Plasma: side chains to improve Ethereum’s scalability

Willmen Blanco
-
0
Plasma: side chains to improve Ethereum’s scalability

Some of the projects that use Plasma are OmiseGo and Loom Network. The first public deployment of Plasma Network was conducted in February.

Plasma was created in order to help the scalability of the Ethereum blockchain. It is a solution to register transactions and smart contracts on one or several side chains of Ethereum, to alleviate the demand on it.

This network provides a framework for building applications off the main chain that are safe, scalable and quick to execute. It serves to improve the operation of various applications for games, databases and payment networks. Plasma can be applied to other blockchains besides Ethereum’s.

It was officially presented as a project in 2017 by Vitalik Buterin, founder of Ethereum, and Joseph Poon, developer of the Lightning Network project, under the name “Plasma: smart, scalable and secure contracts.”

The scalability of a network lies in its capacity to handle an increasing amount of work and its readiness to expand until adapting to this growing demand. In the case of blockchains, the focus is mostly on the performance of transactions. Thus, Plasma was presented as a project aimed to reduce the data load on the main chain, reducing costs and increasing the speed of transactions, but without sacrificing security.

How does it work?

Plasma allows the existence of crypto assets on a root chain and on a side chain to be safe. The fundamental principle of Plasma is that all crypto assets can return to the root chain in case of a security failure on the side chain. Thus, this solution allows taking advantage of some utilities of the side chain (such as low-cost transactions) while keeping crypto assets secure.

Applications developed with Plasma tend to use common building blocks. In this way, applications require a smart contract implemented on another blockchain that serves as the root (such as Ethereum). The smart contract is configured with special rules that guarantee that user funds are always secure.

Plasma MVP is a design for a simple blockchain, based on UTXO. This implementation allows high-performing payment transactions, but it does not allow more complex constructs on the blockchain, such as scripts or smart contracts.

Plasma Cash, for its part, is an implementation using non-fungible tokens to represent fixed amounts of crypto assets. It provides greater security against hacking and is intended for collectible games, as well as for supply chain management and logistics. This implementation reduces the amount of data that users must process, since depositing a certain amount on the Plasma Cash chain allows the user to receive a single token for that amount, which cannot be divided or merged.

Plasma Debit is a combination of Plasma Cash and Lightning Network. Consequently, each token in this implementation is a payment channel between the user and the operator of the chain. Users send crypto assets to the chain’s smart contract and a single token is created, as in Plasma Cash. However, this token is also a payment channel, ideal for individual operations, especially micropayments.

Plasma has also been examined for other uses. Plasma Snapp, for example, aims to reduce the complexity of Plasma, thus paving the way for more complex protocols than just token transfer. Plasma Bridge, for its part, would allow two different blockchains to interact with each other through a shared plasma chain, thus allowing atomic exchanges.

By Willmen Blanco

Constellation, a Blockchain Firm, Partners with the US Air Force to Automate Data Management

Andres Chavez
-
0
Constellation, a Blockchain Firm, Partners with the US Air Force to Automate Data Management

The distributed ledger technology, most specifically the blockchain, continues to earn loyal fans around the planet. The latest institution to adopt the approach in search of innovative and efficient solutions is the US Air Force, which achieved a commercial partnership that promises to take its business to another level.

The Constellation blockchain company announced in recent hours that it had reached an agreement with the US Air Force with the intention of helping it automate the armed force department’s large data management.

Securing Data

Constellation provided a statement in which it offered more details about said agreement. The firm says that drones, planes, satellites, and other sources of data are excellent candidates to receive help from the Distributed Ledger Technology. Constellation is known for helping secure data silos from traditionally locked sources.

Named Multi-Domain Command and Control, the product aims to improve interoperability within the US Air Force by connecting several data silos for the armed force wing. Additionally, Constellation will offer audit trails and real-time analysis and assessment of data sources.

“Currently, the data lifecycle is very broken with data storage being siloed while data creation, management, and hygiene is a semi-manual process,” according to Constellations Mathias Goldman’s remarks to a specialized crypto news site. He also observed that “the USAF is looking to automate much of their big data initiatives in a secure manner.”

Helping the US Air Force in its Decision-Making

Basically, Constellation will be tasked with building systems between creation, storage, and management, which will aid the US Air Force in its decision-making. The blockchain platform lets users manage huge data flows through encryption.

According to Constellation itself, the strategic alliance actually started six months ago, and the US Air Force approached it to see if the blockchain company was interested in helping, which resulted in a positive answer and a potentially fruitful agreement.

Constellation Network Inc., is a San Francisco based technology and blockchain company. The agreement it signed with the US Air Force is part of the USAF SBIR Phase I program that offers the rails to a solution fully integrated with Air Force constituents, according to Constellation.

A “Match with the Right Partner”

“It’s a match at the right time with the right partner,” according to Benjamin Diggles, the VP of Business Development at Constellation. He says that the “USAF has a multitude of data sources like drones, planes, and satellites that need to be secured. Clean and consolidated data that can be queried instantly is a big need within the defense apparatus.”

Meanwhile, Constellation’s CEO Benjamin Jorgensen commented that “while people aren’t buying blockchain off of shelves, government organizations have the opportunity to drive innovation. The move by the United States Government to work with early-stage businesses and early innovation shows a massive shift by the public sector to be leaders in revolutionizing existing infrastructures by adopting new technologies that protect consumers’ privacy, while tackling futuristic visions of the connected world and joining the private sector in the $50B industry of big data.”

By Andres Chavez

PrimeXBT launches a fund management module from Switzerland

Willmen Blanco
-
0
PrimeXBT launches a fund management module from Switzerland

The domain address and URL of the PrimeXBT website will be changed from primexbt.com to primexbt.ch. The management module allows experienced traders to create a fund for other people to invest.

PrimeXBT is an advanced trading platform for new and professional traders alike and a member of the prestigious Crypto Valley Association. It will move its commercial infrastructure to the cryptocurrency-friendly jurisdiction of Switzerland.

Switzerland and Crypto Valley offer many international financial companies, such as PrimeXBT, not only a home but also a favorable and friendly environment in which to conduct business and continue expanding innovation in Fintech.

Upon receiving the full support of the government of Switzerland and the Crypto Valley Association, PrimeXBT will not only grow but it will also continue to provide its clients with the level of privacy that they expect from the trading platform. The strict level of personal data protection that is currently offered by PrimeXBT will be maintained under the new jurisdiction.

The transfer of the commercial infrastructure of the platform to Switzerland will not have a noticeable impact on customers. However, order matching rates and trading performance may improve due to the proximity of liquidity connections on the platform.

Apart from ensuring the safety and security of customer data and the improvements in business efficiency, the domain address and URL of the PrimeXBT website will change the domain from primexbt.com to primexbt.ch.

For a given period of time, both website domain addresses will be fully operational. After the transition and an adaptation period have been completed, only the .ch domain extension will remain active and .com will be subsequently redirected to .ch.

Innovation in the Fintech sector with the PrimeXBT fund management module

In addition to the support of Switzerland and Crypto Valley, which allows PrimeXBT to continue to focus on customer privacy, the trading platform aims at bringing innovation to both digital and traditional financial markets, through a new cutting-edge fund management module.

Through a partnership with the Covesting cryptocurrency exchange, the PrimeXBT platform will soon launch a large-scale peer-to-peer fund management module. The Covesting module creates a unique opportunity for investors and major traders to obtain synergistic benefits from each other.

The partnership combines an evolution of Covesting’s initial copy-trading concept with the powerful trading tools offered on PrimeXBT, such as a leverage of up to 500x, the ability to take long and short positions and advanced order types.

The fund management module presents all the digital and traditional assets available in PrimeXBT, including currencies, commodities, stock indexes and the world’s most popular cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Ripple (XRP), Litecoin (LTC) and EOS.

About PrimeXBT

PrimeXBT is a financial technology company, established in 2018, that offers a cryptocurrency, fiat currency, index and raw material trading infrastructure with a leverage of up to 500x for long and short positions, and aggregate liquidity from multiple liquidity providers.

The company provides access to real-time market data and a wide range of trading analysis tools, whilst it maintains security and liquidity and enables a safe and efficient business environment for all the community.

By Willmen Blanco

90% of People Use Bitcoin to Speculate; the Remaining 10% Do It for Transactions, Per Luno’s CEO

Andres Chavez
-
0
90% of People Use Bitcoin to Speculate; the Remaining 10% Do It for Transactions, Per Luno’s CEO

Ever since Bitcoin became a widely recognized asset and people started closely following its price swings and market behavior, the whole cryptocurrency industry entered a frenzied state that arguably has not ended. But are people really using BTC to perform transactions, or is the whole movement mostly speculation on their end?

According to the Chief Executive Officer of crypto exchange Luno Marcus Swanepoel, the vast majority of users in the Bitcoin ecosystem are using the digital asset for investing and speculating. He notes, however, that a tiny percentage of people is still transacting in the network.

Most Users are Speculators or Investors

Swanepoel offered his remarks in an interview with global news site CNBC at the start of the week. Whilst it sounds mind-blowing, he defends the notion that most users are either speculators or investors.

At the moment of writing this piece, Bitcoin’s price was hovering around the $10,300 range. In recent weeks, it surpassed $12,000 and threatened to go off in a similar way that it happened at the end of 2017 and the beginning of 2018, when it reached its all-time high of nearly $20,000.

However, bearish indicators may be beginning to appear for the first time since February 2019; therefore, it is not yet clear if there is another big surge coming in the next few days. What is clear, though, is that the year has been kind to the world’s premier digital asset, considering the fact that it collapsed to nearly $3,100 at some point during the first quarter.

A “Long-Term View”

“Roughly about 90% I would put into the category of investments slash speculations, so it could be people who have a long term view on it, people who like to trade it and about 10% would be transactions,” he said.

Whilst the numbers are not official or backed by a crypto data provider, there seems to be certain legitimacy to them, as it is evident that the vast majority of people currently trading are joining the “crypto fever” and do not want to miss out on a prime investment opportunity that could pay off huge dividends in the future.

According to Swanepoel, at the moment of managing investment portfolios, “it does make sense to put a tiny little bit of money into cryptocurrency.” He defended that notion by saying that despite the high risk, the potential returns are considerable.

Similarities to Early-Day Wall Street

A specialized crypto news site reported in the last few hours that Nelson Minier, the Head of over-the-counter sales at the Kraken crypto platform, stated that the crypto trading field is somewhat similar to what Wall Street was in its early days, but that it is not the right to moment to ensure that Bitcoin is a safe haven for investments.

However, Bitcoin’s name is increasingly coming up in discussions about safe haven assets, often compared with some traditional ones. Investors are seriously considering BTC as a hedge. Regarding that, Morgan Creek Co-Founder Anthony Pompliano recently observed that “we are now at a point where I would argue that it is irresponsible for an investor to have 0% exposure to Bitcoin in their portfolio.”

By Andres Chavez

Government of Catalonia Will Invest in Blockchain to Improve its Administrative Processes

Maria Rodríguez
-
0
Government of Catalonia Will Invest in Blockchain to Improve its Administrative Processes

The Catalan government trains public administration personnel so that they can use the tool.

In a recent press report, it was announced that the government of the autonomous community of Catalonia will use blockchain technology to improve its administrative processes in several areas. For this reason, it executes a significant investment of 3 million euros, in order to lead out the project.

The pilot plan with the blockchain platform will be conducted using the investment injected by the government of the region, which will be called “blockchain strategy”. The project is expected to have a duration of 3 years to be developed, where users can create applications that help to significantly improve transparency and control in the data of fields of public administration, such as digital identity, health, or garbage collection systems.

Daniel Marcos, General Director of Innovation and Digital Economy of Generalitat, mentions that the project also seeks to collect information about the habits of its citizens, in order to adapt the services to the movement of its customers. In addition, he ensures that this type of program is conducted facilitating administrative processes and proving to be very useful for lower costs and turns out to be an easy-to-use tool, so they trust the potential of the blockchain.

In this sense, Marcos talked about the uses of these tools in the public sector. He mentioned an example of the municipal landfills system since the Waste Agency of Catalonia takes control of waste vehicles and landfills, using blockchain technology to save a record of the history of movements, accidents, among other aspects.

“We can motivate people to recycle more. Blockchain technology allows for mechanical gamification. We can also establish a compensation model for those who do it well”, Marcos said during an interview with a local newspaper.

About the process to execute the project, it is known that the local government has already established a blockchain training scheme. In this way, they will be able to train more and more personnel and add employees capable of using the tool in the administrative area. A test laboratory has also been set up, where all the pilot tests that the developer team decides can be conducted.

Despite how advanced the project may be or the budget injection made by the government, many of the investigations that will be fulfilled are still unknown. Some of them include the lack of knowledge of the type of blockchain that the government will use to create the platform.

Developers could try to use the blockchain technology of Ethereum or Bitcoin for the development of the tool. Generalitat would be responsible for developing a private and unique platform that is responsible for sustaining the tool.

Although this idea is not clear yet, the project is about to start operating and the expectation grows. The team expect the first pilot tests to be conducted as soon as possible to start the pilot test.

By María Rodríguez

The Society of the Future Must Be Based on Blockchain Training

Willmen Blanco
-
0
The Society of the Future Must Be Based on Blockchain Training

The Bitcobie platform, created in 2018, is aimed at providing training and disseminating information on Bitcoin technology. The Blockchain Specialization Course is taught in person and online.

There is a strikingly large number of blockchain and cryptocurrency training courses being offered.  It is clearly observed that speculation, trading and the desire to make money quickly have become the protagonists of today’s society.

However, it is important to note that making any kind of investment without proper knowledge is synonymous to wasting money. That is particularly true when investors follow the advice of a false “guru.”

Unfortunately, people do not learn, understand and disseminate everything that blockchain technology, Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies in general can provide. This technology is destined to become part of people’s everyday lives and it will change (is changing) the known world.

Satoshi Nakamoto said that Bitcoin would be used by everyone or no one whosoever. That adoption will not be possible if users do not receive training that makes them understand that this crypto asset can be their own bank and that the time of financial giants is about to come to an end.

Bitcobie Platform

Bitcobie is a training and dissemination platform that was born in May 2018. Its founder, Álvaro Cobarro, says that Bitcobie is aimed at allowing anyone to have access to all this technology.

With that philosophy in mind, in a little over a year, Bitcobie has not only become the representative of Pundi X in Spain, but it has also managed to position itself as a reference in terms of training and dissemination.

Bitcobie guides use a democratic language understandable to anyone. Its articles do not seek to be the first in terms of current affairs, but they try to clarify certain concepts, tell stories and, of course, help the community grow together and be well prepared.

After having gradually created a space in the imaginary of the Hispanic ecosystem, the Bitcobie team has recruited a group of teachers that share the same philosophy and organized the first promotion of the Blockchain Specialization Course (BSC).

The course, which lasts more than 30 hours, is divided into 6 modules and a final practice for the student to verify that he has consolidated the knowledge acquired. It is addressed to people who want to enter the world of blockchain and cryptocurrencies, as well as all those that intend to deepen their knowledge before deciding to take a one-year master’s degree course.

During the course, the student will gain knowledge about cryptoeconomics, Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, smart contract programming, blockchain technology and its consensus protocols, ICO and STO analysis, and a rare avis (something infrequent) in blockchain training: crypto security.

The Bitcobie course will be taught in person and online for everyone and is scheduled to start on September 26th, 2019. The objective of the course is to train as many people as possible, regardless of the country of origin. In that way, it will be possible to avoid scams and silly capital losses, as well as to achieve a healthier and better prepared ecosystem.

By Willmen Blanco

1...1,4931,4941,495...1,654Page 1,494 of 1,654