University of Chile Opens a Certification about Blockchain Technology

Maria Rodríguez
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University of Chile Opens a Certification about Blockchain Technology

For the first time in Chile, an advanced program of studies is offered. It is aimed at computer professionals on cryptotechnology

The Pontifical Catholic University of Chile announced, through a statement, that it is ready to offer a specialized certification about blockchain technology, which will begin to be issued on April 22nd of this year.

“The technology that will revolutionize digital transactions, eliminating intermediaries and that may be applicable to various business scenarios”, says the official description of the academic program that the university provided to interested parties.

It is known that the certification will have a duration of 102 academic hours, which will allow training and specialization in blockchain. The course is officially aimed to specialists in the computer science area such as: industrial engineers, civil engineers, computer execution engineers and computer engineers.

The complete course in the most important university of Chile will cost 2,600,000 Chilean pesos, an approximate of 4,300 US dollars, and will be taught at the University Extension Center.

On the official course program, special emphasis is placed on what they consider to be the greatest advantage of this technology: the secure use of blockchain connections and the possibility of conducting commercial transactions without using intermediaries, at any place in the world, and without the need to wait for a long time.

“The key is the existence of a distributed database that, through elaborate algorithms, incorporates a new transaction only when there is consensus among the participants. Its main application so far is to support the creation of cryptocurrencies because for the first time it is possible to make transactions between individuals without requiring the intervention of a financial institution”, said a document released by the university.

This innovative academic program is made up of four important points which range from the basic fundamentals of blockchain technology, smart contracts with support on Ethereum and Solidity platforms, private and public business platforms (Hyperledger), and cryptocurrencies focused on their development, use and mining. It is also known that the diploma will be made up of a group of specialized teachers in the area, such as Miguel Ángel Branada, expert specialist in the company Accenture Chile, as well as other renowned computer technicians such as Mauricio Arriaga and Jaime Navón Cohen.

Navón, who is also Head and Director of the blockchain program, commented in a video, published on the course website about the different aspects and benefits of this technology. He also compared the beginning of the Internet with the current development of blockchain technology.

“Something similar happens with blockchain, so far it has been used especially for cryptocurrencies, but it is a technology of enough purpose to have a potential for been used in numerous applications that are beginning to appear”, said Navón firmly.

Academic Training in Blockchain for Latin America

Chile is not the only country that is betting on the training and specialization of these new technologies. Last year, in Brazil, Fundação Getulio Vargas (Getulio Vargas Foundation) offered the first crypto–finance Master’s degree.

In Argentina, this coming March 27th, a certification in virtual study mode will be launched at the Technological Institute of Buenos Aires. It will be about cryptocurrencies, blockchain technology, and smart contracts.

More and more countries are looking for opportunities to get knowledge about blockchain technology and use this platform to different fields in everyday life.

By María Victoria Rodríguez

Coinbase Adds XRP to its Catalog of Supported Cryptocurrencies

Andres Chavez
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Coinbase Adds XRP to its Catalog of Supported Cryptocurrencies

Coinbase is arguably the most active and widely known cryptocurrency exchange in the United States. Its headquarters are in San Francisco, California, and up until last week, it conducted and dealt with exchanges of Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, Ethereum Classic, and Litecoin with fiat currencies in 32 countries, with additional Bitcoin transactions and storage in 190 nations around the world. It has been up and running since 2012.

On the other hand, Ripple is one of the world’s most prominent digital assets. It has a market cap, as of the moment of writing this piece, of $13,553,852,343 (or $13.5 billion,) and it is currently trading at $0.327660, up 7.75 % in the last 24 hours. There are 41.365.634.610 XRP in total supply, and the trading volume in the last day was $1,029,807,031. It is one of the healthiest and most successful crypto projects in the industry.

Bound to Happen at Some Point

As you can imagine, it makes all the sense in the world that Coinbase includes Ripple (XRP) in its catalog of options available to buy and sell the third ranked cryptocurrency by market cap. Finally, the people’s petitions will be fulfilled, as the exchange will launch support for XRP starting this week.

The announcement came on Monday, February 25th. However, the exchange of XRP will only be available in Coinbase Pro, its professional trading platform, and in the “transfer-only” mode, which means that traders will only be able to deposit XRP at first. The firm is planning to make other trading services available, although timelines are not yet known.

The plan is for users of Coinbase pro in the United States (except for the state of New York,) the United Kingdom, Canada, Singapore, Australia, and some countries in the European Union to be able to access XRP. The support for other places and jurisdiction has a chance to be added in the not so distant future.

Eventual Support for Non-Professional Users

With all the details known about the support for professional users, people are now expecting more information about when the opportunity to buy and sell XRP will be available for non-professional users. And whilst no exact date has been published, Coinbase usually launch support for its other platforms (coinbase.com, as well as its Android and iOS apps) only a few weeks after doing it in Coinbase Pro.

“The [XRP] ledger is powered by a network of peer-to-peer servers. All accounts on this network can send or receive XRP to/from each other, while XRP can be used to send underlying fiat currencies between two parties,” according to a blog post by the company.

A Bridge Currency

“In this way, XRP can function as a bridge currency in transactions involving different currencies such as US dollars, Japanese yen, Euros, Francs, and others in use on the XRP network,” it also stated.

Much to the community’s approval, Coinbase insiders are reportedly “prepared to support the asset however it’s classified by regulators,” regarding Ripple’s possible classification as a security.

By Andres Chavez

Bitcoin Trader is Tortured in front of his Daughter in Violent Robbery: It Happened in the Netherlands

Andres Chavez
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Bitcoin Trader is Tortured in front of his Daughter in Violent Robbery: It Happened in the Netherlands

Despite of the recent downturns in value and a volatile market that has been taking place for months, there is widespread interest in Bitcoin, and it is still arguably the most valuable digital asset in the world. People remember that, whilst it is being traded currently at less than $3,900, it holds the potential to increase its price in the blink of an eye.

Sadly, that widespread interest has made Bitcoin an object of desire for hackers and even regular criminals. This week, it was reported that a man in the Netherlands (identified as Tjeerd H, 38 years old) was kidnapped and tortured in front of his little daughter, and the trader’s cryptocurrency holdings are believed to be the primary motive behind the cruel scene.

The Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf indicates that the person was threatened, tortured, and seriously injured because of the criminals. Reportedly, they were three thieves, and they entered the man’s house disguised as police officers. There were threats of gun fire, and the thieves caused the trader severe damage with a heavy drill.

An Hour and a Half of Extreme Pain

The suffering, pain, and highstress levels lasted for about an hour and a half, which is the time that the criminals spent in the man’s house. After that, they left and they are still wanted by the police and law enforcement agencies in the Netherlands. The case is now being investigated, and the Dutch police are working to gather every detail.

Since the case has been allocated to the branch of the police in charge of investigating murders, the seriousness of the events is unquestioned. As of the moment of writing this piece, there was no evidence that the man’s crypto holdings were stolen.

The publication conducted its own investigation to conclude that the victim was, in fact, a cryptocurrency trader, a piece of information that was later confirmed by the police. The house, located in Drenthe, had been acquired by the man in cash. According to reports, he worked in Thailand and Italy.

Criminals, especially in the Netherlands, are now targeting Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies holders. De Telegraaf describes another recent case in the nation, in which a man from the city of Enschede went to jail for laundering a significant amount of money worth of Bitcoin. Not only are cyber thieves targeting crypto holders, but they also are laundering money using BTC.

Other Known Cases

When Bitcoin was near its all-time high, in December 2017, a man named Louis Meza was accused of kidnapping a victim with the use of a gun with the intention of obtaining the other person’s keys to his digital wallet. In that day, Meza stole $1.8 million worth of Ether.

District attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr said at the time that “this case demonstrates the increasingly common intersection between cyber and violent crime.” Reports indicated that Meza was familiarized with the victim and the fact that he held crypto. “We can expect this type of crime to become increasingly common as cryptocurrency values surge upward,” Vance observed.

Also in December 2017, Pavel Lerner, which is a Bitcoin exchange executive, suffered a similar fate and was kidnapped in Ukraine. The criminals asked for a $1 million ransom payment in Bitcoin, which was performed. The police is still investigating the crime.

In January 2018, two British BTC traders were robbed. Between them, they had performed more than 100,000 crypto trades, and the criminals made them transfer their crypto balances to them. Similar cases took place in Taiwan (February 2018) and France (October 2018.)

By Andres Chavez

Electroneum will Sell $80 Android Smartphone that “Pays Back” Users through Crypto Mining

Andres Chavez
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Electroneum will Sell $80 Android Smartphone that “Pays Back” Users through Crypto Mining

Whilst the current market for cryptocurrencies may not be so favorable right now (as of the moment of writing this piece, Bitcoin had once again tumbled below the $3,900 threshold after a couple of days flirting with $4,000,) they have become “mainstream” and a sizable percentage of the society is at least familiarized with the concept of digital assets, or tokens.

And when cryptocurrency-related benefits come embedded in a mainstream service, such as a smartphone, people quickly open their eyes. They do not want to miss out on an easy opportunity to obtain or mine cryptocurrencies without risking any assets of their own. Electroneum, a famous blockchain startup, is making huge strides by launching an accessible service with enormous potential.

A Very Nice Price for the M1 Smartphone

The company announced on Monday, February 25th, that it had launched a very affordable smartphone with the Android operating system and one notable trait: it can “pay back” the people who acquire it in cryptocurrency. And the best thing about the concept is the price: the device costs only $80, a cheap figure in an industry that sees phones being sold at more than $1,000 every day.

The phone has been named M1. It is a Google Mobile Services (GMS) certified smartphone that works under the innovative cloud mining technology integration, letting users to make crypto through an app. At first, the phone will only mine Electroneum’s token, the ETN.

$3 per Month through Cloud Mining

According to the company, people can receive up to $3 USD worth of ETN every single month thanks to the cloud mining system. After users configure the feature, it will be possible to mine the cryptocurrency whilst being offline.

Among the services and things that can be performed with the ETN cryptocurrency are paying for certain services (including mobile top-ups, shopping, and others.) ETN is also eligible to be traded on some crypto exchanges. At the moment of writing this piece, each token was trading at $0.0073, according to data from CoinMarketCap. The digital asset has a market capitalization of $65 million.

The phone itself is not too shabby: it comes with 4G connectivity, dual sims, 8GB of storage (expandable to 32 GB via a micro SD card,) front and rear facing cameras, and is powered by a Quad Core 1.3 Ghz processor.

Trying to Enter the Market in Developing Countries

Electroneum, in its page, explains that it uses “the power of blockchain to unlock the global digital economy for millions of people in the developing world. Helping everyone to live life on their own terms, our solution is enabling people to embrace their entrepreneurial spirit and find new ways to enhance their lives.”

The affordable prices are attributed to Electroneum’s desire to enter markets in developing countries and promote the adoption of blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies. The phone may be cheaper in some specific nations, around $60, as per reports.

Executives of the company recently stated that the phone will be first launched in South Africa, through local vendors and Amazon. They defended the choice by saying that they found out, through a survey, that over 95 % of the people prefer to use ETN to provide their mobile airtime and data payments. In order to maintain its network secure, Electroneum partnered with HackerOne, a cybersecurity company that is often used by the US Department of Defense.

By Andres Chavez

IBM seeks to Combat the Drought in California Using a Blockchain Platform

Maria Rodríguez
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IBM seeks to Combat the Drought in California Using a Blockchain Platform

The initiative represents an important advance which is worked since the mandate of the California State, in 2014, with the approval of a Law of Sustainable Management of Groundwater (SGMA)

Through several reports, it was known that the technological giant IBM is evaluating to execute an action plan to counteract the constant droughts that are registered in the north of California, in the United States, using Internet of Things (IoT) and blockchain to monitor the information.

The most important resource for life is water and this has been, without any doubt, the most wasteful and unconsciously polluted natural resource.

Starting from the idea of ​​developing tools which will have a real impact on the conservation and sustainability of this vital natural resource, IBM has made a series of important alliances with companies, organizations and important industrial sectors to carry out significant actions that will lead humanity to a sustainable environmental future.

Since some time ago, this technological sector has looked for ways to introduce the most important advances in terms of blockchain, with the idea of ​​creating concrete solutions that can be applied to solve important ecological challenges.

In this sense, Sweetsense, a provider of sensors and research of the IBM company, made important associations, among which is: The Freshwater Trust (TFT), a non-profit organization which ensures the conservation and quality of water.

It also partnered with the University of Colorado Boulder, in charge of researching and developing blockchain and IoT technology so that it can be used in the conservation and saving of groundwater in that US state.

According to other reports, it was known that in California lies the largest and most important aquifer in the United States, which faces a significant risk. This underground water reserve is located in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, in northern California.

Regarding the use that will be given to the IoT and blockchain technology to preserve and care for water, it was discovered, in the report of the respective dam, that the solution will use an IoT sensor system to record information and collect water data that will be transmitted to a satellite which is in orbit.

These functions will allow the use of techniques for predicting climate, detecting rain, and seeking to correct climate changes. The data supplied through these sensors will be stored and controlled by means of a smart blockchain platform which will be in the hands of IBM.

Through this platform, agricultural consumers, financiers, and regulatory organizations will be able to know the variations in the use and distribution of water, as well as interact and monitor using a web platform with real-time functions.

The initiative has promoted an important advance in the development of sustainable technologies. In addition, according to a press release published by TFT, it has helped create a Groundwater Sustainability Agency for the Northern Delta, which adds a substantial number of agencies and organizations working for the proper conservation of the important natural reservoir.

By María Victoria Rodriguez

Ethereum’s Newest Upgrades, Constantinople and St. Petersburg, will Take Place this Week

Andres Chavez
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Ethereum’s Newest Upgrades, Constantinople and St. Petersburg, will Take Place this Week

This week is shaping up to be a big one for the Ethereum blockchain, as a couple of network upgrades are looming in the horizon. Users, investors, and the whole crypto community will be paying close attention to any developments that hold the potential of impacting the industry in one way or another.

The two network upgrades are, according to a blog post published by Ethereum over the weekend, scheduled to happen this week, although the exact date cannot be guaranteed. The two events have been named as Constantinople and St. Petersburg.

To be more specific, the two updates are scheduled to take place at Ethereum’s block 7,280,000. According to the expectation and week forecast, that block should be mined on February 28th, but mining can be somewhat unpredictable, so the wisest thing to do is expect the moment to occur a couple of days before or after that date.

Two Names, One Event

According to Ethereum’s publication, there are two names to describe the situation because, initially, they were to separate upgrades that have been combined into one event. The implementation of Constantinople has been lurking around for months now, but was delayed in January when the team identified a security vulnerability.

“The reason that this network upgrade has two names is because the original Constantinople network upgrade was postponed and two protocol upgrades will need to occur on the same block number in order to fix issues on various Ethereum test networks, such as Ropsten,” the blog post explains.

Among the expected benefits of the Constantinople network upgrade will be several improvements in efficiency. Also, it will delay the “difficulty bomb” and the reduction of the block reward.

If you are not familiarized with the so-called “difficulty bomb,” it is a feature that is supposed to prevent miners from performing their activities in the network after Ethereum’s change to a Proof-of-Stake (PoS) consensus algorithm. Yet, the activation of the PoS keeps getting delayed and developers felt the need to postpone the difficulty bomb in an effort to “make sure we don’t freeze the blockchain before proof of stake is ready & implemented.”

Features and Offerings

As a result, the launch of Constantinople will delay the difficulty bomb, or the “ice age” as it has also been referred to, for nearly a year. As a measure to compensate the simpler mining process, the upgrade will also come with an offering called “thirdening”, which is a reduction of the reward for every miner block: it used to be 3 ETH, but now, it will be set at 2 ETH.

The Create2 function will also be present in Constantinople. It is supposed to, according to the rumors; bring in an attack vector to Ethereum, but Vitalik Buterin shot down the concerns recently.

On the other hand, St. Petersburg (the other planned upgrade) will delete a previous one from the blockchain’s test networks: Ethereum Improvement Proposal 1283.

Several crypto exchanges have confirmed support for the newest Ethereum upgrade: Coinbase, Kraken, Binance, Huobi, and OKEx.

By Andres Chavez

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