privacy on the public blockchain ethereum BCTECH NEWS 

EY Builds World’s First Enterprise Solution to Secure Privacy on the Public Blockchain Ethereum

‘Big Four’ professional services firm, Ernst & Young (EY) has launched its prototype of a groundbreaking enterprise blockchain product that has integrated Zero-Knowledge Proof (ZKP) technology to secure privacy on the public blockchain Ethereum. Entitled ‘EY Ops Chain Public Edition’ (PE), the professional services giant intends to boost the adoption of blockchain technology by negating the need to build or join various permissioned, private networks.  EY’s Global Innovation Leader of Blockchain, Paul Brody stated: “The biggest challenge for enterprises’ blockchain adoption is the ability to on-board business partners into their private or consortium blockchain…

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blockchain identity solutions for government deloitte and attest NEWS REGULATORS 

Deloitte Joins Startup Attest to Push Blockchain Identity Solutions for Governments

The world’s largest professional services network, also known as one of the ‘Big Four’, Deloitte has partnered with blockchain startup company Attest Inc. to develop and push blockchain identity solutions for Governments. According to a press release on Monday by Deloitte, it will collaborate with the Chicago-based blockchain startup to develop a digital identity offering for its impressive list of Governmental clients, based on Attest‘s existing products. Founded in March 2018 by Cab Morris and Jennifer O’Rourke, two former employees of the Illinois State’s governing office, and leaders of its blockchain initiatives, Attest‘s shared…

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interoperable blockchain financial system nasdaq and microsoft FTSE / NASDAQ NEWS 

Microsoft Partners with Nasdaq to Provide an Interoperable Blockchain Financial System

Global technology giant, Microsoft has revealed that it has cemented a partnership with Nasdaq to provide an interoperable blockchain financial system for traders, via its Azure Blockchain arm. As the world’s second largest stock exchange, Nasdaq has decided it is time to accelerate its blockchain technology capabilities, which it is now doing by integrating Microsoft Azure Blockchain services into the Nasdaq Financial Framework (NFF).  Senior vice president of enterprise architecture at Nasdaq, Tom Fay stated: “from our perspective, Azure is unlocking the power of the blockchain” Launched in 2016, the NFF powers applications and software…

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blockchain medical data platform FTSE / NASDAQ NEWS 

BlackBerry Set to Launch Blockchain Medical Data Platform with Swiss Startup ONEBIO

Global technology giant and former smartphone behemoth, BlackBerry announces the launch of a blockchain medical data platform in partnership with Swiss-based startup ONEBIO. BlackBerry, a company that once controlled 50 percent of the global smartphone marketplace, is now turning its attention to security with the launch of its new Enterprise of Things (EoT) platform BlackBerry Spark. According to a release, together with technology developed by ONEBIO, the new blockchain medical data platform aims to create an “ultra-secure” ecosystem for patients, labs and healthcare providers. Utilising the BlackBerry network operation center (NOC)…

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NEWS REGULATORS 

Ofcom Wins Almost $1 Million to Develop a UK Blockchain Phone Number System

The U.K.’s telecommunications regulatory authority, Office of Communications (Ofcom) has received close to $1 million (£700,000 Sterling) to develop a national blockchain phone number system. The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, setup by the government in 2016, has awarded the grant to Ofcom as part of its £10 million Regulators’ Pioneer Fund.  As stated in a press release on Friday, the Business Secretary MP (member of Parliament), Greg Clark said the project will: “further strengthen our regulatory system and ensure that it keeps pace with the innovation and technological…

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FTSE / NASDAQ NEWS 

Ubisoft Leads $36 billion Gaming Industry to Adopt Blockchain With ConsenSys and New Alliance

One of the worlds largest game publishers, Ubisoft leads the gaming industry to adopt blockchain technology with the newly formed Blockchain Game Alliance (BGA) that includes Ethereum venture studio ConsenSys and a plethora of blockchain gaming companies. Announced at the first-ever Blockchain Game Summit in Lyon, which was sponsored by Ubisoft, the BGA will provide an open forum for knowledge-sharing and collaborative research, creating industry standards and best practices for gaming applications that rely on distributed ledger technology (DLT)  The BGA website states: “Our ultimate goal is to help spread the integration of…

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FTSE / NASDAQ NEWS 

AT&T Launches Enterprise Blockchain Solutions With IBM and Microsoft Azure

The world’s largest telecommunications firm, AT&T launches enterprise blockchain solutions in collaboration with technology from IBM Blockchain and Microsoft Azure. According to the announcement on Wednesday, AT&T is offering a suite of blockchain services that have been designed to help businesses automate and digitise processes using blockchain technology. The AT&T news release states that it will be merging the nascent technology with its “edge-to-edge capabilities” such as its Internet of Things (IoT) services to add automation and monitoring, enabling advanced permission-based blockchain supply chain capabilities. Targeting clients within the manufacturing, retail and healthcare industries, the U.S. based…

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Walmart tells suppliers to use IBM blockchain FTSE / NASDAQ NEWS 

Worlds Largest Retailer Walmart Tells Suppliers to Use IBM Blockchain Food Trust

The world’s largest retailer, both by revenue and by employee count, Walmart tells suppliers to use IBM Blockchain Food Trust platform, beginning with its leafy green producers in the U.S. Announced in a press release on Monday, the mandate which also includes Walmart’s retail warehouse Sam’s Club, requires all relevant suppliers to be fully integrated a year from now, making it one of the biggest commercial uses of blockchain technology. Utilising IBM’s distributed ledger technology that is permission-based, the company aims to expedite the traceability of contaminated foods, Matt Smith…

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FTSE / NASDAQ NEWS 

UK’s Biggest Port Operator Exploring Blockchain Shipping Solutions Across 21 Ports

UK’s biggest port operator, Associated British Ports begins exploring blockchain shipping solutions across its 21 UK ports, in partnership with logistics software service provider Marine Transport International (MTI). ABP, which carries out 25 percent of the cargo shipments in Great Britain, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with MTI to pilot shipments using blockchain technology.  Commercial Director at ABP, Jens Skibsted Nielsen stated: “We handle almost 100 million tons of cargo across all sectors every year, so we are a significant gateway for our customers’ supply chains,” According to a report by the…

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r3 chorum venture studio FTSE / NASDAQ NEWS 

RBS Blockchain Team Jumps Ship to Start R3 Chorum Venture Studio Project

Members of Royal Bank of Scotland’s (RBS) blockchain team have announced that they are leaving to launch an R3 Chorum venture studio, a project that aims to do for Corda what ConsenSys is doing for Ethereum. Richard Crook, former head of the RBS innovation team has made the move, taking with him engineers Mark Simpson, Ben Wyeth and Farzad Pezeshkpour. Crook and his team were responsible for developing the Cordite token project on R3‘s Corda platform, which RBS led in a bid to create a generic crypto asset blockchain system for the banking…

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bmw selects blockchain startup bloom FTSE / NASDAQ NEWS 

BMW Selects Blockchain Startup Bloom to Develop Customer Lending Solution

German automotive giant, BMW selects blockchain startup Bloom to develop customer lending solutions with the aim of streamlining its financial services for its customers. Launching a ‘BMW Financial Services Collaboration Lab’ (BMW FSCL), Bloom together with five other start-ups shortlisted from 212 applicants, will collaborate in a 10-week lab at BMW Financial Services’ offices in Hilliard, Ohio, to further develop their ideas, alongside leading subject matter experts in the automotive and financial sectors. The BMW FSCL aims to digitalise the customer journey, critical areas that the the program will focus on…

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blockchain land registry solutions NEWS REGULATORS 

UK’s Property Regulator Enlists R3’s Corda for Blockchain Land Registry Solutions

R3 CEO, David Rutter announced on Thursday at London’s CordaCon annual gathering, that the U.K. government has selected R3’s Corda to develop blockchain land registry solutions. The U.K. government‘s HM Land Registry (HMLR), which safeguards land and property ownership worth over £4 trillion, including approximately £1 trillion of mortgages, aims to explore how to make the house buying process in the UK faster, simpler and more transparent. The appointment comes as part of the second phase of HMLR’s research and development project, entitled ‘Digital Street’.  The HMLR’s website states: “The point of…

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enterprise blockchain solutions FTSE / NASDAQ NEWS 

Technology Giants Intel and SAP Team Up to Develop Enterprise Blockchain Solutions

World famous chip maker, Intel and SAP have joined forces to develop enterprise blockchain solutions to address “gaps in the market”, and potentially become a direct competitor to the Linux Foundation’s Hyperledger and R3’s Corda. According to a post on Intel’s website, the technology giant has teamed up with SAP, the German-based multinational software corporation, to find solutions that power enterprise blockchain systems for easier integration and adoption.  Tim Allen, a strategic relationship manager at Intel wrote: “SAP and Intel’s co-development efforts are geared toward creating superior blockchain technologies and integrating them with new and…

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FTSE / NASDAQ NEWS 

IBM Blockchain Payments Platform ‘World Wire’ Goes Live Powered by Stellar

The IBM blockchain payments platform has officially been taken out of beta and is now live, entitled ‘Blockchain World Wire’, it is powered by the Stellar network, with whom it has been working with since October 2017. ‘World Wire’ aims to provide financial institutions with ‘a new way to move money’, according to the website it states that it can: “simultaneously clear and settle cross-border payments in near real-time” Essentially, the IBM blockchain payments platform is designed to negate the time heavy and costly intermediary processes that international payments systems have traditionally…

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blockchain to fight fake news NEWS REGULATORS 

Social Media Giant Twitter Looking into Blockchain to Fight Fake News Says CEO Dorsey

Jack Dorsey, CEO of the social media giant Twitter, testified before a U.S. Congressional committee on Wednesday, confirming that Twitter is considering the use of blockchain to fight fake news and prevent online scams. U.S. Congress is currently probing into the potential political bias among tech giants Twitter, Google and Facebook, questioning CEO’s such as Dorsey and Zuckerberg of Facebook, to identify what steps they are taking to prevent future election meddling. Doris Matsui, a representative of California, questioned Dorsey during a House Committee on Energy and Commerce hearing about user…

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blockchain trust protocol BCTECH NEWS 

LinkedIn Co-Founder Launches ‘Hub’ a New Blockchain Trust Protocol Network

Eric Ly, Linkedin co-founder launches ‘Hub’ a new blockchain trust protocol network that aims to provide people with verified portable reputation data, to encourage more trustworthy online interactions and transactions. Hub, refers to itself as a ‘human trust protocol’, to some extent it is like an Experian rating system for your integrity, loyalty and trustworthiness, as opposed to just your financial management capabilities. By facilitating connections between users on the internet in areas such as messengers, online communities, social networks, and peer-to-peer marketplaces, Hub aims to make it easier for users…

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blockchain advertising protocol BCTECH NEWS 

Softbank and Baidu Invest in Ex Google Employees Blockchain Advertising Protocol

Major investors, SoftBank China Venture Capital (SBCVC) and Baidu Ventures (BV) have led a seed round for Atlas Protocol (ATP), a startup company founded by ex Google employees, that aims to create a new blockchain advertising protocol. ATP, incubated by Nebulas Labs and the xGoogler Blockchain Alliance (xGBA), is using blockchain technology to change the dynamics of the digital marketing industry, with a new ‘interactive’ advertising ecosystem. Currently, online marketing companies do not provide users with any control over their collected data, and with Europe’s new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), it has become…

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coinbase launches crypto gift cards NEWS REGULATORS 

Coinbase Launches Crypto Gift Cards for Major Retailers in Partnership with WeGift

One of the world’s biggest cryptocurrency exchanges, Coinbase launches crypto gift cards for its European customers, enabling them to purchase goods and services using their crypto assets with over 120 major brands including Amazon, Tesco, M&S, Thomas Cook and Uber. The new feature comes a few months after securing an e-money license from the UK’s financial regulator. Partnering with digital gift card startup WeGift, customers can convert upto $5000 per day of their cryptocurrency stored in their Coinbase wallets into gift cards.

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Baidu launches a blockchain image app FTSE / NASDAQ NEWS 

China’s Biggest Search Engine Baidu Launches a Blockchain Image App called ‘Totem’

China’s biggest search engine, Baidu goes live with its blockchain image app ‘Totem’, marking the first blockchain application released on its private XuperChain network. The copyright platform incorporates a ‘Totem Point’ token as an incentive for users validating their images. With established relationships in the copyright industry, bringing in over 10 billion yuan a day, Baidu is aiming to take the lead in the picture copyright industry, and looks to expand to other digital media assets, such as videos by the first quarter of 2019.

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delaware signs ibm to build a blockchain filing system NEWS REGULATORS 

Leading U.S. Business State, Delaware Signs IBM to Build a Blockchain Filing System

In a $738,000 deal without competitive bidding, the corporate friendly U.S. state of Delaware signs IBM to develop a blockchain filing system prototype on its Hyperledger Fabric blockchain. Delaware aims to utilise blockchain technology to assist business registration, and allow corporations to take advantage of smart contracts to automatically track stocks and collateral assets in real time. With more than half of all U.S. publicly traded companies, and two thirds of the fortune 500 incorporated in the state, it is a significant move.

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