In today's highly digital world, ways of doing various things have changed dramatically – staying connected with family and friends, doing business, learning and of course – trading. Over the years, technology advancements have provided us with the convenience of online payments. Trading online is possible with credit or debit cards, using payment services, such as Paypal, or using cryptocurrencies.

Cryptocurrencies are digital assets designed to serve as a medium of exchange and uses cryptography to secure the transactions as well as to control the creation of new units of the currency. Cryptocurrencies are usually classified as a subset of alternative currencies, also called digital or virtual currencies. As opposed to standard money and centralized banking systems in the world, cryptocurrencies are controlled decentralized – using blockchain transaction databases.

BitCoin became the first cryptocurrency in 2009. Interestingly, BitCoin inventor, Satoshi Nakamoto, did not want to invent an alternative currency but it emerged as a side product to another invention. His initial plan was to develop an electronic cash system that is completely decentralized with no servers or central authority. But over time, BitCoin has gained great popularity despite numerous tries to develop new cryptocurrencies (most of them are called altcoins from alternative and bitcoin, showing their relatedness to BitCoins).

Why cryptocurrencies are so popular?
As one of the key driving forces behind the increasing value of BitCoin, is its widespread usage across the world with many now choosing to make payments via BitCoin instead of using other methods. For consumers, a possibility to use BitCoin means increased ease and convenience in addition to higher security if comparing to a credit or debit card due to significantly lower risk of identity theft and fraud during online trading. Popularity among consumers is growing also because acceptance of BitCoins is increasing among businesses. Nowadays, trading in real life is also possible using BitCoins – from restaurants and coffee shops to real estate companies and other establishements who accept BitCoins. It is more than likely that with the growing value and popularity, the number of businesses and retailers that accept BitCoins will continue to rise. Among others, it is possible to point out various other benefits of BitCoin:

Quick and cheap transactions – when transferring BitCoins, transfer fees are significantly lower compared to other conventional types of money. In addition, international money transfers can take from several days to more than a week to be complete, whereas BitCoin transaction is generally comple within an hour. This is due to BitCoins being completely global and subject to very few laws or restrictions of any country's central banking institution;
This leads to the next characteristic of BitCoin that is appealing to investors – as it is completely digital, BitCoins do not have physical production or storage issues, it is not controlled by the government or the central banking institution of any country, therefore it cannot be influenced by monetary and fiscal decisions or political actions;
In the world of financial trading, BitCoin is a new area of investment, which brings rather huge volatility and behaves differently than other conventional currencies. In late 2013, investors started to see BitCoin as an attractive investment vehicle. BitCoin gained in value massively from 200 USD in November 2013 to more than 1000 USD only a month later. It is important to point out, that volatility not always leads to exceptional gains. One of the reasons for BitCoins volatility is the uncertainties related to its legitimacy. Many countries still have not decided how to regulate cryptocurrencies. And when they do, it may have a great impact on the value of BitCoin and its future as the most popular cryptocurrency.

Membership in International Unions
Whether it is an alliance, incorporated union, federal union or supranational body here is the list of unions the country is a member of. The Republic of Congo is a member of several unions. They are African Union, International Monetary Fund, United Nations, World Bank, World Trade Organization.

African Union
The Republic of Congo is a member of African Union. On 25 May 1963, it joined the AU as a full member state. The African Union (AU) is a continental union consisting of 54 countries in Africa. The AU was established on 26 May 2001 in Addis Ababa and launched on 9 July 2002 in South Africa. The main objectives of the AU are to promote international cooperation and intensify cooperation for development as well as to safeguard the sovereignty and territorial integrity of member states. The most important decisions of the AU are made by the Assembly of the African Union. The assembly is a semi-annual meeting of the heads of state and government of its member states.

International Monetary Fund
The Republic of Congo is a member of International Monetary Fund. On 10 July 1963, it joined the IMF as a member. The IMF is an organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., of 189 countries working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability and facilitate international trade. The IMF now plays a central role in the management of balance of payments difficulties and international financial crises. The union is governed by and accountable to the all 189 member countries. As of 2010, the fund had SDR 476.8 billion (about US$ 755.7 billion).

United Nations
The Republic of Congo is a member of United Nations. On 20 September 1960, it joined the UN at its inception date as a full member state. Founded in 1945, the United Nations is an intergovernmental organization to promote international co-operation. The work of the United Nations are guided by the principles contained in its founding Charter. It is currently made up of 193 Member States. The headquarters of the United Nations is in Manhattan, New York City, further main offices are situated in Geneva, Nairobi and Vienna. Its objectives include maintaining international peace and security, promoting human rights, fostering social and economic development, protecting the environment, and providing aid.

World Bank
The Republic of Congo is a member of World Bank. On 10 July 1963, it became a member of the World Bank Group. The World Bank is international financial institution that provides loans to developing countries. It's like a cooperative, made up of 189 member countries. These member countries are represented by a ministers of finance who are the ultimate policymakers at the World Bank. The World Bank's official goal is the reduction of poverty.

World Trade Organization
The Republic of Congo is a member of World Trade Organization. On 27 March 1997, it joined the WTO as a member. The World Trade Organization is an intergovernmental organization which regulates international trade. At its core are the WTO agreements ratified in national parliaments. It is the only global international organization dealing with the rules of trade between nations. The goal is to help producers of goods and services, exporters, and importers conduct their business. The WTO deals with regulation of trade between participating countries by providing a framework for negotiating trade agreements and a dispute resolution process aimed at enforcing participants' adherence.

The Chinese market is huge and evolving, so there are many benefits to registering your trademark in the registers of the Trademark Office of the State Administration of Industry and Commerce of the People's Republic of China (SAIC).

Since the entry into force of the TRIPs agreement, the legislation on registration and protection of trademarks in China has become more and more similar to that in Europe. Nevertheless, the process was gradual and not yet complete, as the TRIPs agreement provided only basic rules that could be implemented by the states, dividing the agreement in the long term according to their legal situation. Companies that do not promptly register their trademark in China face many problems when trying to fight counterfeiting of their products in order to obtain trademark protection in China.

If you don't register on time, there is a big risk that your brand has already been “copied” and registered by a local company in China before you start your expansion in the Chinese market.

In fact, unlike courts in Europe and the United States, Chinese courts can completely reject the global practice of granting protection to unregistered trademarks of well-known companies. For example, in 1996, a Chinese apparel company registered a graphic of a horse identical to Ferrari's. The Chinese Trademark Office rejected Ferrari's objection to the registration on the grounds that the Chinese company had applied for registration of the graphic first (first-to-file principle). Ferrari appealed the decision, arguing that the symbol was recognizable as the symbol of the Ferrari brand around the world, including China. In 2007, after 11 years of litigation, the Beijing First Intermediate Court ruled that Ferrari's horse graphic was not a famous brand among Chinese consumers and deserved no legal protection, although the "Ferrari" name was.

In the near future, the situation may change due to the development of Chinese technology and trade, which will make Chinese companies interested in trademark protection as well as European and American companies, which could make the competition even fiercer.

Considering that the mere use of the trademark without registration is legally irrelevant, you should act before starting your commercial activities. This is also important because the effects of legal protection in China come into effect from the moment of registration and not just from the moment of filing, and the usual time to obtain a registration is around 2-4 years.

Afghanistan's logistics performance index is 2.07. It indicates mediocre performance - transit procedures are relatively unreliable, punctuality and safety of transported goods are often an issue, although such a system can work relatively well when traffic is not too heavy.

Inch performance is rated at 2.16. This indicates mediocre performance - although somewhat ineffective, clearing processes do not unduly deter international business activity, occasionally fees and/or required documents can be unpredictable, long clearing times can also be an issue.

The infrastructure quality in Afghanistan is rated at 1.82. It indicates mediocre quality - roads, railways, ports and other facilities are capable of handling some significant traffic, but not enough to ensure smooth transit at all times.

International shipping quality is 1.99. It indicates a mediocre performance - the services provided are reasonably attractive to foreign customers, and the price is right up there with the quality, which is still not very competitive.

The competence of logistics service providers is rated at 2.12. The providers are of mediocre competence - they can ensure a certain quality of their services, sometimes even outstanding, although their overall performance can still be deficient in many aspects.

Tracking options for shipments are rated at 1.85. It indicates mediocre performance - the tracking systems provide some information, which usually includes the most necessary subjects, such as the current location of a shipment, the arrival and departure dates and the status of a shipment; however, there is usually a lack of more detailed information on the status and multilingual accessibility options.

Tracking options for shipments are rated at 2.48. It indicates a so-so performance - most shipments arrive either towards the end of the scheduled timeframes or late.

In Afghanistan, 43% of the population has access to electricity. Afghanistan has 52 airports nationwide. There are 223 internet hosts in Afghanistan.

Road network
The total road length in Afghanistan is 43,670 km (27,141 miles). Of these, 0 km (0 miles) of roads are classified as freeways, dual carriageways, or freeways.

Gas price
On average, a liter of petrol costs USD 1.07 in Afghanistan. A liter of diesel would cost $0.63.