This week in Blockchain… #4
The week beginning the 13th was unlucky for some, but in the world of Blockchain technologies was as exciting as ever. This week we saw HSBC sending Soybeans across the world in one of their first Blockchain experiments, Microsoft search engine Bing announced its plans to ban Crypto adverts by the end of 2018 and finally rap star Snoop Dog performed live for the team at Ripple at one of their after parties. All in all, it’s been a busy week for the world of Blockchain. Read on and check out some of our top picks for the week.
Monday 14th of May
Poker meets Crypto
On May the 27th and June 3rd, 2018, fans of Poker and fans of Crypto Currencies can unite and play in a live poker tournament, exclusively using the CHP Currency which is formed from the Ethereum Blockchain.
The tournament is the brainchild of online Poker platform CoinPoker. They have created an online poker platform which utilizes a decentralized set of smart contracts which is being used to counteract some of the problems currently being faced by online poker fans.
Some of the advantages of the platform include; fast and transparent transactions, high speed processing and the ability to play from any platform in the world.
Fans of Poker may already be aware of the CoinPoker brand as they have been a big sponsor in the Japanese Poker Cup which attracted over 9000 players in its last game.
To find out more about the project and also the coming tournaments please click here.
Tuesday 15th May
HTC Launches announces its first Blockchain phone
This week Mobile giant HTC announced its first Blockchain based mobile phone. Speaking at the Consensus 2018 event in New York, the founder of HTC Phil Chen announced: “Exodus is a smartphone that will support underlying protocols such as Bitcoin”.
Phil Chen later posted a Medium article where he ended his article by saying “We believe in the decentralized future”.
The phone has boasts three key selling points which are; cold storage, node functionality, and enhanced security options.
The HTC Exodus won’t however be the first Blockchain phone of its kind. In 2018 Blockchain leaders Sirinlabs created the world first Blockchain powered phone which boasted functionality such as having the ability to bypass CyptoCurrency fees.
On his Medium account Phil Chen went onto say “I want to see a world where the end consumers can truly own their data (browsing history, identity, assets, wallets, emails, messaging, etc) without the need for central authorities.”
Its still early days for the project and no launch date for the Exodus phone has been announced. Further details and a picture of the phone can be viewed here.
Wednesday 16th May
Ukraine to legalise cryptocurrencies
Wednesday saw some interesting news from Eastern Europe. The Ukrainian Securities Chairman, Khromaev announced plans to legalise a group of Cryptocurrencies and will be putting together a plan of action to present to the Ukranian Financial Stability Board. Khromaev went onto describe how he is believes the cryptocurrency market will have a huge impact (for the better) on the countries current financial system.
The views shared by Khromaev has come at a time when the rest of the world has also began announcing plans on regulating the currency. Similar views were shared by the Australian Government last week.
The announcement has also come at a time where Ukraine earlier this year was potentially going to put further restrictions on the use of Bitcoin, Ethereum and other Cryptocurrencies. In a change in wind, the country may be considering launching its own national currency known as “The Hryvnia”.
Thursday 17th of May
Japanese bank to trial its own Token by 2019
We round up this week with news from Asia and Japans Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (the worlds fifth largest bank) has announced plan to trial its own Cryptocurrency. The coin touted to be called MUFG coin has already gained a level of traction and may be trialed by over 100,000 account holders.
In January 2018 the bank announced plans to launch its own Token which would make it among the first major banks in Asia to do so.
MUFG Coin will be available to customers via a mobile app which will convert part of their holdings into the currency. The mobile app will have the ability to be used in convenience stores, restaurants and other outlets. Another feature of the app will be to instantly transfer coins from one user to another.
The bank is by no means the only country in Asia that has announced plans to delve into the world of Cryptocurencies. Yahoo has been making headlines in 2018 with plans to introduce an online Token for their users. More on this as it develops.
That wraps up our week. Other top picks included; JP Morgan launching its own Cryptocurrency Strategy, Poland stalling its plans to tax Cryptocurrencies and finally Jack Ma of AliBaba announcing plans to utilise Blockchain more in his personal projects.
Let me know if you think we missed anything this week and drop me an email on ash@akeo.tech
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