Cross-company data-sharing using blockchain as the mechanism.

Blockchain doesn’t have to be a complicated, long-time project. That being said, we are mainly working on blockchain becoming the fundamental component of our hybrid cloud platform for collaboration and trust.

What blockchain uniquely provides is its ability for people to integrate and manage workflows that go outside of company boundaries.

Blockchain turns out to be a fast way to integrate business data, while using smart contracts for automation of workflows.

It creates the capability for collaboration and trust when organizations are dealing with multiple parties.

Private networks allow people to have visibility for the data they require yet still have a good degree of trust.

Atea ASA, an IT infrastructure provider for the Nordic and Baltic regions is using the IBM Blockchain network to connect seafood farmers with processors and retailers.

We are talking to people from the financial services world and supply chain sector where the word “blockchain” doesn’t even come up.

All these organizations care about is provenance, track and trace, and dispute resolution.

Basically, any place where there are multibank settlements and connections is where blockchain can be applied. We are also starting to see more experimentation and work with central banks looking to implement a digital currency.

There will be a lot of work needing to be done as these networks go from experimentation to fully functional. Organizations will have to figure out how to govern blockchain networks, how to audit them and how to talk to regulators.

https://cointelegraph.com/news/ibm-executive-says-blockchain-becoming-a-useful-real-business-tool

The post IBM’s Viewpoint On Blockchain appeared first on Blockchain Insider.

• Macro Strategist Raoul Pal Moves More Than 50% of Portfolio to Bitcoin in Big Bet on Future of Crypto
• MicroStrategy Board makes Bitcoin its primary reserve currency, may increase its holdings beyond $250M
• Bitcoin market cap will match JPMorgan’s if the $16.5K CME gap closes
• Mad Money host Jim Cramer forecasts a generational wealth storage shift
• BNP Paribas connects to major stock exchanges with DAML smart contracts

Disclaimer: NOT INVESTMENT ADVICE

Reading Notes

Macro Strategist Raoul Pal Moves More Than 50% of Portfolio to Bitcoin in Big Bet on Future of Crypto

We are all 100% aware of the downside risk in a 60 vol asset… this is not a trade for a great grandmother. I just want to be clear, with regards to being irresponsibly long bitcoin: I don’t use leverage. I fully expect to have to deal with a 50% drawdown and, I’m ok with it. I look at my allocation versus liquid assets and not my house etc. I am lucky to have an income stream, which is key. ~ Global Macro Investor founder and chief executive Raoul Pal, who is betting big on the future of digital currencies.

https://dailyhodl.com/2020/09/14/macro-strategist-raoul-pal-moves-more-than-50-of-portfolio-to-bitcoin-in-big-bet-on-future-of-crypto/

MicroStrategy Board makes Bitcoin its primary reserve currency, may increase its holdings beyond $250M

MicroStrategy has outperformed the Nasdaq since buying BTC. Now, it’s doubling down.

The move – Microstrategy’s Bitcoin investment – has already caused a slew of copycats, with smaller companies of every shape making similar announcements.

• It should be noted that MicroStrategy sold a domain to Block.one in 2019 for $30 million.
• Perhaps this gave the company’s leadership an appreciation of the value of cryptocurrency.
• Some of the world’s biggest institutional investors have a stake in the company.
• This may demonstrate how much more acceptable Bitcoin has become on Wall Street in the past few years.

https://cointelegraph.com/news/microstrategy-board-makes-bitcoin-its-primary-reserve-currency-may-increase-its-holdings-beyond-250m

Bitcoin market cap will match JPMorgan’s if the $16.5K CME gap closes

“As it turns out, bitcoin is better at being gold than gold — and not just incrementally, but by an order of magnitude or 10X better. It is a widely held belief in technology circles that when a product is 10X better than its closest substitute, it will escape its competition. We believe Bitcoin has achieved this.”

At $16,500, Bitcoin’s market cap would match that of JPMorgan, illustrating just how early the crypto sector is in its growth phase.

#Bitcoin‘s price if it reaches this market cap:

$16‘500 JP Morgan
$23‘000 Visa
$40‘300 Facebook
$106‘000 Apple
$487‘000 Gold

Lets go!

— MMCrypto (@MMcrypto) September 10, 2020

https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-market-cap-will-match-jpmorgans-if-the-165k-cme-gap-closes

The Future of Smart Contract

BNP Paribas connects to major stock exchanges with DAML smart contracts

In 2019, the ASX and Digital Asset signed a Memorandum of Understanding stating that the stock exchange will support DAML as part of its CHESS blockchain registry. As reported, ASX’s CHESS system is coming in 2021.

Introduced in April 2016, DAML stands for Digital Asset Modeling Language and represents an expressive language designed for financial institutions to model and execute agreements through DLT and smart contracts.

The new DAML-driven apps will connect BNP Paribas Securities Services with major global stock exchanges like the Australian Securities Exchange, or ASX, and the Hong Kong Exchange, or HKEX.

The apps will provide market participants in the Asia Pacific with real-time access to ASX’s and HKEX’s upcoming blockchain-based trading and settlement platforms. BNP Paribas will specifically connect to the ASX’s blockchain-powered equity transaction platform known as the Clearing House Electronic Subregister System, or CHESS.

https://cointelegraph.com/news/bnp-paribas-connects-to-major-stock-exchanges-with-daml-smart-contracts

Mad Money host Jim Cramer forecasts a generational wealth storage shift

When I go to my inflation handbook, what it says is buy gold, buy masterpieces and buy mansions, what we didn’t have in that menu, was crypto. ~ Jim Cramer, host of the popular CNBC mainstream markets show, Mad Money.

https://cointelegraph.com/news/mad-money-host-jim-cramer-forecasts-a-generational-wealth-storage-shift

The post A Generational Wealth Storage Shift appeared first on Blockchain Insider.

Pros of NFT

• They could unlock new revenue streams in gaming, sports, the arts, and technology.
• NFTs could introduce millions of people to cryptocurrencies for the very first time.
• They can transform our attitudes toward ownership — and make it possible to own a real-world asset that’s thousands of miles away.

Cons of NFT

• Building decentralized apps for non‑fungible tokens can be tricky and time consuming.
• Much more simplification is needed so NFTs are easy to use for people who know nothing about blockchain.
• NFT games can have a ”hot potato” effect. Players buy an asset in the hope of selling it on for a profit, but if the market collapses, they can make a nasty loss.

NFT Stats

• All these stats making promises of astronomical growth don’t tell the full story, though. The NFT space does have its challenges.
• According to Nonfungible.com’s annual report, most projects have a poor retention rate — and in 2019, the vast majority were used for three months or less. As of February 2020, just 3.5% of these platforms were used for more than 10 months.
• The liquidity of NFTs is also a crucial measure of how healthy a marketplace is, but in 2019, just 12% of newly created assets actually circulated between users.

Big NFT News in 2020 (so far)

• Back in March 2020, Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss revamped Nifty, a centralized exchange that allows people to sell their tokens and withdraw their profits in fiat.
• Companies are using NFTs to help consumers establish ownership and control over their DNA data, and others are planning to launch peer-to-peer marketplaces for NFT mortgages and rentals.
• NFTs are even being created for journalistic content in a bid to tackle fake news.

What’s Next?

• A straightforward user interface will be crucial for unlocking mainstream adoption.
• As endless experimentation takes place, we’ll likely see several NFT projects crash and burn. Some will struggle to maintain the excitement and momentum they have immediately after launching.
• As such, if you’re tempted to snap up a pricy token worth a few hundred bucks, make sure you’re not left holding a hot potato.

Full artcile: https://cointelegraph.com/magazine/nonfungible-tokens/

The post ROTD: Non-Fungible Token (NFT) appeared first on Blockchain Insider.

Despite its mysterious beginnings, the blockchain may be the airplane of our time.

Economist and filmmaker Manuel Stagars portrays this exciting technology in interviews with software developers, cryptologists, researchers, entrepreneurs, consultants, VCs, authors, politicians, and futurists from the United States, Canada, Switzerland, the UK, and Australia.

The documentary is divided into 7 sections:

1. First Contact With The Blockchain
2. Blockchain Technology
3. Influence of the Blockchain
4. New Business Opportunities
5. The Blockchain and Banks
6. The Blockchain and Financial Inclusion
7. The Real Revolution
8. The Blockchain and Us

Blockchain and Us by Manuel Stagars

Notes on Blockchain and Us

Roger Wattenhofer
Professor, Distributed Computing Group, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH)
Zurich, Switzerland

“For me, part of the fascination is that we don’t yet know exactly what this thing is, and yet there are still lots of people getting around it. I thought of it as it’s like a space rock that crashed on Earth. You have a bunch of people that gather around and all pointing to it, what this thing is? You don’t really know what it is but it is still very interesting.”
Taylor Gerring
Co-Founder, Ethereum
Zug, Switzerland

Blockchains are military grade cryptography.

“We are really seeing a new way of transacting value on the internet.”
Elizabeth Stark
Co-Founder & CEO, Lightning
San Francisco, USA

What matters to people is what they can do with the technology.

“I think within 20 years, financial services will be just software and the smart contract technology, in particular, is going to automate a lot of things that institutions and people handle today.”
Caitlin Long
Chairman of the Board & President at Symbiont.io
New York, USA

“”When they saw the whole opportunity, they are ready to change, hey I don’t understand everything but I understand there’s something behind, so we really need to go forward.”
Jan Seffinga
Partner, Deloitte Switzerland
Zurich, Switzerland

What prosperity offers you, is independent.

“We are at the cross road here. We have the graviton now to create the technology that will actually help the entire human race. The question is, will we do it? But we can do it now.”
Rik Willard
Founder & Managing Director, Agentic Group
New York, USA

The post Blockchain and Us appeared first on Blockchain Insider.