna be as important as fiat someday

I an yet to see or hear of an insurance company covering activities in the cryptocurrency world,this idea will be a wonderful one,though it's gonna be very difficult for an insurance company to trust this system considering it's unpredictability and scam possibilities,but if this is possible it'll give investors some sort of confidence to put their money into projects knowing fully well that their cash is insured.

The amount may be a wee bit to give you a huge profit,but it's all cool to start from somewhere at least.Your profit is commensurate with your invesents,so the more you invest,the higher your profit,ill advice you start up with maybe 500 USD or 1 to 2k

Three things I think one should obviously do when the price of bitcoin drops are:
Do not panic,and avoid panic sales
Be patient and purchase more bitcoin at lower prices
Hold and sell when the prices go up,and make more profit.

Firstly signature is a kind of advertisement for a company who wants to sell their coin,its also a fundraising program,so you need to select a good bounty campaign such as mobu-the future of security tokens,put on their signature,read carefully through the whitepaper and complete the stated task for every week,and make sure you never take off the signature till the end of the campaign

This is actually the best time to buy and store bitcoin,especially now that the price is a bit low,then store it and sell when the prices go up.

It's almost impossible to know a good bounty from the beginning,but there are measures to take in order to be at least 60% sure it's a good bounty;going through the white paper thoroughly,campaign managers is also another way to get good bounties,managers such as amazix always provide perfect bounties,you should also look out for the management team,bounty managers e.t.c

Hopefully the bull run will come in the last 3 months of 2018,because we're yet to experience the bull run this year,but with the experts predictions I do hope that the bull run will be upon is very soon

I do not think there is actually a book you can read about the bitcoin and Altcoin,but just stick around in this forum,and read up issues raised on numerous threads,you will eventually learn all there is to the blockchain technology,you can also browse up about the bitcoin online

I do not think ICO is ever coming to an end,as long as new coins keep coming into the market,companies continue investing In the blockchain technology.it is also a means of advertisement for new coins.. I think the ICO is here to stay

If you really want to invest in the Bitcoin,i think the time is right now,because it is kinda cheap,so all you need do now is to gain the knowledge of the bitcoin and cryptocurrency in general.You should also know that risk is the name of the game in the crypto world,but if you do have enough money bitcoin is the best to buy and hodl,and you'll definitely make huge profits.

That's a wonderful news,as more and more giant companies continue to accept the bitcoin as a medium of payment,Rolls Royce is a giant company and their endorsement of the bitcoin will help to alleviate fears from future investors.I think with more news such as this investments in the bitcoin will keep increasing

Talking about coins I think will grow,ill be a bit spoilt for choice, that's because the year 2018 has seen the rise of numerous coins growing rapidly,but for investments I'll go with Etherium,NEO.There are others such as waves,Ripple,Cardano,Golem,EOS.

Sadly its A big no,i used to believe such info,like we had a bull run in the final quarter of last year,so such run is expected this year.But the price keeps falling everyday,i think the cards are on the wall,the market is clearly unpredictable and highly volatile,so I'll just be patient and wait for the bull run,not some expert predictions

The Etherium right now is the king of the Altcoins,but if I'm to choose competitors to it,ill go with:EOS,cardona,Neo,Ripple and waves

Of a truth 90% of ICO programs are scam,sp before investing in an ICO program you ought to be very careful so you don't lose your money or waste your time,so you do well to check all the info,scrutinize the project,check out the management team and all that.Dont invest too much in them though,you can diversify your investments to be on the safer side.