Oracle Expands Its Blockchain Services for Enterprises

Andres Chavez
-
0
Oracle Expands Its Blockchain Services for Enterprises

The blockchain technology is not just for governmental use and cryptocurrencies! Its applications and field range are growing daily, as it is a fantastic solution to streamline process and includes a trust element that some industries are missing. Private corporations and enterprises are adopting it, as well.

And software giant Oracle is one of the most important factors behind the global adoption of blockchain solution by enterprises. The company announced on Tuesday, February 12th, via a press released, that it will be expanding its enterprise-grade Oracle Blockchain Platform.

Simplifying processes and deploying new blockchain applications

Among the new features bundled in the platform is the simplification of the process of integrating existing business and IT systems and developing/deploying new blockchain applications. Thanks to the newly included offerings, Oracle’s clients will be able to enjoy a wide array of developer tools, data integration resources, identity management features, and more. For example, now, customers will be able to integrate blockchain transaction history with other relevant bits of data.

To be even more specific, some of the new features integrated in Oracle’s services for enterprises are history database, enhanced world state database, identity federation, and Hyperledger support for the Fabric version 1.3.

Clients and Other Alliances

Per the press release, some of the high-profile Oracle clients that have successfully included the company’s blockchain applications using its tools are China Distance Education Holdings Limited,and SERES, which is a supply chain-oriented Circulor firm and e-document settlement company.

The US-based multinational computer technology corporation also named examples of other clients, including some international banks and financial institutions, such as SDK Finance, Arab Jordan Investment Bank, and ICS Financial Systems.

Oracle is an American firm with headquarters in Redwood Shores, in the State of California. It is, according to Forbes, the second biggest public software and programming company, after Microsoft. The business makes its money by developing and marketing database software and technology solutions, as well as enterprising products and clouding engineering systems.

Also part of the firm’s offerings is the development and creation of database development resources and systems of middle-tier software, supply management software, enterprise resource planning (ERP) solutions, and tools to manage customer relationships.

“Building Blockchain Applications to Handle Business Transactions”

Frank Xiong, group vice president of Oracle’s Blockchain Product Development department, stated that company’s “continued leadership and investment in enterprise blockchain technology ensures that the platform has all of the critical capabilities organizations need to build blockchain applications to handle their most important business transactions. The number of customers already running blockchain applications based on Oracle’s blockchain platform is testament to the strength of the technology and the value it brings to a broad range of industries.”

Other firms around the world are releasing blockchain-related tools and solutions. Such is the case of IBM, which released its blockchain mainnet out of its Melbourne-located data center this week. The decision will let Australians run their blockchain-based apps on IBM’s cloud whilst bearing with local data regulations.

By Andres Chavez

The National University of Colombia Uses Blockchain to Certify Course about Smart Contracts

Maria Rodríguez
-
0
The National University of Colombia Uses Blockchain to Certify Course about Smart Contracts

This year, the institution will start its pilot project to give its graduates online certificates backed by blockchain

During last year and these first weeks of 2019, blockchain technology has increasingly achieved work fields in everyday life and even in medicine.

This platform does not just register cryptocurrency transactions; it also preserves medical history online, guarantees the quality of a product, and provides support for the educational area of different universities in the world.

This is the year of The National University of Colombia, which will launch a pilot project to provide online registration for the students who approve current courses like “Blockchain with emphasis on developers of smart contracts”, offered by the Continuing Education Program, which uses Ethereum for this purpose.

The prestigious university will upload relevant information to the platform about all those who have approved this course. Additionally, the institution will automatically generate a verifiable certificate through QR codes, in order to guarantee its legitimacy.

With the aim to improve the system’s operation, the university will pay to access a blockchain network to keep the registry of the information. When the course is finished, a representative of the institution will upload the information about the students who approve it. The creators of the system are evaluating the possibility of applying a biometric security key to protect this material.

The university authorities provided more details about their idea. “The interesting thing about this project is that it protects the information of the certificates and allows anyone to consult in a web platform the authenticity of that academic document”, said Mauricio Tovar, Director of the Inti-Colombia research group, which was in charge of evaluating how to apply the special technology.

Blockchain allows verifying the records and protecting the data saved in it. For these reasons, it was attractive for the university authorities. This happens because blockchain lets the rapid check of the certificates on public networks.

Towards the Digitalization

The University of Cagliari and the Ministry of Education of Malaysia are some institutions that resorted to blockchain technology to certify their graduates’ degrees.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) generates blockchain diplomas by means of Blockcerts, an open standard for creating, issuing, viewing, and verifying blockchain-based certificates which were created in 2017, thanks to Learning Machine Company. The University of Nicosia, Princeton University, and the University of California also have this type of technology.

Also in Colombia, the Pontifical Xavierian University plans to use the blockchain technology of Credly, one of the main suppliers worldwide of digital badges, thanks to the contract it signed recently with Acreditta, which would provide this service in the country.

Important companies in the world have similar initiatives. Last week, Ripple announced the incursion of another 10 universities to its project called UBRI, which leads 29 universities associated with the financing program.

Blockchain technology allows saving the certificates in a digital ecosystem. This benefits the students who approve their courses. The platform sends them an email with a link they will be able to share in their LinkedIn profile so that their future employer can verify the validity of the certificate easily and at any time.

“There are studies which show that there are a lot of false academic certificates. Some people talk about 5 and 10% of the certifications in the labor market”, says Tovar. Blockchain would become the mechanism to decrease and successfully reverse these statistics in Colombia and also in other countries.

By María Rodríguez

Patrick Byrne, Overtock’s Founder: “Blockchain Can Make Governments “Superefficient”

Andres Chavez
-
0
Patrick Byrne, Overtock’s Founder: “Blockchain Can Make Governments “Superefficient”

The blockchain technology is starting to become “mainstream.” Not only it is being applied by financial institutions, educational organization at all levels, cargo shipping companies, payment protocols, e-commerce sites, medical and imaging centers, and other commercial ventures, but most recently, governments are starting to realize the vast potential it holds as a high-end solution for diverse people´s daily everyday problems.

Patrick Byrne, who is currently Overstock.com’s Founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO,) has identified the blockchain technology as a hugely helpful resource for governments around the world, saying that it can make them “superefficient and incapable of being bribed.” Overstock.com is a worldwide famous retail store.

Byrne’s statements came in an interview with MarketWatch on February 12th. The entrepreneur stated that government services need to modify their structure in many levels, which creates a perfect setting for the intervention of the blockchain technology as an efficient solution.

A Set of Applications

According to Byrne, these authorities need to start “building government-as-a-service, a set of applications and companies that, between them, can bring blockchain to different services that governments provide,” eventually making governments superefficient, inexpensive and incapable of being bribed.”

He cited a controversial example. “We could step into Venezuela with six laptops and create not only a functioning society but arguably one with the most advanced government systems in the world. We could bring them a central bank on the laptop. Everyone in Venezuela downloads a free app, and suddenly you have the most advanced monetary system on the planet.”

Overstock.com, Inc. is an American-based internet retailer with headquarters in the state of Utah. Initially, it was conceived as a platform that sold only surplus and returned items on a web-based e-commerce model. The firm still sells some closeout merchandise (like home decor, furniture, bedding, and others,) but it now sells new merchandise as well. It was founded in 1997, 21 years ago.

Byrne is, according to report, eager to finalize a contract with multiple sovereign nations in the not so distant future, with the intention of achieving a radical “overhauling” of government-related services.

Taking Advantage

The Overstock.com retailer announced back in January that it is going to ay business taxes in the state Ohio, following the news that it accepted Bitcoin payments just a few weeks ago. Ohio will use the OhioCrypto.com taxpayer platform for that matter.

At that moment, the executive stated that a proper legal framework and the adoption of blockchain and cryptocurrencies by governments will be two of the most crucial developments in the industry, if achieved. He says that is “the best way to ensure the U.S. does not lose our place at the forefront of the ever-advancing global economy.”

Kenneth Rogoff, a Harvard Professor of Economics and Public Policy, observed back in December that governments might regulate and appropriate emerging technologies like cryptocurrencies,  because a coordinated global regulation would look to “stamp out privately constructed systems” at some point.

 “The right way to think about cryptocurrency coins is as lottery tickets that pay off in a dystopian future where they are used in rogue and failed states, or perhaps in countries where citizens have already lost all semblance of privacy. It is no coincidence that dysfunctional Venezuela is the first issuer of a state-backed cryptocurrency (the “petro”).”

By Andres Chavez

Bitfury, MDW, and Longenesis Will Partner to Develop Blockchain Imaging Ecosystem

Andres Chavez
-
0
Bitfury, MDW, and Longenesis Will Partner to Develop Blockchain Imaging Ecosystem

Blockchain technology remains a very promising tool to power solutions for several fields: banking and economics, cargo shipping, cryptocurrencies, smart cities concept, education and universities, and many more. One of the applications of the approach remains utterly important for the future of humanity: medicine.

As it turns out, technology can be of great help in developing an efficient medical imaging process and ecosystem, as Bitfury, one of the planet’s most prominent blockchain-related firms, will establish a partnership with radiology blockchain organization MDW (Medical Diagnostic Web) to achieve that goal.

A Pact of Three

The information was made public by the Bitfury group via a blog post on Monday, February 11th. The terms of the alliance establish that the two prominent companies, together with blockchain-powered life data proposition Longenesis, will work to create a platform that can keep, share, and secure medical imaging and diagnostics data like CT scans and X-rays.

Exonum will host the proposed ecosystem. Exonum is Bitfury’s private blockchain scheme, one that happens to use what is known as “anchoring” technology with the intention of enabling transactions to be validated.

Longenesis will also offer its services to achieve the final objective. The company will allegedly make sure that the medical data developed by the ecosystem and recorded on the blockchain is only accessed by authorized parties, eliminating potential threats to the privacy of the generated information.

Also of importance will be Longenesis’ role in guaranteeing the system’s full compliance with the appropriate legal frameworks, including the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR.) According to Valery Vavilov, currently the CEO of Bitfury, the tool looks extremely promising and has raised the bar when it comes to the deployment of the blockchain technology in the medical industry.

“Blockchain technology can strengthen patient data security by providing a tamper-proof record of patient history whilst simultaneously providing an avenue for doctors to more easily share information. The digitization of trust that blockchain offers, paired with the medical potential of AI algorithms, has the ability to revitalize medical systems all over the world,” were Valery Vavilov’s [words.

Other Known and Recent Cases

Medical research and development organization Pistoia Alliance included several elements to its blockchain project earlier in the month. Among them were data sharing, data identity, and data integrity. The institution used the technology in order to validate sources in identifying data and to make sure the data is legitimate. Pistoia also took on the mission of educating the medical sector on blockchain-related affairs.

In the same vein, back in January, another company, in this case, the American insurance firm Aetna, established a partnership with IBM to develop a blockchain network that fulfilled the requirements of the whole healthcare sector. It works by streamlining insurance claims processing and payments.

Bitfury is a diversified blockchain firm that was founded in 2011. It manufactures hardware and develops software, providing security and a proper infrastructure for the Bitcoin blockchain. It reported revenue of $500 million last year.

MDW, on the other hand, is a radiology blockchain platform that lets professionals in the area share data and images from patients, as well as establishing contact with imaging centers and facilities.

By Andres Chavez

 [W1]Restate the name of the speaker.

Twitter’s Jack Dorsey thinks No Altcoin Will Ever Beat Bitcoin

Andres Chavez
-
0
Twitter’s Jack Dorsey thinks No Altcoin Will Ever Beat Bitcoin

At the moment of writing this piece, Bitcoin had been experencing a slight increase in value in the last few days, going from the $3,400 range to $3,635.65. The second most valuable cryptocurrency from the top 20, according to CoinMarketCap, is the 17th-ranked Maker ($489.65,) followed by Bitcoin Cash ($121.16) and Ethereum ($121.08.)

If we rank digital assets by their market cap, Bitcoin’s $63.7 billion are unmatched by any altcoin. The closest are Ethereum ($12.6 billion) and Ripple ($12.4 billion,) with the rest of the bunch all hovering below $3 billion. The numbers support the thesis that Bitcoin is, by a large margin, the world’s most prominent cryptocurrency as of now.

However, we do not know what the future may hold, as Bitcoin has experienced volatile behavior for quite some time now. Uncertainty surrounds the crypto markets, but the fact is that altcoins have also been affected by the bears from January 2018 to this point.

Altcoins Can be “Integrated Into” Bitcoin “If they are Successful”

Jack Dorsey, who has been praising Bitcoin a lot lately, continued in the same path as he stated this week that whilst there are excellent projects and coins emerging right now, they can be integrated “into” BTC as long as they are successful. Dorsey, who is Twitter’s CEO, said in the past few days that Bitcoin had the potential to be Internet’s native and future currency.

In his most recent remarks to Stephan Livera, Dorsey explained that (talking about Bitcoin) “It’s very principled, it has a strong point of view, and I love that it was put out there through pseudonymity, which just feels very internet to me.”

“The whole thing just feels very native to internet ideals, and that appealed to be a lot. This thing that was ideated on the internet, and then created on the internet, released to it, and then continues to be developed throughout it.”

According to Dorsey, Bitcoin’s brand strength should not be underestimated. “The brand strength, the brand of Bitcoin is really spectacular. It enables more of that resilience. It’s a mainstream, well-known ‘household’ concept. Not everyone really knows what it might be for, and may have different perspectives on what it does… but everyone knows that it’s digital currency, digital money, a digital asset.”

Taking Notes

Dorsey thinks that Bitcoin will “steal” some of the best ideas from other altcoins and emerging crypto projects, which would make it too powerful to be surpassed. “There’s interesting ideas elsewhere, but I think those ideas can be integrated to Bitcoin if they have a merit that’s above some bar. It [BTC] feels like it’s the one that wants to be the currency the most, versus others that are doing more general purpose things, or distributed computing and whatnot.”

Because of its market size, household name, potential to earn value in any given moment in time (it was worth almost $20,000 at one point,) industry adoption, awareness within the society, market cap, and other factors, Bitcoin is still leading the race to be the planet’s most prominent cryptocurrency, and by a large margin.

By Andres Chavez

Amaury Sechet, a Bitcoin Cash Developer, Claims to be Satoshi Nakamoto

Andres Chavez
-
0
Amaury Sechet, a Bitcoin Cash Developer, Claims to be Satoshi Nakamoto

Dave Kleiman and Craig Wright are recognized as the people behind the “Satoshi Nakamoto” nickname or pseudonym associated with the development of Bitcoin near the end of last decade. However, up to this point, that has neither been recognized nor accepted by the entire cryptocurrency ecosystem, and there is still some doubt about the origins of the world’s most famous crypto assets and the people or person responsible for its creation.

However, the chapter has been revived with a recent claim, as Amaury Sechet, a Bitcoin Cash developer that calls himself the “benevolent dictator” of the new Bitcoin ABC (one of the blockchains that resulted from the mid-November hard fork of BCH,) has claimed that he is the famous Satoshi Nakamoto character.

Twitter and the Fine Line between the Truth and False Statements

The claim was made via Twitter, where Amaury Sechet wrote in the account @deadalnix the following message:” I am Satoshi Nakamoto. There it is said and I can prove it: 304502200fc3909c3224bc140b7aed365f33f066bd81eabedd198ad2a257882e86586ae8022100f03c6f63cddb43ebf48512c9a0cc0f97fd2cf227d22f15691d7ad65e49ddd659.”

In a message published later, Amaury Sechet wrote: “The hash of the message is 69ea465fc5f924b61dd51514617a8f2118bc1363c7a91a249d1ac404662139b3. It’s content will be revealed soon. If you don’t believe me, stiff!” It remains to be seen if the man was being serious.

Current Bitcoin SV (the other resulting blockchain from the aforementioned hard fork) developer and former Bitcoin ABC staffer _unwriter (on Twitter) cited Sechet and Bitcoin ABC as the most important problem for the Bitcoin Cash ecosystem. The person in question thinks that the ABC blockchain is bad for decentralization.

How Difficult is it to “Fake” Satoshi Nakamoto’s Identity?

Whilst most of the community seems to think that faking Satoshi’s identity is very difficult to achieve, Bitcoin Core developer Gregory Maxwell observes that it may not be the case. He made his comments on a Stack Exchange post, saying that accomplishing it can be easy as “copying some pre-existing signatures out of the blockchain and posting somewhat obfuscated instructions on verifying them.”

Sechet’s comments are taken at a “jab” (a boxing term to refer to the name of a punch) at Craig Wright, which actually replied to his tweet. Wright is known as one of the biggest Bitcoin SV’s advocates in the industry.

Craig Wright’s Response to Sechet

In his Twitter account @ProfFaustus, Wright replied by saying: “Oh. A shame you fail to understand even the basics concerning bitcoin. Please continue down that path. Do not allow me to stop you. How about you swear an oath formally…”

As it is not know whether Sechet’s claims are a joke or represent a serious statement, there is still some natural skepticism in the community. People have begun to wonder why, in the case it is true, the nature of the high-profile Bitcoin Cash developer’s wealth, and why he doesn’t collect his funds and “pump” up BCH’s price.

The fact of the matter is that, right now, there is no way to determine if Sechet was being serious or if he was “joking” around, which remains a plausible scenario.

By: Andres Chavez

1...1,5731,5741,575...1,654Page 1,574 of 1,654