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Chinese messaging giant WeChat has suspended a third-party blockchain app designed for arranging contracts a day after its launch
Chinese messaging giant WeChat has suspended a third-party blockchain app designed for arranging contracts a day after its launch
Despite the criticism from the household names such as Warren Buffett, Charlie Munger, and Bill Gates, the crypto market remains strong
Despite the criticism from the household names such as Warren Buffett, Charlie Munger, and Bill Gates, the crypto market remains strong
The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) has announced the launch of a blockchain-powered crowdfunding platform to facilitate startups and small enterprises in the Southeast Asian country, CCN reports. The platform, known as LiVE, plans to provide a “complete startup ecosystem” which will also provide education for new businesses and easier access to institutional investors. So …
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The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) has announced the launch of a blockchain-powered crowdfunding platform to facilitate startups and small enterprises in the Southeast Asian country, CCN reports.
The platform, known as LiVE, plans to provide a “complete startup ecosystem” which will also provide education for new businesses and easier access to institutional investors. So far, only eight businesses have been targetted by SET, but there are plans to ask more than 50 companies to join the program.
Companies applying for the new program must be Thai companies or companies registered in Thailand. Qualification requires applicants to be in the following investor categories: institutional, venture capital, and corporate, or a specific investor with an annual income of THB 4 million (Thai baht, equivalent to USD 125,000) or combined assets worth over THB 50 million (USD 1.5 million).
The program follows a request by 600 companies following an announcement by SET in 2017 when the exchange revealed that it had plans to operate a marketplace over a blockchain that would have no restrictions on trading units. The companies had registered in the hope of investing in startups through blockchain technology.
SET President Kesara Manchusree explained:
“‘LiVE’ platform will be a key mechanism to help drive forward Thailand’s growth especially enabling startups and SMEs to have more financial accesses through crowdfunding. Businesses can utilize LiVE to promote to a wider target group while using partnership to expand customer base.”
Thailand is one possible venue for cryptocurrency startups seeking refuge from stricter regulatory climates, as the country has so far not taken any harsh actions against its own digital currency market. Its local fintech groups have in fact supported making the SET the chief regulator for ICOs and cryptocurrencies.
With cryptocurrencies facing global regulation as more countries open exchanges, Thai regulators have reportedly agreed to enact two laws on both cryptocurrencies and ICOs as well as tax changes to cryptocurrency trading. Apisak Tantivorawong, the Thai minister of finance, announced that the government would be preparing for these regulations, so they are ready to implement as soon as possible.
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Three months after banning cryptocurrency ads from all its platforms, Facebook is launching a blockchain research and development initiative. With fellow tech giants Oracle and Microsoft already deeply invested in the research and development of blockchain technology, Facebook has joined the bandwagon, and it’s looking to the current head of Messenger, David Marcus, to lead the initiative. The team will include other high-ranking executives from Facebook and its subsidiary, Instagram, according to people privy to the matter. Marcus has been at the helm of Facebook’s messaging app since 2014 and has led it from a relatively new product to one of
Three months after banning cryptocurrency ads from all its platforms, Facebook is launching a blockchain research and development initiative. With fellow tech giants Oracle and Microsoft already deeply invested in the research and development of blockchain technology, Facebook has joined the bandwagon, and it’s looking to the current head of Messenger, David Marcus, to lead the initiative. The team will include other high-ranking executives from Facebook and its subsidiary, Instagram, according to people privy to the matter.
Marcus has been at the helm of Facebook’s messaging app since 2014 and has led it from a relatively new product to one of the most downloaded apps with over 1 billion people using it every month. Before joining Facebook, Marcus was the president of PayPal. He has been a vocal supporter of blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies, and this has seen him appointed to the board of Coinbase, the popular crypto exchange.
Confirming the announcement through his Facebook page, Marcus described his new role as a challenge he was all too eager to embark on. He will be joined by James Everingham, the VP of engineering at Instagram, and Kevin Weil, Instagram’s VP of product.
The news comes after Facebook was rocked by a data breach scandal involving British firm Cambridge Analytica. While Facebook has yet to confirm exactly how it plans to apply blockchain tech, better data protection may be among its top priorities. Earlier this year, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg resolved to learn about decentralization, encryption and cryptocurrencies. This got the crypto community excited, only for Facebook to turn around and ban all crypto-related ads from their platforms toward the end of January, a move whose ripple effect saw Google and Twitter follow suit. The three companies combined constitute close to half the digital advertising space.
Marcus will be replaced at Messenger by Stan Chudnovsky, the former head of product at Messenger, in what is Facebook’s biggest reshuffle yet. The social media giant has been reorganized into three main divisions: the family of apps including WhatsApp and Instagram, the new platforms which will explore emerging fields such as VR and blockchain, and the central products services which will encompass all the other functions such as security and growth. Marcus will report to Mike Schroepfer, Facebook’s CTO.
The announcement comes less than a week after software giant Oracle announced that it would be debuting its blockchain-as-a-service offering this month. The platform will begin to support decentralized apps in June. The Redwood City, California-based company has already been working with Banco de Chile on a Hyperledger-based solution for the bank, as well as with the Nigerian government. In a week filled with positive corporate announcements regarding blockchain technology, Microsoft’s cloud computing platform Azure also announced the official release of its blockchain app creation service, Azure Blockchain Workbench, which will allow developers to create customized blockchain apps.
Following Warren Buffet and his understudy Charlie Munger’s words on Bitcoin earlier this week, technology-focused investor Chamath Palihapitiya has come to digital currency’s defence. Despite claiming to be a Buffet ‘disciple,’ he also states that Buffet is wrong about Bitcoin. Palihapitiya: “Not Everybody is Right All the Time” Speaking in an interview with CNBC’s ‘Squawk Box,’…
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Following Warren Buffet and his understudy Charlie Munger’s words on Bitcoin earlier this week, technology-focused investor Chamath Palihapitiya has come to digital currency’s defence. Despite claiming to be a Buffet ‘disciple,’ he also states that Buffet is wrong about Bitcoin.
Speaking in an interview with CNBC’s ‘Squawk Box,’ the former Facebook employee-turned venture capitalist espoused the virtues of Bitcoin with refreshing insight. He also stated that Warren Buffet’s ‘circle of competence’ didn’t necessarily extend to knowledge of cutting-edge technology like cryptocurrencies.
Palihapitiya spoke in reference to Buffet and Munger’s appearance on the same CNBC segment earlier this week alongside Microsoft founder Bill Gates. During the interview himself and fellow Berkshire Hathaway executive Charlie Munger slammed Bitcoin for being a poor investment choice and a ‘scum ball activity.’ Rather than take the anti-Bitcoin stance of the two, the self-proclaimed Buffet ‘disciple’ spoke of the necessity of the digital asset in a post-financial crash world:
“Something like bitcoin is really important because it is not correlated to the rest of the market.”
He went on to state that he’d been an investor in cryptocurrency since 2012 and, like many other Bitcoin proponents, he saw it as a hedge against the ‘traditional financial infrastructure.’ He added that it wasn’t yet clear if this was necessarily the case but this was how he and many others viewed it.
Palihapitiya then went on to recall the financial crash of 2008 relating this directly to Bitcoin’s importance as an asset class. He stated that ‘everything broke down’ and ‘things we thought were hedges went away.’
Chamath Palihapitiya worked at Facebook over a four year stint that culminated in 2011. He held many management roles whilst working at the social network. The Sri Lankan-born venture capitalist started his career as an investor during his time at Facebook and following his departure continued to back projects offering a platform to innovative technologies.
The technology venture capitalist isn’t the only person to offer rebuttal to the one-sided CNBC interview from Monday. Yesterday, we reported on Tyler Winklevoss calling Bill Gates out on his bold statement about shorting Bitcoin.
The Microsoft founder and multi-billionaire had said that if there was a way to short Bitcoin he would do just that. Following this statement, Winklevoss was quick to take to Twitter to jog Gates’ memory that there was indeed a way to short the asset. After reminding him of the Cboe’s Bitcoin Futures contracts, the founder of the Gemini exchange urged Gates to ‘put your money where your mouth is.’
Featured image from Shutterstock.
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Several films featuring Bitcoin are coming out before the summer. The main character in “Superfly”, a remake of the 1972 crime drama “Super Fly”, is now “swapping cash for crypto.” Director X’s debut movie is scheduled for release on July 15. And in Russia, two college students are chasing a hard disk storing a fortune […]
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Several films featuring Bitcoin are coming out before the summer. The main character in “Superfly”, a remake of the 1972 crime drama “Super Fly”, is now “swapping cash for crypto.” Director X’s debut movie is scheduled for release on July 15. And in Russia, two college students are chasing a hard disk storing a fortune in Bitcoin, after they sold the wrong PC to a pawn shop. The film should be ready by the end of May.
Also read: Cryptocurrency Gets Its Own Comedy In “Bitcoin” – the Movie
Have you heard of the “Exploitation” genre, exploitation film or fiction? It was created by authors tempted to, well, exploit themes that some might consider taboo. Others won’t, but in any case, exploitation works are often pushing against the limits of “the appropriate” in their respective times.
Sex, drugs, and violence are all part of the “exploitation” intended to attract attention. It’s basically the pulp fiction of the second half of the 20th century. Blaxploitation is a subgenre, which for the first time placed African-American characters and communities in the spotlight. The 1972 crime drama “Super Fly” is a good example which has been recently remade.
The 2018 version exploits the usual taboos, but also a modern hot topic – digital cash and crime. “Superfly” is the debut movie of Director X, or Julien Christian Lutz, best known for the music videos he made for Drake, Jay-Z, and Rihanna. Sony Pictures just released a full-length trailer of his remake of the Blaxploitation classic.
The action now takes place not in Harlem, but in Atlanta. Actor Trevor Jackson plays the main character, a drug dealer who wants to quit the dirty business. In the meantime, the 21st century Youngblood Priest would rather be paid with… cryptocurrency. “I swapped cash for crypto, and redefined the hustle,” he says. We’ll see how successful “Superfly” will be in exploiting crypto, when the movie hits theaters mid-July.
While some heroes are making money, others are losing it. A movie whose storyline revolves around a bitcoin-related plot, is being shot in Russia. Two young guys from the city of Kazan are chasing a crypto fortune. While trying to trace and retrieve a hard disk with the keys to 6,000 bitcoins, the main characters – college students Igor and Artur – find themselves in a series of comic adventures but also life-threatening situations.
The boys may have lost the crypto cash forever, when they made the fateful mistake to sell the wrong PC to a pawn shop. 6,000 in Bitcoin is about $55 million in dollars and a staggering 3.5 billion in rubles. With big money comes big trouble and there is always someone willing to stand between you and that kind of money. The film should be ready by the end of May.
By the way, a movie theater in the Russian city of Yaroslavl is now accepting cryptocurrency. The “Neft” cinema club currently sells tickets for Bitcoin, Bitcoin Gold and Zclassic. “Bring your crypto wallets,” its founders tell their guests thanks to a partnership with the local Blockchain Institute. They had to solve a small problem in order to take advantage of the digital payments – cryptocurrencies are not yet legal in Russia.
The project has been officially announced as a marketing campaign tailored to attract crypto-savvy viewers. Tickets are free for those who want to “experiment” with digital transactions. Unable to defeat even “Telegram”, the state will eventually legalize cryptocurrencies, the organizers say.
A couple of comedies are also featuring Bitcoin. In an episode of HBO’s series Silicon Valley, one of the characters reveals to his colleagues that he mines the cryptocurrency. Gilfoyle, the systems architect of the Pied Piper startup, has created a price alert that blasts out the death metal song “You Suffer” by Napalm Death whenever the price of Bitcoin rises above or drops below a certain value, so that he can remotely toggle his rig at home to mine only when it’s efficient. Hilarious! Bitcoin can be very volatile, as Gilfoyle says.
A comedy titled “Bitcoin” tells the story of a suburban father who, after losing his job, sets off with his deadbeat brother to convert an anonymous bitcoin account into the hard cash he needs to support his family. The two brothers from Arizona get their hands on a Bitcoin wallet worth $20 million and try to sell the crypto on the black market. “Bitcoin” is the debut feature of filmmaker Christian Cashmir. It’s produced by Lauren Cribb and starring TV comedian Theo Von. The shooting was expected to start by the end of April, in New Mexico. According to IMDb, the comedy is still in pre-production.
Do you think movies featuring bitcoin popularize cryptocurrencies? Tell us in the comments section below.
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A recent analysis of knowledge and ownership of crypto showed that on average 50% of people globally understand what crypto is, but only 4% of non-holders plan to invest
A recent analysis of knowledge and ownership of crypto showed that on average 50% of people globally understand what crypto is, but only 4% of non-holders plan to invest
At the beginning of 2018, I wrote an article outlining a New Year’s resolution that I thought could help boost cryptocurrency adoption and awareness in 2018, as long as enough people were doing it. Last week was the sixteenth installment of my challenge. I’ll apologize to my readers for the tardiness of this installment, as I’ve been very busy this past week. TRY TO SPEAK TO AS MANY PEOPLE ABOUT CRYPTOCURRENCY AS YOU POSSIBLY CAN The recent uptick in cryptocurrency’s price (particularly Ethereum) has captivated the minds of the crypto-curious again in the wake of a rather bearish few months.
At the beginning of 2018, I wrote an article outlining a New Year’s resolution that I thought could help boost cryptocurrency adoption and awareness in 2018, as long as enough people were doing it. Last week was the sixteenth installment of my challenge. I’ll apologize to my readers for the tardiness of this installment, as I’ve been very busy this past week.
The recent uptick in cryptocurrency’s price (particularly Ethereum) has captivated the minds of the crypto-curious again in the wake of a rather bearish few months. I’ve been traveling a bit more than usual these past few weeks, and last week I was able to strike up conversations in airports and cab rides.
This week, after trying to explain how to back up a wallet to a family member, I learned that the experience is really quite onerous to newbies. I suppose I’ve taken my experience in the space for granted recently when trying to explain how to actually use cryptos to newcomers. With this realization, I’ve strengthened my resolve to help make cryptos as approachable as possible.
This week I didn’t get much of a chance to use my cryptocurrency, so I will likely head over to /r/dogecoin and tip some users there. But admittedly, I failed to give too many coins away since my last update.
How is your challenge going? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter!
The co-founder of online social news forum Reddit has said that cryptocurrencies are ‘fuel for a new internet’ and that they are an opportunity for people to have ‘a store of value.’ Alexis Ohanian was appearing as a guest on the Late Show with Stephen Colbert yesterday when he made these comments. After talking about how…
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The co-founder of online social news forum Reddit has said that cryptocurrencies are ‘fuel for a new internet’ and that they are an opportunity for people to have ‘a store of value.’
Alexis Ohanian was appearing as a guest on the Late Show with Stephen Colbert yesterday when he made these comments. After talking about how he met his wife Serena Williams, an American professional tennis player, Colbert moved the conversation to the digital currency space and Ohanian’s involvement with it.
Talking about cryptocurrencies Ohanian added that they give people the chance to have ‘a store of value that’s not backed by a single country.’ He then went on to say that while that may ‘seem silly’ to those in developed nations, he is of the opinion that for so many other people they can provide a lifeline.
“In so many states, there is uncertainty about government and money and people see their life savings disappear,” he added. “There is a very real value to having a currency that is volatile, like bitcoin is, that is potentially less volatile than some of these states see hyper-inflation.”
He said that there are plenty of us who take for granted the fact that we have access to bank accounts, ‘but for so many people in the world to have the security of actually knowing what is yours is yours, because it’s digital, can now be transferred with you wherever you’re going, is actually a pretty empowering thing.’
Ohanian noted earlier on in the Late Show chat that since he stopped looking after the management of Reddit at the beginning of the year, he has started a venture capital fund called Initalized Capital with partner Garry Tan, a former Y Combinator partner.
The online social news forum also appears keen to get back involved with cryptocurrencies. Earlier this month, Chris Slowe, the chief technology officer at Reddit, revealed that the company has plans to relaunch cryptocurrency payments in the future. This follows from its decision to stop accepting bitcoin payments in March. As well as Bitcoin, Reddit is also considering adding Litecoin and Ethereum to its platform for its Gold members.
The Reddit co-founder has also given his projected views on where Bitcoin and Ethereum will be by the end of the year. Even though he remains bullish on the price of Bitcoin, pegging it at $20,000 for 2018, he thinks that Ethereum will outpace it in terms of gains, valuing it at $15,000.
Featured image from Shutterstock.
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Patterns in usage have allowed four researchers to link many supposedly private zcash transactions to mining pools and founders. Zcash has responded.
Patterns in usage have allowed four researchers to link many supposedly private zcash transactions to mining pools and founders. Zcash has responded.
Bitcoin Press Release: UK-based exchange platform Paybis announce massive 50% discount for high volume orders. Paybis offers top-tier service, with a referral program, debit card purchases and 24/7 live support. 08 May 2018, London, United Kingdom – Paybis.com – a cryptocurrency exchange platform founded in UK in 2014 has recently announced that it is adding …
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Bitcoin Press Release: UK-based exchange platform Paybis announce massive 50% discount for high volume orders. Paybis offers top-tier service, with a referral program, debit card purchases and 24/7 live support.
08 May 2018, London, United Kingdom – Paybis.com – a cryptocurrency exchange platform founded in UK in 2014 has recently announced that it is adding options to Buy Bitcoin Cash with Debit or Credit card and to Buy Ethereum with Debit or Credit card in collaboration with Simplex. Now, customers all over the world are able to purchase Bitcoin Cash and Ethereum, the most popular cryptocurrencies in the world, in a fast, secure and hassle-free manner.
Discounts Galore
Paybis.com also recently introduced new discount system that gives users “the more you buy the bigger discount you get”. Paybis.com users who buy bitcoin with debit or credit card can claim as much as 50% discount of the company’s fee, yes you read that right – fifty percent of the initial fee – a huge discount, that beats all other competition around the world. This amazing offer is valid for all credit or debit card purchases of Bitcoin, Litecoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ripple and Ethereum.
Paybis.com is now giving its users an option to Buy Bitcoin, Buy Bitcoin Cash, Buy Ethereum, Buy Litecoin as well as lot of other digital currencies and also some notable USA gift cards. Moreover, Paybis services are boosted with their referral program which includes tons of promo materials and amazing 10% revenue share.
About Paybis
Paybis.com is an advanced crypto and digital currency exchange platform. Paybis users can take advantage of state-of-the-art user interface and usability as well as low fees and extensive range of choice of other digital currencies. It all comes with a superb 24/7 LIVE customer support service and improved spending limits of $20,000 per transaction and $50,000 per month. Paybis guarantees the maximum approval time of 2 hours, yet the majority of transactions are approved in under 15 minutes.
With lot of new features added lately and more coming very soon, Paybis.com gives its users unparalleled client experience and one of the best options whether you are buying or selling.
To find out more, visit the website: https://paybis.com/
Check out the Paybis referral program: https://paybis.com/referral-program/
Join Paybis on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PayBis/
Keep up to date on Twitter: https://twitter.com/PayBis_com
Media Contact Details
Contact Name: Inokentijs Isers
Contact Email: [email protected]
Paybis is the source of this content. Virtual currency is not legal tender, is not backed by the government, and accounts and value balances are not subject to consumer protections. This press release is for informational purposes only. The information does not constitute investment advice or an offer to invest.
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China’s ministry of public security, in charge of all Chinese police forces, has built a blockchain application which stores evidence from police investigations. The technology, which was patented at China’s Intellectual Property Office in November 2017, takes police investigation data that is uploaded to cloud storage and puts it into a blockchain. This solves a …
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China’s ministry of public security, in charge of all Chinese police forces, has built a blockchain application which stores evidence from police investigations. The technology, which was patented at China’s Intellectual Property Office in November 2017, takes police investigation data that is uploaded to cloud storage and puts it into a blockchain.
This solves a concern of Chinese police about data in cloud storage that can easily be altered and manipulated. Now that the data will be stored in a blockchain, it is virtually tamper-proof, with cryptographic security that has yet to be breached by hackers.
This is important since criminals have a major incentive to hack into the police database and destroy evidence to avoid punishment. With blockchain technology, police, lawyers and judges are likely to see this move as a direct improvement of the justice system in China.
The technology will require multiple signature confirmations when storing data, providing an immutable ledger of when data was stored and who stored it. This will provide clarity and transparency to the police investigation process and help lawyers prepare for court.
The blockchain application also provides a clear supervisory process for storing police evidence, whereas before, there was no standard supervised process when storing data on cloud storage. This standardization of storing police evidence will increase efficiency.
The use of blockchain technology by a Chinese government agency will be taken as a positive sign by observers. In recent years, China has passed harsh regulatory measures to ban cryptocurrency activity, out of concern that cryptocurrency’s decentralized nature takes power away from the government. Even though China’s government has not openly embraced cryptocurrency, clearly some parts of the government see the usefulness of blockchain technology’s immutable and cryptographically secure ledger and storage systems, and are applying it for their benefit.
Another example of a Chinese government agency utilizing blockchain technology is the National Audit Office’s investigation of blockchain solutions to store audit data from provincial and local offices.
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The Chief Digital Officer Global Forum (CDX) summit series is gearing up for its next installation in New York. Established in 2013, the summit has set up shop in Chicago, San Francisco, Singapore and, most recen…
The Chief Digital Officer Global Forum (CDX) summit series is gearing up for its next installation in New York. Established in 2013, the summit has set up shop in Chicago, San Francisco, Singapore and, most recently, Las Vegas, with focuses on emerging innovations in mobile, IoT and digital advertising technologies.
To be held on May 11, 2018, in Columbia University’s Lerner Hall, this latest installment will concentrate on advancements in blockchain technology and its application to traditional industries. To this end, the CDX Blockchain Brand Innovation Summit has an extensive list of speakers and panelists both from within and without the blockchain space, featuring representatives from the likes of Hulu, CNBC, IBM and BTC Media.
“CDX has always focused on digital business transformation even when it wasn’t such a catch-phrase,” Drew Ianni, CDX’s founder and event chairman, told Bitcoin Magazine in an interview. “And certainly blockchain [technology] holds a lot of promise in regard to driving digital business transformation across a range of industries so we decided to stage a show on blockchain to help our attendees learn more about its potential,” he continued.
Ianni and CDX have spurred the summit forth at a time when anything to the tune of crypto has reached a fever pitch in popular culture. But to Ianni, this conference isn’t about capitalizing on cryptocurrency’s meteoric popularity; it’s about staying informed.
“[When] you have an emerging technology that is developing quickly and fueling a massive hype cycle, industry education is what’s needed most,” he expressed to Bitcoin Magazine. For such education to be effective, Ianni was careful to not pack “the agenda with a group of pure blockchain cheerleaders.”
The overall goal, then, is diversity, as the summit is designed to “properly frame the debate and discussion about blockchain [technology] and its potential, and bring together some of the brightest minds in the space to help lead the discussion and dialogue,” Ianni indicated.
These debates and discussions will run the gamut from healthcare to blockchain security and enterprise adoption, though the conference seems to have a soft spot for blockchain technology’s role in rethinking how we approach multimedia, especially in the realms of digital advertising and marketing.
One panel, entitled “The Age of Brand Trust: Can Blockchain Transform the Media Supply Chain and Usher in a New Age of Transparency?,” will examine the potential ramifications of decentralized business models and direct product-to-consumer relations for current media brands. MediaCom’s group account director, Charlie Fiordalis, will be taking part in the panel along with the Interactive Advertising Bureau’s Eric John, Hulu’s Adam Moser and FusionSeven’s Michael Jolly.
“MediaCom is exploring the use of blockchain technology both as a member of WPP’s GroupM and individually for our clients,” Fiordalis told Bitcoin Magazine. And while the business is “focused on educating [itself] and [its] clients and identifying what problems blockchain [technology] is best suited to address,” Fiordalis believes that the blockchain’s “distributed ledger enables a level of transparency beyond the norms of [the] ‘walled garden’ ecosystem in the traditional media supply chain.”
Alanna Gombert, global CRO of the blockchain advertising firm MetaX, shares Fiordalis’s conviction that with the proper application, blockchain technology could invite transparency to multimedia industries.
“[Blockchain technology] flips the paradigm of communication and consensus and brings disparate voices together,” Gombert said to Bitcoin Magazine. “Digital advertising is ripe for disruption. Bad actors, fraud and the economics of digital transactions need to be in the bright light that transparency brings,” she concluded.
Extending beyond digital advertising and marketing, speakers like Amir Azaran will touch on blockchain technology’s role in the future of content curation and monetization. During his talk on “Smart Contracts and the Promise of Permission-Based Blockchains,” Azaran, a partner at Loeb & Loeb LLP’s Chicago branch, plans to discuss how smart contracts could set a new standard for intellectual property rights copyright licensing.
“Blockchain [technology] has the potential to change the way we do business across many industries, and we are seeing some early signs of this in advertising and media. For instance, there are companies trying to implement blockchain-based systems for intellectual property rights management, such as the licensing of images or music. Their offering depends on a blockchain database that provides transparency regarding who has licensed the copyrighted work, the duration of the license, payment of licensee fees, etc.,” he stated in an interview with Bitcoin Magazine.
Two days out from CDX’s inaugural summit on blockchain innovation, Ianni anticipates that the aforementioned speakers and the conference’s entire cast of industries-wide talent will foster healthy discussion. Concluding our interview, he espoused his view that the variety of attendees the conference has accrued reflects the myriad advancements in a technology that used to be little more than a synonym for Bitcoin:
“I think it’s a critical inflection point for the broader ecosystem and we are starting to see a much-needed de-coupling of ‘Bitcoin and Blockchain.’ It’s now time to amplify the real-world use cases and proof of concepts that are leveraging blockchain [technology] across a range of industries and companies. And, more than anything, I am simply hoping the event fosters strong discussion and debate both at the show and moving forward.”
This article originally appeared on Bitcoin Magazine.
According to an investor in the technology industry, Bitcoin could experience a similar fate to Sony’s Betamax video format. Glenn Hutchins feels that another cryptocurrency could rise up and take Bitcoin’s current position as the number one digital currency by market capitalisation. Glenn Hutchins: Bitcoin Could be Overtaken by Another Coin Hutchins spoke earlier today…
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According to an investor in the technology industry, Bitcoin could experience a similar fate to Sony’s Betamax video format. Glenn Hutchins feels that another cryptocurrency could rise up and take Bitcoin’s current position as the number one digital currency by market capitalisation.
Hutchins spoke earlier today on CNBC’s ‘Squawk Box.’ The founder of multi-billion dollar private equity firm Silver Lake Partners stated that he felt Bitcoin could end up obsolete to another cryptocurrency that’s able to achieve widespread adoption faster. He did not name which coin this might be, however.
The technology investor said:
“Bitcoin could turn out to be Betamax.”
Betamax was an early form of video cassette tape that was a competitor to VHS tapes. The two strove for dominance during the 1980s with the latter eventually winning out. Just like in cryptocurrency today, there were several other early formats that competed for dominance over the home video format wars.
However, it would be Sony’s Betamax and JVC’s VHS offerings that were right at the front of the fight. Despite Betamax offering a better quality video format, VHS won out thanks to it providing a more affordable home viewing experience.
A more modern analogy that makes the same point would be how Facebook rose to usurp Myspace’s position as number one social media website in the late ‘noughties.’ In this version, Myspace would be represented by Bitcoin with Ether, NEO, or some other yet-to-be-developed coin taking the role of Facebook.
Hutchins continued, stating that he felt it likely that just one digital currency would ultimately find acceptance amongst the general public. The part-owner of the NBA team the Boston Celtics went on to explain to CNBC:
“The token of exchange at the heart of the math solution that leads the technology will be there… Different tokens will be used for different applications.”
Hutchins finally offered up the oft-repeated comparison of digital currencies to a type of metal. Curiously though, he chose copper instead of the more commonly associated precious element gold:
“I think it’s more like copper, like an industrial metal that’s used for a purpose to drive an outcome… There will be a token that’s used just like there’s an metal that’s used for wiring.”
Hutchins is certainly correct that another digital currency could overtake Bitcoin in terms of market dominance. However, with such an established infrastructure already supporting the first mover in the cryptocurrency space, it will take quite a marketing feat to dislodge Bitcoin from its current top spot. Time, and the market, will ultimately decide which, if any, digital currency forms the backbone of future financial activity.
Featured image from Shutterstock.
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With the private sector taking the lead in research, development and adoption of the blockchain, the government must consider leadership opportunities within the community and partner with stakeholders to bring solutions to market. This is according to Douglas Maughan, a division head at the US Department of Homeland Security who testified before the House Science and Technology Committee yesterday. He further warned against the ongoing arms race between the various blockchain solutions providers, citing it as one of the reasons the technology hasn’t been taken up by the government and other industries. Blockchain Offers Much Promise Maughan, who is the Division Director of the Science
With the private sector taking the lead in research, development and adoption of the blockchain, the government must consider leadership opportunities within the community and partner with stakeholders to bring solutions to market. This is according to Douglas Maughan, a division head at the US Department of Homeland Security who testified before the House Science and Technology Committee yesterday. He further warned against the ongoing arms race between the various blockchain solutions providers, citing it as one of the reasons the technology hasn’t been taken up by the government and other industries.
Maughan, who is the Division Director of the Science and Technology Directorate at Homeland, praised blockchain, hailing it as a technology that holds much promise. This is especially true for the government, as it could overhaul how the government operates entirely.
From a government perspective, the technology holds the potential for enhanced transparency and auditing of public service operations, greater supply chain visibility to combat the distribution of counterfeit products, and automation of paper-based processes to improve delivery of services to organizations and citizens.
Among the areas Maughan cited as examples are the facilitation of international trade and customs processes, mitigating counterfeiting of official licenses, and authenticating videos and photos captured by cameras and IoT devices.
Maughan also revealed that his division had been championing research and development in blockchain tech on behalf of the Department for the last three years. Its focus has been on standards, architecture and interoperability, which have given it the ability to support other government departments in implementing blockchain technology.
One of the department’s biggest partners in its blockchain work has been U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). One of the two departments’ ongoing projects involves conducting proof of concept deployments that are geared toward shipping, logistics and customs, which help the government in its fight against counterfeit goods. Other efforts include ensuring the authenticity and integrity of images taken by cameras and sensors and the facilitation of international passenger travel.
Walled gardens are the biggest impediment to enterprise and mainstream adoption of blockchain tech, Maughan observed. Walled gardens are closed technology platforms that don’t support common standards for privacy, data exchange and security. They are to blame for the government and enterprise’s wariness in implementing blockchain technology.
This would limit the growth and availability of a competitive marketplace of diverse, interoperable solutions for government and industry to draw upon to deliver cost-effective and innovative services based on blockchain and distributed ledger technologies.
Moving forward, organizations are seeking vendor-neutral guidance on how, why and when to implement blockchain technology. However, unbiased knowledge and expertise are in short supply, which will have a huge impact on the adoption of this technology. The race to gain market share has led to the neglect of research and consensus as to which technology is most appropriate for particular situations. With various blockchain platforms differing greatly in such critical areas as confidentiality, pseudonymity and selective disclosure, neutral and objective analysis on whether these features exist on the available blockchain platforms is almost non-existent.
Maughan also brought up rising tensions between business owners and technology solutions providers which could be detrimental to the industry. One of the causes of the friction is tech providers’ need to gain traction for their blockchain solutions, which goes against business owners’ desire for an open architecture environment as opposed to vendor-specific solutions. Tech vendors have also been known to recommend network replacements just so they can deploy their blockchain solutions which may go against business owners’ plans.
Maughan concluded by revealing his division’s effort to combat walled gardens in order to spur the growth of blockchain technology. The division is supporting the development of globally available specifications and standards which are royalty-free and which can be implemented by any vendor, effectively facilitating interoperability of systems. The division will also step up its efforts in collaborating with other entities to find more use cases for blockchain technology.
We believe that our careful and considered approach benefits not just us but everyone who is considering the use of a blockchain technology in the long term by ensuring there is no vendor lock-in and [that] there are multiple vendors with interoperable solutions from which we can buy.