Blockchain Devices Market to Grow by $1.285 Billion by 2024

Recent research by MarketsandMarkets shows a CAGR of 42.5% for blockchain devices market by 2024. The study was filtered through their report, “Blockchain Devices Market by Type (Blockchain Smartphones, Crypto Hardware Wallets, Crypto ATMs, POS Devices, & Others), Connectivity (Wired & Wireless), Application (Personal & Corporate), and Geography – Global Forecast to 2024.”

The research also showed an indication that the motivating factors for the market growth was the increased adoption of blockchain technology in sectors such as retail and supply chain management, venture capital funding development and growing market capitalization for cryptocurrencies and initial coin offerings. However, the report highlighted the absence of clear regulations and awareness of compliance will limit the market from further growth.

With regards to the device, the blockchain-based wireless connectivity for data transfer such as smartphones, crypto hardware wallets, and point-of-sale devices will denote the highest growth point in the duration of the forecast period. These will be accompanied by blockchain gateways and pre-configured devices adopted in banking, government, automotive, telecommunication as well as other industries.

Source: MarketsandMarkets

Geographically, the report pointed out that North America will lead in the global market of the blockchain devices market, to quote,

North America dominates the global market as the region is an early adopter of blockchain devices. […] Moreover, several blockchain devices vendors are based in this region, thereby contributing to the growth of the blockchain devices market in North America.”

Image via Shutterstock

OpenAI’s Robotic Hand Can Now Solve a Rubik’s Cube One-Handed

This article is contributed by our content partner, Nexchange NOW.

OpenAI, the San Francisco-based artificial intelligence research organization, has hit a new milestone this week.

Since May 2017, we’ve been trying to train a human-like robotic hand to solve the Rubik’s Cube. We set this goal because we believe that successfully training such a robotic hand to do complex manipulation tasks lays the foundation for general-purpose robots. We solved the Rubik’s Cube in simulation in July 2017. But as of July 2018, we could only manipulate a block on the robot. Now, we’ve reached our initial goal.

That’s right. OpenAI’s robotics division has announced that Dactyl, it’s AI-fueled, surprisingly dexterous robotic hand, has finally solved a Rubik’s all on its own.

And it didn’t just solve it, no. Dactyl managed to solve the cube with two of its fingers tied, wearing a rubber glove, and being hit by a stuffed giraffe. OpenAI themselves were quite surprised by the result:

We find that our system trained with ADR (Automatic Domain Randomization) is surprisingly robust to perturbations even though we never trained with them: The robot can successfully perform most flips and face rotations under all tested perturbations, though not at peak performance.

Before anyone starts screaming that this is the dawn of Skynet, however, OpenAI said that Dactyl only managed to solve the cube 60% of the time and “only 20% of the time for a maximally difficult scramble.”

Image via Nexchange NOWOriginal Article: http://www.nexchangenow.com/news/ai/71138/openais-robotic-hand-can-now-solve-a-rubiks-cube-one-handed/

South Korea Is Looking to Put Trade Finance on the Blockchain

This article is contributed by our content partner, Nexchange NOW.

The South Korean government wants all trade to be on the blockchain, Coindesk reports.

South Korean Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki introduced the Development Plan for Digital Trade on Monday, and per the plan, the government will be using technologies such as blockchain, AI, and 5G to rev up the country’s trade and exports.

“We will build a digital trading platform that can be easily and conveniently used in all stages of export, such as contracts, customs and logistics,” said Hong.

The plan calls for all of the nation’s trade finance activities to be placed on the blockchain. All relevant documents will thus be shared there, where they can be checked by financial institutions, while “export bonds will be made available in the same way so that banks can check for duplicate issuings.”

The transition is set to finished by 2021, while foreign exchange transactions are slated to start on the blockchain “within months.”

As Coindesk notes, blockchain trade finance has been immensely popular lately. The PBOC, the HKMA, and several other policymakers have been rolling out their platforms while regulators such as the China Banking Association (CBA) have launched theirs. Voltron, the platform developed by HSBC, Stan Chart, and six other banks, recently carried out a blockchain-based letter of credit transaction denominated in Chinese yuan.

Image via Nexchange NOWOriginal Article: http://www.nexchangenow.com/news/blockchain/71141/south-korea-is-looking-to-put-trade-finance-on-the-blockchain/

Fidelity Launches Cryptocurrency Custody Business

This article is contributed by our content partner, Nexchange NOW.

Watch out Coinbase, Fido has you in its sights.

In a rare interview with Fidelity Investments CEO Abigaile Johnson, the Financial Times revealed that the Boston-based asset management giant is “now engaged in a full rollout” of its cryptocurrency custody and trading service.

The service, called Fidelity Digital Assets, was originally available to a limited number of clients on a trial basis but is now open to all qualified investors. Johnson called the launch “a boon to what is a fragmented and complicated industry.”

“[The cryptocurrency industry] is not going away. As long as the value is there, people will look to preserve that value,” Johnson said.

“There are people out there with significant amounts of wealth in cryptocurrencies, probably bitcoin, and they’re looking for somebody to hold those coins for them because in the event of their passing.”

Fidelity Digital Assets’ launch pits the company against several other platforms, most notable of which is San Francisco-based Coinbase. Johnson, however, sees her trillion-dollar company’s large client base and network as obvious advantages against them.

Coinbase, Johnson said, “is still a company that most people had never heard of, and they don’t have the existing relationships with the independent advisers.”

Image via Nexchange NOWOriginal Article: http://www.nexchangenow.com/news/fintech/71196/fidelity-launches-cryptocurrency-custody-business/

CZ: I Personally Believe in Two Coins, BNB and BTC, That’s It

This article is contributed by our content partner, Nexchange NOW.

On a rainy Monday night in Moscow, on October 21st 2019, the famous influencer, game-changer, and billionaire, CEO of Binance cryptocurrency exchange Changpeng Zhao, widely known as CZ, met with 700+ Russian blockchainers during a special Binance Super Meetup Russia. To everyone’s delight, CZ started his speech confirming that Binance is going to launch crypto-fiat trading pairs, and the debut trading option would be tied to the Russian ruble.

*applause*

After patiently posing for selfies with a long line of attendees, CZ went on stage to get bombarded with questions from the audience, and here are his most interesting quotes.

On whether «USDT is fake»:

“Whether USDT is really backed by something, I don’t know. It’s a «black box» for most people. I haven’t seen any auditor reports or heard anyone reliable saying that they’ve done that. But Bitfinex is a long-running exchange, and they have had many issues in the past and they always resolved it. That’s as much as I know.”

On crypto debit cards:

“We are working with a number of partners in the crypto space, there are a number of solutions that let you spend crypto with a debit card, and we plan to white label it with Binance. But fundamentally it’s just a white label and not our own service. In the future, we hope we can issue a debit card linked to your Binance account, so you can spend directly from that account.”

On whether the altcoins are going to go extinct:

“The alt-season of 2017, of thousands of ICOs, is probably not going to come back. That time has passed. Fortunately, the market is much healthier now. Now the investors are much more rational, which is good. And the blockchain fundraising is a killer app, and it will stay. However, I do think that there will be a lot of new projects in blockchain space that won’t be successful.”

On whether Binance would provide information about Russian users activities to Russian regulators, if they ask to:

“That’s a tough one. I don’t know what the correct answer is. In general, we have not provided any information to a regulator. But we do comply with law enforcement on specific cases.”

On whether he ever recommended selling or buying crypto:

“I almost never say to sell or buy crypto. I personally believe in two coins, BNB and BTC, that’s it. But don’t follow me, I’m often wrong.”

On whether indexes of crypto would be issued on Binance:

“Indexes, or ETFs, or baskets – many exchanges apply that, and none of them are very popular. And many of the exchanges that tried it, stopped doing it. That probably means that demand is not that strong. It’s a pretty easy thing for us to do, but I don’t think there is demand. Demand for ETF can be stronger when Bitcoin dominance is smaller than 50%.”

On the BitWIse report and crypto exchanges faking trading volumes:

“I do trust the Bitwise report quite a bit. But overall, the fake trading volume issue is very hard to measure. Especially from a third-party point of view. But I think most of the techniques used in the Bitwise report make sense. It’s technically possible that one of the traders on those exchanges caused those patterns to be abnormal.”

On whether dApps are any good:

“For dApps, we have a couple of issues right now. Number one: the popular platform Ethereum has capacity bottle necks. To be honest, overall, most of these smart contracts are relatively simple. It’s still very early stage for dApps. I actually think that centralised games will integrate cryptocurrency, and there is a higher chance of success of adoption in the short term.”

Image via Nexchange NOWOriginal Article: http://www.nexchangenow.com/news/blockchain/71233/cz-i-personally-believe-in-two-coins-bnb-and-btc-thats-it/

Blockchain.News is now available on Dow Jones Factiva Database

Blockchain.News is now available as a source in Dow Jones, a leading, global collection of licensed news, web content, and company data. Factiva has 32,000 sources from nearly every country worldwide, in 28 languages, and is owned by Dow Jones, publisher of The Wall Street Journal.

Bitcoin and its underlying technology blockchain, has become the catalyst for a new digital era for human society and a transition to machine-based trust, especially in monetary systems. Blockchain is a decentralized, cryptographic—and in Bitcoin’s case— public ledger consisting of chains of hashed blocks that are used to record transactions across many nodes so that any involved block cannot be altered retroactively, without the alteration of all subsequent blocks.

Bitcoin could potentially redefine monetary forms, issuance, money movement and allow us to discard legacy central authorities and institutions which no longer serve the people. According to Kun Hu, CEO, Blockchain.News, “Blockchain brings monetary freedom.”

Beyond financial transactions, the future impact of blockchain as a technology on humanity will be extremely profound—as the technology can be applied to other applications like supply chains, identity, providence, governance—we anticipate it will affect almost every industry globally, effectively reshaping the social and industrial structure of the world.

On the recent addition to the Dow Jones Factiva database, Stephanie Treversh, Business Development Manager, Blockchain.News said, “It’s our mission to grow the blockchain community by providing high-quality blockchain and FinTech related news, analysis, theory, and industry expert opinions to influence and accelerate blockchain adoption. Partnering with Dow Jones Factiva is a great example of utilizing content distribution channels to share Blockchain.News insights with a wider, global audience.”

Please visit https://blockchain.news for more information and the latest in the emerging technologies space.

BTCS Crypto Portfolio Expands Over 280% in Q2 2020 Amid COVID-19 Pandemic

While many institutions struggled to recover from the market downturn experienced in March, publicly-traded, blockchain-focused firm BTCS Inc. (OTCQB: BTCS) has increased its portfolio by 285 percent in Q2 2020, through well-timed investments in both bitcoin (BTC) and ether (ETH), and crossed the $1 million mark for cryptocurrency assets under management (AUM).

Following the positive growth performance seen in Q2 2020, BTCS is reportedly eyeing further growth and systemic diversification of its cryptocurrency holdings. However, BTCS said its investment strategy will only focus on cryptocurrencies which it believes are not securities.

Timely Crypto Purchasing Catapults BTCS Portfolio Valuation

At the end of June 2020, the BTCS crypto portfolio stood at a total value of $1.02 million with sizeable positions in BTC and ETH. Having elected not to add further investments to its portfolio, BTCS navigated the massive decline in cryptocurrency prices seen in mid-March.

With the World Health Organization (WHO) classifying the novel coronavirus as a pandemic on March 11, panic spread through both the crypto and broader financial space. By the following day, both markets were seeing a cascade of forced selloffs as traders sought liquid cash in preparation for the inevitable lockdowns.

By holding off from adding to its crypto investments during the first quarter of 2020, BTCS safeguarded its balance sheet from the decline seen on Black Thursday. Bitcoin fell to $3,867 in a matter of hours as token selloffs triggered forced liquidations across several derivatives exchanges, including BitMEX. The entire crypto market capitalization shrank by about 50 percent.

During Q2 2020, BTCS added 33.7 BTC and 1,319.6 ETH to its crypto holdings. In total, the company’s cryptocurrency exposure rose to 54.3 BTC and 2,304.6 ETH.

Since March 12, bitcoin is up almost 150 percent with its Q2 performance standing at 50 percent. In U.S. dollar (USD) terms, BTCS’s crypto holdings grew, primarily from accumulation, from less than $300,000 at the end of the first quarter of 2020 to over $1 million by the end of Q2 2020, representing a 285 percent increase.

Portfolio Diversification And Other Future Plans

Having successfully navigated the pitfalls in the crypto market during the first half of 2020, BTCS is reportedly looking toward expanding its cryptocurrency portfolio. However, given the mixed fortunes of other institutions since the onset of COVID-19, BTCS says it will adopt a carefully measured approach to its portfolio diversification plans. 

BTCS is also looking to acquire controlling interests in businesses in the blockchain industry. Recent reports by Deloitte and LeadBlock point to increasing enterprise adoption of the novel technology with over a third of organizations across the world utilizing the emerging technology in their operations.

Verizon's New Blockchain Verification Tool 'Full Transparency' Combats Fake News

Verizon Communications Inc, a telecommunications service producer has unveiled a blockchain-based solution dubbed ‘Full Transparency’ for the verification of news and media releases.

According to Verizon’s announcement, the Full Transparency solution is an open-source newsroom product that will enable any media information to be tracked on the blockchain, giving the public a level of trust in the information being shared.

As the world embraces a greater shift to digital media as boosted by the coronavirus pandemic, the need to verify information has become more vital and a system created for information sharers particularly corporate entities to be held accountable. This is what Verizon’s Full Transparency is set to usher in.

“As a technology company that quite literally connects people to information, we are excited to bring Full Transparency to market—a product that, in its own quiet way, can help ensure corporate accountability and trust,” said Jim Gerace, Chief Communications Officer for Verizon. “We invite organizations across the world that prize transparency as much as we do to adopt blockchain-verified communication practices.”

Blockchain to The Rescue In Fighting Fake News

With the expansion of the use cases of blockchain technology, there has been significant advocacy for the use of the technology to combat fake news. Just as in the case of Verizon’s Full Transparency open-source blockchain platform, information providers will be more cautious before publishing the news or information they have as any changes or alterations will not be possible on the blockchain and if possible, it would be visible to all.

The fight to combat fake news with blockchain technology dates back to before the COVID-19 pandemic broke out as such startups including Blackbird.AI and Civil are making it easier for Internet readers to identify and discount fake and misleading news by introducing labels that evaluate content based on “credibility signals” such as who the author is, how the content was funded, and its ad quality score. 

Blockpass Supports Permissionless DeFi Protocol UniLend Fundraiser with KYC & AML Screening

Blockpass today announced a successful working partnership with UniLend, the decentralised finance (DeFi) platform. UniLend recently conducted a successful fundraiser, with Blockpass providing the requisite KYC and AML provision in order to meet regulatory compliance. By handling the compliance measures, the UniLend team were able to focus their efforts on the actual fundraising process.

UniLend is a permissionless decentralized protocol that combines spot trading services and money markets with lending and services through smart contracts. The integrated smart contract for both features of the protocol allows both trading & DeFi capabilities to co-exist within the same protocol, solving the liquidity and liquidation issue which has been limiting the growth of DeFi adoption to a broader market.

Blockpass is a digital identity verification provider which provides a one-click compliance gateway to financial services and other regulated industries. From the Blockpass Mobile App, users can create, store, and manage a data-secure digital identity that can be used for an entire ecosystem of services, token purchases and access to regulated industry. For businesses and merchants, Blockpass is a comprehensive KYC & AML SaaS that requires no integration and no setup cost. You can set up a service in minutes, test the service for free and start verifying and on-boarding users.

“We are seeing a huge rise in DeFi applications as more and more people begin to realise the amazing potential it holds,” said Adam Vaziri, Blockpass CEO. “It is a real pleasure to be working with UniLend as they facilitate the growth and development of DeFi and support its move towards mainstream markets. It has been a great test of our KYC and AML provision and we look forward to continuing working closely with them in the future.”

“Working with Blockpass we KYC verified 1,000 people in a 48 hour period. They took care of everything so we could concentrate on our fundraise. Their team were fully committed to our success and it was a pleasure to work with them,” said UniLend Co-Founder and CEO, Chandresh Aharwar. “They covered everything we needed with instant KYC/AML checks and a dashboard where we could review the data. What is best is the no set up time we needed to add Blockpass – just create an account and get going. Can’t recommend their service enough.”

Blockpass has grown significantly in size and use since its inception, both in the number and range of companies it has partnered with, and the scope of its work. Blockpass continues to develop its digital identity protocol with updates and additions to improve the compliance experience. Blockpass has seen rapidly increasing numbers of users in the past year as its identity verification solution is used for ICOs, STOs and IEOs, including supporting a number of successful fundraisers in the past few months.

With a current 90%+ discount on its services, a fact made possible due to the unique reusable nature of its verification method and put in place to help as many people as possible access KYC in the current pandemic, there has never been a better time to explore the potential of Blockpass. The Blockpass App is available from the App Store and Google Play.

About Blockpass

Blockpass is a fast, fully comprehensive KYC & AML screening software-as-a-service for Crypto, Defi and other regulated industries. With Blockpass, you get an unmatched set of benefits for any compliance service that includes pay-as-you-go, no setup cost, no integration necessary, free testing, immediate launch and at the lowest cost. Blockpass’ KYC Connect(TM) platform enables businesses to select requirements for customer onboarding that can include ID authentication, face-matching, address checking, AML ongoing monitoring and/or screening of sanctions lists, politically exposed persons (PEP), and adverse media. Through Blockpass, end-users easily create a verified portable identity that they can control and re-use to onboard with any service instantly.

For more information and updates, please visit and sign up to the following:

Promotional video: https://youtu.be/SvO2cw3e-SI

Website: http://www.blockpass.org

Email: sales@blockpass.org

About UniLend

UniLend is a permission-less DeFi protocol that combines spot trading services and lending/borrowing functionality within the same platform. While current DeFi protocols support only ~30 assets, anyone can list any ERC20 asset on UniLend for decentralized trading and lending/borrowing.

This leads to a huge demand for a protocol that supports a wide number of assets in a decentralized and permission-less way. UniLend is designed to address this untapped market and fuel the blockchain ecosystem by opening up the DeFi Space for all tokens.

Image source: Blockpass IDN

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