Ethereum New Zealand Conference to expand blockchain understanding in the business world
The Ethereum conference, “The Blockchain - Disrupting Global Commerce: Understanding the Blockchain, Smart Contracts and Ethereum,” is taking place on May 17 in Auckland and continuing on May 19 in Wellington, New Zealand. It’s got an exciting lineup of speakers to talk about Ethereum, and It’s hosted by an offshoot of New Zealand-based web, mobile, and Internet of Things development company, 3months. The company offers a range of smart contract services including consulting, training, prototyping, and deployment.
Delaware to ‘embrace the emerging blockchain and smart contract technology industry,’ with distributed ledger shares
The state of Delaware is perhaps the most friendly jurisdictions for Bitcoin and blockchain technology in the U.S. Delaware Governor, Jack Markell, recently announced the details of a new initiative to “embrace the emerging blockchain and smart contract technology industry.” The Governor unveiled the plan during a keynote address at Consensus 2016, a technology conference in New York focused on blockchain innovation. The sell out event was attended by a variety of leaders from across the blockchain industry, as well as Delaware's Deputy Secretary of State, Rick Geisenberger, and Corporation Law Section Chair of the Delaware State Bar Association (DSBA), Matt O’Toole.
Beware the impossible smart contract
Ethereum-like smart contracts are on the MultiChain roadmap. The answer I always give is: no, or at least not yet. But in the hype-filled world of blockchains, smart contracts are all the rage, so why ever not? Well, the problem is, while we now know of three strong use cases for permissioned Bitcoin-style blockchains (provenance, inter-company records and lightweight finance), we’re yet to find the equivalent for Ethereum-style smart contracts.
Credits and Skyscape partner to provide Blockchain-as-a-Service to the UK Public Sector
Founded in November 2014, by Nick Williamson and Eric Benz, Credits is a Blockchain Software as a Service (SaaS) initiative from the Isle of Man, with an office in Lodon. Williamson also founded Manx startup Pythia, the parent company building Credits. Credits began offering the Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) tools, for building secure and scalable blockchains, on April 6. The Level39 member launched the public beta version of their PaaS at Money 20/20.
Blockchain platform, Emercoin, moves beyond cryptocurrencies
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.
UK Cabinet Minister, Rt Hon Matt Hancock, spearheads government blockchain adoption
The Imperial College of London's Centre for Cryptocurrency Research and Engineering and Digital Catapult ran a policy hack day for UK government representatives on the 26th April, in order to help government officials identify possible applications of blockchain technology in public service delivery. The event was attended by representatives from policy, academia and government, with in-depth discussions around how and when blockchain could be applied in a broad variety of government use cases.
UK Government awards £250k grant to develop blockchain foreign exchange prototype
Innovate UK works with companies to de-risk, enable, and support innovation. Incorporated by Royal Charter in February 2007, Innovate UK was originally established as the “Technology Strategy Board,” which is still the organization's legal name. The organization has committed over £1.8 billion to innovation, and has helped more than 7,600 organizations with projects since 2007. They estimate adding between £11.5 billion and £13.1 billion to the UK economy, creating 55,000 extra new jobs. Earlier this month, Innovate UK announced it will invest a further £561 million in UK-based disruptive businesses.
The Parallel 2016 US Presidential Election
The United States has historically favored centralized voting methods. Over time, punch cards and lever machines gave way to electronic voting machines and optically scanned ballots, which were used prolifically in the 2012 election. Both of these systems are vulnerable, and depend on a trusted central auditing authority to count the votes. Even in the United States, one of the most successful democracies in the history of the world, there have been numerous cases of potential voter fraud, murky ballot handling, flawed registration processes, and vulnerable technology.
Manulife to explore wealth management blockchain application, partners focus on Ethereum
Manulife Financial is a Canadian-based financial services company, offering a diverse range of financial protection products and wealth management services. As of 31st December 2015, the company had US$676b in assets under management and administration. More than 16,000 Canadian businesses entrust their employee benefit programs to Manulife’s Group Benefits, while Manulife Private Wealth offers a seamless and integrated approach to wealth management for affluent clients.
Are banks really challenged by Fintech, or is this just more of the same?
I regularly attend conferences where several themes crop up around disruption, disintermediation, and the end of banking as we know it. The problem is I’ve heard it for 30 years and it hasn’t happened … yet. Will it? Let’s have a look.
This is what every board director needs to know about the blockchain
There was a time when ‘Lotus 123’ was synonymous with ‘spreadsheet’. But you would be hard-pressed to find anyone in the current generation who could name the predecessor to the ubiquitous Microsoft Excel. Fewer again would know that something called VisiCalc ever existed let alone know it was responsible for creating the opportunity later exploited by Excel.
Stratumn raises funds for blockchain agnostic app development platform
A Paris-based blockchain-focused startup, Stratumn, recently raised €600,000 to build and promote their general purpose, self-serve, blockchain development platform. The funding round included investments from the Bitcoin hardware wallet Ledger CEO and Maison du Bitcoin founder, Eric Larchevêque, as well as the French VC firm Otium Venture.
Blockchain initiatives going mainstream
Governor Jack Markell recently announced a new suite of programs that aim to encourage Delaware-incorporated companies to use and develop distributed ledgers and smart contract technology, “Delaware has long been the jurisdiction of choice for the most innovative companies in the world.”
BNP Paribas and SmartAngels blockchain pilot targets Europe’s growing crowdfunding sector
BNP Paribas Securities Services is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the BNP Paribas Group. With approximately US$9 trillion in assets under custody, Accuity's Bankers Almanac ranks BNP Paribas as the largest bank in France, and fourth largest in the world.
Regulators call for careful approach to blockchain technology solutions
The Montreal Economic Institute recently released a [paper](http://www.iedm.org/59576-the-underestimated-economic-benefits-of-the-internet) written by economist Mathieu Bédard PhD, The Underestimated Economic Benefits of the Internet: “It seems destined, in all likelihood, to be the primary driver of economic growth in the coming years, even though we still do not appreciate the full extent of its impact on the economy.”
Distributed ledger technology ‘at risk of being stymied by disparate and uncertain regulation,’ states CFTC Commissioner
On Tuesday, the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) held its 2016 Blockchain Symposium, Blockchain: Beyond the Hype, at the Grand Hyatt hotel in New York City. There were over a dozen influential speakers, including Digital Asset Holdings CEO Blythe Masters, Bloq CEO and bitcoin developer Jeff Garzik, Digital Currency Group CEO Barry Silbert, and Overstock CEO Patrick Byrne. Michael Bodson, the President and CEO of DTCC, gave two speeches, both opening and closing the one day event.
