Category "Multimedia"

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Blockchain, Events, Multimedia
02/10/2020
19

The US is number one…in blockchain patents

But the company with the most patents isn’t even American.

Despite Chinese firm Alibaba filing the most patents so far this year, the United States still takes the lead as the country with the most blockchain patents, a Sept. 17 report from intellectual property consultancy KISSPatent said.

IBM and Alibaba hold the most blockchain patents. Alibaba has filed more than 200 patents while IBM filed a little over 100. But other U.S.-based companies like Bank of America and Mastercard have also filed several patent applications bumping up the total for the U.S. According to KISSPatent, more blockchain patents have been filed in the first half of 2020 than all of 2019.

The U.S. has 2,112 patents, followed by the Cayman Islands with 350 filings and Canada with 118. The rest of the top six are Japan with 108, South Korea with 87 and China with 77 patents. The Cayman Islands is second as Alibaba’s subsidiaries headquartered in the British Overseas Territory filed these applications.

Although Chinese companies are often represented in various top 10 blockchain patent lists, not all of the companies work solely on blockchain. KISSPatent says these companies have blockchain applications as part of their technology portfolio. The reason China filed so many patents, the report said, was to avoid some trading sanctions overseas. It explained that:

“They’ve learned from the example of Xiaomi, the “Chinese Apple,” which was blocked from selling its smartphones in its foray out of China – because the Swedish Ericsson held so many patents.”

The US is number one...in blockchain patents

The most popular category of patent filing, representing half of all patents, is fintech applications. These include applications using cryptocurrencies and those supporting the storage or the exchange of cryptocurrencies. Other popular categories are patents for decentralized business platforms, solutions deployed over blockchain, business services with a financial component and healthcare and traditional banking services on a blockchain.

Many industry players have expressed concern over patent trolling, so Square helped launch the Cryptocurrency Open Patent Alliance. The group wants to democratize access to innovative technologies.

Source: https://cointelegraph.com/news/the-us-is-number-onein-blockchain-patents

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Beijing ranks first among blockchain cities in China
Blockchain, Events, Multimedia
30/09/2020
18

Beijing ranks first among blockchain cities in China

Beijing has been named as the top blockchain city in the 2020 Chinese Blockchain Innovation rankings.

The Chinese Blockchain Innovation rankings were revealed at the China International Fair for Trade in Services Summit. The rankings comprehensively evaluates the blockchain technology and development of 83 Chinese cities and special zones, except Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan. There were four key dimensions considered, such as research and development, industrial development, public popularity, and policy based on multi-source objective data.

According to reports, China’s blockchain regions have obvious advantages in the development of leading cities, with Beijing, Shenzhen, Shanghai, Hangzhou and Guangzhou ranked in the top five.

Beijing came first with a score of 99.82 and Shenzhen came out second with a 91.2 ranking score. It’s worth noting that Shenzhen has more than 5,000 blockchain related firms, making Beijing ranking an important feat.

Following Shenzhen in the ranking is China’s biggest city and one of East Asia’s largest business capital—Shanghai—with a ranking score of 88.

Beijing Fair, the host of the China International Fair for Trade in Services Summit, acknowledged Beijing and Shanghai for making use of their “advantages in research and development (R&D) activities, industrial development and public enthusiasm” to promote and create stronger blockchain awareness to the general public.

In July 2020, the municipal government of Beijing revealed a 20-point plan to improve blockchain. This plan was aimed at increasing the rate at which distributed ledger technologies (DLT) are deployed and developed. This move made the city become more of a blockchain hub, both nationally and globally.

The Beijing Blockchain Innovation Development Action Plan 2020-2022 lists out the plans from the blockchain city to promote its global leading status. By the end of 2021, Beijing plans to be in the forefront of public DLT deployment and blockchain innovation.

Source: https://coingeek.com/beijing-ranks-first-among-blockchain-cities-in-china/

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New EU Rules To Institute Crypto For Cross-Border Payments By 2024
Altcoins, Bitcoin, Blockchain, Events, Multimedia
28/09/2020
19

New EU Rules To Institute Crypto For Cross-Border Payments By 2024

Two new European Union documents have proposed a four-year window for incorporating crypto assets into the E.U.’s payment infrastructure. The documents include plans for the E.U. executive to put forward a law to iron out any regulatory kinks and if necessary create new regulation for crypto adoption in the E.U.

New Rules To Bring Regulatory Clarity

According to Reuters, the European Commission is especially keen to press ahead with crypto adoption because the pandemic lockdowns exposed a failure point in the existing cash-dominated order. To this end, the EC believes that switching to instant payments is now a priority.

In order to achieve this, according to the Reuters report, the EC will put forward draft legislation that will provide a comprehensive regulatory framework for distributed ledger technology (DLT). The proposed legislation will also plug crypto’s regulatory gaps in E.U. law where they may exist.

An excerpt from the document quoted by Reuters reads:

“By 2024, the E.U. should put in place a comprehensive framework enabling the uptake of distributed ledger technology and crypto assets in the financial sector. It should also address the risks associated with these technologies. By 2024, the principle of passporting and a one-stop shop licensing should apply in all areas which hold strong potential for digital finance.”

European Digital Payments Growth Ambitions

The report mentions that the EC intends to integrate the new set of regulations within its existing “same risk, same rules, same regulation” pan-E.U. framework. In so doing, the report says, within four years, customers should be able to access digital instant payment solutions immediately, once Anti-Money Laundering and Know-Your-Customer checks are completed.

As part of the crypto regulation program, the report says, the EC will also monitor customer transaction costs to make sure that they do not exceed those of regular transfers.

It will be recalled that earlier in 2020, a consortium of 16 European banks announced a partnership for a homegrown European payment system that would be up and running by 2022. This system was supposed to provide an alternative to American behemoths VISA and Mastercard.

Source: https://beincrypto.com/new-eu-rules-to-institute-crypto-for-cross-border-payments-by-2024/

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Starbucks Introduces Blockchain Coffee Tracing System For Customers and Farmers
Blockchain, Multimedia
08/09/2020
19

Starbucks Introduces Blockchain Coffee Tracing System For Customers and Farmers

Quality control is one of the most important facets of any industry, especially coffee. In a bid to provide greater transparency to its customers, and a re-affirmation of its quality, Starbucks has turned to blockchain in order to track the ‘journey’ of its coffee beans from the farmer that cultivates them, all the way to the branch.

Starbucks, one of the leading coffee makers across the globe with thousands of stores, has turned to blockchain to help its customers trace the origin of their coffee.

Starbucks believes that blockchain technology would enable users to scan a bar-code on their coffee bags to find out where the coffee was farmed, the time it took to reach their retail store from the farmlands, and much more. The farmers responsible for producing the coffee would be given a reverse code to track their products destination as well.

The blockchain tracing system would use the Microsoft Corp tool that would enable Starbucks to share some of the most extensive traceability data, which the firm has been collecting over the years, with their customer base.

Michelle Burns, the vice-president of Starbucks, commented on their decision to introduce blockchain-based traceability system:

“We have been able to trace every coffee we buy from every farm for almost two decades, that allowed us to have the foundation to now build a user-friendly, consumer-driven tool that certainly provides that trust and confidence to our customers that we know where all of our coffee comes from.”

The largest coffee-retail chains move to incorporate blockchain traceability is seen as a way to appeal to millennial customers in their ecosystem. The coffee maker believes that the new generation is quite particular about the products they consume, from how they’re sourced to how they reached the supermarket. The introduction of the traceability of products would interact more millennials to the platform.

Blockchain Technology Use For Food Traceability on the Rise

Blockchain technology has been considered for a wide array of industries, despite many of these companies having initial reservations for cryptocurrencies and tokens. Many mainstream tech firms are actively investing in technology or developing enterprise-grade solutions. The food supply-chain industry has turned out to be the largest adopter of the blockchain tech.

In the past couple of years, primary food and beverage brands have turned to blockchain to streamline the food traceability process. Some of the most recognizable brands that have turned to blockchain include Nescafe, J.M. Smucker Co., and Jacobs Douwe Egberts.

Source: https://bitcoinexchangeguide.com/starbucks-introduces-blockchain-coffee-tracing-system-for-customers-and-farmers/

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Will blockchain boost air cargo efficiency after Covid-19
Blockchain, Multimedia
04/09/2020
18

Will blockchain boost air cargo efficiency after Covid-19

Amid a global pandemic, there has arguably never been a better time to make the movement of air cargo more efficient and easier to monitor. Switching to blockchain could help make this achievable, creating crucial cost savings for stakeholders in the bargain.

The Covid-19 outbreak has brought global supply chains to their knees, with critical companies forced to shut down their operations.

According to figures released by International Air Transport Association (IATA), demand within the global air freight markets in April suffered a drop of 27.7% compared to the same period in 2019 – the sharpest year-on-year decline on record.

This has been coupled by a significant capacity crunch across the air cargo sector, with capacity down by 42% as a result of many airlines being grounded during the crisis. The result of this perfect storm has been lengthier shipping times and higher costs all round.

In a recent statement, IATA chief executive Alexandre, de Juniac called on governments to do more ensure supply chains “remain open and efficient”. Air cargo has a role to play in the transportation of medical supplies, food and other necessities to the worst-hit regions, he argues. The global economy also needs air freight to continue to supply businesses and factories.

Now is the time to also ensure that the movement of air cargo is more efficient and easier to monitor. Could blockchain technology – already widely deployed in other industries to make supply chains more transparent – spell out the answer to this longstanding issue?

Saviour solution: SITA and ULD Care’s proposed blockchain platform

SITA seems to think so. In March, the aviation technology firm announced it had partnered up with Canadian trade association ULD Care, as part of an effort to explore the use of blockchain to digitally track air cargo containers – or unit load devices (ULDs) – across their entire journey.

“Blockchain will help reduce costs related to tracking assets.”

The two firms are betting big on their proposed platform. Through the elimination of inefficiencies, embedding “always-on” tracking of ULDs, and the scrapping of outmoded paper systems, blockchain could save the industry as much as $400m a year in improved efficiency, while cutting shipping times in half.

Source: https://www.airport-technology.com/features/blockchain-air-cargo/

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Russia tests blockchain voting as the September elections approach
Blockchain, Multimedia
02/09/2020
18

Russia tests blockchain voting as the September elections approach

Russia has had a lot of interactions with crypto and blockchain industries in the last few years. Less than a year ago, the reports revealed that the country plans to use blockchain for selling diamonds. Only days ago, the country’s bank made a first-ever crypto-backed loan.

Now, Russia even started conducting tests for blockchain voting, right before the elections scheduled to take place in September.

 

Russia develops blockchain voting to deal with coronavirus

 

Russian elections are approaching, but the situation with COVID-19 is still far from being resolved. With people mostly still keeping at home, the authorities have had to come up with a remote voting system.

With recent recognition that the blockchain technology has been receiving, the government seems to have decided to give DLT a chance, and use the security of blockchain for developing a voting system.

The experiment has been on-going for a while, and the Russian Central Election Commission revealed that more than 30,000 people already participated. These volunteers completed the election process electronically. They went through an entire process, from registering on the network, to helping with vote counting.

The study itself was run by the country’s telecom giant, Rostelecom, which collaborated on the experiment with the Ministry of Digital Development. Meanwhile, the telecom developed the necessary tech with Waves Enterprise. According to officials, vote counting took less than a minute, which already makes it highly efficient.

 

Verification is necessary, but honesty is guaranteed

 

In order to vote, participants had to go through identity verification, which also required the technology interfaced with a government portal. However, the officials said that there were no problems or difficulties along the way.

Engineers still conducted tests to try and predict potential issues, and either resolve them ahead of time, or create plans of action in case such problems emerge in practice.

Considering that the first round of testing was reportedly very successful, more experiments are on the way. The country will hold public testing in a few days, on August 31st. With news of election fraud coming from all over the world, using blockchain for honest voting is considered a very worthy effort, and many are glad to see new developments in the sector.

Source: https://invezz.com/news/2020/08/27/russia-tests-blockchain-voting/

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What if Satoshi Nakamoto was Satoshi Nakamoto
Bitcoin, Multimedia
31/08/2020
14

What if Satoshi Nakamoto was Satoshi Nakamoto all along?

Leah McGrath Goodman, the Newsweek journalist who named Japanese-American man Dorian Satoshi Nakamoto as Bitcoin’s founder in 2014, is doubling down on her claim.

In an Aug. 25 episode of the Pomp Podcast with Anthony Pompliano, McGrath Goodman revealed details of the research regarding her original Newsweek story including her written correspondence with Dorian Nakamoto.

The journalist took Pomp through her investigation, saying that it had been relatively simple to contact some of the “top ten” Bitcoin pioneers over email prior to publication of the March 2014 story.

Gavin Andresen and Hal Finney each provided key information that led McGrath Goodman to believe she was looking for a single person, rather than a team —  and that it wasn’t Bitgold inventor Nick Szabo.

“[He] was a very prominent candidate for a lot of people but he clearly wasn’t free to do what it was that those who spoke with Satoshi said what had to be done to create the code,” said McGrath Goodman.

“His itinerary did not match at all — like a very busy person — this whole spending two years very quietly working.”

 

One key piece of evidence in McGrath Goodman’s original story on the 64 year old Californian resident Dorian Nakamoto, was his statement in front of multiple witnesses, saying he was “no longer involved in that,” to which was widely interpreted as referring to Bitcoin.

“I cannot discuss it,” Dorian reportedly said. “It’s been turned over to other people. They are in charge of it now. I no longer have any connection.”

McGrath Goodman said that one of the things she found most disappointing was Dorian’s claim “in the aftermath of saying he didn’t know [we were talking about Bitcoin].”

“He definitely knew that we were talking about it: we had been talking about it for weeks before I actually physically visited him.”

 

McGrath Goodman also cited evidence directly linking Satoshi with Dorian’s location in Los Angeles, as Finney had posted data from a crashed file intended for the Bitcoin founder to fix.

“That had an IP address in it that led us to the same neighborhood Dorian lives in, in LA,” the journalist told Pomp.

The true identity of Satoshi Nakamoto is the holy grail of information for those in the crypto community.

The wide variety of candidates include Craig Wright, an Australian man often referred to as ‘Faketoshi’. Others still speculate that Szabo may be Satoshi or Blockstream’s Adam Back. Even Finney’s name carries weight for his early role in the cryptocurrency’s development. Technology pioneer John McAfee hasn’t said he is Satoshi, but is “99% certain” he knows who is.

Source: https://cointelegraph.com/news/what-if-satoshi-nakamoto-was-satoshi-nakamoto-all-along

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Over 2,500 Austrian Merchants Can Now Accept Cryptocurrency Payments
Altcoins, Bitcoin, Multimedia
12/08/2020
17

Over 2,500 Austrian Merchants Can Now Accept Cryptocurrency Payments

More than 2,500 merchants in Austria can accept three types of cryptocurrencies via the payment processor Salamantex. The company explained that the system was tested with a number of select A1 5Gi network shops.

Since the Covid-19 outbreak, contactless payments have been trending more so than they ever were before. There are a number of traditional services that remove cash from the equation, but cryptocurrencies also provide the same ends except the means are decentralized.

This week the Austrian payment processor Salamantex announced that 2,500 merchants in the country will be able to support three different crypto assets via the system. The three supported assets include ethereum (ETH) dash (DASH) and bitcoin (BTC).

“Owners of [cryptocurrencies like] bitcoin and dash can be excited. From this summer on, they can spend their coins at more than 2,500 merchants using [the] A1 Payment service – provided the merchant has activated the feature,” Salamantex wrote.

The Salamantex team also mentioned how Austrians really like cash, but Covid-19 has changed that trend a great deal. Before the coronavirus outbreak, Austrians were extremely proud of cash and this was reflected in a large poll during the parliamentary election in late September 2019. One young Austrian woman interviewed during the poll said she liked cash because “you don’t leave a trace.”

“Although Austria is traditionally a country with a high affinity for cash, the last few months have led to a mind shift after people were called upon by the government and retailers to primarily switch to cashless payment transactions as far as possible,” the Salamantex announcement detailed. The company added:

With the integration of the Salamantex service software into the complete A1 payment package, Austrian retailers can now offer another payment option and thereby accept common cryptocurrencies.

Crypto assets have seen wider adoption in recent weeks, as news.Bitcoin.com recently reported on the Australia Post providing bitcoin (BTC) purchases via Bitcoin.com.au. Further, Centrapay revealed 2,000 Coca-Cola brand vending machines in Australia and New Zealand that now support BTC payments

Salamantex COO, Markus Pejacsevich is trying to usher in the same type of crypto payment adoption in Austria.

“Our goal is to make paying with digital currencies at the checkout as easy and natural as we have been used to with credit cards for decades,” Pejacsevich said. “The acceptance of cryptocurrencies opens up new affluent customer groups and enables merchants to position themselves as pioneers in their industry.”

Source: https://news.bitcoin.com/over-2500-austrian-merchants-can-now-accept-cryptocurrency-payments/

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Partnership to fight COVID-19 medication counterfeiting and advance blockchain solutions
Blockchain, Multimedia
03/08/2020
24

Partnership to fight COVID-19 medication counterfeiting and advance blockchain solutions

The alliance between Chronicled and Deloitte intends to enhance security and efficiency in the pharma supply chain by bring to market new blockchain-powered solutions.

Chronicled and Deloitte announced that they have formed an alliance to bring blockchain-powered solutions to the life sciences and healthcare industry. The partnership aims to leverage technology to provide interoperability, security and efficiency to processes involving companies in revenue management and the pharmaceutical supply chain.

The alliance also includes a solution to help combat counterfeits and fraud in the medication used for the treatment of COVID-19, an issue that has increased dramatically since the start of the pandemic. According to the enterprises, the product verification capabilities of Chronicled’s MediLedger Network, a blockchain-enabled network for the life sciences industry, could enable pharmacies and hospitals to authenticate high risk or suspect products. It works through a barcode scan that validates product data against the original manufacturer’s data.

The companies stated the network already enables verification by pharmaceutical wholesalers for moe than 95 percent of drugs being re-sold in the US.

“Chronicled has the potential to radically reshape the way product is tracked and managed within the health care ecosystem,” said David Carlson, managing director, Deloitte Consulting LLP and leader for the Chronicled relationship. “As the life sciences industry moves quickly to get innovative therapies to market during this critical time, stakeholders are looking for solutions that enhance pricing transparency while creating an efficient mechanism to exchange product use and financial information. Chronicled is an important player in the effort to better collaborate across the value chain and Deloitte is well positioned to drive large scale industry transformation.”

In addition to product verification, Chronicled also said it plans to launch a second solution called Contracts & Chargebacks. This feature is designed to eliminate disputes, improving cash flow and identify revenue leakage in the chargeback process between manufacturers, distributors and group purchasing organisations. The system will help companies transact and share data with each other and avoid delays, inaccuracies, poor customer service and lost revenue, said the enterprises.

Susanne Somerville, Chief Executive Officer of Chronicled concluded: “Combining Chronicled’s innovative product verification and contracts and chargebacks solutions and Deloitte’s deep experience with implementation and the complexities of these business processes, we have the ability to create tremendous value for the industry and the world.”

Source: https://www.europeanpharmaceuticalreview.com/news/124071/partnership-to-fight-covid-19-medication-counterfeiting-and-advance-blockchain-solutions/

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China’s central bank issues evaluation rules for application of blockchain in financial industry
Blockchain, Multimedia
27/07/2020
19

China’s central bank issues evaluation rules for application of blockchain in financial industry for the first time

The People’s Bank of China, the country’s central bank, has issued documents and evaluation rules regarding the application of blockchain in financial institutions including banks, security companies and insurance firms, according to media reports. It is the first time the top authority has issued regulations for blockchain application.

The documents require financial institutions to evaluate blockchain technology on several fronts including technology, performance and security. Evaluations will judge whether or not the blockchain technological application system can ensure the safe and stable operations of relevant financial infrastructure in an objective and fair manner, the notice read.

The central bank requires financial institutions to set up and improve risk aversion mechanisms for blockchain application, and to conduct external safety assessments regularly to promote the application of blockchain technology in the financial industry. Financial institutions are also required to complete filing work for blockchain application.

It also urged industry associations to strengthen management in the application of blockchain technology, and to set up internal mechanisms for self-inspection and information sharing.

The rules issued by the central bank apply to banks, brokers, fund companies, futures companies, private investment funds, Union Pay and non-bank payment institutions.

A number of financial institutions including the Agricultural Bank of China and the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China have in the last two years been scaling up efforts to apply blockchain technology to their financial services.

Source: https://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1195278.shtml

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