The adoption of digital assets in traditional legacy systems is moving fast. In the middle of the year, the digital asset custody industry saw welcome developments when the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency officially announced that all nationally chartered banks in the United States can provide custody services for cryptocurrencies. The move, while positive for the ecosystem, is yet to be accompanied by a rigorous assessment of its technological infrastructure, like asking questions such as: Where are these newly acquired digital assets stored? One thing is clear: We have entered a new paradigm of finance that requires a …

When the Sustainable Development Goals, or SDGs, were conceived back in 2012, blockchain technology was in its early days. Few could have foreseen the trajectory and the potential of blockchain for advancing these ambitious targets. But today, we see opportunities for blockchain technology to recast conventional approaches to sustainable development — and accelerate progress if deployed responsibly. Macro trends of 2020 There are a number of macro trends this year in the world of blockchain and sustainable development that provide context. This has been — and will continue to be — an important year for laying the groundwork for major …

A recent YouTube webinar from the Ministry of Justice and Public Security hosted discussion on blockchain's usefulness in several categories, including the fight against corruption. Blockchain's impact on COVID-19 tracing also surfaced during the discussion. A report from Reuters at the beginning of September clarified that the country is not likely to push a mandatory vaccine, while Sept. 9 news reported by MercoPress estimated a 2021 debut date for a COVID-19 shot in the country. Brazil now plans to use a blockchain-based system called the National Health Data Network, or RNDS. Constructed using the Hyperledger Fabric blockchain framework, the system …

I thought we were the good guys when I worked in operations security for the Austrian government. After I learned how trivial it was for certain institutions or people in certain positions to fetch all the data related to citizens, I quickly began to understand how privacy had been under siege for probably 100 years. In a post-COVID-19 world, I fear those attacks are getting worse. When I took the job as an OpSec specialist for the government, I would have never thought about what I think today: I became skeptical of the system. I question everything now. Initially, however, …

With today’s technological and medical advancements, quality, affordable healthcare should be a basic human right: healthcare for every single person, no matter their socioeconomic level or geographic location. The global size of the healthcare market was worth over a staggering $8.45 trillion in 2018 and continues to grow. With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s well known that medicine is moving online and going digital. But how is this related to decentralized finance? The decentralized finance community is rapidly growing but is currently still in its early stages with the focus primarily on yield farming. Related: How blockchain will …

A recent study examined the response of the 15 leading North American banks to the COVID-19 pandemic. Researchers discovered that tellers only at three banks wore masks 100% of the time. Participants visited 700 bank branches across the continent belonging to leading institutions, such as Bank of America, Chase, Citibank and TD Bank. Overall, these 15 banks operate over 33,000 branches. Source: Dalbar. It appears that the ATMs present the sorest point for the banks. The ATMs in only 19% of the examined U.S. branches had a sanitizer available, and only 20% of the branches were equipped with dividers between …

The Blockchain frenzy in South Korea has now reached the housing sector, with the national government pledging $1.27 million in funding for a blockchain-based platform that targets apartment residents across the country. According to ZDNet Korea, the South Korean Ministry of Science, or ICT, chose a local firm, Ksign, to develop a contact-free platform which will let residents engage with electronic voting, parking space management, and other housing-based governance measures. The platform will also aid with social distancing, said the announcement. The project’s creators further noted that they expect it will “strengthen public health in the apartment spaces.” Homeowners, residents, …

As the COVID-19 pandemic began, retail and institutional Bitcoin investors took very different approaches, new research from OKEx Insights and Catallact showed. The research, which looked at on-chain BTC transaction data from January to the beginning of August 2020, found retail investors largely pulled back and took a wait and see strategy with Bitcoin. Larger, possibly more institutional investors, on the other hand, accumulated BTC. The report does not take into account transactions in the bulk of August and September when prices fell. Retail transactions, those representing less than one-tenth of a coin, make up the bulk of BTC movement …

The pandemic has seen consumers adopt digital payments in increasing numbers and the trend was accelerating, said the President of the European Central Bank (ECB) Christine Lagarde. She also indicated a panel of euro-zone central bank officials is set to reveal a verdict on a European central bank digital currency (CBDC) imminently. Speaking at an online conference hosted by Deutsche Bundesbank on Sept. 10, Lagarde, stated that EU residents had embraced digitalization, with e-commerce sales increasing roughly 20% between February and June, even as total retail sales declined 1.2%. She said the volume of online payments had experienced “double-digit growth …

The government of South Korea has issued warnings to the public to avoid real life crypto meetups due to the “high risk” of catching coronavirus in the midst of a second outbreak in the country. Segye Ilbo reports the authorities not only warned about COVID-19-related fears but of the potential for “financial damages to consumers,” following reports about fraudsters holding meetups to attract people into multi-level marketing (MLM) schemes. One of the companies quoted by local media outlets is an “unregistered door-to-door sales company” called Muhan Group, which promotes a multilevel marketing investment opportunity allegedly based in cryptoassets. In reality …

A technology company is inviting blockchain developers and enthusiasts to take part in its first-ever hackathon. Maxonrow’s event is going to take place from Sept. 5 to Oct. 3. According to the team, there are going to be five challenges overall, with a total prize of 15,000 euros ($17,771) up for grabs. Known as the MAXathon, Maxonrow is particularly keen to hear from experts who can join its quest to tackle COVID-19, as well as future pandemics. It has created a control and communication system called MedsLOCK that provides real-time insights related to the coronavirus. The five challenges Each of …

A blockchain-based app aimed to make travel during the pandemic easier has been launched. The app, called ICC AOKpass, allows users to verify their COVID-19 status instantly. Dorjee Sun, CEO of blockchain firm Perlin, told CIR Magazine that ICC AOKpass "uses a common global standard that can be deployed and used anywhere in the world today. It can adapt to the rules of any given country and allows users to instantly verify their COVID-19 compliance status anytime, anywhere." ICC AOKpass was tested by a couple of companies, including Singapore-based firm Energy Drilling and International SOS. The firms had selected crew …