#quorum blockchain basics

[techit-rp]

Blockchain and Distributed Ledger Technologies in Investment Banking

In the ever-changing face of finance, blockchain and DLT form the new game in town. From being mere buzzwords, they are greatly revolutionizing the way investment banks work: they are bringing unprecedented levels of security, efficiency, and transparency to the table.

The Basics of Blockchain and DLT

In simple terms, blockchain is a type of distributed ledger technology. It is a decentralized database that records transactions across multiple computers so that the record cannot be altered retroactively without the alteration of all subsequent blocks and the consensus of the network1. This ensures a high level of security and transparency, making it an ideal solution for the financial sector.

Transformation of Investment Banking

All investments are about managing massive sums of money, complex transactions, and putting in place regulatory compliance. Blockchain and DLT can streamline these procedures in the following ways.

Higher security: The immutable ledger of blockchain ensures that once a transaction is recorded, it cannot be altered. This particular property reduces fraud associated with financial transactions2.

Efficiency: The traditional banking processes involve several intermediaries, which slow down the transactions and increase the costs. Blockchain can automate these processes through smart contracts, reducing the need for intermediaries and speeding up the transactions3.

Transparency and Traceability: Every transaction on a blockchain is recorded and visible to all participants. This transparency can help in regulatory compliance and audit processes, making it easier to track and verify transactions2.

Cost Savings: Through the removal of intermediaries and automating processes, blockchain can drastically reduce the costs of financial transactions3.

Real-World Applications

A number of investment banks are already exploring and implementing blockchain solutions. For example, J.P. Morgan has developed its own blockchain platform called Quorum that allows for safe and efficient transactions2. Others are using blockchain for cross-border payments, trade finance, and securities settlement.

The Future of Investment Banking

As blockchain technology advances, it will only become more impactful for investment banking. To stay at the top in this dynamic industry, professionals would do well to take investment banking and financial analytics courses. These courses would equip them with a comprehensive knowledge of financial analysis, corporate finance, and all the latest technologies shaping the industry.

Conclusion

Blockchain and distributed ledger technology go beyond transforming investment banking; they provide the foundation upon which a safe, efficient, and transparent future financial environment will be built. Committed professionals, in embracing these technologies and staying up-to-date with investment banking and financial analytics courses, can position themselves to be at the leading edge of this financial revolution.

[bitsnblocks]

Discussing Quorum Blockchain Basics

Discussing Quorum Blockchain Basics

Quorum blockchain is in limelight for past some time and this is how I was prompted to learn quorum blockchain basics and read about quorum blockchain guides on the internet. I am trying to share my quorum blockchain learning experiences here.

This article may be considered as a part of quorum blockchain tutorial but it is not a quorum blockchain ultimate guide.

Recently, there were news that…

[prolitustechnologies]

The Stellar Consensus Protocol: A Game-Changer in Blockchain Technology

Introduction to the Stellar Consensus Protocol (SCP)

The Stellar Consensus Protocol (SCP) is a decentralized consensus algorithm developed for the Stellar network. It is designed to facilitate consensus among nodes in a distributed network without relying on a central authority or a proof-of-work mechanism like Bitcoin's mining.

SCP was created by Jed McCaleb, the founder of Stellar, and his team, with the goal of enabling secure and efficient transaction processing and consensus on the Stellar network. It addresses some of the limitations and scalability issues of traditional blockchain consensus algorithms like proof-of-work and proof-of-stake.

At its core, SCP is a federated Byzantine agreement (FBA) algorithm. It achieves consensus by having nodes in the network communicate with each other and exchange messages to reach an agreement on the validity and ordering of transactions. This consensus process is performed in rounds, and each round consists of multiple phases.

The key principles of the Stellar Consensus Protocol are as follows:

Safety: SCP ensures that all honest nodes agree on the validity of transactions and the order in which they should be processed. It prevents forks and double-spending attacks by guaranteeing that all honest nodes eventually agree on a single state of the network.

Liveness: SCP guarantees progress in the network by allowing transactions to be processed even if some nodes are faulty or offline. As long as a quorum of nodes is functioning correctly, the network can continue to make progress.

Decentralization: SCP eliminates the need for a central authority or leader by employing a decentralized approach. Instead, the consensus process relies on a set of trusted nodes called validators, which are selected based on the Stellar network's distributed agreement protocol.

Flexibility: SCP allows for flexible trust relationships between nodes, enabling different trust models to coexist within the same network. Nodes can choose which other nodes they trust and define their own quorum slices, which are subsets of the network that they consider trustworthy.

SCP has been designed to be highly scalable, as it allows for parallel processing of transactions and does not require every node in the network to process and validate every transaction. This scalability, combined with its security and decentralization properties, makes SCP well-suited for Stellar's goal of enabling fast and low-cost cross-border transactions.

Understanding the basics of blockchain technology

Blockchain technology is a decentralized and distributed ledger system that enables secure and transparent transactions and data storage. It was originally developed as the underlying technology for cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin but has since found applications in various industries beyond finance.

Here are the key concepts and components of blockchain technology:

Distributed Ledger: A blockchain is a digital ledger that is distributed across multiple computers or nodes in a network. Each node has a copy of the entire blockchain, and all nodes agree on the validity of transactions through a consensus mechanism.

Blocks: Transactions are grouped together in blocks, which are linked to each other in a chronological order, forming a chain of blocks. Each block typically contains a reference to the previous block (except for the first block, known as the genesis block), creating the blockchain.

Cryptography: Blockchain relies on cryptographic algorithms to secure the data stored in the ledger. Transactions are verified, authenticated, and encrypted using cryptographic techniques like hashing and digital signatures, ensuring integrity and preventing unauthorized modifications.

Consensus Mechanism: To maintain the accuracy and consistency of the blockchain across all nodes, a consensus mechanism is employed. It is a protocol that allows nodes to agree on the state of the blockchain. Popular consensus mechanisms include Proof of Work (PoW) and Proof of Stake (PoS).

Decentralization: Unlike traditional centralized systems, blockchain operates in a decentralized manner. Instead of relying on a central authority, control and decision-making are distributed among network participants. This decentralization enhances security, reduces the risk of single points of failure, and promotes trust among participants.

Immutability: Once a block is added to the blockchain, it becomes extremely difficult to alter or remove the recorded data. This immutability ensures the integrity of the blockchain and builds trust among participants.

Smart Contracts: Blockchain platforms like Ethereum introduced the concept of smart contracts. These are self-executing contracts with predefined rules and conditions written in code. Smart contracts automatically execute actions when the specified conditions are met, eliminating the need for intermediaries and enabling more complex transactions and applications on the blockchain.

Transparency and Privacy: While the contents of a blockchain are transparent and visible to all participants, the identity of participants can be pseudonymous or anonymous, depending on the blockchain's design. Some blockchains also offer privacy features that allow for encrypted or selective disclosure of data.

Use Cases: Blockchain technology has a wide range of applications beyond cryptocurrencies. It is being explored for supply chain management, voting systems, healthcare records, real estate transactions, identity verification, intellectual property, and more. Blockchain's transparency, security, and decentralization offer benefits such as increased efficiency, reduced fraud, and enhanced trust.

It's important to note that blockchain technology is still evolving, and there are different implementations and variations of blockchain systems with their own strengths and limitations. Understanding these basics will help you grasp the underlying principles and potential of this transformative technology.

The limitations of traditional blockchain consensus mechanisms

Traditional blockchain consensus mechanisms, such as Proof of Work (PoW) and Proof of Stake (PoS), have several limitations:

Scalability: One major limitation is scalability. In PoW-based blockchains like Bitcoin, every node in the network needs to validate and execute every transaction, which can lead to a scalability bottleneck. As the number of participants and transactions increases, the system becomes slower and less efficient.

Energy consumption: PoW consensus requires significant computational power and energy consumption. Miners compete to solve complex mathematical puzzles to validate transactions and add blocks to the blockchain. This energy-intensive process has raised concerns about environmental sustainability and the carbon footprint of blockchain technology.

Centralization risks: In PoW and PoS, there is a concentration of power among a limited number of participants. In PoW, miners with more computational resources have a higher chance of solving the puzzles and earning rewards. In PoS, participants with a larger stake in the system have more influence over block creation. This concentration of power can potentially lead to centralization, where a few entities control the network.

Security vulnerabilities: Traditional consensus mechanisms are susceptible to certain security vulnerabilities. For example, in PoW, a 51% attack can occur if an entity controls more than half of the network's computational power, enabling them to manipulate transactions and potentially double-spend coins. PoS is vulnerable to attacks where a malicious entity gains control of a majority of the cryptocurrency's total supply.

Long confirmation times: PoW-based blockchains often have longer confirmation times for transactions. In Bitcoin, for instance, it takes an average of 10 minutes for a block to be added to the blockchain. This delay can hinder real-time transaction processing, making it less suitable for certain use cases such as retail payments.

Governance challenges: Consensus mechanisms like PoS involve stakeholder voting or delegation processes to make decisions regarding protocol upgrades, governance rules, and network changes. However, effective governance can be challenging to achieve, as it requires coordination and consensus among a diverse set of participants with potentially conflicting interests.

Efforts are being made to address these limitations through the development of alternative consensus mechanisms, such as Proof of Authority (PoA), Delegated Proof of Stake (DPoS), and Practical Byzantine Fault Tolerance (PBFT), which aim to improve scalability, energy efficiency, security, and governance in blockchain systems.

Challenges and potential future developments of the Stellar Consensus Protocol

The Stellar Consensus Protocol (SCP) is a decentralized consensus algorithm designed to reach agreement on the order and validity of transactions in the Stellar network. While SCP has several advantages, it also faces challenges and has potential for future developments. Let's explore them:

Challenges of the Stellar Consensus Protocol:

Scalability: SCP faces challenges related to scalability as the network grows. The protocol requires each participant to maintain a complete copy of the network's state, which can become resource-intensive. As the number of nodes and transactions increase, scalability becomes a significant concern.

Network latency: SCP relies on the exchange of messages between nodes to reach consensus. Network latency and delays in message propagation can impact the protocol's performance. High network latency can slow down the consensus process and potentially introduce delays in transaction confirmation.

Trust assumptions: SCP assumes that a significant majority of participants are honest and will follow the protocol correctly. However, if a large portion of nodes behaves maliciously or fails to follow the rules, it can undermine the security and consensus guarantees of the protocol.

Initial quorum establishment: SCP requires an initial quorum slice, a set of nodes that vouch for each other's credibility. Establishing this initial trust network can be challenging, especially in situations where a large number of new nodes join the network simultaneously.

Potential Future Developments:

Sharding: Sharding is a technique that involves dividing the network into smaller partitions called shards. Each shard operates independently, processing its transactions and reaching consensus. Introducing sharding to SCP could help improve scalability by distributing the computational load across multiple shards.

Layer 2 solutions: Layer 2 solutions, such as payment channels or sidechains, can be integrated with SCP to enable off-chain transactions and reduce the load on the main consensus protocol. By moving a significant portion of transactions off the main chain, SCP's scalability can be enhanced.

Consensus optimizations: Researchers and developers can continue to explore optimizations to improve the efficiency and performance of SCP. This could involve advancements in cryptographic techniques, message propagation protocols, or better ways to handle Byzantine faults.

Privacy enhancements: Stellar currently provides basic privacy features, but future developments could focus on enhancing privacy further. Techniques like zero-knowledge proofs or secure multi-party computation could be explored to enable confidential transactions without compromising the protocol's security and transparency.

Governance and participation improvements: SCP relies on node participation and cooperation for consensus. Future developments might involve mechanisms to incentivize participation, discourage malicious behavior, and enhance the governance processes within the Stellar network.

It's important to note that the Stellar Development Foundation (SDF) and the broader Stellar community actively work on improving the protocol, addressing challenges, and exploring future developments.

Case studies: Successful projects built on Stellar using SCP

While I don't have access to real-time information, I can provide you with some examples of successful projects that were built on Stellar using the Stellar Consensus Protocol (SCP). Please note that these examples are based on information available up until September 2021, and there may have been further developments since then. Here are a few noteworthy projects:

IBM World Wire: IBM partnered with Stellar to develop a cross-border payment solution called IBM World Wire. Built on Stellar's network, it aims to provide faster, more transparent, and cost-effective international payments. IBM World Wire leverages the Stellar network's capabilities to settle transactions in near real-time using multiple currencies.

Tempo: Tempo is a France-based payment network that uses Stellar's technology to facilitate fast and low-cost cross-border money transfers. It enables individuals to send and receive money globally, leveraging Stellar's network to settle transactions quickly and securely.

SureRemit: SureRemit is a blockchain-based platform that enables users to send non-cash remittances to their loved ones in various regions. By utilizing Stellar's network, SureRemit aims to make international remittances more affordable, efficient, and secure.

DSTOQ: DSTOQ is a global stock exchange platform that aims to enable users to invest in real-world assets, such as stocks, bonds, and ETFs, using cryptocurrency. By integrating with the Stellar network and leveraging SCP, DSTOQ seeks to provide users with a seamless and decentralized investment experience.

Cowrie Integrated Systems: Cowrie Integrated Systems is a Nigerian fintech company that built a mobile payment platform called Cowrie Integrated Systems Mobile Transfer (CISMAT). It allows users to send and receive money using their mobile devices. Cowrie Integrated Systems leveraged Stellar's technology to develop a robust and efficient payment infrastructure.

These are just a few examples of successful projects that have been built on Stellar using the Stellar Consensus Protocol. Stellar's scalability, low transaction fees, and focus on cross-border payments make it an attractive choice for various financial applications and blockchain-based projects. I encourage you to research these projects further to get the latest updates on their progress and achievements.

Stellar vs. other blockchain platforms: How SCP sets it apart

Stellar is a blockchain platform that distinguishes itself from other platforms through its unique consensus mechanism called the Stellar Consensus Protocol (SCP). SCP is designed to offer fast, secure, and decentralized transaction processing, making Stellar well-suited for applications such as cross-border payments, token issuance, and asset transfers.

Here are some key features of SCP and how they set Stellar apart from other blockchain platforms:

Scalability: SCP enables high transaction throughput and scalability. Unlike traditional blockchain platforms that use proof-of-work or proof-of-stake mechanisms, SCP employs a federated Byzantine agreement model. This allows Stellar to process a large number of transactions per second, making it more efficient and scalable for real-world applications.

Speed: Stellar's consensus protocol facilitates quick transaction confirmations. SCP achieves consensus across a network of trusted validators, resulting in near-instant settlement times. Stellar transactions typically settle in 2 to 5 seconds, enabling fast and efficient value transfers.

Low fees: Stellar's design ensures low transaction fees. The platform aims to make financial services accessible to everyone, including individuals and businesses in underserved areas. Stellar's low fees make it cost-effective for microtransactions and enable the movement of small amounts of value across borders.

Focus on interoperability: Stellar emphasizes interoperability between different financial systems. It provides built-in support for token issuance and facilitates the creation of custom assets. Stellar's decentralized exchange allows for the seamless conversion and transfer of assets, including fiat currencies, cryptocurrencies, and tokens.

Integration with the traditional financial system: Stellar has a strong focus on bridging the gap between traditional financial institutions and blockchain technology. It provides an anchor system, where trusted entities serve as bridges between the Stellar network and existing financial systems. Anchors facilitate the movement of funds between the Stellar network and various currencies, enabling cross-border transactions.

Stellar Development Foundation (SDF): The Stellar network is backed by the Stellar Development Foundation, a non-profit organization that supports the development and growth of the Stellar ecosystem. The SDF works to foster collaboration, provide technical assistance, and promote the adoption of Stellar technology.

These features collectively make Stellar an attractive choice for businesses and developers looking to leverage blockchain technology for efficient, fast, and low-cost transactions. By combining scalability, speed, low fees, interoperability, and its focus on integrating with traditional financial systems, Stellar sets itself apart from other blockchain platforms in the market.

Regulatory Considerations and Compliance with SCP

When it comes to regulatory considerations and compliance with SCP (Supply Chain Planning), there are several important factors to keep in mind. SCP involves the process of efficiently planning, organizing, and controlling the flow of goods, services, and information from the point of origin to the point of consumption. Compliance with regulatory requirements is crucial to ensure legal and ethical practices throughout the supply chain. Here are some key considerations:

Legal and Regulatory Compliance: Adhering to applicable laws and regulations is essential for SCP. This includes compliance with local, national, and international regulations related to trade, customs, transportation, labor, environmental standards, data protection, and product safety. Familiarize yourself with the relevant regulations and ensure that your supply chain operations are aligned with them.

Supplier Due Diligence: Conduct thorough due diligence on your suppliers to ensure they comply with applicable laws and regulations. Verify their certifications, licenses, and adherence to industry standards. Evaluate their ethical practices, labor conditions, and environmental impact. Establish clear guidelines and requirements for suppliers to meet your compliance standards.

Documentation and Record Keeping: Maintain accurate and up-to-date documentation throughout the supply chain process. This includes contracts, invoices, shipping documents, customs declarations, and compliance certificates. Proper record keeping is crucial for audits, inspections, and demonstrating compliance with regulatory requirements.

Traceability and Transparency: Implement systems to track and trace the movement of goods and materials throughout the supply chain. This enables you to identify the origin of products, ensure compliance with regulations such as product safety standards, and respond to any recalls or quality issues promptly. Transparency in supply chain operations also helps build trust with customers and stakeholders.

Data Protection and Privacy: With the increasing digitalization of supply chains, protecting sensitive data and ensuring privacy is vital. Comply with data protection regulations, such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) or other applicable laws, when collecting, storing, and transmitting personal or sensitive information. Implement appropriate security measures to safeguard data from unauthorized access or breaches.

Environmental and Sustainability Considerations: Consider the environmental impact of your supply chain operations and work towards sustainable practices. Comply with environmental regulations, promote responsible sourcing, reduce waste, and minimize carbon footprint. Engage with suppliers who prioritize sustainability and ethical practices.

Continuous Monitoring and Improvement: Regularly monitor your supply chain operations to ensure ongoing compliance with regulatory requirements. Stay updated on changes to relevant laws and regulations. Implement internal audits, inspections, and compliance checks to identify areas for improvement and take corrective actions as necessary.

Remember that compliance with SCP regulations is an ongoing effort that requires collaboration with suppliers, stakeholders, and relevant regulatory bodies. By prioritizing regulatory considerations, you can mitigate risks, enhance operational efficiency, and build a sustainable and compliant supply chain.

Conclusion: The transformative potential of the Stellar Consensus Protocol in blockchain technology

The Stellar Consensus Protocol (SCP) indeed possesses significant transformative potential in the field of blockchain technology. Developed by the Stellar Development Foundation, SCP is a consensus algorithm designed to facilitate decentralized and secure transaction processing within the Stellar network. Its unique features and benefits make it a promising solution for various use cases, including financial transactions, cross-border payments, asset tokenization, and decentralized applications.

One of the key advantages of SCP is its ability to achieve decentralized consensus without relying on a central authority or proof-of-work mining. Instead, SCP utilizes a federated Byzantine agreement model, which enables multiple participants, known as validators, to collectively validate and agree upon the state of the network. This consensus mechanism enhances security, scalability, and efficiency, as it allows for quick confirmation of transactions and eliminates the energy-intensive mining process associated with other blockchain systems.

Another transformative aspect of SCP is its ability to facilitate cross-border transactions and promote financial inclusion. Stellar, the blockchain platform that implements SCP, aims to connect financial institutions, payment providers, and individuals worldwide, enabling seamless, low-cost, and near-instantaneous money transfers. By leveraging SCP, Stellar achieves fast settlement times, reduces transaction costs, and enables micropayments, which can significantly benefit individuals and businesses in underserved regions.

Furthermore, SCP enables the tokenization of various assets, including traditional currencies, commodities, securities, and other digital assets. This feature opens up new opportunities for creating and managing decentralized financial instruments, facilitating peer-to-peer trading, and promoting liquidity in markets that were previously illiquid. SCP's robust consensus protocol ensures the integrity and security of these tokenized assets, enhancing trust and reducing counterparty risk.

Additionally, SCP's design supports the development of decentralized applications (dApps) on the Stellar network. By providing a reliable and efficient consensus mechanism, SCP enables developers to create smart contracts, decentralized exchanges, and other innovative applications that can leverage the advantages of blockchain technology. This promotes innovation and fosters an ecosystem of decentralized services and solutions.

In conclusion, the transformative potential of the Stellar Consensus Protocol in blockchain technology is significant. Its decentralized consensus mechanism, efficient transaction processing, cross-border payment capabilities, asset tokenization features, and support for dApp development make it a promising solution for various industries. As the technology continues to evolve and mature, SCP has the potential to revolutionize financial systems, improve access to financial services, and drive innovation in the broader blockchain ecosystem.

[bitcofun]

Source: AdobeStock/ Vladimir Kazakov Ethereum (ETH) software application company, ConsenSys, upgraded its personal privacy policy on Wednesday, mentioning that the popular crypto wallet MetaMask will be gathering specific user information-- dissatisfying the privacy-loving crypto neighborhood. The wallet co-founder, nevertheless, stated that this will be "repaired quickly." On November 23, ConsenSys released an upgrade of its personal privacy policy, which explains how the business "gathers, utilizes, shares, and shops individual info of users of its sites," that include consensys.net, metamask.io, infura.io, consensys.net/quorum, diligence.consensys.net, and codefi.consensys.net. An area of the post enters into explaining details gathered by Infura, which is the default Remote Procedure Call (RPC) supplier in MetaMask. The business specified that," When you utilize Infura as your default RPC service provider in MetaMask, Infura will gather your IP address and your Ethereum wallet address when you send out a deal." Infura is a tooling suite utilized to develop applications that link to the Ethereum network. Both Infura and MetaMask are owned by ConsenSys. RPCs enable interactions with servers from another location, and they offer the execution of programs in a different area. In blockchain terms, RPCs permit access to a server node on the defined network and make it possible for users to interact and engage with that blockchain. There is a method, nevertheless, for neither of these 2 items to gather info, though this alternative may, too, included privacy-related threats. ConsenSys composed that," If you're utilizing your own Ethereum node or a third-party RPC service provider with MetaMask, then neither Infura nor MetaMask will gather your IP address or Ethereum wallet address (however you must know your details will undergo whatever info collection carried out by the RPC company you are utilizing and their terms concerning such collection)." When it comes to the details the business gathers through the above-stated websites, these consist of user-provided information, such as identity details (name, username, gender, date of birth, and so on), profile info (consisting of username and password), contact, monetary and deal details, to name a few. There is likewise information that is gathered immediately, such as log information and searched pages and functions on ConsenSys sites, along with details gotten from other third-party sources. The business likewise stated that it has actually designated a Data Protection Officer, whose job is to guarantee that it adheres to "duties under suitable information defense legislation."' This can be repaired' Once reporter Colin Wu shared the news of the upgraded policy on Twitter and responses began rolling in, MetaMask co-founder Dan Finlay leapt in, declaring that the users' IP addresses are not in fact being utilized for anything. He composed, I believe we can get this repaired quickly. We are not utilizing IP addresses even if they are being briefly kept, which they do not require to be, as we're not utilizing them for anything. Finlay went on to discuss that, in his viewpoint, considering that it is not being utilized, it is "not really worth freaking individuals out," so fixing it must be a basic matter. When it comes to how quickly that might be, he stated that it would need to seek the vacation, as the USA commemorates Thanksgiving today. The neighborhood's response was quick Finlay wasn't overemphasizing when he stated individuals were going nuts. MetaMask is a popular wallet, and the neighborhood didn't respond well to the news, with numerous arguing for the push towards Web3 and decentralized financing ( DeFi), with robust user personal privacy defenses in location, as is the "values of crypto"-- rather of relying on Web2 and central services. Others protected ConsenSys, mentioning that the business is attempting to be transparent and deal alternatives. There were likewise those checking out other possible choices.

Ethereum teacher and supporter Anthony Sassano recommended changing RPC companies, specifying that doing that on MetaMask is "trivially simple and there are lots of great options out there nowadays. [...] Naturally, the very best option is to utilize your own complete node as an RPC," he argued. Some, on the other hand, questioned why this modification would matter when 'everyone's doing it'. Decentralization supporter Chris Blec argued that these kinds of policies need to not be overlooked. "This is how you will be canceled from the monetary system in the not-so-distant future. This is how they'll do it," he composed. ____ Read More

[weekinethereum]

December 14, 2018 Week in Ethereum News

News and Links

Layer 1

[Eth 2] Danny Ryan’s state of the spec

[Eth 2] Latest Eth 2 implementers call. Agenda to follow along.

[Eth 2] What’s New in Eth2

[Eth 2] Latest Prysmatic dev update

[Eth 2] Lighthouse dev update

[Eth 2] Coindesk profiles the teams building Eth2

[ewasm] Latest Ewasm call.

[1 -> 2] When stable, the beacon chain to finalize the POW chain

[Eth1] State Rent proposal update

[Eth1] How types of contracts would handle contract state-root-plus-witness architecture

NEAR: Unsolved problems in blockchain sharding

Boneh, Bünz, Fisch: Batching Techniques for Accumulators for stateless chains

Justin Drake Ethereum 3.0 tweet

Layer 2

Storj is planning to use Raiden for its payments. Raiden v0.19

Building MixEth as a state channel dapp with Counterfactual

Celer’s team to play their state channel Gomoku game for real Eth

gas payment abstraction in layer 2

prime numbers to transactions instead of coins?

should fraudulent exit bonds be partially burned?

Demo snark for Plasma Cash and Cashflow history compaction

SKALE releases architecture of their sidechain network

Stuff for developers

Ethereum on ARM. Constantinople-ready images

registry-builder: A modular approach to building TCRs from LevelK

7 uses cases with 3box.js

Gnosis Apollo to create your own prediction market interface or tournament

Schedule your token transfers on MyCrypto using Ethereum Alarm Clock

BudgetBox from Colony. Binary choices turned into budget percentages, and can be done onchain. Github

web3j v4.1 for Android

You can now integrate Gitcoin’s Kudos into your app. Gitcoin also hit 500k in issues.

A quick Austin Griffith tutorial on Commit/Reveal

Matt Tyndall’s counterfactual loan repayment for Dharma

Linkdrops: let people send crypto embedded in URLs without gas/wallets

Panoramix decompiler using symbolic execution instead of static analysis

Streamr’s cold chain monitoring tutorial

Dennis Peterson: Spam protection with probabilistic payments and cheap doublespending protection

How to debug with Tenderly and Truffle

A teaser for Harvey fuzzer from ConsenSys Diligence

Automated Eth code exploiter and similar how to scan and steal ETH

Hard fork enabled client releases

Geth v1.8.20 - hard fork enabled, Puppeth improvements, etc

Parity Ethereum 2.2.5-beta and Parity Ethereum 2.1.10-stable hardfork enabled

Trinity v0.1.0-alpha.20 Constantinople support and genesis file support 

Ecosystem

Opera releases native Eth wallet and dapp browser for Android. Download. Slick and well worth checking out.

How I learned Solidity basics for free as a noob dev

Uncle rate keeps falling. Time to start nudging up the gaslimit?

Monetary policy chart of historic and future Ether issuance

All the impressive ETHSingapore submissions and winners. Some of Josh Stark’s favorites.

A comparison of ETHSanFrancisco and EOS SF hackathons

Ethereum product management interviews. Also, video of Eth PMs call

Alethio’s EthStats block explorer

Ecosystem job listings

Web3Foundation, Validity Labs and Status working on Whisper alternative

Live on mainnet

OriginTrail: data exchange in supply chains protocol

Enterprise

Quorum v2.2.0

Cheddar suggests Facebook wants to do its own basechain and is recruiting

Why Enterprise Ethereum is way more than DLT

See OriginTrail above

Governance and Standards

ProgPOW testnet block explorer

A quick case study on Aragon’s AGP1 proposal

Evolution of a security token standard

ERC1643: Document Management Standard

ERC1644: Controller Token Operation Standard

ERC1666: Decentralized Autonomous Zero-identity Protocol

ERC1613: Gas stations network

Application layer

Cellarius first anthology released. Free to MetaMask users.

Golem’s Graphene-ng demo part2

XYO Network to launch satellite named EtherX on SpaceX’s Falcon9 in next few months

Data auditing and repair with Storj

The Fluidity stack to allow liquid secondary markets

Vitalik tweetstorm on non-financial apps

Onchain mutual insurance to return insurance to its origin: communities sharing risk

p2p loan offers on Bloqboard using Dharma

Ujo Portal out of beta and in version1.

KyberNetwork’s monthly update - new reserves, wBTC updated

Liquality offers crosschain swap of testnet Eth for Bitcoin. You can also get a good price buying Eth with Summa’s crosschain swap

GnosisSafe users can pay gas fees in OWL.

Maker proposal to reduce stability fee from 2.5% to 0.5%. Vote Dec 17

Augur’s controversial US House elections market has been reported as Republican. This is obviously nonsense because no one would have bet on that market and it makes no sense to encourage wordsmith trickery. This is a huge test of Augur and will be interesting to watch. Also, v1.8.4 out with new node endpoint. And a nice Augur 2018 review from Guesser

Interviews, Podcasts, Videos, Talks

All Devcon4 videos and photos

Arthur Falls uploads some Joe Lubin Devcon3 video footage

Video: a Wolfram language platform for Ethereum

Zero Knowledge ETHSingapore episode

Open Block Explorers community call

Blockchain Insider with Vitalik Buterin

Grid+ Alex Miller and Karl Kreder on Hashing It Out

Prysmatic’s Preston Van Loon and Raul Jordan on Into the Ether

Andrew Keys talks ConsenSys2.0 with Laura Shin

Tokens / Business / Regulation

Chris Burniske argues Ether and Bitcoin prices are undervalued based on fundamentals

4 eras of blockchain computing: degrees of composability from Jesse Walden

CFTC requests input. EthHub and Brooklyn Project are both crowd sourcing responses

Basecoin/Basis quits after raising ~130m and returns money to its VCs, blaming the SEC. I feel there may be more to come with this story.

MythX (formerly Mythril) decides against its announced token

Don’t think there was any doubt, but Coinbase is listing tokens. 30 assets up for consideration

Bonding curve intuition and parameterization

Harberger taxes in action on r/ethtrader banners

Simon de la Rouviere: Desire paths and recommendation markets

General

Zero-Knowledge Proofs Starter Pack

Support starving Venezuelans by buying NFT Christmas cards through Giveth. Easy onboarding for your non-crypto friends.

Results of Bounties Network paying local to participate in Manila Bay beach cleanup. Some interesting UX lessons.

Terra-Bridge: Transfer between Ethereum and Bitcoin protocol

CMEGroup puts up an Intro to Ether course

Zilliqa testnet v3 is live and in feature freeze ahead of January mainnet release. It also got an AWS case study

Boerse Stuttgart and SolarisBank say in next 6 months they’ll launch crypto trading platform in Europe

The state of Surveillance Capitalism is dire: your apps are tracking your location and selling it. It’s very easy to figure out who you are from your location. Bring on web3!

Dates of Note

Upcoming dates of note (new in bold):

Dec 17 - vote to reduce Maker stability fee

Jan 10 - Mobi Grand Challenge hackathon ends

Jan ~15 - Constantinople hard fork at block 7080000

Jan 29-30 - AraCon (Berlin)

Feb 7-8 - Melonport’s M1 conf (Zug)

Feb 15-17 - ETHDenver hackathon (ETHGlobal) next hacker application round closes December 31st

Feb 23-25 - EthAustin hackathon (EthUniversal)

Mar 4 - Ethereum Magicians (Paris)

Mar 5-7 - EthCC (Paris)

Mar 27 - Infura end of legacy key support (Jan 23 begins Project ID prioritization)

Apr 19-21 - ETHCapetown

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Housekeeping and random Twitter banhammers

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[sbelhadj]

Blockchain From Concept to Execution: With 10 Blockchains, 3 DLTs, 182 MCQs, 70 Diagrams & Many Sample Codes

Blockchain From Concept to Execution: With 10 Blockchains, 3 DLTs, 182 MCQs, 70 Diagrams & Many Sample Codes

Encyclopedia on Blockchain for beginners and experts alike Key Features ● Includes the basics of Blockchain ● Comparative study of public Blockchains (Ethereum, Hashgraph, Cardano, Algorand, Solana etc.) ● Comparison of interoperable Blockchains (Polkadot vs. Cosmos vs. Polygon). ● Comparison of private permissioned DLTs (Fabric vs. R3 Corda vs. Quorum). ● Comparison of R3 Corda opensource and…

[blockchain-council001]

How to Become a Blockchain Developer: A Step-by-Step Guide

The blockchain is now reading Technologies that are revolutionising the existing world environment. According to estimates, the worldwide blockchain market will be worth $20 million by 2025. Blockchain technology uses a distributed database that is shared among computer network nodes. Blockchain

Data is stored electronically in a digital format. It's vital in cryptocurrency systems since it keeps track of all agreements and transactions in a safe and decentralised manner.

Developer of blockchain technology

A blockchain developer is familiar with all of the terms used in the Bitcoin and Ethereum protocols and will use them to build a real-world application in this ever-changing environment. There are two categories of blockchain developers, just as there are in other fields:

Blockchain developer at the core

The blockchain protocols consensus protocols were sketched out by the core blockchain developers. He helps with the implementation of various blockchain technologies and functionalities.

Developer of blockchain software

Developers of blockchain software make it easier to create APIs for blockchain integration. In decentralised applications, he also serves as a frontend and backend developer.

How do you go about becoming a blockchain developer?

Technical abilities are essential.

To become a blockchain developer, you'll need a set of technical talents, which are listed below:

Skills in programming

A solid understanding of different high-level programming languages such as Java, C++, Ruby, Python, and others is essential. The proper grasp of OOPs is critical for designing applications and doing other jobs.

Understanding the fundamentals of cryptonomics

A Blockchain developer should be familiar with the economics and methodology that underpin cryptocurrencies and their networks. It is necessary to understand basic fundamental concepts such as the Bitcoin transaction lifecycle, transaction fees, and other essentials.

Structures of data

It is critical to comprehend data structure principles like as trees, heaps, hashing, and so on. Blockchain developers may create immutable and efficient systems by understanding data structures.

Solidity and smart contract development

Smart contracts make it easier to employ protocols for automation where no third parties are involved. It addresses the following three critical elements:

1. Predictable

2. Cancelable

3. Separation

Solidity is a high-level language based on JavaScript that is used to type or build intelligent contracts.

Databases and networking are both important.

An understanding of databases and networking concepts is also essential, in addition to all of the skills listed above. Database and networking principles aid comprehension of distributed system mechanisms and other important topics.

The steps to becoming a blockchain developer are outlined here.

STEP 1: Educate yourself on the fundamentals

Begin by understanding some fundamental concepts such as ideas and architecture. Understand the relevance of consensus in many decision-making domains, as well as the concept of decentralisation. Understanding cryptocurrencies and familiarising yourself with the various cryptographic algorithms used by blockchain solutions is critical. Examine blockchain ecosystems, including Quorum, Corda, and Ethereum Enterprise, as well as enterprise Blockchain platform and Blockchain as a Service (Baas).

Step 2: Gain an understanding of how blockchains work.

After you've mastered the fundamentals, you'll need to tackle some real-world applications. You can begin working on cryptocurrencies, purchasing them, creating offline wallets, and completing other procedures. Following that, you'll have an understanding of the numerous terminologies associated with cryptocurrency. It would be beneficial if you were certain that you were aware of all of the safety segments.

Step 3: Take a blockchain tutorial and learn how to code.

Online blockchain tutorials are a good place to start. You must also build practical knowledge, which will be developed through coding, in addition to academic understanding. Begin by learning Solidity, which will aid in the development of dApps and smart contracts on the Blockchain. You can also examine the open-source code of several blockchains, but doing so needs some expertise in order to solve security, performance, resource management, and isolation issues.

STEP 4: Become familiar with smart contracts.

Smart contracts are the most important Blockchain concept. It's a form of computer protocol that's analogous to a real-life legal contract. After learning about smart contracts, you can quickly automate and integrate API functionality.

Step 5: Go over all of the blockchain-related material.

Make it a practise to read blockchain-related material from a variety of publications and websites. The content is available on a variety of websites, including 101Blockchains.com and BlockGeeks.

STEP SIX - CONTINUE TO IMPROVE

There are no boundaries to what you can learn. After you've grasped the fundamentals of Blockchain, you'll need to move on to higher-level ideas. To master this field, simply dig out the deepest surface. Maintain your knowledge and self-assurance. You can get recent upset updates by subscribing to the education system block.

The following are the top ten companies that are looking for blockchain developers:

1. Deloitte

2. IBM

3. KPMG

4. EY

5. Accenture

6. Cisco

7. JP Morgan Chase

8. Microsoft

9. Conduent

10. ConsenSys

Conclusion:

This was all about the how-to guide we created for becoming a blockchain engineer. If you want to work in the blockchain industry, now is the greatest moment to start. The tips we offered will assist you in becoming a better blockchain developer and in selecting the ideal course for your needs.

[aliciaadley900]

Best Blockchain Certifications for Professionals in 2022

Despite the fact that there are several employment available in the blockchain training course. They must all have a fundamental grasp of blockchain technology. What advantages they may have for private and governmental entities. Because blockchain is still a relatively new concept. Every blockchain training course starts with an overview. Concerning blockchain education and associated ideas and terms.

Some blockchain training course certifications address simply the fundamentals. Others go into further detail about:

building

implementing, and 

securing the blockchain education system components. 

These certificates are intended for developers that need a higher level of technical understanding.

Blockchain is a technology (edX for Business)

Aspects to consider: Two courses are available at the University of California, Berkeley. Berkeley's Blockchain Fundamentals Professional Certificate programme includes the following courses:

Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies are one thing, but blockchain technology is something quite else.

These self-paced courses last three months. The workings of

The basics of blockchain technology are Bitcoin and the cryptocurrency sector as a whole.

The presentation then digs further into potential businesses. Quorum, Ripple, Tendermint, and Hyperledger are examples of blockchain implementations.

The following topics are covered:

real-world Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency applications; 

understanding the Ethereum platform; 

The future of blockchain and how it will be applied to future economies. Enterprise-level blockchain implementations; how to develop blockchain products; 

Comprehensive information on blockchain-related careers and salaries.

Prerequisites: Students should have taken: 

Cryptocurrencies

Bitcoin

Crypto Space

The preceding course in the series. Have similar experience and understanding in this sector.

Expert in Blockchain Certification (Blockchain Council)

Key features: This 10-hour self-paced certification course covers. In-depth discussion of blockchain technology, mining, and security measures. Students provide instances of how blockchain technology may be applied in the real world. Finance, healthcare, insurance, government, and telecommunications are all included. The following subjects are covered:

Understanding the blockchain education architecture and ecosystem; 

forms of blockchain mining; 

blockchain security and privacy, including smart contracts and consensus methods; 

blockchain use cases in a variety of industry verticals

Prerequisites: Attendees should be interested in establishing and implementing blockchain-based business solutions. Both the commercial and governmental sectors are affected.

Expert in Blockchain Security Certification (101 Blockchains)

Aspects to consider: This four-week self-paced certification course covers the following topics:

present and upcoming dangers

threat modeling

algorithm security, and 

smart contracts to provide a theoretical and practical foundation in blockchain security. 

Because blockchain is still a relatively new concept in most commercial and government sectors. A solid foundation in blockchain security is required. To assure the security of blockchain technologies that have been installed. The following subjects are addressed:

Basic blockchain structure; 

threat modeling and modeling frameworks; 

types of blockchain cryptography, such as public keys and hash functions;

blockchain node and network security; 

smart contracts and associated vulnerabilities; 

putting a blockchain system's security to the test; and 

Ensuring blockchain platform security best practices in enterprise settings are all covered.

Prerequisites: For blockchain developers, CIOs, and IT managers; software architects, engineers, and developers; and enterprise and cloud architects. Who want to concentrate more on the security aspects of blockchain technology.

Foundations and Use Cases for Blockchain (ConsenSys Academy and Coursera)

Aspects to consider: This five-week self-paced certification course covers. Blockchain courses and associated blockchain technology on the business side.

Including blockchain security fundamentals

why businesses use blockchain education in traditional settings

use cases for supply chains and asset tracking, as well as Bitcoin and Ethereum. 

The following subjects are addressed:

The purpose of decentralization in blockchain;

hash functions and public-key cryptography; 

the anatomy of a block and a blockchain; 

consensus mechanisms and trust frameworks; 

real-world blockchain use cases; 

smart contracts, cryptocurrency tokens, wallets, and marketplaces; 

types of blockchain platforms, architectures, and extensions

Prerequisites: For technology managers, developers, and non-developers interested in learning the fundamentals of blockchain.

With Python, learn the fundamentals of blockchain technology (Codecademy)

Aspects to consider: This two-hour self-paced certification course covers the following topics: The fundamentals of blockchain courses, as well as prevalent vocabulary. The components that assure participant security in blockchain training courses. Python may also be used by students to create a blockchain library. To build and tinker with blocks using an interactive simulation. The following subjects are addressed:

How blockchain networks work;

hashing and cryptography; 

building a blockchain platform with Python; 

utilizing a hash function with Python; 

generating block hashes; 

checking blockchain integrity and hacking the chain

Some Python knowledge is beneficial, but it is not necessary for the most of the course.

The bulk of the information in this course does not need any previous knowledge. However, if you are acquainted with Python, you may be able to write a tiny blockchain library in Python. Add the ability to generate hashes, insert blocks, and validate the chain.

[charteredaccountantjanakpuri]

Blockchain- Beyond Cryptocurrency

Blockchain is a topic that is the most popular among the crowd at the moment. It's a topic that is disruptive, accelerating and that may be your elevator pitch. Let's have a bird-eye view on this.

Imagine yourself as a bird flying high in the sky, and down you observes that the world is divided into blocks, blocks of massive information. But how can this information work for good if there is no common link between them? Here is the point when the word "Chain" comes into the picture.

Blockchain is the most talked-about form of distributed ledger technology. It works on decentralized & distributed ledger technology that stores transactional records in blocks, and it is accessed by the participants globally over the network. Every time a transaction takes place, a block is formed, which further develops a chain. It creates an irrevocable record of transactions that could not be undone. Blockchain organizes a peer-to-peer network that provides participants with a platform to communicate among themselves over the web & increases confidence, security, transparency, and the traceability of data shared over a network and delivers cost savings with new efficiencies.

Blockchain will gain you an edge as it is an open-source ledger; every transaction made is public, which leaves no room for fraud. The integrity is monitored by minors who have their eyes on all the transactions; hence it is more secure. It is responsible for keeping a record of all the transactions that cannot be revoked or manipulated. The user public can view transactions data at any point. This makes online transactions even more secure. Blockchain solutions can offer a speed of 100 to 10,000 transactions per second, hence saving your time.

But to implement this technology, you need to take care of a few critical things, such as the application must be updated on both ends of the P2P network. If any end doesn't accept the amendments, technology will fail. If you plan to have business applications, then they must have some business logic behind them. This logic specifies how applications will perform within the sphere of business needs. By nature, blockchain uses more stringent logic that won't allow you to redesign without leading to the need for logical business changes to be acceptable to the blockchain solution. Now, blockchain is a complex set of protocols that require a big brain to solve Hyperledger, multichain, Corda, quorum theorems which one can't manage at the sole level; hence enrising the need to involve some third party help to add new features and expand the application without redeployment of the network.

Types of Blockchains: Deciding which one is better for your business.

The most basic function of this technology is to carry out transactions or exchange of information through a secure network. But the way people use blockchain varies from case to case. For instance, if we talk about Stock Market/Crypto, the reason blockchain got hyped into the scenario. Shares are digital holding certificates that get traded through blockchain technology. It is a type of blockchain in the nature of a public network giving the right to people from all over the world to become a node, verify other nodes and trade shares.

On the other hand, let us take an example of a bank using a private blockchain network. It is a restricted network where only concerned persons/employees of the bank can access confidential information. Thus, anyone out of this closed network can not gain access to the bank database. A private network is more bound to have only authorized nodes that a network admin must initially monitor. The information transmission through a private blockchain remains within the network. Any new node that wishes to become a part of a private network needs permission from the network admin. The bank decides the scale of their private blockchain for all their branches in a country.

Another famous type of blockchain that exists is Hybrid Blockchain. Some information can be circulated in a private blockchain network, and some parts can be mutually agreed to flow in a public blockchain network. The hybrid blockchain is so flexible that users can quickly join a private blockchain with multiple public blockchains. A transaction in a private part of a hybrid blockchain is usually authenticated within that network. But users can also shoot it in the public blockchain to get verified. The public blockchains increase the hashing and involve more nodes for verification, which enhances the security and transparency of the blockchain network.

Worry not with Blockchain Technology

Each block holds a unique hash number and a key link that connects it to the previous & next block in a blockchain. The blocks cannot be altered. If there is any replacement, the hash sum would be altered, and the block would longer be valid, which further will lead to invalidation of the whole chain as each block is interconnected with the previous & the next one.

Your all transactions are secured by cryptography. Each block contains a unique and private key that can be verified with a public key. If there is any change in transaction data, the block's unique key becomes invalid. As a result, the block is dismantled from the chain, again remembering each block of the chain is interconnected.

The security of blockchain also depends on its decentralized and distributed nature. Failure is never at any single point as every block is interlinked, making it much harder to corrupt, thus making it invulnerable. Hacking into any one part of the system cannot affect other parts. However, in the case of a private blockchain, this advantage is partially lost as they have a single point of control and a limited number of nodes. This restricts users from making changes to the ledger. Organizations operate these kinds of blockchains for their internal use, allowing the company to control its processes.

There is no principal body to authenticate and verify the transactions, yet every transaction in the blockchain is presumed to be completely secured and verified. It is because of the presence of the consensus protocol on which blockchain works.

A consensus algorithm is a process through which all the peers in the blockchain reach a mutually predecided agreement about the present state of the distributed ledger. In this way, consensus achieves reliability in the Blockchain network and establish trust between peers in a distributed network. Most importantly, the consensus protocol verifies whether the new block that is added to the blockchain is the sole version of the truth agreed upon by all the nodes in the blockchain.

To sum up, the blockchain is a peer-to-peer framework that offers the potential to transform current business processes by disintermediating central processes, thus improving efficiencies and creating an immutable trail of transactions. This provides the opportunity to reduce costs, interaction times and improve transparency for all the users. This transformational framework could change the way financial institutions conduct business as many transactions are peer to peer in nature.

While the benefits are in front, there are many risks that may be imposed by this nascent technology. Understanding of blockchain technology and its associated risks may evolve as this technology endures to mature. It’s therefore imperative for all organizations to continuously monitor for the scope of development in this technology and its application to various cases.

Blockchain technology contains the potential to reengineer business models from a human-oriented model to an algorithm oriented model, which might expose businesses to risks that they have not encountered before. In order to react to such risks, businesses should consider establishing a robust risk management strategy, governance, and controls framework.

Future Of Blockchain

 Blockchain is already picking up the pace, here are examples of successful blockchain projects:

Helium is a decentralized wireless infrastructure. The network allows everyone worldwide to connect to the infrastructure wirelessly without having any expensive data plan. By using their plug-and-play hotspots, anyone from anywhere can join the Helium network.

 Forward Protocol is a decentralized knowledge protocol that emancipates education by rewarding the users with the “earn well, learn well” model. It incentives students for completing a course and provide royalties to teachers when their students finish a project. The protocol aims to link job seekers with the vacancies such as Monster, Upwork, and Fiverr.

 Theta TV is a decentralized video streaming network that allows us to watch content, earn virtual currency and give total administration to the content maker. Many YouTubers are also publishing videos on Theta since they can get 100% of the profit generated.

 Future of Blockchain in Accounting

 In the long run, Blockchain proves to be a disruptive technology for accounting like digital photography disrupted the conventional film photography, pagers & land-line phones were utterly disrupted by mobile phones. 

 Blockchain is a multi-faced technology that also plays the role of accounting technology, which helps with the transfer of ownership of assets and maintaining a ledger with accurate financial figures. Implementation of blockchain assists in increasing the potential of the accounting profession by reducing the cost of maintaining and reconciling ledgers. This strength may be a threat to accountants as automation in reconciliations cut the work of accountants. But, Blockchain empowers the accountants that assets exist with proven authenticity.

 We have always come across double-entry bookkeeping when talking about accounting, but Blockchain works on triple entry bookkeeping. Now it will be, with Blockchain, each transaction will be recorded by the third party/all blocks, and the third party/block verifies each transaction (Cryptographically), and a receipt will be issued. What will be the outcome of the same? Every transaction will be simultaneously recorded in the books of a third party to be verified by the Blockchain. As the transactions are entered in three places, and hence called as Triple entry system.

 How will it change the attitude of Accountants towards the work? Well, Blockchain proves to be disruptive, but when coming to betterment, it has its gain over in the following manner:

 Accountants are experts in recording, bookkeeping,application of taxation and related rules, with theBlockchain Technology; they get opportunities to becomeBlockchain advisors and can join the blockchain network.

 Accountants can spend less time on identifying errorsand mistakes and reconciliation work; instead, they canconcentrate on areas like technical knowhow, advisory and related activities.

 To conclude, while the landscape for Blockchain technology is still in its infancy, its potential is transformational. Blockchain protocol offers the greatest opportunities for change in various accounting mechanisms and creates a new platform to reshapethe world of business and transform the accounting and auditing profession. Its potential disruption in theaccounting industry cannot be overlooked. Various past developments, such as the emergence of computers, ERPsystems, and cloud computing, have just changed theauditors’ work instead of making them irrelevant. Auditorswill need to develop a more data-centric approach anduse it with a forward rather than historical perspective.In this way, the auditors will be able to provide a veryhigher-valued service. Firms adopting new technologies pretty earlythat account for these potential disruptions will be better off in the long run. 

 Authored by Himanshu Sharma & assisted by Simar DS

For any queries or suggestions, reach at info@manishanilgupta.com

Source: https://www.manishanilgupta.com/blog-details/blockchain-beyond-cryptocurrency

[weekinethereum]

May 10, 2018

News and Links

Protocol

Latest Plasma implementation call.  

Kelvin Fichter: Plasma XT.  Plasma Cash but much less per-user data checking. 

Xuanji Li: Plasma Cash with smaller exit procedure

Blockchain at Berkeley’s Plasma implementation

BankEx plasma on Rinkeby.  github.

Latest Casper standup

Casper FFG v0.1 "First Release" to get serious about versioning

Latest Prysmatic Labs sharding implementation call

Justin Drake: a scheme for proposers to omit witnesses in stateless validator execution.

Scaling Ethereum panels: Deconomy and Edcon

 Stuff for developers

Sūrya.  Gonçalo Sá’s extension of soli for exploring Solidity code

scry-one resilient log awaiter in Typescript

Parr, a query tool

Manticore v0.1.9

Conditional scheduling with the Ethereum Alarm Clock

Embark is now part of Status and released v3.0

Solidity event debugger

FOAM’s Cliquebait. PoA testnet in a Docker container

You can now inspect smart contract variables with Truffle’s built-in Solidity debugger in v4.1.8.  Plus Truffle hits 500k downloads.

Zastrin basics of Ethereum course (free!)

Yoichi releases Bamboo v0.0.03

Ecosystem

Aragon Nest announces first give grants: Gnarly optimistic UI from XLNT, Prysmatic Labs for sharding, Frame: OS-level signing provider, toolkits for planning on Aragon from Space Decentral and Giveth, and a git-like versioning system using Aragon.

EF grant winner vipnode’s roadmap

Amberdata analytics dashboards

A look into Ethereum mining pools using miner payouts

Etherscan on its values and monetization strategy

Flippening: Ethereum’s fee market is now larger than Bitcoin’s

45 new members of the Enterprise Ethereum Alliance

Ron Resnick on how the EEA’s stack release makes Ethereum more attractive for enterprise than competitors with vendor lockin

An interview with Christine Moy, the new head of Quorum

Governance and Standards

the goals of EIP0 going forward

ERC1068: Loan standard

ERC1070: Standard Bounties

ERC1066: Status code proposal

ERC780 claims registry updates

simplify ENR for v4 compatibility merged into EIP778

EIP908 incentives for archive nodes update

ERC1046 to “extend ERC20 token interface to support the same metadata standard as ERC721” merged

EIP 1062: Formalize IPFS hash into ENS resolver

ERC1067: Upgradeable token approach

EIP1057: programmatic PoW

Discussion on ERC1056 lightweight identity

‘Final call’ added as draft to EIP process

Composables ERC998 Update

Dan Finlay proposes “Strange Loop,” a type of liquid democracy signaling process for governance

 Project Updates

Kauri is live on Rinkeby, with knowledge base article requests for uPort, Maker, Aragon, Remix, Toshi, Dharma

Following up on their video, the Aragon Manifesto in print form.

Steph Curry has his own CryptoKitty

draft of the Civil Constitution

0x April update

OmiseGo full roadmap update

Townsquare Media to test BAT and Brave for adblock visitors

uPort’s take on data onchain in the age of GDPR

Interviews, Podcasts, Videos, Talks 

Edcon live streams.  See schedule to find a specific talk.

Linda Xie’s intro to crypto talk at an Andreessen Horowitz event

Interview of Kiev’s DappDev speakers

Blockchain UX with Jose Caballer and Chris Pallé

10 min Vitalik Buterin interview from Deconomy

Thibaut Sardan on setting up a full Parity node on Zero Knowledge

Fabian Vogelsteller with Jeffrey Tong

 Tokens 

SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce speech on how regulators should be lifeguards at the beach, not sandbox monitors

a16z’s Scott Kupor and Sonal Chokshi: Analogies, the big picture, and considerations for regulating crypto

Fred Wilson: Is Buying Crypto Assets “Investing?”

“12 Graphs That Show Just How Early The Cryptocurrency Market Is”

Bloomberg graphic on cryptoasset and non-cryptoasset correlations

    General

Chris Ballinger launches MOBI to explore blockchain applications with companies comprising >70% of worldwide vehicle production, eg BMW, Ford, GM, Renault etc

Brian Armstrong publishes the decision making framework at Coinbase

Starkware raised 6m from an allstar list of investors for a zkSTARK hardware and software stack

Lots of melodrama about “WSJ FUD” when there was no public SEC hearing on May 7.  Paul Vigna is a reputable reporter and only reported a “working group.” Seems to me like most of the kerfuffle was due to over-extrapolation by crypto media in search of pageviews.  

Eric Schmidt talking web3 with EF and ConsenSys

Facebook’s messenger lead now leading blockchain efforts.

Dates of Note

Upcoming dates of note:

May 11-12 -- Ethereal (NYC)

May 15 -- Kleros sale

May 16-17 -- Token Summit (NYC)

May 17 -- Blockchain, Accounting, Audit, and Tax conference (NYC)

May 17-19 -- Melonport hackthon in Zug

May 18-20 -- EthMemphis hackathon

May 19-20 -- Hacketh (Warsaw)

May 25 - 27 -- EthBuenosAires hackathon

May 28 -- Zeppelin’s zepcon0 conference (Buenos Aires)

June 1 – Blockchain for Social Impact Conference (Washington, DC)

If you appreciate this newsletter, thank ConsenSys

I'm thankful that ConsenSys has brought me on and given me time to do this newsletter.

Editorial control is 100% me.  If you're unhappy with editorial decisions, blame me first and last.

Shameless self-promotion

Here's the link to this issue: http://www.weekinethereum.com/post/173769093623/may-10-2018 Most of what I link to I tweet first: @evan_van_ness

I also have an Ethereum podcast on the Bitcoin Podcast network.

This newsletter is supported by ConsenSys, which is perpetually hiring if you’re interested.

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[truthblockchain]

Wall Street May Be Pivoting Back From Blockchain To Bitcoin

It was an interesting move by the big bank, which has lately been heading more towards the world of cryptocurrency than away from it. Last year, J.P. Morgan announced its own blockchain-based payment system, JPM Coin, and is now also banking crypto exchanges Coinbase and Gemini.

So why would J.P. Morgan decide to jettison its blockchain tech now? My hunch is that it reflects a shift in priorities on Wall Street, where financial firms have lately put greater emphasis on trading businesses than software businesses—and building blockchains is, at its core, a software business.

The trend is a major reason why Catherine Coley, CEO of major crypto exchange Binance's U.S. arm, this week declared 2020 to “be the year cryptocurrency goes mainstream,” noting reports that finance heavyweights from PayPal to Goldman Sachs are more seriously exploring digital assets and crypto.

The friendly attitude towards digital currency is a far cry from the “Bitcoin Bad, Blockchain Good” tune that bank leaders (including J.P. Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon) were singing just three years ago. It’s not exactly surprising: Cryptocurrency, along with tech stocks—risk assets, as you might call them—are basically the best story to come out of 2020: they’re the only things that keep going up (well, besides COVID-19 cases).

As Coley points out, Bitcoin outperformed other winners including Apple, Amazon and Microsoft stocks, as well as real estate, over the past decade: “When the best performing asset doesn’t even exist in traditional banking models, banks get interested,” she writes in Fortune.

https://fortune.com/2020/08/26/cryptocurrency-bitcoin-jpmorgan-quorum-consensys-blockchain/

[michaelbennettcrypto]

Bombshell 74-Page Report Shows JP Morgan is Closely Exploring Bitcoin Options

Over the past few years, we’ve seen Bitcoin change from a spot trading-only market to one dominated by derivatives — evidenced by the investor activity seen on BitMEX, Deribit, the CME, Bakkt, and other crypto derivatives platforms. Indeed, the lifetime aggregate volume on BitMEX’s XBT swap future recently surmounted $2 trillion, and the CME has been registering hundreds of millions of dollars worth of Bitcoin futures trades each and every day. Related Reading: Why an Analyst is Expecting a 40% Drop in Ripple’s XRP as Crypto Crash Continues The growth in derivatives hasn’t gone unnoticed, with JP Morgan, recently releasing an extensive crypto-themed report in which it revealed it is keeping a close eye on Bitcoin derivatives. JP Morgan: Bitcoin Derivatives Are Seeing “Genuine” Demand If you were around in 2017 and 2018, you likely remember the reports from mainstream media revealing that JP Morgan’s CEO, Jamie Dimon, wasn’t the biggest fan of Bitcoin; in interviews, he lambasted the cryptocurrency, calling it a “fraud” that global governments were going to “crush.” This sentiment hasn’t stopped JP Morgan from delving into cryptocurrency and blockchain, running its own Quorum blockchain unit and releasing reports on developments in Bitcoin. According to a recent report from the financial services giant, written by the “Global Research” team at JP Morgan, there is a “genuine demand for non-linear institutional trading products in crypto markets.” JP Morgan indicated that this “genuine demand” for Bitcoin via these trading products is likely from institutions. Wow, @jpmorgan is keeping a close eye on the Bitcoin options market, and notes @DeribitExchange rapid growth "suggests that there is genuine demand for non-linear institutional trading products in crypto markets" https://t.co/stgZQlEYyt pic.twitter.com/wrIvRVDfxJ — Su Zhu (@zhusu) February 26, 2020 This optimistic comment made about the financialization of Bitcoin — which may validate its long-term staying power as an asset — was made in reference to the growth in Bitcoin options. Options, for those that are unaware, are contracts that give the buyer the right to buy or sell an asset at a specified price on a specified date. These derivatives are most often used by traders to hedge risk. The past few months have seen an explosion in these contracts, seemingly spurred by an uptick in institutional demand for Bitcoin; indeed, options volume for Deribit and LedgerX have trended higher, while the CME and Bakkt launched options contracts for their clients. JP Morgan’s observation of “genuine demand” unlikely means the company is going to step into trading Bitcoin, especially considering Dimon’s disposition towards cryptocurrency.  Though, it keeping a close eye on the space likely isn’t a bad sign. How Does the Growth in Options Affect Crypto? It isn’t clear how exactly Bitcoin options have affected price discovery with Bitcoin; some have said it has allowed for better hedging by institutions and miners, potentially making BTC act more like a commodity; others have argued that increased interest in the cryptocurrency enabled by options should increase prices. While the jury is still out on the effect of options on the spot Bitcoin market, a leading analyst has said the launch of the CME’s BTC options could be bearish for altcoins: “If it isn’t obvious, the more we see products like this get offered the more bearish it is for the majority of alts,” they wrote. If it isn't obvious, the more we see products like this get offered the more bearish it is for the majority of alts. https://t.co/1e7xL1kZK3 — Ceteris Paribus (@ceterispar1bus) January 12, 2020 They elaborated on this point by noting that “99% of crypto assets are basically quasi-derivatives of Bitcoin,” meaning that the introduction of actual, regulated derivatives for traders may lead to an erosion in the volume figures for altcoins. Featured Image from Shutterstock from Cryptocracken WP https://ift.tt/391mB7M via IFTTT

[brettzjacksonblog]

Bombshell 74-Page Report Shows JP Morgan is Closely Exploring Bitcoin Options

Over the past few years, we’ve seen Bitcoin change from a spot trading-only market to one dominated by derivatives — evidenced by the investor activity seen on BitMEX, Deribit, the CME, Bakkt, and other crypto derivatives platforms. Indeed, the lifetime aggregate volume on BitMEX’s XBT swap future recently surmounted $2 trillion, and the CME has been registering hundreds of millions of dollars worth of Bitcoin futures trades each and every day. Related Reading: Why an Analyst is Expecting a 40% Drop in Ripple’s XRP as Crypto Crash Continues The growth in derivatives hasn’t gone unnoticed, with JP Morgan, recently releasing an extensive crypto-themed report in which it revealed it is keeping a close eye on Bitcoin derivatives. JP Morgan: Bitcoin Derivatives Are Seeing “Genuine” Demand If you were around in 2017 and 2018, you likely remember the reports from mainstream media revealing that JP Morgan’s CEO, Jamie Dimon, wasn’t the biggest fan of Bitcoin; in interviews, he lambasted the cryptocurrency, calling it a “fraud” that global governments were going to “crush.” This sentiment hasn’t stopped JP Morgan from delving into cryptocurrency and blockchain, running its own Quorum blockchain unit and releasing reports on developments in Bitcoin. According to a recent report from the financial services giant, written by the “Global Research” team at JP Morgan, there is a “genuine demand for non-linear institutional trading products in crypto markets.” JP Morgan indicated that this “genuine demand” for Bitcoin via these trading products is likely from institutions. Wow, @jpmorgan is keeping a close eye on the Bitcoin options market, and notes @DeribitExchange rapid growth "suggests that there is genuine demand for non-linear institutional trading products in crypto markets" https://t.co/stgZQlEYyt pic.twitter.com/wrIvRVDfxJ — Su Zhu (@zhusu) February 26, 2020 This optimistic comment made about the financialization of Bitcoin — which may validate its long-term staying power as an asset — was made in reference to the growth in Bitcoin options. Options, for those that are unaware, are contracts that give the buyer the right to buy or sell an asset at a specified price on a specified date. These derivatives are most often used by traders to hedge risk. The past few months have seen an explosion in these contracts, seemingly spurred by an uptick in institutional demand for Bitcoin; indeed, options volume for Deribit and LedgerX have trended higher, while the CME and Bakkt launched options contracts for their clients. JP Morgan’s observation of “genuine demand” unlikely means the company is going to step into trading Bitcoin, especially considering Dimon’s disposition towards cryptocurrency.  Though, it keeping a close eye on the space likely isn’t a bad sign. How Does the Growth in Options Affect Crypto? It isn’t clear how exactly Bitcoin options have affected price discovery with Bitcoin; some have said it has allowed for better hedging by institutions and miners, potentially making BTC act more like a commodity; others have argued that increased interest in the cryptocurrency enabled by options should increase prices. While the jury is still out on the effect of options on the spot Bitcoin market, a leading analyst has said the launch of the CME’s BTC options could be bearish for altcoins: “If it isn’t obvious, the more we see products like this get offered the more bearish it is for the majority of alts,” they wrote. If it isn't obvious, the more we see products like this get offered the more bearish it is for the majority of alts. https://t.co/1e7xL1kZK3 — Ceteris Paribus (@ceterispar1bus) January 12, 2020 They elaborated on this point by noting that “99% of crypto assets are basically quasi-derivatives of Bitcoin,” meaning that the introduction of actual, regulated derivatives for traders may lead to an erosion in the volume figures for altcoins. Featured Image from Shutterstock from CryptoCracken SMFeed https://ift.tt/391mB7M via IFTTT

[deb-markethive]

Microsoft Releases Blockchain Manager App

New Post has been published on http://blog.hodlthrive.com/?p=350

Microsoft Releases Blockchain Manager App

Microsoft Releases Blockchain Manager App

            Microsoft announced its fully managed Azure Blockchain Service

in a press release on May 2. The new blockchain-as-a-service (BaaS) platform will purportedly allow users to build blockchain applications on preconfigured network. According to Microsoft’s head of corporate communications, Frank Shaw, this service “simplifies the formation, management, and governance of consortium blockchain networks.”

Shaw further noted that Azure Blockchain Service can create a new consortium network “in a few simple clicks,” or let the user perform basic operations like adding new members to the network. Quorum, an open source blockchain platform backed by JPMorgan Chase, is the first platform that can be managed via Azure Blockchain Service. Azure CTO Mark Russinovich

explained the choice:

“Because it’s built on the popular Ethereum protocol, which has the world’s largest blockchain developer community, Quorum is a natural choice.”

Microsoft Azure released its blockchain app creation service Azure Blockchain Workbench in May 2018. This platform was also designed to automate aspects of blockchain-related work — in this case to streamline blockchain app development by providing readily available infrastructure for the developer.

In October 2018, Microsoft Azure joined forces with Nasdaq. Nasdaq opted to integrate Azure blockchain technology into its financial framework with the expectation that it would speed up transactions. On April 30, Amazon Web Services, the cloud computing wing of retail giant Amazon, released its own BaaS platform dubbed Amazon Managed Blockchain

Article Produced By Max Boddy

Max Boddy is a reporter with a background in philosophy. When he’s not covering crypto news, Max can often be found experimenting in the kitchen or writing about League of Legends.

https://cointelegraph.com/news/microsoft-releases-blockchain-manager-app

Deb Williams (hodlthrive)

[cryptoquicknews-blog]

New Post has been published here https://is.gd/3pI48f

Microsoft Releases Blockchain Manager App

This post was originally published here

Microsoft announced its fully managed Azure Blockchain Service in a press release on May 2.

The new blockchain-as-a-service (BaaS) platform will purportedly allow users to build blockchain applications on preconfigured network. 

According to Microsoft’s head of corporate communications, Frank Shaw, this service “simplifies the formation, management, and governance of consortium blockchain networks.”

Shaw further noted that Azure Blockchain Service can create a new consortium network “in a few simple clicks,” or let the user perform basic operations like adding new members to the network.

Quorum, an open source blockchain platform backed by JPMorgan Chase, is the first platform that can be managed via Azure Blockchain Service. Azure CTO Mark Russinovich explained the choice:

“Because it’s built on the popular Ethereum protocol, which has the world’s largest blockchain developer community, Quorum is a natural choice.”

Microsoft Azure released its blockchain app creation service Azure Blockchain Workbench in May 2018. This platform was also designed to automate aspects of blockchain-related work — in this case to streamline blockchain app development by providing readily available infrastructure for the developer.

In October 2018, Microsoft Azure joined forces with Nasdaq. Nasdaq opted to integrate Azure blockchain technology into its financial framework with the expectation that it would speed up transactions.

On April 30, Amazon Web Services, the cloud computing wing of retail giant Amazon, released its own BaaS platform dubbed Amazon Managed Blockchain.

#crypto #cryptocurrency #btc #xrp #litecoin #altcoin #money #currency #finance #news #alts #hodl #coindesk #cointelegraph #dollar #bitcoin View the website

New Post has been published here https://is.gd/3pI48f

[sarahjenni1-blog]

Blockchain technology is the future of jobs, start learning today!

Many of us may have heard of blockchain, most probably in the reference of bitcoins and similar digital assets. But, only a few are aware that the applications of blockchain tech go far beyond than just creating cryptocurrencies. Blockchain is good for many things, from protecting digital identities to tokenization of assets and much more.

What is Blockchain Tech?

Blockchain is a distributed ledger technology (DLT) which provides a way to perform secure and transparent digital transactions through a network containing a distributed ledger. Wondering what a distributed ledger is? A distributed ledger is a record of data or transactions which is shared among all the users in a particular network. Think of it as a public network in which all nodes are interconnected and share the same copy of the ledger.

What is the benefit of a distributed network?

Well, a distributed ledger ensures that all the transactions in the blockchain network are public and transparent. All transactions in the network are automatically updated in each ledger copy simultaneously. That means all users in the network have the same data. No information can be accessed or added without making changes in all the copies at the same time. This ensures complete security and transparency in blockchain transactions. This also protects the immutability of blockchain records.

Blockchain for the future

Blockchain is no longer a technology of the future, but it is being used in the present. Many startups as well as big organizations are experimenting with the blockchain tech for developing futuristic solutions to solve the real problems of our world. These companies are regularly hiring blockchain developers, engineers and experts for the job and paying them handsomely, owing to the increasing demand for skilled persons in this sector.

According to job sites like Upwork, blockchain has now become one of the top skills, both in terms of demand and pay. Getting acquainted with blockchain is the smartest move you can make right now to build a solid career.

Blocklogy for Blockchain Education

You can learn the blockchain technology, including the concepts, practical implementation and live projects with the Blocklogy eLearning app. You can enroll for a blockchain course for as low as $1.00 USD with this app.

Blocklogy is a complete blockchain learning solution designed with every type of user in mind. Blockchain courses in the Blocklogy app are divided into 3 modules - Basic, Intermediate and Expert.

The Basic module is designed for students (school level) and beginners. So, even if you’re a beginner in the world of blockchain, the Basic module will teach all you need to know to get started. It consists of five courses. Some of the key takeaways of the courses include network & its types, basic cryptography, cryptocurrency & its types, wallet types, solidity programming language, coin vs token, ERC20 tokens, etc. By the time you finish the Basic module, you’ll have a good idea of how the blockchain works and its features and functionalities.

The second or Intermediate module is the next phase in blockchain learning. This stage is all about getting hands-on experience in IOT based blockchain experiment using GETH, Raspberry Pi, etc.

The Expert module is all about learning the practical implementation and application development in blockchain technology. Some of the topics covered include Blockchain Data Structures, Ethereum Public Blockchain, and Quorum Private Blockchain.

Each course at Blocklogy consists of quizzes, tests, practical sessions and a final test. Students who clear the final test successfully also get a certificate of completion.

The blockchain course at Blocklogy is designed from the career perspective to prepare job-ready talents. Enroll now in the Basic course for just $1.00 USD.

For more details: http://www.blocklogy.org/blog/

Download: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.blocklogy.appp

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