The Austrian government has backed a new blockchain-based research project, aiming to provide secure communication channels between authorities, institutions and citizens in times of crisis. As announced June 18, the QualiSig project, launched by Austrian comms specialist A-Trust, will utilize the Ignis child chain, part of the Ardor blockchain from Swiss company Jelurida. Answering the call QualiSig recently received a grant of 60,000 euros ($67,300) from the Austrian government following an emergency call for companies needing funding for COVID-19 research. The project uses transparent, encrypted communications and secure and decentralized data storage. Citizens will have sole responsibility for control over …

Cryptocurrencies could not exist without cryptography. Advances in this field can have far-reaching impacts on blockchain technology and its potential. We will examine the opinions of industry experts on the latest cryptographic advances and their potential for cryptocurrencies. Zero knowledge proofs: more than just privacy Director of research at blockchain firm Blockstream and mathematician Andrew Poelstra told Cointelegraph that zero-knowledge proof (ZK-Proof) systems are “one of the most exciting areas of development” in the cryptography space. This kind of cryptography is known and appreciated for being the basis of privacy-preserving solutions. ZK-Proofs are the basis of the privacy-preserving technology included …