#SmartContractExperts

[aishas1991]

Smart Contract Partner: BlockLogic Innovations?

BlockLogic Innovations is Your Reliable Adviser in Smart Contract Development. BlockLogic is the firm to contact when you want to venture into the innovative and trustworthy world of smart contract development. Developing intricate smart contracts that enable safe and easy transactions is our area of expertise. Come along on this journey driven by technology and trust, and let BlockLogic be your go-to source for smart contract solutions.

[thesmartcontract]

Bitcoin Can Execute Smart Contracts As Well As Ethereum

The main selling point of systems like Ethereum and EOS is their ability to execute smart contracts, at least according to the supporters of those projects. To them, Bitcoin is simply too limited and conservative, and new approaches are needed to unlock the true power of blockchain technology.

Of course, this is not technically true. While Bitcoin’s scripting language is much less expressive than Ethereum’s (for example), it’s possible to write certain types of smart contracts on Bitcoin as it exists today. Three examples of applications of Bitcoin smart contracts include: Bitcoin’s often-hyped Lightning Network; the recently announced Arwen protocol, which dramatically increases security for traders on exchanges; and Abra, which allows users to peg the value of their bitcoin to many other real world assets.

Multisig addressing is another example of a smart contract, and former Bitcoin Core lead maintainer Gavin Andresen once argued most of what Ethereum is useful for can already be done with Bitcoin’s multisig functionality today. In fact, Andresen wrote about this a little over a year before Ethereum officially launched.

https://coinjournal.net/debunking-the-bitcoin-cannot-do-smart-contracts-myth/

[thesmartcontract]

A Bitcoin Prediction Market Using Smart Contracts

Hodl Hodl, a peer-to-peer cryptocurrency exchange, has announced that it is launching a prediction market on Bitcoin. Slated for launch in the spring of 2019, it would be the first Bitcoin-based prediction market to go live on Bitcoin’s mainnet.

A prediction market is a novel application of blockchain technology. The betting platforms allow users to secure odds, futures and outcomes with smart contracts. Two users place funds (traditionally, ether) into a smart contract to bet on futures for any given outcome; when the outcome arrives, the smart contract automatically pays out to the winner.

Most prediction markets are built on blockchains with a more flexible smart contract language, like Ethereum. Augur, for example, pioneered the model when it launched in July 2018 as the first decentralized prediction market to make use of Ethereum’s ERC-20 token contract. Other prediction markets have followed suit, including Gnosis on Ethereum and Bhodi on QTUM.

Despite Augur’s frontrunning status, Hodl Hodl believes that it can improve on aspects of the platform’s operations — specifically, in its solution to the “oracle problem:” How, for example, does the smart contract know who wins the World Cup, if bitcoin closed above $3,850 by midnight on March 8, or who won an election?

https://bitcoinmagazine.com/articles/decentralized-exchange-hodl-hodl-launching-bitcoin-based-prediction-market/

[thesmartcontract]

Smart Contracts to Disrupt Every Industry.

The potential industry disruptions:

Legal: “Smart contracts” stored on the blockchain track contract parties, terms, transfer of ownership, and delivery of goods or services without the need for legal intervention.

Supply Chain: By utilizing a distributed ledger, companies within a supply chain gain transparency into shipment tracking, deliveries, and progress among other suppliers where no inherent trust exists.

Government: Blockchain offers promise as a technology to store personal identity information, criminal backgrounds, and “e-citizenship,” authorized by biometrics.

Energy: Decentralized energy transfer and distribution are possible via micro-transactions of data sent to blockchain, validated, and re-dispersed to the grid while securing payment to the submitter.

Food: Using blockchain to store food supply chain data offers enhanced traceability of product origin, batching, processing, expiration, storage temperatures, and shipping.

Retail: Secure P2P marketplaces can track P2P retail transactions, with product information, shipment, and bills of lading input on the blockchain, and payments made via Bitcoin.

Healthcare: Electronic medical records stored in a blockchain, accessed and updated via biometrics, allow for the democratization of patient data and alleviate the burden of transferring records among providers.

Insurance: When autonomous vehicles and other smart devices communicate status updates with insurance providers via the blockchain, premium costs decrease as the need for auditing and authenticating data vanishes.

Travel and Hospitality: Passengers store their authenticated “single travel ID” on the blockchain for use in lieu of travel documents, identification cards, loyalty program IDs, and payment data.

Education: Educational institutions could utilize the blockchain to store credentialing data around assessments, degrees, and transcripts.

As part of our research coverage on disruptive technologies at Crowd Companies, blockchain aligns with our prior research on the Collaborative Economy, where technologies strengthen P2P relationships to bypass central institutions. Additionally, blockchain technologies will be harnessed by autonomous technologies, enabling machine-to-machine transactions.

https://shift.newco.co/graphic-blockchain-for-every-industry-dfcbdcfe23ea

[thesmartcontract]

DocuSign Partners With Smart Contract Platforms

the term “smart contract” back in 1994, but DocuSign can make a compelling case for being its true inventor. Since its founding in 2003, firms of all sizes and industries have relied on the company to streamline the contract process through its best-in class security, identity authentication, user interface, and integration with leading business suites. Today DocuSign has 500 thousand paying customers, and it earned over $700 million in revenue last year.

However, the company is not resting on its laurels and instead is seeking ways to improve its service offerings, with much of this experimentation incorporating blockchain technology. Over the last few years this testing has included trials, demos, and partnerships on both Bitcoin and Ethereum. The company also joined the Accord Project, an open-source software initiative that was established to develop a technology stack for smart agreements. Furthermore, last week the company invested in a $5.5 million Series A round for smart contract provider Clause alongside Galaxy Digital with the goal of making contracts on their DocuSign Agreement Cloud “self-executing” and “self-aware” in an ongoing fashion, rather than just one moment in time.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.forbes.com/sites/stevenehrlich/2019/07/01/after-experimenting-with-bitcoin-and-ethereum-docusign-is-accelerating-its-blockchain-ambitions/amp/

[thesmartcontract]

A Few Considerations For Designing Smart Contracts

For traditional coding, it is a prevalent practice to segregate the code into various sections, which is also true in designing smart contracts. There are a number of libraries available which contain modules that can be used when writing a contract. It is also preferable to reuse such already available modules since this widely reduces the risk of committing an error and saves valuable time to focus on the ‘unique’ features of the contracts at hand. Even when a module needs to be modified to fit some particular needs, reuse of the corresponding tests to ensure nothing gets broken is highly recommended.

Hence, it is always advisable not to overdo the contractor to use fanciful coding techniques. Instead, keep it modest, especially because most contracts used by the public are going to have the corresponding source attached on the blockchain for anybody to inspect and validate. Having a clear, simple contract that is easy to understand gains more trust and is actually less likely to contain flaws than a large over-engineered contract doing way more than actually needed.

Addressing Security

When designing smart contracts, it is important to think about security from the very start. Since contracts are public and visible on the blockchain, everybody can potentially call every function. Even if you do not submit the source code, there is still the bytecode so everyone with the right understanding of the EVM and proper endurance can figure out what the contract does and call it. Hence, it’s not a very good idea to count on security by obscurity. In order to avoid this, most contracts implement the owner pattern that can be used to restrict the highest state “administrator” change functions, like setup, start, stop, and kill.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.entrepreneur.com/amphtml/332657

[thesmartcontract]

Inoperability Between Blockchains/Tokens Should Be Considered When Choosing A Smart Contract App

In order to determine which smart contract development platform is best-suited for a particular requirement, crypto analyst Marco Manoppo recommends building applications on networks that support interoperability between different tokens and blockchains. He explains:

In the future, when blockchain technology has matured … these [independent] blockchains & tokens [should be able] to communicate and operate with [each other]. There will be multiple [chains] in the space, ranging from private to public blockchains, with different use-cases on different parts of the world. For instance, a project that is utilized for patients’ data in the healthcare industry must be able to operate with another project that will be used as a payment channel.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.cryptoglobe.com/latest/2019/04/three-key-considerations-for-selecting-best-smart-contract-platform-to-deploy-apps/%3famp=yes

[thesmartcontract]

The Power Of The Open Source Community For Smart Contract Development

Today, we’re delighted to share that we have been working with fellow Hyperledger members, Blockchain Technology Partners (BTP), to integrate the DAML runtime with Hyperledger Sawtooth! In this blog post, I’ll describe why we believe it’s important to architect a DLT application independently of the platform, why a new language is needed for smart contracts, and why we are working with BTP to integrate it with Hyperledger Sawtooth.

“Following the recent announcement that DAML has been open-sourced, we are delighted that work is already underway to integrate the DAML runtime with Hyperledger Sawtooth. This demonstrates the power of the open source community to enable collaboration and give developers the freedom required to truly move the industry forward.”

Brian Behlendorf, Executive Director of Hyperledger

https://cointelegraph.com/news/blockchain-firm-digital-asset-integrates-smart-contract-language-with-hyperledger

[thesmartcontract]

EY Smart Contract Analyzer Launched

EY announced today the launch of EY Smart Contract Analyzer, a smart contract testing and security service for the public Ethereum blockchain. The service, now entering a private beta test, will allow users to monitor smart contracts and tokens for known security risks. As companies and investors increasingly turn to blockchain-based tokens and assets, it is becoming crucial to understand the risks involved.

Investors in digital tokens face unique risks because both tokens and contracts are software designed to represent certain business and legal commitments. EY research has found that, in the past, digital tokens may not have accurately reflected claims made in prospectuses or white papers and may not be updated in ways that are agreed by investors.

Built by the EY Blockchain Security Lab in Israel, the EY Smart Contract Analyzer is designed to test and monitor tokens and contracts both prior to their release and once available on public blockchains. EY has developed a list of more than 250 standard tests that cover aspects ranging from known malware and coding errors to standard tests that confirm for investors that tokens are behaving according to accepted industry standards.

https://www.ey.com/en_gl/news/2019/04/ey-launches-smart-contract-testing-service-for-blockchain-clients

[thesmartcontract]

DApp Devs Can Focus On Product Development On RSK Smart Contracts

RIF Labs has announced the integration of its public blockchain, RSK Smart Contracts, on Microsoft's Azure Marketplace . The RSK Smart Contract Network is an open-source platform that seeks to extend the functionality of Bitcoin using smart contracts and the Azure Marketplace is an app store for Microsoft’s cloud computing service.

Prior to the integration, RIF Labs customers had to deploy local servers while manually setting up and maintaining nodes for running the blockchain. With the addition of RSK Smart Contracts on the marketplace, users can have an RSK blockchain network set up in minutes via Azure.

Adrian Eidelman, RSK strategist and RIF Labs CTO, believes the integration with Microsoft's marketplace allows DApp developers to keep their focus on the product development now that node deployment has been settled.

“DApp developers can now focus on building their product, since they don’t have to worry anymore about spending hours in setting up and maintaining the node,” Eidelman explained in a company statement shared with Bitcoin Magazine . “Microsoft’s support will be key to accelerate adoption of RSK technologies and the Bitcoin ecosystem.”

https://www.google.com/amp/s/bitcoinmagazine.com/articles/microsoft-azure-now-supports-rsk-smart-contracts/amp/

[thesmartcontract]

NEO Co Founder Believes Ethereum Smart Contracts Is The Answer To dApps

Neo is a leading blockchain-based platform for developing smart contract-enabled decentralized applications (dApps), and has become an industry leader in the field.

Currently, the company are in the process of building and promoting their latest venture, NEO 3.0, which was the focal point for their conference this past week. On this subject, he said the NEO platform will only support issuing assets “with smart contracts”, and that NEO’s developers are planning to “unify” both asset types so that “there will be no more UTXO assets”.

The conversation also turned to other big players in the blockchain game, namely Ethereum. Hongfei believes “Ethereum currently has the strongest community of developers”. He also said that Ethereum’s development team is “like the go-to solution” and that “if you want to [learn] how to [write proper] smart contracts, [then] you will probably do it on Ethereum.”

https://www.asiacryptotoday.com/neo-founder-claims-ethereum-is-number-one-for-developers-and-predicts-blockchain-future/

[thesmartcontract]

Strong Design May Increase Smart Contract Cybersecurity

Pay Attention to the Smart Contract Client. A smart contract is really just a computer program that implements specific rules to interact with DLT/blockchain at a certain time or upon the occurrence of a specific event — unlike a traditional contract, this code actually executes the transaction between both parties and logs the entries on the blockchain (and even exchaniging cryptocurrency in the process). Any interaction with DLT/blockchain via a smart contract requires the use of a software client, and if history has taught us anything, software clients are vulnerable. Your development team needs to take the time to understand the client-side architecture so that any client-side risk from implementation of a smart contract can be minimized. If not, you run the risk of not only a lapse in data security but “mistakes” in the execution of the contract.

Pay Attention to What the Smart Contract Is Doing. Any smart contract does not end after development and launch — its operation and maintenance require adherence to basic cybersecurity practices. By their very nature, smart contracts rely on external factors in their operation (namely, the architectural requirements of the blockchain upon which they are working). You must ensure that the development and technical support teams (as well as client-side users within the company) engage in good “cyber hygiene” — at a minimum, the implementation of reasonable and necessary data security practices (i.e., software update and security vulnerability patch protocols, password and security access best practices, etc.) as well as ongoing operational intelligence on the actual DLT/blockchain to avoid potential vulnerabilities.

Smart Contracts Are Not Really Smart. Like a former computer science professor of mine said, software is only as good as its design and “garbage in means garbage out.” Unlike traditional software “bugs,” implementing a bug fix is not an easy task with DLT/blockchain because the blockchain entries are indelible and can’t be reversed per se. If anything, an updated (i.e., repaired) smart contract may need to be launched to “fix” the transactions and ultimately repair the “bug” (although that may not ultimately return lost goods or cryptocurrency to those affected by it, depending upon the circumstances of the hack) . Further, traditional software testing is not sufficient — any development will need to account for the complexities of the blockchain before launch, and upgrade procedures following launch.

https://abovethelaw.com/2019/02/unlocking-blockchain-3-considerations-to-minimize-cybersecurity-risk-in-smart-contracts/?rf=1

[thesmartcontract]

Ethereum Foundation Funds Smart Contract Reaearch At Columbia and Yale

The Ethereum Foundation has awarded a grant to researchers at Columbia and Yale universities for the compilation of a new smart contract programming language into the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM). The development was announced in a press release shared with Cointelegraph on March 6.

The beneficiary of the grant is a smart contract R&D project called DeepSea, spearheaded by Professor Ronghui Gu, an assistant professor of computer science at Columbia, in collaboration with researchers at Yale. Gu is also the co-founder of blockchain security firm CertiK, which is also one of the participants in the project that raised “several millions” in a funding round led by Binance Labs last October.

The new grant forms part of the foundation’s fifth wave financing — under the aegis of the Ethereum Foundation Grants Program — devoted to supporting Ethereum 2.0 and Layer 2 scaling efforts.

DeepSea is named after a new smart contracts programming language, originally created at the research lab of Professor Shao, department chair of computer science at Yale and Gu’s fellow co-founder at CertiK.

https://cointelegraph.com/news/ethereum-foundation-funds-columbia-yale-researchers-work-on-smart-contract-language

[thesmartcontract]

Nomura Invests In Smart Contract Platform As The Technology Will Be Indispensible In The Future

Japan financial group Nomura has invested in Y Combinator-backed smart contract auditing startup Quantstamp.

U.S.-based Quantstamp announced Wednesday that it is setting up a subsidiary in Japan following a “significant” investment from Nomura Holdings and Tokyo-listed internet group Digital Garage.

Chuzaburo Yagi, senior managing director in charge of innovations at Nomura Holdings, said:

“As blockchain technology is adopted in the financial world, smart contracts will play an increasingly important role. Security assurances through auditing and certification will become increasingly indispensable.”

Quantstamp’s new limited liability subsidiary in Japan aims to help the country’s startups and corporations in using “secure” blockchain technology. Smart contracts are self-executing pieces of code that can be implemented on blockchains to enforce specific sets of rules.

The market for smart contract-based applications is “strong” in Japan and will “only be growing,” said Quantstamp’s co-founder and CEO Richard Ma.

https://www.coindesk.com/japanese-bank-nomura-invests-in-smart-contract-auditing-startup-quantstamp

[thesmartcontract]

Bitcoin Has The Best Smart Contract Technology

“Bitcoin, in production is the most successful smart contract platform because it is very simple. Because it relies on very simple things and very clearly which actually works. I talk with smart smart contracts have extensionally legal contracts but the important thing is to have a contract which you can enfore with technology.”

He further added that it did not necessarily mean that the programming code used had to be complex to be effective. Bitcoin’s Lightning network was an example of a smart contract and its actual on-chain script is technically the same as different use-cases for validation.

https://ambcrypto.com/bitcoin-btc-is-the-most-successful-smart-contract-platform-in-production-claims-bitcoin-core-engineer/

[thesmartcontract]

Colorado And Connecticut Move Forward On Smart Contract Promoting Regulation

A committee of the Connecticut state legislature has proposed to authorize the use of smart contracts in commerce in the state, according to official documentation introduced on March 7.

The Commerce Committee of the Connecticut General Assembly (CGA) has introduced House Bill 7310, suggesting that blockchain-powered smart contracts may be used in commerce conducted or initiated in the United States state of Connecticut.

The committee elaborated that any cryptographic signature or a record secured through distributed ledger technology (DLT) should be considered to be in an electronic form and an electronic record.

The CGA Commerce Committee emphasized that no smart contract relating to a transaction should be denied a legal effect or validity only because it is processed through a smart contract rather than a traditional method to secure a transaction data.

A smart contract is a protocol designed to contribute, verify or implement the negotiation or performance of a contract. Blockchain-powered smart contracts allow parties to perform credible transactions directly, without third parties. Containing all the data about the contract terms, smart contract transactions are traceable and irreversible.

On March 6, the General Assembly of the U.S. state of Colorado introduced a bill on examining the possibility of applying blockchain technology in water rights management.

https://cointelegraph.com/news/us-state-of-connecticut-introduces-bill-to-authorize-smart-contract-use-in-commerce