Blockchain development firm Blockstream has expanded its satellite service and is now broadcasting the Bitcoin (BTC) blockchain to all of Earth’s major land masses, Forbes reported Dec. 17. The wider coverage — which comes via the addition of a fifth leased satellite — brings potential internet-free Bitcoin transactions and information sharing to crypto users in the Asia Pacific region. The satellite service, still in beta, had hitherto already been available across Africa, Europe, South and North America. Blockstream has also reportedly launched a new application programming interface (API), which lets the satellites be used to exchange encrypted messages, with users …

An Internet Court in Hangzhou, Eastern China, has turned to blockchain to fight piracy at the expense of online writers, English-language media outlet China.org.cn reports Dec. 8. China has reportedly “set up three Internet courts in Hangzhou, Beijing and Guangzhou.” Internet Courts are courts expressly intended to manage internet-related cases and allow plaintiffs to file their complaints online. The official website of Hangzhou Internet Court reads that it “behave[s] as an ‘incubator’ for Internet space governance, a ‘test field’ for Internet judicial rules, a ‘leader’ for diversified Internet disputes, and a ‘first mover’ for the transformation of Internet trials.” Hangzhou, …

Chinese desktop software and blockchain-related company Xunlei has published its Q3 report Wednesday, Nov. 14. According to the report, the firm’s revenue increased in 2018 after the introduction of blockchain services. The report notes that the company’s Q3 revenue reached $45.3 million, representing an increase of 1.1% year-over-year. The firm attributed $19.8 million of that revenue to its cloud and Internet value-added services sectors, which is an increase of 8.3 percent over the same period last year. Lei Chen, CEO of Xunlei group, stated that blockchain remains one of the key investment areas for the company, noting: “We believe that …

China’s top-level internet watchdog, the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC), published new draft regulations for blockchain-based information service providers Oct. 19. The draft, open for public consultation until Nov. 2, proposes twenty three articles for the regulation of all companies or entities providing blockchain-based information services to the Chinese public. Under the proposed rules, all such entities would be required to register with the CAC within ten days of launching their platforms. The regulations would also require service providers to censor content that is deemed to pose a threat to national security or to “disrupt the social order,” and to …

A digital advertising startup with the goal of “building a better internet” for web users, publishers and advertisers is embarking on the second round of its token offering – but with a twist. Varanida says its blockchain has been built for three reasons: improving transparency for brands, increasing revenue for publishers, and giving the public a better experience when they are browsing the internet. The company plans to achieve these goals by “improving online digital content and creating incentives for less intrusive ads that people actually want to see.” Founded in Lyon, France four years ago, Varanida says it has …

Opera has partnered with blockchain advisory and financial services firm Ledger Capital to explore possible blockchain applications, according to a press release published September 28. Per the announcement, the two companies are looking to investigate applications and use cases of blockchain and how the technology can be deployed within Opera products and its ecosystem. As previously reported, Opera became the first major web browser that included a built-in cryptocurrency wallet. Commenting on the initiative, Charles Hamel, Product Lead of Opera’s crypto wallet, said that “paying with the crypto wallet is like sending digital cash straight from your phone … This …

On Sept. 17, a vital United States-based content delivery network (CDN) CloudFlare introduced a new decentralized content gateway via InterPlanetary File System (IPFS), a peer-to-peer (p2p) network run by thousands of computers bypassing the conventional HTTP system. Here’s how it supposed to work and why CloudFlare decided to support such a project. What is CloudFlare? CloudFlare is a company that provides content delivery network (CDN) services and DDoS protection. Basically, CloudFlare plays the role of an intermediary between the website and the visitor. It defends the website by filtering out suspicious requests and speeds up its overall performance via its …

Major U.S.-based content delivery network (CDN) CloudFlare has introduced a new decentralized content gateway via its InterPlanetary File System (IPFS), the firm announced in a blog post September 17. The announcement was made during Cloudflare Crypto Week, a week devoted to the adoption of new cryptography-powered technologies. Cloudflare’s IPFS Gateway is the first product to be released as a part of Cloudfare’s Distributed Web Gateway project that plans to “encompass all of [its] efforts” to deploy distributed ledger technology (DLT). Cloudflare’s IPFS Gateway service is a method of content access from the IPFS that does not require users to install …

U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Chairman J. Christopher Giancarlo has said that crypto needs a “do no harm” approach from regulators to flourish, in an interview at the annual Singapore Summit today, Friday 14. Chairman Giancarlo said he took the precedent from the early days of the Internet, which he argued was able to develop and mature because of the government’s minimal interventions: “I'm advocating the same approach to cryptocurrencies and all things having to do with this new digital revolution of markets, and of currencies, and of asset classes." Nonetheless, he distinguished between the CFTC’s short-term approach to …

Japanese tech giant SoftBank is developing a blockchain-powered cross-carrier mobile payments service, the company reported in an official press release published September 12. SoftBank’s new proof-of-concept (PoC) development was announced in partnership with telecoms-focused blockchain firm TBCASoft and Synchronoss Technologies, provider of cloud, messaging, digital, and Internet of Things (IoT) services and platforms. The upcoming mobile payment service will be based on the Rich Communication Services (RCS) global messaging standard and TBCASoft’s cross-carrier blockchain platform. The service will will enable users to conduct peer-to-peer money transfers globally, as well as to carry out internal purchases directly from their device via …

Ripple’s global payments tech conference, Swell, will start off this fall with a keynote speech from 42nd President of the United States Bill Clinton, according to Ripple’s July 31 blog post. Former President Clinton’s keynote and Q&A in San Francisco on Oct. 1 will be moderated by Gene Sperling, the National Economic Council Director and Advisory under both Presidents Clinton and Obama. The blog post notes that former President Clinton helped to “usher in a period of extreme growth and adoption of the Internet, shaping what it is today,” as well as bringing new technologies to underprivileged communities globally. Ripple …

A cloud platform, with the goal of building a fairer internet, has made its mainnet live — allowing its growing suite of network-ready applications to offer faster and more secure hosting services for websites, APIs, apps and e-commerce stores. DADI says its peer-to-peer network helps to shift the emphasis of computing power away from large corporations, as its infrastructure is owned by users. The company claims that those who use its network enjoy greater performance and efficiency as a result, with costs slashed by as much as 60 percent when compared to traditional cloud providers. This shift away from server …