Day: October 25, 2018

Blockchain Company WePower Announces Plans to Tokenize Estonian Power Grid

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ADVERTISEMENTS WePower Blockchain energy company has announced plans to deliver a landmark nationwide energy tokenisation pilot project in Estonia in partnership with transmission system operator (TSO) Elering – paving the way for the digital revolution of the energy sector. In a press release, Kaspar Karleep, CTO of WePower, said: “Projects of this scale and ambition haven’t been attempted before, in part because of the complexity involved, but also because energy data is highly sensitive. Blockchain is the ideal enabler because its foundational principle is trust, which can be leveraged to bring…

UK Government Vetoes Royal Mint’s Launch of Digital Gold After CME Exit

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Her Majesty’s Royal Mint, the institution responsible for producing physical coins for circulation in Britain, has been unable to launch its gold-backed cryptocurrency after the government vetoed the project, Reuters reports Oct. 25. As reported, the Royal Mint had first unveiled it project to issues as much as $1 billion worth of digital gold tokens, dubbed Royal Mint Gold (RMG), back in 2016, which were to be traded on a blockchain-based platform run by U.S. exchange CME. Blockchain tech firm BitGo was set to be responsible for developing RMG’s multi-signature…

German Central Bank and Deutsche Boerse Successfully Complete Blockchain Settlement Trial

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The central bank of Germany, Deutsche Bundesbank, and securities marketplace organizer Deutsche Boerse (DB) have successfully completed the trial of a blockchain solution in the settlements area, DB’s report reveals Thursday, Oct. 25. According to the report, the trial of blockchain based settlement technology research, or Blockbaster, started in 2016. The main point of the joint research was to conduct on blockchain the full lifecycle of bond issuance, settlement, corporate actions, and redemption, as well as cash transfer including the provisioning of digital coins, transfer between market participants, and settlement…

Canada Border Agency to Pilot IBM-Maersk TradeLens Blockchain Platform

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  The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) has become the latest entity to trial a blockchain shipping solution developed by IBM and Maersk, a press release confirmed Thursday, Oct. 25. TradeLens, which creators unveiled in August this year after a 2017 pilot, aims to simplify logistics processes. The first such border agency to investigate the platform, CBSA will now “determine what role the platform could play in its business processes,” the release explains. “TradeLens could create a singular, trusted digital supply chain for all shipments entering Canada. The TradeLens pilot…

Why Governments May (or May Not) Need Them

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On October 20, The Bank of Japan’s (BOJ) deputy governor, Masayoshi Amamiya, repeated his negative stance towards central bank-issued digital currencies (CBDC), claiming that such digital currencies are unlikely to improve the existing monetary systems. The concept of CBDC, or national cryptocurrencies, has attracted many governments across the world. Some of them have already rolled out their virtual currencies, some keep researching their economical impact, while others — like Japan — have decided to dismiss the idea altogether. Here’s what the concept entails, and why major governments choose to implement…

Why Constantinople Fork Is So ‘Hard’ to Implement

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More than a year ago software developer and member of the Ethereum Foundation, Hudson Jameson, announced plans to launch Metropolis, the third stage on the way to moving the platform to Proof-of-Stake (PoS). All this time, the developers have been keeping secret the date of its final phase, called Constantinople, which is to be held in the form of a hard fork on the network. On September 14, during one of the team’s bi-weekly video calls, it finally became known that the planned hard fork was on track for its…

New HTC blockchain smartphone; comes with built-in crypto wallet

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There is a new HTC blockchain smartphone that buyers can only acquire using cryptocurrency. Dubbed Exodus 1, the phone comes with its own crypto wallet called Zion. HTC is a Taiwanese phone maker that is experiencing low sales in the traditional handset market. Therefore, analysts see this new offering as a way to reinvent themselves. Interestingly, the blockchain-focused handset incorporates a separate operating system that keeps cryptocurrency secure. According to Phil Chen, HTC’s decentralized chief officer, Android OS is insecure and cannot store cryptocurrency. New HTC blockchain smartphone to bring…

Bitcoin Cash social media app; there are various on the platform so far

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There has been quite a sharp increase in the number of social media applications that run on blockchain platforms. Most developers argue that blockchain offers a huge potential for decentralised social media, where users are in charge. In this light, a Bitcoin cash social media app dubbed Hivr is the latest to launch. News.Bitcoin.Com notes that there already dozens of social media apps running on the Bitcoin Cash platform. Therefore, Hivr just adds to the crowd. However, the app’s creators argue that Hivr is one unique offering that is nothing…

US regulators could approve Bakkt BTC futures launch in the first week of November

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Bakkt may be approved by officials before launch US regulators may approve the release of the Bakkt platform that is supported by Bitcoin The ICE which is the Intercontinental Exchange for the Bakkt cryptocurrency platform has the chance of getting approved by to launch the Physically-delivered Bitcoin(BTC) futures product. According to Cointelegraph, this is coming from an unconfirmed anonymous source that told tech outlet The Block Thursday on the 25th of October. The Bakkt team is focused on creating a regulated ecosystem for institutional investors who are looking to gain exposure to the world of cryptocurrencies.…

SEC Launches FinHub to Communicate With Industry, But What Does it Have to Say?

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  On October 18, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced the launch of the agency’s Strategic Hub for Innovation and Financial Technology (FinHub). The new arm of the regulator will be focused on fintech-related fields, including, specifically, distributed ledger technology (DLT) and digital assets. What made the SEC create FinHub? The SEC, being an independent federal agency responsible for protecting investors from fraud schemes, has been trying to regulate the crypto market in the U.S. However, due to the decentralized nature of cryptocurrencies and lack of federal regulatory…