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 …

The Blockchain Services Network (BSN), the largest blockchain infrastructure initiative in China, now has a unified smart contract programming language. Red Date Technology, a major tech company involved in the BSN's development, will add support for DAML — a smart contract language developed by American blockchain startup Digital Asset. Announcing the news on Sept. 14, the companies’ executives said that DAML will now be the “exclusive standard” for developing decentralized applications, or DApps, on top of the BSN. The integration will enable the interoperability of DApps regardless of the implemented blockchain network. As such, developers will not have to rewrite …

Although recycling may seem like a relatively simple concept, the plastics recycling supply chain proves otherwise. From understanding which plastics get recycled to determining the quality of those plastics, these issues and more are resulting in lower recycling participation rates. Statistics show that by 2024, the global recycling market is expected to reach $377 billion. However, plastic waste management has become an issue severely impacting today’s environment. For example, the United Nations estimates that about 300 million tons of plastic waste is produced globally each year. Unfortunately, only 9% of that is recycled. U.N. findings further show that about 12% …

Recently, the venture arms of corporate giants Volvo and Total invested in blockchain traceability startup Circulor that helps reduce child labor in Africa and aspires to work with Tesla, GM and Ford. Prior to an investment by its venture arm, Volvo was testing Circulor’s platform for over a year. The startup was helping the carmaker to verify the origins of cobalt used in its batteries. Cobalt, as is with many other raw materials, is not always ethically sourced. Circulor is also tracking the origins of another important raw material for car manufacturing, mica, which is used for insulation. Buy mica …

Tech Mahindra, the IT subsidiary of Indian conglomerate Mahindra Group, has launched a new blockchain-based digital contracts and rights platform for the media and entertainment industry. Developed using IBM’s blockchain platform, which leverages the open-source Hyperledger Fabric protocol, the system aims to help producers and content creators efficiently track their revenue, royalty payments and digital rights. Dubbed the “Blockchain Based Contracts and Rights Management System” (bCRMS), Tech Mahindra has pitched the platform as a key tool for preventing digital piracy. In a statement on July 9, Tech Mahindra’s blockchain and cybersecurity practice leader Rajesh Dhuddu noted that for the media …

Blockchain technology has proliferated in a number of industries outside of the cryptocurrency space in the decade since Bitcoin’s (BTC) inception. The underlying technology of the preeminent cryptocurrency went under the radar in the early years of cryptocurrency adoption before projects such as Ethereum began to explore the range of possibilities of blockchain networks. While many startups looked to harness blockchain technology to power new cryptocurrencies, a number of mainstream technology firms began building their own enterprise blockchain systems that could be rolled out. IBM and Microsoft are giants in the information technology space and have led the development of …

Owing to ongoing financial difficulties, the IBM Hyperledger-powered trade finance blockchain platform we.trade is laying off almost half of its workforce. According to a Global Trade Review report, “more than a dozen employees” were laid off and most of them belonged to the commercial and product-focused verticals of the company. We.trade was jointly owned and funded by 12 influential banks and financial institutions such as Deutsche Bank, HSBC, Rabobank, Santander and Société Générale. Less than a month ago, IBM bought a 7% stake in the company, which, we.trade said, would help it scale its business globally. We.trade has had quite …

A report published by blockchain and AI investment firm Outlier Ventures has found a decline in developer activity of roughly 20% on average across 12 leading blockchain and cryptocurrency projects. In Outlier Ventures’ Blockchain Developer Report for the second quarter of 2020, the firm notes that development fell by half for top markets Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Eos (EOS), and Tron Tron (TRX). Despite the retraction in building, the firm notes that some signs of strong developer activity surrounding various crypto projects, with Theta (THETA) and Cardano (ADA) seeing increases in core code updates of 931% and 580% respectively. Top crypto …

Eight new members have joined Hyperledger, including several firms targeting tokenization initiatives. Hyperledger is a consortium of firms working on open-source enterprise solutions using distributed ledger technologies (DLT). Launched in December 2015 by the Linux Foundation, the project has since received contributions from IBM, Intel, and other leading tech firms exploring blockchain applications. Blockchain veterans among the new members, include IOHK, the company behind Cardano (ADA), IOV Labs — formerly RIF Labs — and crypto-friendly payments platform Public Mint. Other new entrants include Japanese consulting and PR firm Binarystar, and Atomyze, a tokenization platform launched by Switzerland’s TokenTrust AG. DB …

Treasury Prime aspires to bring U.S. banks out of the stone age by providing automation through APIs. It appears that they internally use rudimentary blockchain technology to handle their compliance efforts. Time travel The company focuses on connecting fintechs and banks “the most comprehensive banking API ever”. Treasury Prime CEO Chris Dean told Cointelgraph that U.S. banks are way behind the curve, technologically speaking: “The interesting thing here is that in the U.S., the banking system is 50 years behind. And all we're trying to do is really move that up 20 or 30 years.” The company serves several cryptocurrency …

Microsoft’s principal architect, Marley Gray, and Enterprise Ethereum Alliance’s former executive director, Ron Resnick, on Tuesday launched the InterWork Alliance, a nonprofit organization aimed at bringing global standards to the token-based ecosystem. At launch, the IWA included more than 28 blockchain, technology and financial organizations from around the world, including Microsoft, Chainlink, Hyperledger, IBM, Nasdaq, Accenture and others. The IWA indicated that startups presently working on tokenized ecosystems are mostly focusing on their individual solutions and marketing their platforms to other businesses. Setting global standards, it said, will help focus this wide-scale innovation to make a collective impact on businesses. …

As per a detailed report released by accounting giant Deloitte at the World Economic Forum on the subject of blockchain interoperability, this fast-evolving technology still has some distance to tread before it can be ported into action for mainstream purposes such as large-scale supply chain management, secure data sharing and other processes. In this regard, a number of big-name web service providers such as IBM, Oracle, Azure Blockchain Services and SAP have been vocal in their support for cross-chain platforms and have made a firm commitment to solving many of the issues that currently plague this fast-growing technology. For example, …