Kevin Hobbs
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While cryptocurrencies have received increasing attention with the rise of Bitcoin, there is perhaps more excitement and utility for real businesses in using the underlying technology, the blockchain. Founded by Shumilov in December 2013, Emercoin was established as a currency for various internet projects, including social networks, research projects, networking, and gaming, as well as supporting and sponsoring high-tech projects such as robotics, electric vehicles and submersibles.
With headlines each week spotlighting millions of dollars in fintech funding, for the development and trialing of cutting-edge technology like the distributed ledger, digital currencies or their deploying platforms, it’s easy to lose sight of the core, perhaps altruistic, driving force of creating technology: advancement.
Following the publication of Outlawing bitcoin is a matter of control, we received some interesting comments, “So a decentralized currency requires ... centralization?” This comment arose from a statement in the article that read: “A decentralized digital currency requires regulation and oversight."
Trying to decide if Bitcoin is a currency or an investment is not unlike trying to discern whether light is a particle or a wave. The correct answer of course is, it’s both. Bitcoin faces a multitude of battlefronts that may obstruct it from further pushing into the mainstream, as a universally accepted currency.
On Wednesday, Russia’s ministry of finance continued with its pursuit to outlaw the world’s top cryptocurrency, Bitcoin (BTC). The new draft, banning the production and circulation of BTC, comes attached with punitive damages that could range from million ruble fines, up to seven years in jail, and the closure of business operations.
Communities across Britain are weighing whether or not to depart from the European Union (EU), knowing it will disrupt, among other items, trade agreements and potentially the UK’s position as a hub for FinTech innovation. The “Brexit” referendum has been a subject of thought since 2013, when Britain’s Prime Minister David Cameron pledged that a Tory re-election, in 2015, would lead to a renegotiation of Britain’s EU membership.
Has the conversation evolved already? Amid the blockchain technological push, another variation has emerged — the “tangle.” The tangle or Directed Acyclic Graph (DAG) chain essentially means a collection of nodes or vertices, while allowing connectivity between nodes but with no circular edgings. In other words, you cannot start at one vertex and eventually loop back to that same vertex via a sequence of edges (connections).
It is difficult not to perceive the Azure Blockchain-as-a-Service (BaaS) as an attempt at providing the evolutionary catalyst to changing the way business is conducted in the future.
This week 'In Brief: the world in Blockchain' we cover the greater FinTech landscape and highlight events, news & announcements from around the Bitcoin & FinTech industries.