Erik Rind, CEO of ImagineBC, has revealed for The Paypers reader how can blockchain tech enable internet users gain control over their data and favourite music

Over half of Americans are refusing to use some products or services due to personal privacy concerns, according to survey resultspublished on April 14, 2020 by Pew Research Center,a nonpartisan American think tank based in Washington.

In light of this research you would think that we would see Facebook and Google reporting large losses in their subscriber base, but we dont. Why? It's commonly referred to as the privacy paradox, as John Naughton wrote in The Guardian, a dark shadow looms over our networked world. Its called the privacy paradox. The main commercial engine of this world involves erosion of, and intrusions upon, our privacy. Whenever researchers, opinion pollsters and other busybodies ask people if they value their privacy, they invariably respond with a resounding yes. The paradox arises from the fact that they nevertheless continue to use the services that undermine their beloved privacy.

I like to think of the privacy paradox in more simplistic terms. In the iconic movie The Matrix, the main character Neo (Keanu Reeves) is offered a choice by the rebel leader Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne). Morpheus makes Neo choose between the red pill which represents an uncertain future but would free him from the enslaving control of the machines or to take the blue pill, which will return him to his previous state of blissful ignorance.

ImagineBC is a startup technology company that represents the red pill. ImagineBC was started because its founders were unified in their vision that people needed to be offered an alternative to the blue pill being offered by the tech giants. The ecosystem that ImagineBC has created, which we call the Community, offers its users, who we call Members, the ability to take back control of their personal information and more importantly turn that control into monetisation of their personal information, intellectual property, and time.

Started in 2018, ImagineBC began as a mere prototype of a self-service module for a human capital management system (HCMS). The idea was to allow the individual user of the HCMS to have sole control of their key personal information (SSN, name, email, mobile number, banking information, etc.) through use of a distributed blockchain network. Six months into this exercise, we realised that if we wanted to get people to understand that they need to take back control of their personal identity, we were going to need something sexier that an HCMS solution. Thus, the creation of ImagineBC and the idea that it is We the People, who should receive fair compensation for the use of our personal information and intellectual property.

The name ImagineBC comes from the immortal song, Imagine by the late John Lennon. If you are unfamiliar with this hit or cant quite remember the lyrics, pull it up on your mobile and have a listen. Imagine a world with no governments. Lennon understood the world changing possibilities of blockchain technology 40 years before it came into existence. A properly designed ecosystem using blockchain creates a system of trust between peers, thereby eliminating the need for traditional third-party intermediaries in commercial transactions. And so, the name was clear, Imagine + BC = ImagineBC.

ImagineBCs role in the community it created is to act as a mediator of individual data. What this means is that we have harnessed the power of blockchain technology and AI/ML technology into a mobile application, where 90% of all the revenue generated within the community is distributed back to the Members of the community. To put this in its proper perspective, Facebook to match our design would need to distribute 90% of the gross income it earns back its users. I dont see that happening anytime in the near future, do you? This is where people start to say, yeah but what keeps you from becoming the next Facebook. The answer is blockchain and smart contracts. ImagineBC has actually programmed against natural desire by putting the revenue distribution into a smart contract where the terms can only be modified by a vote of 51% of the Members.

The easiest way to explain how the community works is through an example. Say we have a comedian who is tired of giving her intellectual property away for nothing on YouTube, so instead, they create a channel on the ImagineBC platform and decide to charge USD 2.00 for a monthly subscription to their exclusive content on this channel. This is where almost everyone says, Whoa, why should I start having to pay for what I have been getting for free!. The answer is that within the ImagineBC community our Members have the ability to earn what we call free and new money, which we hope they will spend some of on content they are interested in consuming.

New money comes from the monetisation of a Members personal data. Pepsi wants to advertise to you, well inside ImagineBC they will compensate you for the use of your data to find you and for you time to watch the ad. Verizon wants you to complete a survey, same thing, you get compensated. In this scenario Pepsi and Verizon are winners because they still get to target their advertising, but the consumer will have a more positive response to the add because of the increased intrinsic nature of the transaction. The Member wins because they have received fair compensation for the use of their personal information and time. And finally, our comedian wins because they are now being fairly compensated for their creativity. Oh, and of course ImagineBC wins because it made its fixed 10% fee on the transaction.

Of course, there is no such thing as a scenario where everyone wins. So, who loses in this ecosystem? The answer is, the tech giants. In 2019, USD 235 bln dollars was spent on advertising in the US alone. That advertising is target to us based on data collected about us by the tech giants. How much of that windfall did we receive? Nothing! Well, with ImagineBC, the Members would receive 90% of that money.

The final question we typically get asked is, How do you begin to build such as community. Well for ImagineBC the answer is through creators. Everyday you read how the YouTube community is getting more upset with the lack of transparency around how YouTube chooses to compensate contributors. ImagineBC is focusing on existing YouTubers who understand the advantages a platform like ImagineBC gives them towards income generation. Through these early adopter creators, ImagineBC hopes to start building the size of the Member community and enhance awareness of the community. Drip, drip eventually leads to a gusher. ImagineBC has the staying power to keep fighting this fight on behalf over everyone.

Clearly building an ecosystem like ImagineBCs is no easy task. Thats where the red and blue pill come in. The tech giants have no ability to control our free will. If We the People all said enough is enough, as the Pew poll suggests is beginning to happen, and anxiously reach for the red pill, the tech giants are powerless to stop us.

About Erik Rind

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Solving the privacy paradox with blockchain tech - The Paypers

The cryptocurrency Bitcoin started gaining media traction in 2017, which was followed closely by a surge of interest in blockchain, the technology that makes cryptocurrency possible. While financial journals and magazines have devoted columns of space to Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, blockchain can have more implications for accounting than enabling cashless and deregulated payment.

It is important to note that blockchain is not an accounting software or finance system, but a way of conveying and verifying data. Information on this technology is stored in a cloud and can be batched or uploaded by blockchain members, or computers and servers that download and install the software.

The information added on the blockchain is customizable depending on the organizations needs. Blocks of information may be added to previous blocks, or reorganized accordingly. It can also fight Distributed Denial of Service, or DDoS attacks. These are hacker attempts to flood a server in order to gain access to secure information. Since blockchains are decentralized, and bandwidth is spread over several members, they can absorb DDoS attacks.

Most important to finance professionals is the ability to display data only to select groups or members. Though different organizations may be part of the same blockchain network, not all are granted automatic access to data by virtue of being connected to other members.

The differentiation between general-use and classified data is valuable for firms with multiple clients on the same network. Though accountants may view the clients data, the latter will not have the same reach of access, and can only see the information that pertains to their account.

Modern accounting hinges upon the double-entry system, with managers collaborating with auditors to check the figures in their books. This is a costly but necessary procedure. With blockchain, accountants will have a more streamlined process of validating data.

Companies can also write transactions directly into a joint register, instead of on separate records based off of verified receipts. This way, managers and accountants have access to one enduring record. Since entries are decentralized and encrypted, it will be near impossible for officers to commit fraud through modifying, concealing, or erasing transactions from the record.

Standardized books would streamline the reviewing process on the most important data of financial statements. This would make the necessary audits less expensive and time-consuming, and auditors could focus on more complex internal control processes.

Blockchain proves the integrity of electronic files through generating hash strings. This is equivalent to a digital fingerprint, which is also timestamped when written into the blockchain. The files provenance can be checked at any time by generating a hash string and comparing it to the one in the blockchain. If the figures are identical, the file was unaltered.

With these capabilities, all documents and accounting processes performed on the blockchain may be readily documented. Entire departments or divisions and their accounting incidents can be represented, promoting financial transparency in the entire company.

Human oversight and review in the auditing process will always be needed, and there will always be a market for supervising processes. Though this may be the case, accountancy is definitely seeing a shift toward automation, augmentation, and the digitization of data.

To get the latest news in the UK, read more stories on business intelligence and insight at Accountancy Today.

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The Role of Blockchain in Reshaping Corporate Audit and Accounting - Accountancy Today

Dole Food Company, the worlds largest producer of fruit and vegetables, has revealed a five-year plan to expand its adoption of distributed ledger technology, or DLT, for supply chain tracking.

Doles blockchain expansion was announced in its 2020 Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability Report.

Dole first began to explore DLT after joining IBMs Food Trust as a founding member in 2017.

The report announces that Dole will comprehensively overhaul its food tracing systems, including the goal of integrating blockchain-based product-tagging and advanced traceability solutions into all of its divisions by 2025.

Dole already utilizes blockchain throughout its supply chain for salads and fresh vegetables, and has shared its data with select retail customers since 2019.

Blockchain cuts the average time needed for food safety investigations from weeks to mere seconds, states Dole.

Produce thats been logged via blockchain can be instantly tracked back through the supply chain, giving retailers and consumers confidence in the event of a recall, the report adds.

The report states that security measures are built into the system to prevent retailers participating in its blockchain program from exposing valuable proprietary information to other entities in the network.

Dole also announced plans to launch a consumer-facing feature allowing shoppers to scan each package of salad or vegetables to access detailed information recorded across the products supply chain:

Eventually, consumers will be able to scan each bag of salad or package of vegetables in-store to get information about its journey from farm to store shelf.

On April 6, fellow-IBM food trust member, Nestl, announced it would expand its use of DLT to print QR codes on the packaging for its premium coffee brand, Zogas. Consumers can now trace select blends back to farms and roasters in Brazil, Rwanda, and Colombia.

Ethical egg producer, Farmers Hen House, launched a similar program in partnership with blockchain food tracing firm, Bytable. They began printing QR-codes on egg cartons in mid-April that allow consumers to trace the origin of their eggs.

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Dole to Integrate IBMs Food Trust Blockchain Into All Divisions by 2025 - Cointelegraph

The cryptocurrency project launched by video live-streaming platform YouNow is ditching its sidechain and migrating onto public blockchain Algorand.

The move comes as the Props project seeks higher throughput for its continued expansion, according to an announcement Thursday.

Props said it has now raised $2 million in a funding round led by Union Square Ventures (USV) and Borderless Capital that will fund the chain migration. GSR, Lvna Capital and the Dating.com Group also invested.

Props, which has now been spun-out of YouNow, hopes the shift to Algorand will allow it to better scale. Unveiled in 2017 as a way for users to support content creators, some independent projects such as Listia earlier this year have moved onto the PropsChain, citing its functionality and large network of users.

Props co-founder Adi Sideman told CoinDesk the number of users has tripled to more than three million since January. With a new Dating.com integration, the company expects its user base could grow to as many as five million users by May.

The current sidechain, which is on ethereum, "would have difficulties supporting the scale Props is set to reach and required continuous maintenance," Sideman said. "Algorand provides an out-of-the-box solution that handles the usage level and relieves the Props team from the need to maintain a chain themselves."

The migration also means Props can dispense with its own network validators and rely instead on the larger pool of stakers that validate the Algorand public chain.

Props hit the headlines after the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) granted the project a Reg A + sale qualification last July, giving it the regulatory green light to raise a maximum of $50 million from retail investors.

The news is the latest in a series of positive developments for Algorand, which has been attracting notable crypto and blockchain projects interested in leveraging the chain's high throughput potential.

Monerium, an Icelandic settlements provider with a European Union e-money license, said it had formed a partnership with Algorand back in January to see if fiat currency transactions can be moved onto the blockchain to create cost savings.

The Marshallese central bank digital currency (CBDC) initiative is also built on top of Algorand. The project's technology provider told CoinDesk at the time that Algorand had the tech stack needed to facilitate fast and secure payments on an everyday basis.

As it looks to capitalize on its momentum, the Algorand Foundation announced just over two weeks ago it was setting aside $50 million worth of Algos, the protocol's native token, for a new fund to finance ecosystem development.

It isn't clear whether Props is still planning on raising money through the retail investor route. A spokesperson said that they could offer tokens in a public sale, under a Reg A, sometime in the future.

EDIT: (May 1, 09:20 UTC): A previous version of this article stated that Props was a wholly-owned subsidiary of YouNow and that PropsChain was a private chain. This has since been corrected. Comment from a Props spokesperson was also added.

The leader in blockchain news, CoinDesk is a media outlet that strives for the highest journalistic standards and abides by a strict set of editorial policies. CoinDesk is an independent operating subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, which invests in cryptocurrencies and blockchain startups.

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YouNow's Regulated Crypto Project Props Will Migrate to Algorand Blockchain - CoinDesk

Overstock's tZERO is seeking regulatory approval to trade blockchain-based securities and traditional stocks on its bitcoin exchange app, tZERO Crypto.

Announced during the online retail giants Q1 earnings call Thursday, the plan would grant tZERO Cryptos users access to cryptocurrency, security token and traditional stock trading on a single platform, a regulatory feat none have accomplished yet. Overstocks security token trading subsidiary is hoping to become the first to break that ground.

tZERO Crypto is tZEROs noncustodial exchange app supporting bitcoin, ethereum and ravencoin. It is currently separate from tZEROs digital securities trading platform the tZERO Alternative Trading System (ATS).

The securities tZERO wants to trade are still recorded on a traditional central ledger, but a blockchain platform is used to act as a backup record.

Connecting tZERO Cryptos fast-growing but relatively meager use base the app had 6,404 accounts in Q1, a 40 percent increase over the previous quarter to the tZERO ATS would potentially increase liquidity in a security token market that acutely lacks intraday trading volume.

On Thursday, tZERO ATS two listed security tokens, OSTKO and TZROP, changed hands 73 and 4,835 times, respectively, on tZEROs broker-dealer partner platform Dinosaur Financial. In comparison, Overstocks OSTK shares traded 10.5 million times on Nasdaq Thursday.

tZERO Cryptos cohesive trading platform would run on a yet-to-be-approved subsidiary broker-dealer, tZERO Markets. The firm's CEO, Saum Noursalehi, had previously targeted the first half of 2020 for tZERO Markets launch and repeated Thursday that he expected a verdict in Q2 but you can never be sure with regulators.

Once we receive regulatory approval, our app will trade cryptocurrencies, security tokens (including TZROP and OSTKO), and traditional stocks, Noursalehi told CoinDesk. The value of the crypto app users will grow as we add the capability to trade securities on it."

Linking tZERO Crypto to tZERO ATS is one of many user acquisition strategies.

Previous growth gambits appear to be working. That includes Overstocks flashiest: the upcoming digital security shareholder dividend, a plan designed by former CEO Patrick Byrne to plug thousands of Overstock shareholders into the tZERO ATS by wooing them onto Dinosaur Financial with a company security token, OSTKO.

Noursalehi told CoinDesk that Dino has seen a notable increase in investor onboarding ahead of the May 19 dividend payday, though he declined to state how many had signed up. Dino is the only broker-dealer approved to run tZERO ATS out of the six broker-dealers subscribed.

The digital dividend has prompted new broker-dealers to approach tZERO ATS, Noursalehi said. He said tZERO is in talks with about 100 broker-dealers.

tZERO is betting that it can bring more investors onto its ATS by giving them more digital securities to trade. Only two tokens are currently listed but a third is waiting for regulators OK, and some 200 other companies are in late-stage discussions to issue digital securities with tZERO ATS.

We believe that as we get more assets trading, it will attract interest from other investors, Noursalehi said. In particular, as existing digital securities move onto our platform, all of the investors that hold those securities will onboard and become our customers."

COVID-19 has slowed tZEROs march. In the earnings call, Noursalehi said the coronavirus and its ensuing market volatility has made new issuers hesitant to jump in until trading cools down to a more regular clip.

Issuers have largely sidelined trading existing digital securities until market conditions normalize, so tZERO has seen a slowdown in issuers looking to raise capital. That said, conversations do continue, said Overstock CEO Jonathan Johnson during the earnings call.

The leader in blockchain news, CoinDesk is a media outlet that strives for the highest journalistic standards and abides by a strict set of editorial policies. CoinDesk is an independent operating subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, which invests in cryptocurrencies and blockchain startups.

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Overstock Wants to Trade Traditional Stocks on tZERO Crypto App - CoinDesk

How can weslow the spread of the coronavirus while maintaining our privacy? Will atest-and-trace app have to track our every move? Shane Bigelow, CEO of Ownumand Vital Chain, joined me on the latest episode of Explain to Shane to discusshow blockchain can help in the battle against COVID-19.

Below is an edited and abridged transcript of our talk. You can listen to the podcast here and read our full discussion here. You can also subscribe to the Explain to Shane podcast on iTunes or Stitcher, or download the podcast on Ricochet.

ShaneTews: Can you walk us through the work? I know you guys put this togetherpretty quickly, but you have a very interesting consortium youre working withthat is specifically Ohio-based, but it probably goes beyond that, so you wantto give us the basics?

ShaneBigelow: Vital Chain is a company that we started underneath our holdingcompany, Ownum. Ownum creates different companies that digitize different vitalrecords. And Vital Chain started, as an idea in our head a couple of years ago,but the basic concept was to digitize birth and death certificates. And whenyou contemplate a birth or death certificate, all it is is a record that amedical professional signed off on that talks about a particular eventoccurring, the event being a birth or a death.

Well you cantransfer that same base technology that weve spent a few years developing anduse it to track any medical event, including receiving an inoculation,vaccination, or antibody test. And that to us is a way that we can provide aservice back to the country to allow for people to have a validation tool ora certification tool is probably a better word a certification tool for thetests that youve received. So on the presumption that mass testing is rollingout, which I think we all have to presume will occur in some way and not aproblem that we necessarily need to solve for on the presumption that masstesting is rolling out, there needs to be a way to certify the results and thatwould make it usable inside of the enterprise world. Because without it, Idont know what people would do. Would they just walk with their test resultsin a manila folder or something like that?

They need away to just have these results certified and to have the results that if youthink about it, theyre only going to last for a certain period of time. Theyneed to be able to time out as well, and pieces of paper cant do that.

Youvealso alluded to having an audit trail, which seems to be part of the goingforward equation where we need to be able to understand how we validate andthen what is the trust mechanism on this. So it seems like you have some reallygood partners that are engaged there and this is a model that can be emulated.So what is your plan? How are you guys going to roll this out?

If you thinkabout it, everyone gets the test and then you get a particular result from thetest. The result could have a variety of options to it. So lets be clear,theres people whove never had the test. So thats one category of people.Theres people that take the test and it turns out that they have the virus. Soclearly theyve got to quarantine and take care of themselves and get the rightmedical care. Theres people that take the test and do not have the virus, butalso dont have the antibodies present. Then theres people that take the test,dont have the virus, and do have the antibodies present. But the antibodiescould range in terms of how significant they are in one person versus anotherbased on a number of factors that the medical community is still quite franklysorting out.

The resultsfrom the test will have to be deployed in different ways. So at first whatwell know for sure, and theres really good science around it, is who has thevirus and who doesnt. Thats the first standard. But clearly if you dont havethe virus at the point you take the test, you could go somewhere an hour, twohours, five minutes later and acquire the virus. So how do you test for that?What use cases can use that data out of the gate? And there are some placesthat could use that data out of the gate. So knowing that the people youreadmitting to your place dont have the virus, if youve properly cleaned yourplace and youre not worried about the virus being carried in, there is utilityto that to start getting the economy going.

As theserological tests advance, and we wind up with a better test to reveal what theantibodies are and agreement in the scientific community, medical communitiesaround what those antibody levels mean, thats when well be able to roll outto the next phase of understanding what everyones antibody levels are and whatthat would permit them to do. So our certification tool will mature as thatscience matures. There are a variety of serological tests that are starting tocome out. I dont think theres uniform agreement in the medical communityaround the veracity of what those tests would imply for your ability to returnto work, or to a plane, or to a sporting facility. That will come, but it willcome in short order. This is all going to evolve very, very rapidly as the masstesting rolls out.

One ofthe examples you shared with me earlier, you and I are both huge fans of Clearbecause it just seems to solve a lot problems. Of course it was solvingproblems different than this prior than a couple of months ago, but I have notused Clear in a stadium. I know that Clear has been rolling itself out instadiums and I imagine theres competitors to it, but explain how this willwork in that environment.

Yeah, so ifyou think about the way Clear works for anyone thats listening and notfamiliar with this, you scan your fingerprints, your irises, and you keep thatinformation inside of Clears database. And then when you go to check in toTSA, instead of having to have the TSA agent verify who you are by looking atyour license, Clear has done that by looking at your biometrics and you getpassed through security considerably faster as a function of that. It workssimilarly with sporting arenas where you can attach your ticket account toClear and instead of scanning your ticket, they scan your irises to get in. Iuse it to go to the Cleveland Indians games and it works fantastically well.Even renting a car, Hertz does it now too.

So whatwould happen is that within the Clear accounts, and to be fair, we haventspoken to Clear yet, but its clear, pun intended, how this would work. Wewould be embedded inside of the barcode that is part of your ticket, whichwould then be, obviously its linked to Clear. The way that were controllingfor privacy, because I think you have to think about privacy in this instance,its not as if the arena needs to have your medical record. That is not the waythis will work. The way it works is that they set a standard for what theyrecomfortable with in letting people back in. We are just certifying that yourtest meets that standard. Were not sharing medical data, were not moving yourdata around. The arena would set a standard that youd have to meet in orderfor them to feel comfortable letting you in and you either meet or dont meet.So it becomes binary that you are allowed in or youre not allowed in.

It wouldwork the same way, by the way, for a barbershop or for your local store. Theywill be able to control their profile and say, Heres what werecomfortable doing. This is America after all, the enterprise shouldcontrol who they want to have in to their business. And certainly this is atool that would enable them to control for the health of the people enteringduring this very different time.

So to useyour barber example. Are they scanning an app? Is that where theyre gettingthis information?

Yeah, soits a great example. So our solution for the barbers is not to imply that theyhave a scanner, right? I dont want small business to have to go out and incureven more expense during a period like this. Instead theyd set up an accountwithin Vital Chain. They could then print off a QR code that as people come totheir facility, theyd use the QR code scanner on their phone, scan that QRcode. It immediately loops into their Vital Chain app and their Vital Chain appsays youre approved or youre not approved to enter this facility. And so thateliminates the technical need for the barbershop to have to have a scanner. Itkeeps it very simple for the consumer. And most importantly, it keeps the data inthe consumers hands. Its the consumers data. Theres no reason why it shouldhave to be shared with every place you want to go enter.

Butcertainly places are going to set standards for how you can enter them and youneed to be able to prove or certify to them that youre able to go in. But youneed to control your own data. And thats the big difference between us andcontact tracing. With contact tracing, its anything but your own data. I thinkwhat people are fearful of with contact tracing is that all of a sudden, Appleand Google find out I was near someone with COVID, they send me an alert and 30seconds later Im also getting advertisements to buy a ventilator. I dont wantthat. I dont want them having that level of knowledge of my health.

I also dont like the concept of being marketed to during this time. I think the fear is there that they would do it. I havent seen assurance that they wont do it, but contact tracing is a very useful tool to figuring out how to eliminate hot spots. So thats my point about this has to work in tandem, right? So we can keep the data private and contact tracing if its done on an opt in basis can be useful to reduce hot spots. Its going to be a myriad of solutions that have to come together to really get rid of this virus and move us back into a state of normalcy.

Original post:

Using blockchain to beat COVID-19: Highlights from my conversation with Shane Bigelow - American Enterprise Institute

Professor Michael Sung is founder and chairman of CarbonBlue Innovations, a tech transfer platform for commercializing internationally sourced blockchain, fintech and digital finance innovation in developing countries. He is also co-director of the Fintech Research Center at the Fanhai International School of Finance at Fudan University.

This week, China will officially launch a major new blockchain initiative called the Blockchain-based Services Network (BSN). The BSN is a critical part of China's national blockchain strategy that was announced by President Xi in late November 2019, but went largely under the radar as the simultaneous announcement of Chinas digital RMB currency, called the DCEP, swept the world by storm. Only recently has the Western media recognized the significance of the BSN, which sees its mainland commercial launch April 25. The portals global commercial launch is scheduled for June 25.

Essentially, the BSN will be the backbone infrastructure technology for massive interconnectivity throughout the mainland, from city governments, to companies and individuals alike. The network will also form the backbone to the Digital Silk Road to provide interconnectivity to all of China's trade partners around the globe. The BSN will be a new internet protocol to allow a more efficient way to share data, value and digital assets in a completely transparent and trusted way between anyone who wants to be a node on the network.

The main BSN founding consortia partners are the State Information Center (Chinas top-level government policy and strategy think tank affiliated with the National Development and Reform Commission), China Mobile (Chinas largest national telecom with over 900 million subscribers), China Unionpay (the worlds top payment and settlement provider with eight billion issued credit cards), and Red Date Technologies (the main blockchain architect for the BSN). (CoinDesk had a separate article about Red Date here.)

The BSN will catalyze the globalized digital economies of the future.

China Mobile is focused on the IT infrastructure deployment and has been accelerating the rollout of 5G and cloud adoption on the mainland. The BSN has developed cloud management technology thatwill allow multiplexing compute on top of a flexible multi-cloud architecture in a very resource-efficient way. Cloud providers under BSNs multi-cloud management services already include AWS, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud, Baidu Cloud, China Unicom, China Telecom and China Mobile.

The BSN launch will allow companies to access ultra-low cost blockchain cloud computing services. Target pricing is less than $400 USD/year, which would allow any SME or individual access to the critical tools to participate in the digital economy and drive adoption and financial inclusion opportunities.

The scale of the BSN is breathtaking, with a hundred city nodes across China at launch and participation by all three major national telecoms and major framework providers on the mainland. The central government has developed a master top-down plan to connect all the major cities in the country, rolling out to 200 cities over the next year and rapidly to all 451 prefecture-level cities thereafter. As I write this article, the world's largest scaled blockchain testnet is imminently preparing to launch. There are various blockchain-as-a-service applications being developed simultaneously, many of which are already being deployed by city governments to provide services for citizens across the mainland ranging from paying utility bills to registering company credentials. As example, the Hangzhou government has launched a blockchain pilot for unified digital identity, for faster authentication of individuals using government services.

The Chinese central government sees blockchain as the critical next-generation IT infrastructure to build future smart cities, connecting cryptographically secure databases linked by 5G to scalable cloud and data management infrastructure such that big data/AI analytics can efficiently run on top.

China simply cant implement all of that at scale with a mashup of decentralized systems at the moment. Nor does it want to given the attendant security issues related to sensitive government information and citizen privacy. Thus, a permissioned blockchain ecosystem becomes the key infrastructure-of-infrastructures that allows the vertical integration of cloud computing, 5G communications, industrial IOT, AI and big data, with fintech and other application-level services overlayed on the stack.

The BSN will be the backbone infrastructure technology for massive interconnectivity throughout the mainland, from city governments, to companies and individuals alike.

While the BSN itself is a permissioned chain forked from Hyperledger Fabric, it will allow interoperability with public chains and other decentralized platforms (which will be fully implemented by July 2020). The protocol at launch will already be interoperable with major blockchain platforms and frameworks such as Hyperledger Fabric, Ethereum, EOS as well as most relevant mainland-based blockchain protocols for enterprise, including WeBanks FISCO BCOS (the Financial Blockchain Shenzhen Consortium, with members such as WeBank, Tencent, Huawei and ZTE) and Baidus Xuperchain.

To be clear, the BSN is created to facilitate strong cryptographic security and privacy measures to protect the interests of anyone who will be operating with the protocol. This is analogous to the original TCP/IP internet protocol, which was originally developed by the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Project Agency for military purposes, but now adopted commercially and privately by the entire free world.

In a similar vein, anyone can now become a node and/or deploy a dapp on the BSN network and share data or conduct business in a completely trusted way. On the mainland, all city governments, state-owned enterprises, and IT framework operators are gearing up to adopt and/or interoperate with the protocol. Because of the scale of the deployment and adoption within China alone, upon launch the BSN ecosystem will instantly become the largest blockchain ecosystem in the world and will become a strong driving force of institutional and government adoption of blockchain around the globe.

The launch of the BSN comes at a critical point in the history of humanity. Modern civilization has never been in a more precarious position, where the beginning of 2020 has witnessed an unprecedented pandemic that is concurrent to the kickoff of perhaps the largest-scale financial crisis the world has ever seen.

This Great Lockdown comes as nations around the world are decoupling from each other, blatant disinformation has been weaponized and nationalism rears its ugly head in ways not seen since the beginning of World War II. One way to solve these systemic challenges is through technology that can enforce trust at all levels of society just as it begins to fray dangerously.

The BSN can facilitate increased global trade and bilateral economic activity to buffer against systemic shocks and great rifts that have been exacerbated by mistrust and differences in ideology. It can connectthe world more synergistically together, while democratizing access to the critical tools that will allow more efficient cross-border trade, investment and international collaboration.

This is particularly relevant in a post-COVID-19 world where the ability to digitally conduct business online will be paramount in the new normal. The BSN will catalyze the globalized digital economies of the future through new modes of collaboration and cooperation that are core to the blockchain ethos.

The leader in blockchain news, CoinDesk is a media outlet that strives for the highest journalistic standards and abides by a strict set of editorial policies. CoinDesk is an independent operating subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, which invests in cryptocurrencies and blockchain startups.

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Michael Sung: China's National Blockchain Will Change the World - CoinDesk

As the world of physical events shut down thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic, many moved online to make the best of a bad situation.

And that is most definitely true of the most ambitious online conference weve seen to date. Not content with a one-day Zoom-based extravaganza, the creators of Virtual Blockchain Week have put together seven days of talks, online side-events, and the 3rd Annual Crypto Influencer Awards.

Virtual Blockchain Week will be hosted by Joel Comm and Travis Wright of The Bad Crypto Podcast, and the live stream content is available to attendee free of charge. The event begins today April 26, 2020 and runs until May 2, 2020, opening with the VIP Ticket Holder Pre-Party.

While the threat of Coronavirus has led to the cancellation or postponement of our favorite blockchain events, we are fortunate to have an incredible community and the technology to create similar experiences on a global scale, said Joel Comm, Co-founder of Virtual Blockchain Week. We are dedicated to delivering a conference experience that delivers fantastic content in an interactive setting which sets a new high bar for all future virtual conferences.

Thirty of the worlds leading blockchain and cryptocurrency experts and commentators will be speaking during Virtual Blockchain Week, including

In todays world, you have to be nimble, said Travis Wright, co-founder of Virtual Blockchain Week. With many events around the world being canceled, we decided now would be the time to produce a global live stream experience with the top minds in the blockchain space. We are all ecstatic about creating an event unlike any other that can be enjoyed from the comfort of your own home or office.

The event will conclude with the 3rd Annual Crypto Influencer Awards, with winners selected by the general public, produced by Adam Charles.

Virtual Blockchain Week is available without charge for attendees that want to view all the content via live-stream. In addition, a VIP experience which includes speaker meet & greets, as well as a networking pre-party is offered at a starting price of $97. Fifty percent of the proceeds from VIP ticket sales go to support COVID-19 non-profit relief efforts.

To see the full Virtual Blockchain Week lineup or to register, visit the event website.

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Virtual Blockchain Week starts today heres what to expect - Grit Daily

Fashion giant H&M has partnered with blockchain platform VeChain in order to integrate cryptos underlying technology.

Even though H&M has not yet made any official statement, VeChain's major investor is already speculating about how the cooperation between both companies will expand.

VeChain CEO Sunny Lu revealed during a recent AMA session the company was working on a new project with a major fashion company it had worked with before. According to him, MyStory, a VeChain-owned solution developed jointly with DNV GL, has been used to track over 4,000 products.

It looks like this tracking tool was used back in 2018 to verify the organic manufacturing of H&M's subsidiary Arket, which is why people believe H&M could be the partner.

Now it seems that Cos, H&M's luxury brand, is the potential partner, as a MyStory tag has reportedly been found on one of the brand's jumpers.

Since it was established in 2007 in London, Cos has expanded to 290 physical stores in 44 different jurisdictions.

The cooperation between both companies could also help boost the second-hand market, as "clothing items can have an NFT (non-fungible token) pairing generated at the point of sale, providing the new owner with a token proving authenticity and an immutable record of ownership."

In addition, blockchain tech can increase the transparency of the supply chain as well as ensure the sustainability of the materials used for clothing manufacturing.

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H&M to Use Blockchain to Trace its Products - ihodl.com

Blockchain is most simply defined as adecentralized, distributed ledger technology that recordsthe provenance of a digital asset.What is Blockchain Technology?

Blockchain, sometimes referred to as Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT),makes the history of any digital asset unalterable and transparent through the use of decentralization and cryptographic hashing.

A simple analogyfor understanding blockchain technology is a Google Doc. When we create a document and share it with a group of people, the document is distributed instead of copied or transferred.This creates a decentralized distribution chain that gives everyone access to the document at the same time. No one is locked out awaiting changes from another party, while all modifications to the doc are being recorded in real-time, making changes completely transparent.

Of course, blockchain is more complicated than a Google Doc, but the analogy is apt becauseitillustrates three critical ideasof the technology:

Blockchain is an especially promising and revolutionary technology because it helps reduce risk, stamps out fraud and brings transparency in a scaleable way for myriad uses.

The whole point of using a blockchain is to let people in particular, people who don't trust one another share valuable data in a secure, tamperproof way. MIT Technology Review

Blockchain consists of three important concepts: blocks, nodes and miners.

Every chain consists of multiple blocks and each block has threebasic elements:

When the first block of a chain is created, a nonce generates the cryptographic hash. The data in theblock is considered signed and forever tied to the nonce and hash unless it is mined.

Miners create new blocks on the chain through a process called mining.

In a blockchain every block has itsown unique nonce and hash, but also references the hash of the previous block in the chain, so mining a block isn't easy, especially on large chains.

Miners use special software to solve the incredibly complex math problem of findinga nonce that generates an accepted hash. Because the nonce is only 32 bits and the hash is 256, there are roughly four billion possible nonce-hash combinations that must be mined before the right one is found. When that happens miners are said to have found the "golden nonce" and their block is added to the chain.

Makinga change to any block earlier in the chain requires re-mining not just the block with the change, but all of the blocks that come after. This is why it's extremely difficult to manipulate blockchain technology. Think of it is as "safety in math" sincefinding golden nonces requires an enormous amount of time andcomputing power.

When ablock is successfully mined, the change is accepted by all of the nodes on the network and the miner is rewarded financially.

One of the most important concepts in blockchain technology is decentralization. No one computer or organization can own the chain. Instead, it is a distributed ledger via the nodes connected to the chain. Nodes can be any kind of electronic device that maintains copies of the blockchain and keeps the network functioning.

Every node has its own copy of the blockchain and the network must algorithmically approve any newly mined block for the chain to be updated, trusted and verified. Since blockchains are transparent, every action in the ledger can be easily checked and viewed. Each participant is given aunique alphanumeric identification number that shows their transactions.

Combining public information with a system of checks-and-balances helps the blockchain maintain integrity and creates trust among users. Essentially, blockchains can be thought of as the scaleability of trust via technology.

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What Is Blockchain Technology? How Does Blockchain Work ...

The COVID-19 pandemic is threatening to plunge the world into the deepest crisis since the Great Depression and could deprive global economies of $5.5 trillion over the next two years. Chinas economy shrank for the first time in 44 years, and their gross domestic product fell by 6.8% in the first quarter compared with last year. The pandemic was, naturally, to blame. More worryingly, year-on-year retail sales fell drastically in March. Shops, offices and factories are now starting to reopen, but people remain anxious and movement is restricted.

However, businesses in Asia are currently recovering from the horrible financial hangover caused by the virus. In this report, Cointelegraph Consulting talks to some of the leading players in the blockchain industry to find out whether the surge is relevant for them or not.

Bitcoin (BTC) and other currencies have bounced up and down since the pandemic started, yet it might be white noise hiding the real change in the crypto landscape: surging interest both from the masses and governments.

The pandemic has highlighted the fragilities in the traditional financial market, so users may shift their attitudes toward cryptocurrencies. Rather than being alarmed by the crypto market, people can anticipate it. There are three main reasons for wider crypto adoption: inflation of traditional money, decrease of the interest rates of traditional assets and greater control of the levers of the economy by authorities.

As governments pump billions of dollars into their economies, inflationary pressure will grow in the next few months. For the population, it means their money will gradually depreciate. Naturally the question arises, how do I maintain the value of my assets? said Josh Goodbody, the director of growth and institutional business for the European and Latin America regions at Binance. He added that people will start seeing crypto as a viable solution to this problem.

Many governments have eased their monetary policies in response to the coronavirus crisis. Central banks have cut interest rates to zero or near-zero rates, and investors who eke out greater returns might turn to the world of crypto. More assets will shift from low interest-bearing traditional investment vehicles to crypto ones for higher returns potential, said Alysa Xu, the chief strategy officer of OKEx.

The need for serious government intervention in the economy is currently justified by the conditions the crisis dictates. Governments all over the world have taken control of areas that have been liberalized, from prices of specific products to the selection of industries that are allowed to continue working during quarantine. However, the reverse measures might not be that rapid. Cryptocurrencies may be a silver lining to this.

As for the authorities, the ongoing coronavirus pandemic has accelerated the development of central bank digital currencies. While cash and ATM use is plunging due to the potential infection risk factor, government stimulus packages imply cash giveaways. Looking for the alternative to cash, authorities have been reevaluating their strategies in favor of CBDCs. Politicians in the U.S. and Europe think about how a central bank digital currency could work in practice this is hugely encouraging for the crypto industry, said Goodboy.

Blockchain has been a part of Chinese news coverage since October 2019, when President Xi Jinping backed the technology and set a course for the country to seize the opportunity presented. The virus has failed to slow this notion down, with major national initiatives regarding consortium chains and a central bank-issued digital currency continuing the enthusiasm.

One major announcement came in the form of a national blockchain network set to launch in April, as it was initially scheduled. The Blockchain-based Service Network was backed by an alliance of Chinese state-owned companies, government agencies, banks and technology companies. The BSN is expected to reduce the costs of doing blockchain-based business in China by 80%. By the end of 2020, the project may cover more than 200 cities and become an example for a global standard.

Chinese authorities are also steaming ahead with their plans to launch their own digital currency. The Peoples Bank of China has already completed basic function development for a digital yuan. This past week, images of its new digital currency/electronic payment wallet leaked on social media, indicating that it has every intention of pushing the digital currency into institutional and consumer markets.

Despite the economic fallout, China has also been continuing the intellectual race. While major multinational companies including Microsoft, Walmart, Mastercard, Sony and Intel had applied for a total of 212 blockchain patents as of the end of March, their number of patents was inferior to the number from Chinese companies in 2019, and it is expected that this trend will continue. The overall number of blockchain patent applications might not exceed last years result of 5,800 filings, yet getting close to that figure in such a turbulent year would testify to the healthy development of the technology.

Alibaba subsidiary Ant Financial also grabbed the spotlight by announcing its new consortium chain called OpenChain. It is targeting the highly competitive consortium chain market, which includes nearly all the major tech companies in the world. Ant Financials platform Alipay is one of the largest mobile payment processors in the world, with a well-established offering of financial services.

Overall, the pandemic hasnt hindered the development of the Chinese blockchain industry severely, so a quick recovery will happen easier than for other industries. However, a deeper dive into the sectors can reveal the effects and responses of businesses there.

The COVID-19 crisis gave platforms a strong wake up call regarding risk and budget management. For those that fail to adequately manage the situation, the threat of insolvency is a strong possibility. In early April, the public blockchain platform Factom failed to receive additional funding and was moving toward a possible liquidation of assets.

For other platforms with better-managed cash flows, the COVID-19 crisis has been less detrimental. Heres a closer look at how four platforms with offices in China have managed the crisis:

With a focus on enterprise use cases, VeChain has acknowledged the challenge that COVID-19 is posing to many of its clients. The virus had an unavoidable impact on client development, allowing teams to turn resources toward other areas of growth. VeChain took the opportunity to focus on its core software offering, such as a new version of its ToolChain blockchain-as-a-service platform, which helps clients verify products and grant insight into a products data, manufacturing and supply chain processes. VeChains chief operating officer, Kevin Feng, told Cointelegraph that:

The COVID-19 outbreak has raised public awareness on product authentication and transparency of the supply chain management especially on those products that are related to consumer daily life. We have observed a significant shift in consumer behavior, and people now have a greater appetite for buying products online and mobile applications.

Feng also recognized that the COVID-19 crisis was exposing pain points in industries all over the world, especially in areas like management, digitalization and implementation. Even with the increasing awareness of blockchain adoption, Feng believes that the financial challenges of the pandemic will make pouring more investment into new technologies a tough decision for businesses to make. This operational freeze gives VeChain more time to secure its position in the market and prepare for when businesses decide to move on innovation. Feng concluded:

Under the unprecedented demand for cloud-based services and IT services, the blockchain technology that serves as the underlying infrastructure powering digital transition has emerged as an advanced option for enterprise decision-makers.

Ontology is another major platform tackling enterprise blockchain use cases. During the initial outbreak in China, the company swiftly adopted a work-from-home strategy and relied on its global network of offices and partners to continue operations with minimal disruption. Its decentralized project structure meant staff were already accustomed to working remotely, which helped maintain stability. Like most of China, Ontologys employees are currently required to disinfect offices, wear face masks and record temperatures daily.

From an operations perspective, Ontology is committed to completing its 2020 technical roadmap. Named Aristotle, it includes many important milestones such as cross-chain functionality with Ether (ETH) and Bitcoin, distributed identity solutions and making sure its blockchain virtual machine is compatible with the latest smart contract frameworks, such as Wasmjit.

Ontologys co-founder Andy Ji believes that the lockdown in China may have created physical distance compared to office work, but on the other hand it surprisingly has brought more motivation, efficiency and energy to its daily operations and has allowed the company to be more focused on achieving its goals.

Ontology took up the fight against COVID-19 by sending masks to worldwide blockchain charities and joining the #cryptoCOVID19 campaign promoting measures to bring the crisis to an end. In addition, the company has continued to offer online courses to developers and students worldwide and even partnered with freelance work platform Microworkers to speed up workers payments.

PlatON is a public blockchain platform with a focus on data exchange and privacy. During the initial outbreak in Wuhan, around 5% of its team was locked down without access to proper working facilities. The team developed an online control system to make sure it was on track while working remotely. It also recognized that a lot of community and freelance developers were available, so it aggressively adjusted its development grants.

The companys chief technology officer, James Qu, believes that the decentralized culture of blockchain helped make the transition smooth. The company focused on stability and technical upgrades early on, helping to get its operations up to speed. It has also been eyeing the lucrative consortium market now that government and enterprise demand in China is continuing to rise. Its technology has already been used in a number of successful consortium chain projects in the country.

QuarkChain provides an underlying technical solution for blockchains based on sharding technology. As a technology-driven company, it has managed to maintain operations while its 40 employees spread around the world have continued to work on an infrastructure that connects both consortium and public chain technology. QuarkChains chief marketing officer, Anthurine Xiang, reported that despite some client-side delays, it has had more time to invest in research and development.

Xiang said that following the outbreak, countries like China began to rethink how to build up more advanced infrastructure to better respond to large scale events like a public health crisis, adding: We are providing the government with multiple project solutions for the public health system, such as blockchain solutions, resource management, and trading platforms.

The pandemic threatens the sustainability of many physical business models, but for online models it has been an opportunity to connect with their user base and expand. Given the worldwide lockdowns, customer demand has been pushed from offline to online. OKExs chief strategy officer, Alyssa Xu, believes this will lead to wider acceptance of digitalization and ultimately benefit the popularization of the blockchain-driven economy. She stated in a conversation with Cointelegraph:

Since the virus outbreak in January, the exchange has a steady growth in constant, while it estimated a 19% boost in terms of trading volume during early March.

Xu believes that the pandemic is a test of how urgently a company can respond and adapt to changes in the market conditions of its customers. She was very pleased with how OKExs platform responded to the Black Thursday market crash on March 12. Despite a huge decline in the prices of crypto, the trading system maintained zero clawback and withstood the volatility and chaos. Xu now wants to take advantage of increased user volume to widen the companys range of services, including crypto derivatives products and public chain-based decentralized finance applications.

Binance is a global company with a strong community in Asia. Despite the chaos in worldwide markets, Binance reported a robust first quarter performance, attributing it to the record high volume across its platform and the crypto market in general. With the strong user activity, Binance has responded by increasing its team across all regions by 100 employees.

Goodbody, Binances director of growth and institutional business, felt that the quantitative easing and stimulus packages from central banks could lead to economic instability. Politicians and world governments could turn to CBDCs as a method of distributing stimulus packages, which he believes is an encouraging sign for the industry.

With everything running smoothly, Binance was able to turn to philanthropy. Binance Charity launched the Binance for Wuhan initiative and donated $1.5 million worth of medical supplies to hospitals, medical centers, etc. In March, Binance Charity launched the Crypto Against COVID initiative, aiming to raise $5 million for countries worst affected by the virus.

As the global lockdown continues to last, company revenues can be undermined or cut off entirely. This is where venture capital firms and incubators become more important than ever, as access to cash and investments can be the difference between insolvency and survival.

Shanghai-based venture capital firm Hashkey Capital observed that many enterprises are struggling to raise capital, forcing them to lower fundraising targets. Its investment director Yu Zongmin noted that: It is a great opportunity for us to find better value in the current market. For the operational strategy, we may raise the bar higher for recent investments and focus more on the commercial maturity and cash flow of the projects. He went on to add that:

A positive outcome from the crisis is the rising participation and connectivity of people in the digital world. People are minimizing in-person contact through mediums such as e-commerce, e-school, e-clinic and e-cash. This has played a pivotal role in containing the virus spread. The blockchain sector may greatly benefit from the booming development of the global e-cash ecosystem. We are very optimistic about this industry as always, and will continue to actively search for high quality and value driven projects to invest in.

China-based technology incubator New Chainbase was working to accommodate many of its projects. Its operations levels have returned to normal, but it is offering a relief plan for start-ups renting office space from it. New Chainbase has a long-term financial interest in the blockchain space and has remained optimistic that industries will see the trust that blockchain provides as an essential technology moving forward.

Fenbushi Capital, a global industry player with offices in Shanghai, New York and Silicon Valley, is no stranger to working in a decentralized manner. Its operations have remained quite stable, but it has observed that companies in its portfolio have been performing certain cost controls, including staff reduction and lowering their operating costs. Fenbushi Capital partner Rin Huang attributes this to two factors: First, the crisis has forced a reduction in business volume and the companies do not need so many people. Second, the overall economic situation is uncertain due to the crisis and companies need to maintain sufficient cash flow.

Huang noted that for her daily role, the crisis has had little impact. With traffic jams already back in the streets of Shanghai, her routine has returned, with the exception that many processes are now conducted online. She sees blockchain having more opportunities in enterprise situations such as traceability of medical supplies: In order to prevent possible counterfeit medical device products, the government began to vigorously promote the supply chain of medical device products to be traceable on the blockchain. Additionally, the technology can help in digitizing the industries:

The digitization of the consumer industry in China has been well developed, and the emergence of the crisis has further promoted the electronic communication system within the management process of the enterprises. The main role of the blockchain at this stage is to hash the important information for internal communication on the chain.

The Bitcoin mining hash rate has been climbing consistently, but the upcoming halving event and macroeconomic instability has led to uncertainty in the mining community. Nathaniel Yu, the international marketing manager of mining leader Bitmain, understands the importance of normalizing operations right now. He stated that while Bitmain is following professional advice for dealing with the pandemic, it is also exploring alternate methods of working in order to meet demand for its Antminer products. In a conversation with Cointelegraph, Yu stated:

During these uncertain times, the best way ahead for the mining industry is to continue to adapt their operations to ensure the safety of all employees comes first. Miners will also need to assess their operations to ensure they are operating as efficiently and effectively as possible during this time.

Like other online business models, many media sites are reporting a jump in viewers as people generally have more free time on their hands. Two major Chinese blockchain media sites, 8btc and Odaily, confirmed in interviews that they are both optimistic about the industry moving forward.

Gavin Qu, a partner of 8btc and the CEO of ChainNode, believes that the current situation can be advantageous for online companies with a healthy cash flow. Qu explained how ChainNode moved quickly to develop an online product release conference service to help business partners bring their offline conferences and product announcements online through live video on the platform. He believes that the importance of online events will become greater even after the pandemic, as Chinas mobile internet infrastructure continues to move toward 5G technology.

Mandy Wang, the CEO and co-founder of Odaily, talked about how the company has shifted much of its operations to an online model since the pandemic began. One of her editors was initially locked down in Hubei province, unable to return to the companys Beijing offices. She spoke about the challenges of conducting all interviews over the phone and moving all offline events online. On April 10, Odaily held an all-day conference with over 30 guests in an online streaming format.

With chaos gripping the global markets, she reported an increase in views by around 20%. She accredited part of that success to increasing the companys operating efficiency and risk control management policies, which she believes will become a greater subject of focus for enterprises in China moving forward.

For an industry built on a decentralized emerging technology, its no surprise that the blockchain world has embraced the remote working and video conferencing reality. Technology and agile management has managed to normalize many business processes, but disruption to other industries has made it difficult to raise funds, develop new clients and oversee physical implementation of enterprise services.

Outstanding issues in the aforementioned areas should be addressed as soon as possible to prevent the loss of clients and ensure budgets can withstand an extended period of reduced revenue and third-party investment.

With the bulk of major offline events in quarters one through three wiped out or moved to an online format, its up to marketing teams to find new ways to promote their businesses. After the initial shock and subsequent organizational restructuring, theres been heavy interindustry collaboration in Asia, with platforms, media and exchanges organizing online events to connect with new users and their existing communities. R&D and technical development teams have remained mostly unaffected by the virus, needing only minor adjustments to organizational processes.

Rather than panicking at the thought of a potential economic recession, most industry players are optimistic about the long-term outlook, especially considering the reactionary fiscal stimulus policies that are being put in place by nearly every major government.

The companies see digital currencies as both a potential solution to monetary distribution as well as a sanctuary from inflationary currency policies. Finally, with Chinas central bank and government agencies continuing to restate their commitment to blockchain technology and a national digital currency, theres very little doubt that the companies that adapt and survive will find themselves in a very active and healthy industry in the future.

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Report on Asias Blockchain Industry Weathering the Storm of COVID-19 - Cointelegraph

Very few banks, or even countries, emerged unscathed from the rubble of the 2008 global financial crisis. The aftermath of the worldwide recession coincided with profound technological innovation and breakthroughs that have forced banks and other financial service providers to reconsider their approach to doing business. New regulation and investor demands have forced banks to move toward a more efficient, transparent and compliant operating model. Although Wall Street has cottoned on to these developments, the big question still remains: Are banks ready to leave old business processes behind to embrace new blockchain-based technological breakthroughs?

Now, more than ever, distributed ledger technology offers real-time solutions for banks to overcome the challenges sweeping across the financial world. Immutable data storage and tracking records can offer cost-savings on an enormous scale for banks while removing cumbersome manual processes. All of this will serve to boost value-added activities and better manage banks compliance and risk management operations. As the coronavirus pandemic sends markets into a tailspin, banks are once again facing the same crossroads, which lay before them between 20082012.

It is fair to say that something of a fintech revolution has already swept across the payments landscape. Digital banking mobile apps and business-to-business payments technology have been enhancing the user experience in sending and receiving payments. Companies such as Stripe are processing billions of dollars in online business transactions per year, while crypto exchange Coinbase has branched out to offer broader services. The lower transaction costs, improved technology and multi-service offerings of these fintech companies have greatly enhanced payment services for millions across the world, which has, in turn, disrupted and challenged the status quo of traditional retail banks.

The technological breakthroughs in retail banking havent been mirrored in the capital markets yet, but developments are underway. Consolidation of the investment bank sector, combined with the challenging market conditions for institutional investors amid historically low-interest rates, has forced Wall Street to re-think its product offerings. These market dynamics have forced investment banks and broker-dealers to explore more sophisticated technologies to meet clients demands and expectations.

Artificial intelligence, blockchain technology and machine learning have been among the most obvious technologies to address the inefficiencies and opaque structures of investment banking services. To keep up with market competition, banks need to respond to new trends by simplifying and modernizing their product offerings. The investment community also faces the added pressure of staying on the side of regulators and compliance departments. Blockchain technology could be Wall Streets answer to staying above ground.

The steady rise in blockchain-based capital markets startups led by senior investment banking executives could be the clearest sign yet that a technological breakthrough is on the horizon in the industry. In December of last year, some of these startups were invited to an industry event sponsored by the International Capital Markets Association, or ICMA, that explored the topic of blockchain technology and other emerging technologies in the debt capital markets.

Speakers hailed from organizations such as Nivaura a digital platform that streamlines and automates the entire end-to-end process of issuing financial instruments and their ongoing administration and lifecycle management. The company was also the pioneer behind the worlds first automated cryptocurrency-denominated bond issuance. Another speaker at the event was Globacap a blockchain-based platform that aims to make capital fundraising faster and more cost-effective.

The success of startups such as these will ultimately depend on how theyre deployed to banks infrastructure and networks, but the groundwork has been in process. The use cases and proof points are there, such as post-trade infrastructure, book-building and even deal origination just some of the areas these startups have been targeting to tackle cumbersome and manual legacy systems.

Indeed, such is the speed, at which blockchain startups have been emerging in the capital markets, that a recent Global Capital headline hailed that capital markets tech reaches tipping point. The article explores some of the London-based blockchain projects that have been making real inroads into capital markets processes. Eliminating the burden of manual tasks for front office staff is a common theme that runs throughout their business models, as well as boosting value-added activities across their trading and advisory units.

Moreover, blockchain can greatly boost value-added activities by streamlining the information flow on capital market transactions between all relevant market participants. Tantamount to the successful application of blockchain projects in capital markets is ensuring secure and controlled access among market participants.

Here, the distinction between permissioned and non-permissioned blockchain networks becomes a consideration. A permissioned blockchain is a private ledger, which grants access to relevant parties and market participants. By doing so, permissioned blockchains provide managed and controlled access to ensure relevant parties can manage and update their deal flow accordingly without the need for excessive paperwork or email threads.

For this particular use case, permissioned blockchain platforms can not only ensure the smooth exchange of data and documents in real-time but will also help banks to massively reduce the costs of legacy systems while delivering greater efficiency throughout the trade lifecycle.

The coronavirus pandemic has laid bare the risks posed to banks by reduced business activity and slower economic growth. Weaknesses in collateralized loan obligations are just one of the risks faced by lenders, along with negative interest rates and a volatile market in equities and commodities. Innovation, and specifically blockchain applications, can better manage these risks through a permissioned blockchain database that can track live deal flow. Through these technological features, blockchain applications can remove manual processes to ensure greater cost efficiency and risk management.

Regarding capital markets, the settlement process for deal transactions has been deprived of innovation. Here lies a key test case for blockchain adoption in financial markets reducing risks and simplifying the processes of post-trade infrastructure.

The situation is most apt in fixed-income markets where newly issued corporate bonds typically feature a minimum two- to three-day settlement period, during which prices can fluctuate amid market volatility. This leaves all parties in the transaction exposed to greater credit risk. The situation is even more exacerbated in future foreign exchange contracts where volatility can be more pronounced.

By speeding up and automating the settlement process, blockchain technology can significantly save time and reduce the credit risk of transacting parties. Earlier this year, the Paxos Settlement Service, a blockchain-powered post-trade settlement platform for United States securities, made a significant breakthrough when it was announced that Credit Suisse and Socit Gnrale had signed up to the platform a bullish signal of what may be yet to come for blockchain technology in the capital markets.

The fragmented legacy systems of global finance have pushed costs higher for those operating within its confines. Although technological innovations have been slow to break through to the capital markets, the reduced costs and greater efficiency that comes from new technologies have forced Wall Street to rethink its operations and business models. With banks running complex global operations, involving both front- and back-office functions, these financial institutions cannot afford to be behind the curve when it comes to technological innovation.

The use cases for blockchain adoption in the capital markets are real. Streamlining information flow, while removing cumbersome manual processes of legacy systems, will only serve to boost banks profitability, while institutions that embrace blockchain will be better placed to respond to external shocks and pressures. The coronavirus pandemic has exposed the risks posed to legacy financial systems across the world. Legacy systems are too costly and fragmented for capital markets participants to respond to these challenges. The time for banks to embrace blockchain technology is now.

The views, thoughts and opinions expressed here are the authors alone and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.

Heinrich Zetlmayer is the founder and a partner of the Switzerland-based Blockchain Valley Ventures. Zetlmayer has a unique wealth of experience as the previous vice president of IBM, the co-CEO of ESL, and the former leader and senior partner of Arthur D. Littles Global Operations Practice.

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Are Banks and the Capital Markets Ready to Embrace Blockchain? - Cointelegraph

While many nations remain at a near-standstill due to the COVID-19 pandemic, major players in tech are continuing to develop innovative infrastructure for when we get moving again.

Sony announced on April 23 that it has successfully developed a new blockchain system for integrating data and service provision across different forms of transportation whether it be trains, buses, taxis, car-sharing or on-demand rental bicycles.

This approach to transport referred to as MaaS (Mobility as a Service) aims to provide people with data regarding optimal routes to their desired destinations.

The system aims to replace a siloed, type-specific interface for each segment of the sector, whereby users pay and choose their means of transport in isolation from the wider urban transportation system for example, by using a specific taxi-hailing app or paying for a local bus.

Sonys new Blockchain Common Database (BCBD) for MaaS can ostensibly process data from 7 million users per day and record, analyze and share their anonymized travel history and revenue allocation.

It is the only successful project chosen from an initiative by the Netherlands Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management last year, which appealed to developers to propose blockchain solutions for MaaS development.

Sony notes that BCDB is not limited to MaaS, and could be used in various applications for smart cities, where large-scale sensor data needs to be transparently and securely shared across a decentralized network.

As Cointelegraph has previously reported, recent data suggests that Sony alongside 34 other multinationals that include Microsoft, Walmart, Mastercard and Intel had applied for a total of 212 blockchain patents by the end of March 2020.

In its announcement today, Sony pointed to its development of digital currency hardware wallet technology and the use of blockchain for digital content rights management, alongside other blockchain projects in the pipeline.

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Sony Bets on Blockchain to Reshape the Future of Public Transport - Cointelegraph

Blockchain, a term once only familiar to Bitcoin (BTC) enthusiasts, is becoming one of the most in-demand business skills for 2020. According to a recent LinkedIn blog post, blockchain technology is the most sought-after hard skill this year. The post noted: The small supply of professionals who have this skill are in high demand.

Moreover, while the coronavirus pandemic continues to impact the United States unemployment rate causing 22 million people to file for unemployment since President Donald Trump declared a national emergency four weeks ago blockchain-related jobs have been increasing.

In turn, blockchain courses offered at universities are becoming more common, as the need for the skill set rises. A key finding from Coinbases second yearly report on higher education shows that 56% of the worlds top 50 universities offer at least one course on cryptocurrencies or blockchain technology a 42% increase from 2018.

Kristi Yuthas, an accounting professor at Portland State University, told Cointelegraph that the need for individuals skilled in blockchain technology is a result of traditional companies being impacted by the technology: Blockchain companies are innovating at lightning speed. Leaders with the acumen to create business value from these innovations are now in high demand.

American universities such as Portland State, MIT, Stanford, University of California Santa Barbara and many others now offer blockchain-focused courses to meet the increase in job demand, and students who take them have a chance to quickly find job opportunities this year.

For example, Portland State University recently concluded its Blockchain in Business Lab courses. According to Yuthas and her colleague Stanton Heister, the university collaborated with the NULS Foundation, an open-source enterprise blockchain platform, to educate students on the business elements of blockchain development. Together, the NULS and PSU designed and conducted two hands-on courses that were completed by 21 students under the supervision of Yuthas and Heister.

According to Yuthas, PSUs blockchain program is meant to provide in-depth analysis of blockchain companies and innovations. She explained that lab-style courses allow students to gain real-world experience in order to build a working blockchain and to execute actual transactions.

PSUs first Blockchain in Business Lab was conducted in February of this year and offered a step-by-step guide on how to build a blockchain by utilizing NULS Chain Factory, which is a blockchain development kit. Kathy Norman, a developer of the NULS blockchain and co-organizer of the PSU program, told Cointelegraph that Chain Factory was used by students to drive blockchain education and to test the product as an educational vehicle, adding:

Our commitment was to provide our technology and our technical expertise, to give the students a hand-on experience of blockchain from the perspective of user/customer, developer, and entrepreneur.

PSUs second lab focused on blockchain user and developer activities. Included in this course were guides for practical blockchain applications and instructional sessions on decentralized applications and smart contract development. America Tirado, a student who completed PSUs blockchain courses, noted that the classes helped alleviate her fears around blockchain:

I had heard of Bitcoin before and was asked to invest in it in the early 2000s. I hesitated, though, because I didnt understand it. Through these courses, I learned about the technology, what it can do, how it functions, and how to properly use it.

Norman further pointed out that students who have completed PSUs blockchain courses are invited to join the NULS community to offer their knowledge to help build out the platform: All students are invited to join our NULS community, and if they want, offer their skills to NULS. We did not formally invite the PSU students this semester, but can certainly consider this for next time.

UC Santa Barbara and The University of California Los Angeles also offer blockchain courses. Both universities are part of the Blockchain Acceleration Foundation, a nonprofit organization committed to accelerating blockchain education. Cryptocurrency analytics firm CipherTrace partners with BAF to train students on how to use the companys products to investigate cryptocurrency-related scams.

John Jefferies, the chief financial analyst of CipherTrace, told Cointelegraph in a previous article that the company will train and certify students to use its financial investigation software, which is applied to detect money laundering, power-law enforcement investigations and to enable regulatory supervision.

While Jefferies noted that training students is not intended as a recruiting tool for the company, the president of BAF, Cameron Dennis, mentioned that helping students find internships this year is a big focus, telling Cointelegraph that an internship pipeline is in early-stage development. Dennis also explained that BAFs blockchain courses are offered to both undergraduate and graduate students looking to expand their blockchain knowledge:

A professor in UCSBs computer science department and a professor in the economics department agreed to run a cross-disciplinary and graduate-level blockchain seminar for Spring 2019 (this quarter). Also, we are currently running an undergraduate computer science blockchain course at UCLAs College of Engineering and are preparing for an undergraduate Intro to Blockchain course at University of California Davis for Fall 2020.

Ben Fisch, a co-founder of Findora, a blockchain company for financial applications, and renowned professor of cryptography, Dan Boneh, both teach a blockchain and cryptocurrencies course at Stanford University.

Fisch told Cointelegraph that engineers who went through a blockchain course are likely to have a great advantage when applying to big companies that are interested in piloting blockchain technology. He also noted that many early-stage startups with blockchain-related business ideas also need technical team members with an accurate understanding of how blockchains operate. According to Fisch, the blockchain course at Stanford provides a comprehensive technical overview of blockchain technology, as it focused more on blockchain concepts rather than engineering aspects, adding:

It covers the core concepts and also a sampling of niche topics within the field. Astute students come out of this course with a holistic understanding of how blockchains work and their fundamental applications, or even with enough knowledge to participate in blockchain research and innovation. Our guest lectures also give students some exposure to how blockchain is being used in the world today. Our guests this year included Olaf Carlson-Wee of Polychain Capital and Chris Dixon of A16Z.

As a hiring manager at Findora, Fisch explained that the candidates he looks to bring on board are not much different from engineers who other software development companies would seek out and that they dont need to be particularly well versed in blockchain technology:

However, having a background in blockchain concepts, such as the one provided by our Stanford course, does help. It increases the attractiveness of an already strong engineering candidate, and it may reduce the on-boarding time for a new hire.

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With Crypto Jobs Available, US Universities Are Turning to Blockchain Education - Cointelegraph

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Similar to the internet, which was at one point underrated in the early 1990s, it can be difficult to accurately predict the impact that blockchain technology will have on businesses in the coming decade. Regardless of the regulatory uncertainty, a handful of businesses are working relentlessly behind the scenes building applications or streamlining an existing process in a bid to discover a use-case that derives value from a distributed ledger technology.

Despite the recent global financial turmoil paired with the pandemic stirred by the Covid-19 virus, the cryptocurrency industry is growing, despite market volatility. Developers around the world are building on blockchain and this trend is certainly not slowing down, as developers are embracing the constantly evolving technology. Just like running traditional IT solutions, there are several development phases for blockchain. We are currently in the third phase of innovation, blockchain 3.0.

The first generation of distributed ledgers, blockchain 1.0, was marked by Bitcoin, the digital currency that challenged the fundamental aspect of monetary centralization. Since then, the industry has been growing at exponential rates as BTC has brought the digital gold narrative back to life with enthusiasts regarding it as the most decentralized form of a digital asset class.

As much as it is a good thing, Satoshis network has been seeing bottlenecks; to the point where Bitcoin transactions take close to 10 minutes because of the congestion in transaction volumes. This was a huge setback, as Bitcoins scalability problem has limited the rate at which the Bitcoin network manages to process transactions, sparking a race among startups who have embarked on the quest to solve the nascent digital currency scalability problem.

Apart from financial transactions, blockchain 2.0 with the creation of cryptocurrencies such as Ethereum went beyond the complexities of mere payment settlement; but instead leveraged the possibilities of programmable money and smart contracts.The most popular platform in this niche is Ethereum which was released back in 2013 and has since become the de facto platform for decentralized applications (DApps) and smart contracts.

The next wave was led by accelerated innovation that will likely strain ones imagination when thinking about all the possibilities that DLT has to offer. With smart contracts that can be coded directly into a transaction, developers could further utilize the technology beyond its initial intended use-case. Despite being an advancement, blockchain 2.0 exhibited some shortcomings which are set to be addressed by the latest and next generation of distributed ledger protocols.

Blockchain 3.0 is said to be the future of DLT, and blockchains that fall under this category are optimized and designed from the ground up to overcome challenges faced by previous-generation blockchains. With emphasis on governance, enhancing privacy and security, interoperability, sustainability, and scalable ecosystems, blockchain 3.0 is set to be taking DLT development to the next level.

A number of projects have since popped up, including notable platforms like EOS, Cardano and Algorand which came into existence to address critical areas of focus: scalability, security and decentralization. Given the diverse priorities in feature specialization, a variety of models exist, but all the projects mentioned in this list will fit the criteria of a blockchain 3.0. This article further highlights and ranks the leading nine blockchain 3.0 platforms to watch out for in 2020.

List of 9 Blockchain 3.0 Projects in 2020

1. Aion

This project offers third generation features and consists of a multi-tier blockchain system designed to address privacy and transparency, scalability and interoperability. Aion is a native digital cryptocurrency behind the Open Application Network, an initiative launched to bridge the gap between independent blockchains. Corporates and public entities can leverage Aions platform to share data via the Ethereum network, build scalable ecosystems for processing transactions, and customize their own networks while maintaining interoperability with other blockchains.

Apart from its range of products, Aion has stood the test of time in this volatile market and has been hailed for offering a feasible solution in regards to connecting independent and isolated blockchains together. Many projects died along the way but this one is proving to be a game changer in the blockchain 3.0 space, as the whole mission behind the project looks to interconnect thousands of blockchain networks in the near future. The idea of establishing a network among independent blockchains is a unique value proposition that Aion can bring to the table and what sets it apart from competitors.

2. Algorand

A high-performance blockchain that leverages a new pure proof-of-stake(PPoS) protocol as consensus algorithm. The firms founder, Silvio Micali, is a Turing award winner and one of the leading researchers behind zero-knowledge proof, a popular cryptography protocol that lays the foundation for some of the established blockchain-based networks and is considered to be a breakthrough in modern day cryptography. Led by one of the crypto spaces most influential visionaries, Algorand continues to stand out from the crowd due to the sheer credibility of its founder and team.

Recent developments such as the launch of co-chain architecture and advanced layer 1 functionality have made Algorands blockchain an appealing option among enterprises seeking to make use of both a permissionless and permissioned network. With the co-chain architecture, Algorand is now classified as a hybrid platform that allows businesses to launch an independent blockchain with its own consensus mechanism and set of validators.

Algorand 2.0, the latest protocol version, accommodates various functionalities for business integration. Most notably is the layer-1 fundamental; this facilitates asset tokenization, atomic transfers, and smart contract creation. The team continues to develop Algorands layer-1 with the goal of improving scalability. Algorands hybrid and high performance blockchain has gained the likes of corporations, governments and banks around the globe and to date has secured a high-level partnership with the government of the Marshall Islands in a bid to launch the worlds first central bank digital currency (CBDC). Both the worlds number one decentralized exchange (IDEX) and stablecoin (USDT) are now utilizing Algorands blockchain infrastructure to their advantage, benefiting from a truly permissionless blockchain thats capable of handling resource-extensive resources and applications.

3. Cardano

Using a methodical scientific approach, Cardano is another blockchain 3.0 that supports and facilitates smart contract creation among other major functions. The IOHK project is an open source blockchain network supported by three organizations: the Cardano Foundation, IOHK and Emurgo. The team behind Cardano seeks to establish a scalable environment that also encompasses blockchain interoperability and security while keeping the costs low. Unlike Bitcoin and Ethereum, Cardanos network is built with a vision of the future as it mostly focuses on research and peer reviews prior to launching. This has made Cardano one of the most active projects in terms of developments, a healthy sign as developers efforts are improving Cardanos blockchain over time.

In addition, Cardano has a unique governance model system in place that sets it apart from the competition. Aside from this, the Cardano team has been working on establishing a sustainable revenue model where profit generated will be allocated towards growing the ecosystem and maintaining the network. It is also noteworthy that this blockchain 3.0 innovation enjoys the backing of IOHK; this body has been a major driving factor that has helped startups secure early funding and encourages community participation.

4. EOS

As mentioned earlier, the main focus of EOS is scalability, a function that both Bitcoin and Ethereum are immensely struggling with. Raising a staggering $4 billion during a yearlong initial coin offering and prior to launching its product, EOS managed to generate a lot of hype back in 2018. EOS aims to establish an ecosystem where blockchain networks can integrate and maintain data privacy.

The platform further leverages smart contracts in order to execute transactions in a timely fashion and designed to support resource intensive applications. It has been noted that EOS block producers are highly centralized due to the limited amount of block producers, and users can only access the network using block producers as intermediaries a single point of failure for the entire system. However, the trade off is that the EOS blockchain seeks to become the de facto platform for high-performance decentralized applications.

Just like Cardano, EOS enjoys a first mover advantage with its native token currently sitting in the top 10 in terms of crypto market capitalization. EOSs proposition as a third-generation blockchain has so far been fruitful, although only mass adoption will quantify a full breakthrough.

5. ICON

This South Korean blockchain project seeks to Hyperconnect the World through distributed ledgers. ICON has evolved since its inception and theres plenty of development taking place behind the scenes with user-friendly applications and services running on the ICON network. It was the launch of ICON mainnet version 3.0 that laid the foundation of the infrastructure dubbed Score which the ICON Foundation uses to create DApps on the ICON platform. Catering to a wide variety of sectors such as domestic banking, securities, insurance, education and e-commerce, the ICON network is built using the projects Loopchain technology. The main value proposition of ICON is to provide a platform where each participant can coexist and transact on a single network interoperability among blockchain networks.

Participants can run their own distributed ledger on different ecosystems but will still be able to communicate with each other, as part of a unified ICON ecosystem. The native token ICX token basically fuels the network. One of the worlds leading authorities on innovation, media and business, Don Tapscot and his team see ICONs vision of scaling the real world through mass collaboration and decentralization. Several prominent stakeholders such as the blockchain Interoperability Alliance, Pantera, and Kenetic Capital have since partnered with ICON. Based on the projects strategy, ICON is one the few blockchain 3.0 solutions to have gained traction in Asia, particularly in South Korea where the project has a foothold in the country, leading Koreas blockchain ecosystem in terms of securing several high-level partnerships with governments bodies and the private sector.

6. Nano

Previously called Raiblocks, Nano is a network that leverages blockchain 3.0 fundamentals to deliver an all-round environment for exchanging the value of digital assets. Built with a block-lattice structure, Nano is designed in such a way that it allows for fast transactions and benefits immensely from infinite scalability while requiring minimum resources to run. The grand vision behind Nano is to replace fiat currency and revolutionize blockchain by delivering zero-fee transactions in real-time without the setbacks faced by more work-intensive cryptos such as Bitcoin. By replicating the model of Bitcoin, Nano seeks to take scalability to the next level by not merely reducing transaction fees but by essentially getting rid of charges. The platforms integration and development options particularly stand out for tech savvy blockchain stakeholders.

The team behind Nano was able to achieve this through its range of wallets and benefited immensely from a popular airdrop campaign. The firms chief executive officer and founder, Colin LeMahieu, is assisted by George Coxon as the chief operating officer, among other members. Operating differently than its peers, Nano is a contender in the space given that its network is designed to be eco-friendly as no minting or mining is required an advancement that could be considered beyond blockchain 3.0.

7. Neblio

Neblio is an open-source business solution for business startups and enterprises. A leading enterprise blockchain platform made possible with Neblios lightning fast and scalable blockchain, APIs, NTP1 Token Protocol, and unique set of tools. This makes it easy for businesses to deploy their own blockchain and distributed ledger technology to radically improve efficiency and security and to deploy DApps

The platform further allows developers to leverage over seven programming languages and benefits of a network designed to be scalable, interoperable, sustainable, and secure. Supporting a number of common programming languages such as Node.JS, Python, C#, GO, JavaScript and Ruby, Neblio APIs equip developers with necessary tools needed to build DApps. The project started off with a small team but its coin value was up by 400% just after two weeks since the completion of an ICO. Seeking to become a leading enterprise data management, Neblio is set to mark the blockchain 3.0 industry integration standard, catering to large corporations and enterprises who seek to run their own blockchain ecosystems.

8. Wanchain

This blockchain network capitalizes on the open Finance agenda when it comes to distributed ledgers, as Wanchain intends to replace the global legacy banking system. The whole idea is to create a Multi-blockchain financial superhub that relies on cutting-edge advanced interoperability as an essential feature. The concept is similar to how Wide Area Networks (WAN) connected Local Area Networks (LAN) but using cross-chain blockchain infrastructure to facilitate asset transfer and deploy DApps for the finance sector. Wanchain seeks to link private, public and enterprise blockchains to allow the flow of digital data using the WAN token for block rewards, transaction fees, and node staking.

With the evolution to blockchain 3.0, Wanchain has proven its ability to provide a scalable, sustainable and interactive platform for token enthusiasts. This innovation has attracted developers looking to build DeFi, connected enterprise blockchains, and cross-chain mobile payments. Aside from currency transfer, Wanchain is proving to be a real contender in terms of supporting high-level smart-contract capabilities and privacy protection. Aside from working with big names that are part of the Ethereum ecosystem, Wanchain was a pioneer project to create a bridge between Bitcoin and Ethereum, allowing for cross-chain transaction capability between the two and more blockchain networks.

9. Zilliqa

Zilliqa is a cryptocurrency project that aims to make blockchain more efficient, scalable and fast with the help of sophisticated sharding technology that can streamline the consensus process. This project began with research conducted by the National University of Singapore and debuted as a live platform back in early 2019. The platforms unique sharding capabilities allow users to scale their blockchain networks in a linear orientation. This blockchain project also features a consensus mechanism that is designed to be eco-friendly by reducing the mining duration and resources going into this process. Not a typical PoW blockchain, ZIL is mined using a hybrid proof-of-work consensus protocol but was designed from the ground up to be extremely scalable by implementing sharding on its mainnet.

Receiving contributions from over 20 countries and close to 60 project teams, Zilliqa is a notable contender in a race to beat Ethereum, the worlds most dominant DApp platform. Securing several high level partnerships such as Xfers, which leverages their blockchain tech to increase transparency and reduce costs within its payment engines, Zilliqa is the first sharding blockchain concept to gain traction learning from past mistakes of blockchain 2.0 projects and offering a better alternative for offchain and sidechain solutions.

Conclusion

The blockchain industry is known for its fast-changing nature. As of the press date, some projects are already onto blockchain 4.0. This next level of blockchain tech is speculated to be a combination of AI and distributed ledgers. However, things may take a different turn if blockchain 3.0 solves scalability, interoperability, sustainability and privacy issues unlike previous generation blockchain 1.0 and 2.0 projects that have struggled to overcome the existing barriers.

Seeing that these are the most immediate issues that need to be solved and, furthermore, adopted, it would make more sense to build on this tech as opposed to complicating matters with AI in the mix. Blockchain 3.0 projects are upgraded versions designed to improve blockchain technology capabilities and solve major existing problems. At the current phase that we are at, new and improved blockchain solutions are being re-designed and built to bring cryptocurrency to the masses.

Edda Viktor

A digital nomad moving around major tech hubs in Asia, previously a financial data analyst from the oil and gas sector but now solely-focused on blockchain

Featured Image: Shutterstock/Yurchanka Siarhei

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Blockchain 3.0: Beyond Bitcoin and First-Generation Distributed Ledgers, From Aion to Cardano, EOS and Zilliqa - The Daily Hodl

Covid-19 has placed a spotlight on the weaknesses in our global supply chain. Could blockchain help?

The world is in the midst of the largest remote working experiment it has ever seen, reinforcing the value of reliable data. More than ever before, we need to know where our data comes from and whether or not it can be trusted. We are bombarded with information on a daily basis across the various different communication mediums we use in our professional and personal lives. This news is then passed onto each other sequentially, through emails, WhatsApp messages and other apps and social media platforms, and the velocity is only increasing, particularly in isolation.

Supply chains operate in the same way, linked sequentially in a chain that passes information from one user to the next. We rely on each constituent to do their part and pass on information quickly and accurately, but, like a Chinese whisper, the data is never the same at the end as it is at the beginning. However, what if we could guarantee that this information is accurate, immutable and derived from one of the most trusted sources of data capture? How could supply chains be transformed through the adoption of blockchain technology in times of crisis and in times of normality?

Most organisations are active in two supply chains, one physical and one financial. The financial one has the distinct advantage of being born digital while the physical one remains analogue and therefore significantly slower. Both need to be measured, monitored and tracked, so that the data extracted can be analysed and used to drive the next level of industrial automation, Industry 4.0.

However, what if one link is out of action being furloughed or unwell? How can the adjacent links maintain the bridge and keep the information and the supply chain moving?

COVID-19 risks to each link/person in the supply chain, much like a row of dominoes toppling until one link is missing. According to McKinsey, some 38% of supply chains are digitised and very few are using blockchain technology the key to unlocking the connectivity.

Todays supply chains are global, connected and generally efficient. Still, Covid-19 has placed a spotlight on our weaknesses. The focus on cost efficiency throughout supply chains demands evidence-based delivery: every component and process needs to be tracked to ensure that the final product can be verified and tracked back to its component parts, identifying where cost savings can be made and whether organisations are operating in the most efficient way possible.

Blockchain is the technology behind a distributed network of computers that can be used to store data securely but which, uniquely, has a single memory. That means data cannot be freely copied and edited to create an alternative version of the truth, which is why blockchain technologists refer to it as the trust platform. In the enterprise context, the blockchain would be used as a private permissioned framework for a group of stakeholders, such as suppliers, customers and regulators.

A recent survey by HFS Research and Wipro found that of 318 senior executives polled, 75 percent consider blockchain to be a strategic priority. This will only continue to grow as accountability, auditability and cost efficiencies within supply chains are increasingly prioritised. After all, duplication, checking and re-checking data and its sources costs time and money, slowing down supply chain processes. Furthermore, nearly 60% of these C-level executives anticipate that consensus-driven trust allows them to plan entirely new business models that were not possible before blockchain.

The global impact of COVID-19 will force us to reconsider what we want from our supply chains, whether this be costs efficiencies, or increased speed and agility. Unlike a row of dominoes, we also need supply chains that can withstand the next pandemic by creating a circle of trust, and not a sequential line with points that can fail.

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Blockchain & supply chain resilience in the wake of Covid-19 - Techerati

How the trust-machine can shed a light into the philanthropic activities of the Gates FoundationBeing a philanthropist someone who promotes human welfare or donates funds for humanitarian purposes is not as easy as one might think. Some despite calling themselves philanthropists spend huge sums to rather advance their own political-societal ideologies in a sacred-mission to prevail over those not in agreement. Clearly this has nothing to do with philanthropism and much to do with lobbying and promoting its own hidden political, geo-political and economical agendas, just like the Soros Open Society Foundations does.Others, like Bill and Melinda Gates, are true philanthropists, but sometimes they operate in areas in which both economical and political interests dangerously converge, so much that they themselves openly talk about the success of their investments in philanthropy. Although Bill Gates clearly refers to returns on the investment which are non-personal economical gains likely other gains which accrue widely to the society and are also economically quantifiable this seemingly contradictory issue clearly raises legitimate questions as to the main scopes behind the Gates philanthropic facade.

If one donates money to build shelter for the homeless or food banks the charitable effort is pretty straightforward. But if one funds pharma companies with billions and, in the middle of a pandemic, advances the idea of a global vaccine which casually happens to be produced by one ofhis grantees, then people start to raise eyebrows and ask questions. Before you know it, ones credibility as a philanthropist is in tatters and one becomes just another George Soros, with all due respect for Soros the legendary speculator of course.

But the Gates Foundation is not a charity. They do not raise money from third parties. They spend their own funds. They do not need to show third party donors how their moneys are spent.

Regardless of the above though how the Gates Foundation spends its money, with which conditionalities and which results their disbursements achieve inevitably affects both the public perception of the foundation as an humanitarian organization and that of Bill Gates himself as a true philanthropist.

If Bill Gates wants to be respected as a philanthropist he has to take some bold steps to ensure that his image and the perception that people have of himself are as true as possible to this role. This means that the activities of his foundation must be open, transparent, accountable and beyond doubt.

The Gates Foundation should adopt the blockchain as a trusted and transparent infrastructure/protocol in its dealings with its grantees.

Because the Foundation does not need to be 100% transparent since there are legitimate tax and financial planning reasons behind the establishment of a foundation which go beyond the scope of philanthropy and should remain private to the Gates family - the use of the blockchain can be modular and implemented only on those activities which are strictly philanthropic.

This blockchain based infrastructure/protocol can track down grants to specific grantees and oblige the same to be totally transparent in theirallocation to third parties, thereby cutting down the risks of corruption.

This shows how critical a blockchain infrastructure is to track how the funds are practically allocated and spent. The same goes with conditionalities such as milestones or targets that the grantee must achieve to unlock funds and which should be tied to executable smart contracts. Cryptocurrencies and stable-coins can easily lubricate the infrastructure and allow frictionless payments at a fraction of the costs of the legacy financial network. Expensive intermediaries can also be avoided and moneys directly spent with the needing.

So now theres no excuses, the instruments are available to show that philanthropists are true to their words. Blockchain/DLTs shall become the default technical solution for any charitable or philanthropist organization which wants to be responsible, accountable, credible and trustworthy.

Clearly those who aspire to be considered philanthropists but are not will still run their foundations in a non-transparent manner to continuepursuing their hidden agendas, but hopefully soon people will stop calling them philantrophists. The true ones though will understand thebenefits of that and will use the blockchain to show everyone their goodwill and how their funds are truly allocated.

I truly hope Bill and Melinda Gates will do that and become also a leading example and a driving force for the whole sector.

If not, the most expensive PR efforts will not debunk conspiracy claims and will not spare Bill Gates from being perceived as yet another evil globalist billionaire.

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Investment Disclaimer:The website and the information contained herein is not intended to be asource of advice or credit analysis with respect to the material presented, and the information and/or documents contained in this website do not constitute investment advice.

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Could Bill Gates' Problem Be Solved By the Blockchain? - hackernoon.com

China is rapidly catching up to the United States with regard to blockchain-related investments, according to a recent report put together by New York-based research firm CB Insights.

The researchers found that the East Asian country accounted for 22% of blockchain investments in 2019, compared to 31% for the U.S. This represents a significant improvement for China when compared to 2015, when it had a meager 2% while the U.S. was getting 51% of total funding.

Headlined by the trade dispute of 2019, competition between the U.S. and China has intensified in recent years. Thats unsurprising considering theyre the two largest economies in the world. At best, however, the findings of this CB Insights report only suggest that U.S.China competition is intensifying in the blockchain space as well. It doesnt give a clear picture of which country is ahead in blockchain development.

In addition, given that there is a slew of conflicting blockchain investment reports out there, its difficult to say for sure just what proportion of global blockchain investment goes to either country. For instance, according to CB Insights, 2019 saw a global investment volume of about $2.8 billion, down from $4.2 billion in 2018.

Earlier in this year, Xinhua Chinas state-run financial media firm and financial data platform Rhino Datareported that Chinese investment deals came in at around $3.44 billion (24.4 billion Chinese yuan) across 245 deals in 2019. This represents a 40.8% drop in investment volume when compared to 2018, the report stated.

Experts say that the majority of the investment in China originates locally for now, but they expect more foreign funds in the near future. Kevin Shao of Bitrise Capital Partners told Cointelegraph that:

Currently, the main investors are mainly domestic venture capital institutions and individual investors as early stage investors. However, we believe that with the increasing internationalization of Blockchain technology, the percentage of foreign investment institutions will increase over time.

There arent any readily available reports focused solely on how much blockchain investment happened in the U.S. last year, but again, the figures from CB Insights mostly show that the blockchain scene in China is picking up. Instead of looking at the figures, it might be worth considering the actual events, including the governments stance, talent distribution and enterprise involvement to obtain a feel for how blockchain competition is shaping up between the two countries.

In October 2019, Chinese President Xi Jinping publiclysupported blockchain technology by urging the country to take blockchain as an important breakthrough independent innovation of core technologies and to accelerate its development. According to blockchain accelerator Consensys, China has over 500 registered blockchain projects, with most of them led by the government.

As part of its support for blockchain, the People's Bank of China the countrys central bank is working to launch a digital yuan, which will be powered by a centralized blockchain. According to reports, the central bank has completed the essential development of the digital currency and is now in the process of drawing up legislation for its circulation.

The Chinese governments stance, led by President Xis speech, has had two effects on the blockchain development scene in the country. First, it has outlined the future path of the industry. Second, it has made mainstream the status of blockchain and promoted its orderly development, thereby opening more opportunities for new players to enter. Qi Qi, the CEO the of blockchain incubator B-Labs, told Cointelegraph:

On the capital side, domestic traditional funds are more willing to get involved, especially paying attention to the field of industrial blockchain, which is a big breakthrough for traditional funds and the blockchain industry itself.

Simon Li, a founding partner at Chain Capital, also told Cointelegraph that the Chinese government is actively embracing the blockchain and will use it in the government affairs system to create many application scenarios.

The U.S. government has a somewhat more cautious approach to blockchain. While a few government agencies mostly military are exploring the use of blockchain in the country, its still hard to say the government is particularly pro-blockchain, and this might limit the flow of blockchain investment in the country. Speaking to Cointelegraph, Sukhi Jutla, the co-founder of MarketOrders a blockchain platform for the jewelry industry said:

Although the U.S. is still a key leader when it comes to blockchain investments, it cannot compete with China. The US is hindered by regulations that are slow and dont keep pace with the innovations of technology. China is able to move with speed as their governments allow them the space to do what they need to do.

Jutla added, Many companies are bogged down by uncertainty and the threat of being sued as the regulations cannot keep pace with the fast-moving technology. Last year, Congress asked Facebook to stop advancing the cryptocurrency project Libra without proper supervision. The Securities Exchange Commission also continues to block Telegrams plans to launch its TON project. Still, the country has no clear plans for developing its own blockchain-based digital money.

The availability of talent is next to governmental influence as a determinant factor of investment flow, and experts believe the U.S. is ahead of China in the area of technical personnel. Kevin Ren, a founding partner at Consensus Lab, told Cointelegraph that despite the Chinese government being outwardly more supportive of blockchain, the U.S. has the edge thanks to the availability of talent:

Due to the shortage of technical personnel and infrastructure, China's current level of development in the area of blockchain still lags behind that of the United States. For example, the blockchain 3.0 project, such as Polkadot, Cosmos, etc., which currently leads the technological trend of blockchain, is mostly still a U.S. project.

Li also believes the U.S. has superior technical prowess. In a conversation with Cointelegraph, he said that there is still a certain gap between our technical level and that of the United States, but China sees great improvements in recent years, and the gap gets gradually narrowed.

China is famed as one of the countries where the adoption of new technology picks up the fastest. A 2018 report titled Me, My Life, My Wallet published by accounting giant KPMG found that consumers in China tend to be more receptive to new technologies, ahead of other top markets including the U.S., the United Kingdom and others.

This is evident in the area of mobile payment, where China leads the rest of the world in adoption. Ren believes that this readiness to pick up new technologies will give China the edge over the U.S. in the mid- to long-term, saying:

China's population base and netizen base, its ability to accept new things (Internet enterprises have completed user education through mobile payment and online shopping), and the constant supply of talents are the kinetic energy for China's blockchain to make great progress.

Brian Platz, the co-founder of Fluree an American company that builds blockchain-based databases told Cointelegraph that Chinas competitive advantage goes beyond its technology-receptive populace. According to Platz:

China may be leading in terms of adoption of digital and mobile payments, but that's only a piece of the blockchain pie. China is also heavily investing in enterprise blockchain infrastructure noting a clear thesis that blockchain technology can provide value across a variety of contexts. This is a powerful combination of adoption one that the U.S. should take seriously and accelerate plans to compete.

However, citing the opportunity for private enterprises to innovate more rapidly, Platz whose company is backed by Steve Cases venture capital firm Revolution believes that the U.S. can be the leader ahead of China in the blockchain scene, adding:

One clear advantage the US does have over China is the opportunity for private enterprise to freely innovate at a rapid pace. It's time to double down on enterprise blockchain efforts, garner support from the government, and build a competitive blockchain industry here in the US.

It has been widely reported in recent years that the majority of blockchain-related patents are held by Chinese entities. Technology news website The Next Web reported in March 2019 that Chinese entities had published 790 patents, while the U.S. had published 762. These figures represented the total, all-time patent publication by these countries.

However, the publication of patents in China appears to be dominated by a few entities, given that the number of U.S. enterprise players invested in blockchain is significantly more than that of China. The business publication Forbes recentlycompiled a list of the top 50 enterprises that have invested into blockchain, and the list is dominated by American firms across different sectors.

To be on the list, the company had to be generating at least $1 billion in annual revenue or have a valuation of at least $1 billion. American companies took up 58% of the list with 29 entries, while only four Chinese companies were featured.

The answer to who is ahead in blockchain development between China and the U.S. depends on who is asked and how they best see the application of blockchain in reality. The two economic giants are following different development paths, with blockchain advancement in China spearheaded by the government and development in the U.S. spearheaded by corporate enterprises.

According to Shao, blockchain development in the two countries is evolving in different directions, making it difficult to declare a clear leader. He stated:

Compared to the United States, China is taking a different path and we cannot compare which path is better or more advanced at the time. China's blockchain industry is focusing on governance, finance and civil fields. But in the financial-related fields, the Chinese government is more cautious and strict compared to the U.S. government.

James Wo, the CEO of U.S.-based Digital Finance Group, also believes that the two countries are approaching blockchain development differently. He said:

I think they have different directions. U.S. cares more about solving infrastructure-level problems including interoperability, scalability etc. While China cares more about the usage of blockchain.

On the other hand, the CEO of B-Labs believes that both China and the U.S. are at the forefront regarding blockchain technology, but the narrative should be that of cooperation:

All the issues that have happened recently make us realize the meaning of a community of shared future for mankind, and aware that global technological cooperation is an essential element for building such a community, in the way from R&D, patents, talent cultivation and beyond.

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Chinese Blockchain Investment on the Rise, but Comparison to US Is Apples to Oranges - Cointelegraph

Staff shortages have been a major cause for concern in the UKs healthcare sector for some time, and these shortages have been brought to the forefront of the nation in light of COVID-19. With the coronavirus exacerbating the impact of shortages and the obstacles faced by recruiters, those tasked with hiring for healthcare roles across the UK are attempting to plug the widening recruitment gap by sourcing qualified professionals from across the globe. Sectors such as healthcare carry a particular need for verified, authentic credentials and have a higher risk profile associated with under-vetting a potential candidate. The threat of an underqualified hire has not been so palpable to the nation in our lifetime. As time is of the essence during this global pandemic, solutions are required immediately.

The process of making a secure, trusted hire that is satisfactory for both employer and employee is difficult enough in a sector with minimal risk. When it comes to healthcare, matching candidates with employers requires not just the match up of role, hours and pay, but also highly regulated qualifications which must be vetted. Traditionally, professional document verification is known to be a complex, lengthy and costly process, made even more complicated by a high rate of unverified candidates and fraudulent applicants which must be sifted through before a pool of potential candidates can be considered. This concern is highlighted by an investigation by the BBC, which found that in 2013 and 2014 more than 3,000 fake qualifications were sold to UK-based buyers. In 2017, another survey, this time conducted by YouGov found that one in ten Brits lie on their CVs.

One of the latest innovations in the market that has the potential to transform the recruitment process as we know it is a primary source verification (PSV) solution, enhanced by blockchain technology. Innovations like these allow employers and recruiters to search for candidates in a more timely and secure manner, saving precious time. Even more vitally, the cost savings ensure healthcare providers can be spending their money where it is truly needed.

A blockchain is a shared file which records transactions. Each of the transactions, e.g. information, is added in as a block and is stored decentralised in the chain which means that once added in, no one can interfere with or control its content. In practice, this means that once an applicants documents have been added, the applicant nor the recruiter or anyone else can tamper with the records because every member has to agree to its validity and can access the history of record changes.

Ethereum blockchain is an example of a type of public blockchain, which can easily be used across industries to validate documents. It allows users to always retain the ability to access their validation proof, even if the verification provider ceases to exist.

Passports, education certificates and other qualifications are regarded as highly sensitive documents in the eyes of regulatory laws such as the GDPR, and stringent data security requirements apply. Blockchain technology allows such documents to be stored as fingerprints instead, providing a form of encryption and security. Each fingerprint is individual and does not reveal any information about the document it belongs to, which of course safeguards the information it contains and enables the owner of the document - in this case, a job applicant - to choose exactly who can access their verified personal information. In computer science lingo, these fingerprints are called hashes. Bundled together, the signature of these hashes is stored on the blockchain and can be checked against an individuals credentials.

The implications of an innovation such as blockchain verification for document can have huge benefits, especially in a post-Brexit world. It allows recruiters to create a secure portal for applicants, allowing them to upload and verify their professional documents and data onto blockchain, which acts as a form of portable credentials. UK regulators, HR managers and recruiters will then be able to view and verify candidates credentials against the blockchain.

Blockchain can drastically streamline the verification process for regulators and HR managers, by eliminating the continual churn of verification requests on employers and educational institutions every time a new candidate applies for a role.

The decentralised nature of blockchain means this scenario offers a verify once, use forever approach to verification, further reducing the strain on those in charge of hiring applicants from overseas. In addition, by offering an online and on-demand primary source verification (PSV) solution, it will also ensure that candidates credentials are authentic and issued by an accredited institution, eliminating the risk of hiring unqualified, fraudulent individuals.

The process is also expedited for candidates as their credentials only need to be verified once before being saved on the blockchain. They can then share this with potential employers at any point during their careers, who can check the validity of the verification against the blockchain, rather than having to verify the same information over and over every time an individual changes a job.

The blockchain fingerprint also constitutes an important building block within the concept of self-sovereign-identity, something that can be controlled by the user and only the user, so it can never be taken away. In practice, this means if someone secures a university diploma, they can add the fingerprint of that verified diploma to their self-sovereign identity from one of the leading providers like for example uPort and the individual handles the control of their identity and how it is used entirely at their discretion

Through the self-sovereign identity model, individuals in highly regulated sectors such as healthcare, education and financial services can eliminate the friction encountered by providing their pre-verified documents rather than experiencing the same background check process each time. Not only does this save the recruiter time and money, but it also makes the individual powerful, credible and ultimately, far more employable.

Ren Seifert, Trueprofile.io

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Recruiters are in need of new document verification methods, and blockchain holds the key - ITProPortal

As more people self-isolate due to the coronavirus pandemic, gaming platforms all over the world have seen a spike in traffic. One report notes that cell network company Verizon claimed that online gaming platforms have seen a 75% increase in traffic with an overall 20% spike in streaming across the web. Despite the fact that the boost in traffic on online gaming platforms is as a result of the unfortunate pandemic, blockchain games have not been left out.

A recent report shows Microsoft Azure, a service that allows developers to operate blockchain networks for applications such as Xbox, registering record-high levels of latency on its network for the first time as a result of quarantined gamers straining the Xbox app. Although most industry watchers will admit that blockchain gaming is the future, the jury is still out on whether that future can be sustainable.

Apart from Xbox, other non-mainstream gaming platforms have also been gaining new users. War Riders, a blockchain game where players get to build and crash cars in a Mad Max-like experience, is said to have received upward of 70% in new users with an increase in the average time spent in the game.

According to Sebastien Borget, the co-founder and COO of TSB Gaming a San Francisco-based startup that is behind a blockchain game called The Sandbox Cryptovoxels, which is a Sim City-like gaming experience on a blockchain, has also seen an increased number of users recently.

In Borgets observations, the decentralized virtual worlds of games such as CryptoVoxels, Decentraland and Somnium have seen an influx of new users who are meeting and socializing in the metaverse, organizing their own events, meet-ups or even festivals. He added: I think this is great and hosting events and providing activities to do for gamers inside the metaverse is the right way to go.

Borget also mentioned that The Sandbox decentralized gaming platform completely sold out its virtual land presale, generating 3,400 ETH in just five hours on March 31. Other gaming platforms that have had a successful run so far include Cryptowars announcing its v2 launch and Skyweaver launching Season 0, among others.

Edward Smith, the co-founder and lead developer at Neblio, a blockchain as a service company, believes that: Gaming and entertainment will be some of the biggest winners of the crisis our world is facing today, including blockchain-based gaming. According to Smith:

We will start to see more and more blockchain integration into esports as time goes on. The two industries share many of the same users, as gamers are some of the most passionate blockchain users.

There is a general consensus among most industry watchers that interest toward blockchain-based games will grow as more developers lean more toward play-to-earn gaming models as has been the case with popular blockchain games like Gods Unchained and CryptoKitties. Borget also agrees that whats driving more interest is the fact that blockchain games have been pushing further on the play-to-earn side, offering an appealing alternative to make some money while having fun and playing.

Borget also pointed out Axie Infinity as one of the games in the blockchain gaming space that has benefited from a growing active community who are sharing tips on how to make money with crypto gaming. Apart from an opportunity to earn extra income, another factor that is pushing gamers toward blockchain games is the freedom and autonomy that comes with decentralization.

While the gaming industry offers blockchain technology a user-friendly avenue for mass adoption, in turn, the technology can contribute through its open-source, transparent and decentralized nature to the gaming world.

Last year, a decentralized digital card-based game, Gods Unchained, generated significant revenue on the backdrop of the Hong Kong protests after standing up for a gamer who spoke against the actions of the Chinese government. With a promise to give gamers freedom through true ownership and autonomy over their collectibles and winnings, the Heartstone-based game saw a spike in traffic, becoming one of the most popular blockchain games of 2019.

With some arguing that online censorship is on the rise, especially among centralized applications, more gamers are looking toward blockchain games to provide a much-needed reprieve. For years, blockchain developers have been waiting for mass adoption. Even though Bitcoin (BTC) has been in the limelight over the years, it is nowhere close to mass adoption.

Therefore, to match the increasing demand and appetite for entertainment among mainstream gamers, especially during quarantine, blockchain gaming platforms are being forced to adapt. Blockchain games have been gaining traction and acceptance, however, scalability and capacity are still issues for most blockchain networks.

While scalability is less of a problem for private blockchains, gaming platforms that want to support massively multiplayer online games will have to increase the capacity to manage and store large volumes of data. The strain is already being felt by companies, such as Microsoft, Azure that provide blockchain as a service.

In a recent United States Securities and Exchange Commission filing, Microsoft Azure, a platform that allows users to deploy a blockchain network on a cloud without having to invest in hardware infrastructure, reported a decline in its typical network capacity as a result of quarantined gamers putting a strain on its cloud platform.

In a statement, the company admitted that deployments for some compute resource types had dropped after receiving significant demand for its services in some regions including northern Europe, western Europe, the south of the United Kingdom and southern Brazil, to mention a few.

Since Microsofts Xbox application is among the clients Microsoft Azure serves, the increased number of quarantined Xbox gamers is said to have strained the Azure Blockchain network. However, Mike Brusov, the co-founder and CEO of Cindicator, a fintech company offering predictive analysis for crypto investors, begged to disagree:

Capacity is probably not the main problem for blockchain gaming. Azure is Microsofts cloud and a rival to both Amazon Web Services and Google Cloud. So, the increased strain Xbox Live was putting on Azure is probably due to its 65 million gamers spending more time playing, and is not necessarily related to blockchain.

On the other hand, Carlos Roldan, the founder and CEO of Satoshis Games, a blockchain gaming platform, painted a different picture when asked about blockchain technologys capability to handle mass adoption:

There is no blockchain gaming platform, whose infrastructure is distributed or on-chain, that will kick off in a very attractive spectrum to supply the massive demand that is currently going on due to the current scalability issues happening with on-chain gaming infrastructure.

He added that some games based on the Lightning Network have still been able to supply the current demand despite the low demand on the Bitcoins network.

As the world continues to fight the coronavirus pandemic, placing more people in quarantine, industry watchers like Brusov, Roldan and Smith expect growth in the in-game token economy, as more gamers use blockchain games to earn extra income.

Responding to a question about how blockchain games can best prepare for increased mass adoption during this pandemic, Roldan said: In order to scale up and board traditional gamers into blockchain gaming, the onboarding process must be minimal and frictionless. He pointed out that any blockchain game that accomplishes a minimum of skill-based gameplay can achieve mass adoption, adding:

Currently, we see a high volume of blockchain games with around 80% blockchain integration and around 20% (fun) gameplay. This only supplies the demand for gamers within the blockchain users, which is a small niche.

According to Brusov, gaming companies could use tokens for managing access and rewarding gamers as a way to attract more gamers during this period of a global pandemic. Meanwhile, Borget maintained that a natural way of increasing mass adoption is through the adoption of competitive and collaborative gaming that will push blockchain-based games to be played the "way video games are played: built and shared across communities.

Apart from experimenting with different consensus protocols, blockchain gaming platforms can begin to think beyond offering NFT based games and start to delve into interactive and engaging games on the blockchain. As pointed out by industry participants like Roldan, this can be achieved on an off-chain LN.

Related: NFT Floodgates Open With Impressive Lineup of Blockchain Games in 2020

It is also important for game developers to think outside the box and come up with games that are as engaging as traditional games. Furthermore, instead of building blockchain games from scratch, game developers can build on top of preexisting networks like Microsoft Azure or Neblio that provide highly scalable, general-purpose blockchains capable of handling mass adoption.

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Blockchain Games See Surge During the Pandemic Can the Tech Handle It? - Cointelegraph