Distributed ledger

Cambodia soramitsu
planning  distributed ledger.

UAE Emirates Islamic Bank launches blockchain for checks

So "The launch of “Cheque Chain”, announced today, comes months after Emirates NBD tested the feature in conjunction with the central bank of the United Arab Emirates. The banking group began testing the tech in a bid to reduce fraud."

UAE Emirates Islamic Bank launches blockchain for checks

First Quantum-Secured Blockchain Technology Tested

First Quantum-Secured Blockchain Technology Tested in Moscow...

Quantum computing is fascinating, but it's really early stages, so we don't know what it or where this technology will shape the space.  Will it be real quantum computing or a marketing hyped space ?  We all know half the AI space isn't even complicated machine learning algorithms.

But the super quantum computers could make the blockchain cryptocurrency double spend philosophy null and void and irrelevant.  Brute force attacks are cost prohibitive with normal computers. But brute force with a quantum computer,  Still expensive , but possible.  And that's today. Just imagine.  

Good start here in testing different strategies to combat this possibilities.  

Owlting food chain supply on ethereum

Owlting will try and fix the food supply chain challenges.

Decentralized internet...

What exactly is a decentralized internet of the future?

     Decentralized. A decentralized world and internet.  Places or DAOs or a BitNation like "organization" are out in the wild wild decentralized global West now.

However do most people know what any of this means ?  Some might.  Many don't.  Fewer even know it's happening already.  They just see Bitcoin or Ethereum as a money making investment opportunity.  That's good and bad for various reasons.

     But is Ethereum really decentralized?
In one way it is. In another it is one very popular intelligent young 'founder' who seems to have the Steve Jobs and Elon Musk effect on Ethereum and the cryptocurrency space.

What he says seems to be the one version of the truth.  And ConsenSys also seems  to be the one version of a company that builds out the real platform.  A lot of very smart and great individuals. But they also arent exactly decentralized. 

Maybe it's a open source Redhat kind of play. It's still open source and great for the community, but they also arent exactly all that open in many many ways.  Unless it helps their own bottom line.  And we have seen that with Ethereum vs Ethereum Classic.  And the Ethereum Enterprise Consortium just sounds like business as usual.

Sorry, but Private blockchains aren't decentralized. And the hard vs soft forks and Segwit conversations are fascinating, but show the advantages and challenges in the space.

    I think bitcoin and Bitcoin and that version of the blockchain technology is far more decentralized vs say an Ethereum.   It's harder to do anything like a smart contract though. 

What about a Litecoin or the lightning network or swarm or hyperledger or Monero or the Golem network or Storj  or Ripple ? They all seem to be far from what the term decentralized actually means.  and Ripple is centralized at its core.  Plus most mining pools and exchanges are really just centralized systems.  Business as usual really. 

In one way or another ICOs are nothing more than raising capital for a few founders and companies. Decentralized be damned I guess. 

Time will tell how it all plays out.  

Ethereum to save the internet

https://youtu.be/72DpZhbdVd8

How will Blockchain Change the World ?

How will Blockchain Change the World ? 

     Blockchain, bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Ripple, Monero and the like are changing the world as we speak...

    However they also aren't exactly being used for much more than speculative investments. Or silk road like transactions. Or Ponzi scheme like ICOs. And why not when people can earn 100%, 200%, 900%  returns in such a short time.  It's a very interesting dynamic but it's only one piece of the 'blockchain' and cryptocurrency puzzle.   As they say it's like we are early stages of the 1993 internet but wth the 1998 Hype cycle.   The investment money is driving the hype, but the technology will change the future.  People just don't realize it yet. Most people don't even know what this is and the banks are so fearful they are trying to create their own private blockchain consortium.  

   

Cryptocurrencies as legal tender is the defacto Bitcoin and blockchain answer and use case.  It's a ledger. It's secure. It's transparent. It's immutable.  It's mined. It's decentralized. It's a currency.  But the blockchain isn't just about monetary value or currency. In fact, most of the cryptocurrency movement isn't currency at all, it's a speculative investment just like anybody who buys stock in Tesla or Apple.  The real difference is some people can actually go and buy a pizza with BTC ; whereas owning stocks in Tesla is a complicated process to get it out.  

     Speaking of values and currency worth, who wants to buy a pizza with 1 BTC if it could be worth double tomorrow?  Or triple.  And when certain altcoins go up in value by 900%, it's a fascinating ride, and makes sense.  However, what happens when this all comes crashing down?  And we know it all will.  That's where we will see the real changes, the real players, the real interest.   The real fallout and disruption.  The fake players will disappear onto the next assumed hype cycle.  The real players will actually try and change the world.  It's so new and exciting that who doesn't want to be a part of this change.  This decentralized change coming.

     It's hype times a million right now and many people who couldn't even tell you what Bitcoin or the blockchain is, have invested in it.  It's money. It's a lot of money.  And it'll probably keep going up.  But maybe it won't.   Or maybe it will.

     Things like Ubiq smart contracts and Ethereum smart contracts are really the way of the blockchain future.  How do you get normal everyday people to care?  The internet didn't really become a defacto standard till smart mobile phones.  True people used AOL and prodigy and compuserve, but nobody cared or needed it. And the connections were too slow and not always on.  Many people assumed the internet was just a fad.   Email changed a lot of dynamics because everybody suddenly had a way of sending messages without  paying for a stamp.  

     I digress into the internet and dot com era to bring you back to the blockchain era. Things will change. It's just too early to figure out how it will all play out, but it's not about connecting the rest of the world who don't have the internet or bank accounts.  Oh that will make things progress faster. It'll make a few people millions or billions of dollars.  But the blockchain will change the world. And the centralized middle man will fall.  And smart contracts, the blockchain, cryptocurrency, automation, machine learning, AI, and IOT will bring a new future we never even imagined.   

The future is coming, will you pretend it's not?