Day: June 20, 2018

Tether announced its tokens are fully-backed by real cash according to a third-party review but the crypto community doesn’t seem convinced.

Only around half of millionaires are in tune with their wealth managers and the very rich are increasingly interested in cryptocurrency investments

Pacifical tuna, the largest sustainable tuna fishery in the world, has announced at the Seaweb Sustainable Seafood Summit in Barcelona, Spain that it will be launching the first large-scale blockchain initiative in the USD 42 billion per year worldwide tuna industry. It will be partnering with Thailand blockchain company Atato which uses Ethereum blockchain smart contracts in combination with IPFS decentralized file storage.

Pacifical tuna is caught by the Parties to the Nauru Agreement (PNA), which includes the territory of Tokelau and eight countries including the Federated States of Micronesia, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Tuvalu. A quarter of the world’s tuna and half of skipjack tuna, the most commonly canned tuna, is caught by PNA countries.

About 35 million tuna fish are caught by the PNA per year, which is a tightly controlled number since it is a sustainable fishery and overfishing is not allowed. Atato’s blockchain services will cover 100 large fishing vessels which will provide transparency. Tuna fishing data will be stored on an immutable blockchain that cannot be manipulated, allowing officials as well as the public to easily audit the tuna catch to ensure that it really is sustainable, and that there isn’t illegal overfishing.

PNA tuna is manufactured into 200 million consumer items per year under the Pacifical brand, and these will be tracked in the blockchain through the entire supply chain from ocean to grocery store shelf. All products will have a unique tracking code that can be queried in the blockchain database, so customers and merchants will be able to determine where the tuna was caught and how fresh it is.

This blockchain data will help prevent fraud in the tuna supply chain; it won’t be possible for fraudsters to lie about the origins or authenticity of the tuna. Another benefit is tracking the entire tuna supply chain in a blockchain ledger will reveal inefficiencies across the supply chain, leading to improvements which could increase the average freshness of tuna and lower the price.

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World Refugee Day is a day that is held every 20 June to highlight and raise awareness of the situation that refugees face throughout the world.

But with billions of people worldwide lacking an identity, how can the blockchain be leveraged to deliver digital identities to the world’s most vulnerable?

Using the Blockchain to Provide Digital IDs

Each day thousands of refugees are forced to flee their homes because of violence and conflict.

Such is the plight that refugees face, that the United Nation’s (UN) published a new report which found only 100,000 refugees were resettled by international communities in 2017. Considering there were nearly three million asylum seekers as a result of conflicts in Syria, Myanmar, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Sudan last year, that number barely scratches the surface.

In its Global Trends report, released ahead of World Refugee Day, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), said that the total number of people displaced worldwide rose to 68.5 million at the end of 2017, or 44,500 people each day.

“We are at a watershed, where success in managing forced displacement globally requires a new and far more comprehensive approach so that countries and communities aren’t left dealing with this alone,” said UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi.”

One of the issues that refugees face is a lack of an identity. According to the World Bank, 1.1 billion people lack an identity. Something that so many of us take for granted, for others it can make a huge difference, whether it’s opening a bank account, proving eligibility for health insurance, or applying to university.

According to Joseph Thompson, co-founder and CEO of AID:Tech, a company transforming how governments, NGOs, and enterprises deliver digital entitlements, refugees, particularly those in protracted crises, are vulnerable, especially when the challenge of identity is looked at.

“The importance of identity has actually become a high priority topic in the humanitarian and development contexts,” Thompson said. “The UN has highlighted identity within the Sustainable Development Goals with the World Bank introducing guiding principles on how identification systems should be designed – encouraging signs.”

He adds, though, that significant progress still needs to be made to address the issues surrounding identity for the vulnerable. ‘An effective identity solution needs to be flexible, reliable and sustainable while also accommodating the transitional circumstances often faced by refugees,’ he states.

Nydia Zhang, co-founder and chairwoman of the Social Alpha Foundation, a not-for-profit grant making platform supporting blockchain technology for social good, agrees.

“Self Sovereign Identity, a key-based, on-chain decentralized digital identity, for example, can potentially help iron out the inefficiencies associated with the issuance of government paper-based IDs, allows people to reclaim control of their own information, and provides international protection for refugees and the ‘invisible population’ (the stateless or those who don’t have IDs),” she added.

Of course, while the blockchain is not the answer to solving everything, now more than ever is the time to work on solutions that will aid the lives of refugees so that they can have a fairer and inclusive future.

When it comes to accessing basic services and participating in the global economy, the blockchain may be the answer to cutting down institutional barriers that countless refugees face in their new-found homes.

Featured image from Shutterstock.

The post World Refugee Day: Leveraging the Blockchain to Deliver Digital Identities appeared first on NewsBTC.

Despite having announced an ICO and a potential transformation into a decentralized ledger, ASKfm felt there still wasn’t enough attention on it, which could potentially hurt its chances of hitting its fundraising targets. It therefore embarked on a particularly daring publicity stunt. The Q&A social media platform sponsored four Ukrainian climbers who would climb the tallest mountain in the world, Mount Everest, and leave behind a wallet holding one million ASKT, its native digital token. The stunt was meant to attract attention to the company’s ICO, but things did not go as planned and a man ended up losing his life.

‘If They Are Brave Enough’

Having had the climbers successfully get the wallet to the summit, ASKfm then challenged anyone to climb the mountain and retrieve the wallet, “if they are brave enough”. The ASKT tokens in the wallet were valued at $50,000. The challenge was posted on the company’s social media platforms and invited anyone from around the world to try his or her luck. Things seemed to be going well for the company, but as The Washington Times reported on June 17, ASKfm ‘forgot’ to mention one crucial detail: a man had lost his life.

Lam Babu, a guide from the local Sherpa community who had climbed with the group to assist them on their daring quest, unfortunately never made it back. Though he was described as an experienced climber who had reached the summit on multiple occasions, he died during the descent in circumstances that remain unclear. According to a source at the Nepalese Ministry of Tourism who was quoted by the publication, the guide had been struck by snow blindness. This is a condition that results from overexposure to UV rays reflected by the snow and is extremely painful.

Taras Podznii, one of the climbers, narrated what had happened to a local publication.

We all were on top; we climbed almost simultaneously. We started the descent, because the weather got worse. We went forward. The Sherpas lagged somewhere, and one of them just did not come to the fourth camp, went missing and was never found. Most likely, he fell from the top somewhere out there. But what really happened? There is no information.

It only got worse for ASKfm. Any guide who accompanies climbers up the mountain signs a contract stipulating that if he or she loses their life, their family will receive $15,000. Babu’s family was additionally compensated by the guides’ trade union as well. The three climbers whom he had accompanied also contributed funds to help his family. ASKfm has, however, not been in touch with the family of the deceased, nor has it assisted with efforts to help the family.

ASKfm’s management was quick to counter the criticism that came from the crypto community and mainstream media. According to the company’s management, the attack on the company did not stem from the actual events related to the daring climb atop Mount Everest but from the mainstream media’s consistent criticism of the crypto community.

The publicity stunt was geared toward branding ASKfm’s ICO as the highest on earth. According to a blog post on the company’s Medium page, the funds raised from the token sale will be used to launch ASKfm 2.0, which will introduce a “knowledge economy” to the platform’s 215 million users worldwide. The introduction of a digital asset is meant to attract industry leaders and celebrities, who will receive incentives for questions answered.

The COO of Goldman Sachs has announced that the company is exploring trading cryptocurrency derivatives

Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport, the main international airport in the Netherlands, has installed the first European airport Bitcoin ATM according to a press release on 20 June 2018. This is the 20th Bitcoin ATM installed in the Netherlands, placing the Netherlands 12th in the world for number of Bitcoin ATMs. Currently, Europe has 21.45% of the 3,292 Bitcoin ATMs in the world, while North America dominates at 74.39%.

The director of consumer products and services at Schiphol, Tanja Thick, said the machine was installed to give travelers an option to convert their remaining cash from the local currency EUR to a global currency like Bitcoin or Ethereum, so that they could use the currency when they get home. This will begin as a six-month trial to test interest in the service, and this Bitcoin ATM is being provided via a partnership with The Byecoin Company.

Indeed, a traveler could easily convert Bitcoin or Ethereum to their local fiat currency when they get back home if they have access to a Bitcoin ATM that has cryptocurrency to fiat functionality, which is called a two-way Bitcoin ATM. Some 37% of Bitcoin ATMs have two-way functionality while the remainder only allow users to buy cryptocurrency with cash. If a two-way Bitcoin ATM is not available, a user can simply send the Bitcoin purchased at the Schiphol ATM to their cryptocurrency exchange account, where it can be sold for their local fiat and deposited to their bank account.

Essentially, Bitcoin provides travelers an alternative option to currency exchange stores. This doesn’t necessarily save on fees, since Bitcoin ATMs often have fees of 10% or even more. However, it is safer for travelers to store their money as cryptocurrency since it is not vulnerable to physical theft.

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The U.S. government needs to develop reasonable regulations around the nascent cryptocurrency space, said OMB director Mick Mulvaney.

This article originally appeared on Bitcoin Magazine.

Passengers visiting Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport will now be able to trade their Euros for cryptocurrencies, through a newly launched cryptocurrency ATM.

Schiphol Unexpectedly Announces Cryptocurrency ATM

On June the 20th, Schiphol Airport announced the installation of its first cryptocurrency ATM. According to the blog post released by the airport, this is going to be the first cryptocurrency ATM installed in a European airport.

However, it was made clear that this installation is currently on a six-month trial, to ensure that the ATM is put through the works before a possible expansion. This ATM was provided by an Amsterdam-based technology firm, ByeleX Data Solutions, which recently opened up a cryptocurrency ATM division.

ByeleX Director, Herman Vissia, gave a positive statement regarding the ATM to the airport, stating:

“We are excited that Schiphol is willing to join us in exploring ways to introduce passengers to the new cryptoreality.”

Some have begun to fear that this could be an unsuccessful venture, but Tanja Dak, a representative from the airport, said:

“With the Bitcoin ATM, we hope to provide a useful service to passengers by allowing them to easily exchange ‘local’ euros for the ‘global’ cryptocurrencies Bitcoin and Ethereum. That can be beneficial if, for instance, it’s not possible to spend euros in their home country.

It has become apparent that the airport’s team believes that this move towards accepting cryptocurrencies will be well received by customers. Schiphol Airport has become one of the largest airports in the world, being a hub of international travel and accepting upwards of 68 million tourists each year. Introducing a cryptocurrency ATM, albeit only one, should prove to be a great way for one of the world’s largest airports to expose millions of travelers to this growing industry.

Cryptocurrency ATMs: Unexpected Gateway into the ‘CryptoSphere’

Cryptocurrency ATMs have long been held as one of the main methods for fiat-to-crypto transfers, ensuring a secure and easy-to-use bridge between the two types of currencies. One aspect which makes them so great is their accessibility, requiring no ID verification, and offering high transaction limits.

Many startups have begun to capitalize on this, with an average of 6.43 cryptocurrency ATMs being installed every day, all across the world. According to CoinATMRadar, the number of cryptocurrency ATMs has tripled, moving from 928 to 3,292 ATMs within the span of 18 months. Despite this growth, a majority of cryptocurrency ATMs are installed in North America, with the U.S. claiming 1,926 ATMs as their own. This astonishing figure, of over 1,900 ATMs, represents 58% of all cryptocurrency ATMs installed around the world.

The aforementioned figure expresses how European and Asian countries have been slow to adopt ATMs, with much of the innovation occurring ‘across the pond.’ Due to the fact that ATMs play an important, yet underrated, role in the cryptocurrency market goes to show how this sub-industry is set to grow in the near future.

Hopefully, cryptocurrency ATM adoption will begin to pick-up, with players like Schiphol Airport joining the fray.

Featured image from Shutterstock.

The post Amsterdam Airport Reveals Its First Cryptocurrency ATM appeared first on NewsBTC.

On June 19, Norwegian authorities, engineers, and scientists led by Transport Minister Ketil Solvik-Olsen and Avinor CEO Dag Falk-Petersen successfully tested a one-man plane run 100 percent by electricity.

Commercial Electric Aircraft in Seven Years

Avinor is a state-financed organization that oversees the operations of most of Norway’s airports, including Oslo Airport, its main international airport. Earlier this week, in collaboration with Norwegian engineers and the Ministry of Transportation, Avinor tested a small plane run by electricity at Oslo Airport, taking a short flight around the area.

The Alpha Electro G2 airplane, built by an aircraft manufacturer based in Slovenia called Pipistrel, which has been manufacturing small-scale commercial aircraft for domestic flights since 1989, was tested by Avinor and authorities from the Norwegian Ministry of Transport. It was tested on the basis of its energy efficiency, performance, and most importantly, its ability to provide commercial flights in the future.

According to Solvik-Olsen, the government aggressively initiated the electric aircraft project because of its long-term strategy and vision to convert all of the country’s domestic aircraft to electric planes by the end of 2040.

Only a small portion of Norway’s domestic flights employ Pipistrel aircraft, as the vast majority of airlines still use planes from major aircraft manufacturers such as Boeing and Airbus. Those companies are capable of manufacturing large numbers of both large and small-scale aircraft in a short period of time due to their existing supply chains and factories.

But Solvik-Olsen noted that the world’s largest aircraft manufacturers are also actively developing and testing electric airplanes, and he emphasized that the Ministry of Transport remains highly confident it will see commercial electric aircraft in the next seven years.

“This is … a first example that we are moving fast forward. We do have to make sure it is safe – people won’t fly if they don’t trust it,” Solvik-Olsen said, explaining that consumer safety comes first, ahead of energy efficiency and greener aviation.

Falk-Petersen, who has overseen the project for many months at Oslo Airport, said he is convinced that electric passenger flights can be commercialized before 2025.

“My best guess is before 2025 … It should all be electrified by 2040,” stated Falk-Petersen, adding that Norwegians have already begun to adopt electric vehicles at an exponential rate, and the same trend will be demonstrated with aircraft in the long term.

Already, Norway is the largest consumer of electric vehicles such as the Tesla Model X, Nissan Leaf, and Volkswagen Golf, due to the government’s innovative and practical regulations regarding electric cars. Currently, drivers of electric vehicles are exempt from taxes and highway tolls, and are also provided with free parking.

Making Fuel More Expensive

The Norwegian government’s pro-environment and electric vehicle legislation led the market share of electric vehicles to rise to 56 percent, while the market share of cars powered by non-renewable sources of energy dropped to 44 percent.

Arild Hermstad, the leader of Norway’s Green Party, went as far as to say that the government is prepared to make jet fuel a lot more expensive in order to force airlines to switch to electric aircraft.

“This is a start … but we have to make jet fuel a lot more expensive,” said Hermstad, suggesting the implementation of similar regulations in the airline industry to those imposed in the automotive industry.

Bitcoin Press Release: Blockchain startup iExec has announced the launch of it’s pioneering cloud marketplace. The marketplace with enable users to freely trade computing power through a network of cloud providers and individual market traders.

Lyon, France – June 10, 2018 – Blockchain startup iExec has released its decentralized cloud marketplace. This new development will make it possible, for the first time ever, for computing power to be freely traded on a dedicated market, like any other commodity. Leading cloud providers, TFCloud, Stimergy, Cloud&Heat and Nerdalize have already announced their participation in this groundbreaking new network.

This new marketplace allows app developers to access affordable, secure and scalable computing power on-demand. Each transaction between buyers and sellers is securely audited and certified by the Proof-of-Contribution algorithm, which also verifies every off-chain computation once executed.

A decentralized marketplace for computing power

The world is in the midst of a technological transition that will enhance societies every-day life in unprecedented ways. The main issue hindering exponential growth in the world computing power is the colossal demand in contrast to the currently available supply.

iExec’s new open market for the trading of computing power represents a new

paradigm for cloud computing and the industry. Unlike more mainstream markets, the iExec marketplace offers a uniform and standardized access to computing resources, regardless of their provider. This market can offer its users access to a large capacity of computing power at the best rate. Because the marketplace is decentralized, the barriers of entry are extremely low and anyone can join in.

Participants can set their own prices in this  peer-to-peer market and iExec does not take any fees. The marketplace uses state-of-the-art blockchain technologies, offering a high level of trust and traceability. The iExec team has recently released this marketplace on the Ethereum blockchain, on which RLC tokens can be used as a means of payment.

Monetizing cloud resources and earning RLC tokens

The iExec marketplace, it’s applications, and its user can all place “work orders” for their computations to be executed, based on certain pre-selected categories. In a similar process,

cloud providers place a sell order, defining the price at which they are willing to execute computations.

iExec has secured several key partnerships with “Green IT” cloud providers like Stimergy, Cloud&Heat and Nerdalize, as well as with the major Chinese provider TFCloud. These initial providers will be the official first “workers” when the platform launches. More providers will be unveiled in the near future, and soon any individual will be able to join the marketplace and earn RLC tokens.

The iExec team recently made an appearance at the prestigious Blockshow Europe in Berlin, in which they revealed details on the technologies powering this marketplace.

These technologies included: public and private worker pools, a scheduler per pool to manage and organize machine contributions, a new pricing model labeled “pay-per-task” that allows providers to unify resources despite their heterogeneous offers, and finally Proof-of-Contribution (PoCo). This is a new consensus algorithm for the verification of off-chain computations, ensuring trust on a decentralized marketplace.

iExec is also continuing its ambitious cybersecurity research program, whose first results with Intel were presented during Consensus 2018 in NYC. The startup is also currently being accelerated by Ubisoft at Station F in Paris, the world’s largest startup campus. To celebrate its recent deployment, iExec will organize a “Worker Contest”, where RLC tokens will be distributed to the first individuals sharing their machines on the iExec network.

Stay tuned to our social channels for more details on this upcoming event.

Learn more about iExec here – https://iex.ec/
Read the Whitepaper here – https://iex.ec/app/uploads/2017/04/iExec-WPv2.0-English.pdf
Find iExec on Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/iexecteam/
Follow iExec on Twitter – https://twitter.com/iEx_ec
Official iExec Medium Blog – https://medium.com/iex-ec
Join iExec on Reddit – https://www.reddit.com/r/iexec/
Join iExec on Slack – https://slack.iex.ec/
Check out iExec on Github – https://github.com/iExecBlockchainComputing

Media Contact
Name: Jean Charles
Email: [email protected]
Company: iExec
Location: Lyon, France

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/iExec

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Members of the House of Representatives, the lower chamber of the U.S. Congress, must begin disclosing cryptocurrency investments that exceed $1,000.