Day: December 21, 2018

Parity Launches Beta Version of Tool Stack for Building Blockchains

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United Kingdom-based blockchain infrastructure provider Parity has launched a beta version of Substrate, its tool for creating customized blockchains, according to a press release published Tuesday, Dec. 18. The release states that Substrate is designed to provide “maximum technical freedom” while creating blockchains. It supports multiple programming languages, users can make their own consensus mechanisms, and it is compatible with most existing consensus algorithms. Parity is also going to add more consensus mechanisms in subsequent releases, making them hot-swappable and allowing users to switch between different mechanisms without a hard…

Facebook is Developing a Cryptocurrency for Transfers in WhatsApp

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Facebook is reportedly making a cryptocurrency for users of the messaging service WhatsApp, Bloomberg reports on Dec. 20. The token will purportedly be used for money transfers made within the app, and will focus on the remittances market in India. Citing sources familiar with the matter, Bloomberg states that Facebook is developing a stablecoin. The sources further stated that the coin will not be released anytime soon, as Facebook is still working on a strategy for custody assets i.e. the asset to which the stablecoin will be tied. The Indian…

Report: ConsenSys to Lay Off up to 60% of Its Staff

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Blockchain software technology company ConsenSys may reportedly be making significant cuts to its staff, technology news outlet the Verge reported Dec. 20. Citing a source familiar with the matter, the Verge reports that ConsenSys is spinning out startups it previously backed, some of them without financial support. This will reportedly impact the ConsenSys’ workforce, especially its internal incubator Consensys Labs. The source said that the number of employees to be laid off could be anywhere between 50 and 60 percent of ConsenSys’ 1,200 person workforce. According to the source, ConsenSys…

Cashy Web Application Boosts Script Contracts in Bitcoin Cash

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Technology The creators of the Simple Ledger Protocol have released a new tool for Bitcoin Cash (BCH) programmers called Cashy. The toolbox allows developers to program script contracts and a wide variety of programmable money applications using the BCH network. Also read: Hash Wars: BCH Proponents Face a New Dawn in the Battle’s Aftermath Cashy: A Web Application for Programming Script Contracts in Bitcoin Cash Cashy is is a toolbox for programming a bunch of different kinds of applications and smart contracts that are tethered to the BCH chain. SLP developers have…

Report: Ethereum Developer ConsenSys To Lay Off 50% Of Its Employees

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Ethereum Development Studio ConsenSys To Be Halved ConsenSys, the Ethereum-centric development consortium founded by one Joseph Lubin, has long been at the forefront of this nascent industry. Since it was founded [basically] in tandem with Ethereum’s launch, the distributed startup has been an integral element of the network’s development since block one. Yet, after a multi-year run of little-to-zero hiccups, the development initiative, headquartered in New York, has begun to stumble amid 2018’s crypto market action. Just weeks ago, Lubin, one of the multiple Canadian technology entrepreneurs that co-founded the…

Crypto Investment Platform Secures Seed Funding from Peter Thiel, Digital Currency Group

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Venture capitalist and PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel has invested in cryptocurrency investment platform Layer1, according to a press release published Dec. 19. San Francisco-based Layer1 has concluded a $2.1 million seed funding round backed by such industry players as Thiel, crypto-focused venture capital company Digital Currency Group, and American investor and Protégé Partners founder Jeffrey Tarrant, among others. The company reportedly aims to direct the raised funds to the further development of programmable money and store-of-value applications. Per Layer1 co-founder Alexander Liegl, cryptocurrencies provide an “unprecedented opportunity” for companies to…

Blockstream CSO Explains Its Satellite Services

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Bitcoin’s wireless broadcast footprint has been expanded substantially thanks to Blockstream’s most recently leased satellite. The blockchain development firm confirmed it has leased a fifth satellite on Dec. 17, which is being used to broadcast the Bitcoin blockchain to the Asia Pacific region, in addition to existing coverage over Africa, Europe, South and North America. The satellite service provides internet-free Bitcoin transactions and information sharing to crypto users across five continents. Along with the announcement, Blockstream reportedly launched a new application programming interface (API) which enables the satellite network to…

Media Alliance to Use Blockchain Technology for Copyright Protection

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A media copyright protection alliance has been established in Beijing to provide copyright protection services using blockchain technology, according to the Chinese state-owned International Finance News on Dec. 19. The newly established alliance — the “China Financial Media Copyright Protection Alliance” — involves more than 30 major financial media outlets such as International Finance News, Economic Information Daily, China Business News, Beijing Business Daily, and the Daily Economic News, among others. The alliance aims to provide “reasonable authorization systems, improving authorized transaction mechanisms, strengthening industry copyright self-discipline, and developing copyright…

Bitcoin crosses $4,000 for the first time in two weeks

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Bitcoin has surpassed $4,000 for the first time in two weeks, continuing to break away from a months-long rout. The price of the world’s best-known cryptocurrency climbed almost 7 percent to $4,037 on Thursday, according to CoinDesk’s index tracker. The last time the digital currency was trading at the $4,000 level was on Dec. 4. It began to plummet in mid-November after months of stability, restoring volatility in an asset known to jump or fall hundreds of dollars within hours. It has fallen almost 80 percent since a record high near $20,000 in…