New procedures are being implemented as the world slowly begins to reopen amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. While temperature checks and mandatory face masks have become the new normal, the world is also witnessing the rise of digital health apps, or “health passports.” Many of these applications serve as a solution to trace individuals’ whereabouts or to store COVID-19 test results, which can then be presented to officials during travel or gatherings to show proof-of-health. While innovative, privacy and regulatory concerns have been expressed with digital solutions designed to trace…
Month: October 2020
Square buys $50m BTC. Google bets on EOS blockchain. CBDCs ramp up
In this issue Why did Square acquire US$50 million in bitcoin? Google Cloud joins Block.one network Digital currency initiatives advance globally In China: central bank pushes 50,000 people to spend new e-RMB; Hong Kong as DCEP’s sandbox Funding spotlight: betting on cryptocurrency in India From the Editor’s Desk Dear Reader, What’s happening in this part of the world, where Forkast sits in Asia? A lot. In its latest effort to push mainstream adoption for the e-RMB, China is handing out 50,000 digital “red packets.” Why is this significant? The red…
Bitcoin Fractal Predicts Price Will Soon Slip Below $10,000
Bitcoin has dropped slightly since the highs it set on Monday near $11,750. As of this article’s writing, the leading cryptocurrency changes hands for $11,400, a few percent shy of those highs. While the cryptocurrency remains in a positive position on a daily and weekly scale, an analyst fears a stronger correction. He recently shared a key fractal analysis suggesting that the cryptocurrency could soon drop under $11,000, which has acted as a key support. The fractal further predicts that Bitcoin will continue its descent. Related Reading: Here’s Why Ethereum’s…
Former Steem devs believe CPU mining is the key to a fair launch for their ‘blockchain 3.0′
In March, the crypto world saw the first instance of what many saw as a hostile takeover attempt of another blockchain. Justin Sun, the founder of Tron, had acquired Steemit, Inc. and the Steem blockchain with it — or so he thought. A complex battle of hard forks, block production takeover, alleged bribes and misdirection ultimately resulted in most of the Steem community migrating to Hive, a completely grassroots version of the previous platform. Meanwhile, the original employees and developers of Steemit, Inc. left the company almost immediately after the…
IBM blockchain powers new app to help firms reopen amid pandemic
A new application powered by the IBM blockchain aims to help people around the world return to physical encounters amid the coronavirus pandemic. IBM Watson Health, a healthcare-focused arm of tech giant IBM, is launching IBM Digital Health Pass, a blockchain-based app to support global organizations and companies as they start reopening after months of lockdown. IBM Watson stated that the new app can deploy multiple data types like COVID-19 test results and onsite temperature scans to generate a verified health status. With the opportunity to verify health status via…
Blockchain can add $1.76 trillion to global GDP by 2030, says report
A new PwC study found that blockchain technology through its wide range of use cases will potentially add $1.76 trillion to the global gross domestic product in the next 10 years. It would make 1.4% of the global GDP in 2030. The report states that increasing interest in blockchain technology is primarily due to the need for a more efficient system that can integrate trust in processes that depend on intermediaries. In another survey, PwC found that more than 50% of the CEOs believed the faltering trust in the business…
Gemini exchange partners with licensed crypto payments processor in UK
The Winklewoss twins’ crypto exchange Gemini is continuing to consolidate its regulated services for clients in the United Kingdom. On Oct. 12, Gemini announced a partnership with BCB Group — a European crypto-focused payment processor that already works with major platforms such as Coinbase, Bitstamp and Galaxy Digital. BCB Group is focused on institutional payments services and offers business accounts and crypto market liquidity for “crypto-engaged” financial institutions. The Group’s core subsidiary was officially approved by the Financial Conduct Authority as an authorized payment institution (API) earlier this year. Collaborating with…
Blockchain may solve Twitter and Facebook’s moderation issues says Aragon exec
Aragon co-founder Luis Cuende told Cointelegraph that the decentralized technology his company has been developing could find its perfect use case on social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter. In recent months, content moderation practices employed by global social media platforms have been criticized by people across the political spectrum. Libertarian-leaning constituencies tend to criticize them for essentially instituting politically correct censorship while the liberals contend that they are not doing enough to filter offensive content. To this point, yesterday, the FBI charged six individuals with a plot to kidnap…
Binance overtakes Huobi, OKEx as biggest derivatives exchange
Binance has overtaken Huobi and OKEx to become the largest crypto derivatives exchange by volume in the September figures with $164.8 billion across the month, according to the latest report published by U.K.-based data firm CryptoCompare, CryptoCompare looked at the trading volume of the top-tier exchanges and determined that Binance had seen around $8 billion more volume than its closest competitors, Huobi at $156.3B, and OKEx at $155.7B. BitMEX came in fourth with $56.4 billion in monthly volume for September. The figures show that BitMEX was in trouble even before…
Google Cloud bets on EOS blockchain, venturing further into crypto
Blockchain is undergoing a critical turning point, shifting from an emerging technology into a useful business tool that enterprises want to incorporate into existing IT stacks. As more companies continue to explore how blockchain can help achieve digital transformation, major cloud service providers are showing increased interest. For example, Google Cloud recently became a network block producer by joining the EOS blockchain community. Block producers on EOS are elected by token holders to add transactions to blocks, add blocks to the blockchain, and implement software changes. While Google Cloud must…