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Aug 29
alt coins and tokens

Coins, Alt Coins and Tokens Explained

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We all know altcoins and tokens have changed the world significantly. Blockchain continues to transform the industries and the world we live in. We are accustomed to using these terms daily, without thinking about what they actually mean. You can use the cryptos without knowing too much about how the technology behind them actually works. However, we should all be aware of the differences and similarities between the three most frequently used terms. This is crypto coins, altcoins and tokens explained.

Coins

A crypto coin is the first phenomenon we heard of when this digital revolution started. A coin is a digital currency possessing value. We can use it as a means of payment. Therefore, we can think of coins as physical currencies, only in a digital world.

Coins function on the blockchain with their own protocols.  The advantage of using coins is in their speed when it comes to transfers, as well as in security and anonymity.

Coins are divisible, which means we can divide them into smaller units of significant value. Crypto coins have either limited or constant supply. They are also fungible (we can exchange one unit of a coin for the same value of another coin). Above all, coins are borderless, and people use them worldwide.

Alt Coins

Altcoins are basically digital currencies that came after Bitcoin. Bitcoin was the first digital currency based on a decentralized network. One of the main features that was learned of at the time was immutability. Namely, with Bitcoin and its underlying technology – blockchain, came the recording of all details of each transaction. This made the process transparent and immutable (i.e. irreversible).

All coins issued after Bitcoin followed in its steps. We call them altcoins.  Ether and Ripple are the most noticeable examples.

The same as coins, altcoins are divisible, fungible and we use them worldwide. They can also be in limited supply or the number of unites can constantly be issued.

Tokens  

Tokens are a bit more abstract to comprehend. Altcoins and tokens share some similarities. Tokens are fungible, digital assets and we can use them as means of payment, but only in their own ecosystem.

Moreover, tokens are native to a certain project. Therefore, they have sort of a “right” to be used only within the boundaries of that project. Furthermore, a token enables its holder to participate in a network.

Tokens do not function on their own blockchain. They are “introduced” to another platform.

When we use tokens inside the project, we can refer to it as utility tokens. Otherwise, tokens can represent a share of a company. In cases like these, we can talk about security tokens.

Conclusion

To sum up, to all of the above mentioned we refer as cryptocurrencies. However, remember that a true cryptocurrency possesses the following features:

it is a unit of account, a store of value and a medium of exchange. We know that Bitcoin has all of these, as well as most of the coins that “walked in its shoes”. However, tokens are a bit different and are limited to a certain ecosystem. Always remember that you can buy a token with a coin, but not the vice versa.

 

Have you had any experience with tokens so far?

Aug 27
Houston Rockets and Bitcoin

Houston Rockets is Associated with Bitcoin

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As many of you may know there have been many statements coming from reputable persons reflecting on the BTC price. The special accent was given to advantages of investing in Bitcoin. Recently, the General Manager of Houston Rockets advocated for the buying of cryptos. Hence, Houston Rockets is associated with Bitcoin.

Cryptos and Its Advantages

There are always experts advocating for or commenting on cryptocurrencies. However, nothing can compare with the news of a famous person adopting the usage of cryptos. It promotes reputability and reliability of trading and investing in cryptos.

Daryl Morey, the General Manager of the Houston Rockets basketball team, has reportedly stated that he had bought more BTC. The Internet exploded.

What this actually means? As we have written before, cryptocurrencies, and Bitcoin as the leader, serve as alternative means of payment. Their role proved to facilitate the money transfers. Moreover, as many experts claim, cryptos can take away the hassle of investing worldwide. Furthermore, the crypto world can be a safe place to trade if a person or a company is coming from economically suffering fiat markets. There have been many cases reported when a crypto market helped the people in need or the local economies that were in turmoil.

The main advantage of crypto usage is its anonymity and speed. The two things that businesspeople regard the most.

The Houston Rockets Example

In case of Houston Rockets Manager, we could say that it is not a surprise one team’s name is associated with the crypto currency. All cryptos function on blockchain. This technology provided the means for accurate, fast, and anonymous sharing of data in many industries. Sports people share the same dynamics. They also know that possibilities are limitless in both sports and finance.

Other Sports Examples

Houston Rockets is not the first team related to cryptos. Recently, we read about the case of Dallas Mavericks. This team accepted Bitcoin as the means of payment for tickets and merchandise.

Sacramento Kings was the first NBA team to recognize the potential of cryptos and to accept Bitcoin for tickets and promotional products.

Additionally, many individual sports stars have joined their names with certain cryptocurrencies. Remember Dennis Rodman and his “notorious” t-shirt when visiting Singapore? Or Lionel Messi and his endeavor with Sirin Labs? It was way back in 2017 and he issued an official statement saying:

“I am usually busy trying to decentralize defenses and after digging deeper into blockchain and decentralized systems, I’m excited to join Sirin Labs as an ambassador to make blockchain more friendly with their upcoming operating system for smartphones”

When a person with almost 130 million followers issues a statement of this kind, the marketing is basically developing on its own.

The Strange Example in the Formula 1 World

One of our favorites, apart from NBA and NFL teams, is the story of Red Bull Racing and FuturoCoin partnership. Reportedly, they team-up for a few years and will feature FuturoCoin logo on Aston Martin Red Bull Racing RB15, as well as on team transporters and drivers’ overalls. Interestingly, the value of Red Bull as a company has been estimated at $10.4 billion. Although the price of FuturoCoin showed some tumultuous trends in the past, the analysis does not predict the breakdown.

Cryptos can be unpredictable. However, when teamed up with prominent names and teams, the odds are on their side. We can only wait to see the outcome.

Do you think sports teams and cryptos are playing for a mutual cause?

Aug 05
Walmart announced the patents for future stablecoin

Walmart Announced the Patents for Future Stablecoin

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Just a few days ago, the giant retail company Walmart announced the patents for future stablecoin. The planned coin will be backed by US dollars. Analysts compare Walmart’s future coin with Facebook’s Libra. They especially stress one of the main features these two coins share. Namely, the ability to operate outside of their native retail scope.

Features of Walmart’s Future Stablecoin

The advantage of any project that Walmart launches is in the fact that it has a large coverage. Walmart reportedly has 11,368 hypermarkets in 27 countries worldwide. Whatever happens in Walmart spreads across the globe.

In its patent filing, Walmart reportedly stated that the creators of their coin would be Robert Cantrell, David Nelms, John O’Brien, and Brian McHale. The abstract states the following:

 “[The] method includes generating one digital currency unit by tying the one digital currency unit to a regular currency; storing information of the one digital currency unit into a block of a blockchain; buying or paying the one digital currency unit.”

As well as:

“The digital currency may be pegged to the US dollar and available for use only at selected retailers or partners. In other embodiments, the digital currency is available for use anywhere. The digital currency can provide a fee-free, or fee-minimal place to store wealth that can be spent, for example, at retailers and, if needed, easily converted to cash.”

The Main Advantage of Walmart’s Stablecoin

Apart from its wide coverage, the planned coin will reportedly offer very low fees. Additionally, that coin should provide for easy conversion to to cash.

Moreover, maybe the main advantage of this future Walmart coin is the fact it would flatter the households with low income. The families that fall under this category often find banking fees too high. This is where the Walmart coin comes in. It offers alternative ways to deal with assets. Furthermore, we should all keep in mind that Walmart provides most of the products every household need on daily basis. If we combine the low fees with available necessities, we get the winning combination.

Furthermore, Walmart’s coin should also pride itself with many other characteristics. Some of them are: “pre-approved biometric credit”, storing the user’s transactions history, or allowing for loyalty points. Additionally, there are predictions that Walmart coin could offer interest on savings accounts. This was sparked by the official announcement stating:

 “The savings can be greater when the customer buys goods that are on their shopping history and are therefore predicted.”

 Behind the Scenes of Stablecoin Announcement

Before announcing the plans to develop the coin, Walmart tried to enter the banking system by opening bank branches. However, many opposed to this and the project failed. The analysts stated that this was Walmart’s attempt to become an industrial loan company. This plan faced massive opposition. On the other hand, a company “Target” managed to get an approval to operate as an industrial loan company.

Nevertheless, Walmart kept its focus on payment processing that spread to supply chain management. Simultaneously, Walmart worked on development of blockchain. Now that the network is ready, the next step is to launch the native currency. Obviously, with a strong brand behind it, the future coin will aim high.

 

Do you trust Walmart to do good with its stablecoin?

Jul 24
The News Provenance Project

NYT’s News Provenance Project

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We all know that future would be hard to imagine without the blockchain empowering various industries. New York Times reportedly decided to participate in the race and launched the NYT’s News Provenance Project. It is only understandable that one of the most reputable media in the world would invest in protecting the truth and fighting fake news.

Application of News Provenance Project in the Media

In case a news consumer is not willing to investigate the details of the news he or she read, the news becomes the truth. Not everyone is ready to dig deeper and research whether everything stated in an article is true. Therefore, what we have in our hands is the situation where the power has been given to the media outlet. Media creates reality and imposes trends and truths. Since more and more fake news appear, the need to introduce blockchain is clearly visible.

What constitutes fake news is the right question. It does not necessarily have to be a completely untrue story. It is enough to distort a certain piece of information and the news becomes fake. The information that people usually temper with can be in either text, visual or audio format. This is where blockchain can help out.

Technology of blockchain proved to be efficient in tracking the provenance of each product. Therefore, a piece of information is no exception. We have learned that details that we put on blockchain are immutable. Consequently, once we put an original information on blockchain, all possible alterations are visible and accessible. This is what the New York Times aims for, obviously. For those aiming for responsible journalism, blockchain would be a solution.

How Far the News Provenance Project Has Reached?

Blockchain offers variations to managing access, determining consensus, etc. New York Times reportedly plans to use Hyperledger Fabric, a private, permissioned, open-source framework. Their partners in this endeavor are IBM Garage, a company that has previous experience in this field.

At the moment, they claim to be in the starting phase of their work. Namely, the first step is to research the market. This means exploring the user-experience in the first place. The next step is to research how Internet publishes metadata about video and audio material.  In order to finish the research, they would also need to create “photojournalism-focused proof-of-concept”. This should provide input in what way and to what extent such a blockchain-based project could work to scale.

 Why Do We Need the News Provenance Project?

The answer to this question is quite simple. The Internet is the place where you can find immense number of various information. Nevertheless, there are situations when we need to be certain that the information we found is a reliable one. That is why we need blockchain in the media, or in this particular case – the News Provenance Project.

Blockchain would serve as a type of validator. Once the information publishes on the Internet, and gets shared many times through different platforms, networks and so on, it eventually loses its original context and could be interpreted in the wrong way. Imagine watching the image without knowing that it had previously been edited, selectively cropped, re-touched, photoshopped and so on. Alternatively, videos are especially prone to tempering. We have already reflected on the subject of deepfake. All this leads to deceiving readers and viewers.

The Provenance Project should secure the delivery of the authentic information to the audience wherever that info appears – either on social media, web sites, emails – just to name a few. This should be achieved through sending “signals” along with the information, in case that information has been tempered with. The so-called “signals” would reflect the metadata on when and where photos and videos were captured, what exactly has been edited, who dealt with the material, etc.

Do you think blockchain would be able to confront fake news?

Jul 16
Blockchain Promotion Act

Blockchain Promotion Act Is Underway

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The interesting thing about tumultuous time we live in is that every now and then lawmakers are falling behind the phenomena which are emerging faster than ever before in history. We have already written about blockchain. It has become inseparable part of financial technology, which is just one of its applications. However, we are yet to see its full potential.

The US Congress Is Moving Forward on Blockchain Promotion Act

Blockchain Promotion Act has been introduced in February this year. Interestingly, this is one of the rare bi-partisan Acts. It means that both the Senate and the House of Representatives introduced and supported it. The necessity to put such a Bill into effect is obvious.

The goal of Blockchain Promotion Act is to offer the overall guidelines in applications of blockchain technology in various industries.  Creating standards in implementing a certain technology is beneficial to both the consumers and the government as the overseeing entity. Senator Ed Markey, a Democrat from Massachusetts and co-sponsor of the bill, was quoted saying: “Blockchain is an exciting new technology with great potential and promise.”

The Blockchain Working Group

In order to explore all aspects of blockchain implementation, the Act also proposes the creation of the Blockchain Working Group.  The Group should work closely with not just the lawmakers and government sectors, but with privately owned companies as well. The goal is to get a better look into how the private entities have introduced blockchain and whether they encountered any challenges on the way. The Group shall also measure the benefits in the process. After a year of research, the Blockchain Working Group should submit a report to the Congress. They would also represent the software providers, academics, representatives of various industry sectors, business owners, etc.

Advantages of Introducing Blockchain in Government Sector

The experts in the field of blockchain claim that this technology has immense number of advantages. Furthermore, the private sector has recognized the possibilities that blockchain offers and transferred either parts of its businesses or the entire processes to blockchain.

The field where this is clearly visible is supply chain management. We have seen giants such as Walmart, or Target introducing blockchain successfully. Additionally, we have also witnessed drug companies exploring the same possibilities. Their goal is to provide the highest possible quality of products. In order to do so, they need to have instant access to various data, such as: provenance of each ingredient/component, as well as to the detailed information on each step of production, distribution, sales and so on. Blockchain can provide that.

Thereupon, when it comes to government sectors, blockchain technology can also help. This help reflects in preventing tax fraud, eliminating sufficient administrative tasks, or keeping storage or important documents in impeccable order.

There was also an example of successful trial period in introducing blockchain in the US National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). The Archive needed the technology which could enable them to prevent falsification of documents while keeping the sources in order. The trial included more than 20,000 docs relating to the J.F. Kennedy’s assassination.

Probably the fastest growing interest in blockchain is in the field of clean energy supply. This is the project that proved successful in the USA and Australia as well.  Consequently, it secured production of energy from clean sources and its distribution among the users of the grid, making many households independent. Washington State is among the most progressive US states in this respect.

The Prediction for Blockchain Promotion Act

It is a fact that the US need The Blockchain Promotion Act. Nevertheless, it still has to pass some time for this Act to become a Bill in effect.  However, the encouraging fact is that there are already bills that have been introduced relating to blockchain technology. Hopefully, we will see this happen soon. Regardless of the fact whether all parties involved are in favor of blockchain and one of its applications – the cryptocurrencies, the technology itself needs to be regulated in order to put it into effect successfully.

Do you think government-controlled entities will benefit from introduction of blockchain?