Tag: BlockchainPowered

NY Governor Cuomo launches blockchain-powered vaccination passports

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New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced the launch of the city’s blockchain-powered “Excelsior Pass” vaccination passport on March 26. The passport is issued through a free and voluntary platform that verifies Covid-19 vaccinations or negative test results via a QR code for smartphone scanning or printing. The Excelsior Pass is intended to assist the process of reopening businesses and public venues across New York. The vaccination passport is built on IBM’s blockchain-powered Digital Health Pass, which enables a user’s identity, vaccination history, and test results to be verified and securely…

Blockchain-powered Bordeaux? IBM announces wine supply chain tracing system

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An IBM blockchain-powered platform is now offering a way for people to track wine from its vineyard origins all the way to your local store shelf. In an announcement today, IBM said it has partnered with wine monitoring firm eProvenance to release the VinAssure platform. Built on IBM Blockchain Transparent Supply, VinAssure will reportedly run on IBM Cloud and allow wine producers, importers, transporters, distributors, restaurants, retailers, and others to track the supply chain of bottles “through a permissioned, permanent and shared record of data.” VinAssure’s members include North Carolina-based…

StanChart and UnionBank of the Philippines Collaborate on PoC of $187 Million Blockchain-Powered Bond

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The UnionBank of the Philippines and Standard Chartered (StanChart) have created a proof of concept required in the issuance of a blockchain-powered retail bond. The blockchain platform intended for bond tokenization was co-developed by SC Ventures, StanChart’s innovation and ventures arm, and UnionBank. Bond tokenization The tokenized retail bond worth $187 million (9 billion pesos) was mirrored on the blockchain platform and involved a three and 5.25-year dual issuance. According to the announcement: “Orders received were tokenized and stayed within existing retail bond guidelines. The tokens issued mirrored the…

Is Ripple’s Blockchain-Powered XRP Ledger Superior to SWIFT for Cross-Border Payments?

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Ripple, compared to SWIFT payments system adopted by banks worldwide, may be a cheaper, more transparent, and more secure alternative for the future of payments and online banking. A report released by the Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum (OMFIF) addressed how different types of blockchain technology could benefit central banks worldwide. Naming private, public, and consortium blockchains, the OMFIF explained how these different types of technologies could improve the efficiency of payments systems used by banks today, namely SWIFT. In the report, Ripple technology was highlighted for its open-source…

HSBC and Wave Facilitate Blockchain-Powered Trade Between New Zealand and China

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HSBC, a leading British multinational investment bank and financial services holding company, and Wave, a blockchain-based digital courier platform, have facilitated a blockchain trade transaction for the shipment of milk powder from New Zealand dairy processor Fonterra to China’s Sichuan New Hope Trading. Cryptographic Lading Bills HSBC gave banking services on both ends, while Wave provided the underlying blockchain technology. Specifically, the milk powder shipment carrier issued Fonterra a cryptographically signed electronic bill of lading through Wave’s platform. As per the announcement: “Fonterra added additional trade documents and presented…

China’s Petrochemical Sector Conducts First Blockchain-Powered Warehouse Receipt Finance

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China’s petrochemical industry has accomplished the first-ever blockchain-enabled digital warehouse receipt pledge financing transaction to minimize costs for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in this sector.  Tackling sluggish financing The transaction also deployed the internet of things (IoT) to hasten to finance, as this has been a challenge faced by many enterprises. It involved Nanchu Management Group Co., Ltd., China Construction Bank Inner Mongolia Branch, and China’s Sinochem Energy High-Tech Co., Ltd. The financing entity was Beijing Longrunkaida PEC Products Co., Ltd, one of the biggest traders in the lubricant…

Chinese Province Eyes Blockchain-Powered Points Reward System to Boost Tourism

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Hainan, a southern island province of China, is keeping a watchful eye on a blockchain-enabled points reward program aimed at promoting tourism in the region. The system is to be devised to allow consumption points founded on blockchain technology to be exchanged between different businesses in the cultural and entertainment fields. Realization of the “One-chain Tour Hainan” The blockchain-based consumption points are expected to assist enterprises in all tourism sectors to attain service interaction, marketing co-promotion, user sharing, and integrate the “Credit Tour Hainan” brand. This approach is touted to…

BMW Korea trials a blockchain-powered rewards program ahead of global launch

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Customers of the world-famous car manufacturer will soon be able to claim blockchain tokens as rewards as part of a new membership scheme, called BMW Vantage. The Korea Times reported on Oct. 7 that BMW Korea is the first branch in BMW Group to run a trial of the new scheme and aims to fully launch it in the country by the end of 2020. It successful, the company is planning a global rollout. The points-based rewards program uses blockchain technology to securely allocate and track tokens for participating customers.…

Officials voiced privacy concerns over China’s blockchain-powered hospital

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China’s first blockchain-powered hospital is set to launch sometime in 2021, but some government officials voiced concerns over data security.  According to Cn-Healthcare, the First Affiliated Hospital of Dalian Medical University will launch a pilot program by January 2021 as blockchain integration is still incomplete. The hospital will use the blockchain to store patient and treatment information. The operators also said that such a blockchain-powered platform will allow patients to access the so-called “internet hospital” services via a WeChat applet, whose blockchain network stores consultation and treatment data by aiming…

Shenzhen’s stock exchange is preparing to launch Blockchain-powered trades

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Shenzhen’s stock exchange, one of the biggest exchanges in the Asia-Pacific region, announced that they have co-launched a blockchain solution for trading with unlisted private-sector companies. This new platform was created as part of the Beijing Regional Trading Center. The report also indicated that the platform will be co-piloted with the Beijing Fourth Board Market, or BFBM — the city’s regional equity market. Both groups expect to “reduce the cost of information asymmetry, standardize corporate equity management, and better play the function of market equity financing” by integrating blockchain technology. Ge…