Posts Tagged ‘disintermediation’
The $3.8bn Initial Coin Offering bubble is a huge deal. But it could break the blockchain | WIRED UK
There is a stick-it-to-the-man undertone behind this take on ICO: the idea that smart, independent teams are raking in millions from the anarchic crypto-crowd to take on blindsided VCs and bank-loving private blockchainers. And increasingly, ICOs are being used by companies outside of the blockchain field, such as messaging service Kik, which portrayed its upcoming ICO as a last-ditch attempt to compete with juggernauts such as Facebook.
Burke has no doubts where this leaves traditional investors. “The VC model is dead,” he says. “Over time people like us will stop being the main source of capital. VCs will become more like auditors. I’ve got people in ICOs saying, ‘We don’t need your money, what we want is your validation.’”
Still, Burke admits that, while this is the direction he sees ICOs evolving over the next few months and years, the current state of affairs is far from optimal.
For the time being, ICO’s real challenge is whether it can thrive without being a pain in the side for the blockchain ecosystem itself. ICOs are likely behind the recent spike in the value of ether — with investors buying the cryptocurrency in order to take part in token sales; ICOs might also be behind ether’s sudden 30 percent drop in value, as many ether-loaded projects are converting their ICO-generated ether into fiat currency to pay their staff.
And the Ethereum network itself — which less than one year ago went through a traumatic restructuring following the collapse of The DAO — is being put under strain by the ICO onslaught, as relentless, massive volume of transactions generated by token sales commandeer the ledger’s computing power.
But that is not necessarily a bad thing, Van Valkenburgh says. “It could be a way to battle-harden the network: there have been issues with transaction delays and scaling because of the popularity of ICOs put strain on the network,” he says. “But if the blockchain has to grow, ICOs are a good way to test the infrastructure.”
Source: The $3.8bn Initial Coin Offering bubble is a huge deal. But it could break the blockchain | WIRED UK
Read MoreMr. Blockchain Goes to Washington | CoinDesk
“It’s prudent for businesses to have a relationship with their representatives especially in a highly regulated environment like financial services,” said Boring, noting that this is especially true when a company’s business model overlaps with the jurisdiction of federal agencies.
Boring, a former congressional staffer herself, emphasized that constituent groups and businesses have significantly more pull with members of Congress than hired suits, adding that when groups travel significant distance to Washington, it helps add emphasis, proving how far they’re willing to go to make their case.
“No one has a stronger voice in Congress than a constituent,” she said, adding:
Source: Mr. Blockchain Goes to Washington – CoinDesk
Read MoreWTF is The Blockchain? | Hacker Noon
The ultimate 3500-word guide in plain English to understand Blockchain.
If you ever find someone feeling left behind and wondering, “WTF is the Blockchain?” you know where you can point them to.
Earlier the third-party/middleman gave us the trust that whatever they have written in the register will never be altered. In a distributed and decentralized system like ours, this seal will provide the trust instead.
Everyone who is the part of the Blockchain is eligible for rewards.
That’s how Bitcoin got into existence. It was the first currency to be transacted on a Blockchain (i.e. distributed registers). And in return, to keep the efforts going on in the network, people were awarded Bitcoins.
When enough people possess Bitcoins, they grow in value, making other people wanting Bitcoins; making Bitcoins grow in value even further; making even more people wanting Bitcoins; making them grow in value even further; and so on.
Source: WTF is The Blockchain? – Hacker Noon
Takeaway
Great explanation on how Blockchain works, including the game-theory that keeps it running.
Read MoreBlockchain Could Make the Insurance Industry Much More Transparent | HBR
… in the U.S. there is approximately $7.4 billion in unclaimed life insurance money from insured people passing away and their beneficiaries being unable to connect the dots. A blockchain-based registry could help address this challenge while retaining anonymity and improving security as a distributed public record. Part of the driver of these unclaimed funds is known as longevity risk: People living longer means more life insurance policies mature and the memory of who was insured and where physical policy documents may reside fades. Rather than being a threat to the industry, a blockchain-based public ledger would enable the rightful claimants to these proceeds to receive their due, rather than having these unclaimed funds be sold in a secondary market or stagnate.
Part of the reason insurers are wary of insuring tangible assets in developing markets is the fear of fraud and losses that cannot be validated. In these cases, the insurers’ right to subrogate, or go after the assets of others to recoup their losses, is largely unenforceable. A blockchain-based claims validation network can serve as a utility benefiting the entire industry by recording in a semipublic blockchain ledger the physical status of an insured asset, which in turn could help improve insurance penetration and adoption rates in emerging and developing markets.
Source: Blockchain Could Make the Insurance Industry Much More Transparent
Read MoreBitcoin Hedge Fund Director: ICOs Are Having a ‘Eureka’ Moment | CoinDesk
Lauding the mechanics of the sale as “striking,” he asserted that Bancor was able to use blockchain technology to offer services that transcend traditional services like Kickstarter.
“Bancor gave a money-back guarantee backed by 80% of the ethereum raised should the market price of [its BNT token] fall below the issue price. Sure enough, a few days later in an overall market sell off, BNT traded to par. Bancor issued a statement saying the buy-back was activated,” he wrote.
Overall, Masters sees this type of “coded instruction” as a “eureka moment” showcasing what he thinks is evidence of the truly disruptive power of peer-to-peer digital assets.
Source: Bitcoin Hedge Fund Director: ICOs Are Having a ‘Eureka’ Moment – CoinDesk
Read MoreWhen Blockchains Fly – ETHNews.com
blockchain integration could reduce overhaul time for an aircraft’s engine by as much as 25 percent. Theoretically, he explained, this could save almost two weeks on a traditionally two-month process. The time and cost savings could be substantial. As Gottlieb put it, “That’s a fair number of shekels.”
Source: When Blockchains Fly – ETHNews.com
Read MoreHow is blockchain technology used in the real world? — Quartz
Take Daimler, the maker of Mercedes-Benz cars, which borrowed €100 million ($114 million) via German bank LBBW using blockchain technology. The old way of taking out such a loan required drawing up contracts, communicating with investors, making payments, and extensive administration. The old way also apparently involved a fax machine for confirmations.
The excitement around blockchain may well mirror the dot-com bubble of the late 1990s and early 2000s, when lots of companies went bust, but a few gems emerged: Some 90% of so-called distributed-ledger projects will probably fail, but a few will survive with potential to change the financial world, says Ajit Tripathi, a director at PwC.
Source: How is blockchain technology used in the real world? — Quartz
Read MoreBlockchain: Massively Simplified | Richie Etwaru | TEDxMorristown – YouTube
Richie Etwaru, discusses the opportunity and implications of blockchain as a paradigm to slow/close the expanding trust gap in commerce. He unpacks blockchain to a level of simplicity to be consumed by those who are just starting to understand and explore the paradigm. He lays out a current state of commerce, suggesting that every company is currently at risk of being disrupted or incurring severe strain from a blockchain version of itself.
Every company in the world today, not just the intermediaries, are at risk of having competition from a blockchain version of themselves.
We are at the ground floor of a new paradigm in humanity that will change the human experience called Blockchain. The thing it is going to change is Trust.
Takeaway
Blockchain in one word: “Trust”
Read MoreProvenance | Case Studies
Tracking sustainability claims through global chains
Can we prove that products are sustainably-sourced and slavery-free? In an international pilot, working with IPNLF and 12 tuna producers, we used Provenance to track fish through the complex Southeast Asian fishing industry for the UK, Japanese and US markets.
Pioneering a new standard for trust in food retail
How can we empower customers all along the supply chain with data they can trust? Provenance partnered with the UK’s largest consumer co-operative The Co-op to track fresh produce, and their product claims, from origin to supermarket.
Increasing transparency in fashion with blockchain
Can tech help boost trust and transparency in the fashion industry? Collaborating with businesses along a UK-based fashion supply chain, we’ve used blockchain to track raw alpaca fleece from farm to finished garment.
Boosting the value of small, independent food brands
How does the Provenance platform benefit small businesses? Enabling producer, shop and shopper to collaborate on product stories and journeys, Provenance demonstrated a new way to increase trust and visibility for independent brands.
Showcasing craftsmanship via smart labels
How can we give shoppers the information they need to chose your product? Provenance presents the journey of material to finished product through interactive labels.
Raising the value of single-origin coffee
How can single-origin coffee producers prove the provenance of their product? We trial location data verification to differentiate between authentic single-origin coffee from mere marketing buzz.
Tracking towards a circular future for cotton
How can tech help cotton producers increase demand for the sustainable, renewable and biodegradable, fabric? We use Provenance to track cotton from origin to finished good and beyond, closing the loop.
Source: Provenance | Case Studies
Read MoreWill Provenance Be the Blockchain’s Break Out Use Case in 2016? – CoinDesk
Much has been said about the blockchain as an ownership layer. But what exactly does that mean?
It means that blockchains represent ownership of an asset in terms of control over the data relating to that asset. In other words, only the current owner can authenticate a transaction that would cause that asset to be transferred to another owner.
This is provenance expressed in protocol form. The word “provenance” is derived from the French “provenir” which means “to come from”, and is used to describe the custodial chronology of an object.
Provenance is one of the backbones of economies, whether it relates to artifacts or real estate. There has always been a need to authenticate that a party actually owns an asset prior to any business dealing involving that asset, to ensure that the asset is “true” rather than stolen or faked.
In the past, trusted third-parties have traditionally played this role.
However, blockchains can streamline this function by serving as the infrastructure for registering and authenticating asset ownership between untrusting parties with common interests.
Source: Will Provenance Be the Blockchain’s Break Out Use Case in 2016? – CoinDesk
Read More