Energy industry: What can Blockchain improve besides security?

Energy industry: What can Blockchain improve besides security?

by | Dec 17, 2019 | Blockchain

How Blockchain Can Improve Security and Other Operations

Since blockchain is a public, noneditable record-keeper, it is a fantastic tool for any company that wants to operate on large-scale information projects without regulation. Ever since 2015, it was suggested that world governments should start to test blockchain as a tool to ease bureaucracy.

A recent study in Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews discovered that blockchain‘s “hash” functionality makes it an uncompromising tool for safety.

“Cryptographic hash functions are mathematical algorithms or one-way functions,” the researchers explain.

How does the hash work? The Hash functions “take an input and transform it into an output of specific length”, which is known as the hash output.

“Their operation relies on the fact that it is extremely difficult to recreate the original input data from the hash output alone (collision resistance).”

The encryption procedure is automated by the blockchain, and this also makes it exceedingly hard for hackers to exploit this information.

Taking Advantage of Blockchain Benefits

Energy and utility companies can leverage blockchain technologies to aid lines of business which will need to share findings with others. Because most electricity businesses contain many departments across different energy resources, blockchain will level the playing area and make each group’s data available to other people. Even more, an energy firm will not need to be concerned about exposing its inner information since blockchain-based cross-functional sharing will remain secure as the app scales.

What are the possible use cases for blockchain for the energy and utility companies?

  1. Allowing an easier exchange of electricity between providers and clients by tokenizing energy units.
  2. Employing DLTs (distributed ledger technology) of a blockchain to set up microgrids that may track the use of power and execute trades, resulting in more efficient energy usage.
  3. Tracking the location where electricity was created and stored to ease peer-to-peer energy trading.
  4. Tracking energy costs to assist operators of charging stations for electric automobiles better-set costs.
  5. Creating tokens for energy credits to simplify the process of issuing and tracking the carbon offset credits. This can lead to a reduction in carbon emissions.

Blockchain’s uses extend far beyond the boundaries of resource mining, product development and client relations. In addition, it can be used to enlarge an organization’s global community, and its own inherent factual coverage structure adds itself to creating reports for compliance purposes.

Smarter money with blockchain: Project Ubin in Singapore

Smarter money with blockchain: Project Ubin in Singapore

by | Dec 16, 2019 | News

Singaporean monetary institutions are known for their efficacy. The state’s public policy is seen as a blueprint to other fundamental systems round the world. The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has also taken the lead of the investigation regarding the potentials of distributed ledger technology in relation to banking and finance software.

MAS partnered with a range of financial institutions and venture blockchain technology organizations to make Project Ubin. It implemented real-time gross settlement (RTGS) systems with complete transaction privacy and settlement finality while avoiding single points of failure. Project Ubin efficiently reimagined institutional infrastructure in Singapore by implementing blockchain platforms.

By experimenting with technology that aims to improve transparency and enhance efficiencies, MAS indicates that it is prepared to future-proof its recognized procedures. MAS has established a multi-phase practice in partnership with a consortium of international banks, dispersed ledger technology, and blockchain providers.

“DLT has shown potential in making financial transactions and processes more transparent, resilient, and at a lower cost. The project aims to help MAS and the industry better understand the technology and the potential benefits it may bring through practical experimentation. This is with the eventual goal of developing simpler to use and more efficient alternatives to today’s systems based on digital central bank issued tokens.” – The Monetary Authority of Singapore

Together, they demonstrated how the tokenised Singaporean dollar may be a method for everyday inter-bank settlement. The goal was to enhance how trades are settled compared to the present system, where they’re queued and occasionally netted. The project determined the programs tested could function as foundations for distributed ledger-based RTGS systems.

At the conclusion of Stage 2, MAS supplied open-source access to this code and supporting information from the practice.

Having demonstrated that blockchain technology functions for interbank settlement, Project Ubin proceeded on to interconnecting blockchain networks.

Stage 3 (Delivery-versus-Payment) was a project with SGX on growing capacities for simultaneous transactions and final settlement of tokenised electronic currencies and securities resources on various blockchain platforms. The capability to carry out these tasks concurrently improves operational efficiency and reduces settlement dangers.

Stage 4 (Payment-versus-Payment) appears at linking up blockchain payment systems for cross-border payments. Stage 4 began as a cooperation with Bank of Canada and Bank of England on a tech-agnostic overview of present obligations versions and new alternative versions that could improve cross-border settlements and payments. It then continued as a technical experiment to join the experimental national payment systems of Ubin and Jasper by Bank of Canada, for cross-border payments. The project demonstrated the capability to join both networks and permit Payment-versus-Payment (PvP) settlement with no necessity for a reliable third party to serve as an intermediary.

The project is now into its fifth stage – Stage V. This stage concentrates on creating the version of the multi-currency payment, among those other models described in Stage 4, with the intention of business testing with commercial uses. This stage requires a step past technical experimentation, researching and understanding the wider ecosystem advantages of empowering business opportunities which were previously impossible or not cost-effective. The Phase V network will offer connectivity ports for additional DLT networks to join and integrate easily, providing added features to encourage use-cases like DvP together with trades, programmatic escrow, and conditional obligations for Trade and Trade Finance.

Europeans countries which use the blockchain technology

Europeans countries which use the blockchain technology

by | Dec 11, 2019 | Blockchain, News

The blockchain technology reaches far beyond the financial institution and some believe it has more potential to help other fields more than ever. Bitcoin brought the world into a new age of transparency and no matter what will happen to cryptocurrencies, the blockchain technology is here to stay. What European countries are using the blockchain technology? From research institutions to personal data-keeping, the potential is huge.

The European Union is actively engaging in programmes striving to further research blockchain and pursuing innovation. The aim of the EU is to accelerate the development of blockchain within its borders. That’s why the European Union Blockchain Observatory & Forum was founded, to foster all the discussions and blockchain innovations for the European countries. Funding for blockchain projects can be acquired through the Horizon 2020 program, which supports projects in the European Union. Horizon 2020 is investing €300 million in blockchain projects. 

Austria

The Austrian government announced its support for blockchain forming a new research institute for crypto-economy and securing an €8 million fund.

Denmark

In Denmark, the Liberal Alliance used the blockchain technology to have an election. A local branch in Hvidovre was the first one in the world to use the blockchain technology to perform e-elections.

Estonia

When speaking about blockchain at a national level, Estonia is already an example in most conferences. Estonia started testing the technology more than 10 years ago and it was the first country to use blockchain on a national level.

The Estonian government uses the blockchain technology to operate the national health, judicial and commercial registries and plans to expand it even further, to cybersecurity and personal medicine. The ‘most advanced digital society’ created a program called e-Estonia, which helps all online services. For instance, 98% of Tax files are done online, 98% of the population has a digital ID and 44% of Estonians vote online. To top it all up, 99% of the health data is stored on the blockchain.

Estonia is also proud of its juridical process, having the second fasted court proceedings in Europe. And the Ministery of Justice used the blockchain technology to inform the public about every law draft using the online database called e-Law, since 2003.

Georgia

Georgia is trying to win back the trust of its population and has launched the first-ever blockchain land-registry system. With an average of 3 minute registration time, there are now more than 1.5  million land titles.

Germany

Germany is looking actively into the blockchain technology. That’s why the German government has released a strategy on how to use blockchain opportunities for digital transformation.

A ‘Blockchain Lab’ was established to understand the potential of the distributed ledger technology and to reach the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Ireland

Ireland is also preoccupied with the impact of blockchain and published a discussion paper on digital currencies and the subsequent blockchain technology. The Ministery of Finance also created a working group to understand and be proactive in the regulatory approaches.

The government of Ireland partially funded Blockchain Ireland, which was created to help promote and distribute information all across Ireland. The Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, together with the Department of Finance organises Blockathon, a hackathon that aims to identify and analyse real-life uses cases for blockchain in the public sector.

Italy

After joining the European Blockchain Association, Italy amended regulations to define the blockchain technology and smart contracts.

Latvia

The Latvian Ministry of Finance published a memorandum, together with the ministries of Lithuania and Estonia, which includes the support of innovations and new technologies regarding regional fintech solution such as DLT.

Lithuania

Lithuania takes the blockchain serious as the Central Bank of Lithuania has launched LBChain, a sandbox for blockchain products. The bank also published an updated position on virtual assets such as cryptocurrencies, explaining how these can be used.

Luxembourg

The Luxembourg government created Infrachain, a non-profit organization, which aims to put in place community-driven governance for blockchain use.

Malta

Malta strives for modernization and efficiency of business processes as well and that why it will adopt Malta Business Registry. The government also launched Blockcerts, a system for verifying credential for education.

The Netherlands

The city of Groningen, in the Netherlands, has a proof of concept to help its citizens with their financial debts. The services included consist of debt assistance, debt prevention and income management. They store all financial records in a private blockchain.

The Netherlands also thought of Pension Infrastructure, a project to administrate pensions. Another city, Zuidhorn, won the Sampp Business Innovation Research competition with their project that supports financially children living in poverty.

Slovenia

Slovenia plans to become Digital Slovenia in 2020, as the Blockchain Slovenia launched a digitization plan which includes an initiative to explore the DLT technology. The Slovenian government also launched Bitcoin City, a commercial complex where paying with cryptocurrency is possible.

Spain

In Spain, the government of Catalonia launched IdentiCAT, a self-sovereign identity project, which can be privately managed by citizens.

In the city of Valls, launched Municipal Data Portal, a project which publishes data sets and resources in the local municipal web portal and on the blockchain.

The port of Valencia, blockchain is used to offer transparency and security to the supply chain.

Sweden

In Sweden, the government is testing transfers of real estate in the land registry (Lantmäteriet) and other multi-party transactions on the blockchain.

The municipality of Zug, Switzerland, tested Zug Digital ID, a government-issued self-sovereign identity on the Ethereum blockchain.

Ukraine

The government of Ukraine announced its plans to move government information to a blockchain platform. The Ukrainian Ministry of Finance piloted trial auctions using blockchain and announced plans to define cryptocurrencies in Ukraine.

United Kingdom

In the UK, a digital asset platform was set up to explore the blockchain potential in the UK real estate industry. The Food Standards Agency completed a trial to track distribution of meat with the use of blockchain. This pilot was the first time blockchain was used as a regulatory tool in the food industry.

The Isla of Man wants to attract more blockchain companies on the island and has launched a sandbox designed to help companies overcome regulatory hurdles.

The Associated British Ports(ABP) is the leading port operator in the United Kingdom and is currently testing the use of blockchain to facilitate trace through its marine terminals.

Why don’t people pay with Bitcoin?

Why don’t people pay with Bitcoin?

by | Dec 4, 2019 | News

Ever since Bitcoin first was created, 11 years ago, the community around it grew and for the past few years, everyone started talking about mass adoption. But before even thinking about Bitcoin replacing cash and traditional fiat, we need to overcome the handicap we are facing right now and answer the question: Why don’t people pay with Bitcoin?

Probably one of the main reasons nobody spends Bitcoin is because nobody earns Bitcoin on a regular basis. If this ever changes then we can expect a whole lot more stream. It isn’t ideal to purchase Bitcoin and then to use it to buy something else. But for those who have it coming in their wallet each week, the mindset is different.

What are the reasons people refuse to use Bitcoin for everyday payments? Why don’t people pay with Bitcoin?

Tax And Regulations

Why don’t people pay with Bitcoin? There’s no denying that taxation issues aren’t helping with the Bitcoin mass adoption.

As a normal consumer and taxpayer, why would an individual want to complicate his or her life with paying tax for cryptocurrency, when they have a complicated enough life as it is? Most won’t bother.

The taxation of Bitcoin has another major issue – Bitcoin’s volatility. To understand how volatility can affect a Bitcoin holder, consider this: An individual can purchase 0.1 BTC when the price of Bitcoin is $10000 and then trade it a number of times, ending with a net profit of 0.005 BTC by the end of the year. This concludes that your total amount of Bitcoin is 0.015 BTC. But consider that the current price of Bitcoin is $6000. So even with an increase in the amount of BTC, there is still a cut from the initial price and since the tax needs to be paid in USD, it boils down to whether declare this situation a reduction or a profit. This case needs to be clearly defined if there will be voluntary compliance.

Most Bitcoin owners are confused about the regulations are believe it is unfair to pay double taxation. VAT is a widely applied outside the US and it already represents a tax and paying yet another tax just because something is being bought with Bitcoin would result in double taxation.

On top of that, it wouldn’t be realistic to assume that the authorities and the financial institutions will simplify the tax collecting procedure while they haven’t sorted out what’s the best way to tax Bitcoin, in the first place. And this leads to another point, regulation of Bitcoin. Regulating Bitcoin will take a great deal of time.

And regulation needs to be comprehensible by most individuals. Paying tax for something that was created to avoid this old system in the first place, is not something most accept and for good reason. People don’t like paying taxes if they don’t understand where their taxes are going or doing for them.

Can paying taxes be avoided? Yes. 

But taxes are not a problem for those using services which don’t send out tax reports for purchases made with Bitcoin, such as BitRefill, eGifter and OverStock. Many use such services to purchase good using Bitcoin while paying not paying taxes for the cryptocurrency spent.

Hoarding coins

Why don’t people pay with Bitcoin? There are certainly lots of reasons why ordinary consumers don’t use Bitcoin to pay for services or products.

We must bear in mind that the image of Bitcoin that was portrayed since 2018  throughout financial debates is not reflecting the entire picture and it is starting to fade. Obviously, one major reason behind the adoption problem is that many retailers lack cryptocurrency payments because they are only holding crypto in for that potential bull run. And we might not really blame these individuals since for certain Bitcoin is a fantastic digital advantage to hold as an investment.

The crypto community tends to agree on the fact that the big majority aren’t spending their Bitcoin because they are hoarding their coins. That’s why it is expected to see a higher volume of trades when the Bitcoin price goes up, as many are waiting to cash in on their profits.

In the speculative market we have today, holding your Bitcoin for better days is what most seem to be doing. It is simply too risky to pay with Bitcoin and to precious to sell it.

To put in a simple sentence, the answer to “Why don’t people pay with Bitcoin?” is “Because people don’t earn simply Bitcoin, they don’t understand regulation and taxation and see it way too risky due to the speculative market.”

Crypto World November 2019: Bitcoin Lightning, BTC ATMS, Ripple acquired MoneyGram

Crypto World November 2019: Bitcoin Lightning, BTC ATMS, Ripple acquired MoneyGram

by | Nov 29, 2019 | News

Bitcoin’s Lightning Network Can Be Used for Private Messaging

Lightning Labs revealed an experimental project: Whatsat, an application of the lightning network which may be utilised to send private messages.

Just like bitcoin, it is censorship-resistant. However, unlike encrypted programs that morph messages to info, securing the text to keep the messages private from prying eyes, there is no central thing to prevent users from using the system.

The developer Joost Jager said:

“Lightning is a peer to peer network in which anyone can participate. There is no central entity that has the ultimate power to decide on [what] users are allowed to communicate.”

Personal messaging is a huge thing in the electronic era, but it is still simple for bad intentioned actors to intercept messages which are not encrypted.

Ghana May Issue Digital Currency in ‘Near Future’

The governor Ghana’s central bank, Ernest Addison, stated that Ghana might issue an electronic form of the country’s currency, the cedi in the”near future”. He also said they are in discussions to develop a pilot project in a “sandbox environment”.

Addison’s opinions, made in Ghana’s Annual Banking Conference, were revealed in a public transcript.

The Bank of Ghana governor said Ghana is experiencing rapid digitization with the help of the mobile banking industry. “Mobile cash” transfers grew by 70% from 2017 to 2018.

Addison said he’d approved that the central bank to issue digital money backed 1:1 by cedi and held electronic wallets Monday. But the digital money is different from cryptocurrency. The governor stated in the press conference:

“It is just electronic money backed by currency,”

So [the central bank] cannot create money; they are only having an electronic representation of the cedi that the Bank of Ghana puts into circulation. So it is not crypto.”

Simon Malls Has 5 New Bitcoin ATMs

Bitstop set up five bitcoin ATMs at Simon Property Group locations within the last month: Carlsbad Premium Outlets in Carlsbad, California, Mall of Georgia in Buford, Georgia, Miami International Mall in Miami, Sawgrass Mills in Sunrise, and The Avenues at Jacksonville, Florida.

They are a part of Bitstop’s drive to woo crypto beginners: individuals who shop at malls, do not know much about blockchain and have a bitcoin wallet.

The co-founder and CEO Andrew Barnard explained these places are similar to the old cliche: “If you build it, they will come.”

“Once you put these ATMs down and you give people easy access, the people go and figure out how to use it,”

With these new places, Bitstop is continuing to build out vulnerability among novices and handhold them through the process of purchasing their very first bitcoin. He explained the kiosks represent a gateway to first-timers.

He said individuals buy from an ATM within an investment, but also to then purchase on the internet or send remittance payments residence.

The average purchase is $160 bucks. And Barnard said traffic is particularly heavy around the 1st and 15th day of every month, which he explained is money back for many consumers.

China’s Digital Yuan Will Target Retail Payments First

Speaking in the Caixin Hengqin Forum at Zhuhai, former leader of the People’s Bank of China Xiaochuan Zhou said the nation will highlight the retail usage of electronic payment to the electronic yuan.

“There are two goals for international digital currencies,”

“The first one, which is also what China envisions is to develop digital payment and its use for retail system in the country, while the other goal is to cross-border payment for international financial institutions.”

According to Zhou, both of these aims will need different technical designs for the electronic yuan, and China may expand its capacities once it implements the electronic payment role.

Zhou said China is a challenging environment to try the new electronic money, and a country with a smaller population might be better because the cycle for money flow is briefer.

“In case there is something wrong, it will be easier to steer the boat into a different direction,”

Ripple Has Acquired MoneyGram For $50 Million

Ripple made the final payment to purchase MoneyGram at a cost of $4.10 per share, which is over a dollar per share of the stock’s recent price of approximately $3.00. The action first started in June 2019.

Ripple owns just under 10% of MoneyGram’s outstanding common stock.

MoneyGram plans to utilize this funding inflow to support its operations, specifically since it expands its usage of Ripple’s On-Demand Liquidity product, the renamed xRapid payment system which uses the XRP cryptocurrency.

Since June, MoneyGram has started using XRP to run trades in Europe, Australia and the Philippines, and now transacts approximately 10% of its own Mexican peso foreign exchange trading volume.

In an announcement, MoneyGram chairman and CEO Alex Holmes said that the venture was “transformative,” noting that the corporation could settle trades “in seconds.”

South Korea Takes Legal Step to Stamp Out Unregistered Crypto Exchanges

South Korea passed a legal amendment to oblige assets exchanges to register with the  Financial Services Commission (FSC).

This change was made to align fight money laundering,  and it asks crypto exchanges to have so-called actual name virtual bank account – sub-accounts for consumers inside a market’s main account – to avoid falling foul of the laws.

The opposition lawmakers had voiced worries that exchanges without real-name digital balances would be made to shut, bringing additional contraction of the national cryptocurrency market.

In 2018, the FSC outlawed anonymous digital balances with the consequence that just four exchanges were abandoned with real-name digital balances through contracts with local banks: Bithumb, Upbit, Korbit, and Coinone.

Ukraine Plans to Tax Crypto Gains at Low 5% Rate

Ukraine’s parliament received a cryptocurrency tax draft bill.

Written by 13 members of the parliament, the bill defines crypto-assets as a “special type of valuable property in the digital form, created, accounted for and disposed of electronically,”, for example, cryptocurrencies, tokens and other forms are not defined in the draft.

“We are confident that the adoption of this [draft] law will create conditions for the launch of the virtual assets market in line with the legislation of Ukraine, taking into account the balance of interests of entities engaged in transactions with virtual assets and the state, which will get additional tax revenue from such transactions,” said the ministry.

If the bill passes parliament, the earnings from trading assets will be calculated as the difference between the buy price and the price received in the sale. Profits should be declared as “other” form of earnings, while reductions might not be balanced to decrease the whole financial result before taxation, the record states.

Crypto income will generally be taxed at the normal speed, which will be 18% in Ukraine. However, in better information for dealers, there is a first 5% rate on private income from the selling of crypto assets to get a five-year period after approval of the invoice (assuming it moves).

Revenue of crypto assets wouldn’t be responsible for value-added tax (VAT).

Tokenized assets would observe another tax program, being described as electronic assets certifying possession or non-property rights. In such cases, tokens are taxed in precisely the exact same manner as the products or services financing them.

Michael Chobanian, creator of this Ukraine-based crypto trade Kuna and president of this Blockchain Association of Ukraine, stated he considers the law would operate, however, there are additional challenges confronting the business which have to be dealt with.

“If the National Bank of Ukraine doesn’t allow banks to open accounts for crypto businesses in Ukraine nothing for the industry will really change,” Chobanian said.

The ministry lately declared a partnership with all the Binance cryptocurrency market for help developing regulations for crypto from the nation.

Coinbase has added support for 5 new crypto options to its Visa debit card

Coinbase declared that holders of Coinbase Card are now able to spend XRP, basic attention token (BAT), augur (REP), 0x (ZRX) and stellar (XLM). These add to the already available options: bitcoin (BTC), ether (ETH), bitcoin cash (BCH) and litecoin (LTC).

Coinbase clients in Bulgaria, Croatia, Denmark, Hungary, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Poland, Romania and Sweden have also been given access to Coinbase Card.

Zeeshan Feroz, CEO in Coinbase UK, said in a statement:

“By more than doubling the number of assets our customers can spend on Coinbase Card, as well as introducing the card to 10 new countries, Coinbase continues to help drive crypto’s role as a utility, and not just an investment.”

The Coinbase Card has been introduced back in April to function both the U.K. and EU states. Coinbase issues it “immediately” and converts cryptocurrency into fiat money when clients make a trade using the debit card.

According to the company, the card may be used anywhere that accepts Visa. There are charges for ATM transactions over the value of $200 – 1% domestically and 2% international, and fees for some trades.

Coinbase also supplies an iOS and Android program which allows users to create Visa obligations on their cellular devices. The Coinbase Card is issued by Paysafe Financial Services Limited, a company approved by U.K. regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority.

Will Bitcoin disappear? How could BTC disappear and what would happen after that?

Will Bitcoin disappear? How could BTC disappear and what would happen after that?

by | Nov 26, 2019 | News

Have you ever wondered yourself what would happen if Bitcoin disappeared? And in what context would this happen? Some crypto enthusiasts have considered it and came up with some scenarios. How can Bitcoin disappear?

Which one will it be? Could be all of this, or could be none. But the answer may lay in the general perception of Bitcoin.

What is the crypto community saying about the future of Bitcoin?

Before committing to a product, such as Bitcoin, or any other product people might use in their day to day life, they should and will ask themselves: Do I really need it?

In the particular case of Bitcoin, the question is: Do I really need it for my finance?

Most people have come to accept the way traditional financial institutions work and have invaded their lives as long as they get what they want out of it. Even with the creation of Bitcoin, the hype has now faded and do not care so much about this intrusion of privacy.

Some believe that the mass (that is aware of Bitcoin) is “losing the vision for Bitcoin” and that there are not a lot of people supporting it and believing in it. And for the future of Bitcoin, this can be a problem. Possibly, a problem that could lead to its disappearance.

Other are more inclined than ever to use crypto, due to the financial system which has shifted over the past 11 years since the creation of Bitcoin. The increasing number of restriction seems to be detrimental to fiat and convincing some that Bitcoin has a future and it waits for them.

The lack of vision might be also a transition state until another financial crisis hits, which can be happing any day now.

Overall, the engaged crypto community remains optimistic and hopes for the best.

What could make Bitcoin disappear?

One of the possible future scenarios is that Bitcoin disappears. How is that even possible?

Well, imagine Bitcoin no longer on the top of the cryptocurrency market. The competition is getting bigger by the day. And what if Bitcoin gets ‘substituted’ by one of these altcoins?

Ethereum, Ripple, EOS, Litecoin are just a few of the cryptocurrency that could substitute Bitcoin.

BUT… the community believes that this will not happen. “It would have happened already” is what the enthusiasts believe. The reality is that at the moment, there are many other coins with lower transaction fees and on faster blockchains, and yet, people seem to prefer Bitcoin. Why is that?

Bitcoin is the coin with the largest transactional volume. It is the one coin listed on every single crypto exchange in existence and anyone in the crypto community will accept Bitcoin for a job. Simply put, Bitcoin is desirable.

Bitcoin was the first cryptocurrency and with each year that passes, it seems to be getting stronger.

So if you are afraid that Bitcoin will be substituted by another coin, then this is the time to observe what others are stocking up. And do the same. But judging but the volumes, there is no sign something like this will happen anytime soon.