Blockchaina highly encrypted method of transmitting data across a networkfirst came to public consciousness with the rise of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum, but major businesses have been slow to adopt the technology.

Now, a new book by Northeastern professor of international business and strategy Ravi Sarathy, Enterprise Strategy for Blockchain: Lessons in Disruption from Fintech, Supply Chains, and Consumer Industries, explores the whys behind this reticence and offers solutions to the problems blockchain still presents.

Blockchain relies on a distributed network of computers to provide a very high standard of encryption, Sarathy says, in which member computers within the network collectively validate transactions.

When a transaction is certified, it gets added to a block, each of which contains information about transactions in the previous blocks. As these blocks stack up, they form a chain, an immutable digital record, or ledger, of every transaction thats ever occurred along that blockchain, Sarathy says. You can go all the way back to 2009, when the very first Bitcoin transaction happened, and literally trace every transaction in every Bitcoin thats ever been created.

Thanks to these collective validations, he says, blockchains are very secure. The Bitcoin network itself has never been hacked. Wallets have been hacked, where people store Bitcoin, [and] exchanges have been hacked, which store Bitcoin on behalf of the client, but the Bitcoin blockchain itself has remained secure.

According to Sarathy, these secure, distributed digital records represent the next great disruptor to traditional business. Disruption is important in all kinds of industry, Sarathy says, because it represents a force of creative destruction.

Describing what creative destruction looks like, Sarathy cites the rise of digital photography over the past 20 to 30 years. On one hand, digital photography all but exterminated the big business of chemical-film photography; on the other hand, the disruption of that industry allowed for the proliferation of photography into the hands of anyone who owns a smartphone, and a whole new marketplace for both digital photographs and new camera equipment.

So how might blockchain unseat heretofore standard ways of doing business?

Essentially, Sarathy says, blockchain promises to simplify some of businesses most common day-to-day activities, from validating the authenticity of complex exchanges to removing middlemen from web-based transactions.

Traditionally, intermediaries like banks provide assurance between two parties who exchange one thing for another. After providing a product, a seller might wonder, How am I going to make sure I get paid? The bank stands for that kind of counterparty trust. Sarathy says, but the bank charges a fee.

With a blockchain solution, a decentralized network, users can directly transact with one another without the need for an intermediary.

Take supply chains, a field thrown into sharp relief by the COVID-19 pandemic. Traditional supply chains relied on bills of lading, Sarathy notes, to provide both proof that the goods were on the ship, but also title to those goods. And you can trade [bills of lading] between parties.

But, Sarathy is quick to note, these are all paper documents, subject to damage, loss, theft, forgery and simple mistakes.

Blockchain technology, however, provides a means of instantaneous exchange, not just of data, but of value itself.

Enterprise Strategy for Blockchain also addresses the factors that have made companies hesitant to adopt the technology. For one, because blockchain relies on a large network of computers, the validation process can take time.

Further, because blockchain is so computing intensive, it requires high levels of electrical power, a fact often raised by climate change activists. But Sarathy notes that Ethereuma cryptocurrency similar to Bitcoinhas recently adopted new protocols that both make the blockchain more energy efficient and faster.

The idea of disruption itself can come across as a negative, and one of the hurdles companies will have to overcome is an organizational reluctance to change, Sarathy says. Large businesses are hierarchical, and incorporating decentralized processes can seem too large an ask.

But, Sarathy says, the promises of blockchain technology, like financial inclusion, more secure voting technologies and instantaneous transfer of value, outweigh the obstacles to its adoption.

Businesses are part of an ecosystem. Sarathy says. Good strategy sometimes requires companies to collaborate across ecosystems.

Enterprise Strategy for Blockchain was published by MIT Press on Oct. 11. As part of the books launch, Sarathy will hold a free public webinar and Q&A, hosted by MIT Sloan Management Review, on Oct. 19. You can register for the event here, which will provide access to a recording of the webinar.

For media inquiries, please contact media@northeastern.edu.

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Blockchain infrastructure and implementation technology firm ChainSafe Systems Inc. said today it has raised $18.75 million in early-stage funding to expand its developer products.

The Series A funding round, led by digital asset-focused venture capital fund Round13, also included participation from new investors NGC Ventures, HashKey Capital, Sfermion, Jsquare and returning investors ConsenSys, Digital Finance Group and Fenbushi Capital.

ChainSafe was launched in 2017 after its founders met during an Ethereum meetup in Toronto, Canada. Together they had a vision of producing a safe way for users to keep cryptocurrency in cold storage on a mobile device. However, it became clear to the team that their technical expertise could be used to provide a much broader collaboration for services to the community in general with potential blockchain projects.

Since that time, the company has grown into an infrastructure developer that provides protocol and developer platform tools. One is the Web3.js library, which allows developers to interact with local or remote Ethereum blockchain nodes using web sockets. It allows web pages and other front-end code to interact directly with blockchain code, making it possible to write user interfaces for decentralized applications.

The company also provides ChainSafe Storage, an underlying layer app for end-to-end encrypted file storage that provides automatic, simple access to the blockchain-based storage systems InterPlanetary File System and Filecoin. Developers can use it as an easy migration path away from cloud-based storage to decentralize any Web 2.0 storage layer that is compatible with Amazon Simple Storage Service.

ChainSafe also offers a flagship product called web3.unity, a software development kit designed to provide a base layer for blockchain-enabled gaming by providing the tools to connect to the Unity cross-platform game engine. Web3.unity is designed to ease the building process for blockchain games and simplify the production of blockchain-based and cryptocurrency assets into games.

ChainSafe was started with a vision that decentralized technologies could change the world, said Aidan Hyman, co-founder and chief executive of ChainSafe. As time has progressed, the importance of our contributions has become increasingly clear.

The company said more than 100 teams are currently using the SDK, which is a cross-chain bridging solution to connect major blockchains including Ethereum, Polygon and Avalanche. It has so far secured more than $600 million in cross-chain token transfers for the gaming projects it has been used in.

Blockchain technology enables the creation of nonfungible tokens, a type of crypto asset that allows provable ownership of digital assets, including video game items, such as avatars, cosmetics, weapons, buildings and digital land. It can be used to create entire virtual economies where these assets can be created, bought, sold and traded for traditional currencies, allowing both players and developers to earn money from gameplay in a model called play-to-earn.

Gaming leads trading volume for NFTs, which has grown from $135 million to $64 billion since December 2020, and the blockchain gaming industry grew over 2,000% in the past year, attracting more than $2.5 billion in investments. Its an opportunity for crypto game players where gaming assets remain in their own digital wallets and retain some sort of tradable if sometimes volatile value. Still, the majority of traditional gaming enthusiasts do not find NFTs compelling and their introduction to AAA gaming generated an intense backlash in that community.

With the new funding, the company said, it will accelerate the development of open-source tools and infrastructure for developers to help push blockchain adoption to the next level. ChainSafe currently employs more than 120 employees across 33 countries and intends to continue to expand its team.

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ChainSafe raises $18.8M to support Web3 developers and blockchain infrastructure - SiliconANGLE News

Trinity researcher Dr Hitesh Tewari is exploring a number of ways in which blockchain technology can pave the way for data privacy.

From its humble beginnings to becoming the first decentralised cryptocurrency, bitcoin has come a long way.

The bitcoin protocol, which has an immutable, distributed blockchain at its core, has since inspired others to spawn numerous blockchain-based cryptocurrencies and tokens.

From there, new concepts continued to evolve, from smart contracts that are locked into the blockchain to non-fungible tokens that can represent real-world items such as artwork and real estate.

While the latter is rightfully treated with some scepticism, the core blockchain technology is a powerful instrument as we move forward in the digital transformation space.

Dr Hitesh Tewari is an assistant professor in the School of Computer Science and Statistics at Trinity College Dublin. His research has spanned computer networks, electronic payment systems, cryptography and blockchain technology.

In September, Trinity was listed among the top 50 universities for blockchain by CoinDesk.

Researchers like myself have been using the blockchain to redesign centralised networks (fixed and mobile) for a decentralised environment, in order to make them more transparent, secure and robust, Tewari told SiliconRepublic.com.

In 2017, I along with my team, demonstrated an elegant solution to a long-standing electronic voting dilemma, and developed a fully auditable and anonymous e-Voting protocolby making use of a cryptocurrency called Zcash. I am also utilising my expertise in zero-knowledge protocols (ZKPs) to develop privacy-preserving smart contracts for strengthening the area of user privacy.

Any time we are using social media, accessing smart devices or paying for things online, we are leaving digital footprints all over the internet.

But as we become more privacy conscious, the need to have control over our personal data has become more important than ever. Thats where the uses of blockchain can come in.

Tewaris current research focuses on decentralised privacy-preserving systems, from autonomous vehicle security to next-generation cryptocurrencies.

With the internet increasingly under the control of a small number of major tech firms, he has created a framework for a decentralised internet where end users are in control of their data and their digital footprint is kept private.

The genie has been let out of the bottle and decentralisation is here to stay HITESH TEWARI

In the e-health space, I have developed a healthcare management ecosystem that allows a patients medical records to be stored securely and anonymously on a blockchain. This enables data to be mined by third parties to determine healthcare trends etc, without them inferring personal details of individual patients, he explained.

Additionally, with connected and autonomous vehicles increasingly being fitted with complex sensors and processors, Tewari is actively researching secure vehicle-to-everything communications using blockchain.

Blockchain-based cryptocurrencies have been consistently making headlines in recent years, with some dubbing decentralised finance (DeFi) systems as the Wild West of banking.

The idea of a fully anonymous blockchain-based cryptocurrency or a DeFi that is not under the control of a national government terrifies the incumbents, who desperately want to maintain the status quo that has been in place for the past century, said Tewari.

Central banks around the world are scrambling to come up with their own cryptocurrency offerings, also known as stable coins, which are pegged for example to the US dollar, euro etc.

European finance chief Mairead McGuinness said earlier this year thatabill to introduce a digital euro could be tabled in the EU early next year, while Joe Biden signed an executive order with a plan for digital assets in the US, including the potential for a digital dollar.

I believe that as blockchain-based cryptocurrencies become more mature and start addressing some of the big challenges such as increasing the number of transactions per second and reducing energy consumption, big e-commerce players such as Amazon and Alibaba etc will start accepting such cryptocurrencies as payment for goods and services, Tewari added.

But while cryptocurrencies are gaining popularity, the environmental toll associated with securing transactions on the blockchain is something that needs to be considered.

With the heightened awareness of the devastating effects that climate change has on our planet, I propose to develop energy efficient and high transaction throughput protocols for the next-generation of cryptocurrencies by developing novel consensus mechanisms, lightweight cryptographic protocols, etc, Tewari said.

He added that in conjunction with mass adoption by end users, there will be less volatility in the price of these crypto tokens as they will start to play an important functional role in the global financial system.

I also believe that in the future ZKPs will be increasingly employed to preserve the privacy of end users, while providing irrefutable proof of identity, payment and fulfilment of contracts to the providers of goods and services in todays increasingly digital world, he said.

The genie has been let out of the bottle and decentralisation is here to stay.

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A blockchain-based tender bidding platform that was designed by female university students has been named the third-best entry in a Saudi Arabian womens coding competition. The competition is said to be part of Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman Universitys broader goal of supporting and empowering women in Saudi Arabias technology sector.

A blockchain-based bidding platform created by female students at the Saudi Arabian learning institution Imam Abdulrahman bin Faisal University was recently recognized as one of the three best projects in this years coding competition. Known as Bidchain, the bidding platform came third in the competition.

According to a report by Laraontheblock, the coding competition, also known as She Codes 2022, was conducted under the auspices of the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Education along with Princess Nourah Bint Abdulrahman University. The competition is said to be part of Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman Universitys broader goal of supporting and empowering women in Saudi Arabias technology sector.

In addition to working with the government on the coding competition, Enas bint Suleiman Al-Issa, the president of the university, revealed at the award ceremony that her institution is also organizing local and international partnerships as well as holding exhibitions and specialized forums for women.

Meanwhile, in one of the videos of the event shared by Nourah Bint Abdulrahman University, one of the students behind the blockchain project said she was pleased with the recognition. The unnamed student who spoke in Arabic added the bidding platform, which was created to solve problems in tender processes, is just the beginning.

While the blockchain-enabled Bidchain platform is this years competitions bronze-winning project, two projects that use artificial intelligence (AI) came first and second. The winning entry, Sonbul, is an edutainment application which teaches kids the principles of saving and investment. An application designed for early detection of metastatic breast cancer in lymph nodes using AI came in second.

What are your thoughts on this story? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.

Terence Zimwara is a Zimbabwe award-winning journalist, author and writer. He has written extensively about the economic troubles of some African countries as well as how digital currencies can provide Africans with an escape route.

Image Credits: Shutterstock, Pixabay, Wiki Commons

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. It is not a direct offer or solicitation of an offer to buy or sell, or a recommendation or endorsement of any products, services, or companies. Bitcoin.com does not provide investment, tax, legal, or accounting advice. Neither the company nor the author is responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in this article.

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Blockchain-Based Platform Created by Saudi Students Places Third in National Women's Coding Competition Blockchain Bitcoin News - Bitcoin News

South Korea is planning to introduce blockchain-based digital IDs for its citizens with a smartphone by 2024, according to Bloomberg. These digital IDs will be installed on smartphones and work as efficiently as physical resident registration cards.

The call for digital IDs is not new as its importance was realized as soon as the world embraced a digital economy and more and more people began making cashless payments.

Cautious of being seen as a Big Brother, the South Korean government plans to adopt a decentralized identity system. Suh Bo Ram, the Director-General of South Koreas Digital Government Bureau, said that the government would have no direct access to information stored on phones, including the digital ID and their usage.

Every service that hasnt been able to fully transition online will now be able to do so.

In January 2018, the South Korean government attempted to control cryptocurrency trading by limiting trade to real-name bank accounts exclusively. Simply put, a cryptocurrency trader was needed to have a bank account in order to trade.

Notably, South Korea amended the Act on the Reporting and Use of Specific Financial Transaction Information (the March 2020 Amendment) on 5 March 2020. The legislation establishes a legislative framework for cryptocurrencies, as well as associated services and activities, legally legalizing cryptocurrency in South Korea and requiring specific compliance requirements.

The country has previously successfully implemented blockchain-based digital driving licenses. A 2020 report said that one million citizens have foregone their physical driving license in favour of a blockchain-powered digital alternative, used in conjunction with the PASS smartphone app.

A June 2021 report published by ReportLinker mentioned that the blockchain identity market will grow a further $3.58 billion by 2025, at a compounded annual growth rate of 71%.

Koreans currently rely on resident registration cards similar to a U.S social security card to identify themselves. Under the proposal, an app would embed those IDs into mobile devices.

South Korea will launch digital IDs in 2024 and seeks their adoption by 45 million citizens within two years.

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South Korea to provide blockchain-based Digital IDs to its citizens - AMBCrypto News

Zug Switzerland, 17 October 2022: The BSV Blockchain Association is excited to announce that it will be hosting an exclusive informational luncheon during the upcoming Southern California Blockchain Summit. The event is being held in partnership with SmartLedger, a company which specialises in building blockchain solutions for enterprises across several sectors.

During the event, participants will learn about how blockchain is capable of disrupting almost any industry, with presentations focusing on the music, entertainment, retail, and food sectors. Participants will have exclusive access to using Web3 applications, as well as pitch decks and demos. Creators will also showcase their applications, offering seamless client and consumer engagement at its finest.

Shawn Ryan Co-Founder and CEO of SmartLedger said: This is a fantastic opportunity for us to promote and introduce key decision-makers and innovators to what blockchain technology can do.

SmartLedger envisions a world transformed using blockchain technology and its mission is to contribute and accelerate the coming of this newly born era of full accountability, and optimised efficiency by assisting in the implementation of blockchain solutions across all sectors.

Full event details can be found below. You can find out more about signing up for the event here.

What: The BSV Blockchain Association and enterprise blockchain solutions provider SmartLedger will be hosting an informational luncheon during the Southern California Blockchain Summit about how to leverage blockchain as a scalable utility.

Martin Coxall Marketing Director at BSV said: Whilst there will be a focus on the blockchains leverage and scalable utility, we will also be highlighting key BSV companies creating revolutionary solutions in the music industry and gaming.

Who:

When: Friday, October 28th from 12-3:30pm PDT

Where: The Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel in The Heart of Hollywood

7000 Hollywood Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90028

About the BSV Blockchain Association

BSV Blockchain Association is a non-profit association (Verein) in Switzerland, and the global industry organization which advances the BSV blockchain (BSV). It brings together enterprises, start-up ventures, developers, merchants, exchanges, service providers, blockchain transaction processors (miners), and others in the BSV ecosystem. The Association supports BSV as the original Bitcoin, with a stable protocol and massive scaling roadmap to become the worlds new money and global blockchain for enterprise. The organization seeks to build a regulation-friendly ecosystem that fosters lawful conduct while encouraging digital currency and blockchain innovation.

Lightning Sharks on behalf of BSV Blockchain AssociationKey contact: Haris Khan, PR, and Media ManagerEmail: [emailprotected]Mobile: +44 (0) 7503 581 563

The luncheon will be held at the historic Hollywood Roosevelt in Los Angeles, California on Friday, October 28 from 12pm to 3:30pm PDT. During the event, a select group of VIP attendees will learn how the BSV blockchain is disrupting their respective industries, with a focus on the music, entertainment, retail, and food sectors.

New to Bitcoin? Check out CoinGeeksBitcoin for Beginnerssection, the ultimate resource guide to learn more about Bitcoinas originally envisioned by Satoshi Nakamotoand blockchain.

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BSV Blockchain Association and SmartLedger to host luncheon during the Southern California Blockchain Summit - CoinGeek

Leading MPC protocol pivots to TSS-BLS, building better permissionless computation infrastructure

SINGAPORE / ACCESSWIRE / October 18, 2022 / ARPA Chain, a blockchain-based solution for secure privacy-preserving computation enabled by Multi-Party Computation (MPC), is rebranding as ARPA Network (ARPA) as it switches its focus from general-purpose MPC to Threshold BLS Signature Schemes (TSS-BLS), a subset of MPC.

ARPA Chain was founded in 2018 as a privacy-preserving MPC network, and its Alpha Mainnet has completed over 224,000 computation tasks in the last 2.5 years alone. Its experience in MPC and cryptography laid the groundwork for its innovative TSS-BLS system design and led the team to the new ARPA.

ARPA is a blockchain-adapted decentralized secure computation network employing matured cryptographic algorithms. It aims to further push the boundaries of blockchain and ultimately enable more blockchain use cases via Threshold Signature Scheme - from serving as verifiable random sources for metaverse, games, and NFTs, powering wallets with social recoverability and flexible key management policy, and safeguarding cross-chain transactions. Since TSS networks are sometimes criticized for being slow, ARPA designed a unique grouping mechanism that enables multiple groups of nodes to participate in the completion of BLS signature tasks simultaneously, which significantly increases the throughput.

On top of that, to better cater to developers' needs across multiple ecosystems, ARPA builds the network to support multiple blockchains and allow developers to customize their signature policy according to different security levels required by different applications. Meanwhile, its property of decentralization allows the participation of individual node operators in a permissionless manner, which helps disperse risk by eliminating the possibility of a single point of failure.

While ARPA's nature of decentralization strengthens physical tamper protection, its token economics design stemmed from game theory also helps to distinctly restrain malicious intent and greatly improve the network's security level. Therefore, the network's utility token $ARPA plays a critical role in maintaining a permissionless and self-sustaining ecosystem. For example, $ARPA token can serve as incentives for BLS computation task completion. When a client initiates a computation task, ARPA system distributes the task and summons participants to help fulfill it, promising ARPA tokens if successful. On the other hand, the client may need to pay a service fee or make a security deposit when setting up computation nodes in $ARPA as well.

Going forward, ARPA will serve as the infrastructure for many blockchain applications, including verifiable Random Number Generator (RNG), secure wallet, cross-chain bridge, and decentralized custody across multiple blockchains. While working intensively on the development of the network, the team is also building ARPA's first showcase, Randcast, a verifiable RNG that offers on-chain generated random sources while being secure and verifiable under low-cost. Randcast can be utilized across multiple blockchains in a wide variety of use cases where fairness and transparency are essential, including metaverse gaming, lottery, NFT minting and whitelisting, key generation, and blockchain validator task distribution. The ARPA team is working on the Devnet launch in Q4 2022, and the Mainnet launch in Q1 2023.

For developers interested in building on ARPA, please feel free to sign up for updates. The full-text whitepaper is available on the new website.

About ARPA

ARPA Network (ARPA) is a decentralized secure computation network built to improve the fairness, security, and privacy of blockchains. ARPA threshold BLS signature network serves as the infrastructure of verifiable Random Number Generator (RNG), secure wallet, cross-chain bridge, and decentralized custody across multiple blockchains.

ARPA was previously known as ARPA Chain, a privacy-preserving Multi-party Computation (MPC) network founded in 2018. ARPA Mainnet has completed over 224,000 computation tasks in the past years. Our experience in MPC and other cryptography laid the foundation for our innovative threshold BLS signature schemes (TSS-BLS) system design and led us to today's ARPA Network.

Randcast, a verifiable Random Number Generator (RNG), is the first application that leverages ARPA as infrastructure. Randcast offers a cryptographically generated random source with superior security and low cost compared to other solutions. Metaverse, game, lottery, NFT minting and whitelisting, key generation, and blockchain validator task distribution can benefit from Randcast's tamper-proof randomness.

For more information about ARPA, please contact [emailprotected].

Official Website: https://arpanetwork.io/Discord: https://dsc.gg/arpa-networkGitHub: https://github.com/ARPA-NetworkTwitter: https://twitter.com/arpaofficialMedium: https://arpa.medium.com/Telegram: https://t.me/arpa_communityLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/arpachain/

SOURCE: ARPA

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ARPA Chain Rebrands as ARPA Network Aiming to Spur Blockchain Evolution - AccessWire

AARHUS, Denmark and ZUG, Switzerland, Oct. 18, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Concordium Blockchain, COBRA, Aarhus University, the Alexandra Institute, and the IT University have been granted DKK 3.6 million by DIREC, to investigate how to create the best possible online voting system for Greenland.

Due to a change in the law in 2020, many Greenlanders will likely have to cast their vote online in upcoming national elections.

A group of researchers from Concordium Blockchain, Aarhus University, the Alexandra Institute, and the IT University will investigate whether a blockchain-based system will be a more trustworthy e-election on the world's largest island.

DIREC, a collaboration between the computer science departments of eight Danish universities and the Alexandra Institute, has just granted the group DKK 3.6 million for the ambitious Privacy-Preserving and Software-Independent Voting Protocols project. The Department of Social Affairs, Labor Market and Home Affairs of Greenland is going to work closely together with the group on it.

"There are of course many advantages in an online election, however distrust and a lack of regulation ready and secure solutions has prevented the vast majority of countries from moving forward. From Concordium, a science based Decentralized blockchains with the ID at the protocol level, we are eager to participate and solve the potential problems in building online elections on our chain. In Greenland, where enormous distances make it difficult for people to cast their vote, an online solution could potentially increase voter participation, and this is one of the reasons why a change in law in 2020 paved the way for the Greenlandic government to give Greenlanders the opportunity to cast their vote online in the future." says Kre Kjelstrm, CTO at Concordium.

"My goal is that we can give the Greenlandic decision-makers good conditions for deciding which system they should use to hold online elections. From a research point of view, the project can also be valuable. Technologically speaking, we are moving into unknown territory and depending on our results, you can easily imagine that the many, many countries that can see the benefits of an election will be able to use our results as well. And finally, Greenland with its limited population and great distances is an optimal place to start from, says professor at the IT University, Carsten Schrmann, who is Principal Investigator on the project.

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Is blockchain the solution?

Bas Spitters, associate professor at Aarhus University and researcher at Concordium Blockchain Research Center Aarhus,who is internationally recognized for his research related to the verification of blockchain technologies, sees great potential in the project:

"Electronic election protocols use a kind of bulletin board, and Blockchains can be used as a private and secure bulletin board. They are already used in minor elections to ensure that voters can check that their votes have been registered correctly. In this project we will explore whether it can also be used in larger elections. In particular, we aim to verify that the protocols used to verify the votes are inaccessible to outsiders and that they are secure. In addition, in cooperation with Concordium, we must investigate whether, by integrating MitID in their blockchain, it will be possible to give voters the opportunity to identify themselves at the same time that their private information is protected," concludes Bas Spitters.

Carsten Schrmann, who many consider one of the world's leading experts in election technology, has previously been critical of the internet. He is, however, convinced that online voting will become widespread in the coming years and recognizes the importance of creating a trustworthy system for it, which this project can create the best possible conditions for.

"Blockchains provide some relatively new opportunities to create security and increase transparency, which can be really interesting when we talk about internet elections. With this project, we will concretely investigate how blockchain technologies can be used to curb attacks on the election process, detect technical and human errors and preserve the secrecy of the vote. We will do this by developing some protocols for a system which can be verified and which is what we call software-independent," says Carsten Schrmann.

CONTACT:

ConcordiumMaria Amalia RojasMarketing Directormar@concordium.com

The following files are available for download:

SOURCE Concordium

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Greenland, together with Top Universities and Concordium Blockchain, is investigating the possibilities of a blockchain-based election system in the...

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There is a lot of talk in the crypto world about mass adoption. But what does that mean? And how can we make it happen? Plenty of products are being created in the crypto space ranging from DeFi protocols to NFT marketplaces, and now there is a move towards Web3-ready browsers. Furthermore, crypto forecast data states that the number of cryptocurrency users will reach 350 million by 2027.

This considerable increase will only happen if we see mass education on crypto, blockchain and Web3 technologies. So how can this be done?

Most experienced crypto users who participate in the market are already familiar with it and use their knowledge to create solutions that ease business processes for others. However, these users almost exist in a bubble surrounded by people with the same level of understanding.

If you have spent any time in the crypto world, you have probably realized that even within a community of less experienced crypto enthusiasts, there is a lack of effort to self-educate despite the availability of resources such as FAQs, beginner guides and other forms of content.

The problem is that the average person does not even know where to start when it comes to crypto learning. They are intimidated by the technical jargon and do not have time to sift through all the information.

Related: 10 Incredible Uses for Cryptocurrency and Blockchain You Probably Haven't Thought of

The world as we know it is cyclical, and the crypto industry does not exist in a vacuum. We can learn from the successes and failures of TradFi to better understand how to achieve mass crypto adoption.

Since its first appearance 200 years ago, the traditional finance market has evolved to become an essential part of our everyday lives thanks to its process of education. Education in TradFi has given the masses an explanation of how the system works in simple terms, raising understanding and increasing adoption.

The education system in TradFi goes back to early childhood when kids learn to participate in TradFi through play. They learn the value of money and how to save. A more formal education follows this in schools where children study different financial concepts such as budgeting, loans, and investments. But there is no such thing for crypto yet.

There is a need to raise a comfortable and familiar generation around crypto. Many crypto-educated American parents are already investing about $766 into extra-curricular crypto education for their children.

Related: Mass Adoption of Blockchain Technology by Entrepreneurs? Major Challenges Are Involved.

In addition, some companies have already started to invest in educational tools and resources to help people understand crypto. Binance and Coinbase, for example, have "Learn" sections on their websites to help users get to know different cryptocurrencies and even earn crypto rewards.

Withal, top universities, such as Stanford, Harvard, MIT, and Oxford, are starting to incorporate blockchain and crypto courses into their curriculum. Despite the positive trend, many crypto-related programs teach only the basics with a focus on financial literacy. Unless the students learn how the tech works, they will not become crypto natives, get hired by market players after graduation, or develop the most sought-after skills within the sector.

There are also "anti-cases'' like the one with El Salvador, which became the first country in the world to adopt Bitcoin as a legal tender. It was only in 2022 that the "My First Bitcoin" program was launched to educate children and adults about cryptocurrencies. The Salvadoran government should have started this educational program much earlier.

The same can be said about the UK, where the country's Digital Minster is looking to make the nation a "crypto hub," while nearly half of young adults in the country do not know how cryptocurrencies work. The discrepancy is further exaggerated by the fact that more than half (56%) of the UK's young adults are willing to invest in crypto in the future, yet another 60% believe there is inadequate information available regarding learning about digital assets.

As it seems, countries across the globe are in a crypto arms race to be the first to achieve mass crypto adoption. However, no one is thinking about how ordinary people can understand and use cryptocurrencies in their everyday lives.

Having a few companies invest in educational tools and resources is not enough. There needs to be a coordinated effort by all crypto institutions to explain the concepts of digital assets in simple terms so that everyone can understand. True mass crypto adoption can only be achieved when the population adequately understands the industry.

At first, as a crypto entrepreneur, you may think that creating a high-quality product is enough. But it is wrong; people using your platform need proper training about it first.

As the crypto world expands, so does the range and palette of financial instruments. Every socially responsible business should therefore think beyond its product or service and consider its impact on the greater good.

It is the responsibility of CEOs and founders to learn from TradFi history and think about crypto education and how to make it accessible to everyone from an early age, thus guaranteeing future growth and adoption.

After all, to get a mature crypto community in the next 5-10 years, we need to carry knowledge about blockchain to the next generation, the future native users of the technology.

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Educating Consumers on Crypto Will Lead to Mass Adoption - Entrepreneur

Young woman working at modern office. Technical price graph and indicator, red and green candlestick chart and stock trading computer screen background.

It has been a rotten time to own shares in Argo Blockchain (LSE: ARB). The Argo Blockchain share price has crashed 88% in the past year. It now trades as a penny share.

The chart is not pretty not only has the price fallen recently, it has been on a downward trend for much of the 12 months.

So, will the price drift even lower or could it start to regain ground? As an Argo Blockchain shareholder myself, this is not just a theoretical question. I need to decide whether to sell at a loss or hang on hoping for an improvement in the share price.

Argo was riding high for parts of last year, when crypto prices were more robust and the broader economy seemed less fragile than it does now.

But the US dollar value of Bitcoin has tumbled 69% last year (the pound value has fallen by 61%). A lot of tech-related shares saw heavy price falls in the final months of 2021 and have yet to recover their old levels.

That matters for Argo because optimism about tech and a strong crypto price helped support its share price. As a crypto miner, lower prices for Bitcoin and its peers equate to smaller profits for Argo or none at all.

That environment is reflected in some of the challenges that the company is currently facing.

This month it announced plans to sell thousands of unused mining machines and raise capital by issuing new shares. That will dilute existing shareholders. I see a risk that in order to boost liquidity further in future, shareholders could be diluted again.

Part of the justification for this move was to ensure that the Company has the working capital necessary to. . . meet its obligations over the next twelve months. Although the company is working to stay viable, the language used seems ominous to me. Apparently the board is concerned that some tough medicine is needed just to meet the firms short-term obligations.

However, all is not lost.

The company has proven it can make a mining profit. That could be the foundation for future profits. Just as a fall in crypto prices has hurt the Argo Blockchain share price, any future increase might help it.

Story continues

Argo also has a number of data centres I think could be used to earn revenue even if not by mining crypto. Demand for data centre space remains high and I expect that to continue.

Despite that, the company clearly faces challenges. Its recent moves are prudent but shoring up the balance sheet in that way may further hurt investor sentiment. Indeed, since the announcement, the Argo Blockchain share price has moved downwards.

With positive news and higher crypto prices, the price could recover in future. But I think there is a real risk it could end up going to zero. Even if it does recover, I do not expect that to happen any time soon.

For now I still hold my shares. But if the outlook does not improve in coming months, I will consider selling them.

The post Will the Argo Blockchain share price recover? appeared first on The Motley Fool UK.

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C Ruane has positions in Argo Blockchain. The Motley Fool UK has no position in any of the shares mentioned. Views expressed on the companies mentioned in this article are those of the writer and therefore may differ from the official recommendations we make in our subscription services such as Share Advisor, Hidden Winners and Pro. Here at The Motley Fool we believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors.

The content in this article is provided for information purposes only. It is not intended to be, neither does is constitute, any form of investment advice. Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are highly speculative and volatile assets, which carry several risks, including the total loss of any monies invested. Readers are responsible for carrying out their own due diligence and for obtaining professional advice before making any investment decisions.

Motley Fool UK 2022

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Will the Argo Blockchain share price recover? - Yahoo Finance UK

DevRev, a Palo Alto-based startup that has built a developer CRM for product-led growth, has raised $20 million and did so by tokenizing its fundraising process.

Why it matters: By putting investments on the blockchain, DevRev believes it can open its fundraising process to customers and other advocates for its platform.

Context: DevRev was founded by former Nutanix CEO Dheeraj Pandey, along with Nutanix tech lead Manoj Agarwal, both of whom left that company early last year to build the startup.

How it works: The DevRev SAFE token is being offered under a Reg D filing with the SEC and represents a digital version of a typical SAFE security.

Yes, but: Its important to note that DevRev is not putting tokens out on the open market or allowing them to be traded or sold on a public exchange.

What were watching: While its still early, DevRev is not ruling out the possibility of making tokenized fundraising a part of its product suite, potentially helping its customers to raise money from their customers.

Editor's note. This story has been updated to show that DevRev has already raised the $20 million.

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DevRev puts its fundraising on the blockchain - Axios

If you listen to crypto haters like Peter Schiff, theyll tell you Bitcoins been left behind and looking lost amid the latest little stocks surge. Under the surface, though, it looks like BTC whales are accumulating.

And its true that Bitcoin and the crypto market as a whole are struggling for a bit of direction at this present moment. In fact, if there was an award for the best-performing sideways-moving asset outside of stablecoins, then Bitcoin would be in with a great shout.

Here was Peter I Bar Up Over Gold More Than Francisco Pizzaro Schiffs latest Bitcoin-related comment, by the way:

However, theres the odd bit of on-chain research popping up here and there in our content feeds that would indicate at least some potential for a positive break out of the excruciatingly low Bitcoin/crypto volatility were currently in.

For instance, data from the blockchain research firm Santiment indicates whales (holders of large amounts of a given asset) are accumulating Bitcoin at these US$19k-ish levels.

As BTCs price continues its crab impression, addresses holding between 10,000 to 100,000 BTC have apparently reached their highest level since February 2021. That, by the way, turned out to be a pretty bullish month for crypto, although past performance is not indicative of future resu ah, you know.

And another little nugget of possibly positive info has come from another blockchain analytics firm, CryptoQuant, which suggests that about US$940 million worth of Bitcoin (48k BTC) has just moved off major crypto exchange Coinbase.

This sort of large BTC movement is sometimes regarded as a good sign, indicating whale holders are looking to secure their asset in cold storage reducing the likelihood of selling/trading.

Additionally, more than 121,000 BTC (over US$2.3 billion), has left exchanges in the past 30 days.

The red lines on the CryptoQuant chart below indicate exchange outflows. It doesnt always follow that the outflow spikes are harbingers for price rallies, but that big outflow that occurred in mid June certainly saw some subsequent positive price action.

This latest exchange outflow is the biggest since June.

Onto some daily price action.

With the overall crypto market cap at US$966 billion, down about 1% since this time yesterday, heres the current state of play among top 10 tokens according to CoinGecko.

As indicated above, Bitcoin and its fancy top 10 friends are still hanging out somewhere on the Nullarbor Plain, dreaming of mountain-range visual stimulation.

Clocking into some well-known go-to Crypto Twitter analysts, and the feeling is mixed. Justin Bennett, for one, doesnt actually sound so confident any more that a rally is particularly imminent, citing unfinished business sub $19k.

However, il Capo of Crypto is satisfied theres been a double touch of support around the low $19k level and is going, er, long and strong on a potential double bottom

Meanwhile, just touching on the leading layer 1 smart-contract blockchain for half a second, Aussie Ethereum educator Anthony Sassano points out some post-Merge issuance reduction for ETH in this tweet below. A very good thing for the cryptos deflationary-asset narrative.

Aptos, yet another layer 1 blockchain hitting the crypto space has made its highly anticipated mainnet debut.

Anticipated, because its borne from Metas defunct Diem blockchain project, and there has been millions of VC dollars pumped into this one from the likes of Parafi, Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), FTX, and Multicoin Capital.

The blockchains native APT token is now set to make its debut on the market, however, Aptos has been copping a barrage of criticism for its lack of transparency so far with regards to its token distribution model.

News has leaked that some 51% of the initial 1 billion APT supply is sitting with VCs, with another 190 million going to core developers for the project.

This hasnt gone down well.

At the time of writing, the APT token is listed on crypto market aggregation sites such as CoinGecko and CoinMarketCap, however, there is no price data available yet, and the project will be featured as an untracked listing for the moment until full support is integrated from crypto-trading platforms.

Sweeping a market-cap range of about US$7.16 billion to about US$392 million in the rest of the top 100, lets find some of the biggest 24-hour gainers and losers at press time. (Stats accurate at time of publishing, based on CoinGecko.com data.)

DAILY PUMPERS

Frax Share (FXS),(market cap: US$453 million) +10%

Aave(AAVE), (mc: US$1.17 billion) +5%

Arweave (AR), (mc: US$515 million) +3%

Curve DAO(CRV), (mc: US$500 million) +2%

Polygon (MATIC), (mc: US$6.45 million) +2%

DAILY SLUMPERS

Quant (QNT), (market cap: US$2.68 billion) -11%

EthereumPoW (ETHW), (mc: US$738 million) -5%

LEO Token (LEO), (mc: US$4 billion) -4%

Lido DAO(LDO), (mc: US$4 billion) -1%

The Graph (GRT), (mc: US$618 million) -4%

A selection of randomness and pertinence that stuck with us on our morning moves through the Crypto Twitterverse

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Mooners and Shakers: Bitcoin flat, but whales are stacking; Aptos blockchain makes rocky start - Stockhead

For Ws annual The Originals portfolio, we asked creativespioneers in the fields of art, design, fashion, comedy, activism, and moreto share their insights on staying true to themselves. See this years full class of creatives here.

After three years of working as an artist and illustrator, you entered the NFT space and created a collection of diverse PFPs [NFT profile pictures]. What is World of Women, and why did you start it?

I entered the Web3 space [a nascent iteration of the Internet that emphasizes decentralization and blockchain technology] early last year, selling my single-edition art pieces through these NFT platforms. I saw there was a huge lack of representation in this space, which really frustrated me. As the movement of NFT profile-picture collections, like the Bored Apes, started booming, I thought, Im going to do the same thing, but its going to be a collection of women of all skin colors, all ethnicities. The response to them really showed me this problem was much bigger than I thought. There were a lot of women hiding or being quiet in this space because they didnt feel appreciated or seen. Now were an established company with almost 20 employees, and its only been a year.

Do you think its easier to be original today than it was 20 years ago?

Technology is a double-edged sword. It has allowed us to achieve incredible things, and as weve seen with Web3, it has enabled communities from all around the world to connect and to form ideas and resources to be shared more efficiently and directly. But at the same time, technology has disconnected us from certain things and has made us lazier. Maybe before, people made more of an effort with certain things that now we just take for granted.

How do you think Web3 has changed the game for artists?

Youre able to put your art out there in front of collectors around the world, and people dont care where youve shown, who you are, or where you come from. Its all about the art and how it touches people. It is harder to make a living from your art when you dont have the right connections. This allows anybody to do that.

What do you think is the biggest misconception about NFTs and blockchain technology?

A lot of people assume that this is just speculation, and that its all about making money really fast and the same people getting richer and richer every day. And while it is true that a lot of the same people are getting richer, blockchain technology is an opener for so many more things that we can do as individuals in the long term. Another misconception is that this is all made just for dudes.

Where in the world, and doing which activity, are you happiest?

I love cooking with my momits like therapy. Or being in the desert at night, looking at the grandness of the sky and sharing a meal with my husband, friends, or family members.

Hair and Makeup by Julia Krmer.

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World of Women CEO Yam Karkai Brings Inclusivity to the Blockchain - W Magazine