Private Equity Moris Beracha Wuani

By Moris Beracha .-  The bitcoins and the main cryptocurrencies in the market were designed with some important security patterns, which make them quite difficult to steal. The fundamental aspects of cryptocurrencies include protecting user privacy, avoiding asset theft and avoiding harmful practices such as double spending. However, there are some failures that are sought out by hackers, which allow them to take over and empty some accounts, leaving losses, in some cases, of thousands or millions of dollars. According to the Bit2me cryptocurrency and blockchain academy, about a billion US dollars in Bitcoin have been stolen to date. They recall the thefts in Mt Gt I and II, for a total of 769,408 bitcoins; the 173,655 bitcoins seized by the FBI when closing Silk Road; the robbery known as “Pony” Botnet, which stands out due to the number of machines involved, and which amounted to a total of US $ 220,000 in various types of cryptocurrencies th...

By Mark Williams Blockchain is one of those tricky concepts known by many but understood by few. Despite this, it has been heralded as a true game changer with the ability to revolutionise traditional transactions and processes. Some even compare its potential to that of the internet. But what does blockchain technology do, and how is it impacting the world of work? What is a blockchain? A blockchain is a distributed digital ledger where transactions are recorded and stored in chronological order. When a transaction takes place, a new block is added. Each new block contains information about the transaction and a unique hash – much like an encrypted ‘digital fingerprint’ – for both the new block and the previous block. So, each new block is cryptographically linked to the previous block, creating a chain of blocks all the way back to the original ‘genesis’ block. Instead of being managed by a central entity, the blockchain is distributed openly across...

By Dennis Wafula  Advancements in blockchain technology are proving beneficial in the financial industry. The most recent progress is the introduction of the Finledger blockchain platform, which allows processing of promissory note loans. According to a news release dated May 21, this new application for this type of legal binding loan agreement will be very beneficial to the entire financial industry. The test stage involved four banks, DekaBank, dwpbank, DZ Bank, and Heleba, who used finledger technology to complete note transactions. Reportedly, the platform can reduce the processes involved when issuing such notes by more than 50%. Marion Spielmann, Head of Banking & Depositary at DekaBank, said:   “The opportunities offered by using a blockchain take the product promissory note loan to a whole new level. Together with the other institutes, we have now successfully implemented a digitization project that allows our customers and us to han...

The adoption of blockchain technology in the energy sector will generate over $3 billion by 2025 owing to an increase in deployment in the power, oil and gas sectors, according to Global Market Insights. Worldwide, the deployment of blockchain technology in energy-related applications has become a trending subject of sorts among industry giants as well as the start-up investor community, with applications ranging from grid transactions, financing and transparency in supply chain.  Advancements in the technology have resulted from widespread efforts to replace outdated and less secure trading and documentation platforms through digital transformation. Blockchain is deemed ideal for the energy segment since it can enable the creation of automated, auditable and transparent records of generated power and its subsequent consumption. Even in the oil & gas industry, legacy systems are being overhauled for implementing more reliable and cutting-edge dig...

By Harare Bureau BLOCKCHAIN technology can help enhance transparency, efficiency and grow investor confidence in Zimbabwe’s fledgling capital markets, experts say. The technology, which underpins crypto-currencies like bitcoin, is temper-proof. Its decentralised nature allows for financial transactions to be traced throughout the payment process by anyone with a computer or smartphone with internet connection. These characteristics have meant that blockchain technology is now being adapted for use in several spheres including the supply chain, banking, financial markets and even voting, to curb fraud while improving transparency. Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE) chief executive Justin Bgoni told our Harare Bureau that the exchange is open to exploring how it can harness Blockchain technology in the near future although there is still no regulatory clarity on the matter. Mr Bgoni spoke about introducing blockchain-based new products and services such as real estate ...

By Abhimanyu Krishnan The government of German state North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) has revealed that it will build the European Blockchain Institute to examine blockchain technology. NRW Economics Minister Andreas Pinkwart said that the research institute will be formed in the city of Dortmund, the press release said.  Pinkwart was also positive on how blockchain technology could help economies, but must not be “energy-intensive”, This technology can be safe, decentralized, affordable and, when used properly, not too energy-intensive. Germany recently announced that it would outline a strategy for the digital assets space , and many countries in Europe are doing the same. France has established some crypto-friendly regulation , and has asked other nations in the EU to take after it .  Certainly, several authorities, both governments and financial institutions, have warmed up to cryptocurrencies and are seeking to leverage the benefits ...

By Inside Bitcoins Ali Raza | This period is clearly one of the most exciting for the crypto world. Even electronic payment behemoth PayPal is also getting in on some crypto action. It was PayPal’s chief financial officer John Rainey who made the startling revelations in an interview with Yahoo! Finance. Even though the payment giant is also devoting some resources to the development of cryptocurrency, Rainey stated that digital currency is not going to be their major priority for now. He thinks there is still more to be done regarding universal acceptance for digital assets before they can fully roll out buy crypto with PayPal . Bitcoin is Under Consideration Even though other big brands like Fidelity were putting in a lot of resources into crypto investments, PayPal had kept many in suspense by almost ignoring the booming sector. This is despite the fact that Rainey said that PayPal actually included Bitcoin as one of their payment alternatives for merchants...

By Nikhilesh De Microsoft will promote JPMorgan Chase’s Quorum blockchain to the global tech giant’s business customers, the companies announced Thursday. The Redmond, Washington-based software firm will support Quorum, JPM’s private enterprise version of ethereum, through Microsoft’s Azure cloud platform, the firms said. They will look to support adoption of the network through their new partnership, after signing a memorandum of understanding. As a result, Quorum “will become the first distributed ledger platform available through [the] Azure Blockchain Service, enabling J.P. Morgan and Microsoft customers to build and scale blockchain networks in the cloud,” the companies said in a press release. A spokesperson for New York-based JPM said via email that “Microsoft will drive preference to the Quorum stack for Blockchain applications built on Azure.” JPM will also build its own first-party applications for the service. Umar Farooq, JPM’s global ...

Blockchain, cryptocurrency, and other innovative techs have significant disruptive potential. Within the course of time, this fact becomes obvious not only for community enthusiasts but also for traditional industry players. That is probably the major reason for world electronic bulls to explore the innovative possibilities to boost their own progress. Microsoft showed interest in blockchain technology back in 2018. They announced their plans to apply the technology behind Bitcoin (the leading crypto by market cap) in its decentralised IDs (DIDs) App. The company was support DLT-based DIDs through Microsoft Authenticator App. However, as of now, the project seems to be frozen.    Unstoppable IBM    IBM, another technological giant, has has shown interest in exploring blockchain and cryptocurrency techs even earlier, in 2015. As of now, the company is known to take part in several related projects.   In January 2019, Ford Motor comp...

Blockchain technology has the potential to upend the credit card, banking, manufacturing, and voting industries. By  Marcia Wendorf Over the last several years, you may have heard the term, "blockchain," and you may know that it's a part of the cryptocurrency Bitcoin . You may also know that blockchain is some kind of a database, and that a lot of very smart financial people and tech types are looking into it. What is blockchain? The first mention of the term "blockchain" appeared in 2008 when someone writing under the pen name Satoshi Nakamoto, published a paper entitled, "Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System." This document described the basis for a cryptocurrency called Bitcoin, and it defined how a new type of database called a blockchain would store Bitcoin's transactions. In this database, a set number of transactions are placed i...

Author Coin Idol A survey has been successfully conducted by Digital360 Group, Blockchain4Innovation and EconomyUP, aimed at measuring the level of knowledge and information, as well as ascertaining the perception of blockchain in Italy, both in terms of opportunity and criticality. The research shows that the revolutionary technology will galvanize the Italian economy. The result of the survey dubbed “From cryptocurrencies to Made in Italy: the image and potential of the blockchain” have been officially presented during the Blockchain Business Revolution event. More than 200 companies and 850 people from Italy, participated in the research. Bitcoin & Blockchain are Inseparable  According to the research, around 54% of the population (respondents) have some knowledge of  smart contracts and blockchain. However, the research shows that the technology subject isn’t “exotic”: as compared to around 62% of Italian citizens that claim that they have neve...

By Tanya Abrosimova While Russian lawmakers are dawdling on passing a law on financial digital assets, business is looking cryptocurrency and blockchain technology adoption.  Thus, a prominent Russian billionaire and the owner of Norilskiy Nickel Vladimir Potanin in a recenet interview announced the plans to launch blockchain-based platform and potentially issue a crypto token backed by palladium, Bloomberg reports.  Being the world’s top producer of palladium, Nornikel wants to inspire innovations in the industry and lead the new technology adoption and inspire. Currently, the company plans to issue tokens via its Switzerland-based palladium fund and holds the talks with the Swiss government.   “People more and more tend to use decentralized networks and platforms that don’t have a main operator,” he said. “We want to be active participants of this process,” as trading in digital tokens has many advantages, Potanin...

By Moris Beracha .- The blockchain technology is a public database decentralized in a computer network that is used to record all kinds of transactions. Roma Siri, born on November 8, 2015, also known as the “Baby Blockchain”, was the first human being whose birth was registered in the blockchain. Now in 2019, some public institutions worldwide have decided to make official records through the blockchain and the United States has been a pioneer in this activity. According to an article published by the Associates Press (AP) news agency, it was known that some counties in the state of Nevada are using the best known online registry book in the world to store digital versions of birth and marriage certificates. “The Reno Gazette-Journal reports that as of December in Washoe County, about 950 couples had received secure digital marriage certificates to home computers and smartphones since the program debuted in April 2018,” reads the memo published b...

By Aaron Wood   Japanese multinational conglomerate Sony and IT equipment services firm Fujitsu have created an encrypted database for educational proficiency documents, The Asahi Shimbun reports on Feb. 26. The database, which reportedly employs blockchain technology, is used to prevent forgeries of language proficiency documents, which some foreigners purportedly use to receive resident status to study in Japan. Foreigners must submit a Japanese language proficiency certificate to the Immigration Bureau in order to receive resident status to study in Japan . Said certificates can be issued by Japanese educational institutions abroad. Japanese language schools within the country will submit the certificates on behalf of institutions overseas. Illegal copies of the language certificates have reportedly been found in several different countries. The Asahi Shimbun states that students without proper language qualifications can face difficulties i...

By Max Yakubowski German automobile brand Mercedes-Benz Car has developed a platform based on blockchain technology to increase transparency and sustainability in complex supply chains , according to press release published on Feb. 25. Mercedes-Benz, a division of Daimler AG, a German multinational automotive corporation, has partnered with United States -based software company Icertis for cooperating in the development of blockchain tech for supply chain use. Mercedes-Benz has announced that that they have jointly developed and programmed a prototype with Icertis based on blockchain technology that allows for the storage of documentations and contracts in complex supply chains. The project allows for the creation of a transparent and sustainable mapping of sorted documents across the entire supply chain, the press release notes. The parties have now entered the testing phase of the pilot project. Underlining the complexity of the modern supply chains,...

Asian farmers and voters ready to reap benefits of new technology Hara incentivizes farmers to provide certain data by making it redeemable for digital tokens that can later be exchanged for fertilizer and other necessities. (Courtesy of Hara Token) By JUSTINA LEE and ERI SUGIURA, Nikkei staff writers SINGAPORE/TOKYO -- After wiping the sweat off her brow and adjusting her straw hat, Liswati walks along one of her fields under Indonesia's hot tropical sun, eventually squatting down to inspect her crops. Instead of jotting down some notes with a pen and paper, she keys information about soil quality and other conditions into her smartphone. With very little effort, she has given thousands of others involved in Indonesian agriculture -- from government officials to nongovernmental organizations -- data that can be analyzed and possibly utilized to boost the country's farm output. The underlying technology? Block...