Category: Blockchain

Blockchain Bites: Ethereum 2.0 Beacon Chain Ships, Libra Rebrands, ‘Bitcoin’ Google Searches Up

boss

Ethereum 2.0 hit a major milestone as its “Beacon Chain” went live. Libra “seizes the day” and rebrands to Diem. Google searches for “bitcoin” have doubled since last month.  Top shelf Coinbase <> MicroStrategyMicroStrategy has revealed Coinbase as the platform that executed its $425 million BTC buy that thrust MicroStrategy into the spotlight of the bitcoin community.  Announced Tuesday, Coinbase revealed MicroStrategy’s initial $250 million investment, which occurred over a five-day period in August, came via Coinbase Prime, the exchange’s crypto brokerage arm formed following the acquisition of Tagomi in…

Blockchain Coalition Launches Tradable Carbon Credit Token

boss

Stablecoin pioneer Uphold is claiming to have launched the first tradable retail carbon token. The Universal Protocol Alliance, a coalition of blockchain companies led by Uphold and including Bittrex Global, Ledger, Certik and Infinigold, announced the Universal Carbon (UPCO2) token Tuesday.  Each blockchain-based UPCO2 token represents a certified measure of carbon dioxide. They can be bought and held as an investment, or burned to offset a company or individual’s carbon footprint, the group said. A rather overloaded term, “carbon credits” can refer to both government-issued credits traded on regulated markets,…

Russia’s Alfa-Bank offers blockchain platform for freelancers

boss

Alfa-Bank, one of the largest private commercial banks in Russia, is exploring blockchain technology in its services for freelancers. According to a Dec. 1 announcement, Alfa-Bank will use blockchain-based applications to automate services for freelancers and self-employed workers. Based on Waves Enterprise’s blockchain platform, Alfa-Bank’s new service covers the entire process of registration and remuneration for self-employed individuals, including payments settlement, income registration and tax payments. Denis Dodon, director of Alfa-Bank’s research and development center, told Cointelegraph that the new blockchain-based service enables freelancers to get direct remuneration via any…

Blockchain Bites: Bitcoin All-Time High Puts It on Pace for Highest Monthly Close

boss

Blockchain Bites is back – we hope you enjoyed the holiday pause. Now for the news: Another major hedge fund may allocate to bitcoin. Kaspersky sees cybercrime on the rise for 2021. And anonymous developers have forked a seemingly dead project to launch DeFi’s latest stablecoin. And, perhaps most notably, bitcoin has set a new all-time high. “After nearly three years of waiting, bitcoin investors can celebrate a new all-time high Monday after the leading cryptocurrency traded as high as $19,786, breaking the previous record set in December 2017 by…

A missing catalyst of blockchain adoption

boss

When most people imagine the problems solved and industries disrupted by blockchain technology, the typical use cases come to mind: global currency, store of value and even a way to track goods on an immutable ledger. A good starting point in understanding what drives the adoption of new technology is to take a deeper look at human psychology and understand what motivates the average person to participate in the cryptocurrency space. As of now, the lion’s share of users who participate in the space do so in the pursuit of…

Dapper Labs’ Flow blockchain takes major step towards mainnet

boss

In a move that may signal that a mainnet launch is just around the corner, Flow — the blockchain from Cryptokitties and NBA Topshot developers Dapper Labs — has launched the Flow Port: a tool for token holders to manage, stake, and delegate their Flow cryptoassets.  The announcement focused heavily on how users can stake their FLOW tokens through custody providers such as Kraken and Coinlist, as well as delegate their tokens to currently-existing node operators. Those who wish to operate their own node might face a lengthy reviewal process,…

Polish city becomes first to adopt Ethereum blockchain for emergency services

boss

Olsztyn, Poland is reportedly the first city in the world to leverage Ethereum’s blockchain to aid the provision of emergency services, offering yet another tangible use case for distributed ledger technology.  Olsztyn has completed a successful trial run of SmartKey, a bridging technology that connects blockchain with physical assets, to aid in police, fire and ambulance services. SmartKey will reportedly enable rescue teams to perform their jobs more efficiently by connecting a smart contract to Teltonika smart devices that are used by local rescue teams. This connection enables emergency crews…

IOTA teams up with Austrian uni for Internet of Things and blockchain research lab

boss

The IOTA Foundation, the non-profit organization behind IOTA, IOTA Tangle and MIOTA, announced they will be joining Austria’s newest Christian Doppler Laboratory, or CDL, as an industrial partner. The first of its kind, the laboratory is housed at the Vienna University of Technology and named the CDL Blockchain Technologies for the Internet of Things, or CDL-BOT. The laboratory was officially opened in a digital ceremony on Nov. 26 by Austrian Federal Minister for Digital & Economic Affairs Margarethe Schramböck. It will focus on research and development in public/private partnerships between institutions…

Bitcoin and blockchain topics to discuss with the crypto curious this Thanksgiving

boss

With Bitcoin’s (BTC) recent price movements drawing fresh attention to the blockchain industry, conversations centered around cryptocurrency have once again begun to see an uptick. Google Trends data shows that searches for the term “Bitcoin” have increased to yearly highs following the asset’s rally above $19,000.  Given the current circumstances, discussion centered around Bitcoin, general questions about blockchain and cryptocurrencies may come up at the Thanksgiving table. Yet while the crypto community has a lot to be thankful for this year, newcomers and the crypto curious may want to know more…

SocialGood Blockchain Project Aims to Improve Society

boss

SocialGood is an ambitious blockchain project that has the soaring aim to rewrite capitalism as we know it today by utilizing Blockchain along with Artificial Intelligence (AI) to create what is, essentially, a donation machine. You can get the SocialGood app today on Google Play for Android and at the Apple Store for iPhones. The blockchain-fueled platform creates a win-win for consumers and social foundations in its non-profit business cycle. Their vision is to “make society better” by providing all consumers with promising digital assets free of charge via their…