Blockchain Industry Highlights — May 2019
Each month, blockescence DLT solutions will bring you all the important news from the international blockchain scene.
Looking for the highlights of this story? Check out the video from our partner, Blockchain Central.
Blockchain Adoption News
In arguably the biggest blockchain adoption news of the month, Facebook have confirmed their long-expected plans to launch a cryptocurrency. The social media giant registered Libra — a new fintech company based in Switzerland. Geneva’s commercial register shows that Libra is focussed on blockchain-based payments, data analytics, and investment. A week later, they released further details of their cryptocurrency project, preliminarily referred to as GlobalCoin. With a planned 2020 launch, GlobalCoin is Facebook’s attempt to streamline international payments and is expected to be integrated into the Facebook-owned WhatsApp and Messenger apps.
[Read] Libra — 2 minutes, May 17th,
[Read] GlobalCoin, 10 minutes, May 24th
Euronet Worldwide’s subsidiary, Ria Money Transfer has joined RippleNet. With an estimated $40bn transferred annually, Ria Money Transfer is the second largest payment service provider in the world. The partnership aims to use blockchain to enable instant global payments on an unprecedented scale.
[Read] 2 minutes, May 1st
PepsiCo, the second largest food and beverage company in the world, have conducted successful blockchain trials using the Zilliqa blockchain. They carried out a programmatic end-to-end supply chain reconciliation and achieved an impressive 28% boost in efficiency.
[Read] 2 minutes, May 6th
Deloitte released their annual blockchain survey with promising predictions for mainstream adoption. The study found that 53% of enterprises cite blockchain as a “top-five strategic priority” (up 10% from 2018). Only 6% of respondents were unsure or did not see the need for the technology’s use.
[Read] 70 minutes, May 6th
Thailand continues to make strides in the blockchain sector. With the help of R3 and Wipro, The Bank of Thailand has created a blockchain-based prototype that will settle inter-bank transactions with 8 companies.
[Read] 3 minutes, May 7th
More than 50 banks, including Standard Chartered and the ING Group, have participated in a test of trade-finance blockchain-application Voltron. The large-scale trial was delivered using Microsoft’s Azure cloud with the assistance of Bain, CryptoBLK and R3. According to R3, 96% of participants agreed that Voltron adoption would not only improve processes but reduce costs.
[Read] Summary, 3 minutes [Read] Details, 12 minutes, May 8th
According to a Reuters report, more of the world’s largest banks have invested $50m in a blockchain-based digital cash settlement system called Fnality. At the time of writing, little has been published on the details of Fnality nor the banks that are supporting it.
[Read] 4 minutes, May 16th
Louis Vuitton meets blockchain. Alongside Microsoft and luxury retailer LVMH, ConsenSys have launched a platform that uses blockchain-tech to track luxury items.
[Read] 9 minutes, German (translatable), May 16th
In another secretive project, reports are emerging of a pre-development Ethereum-based mainnet by Samsung. Sources close to the project have suggested that a Samsung coin may follow suit. This announcement comes in the wake of highly positive feedback for Samsung’s Galaxy S10 which has the ability to store private cryptocurrency keys and digital signatures.
[Read] 3 minutes, May 23rd
Blockchain Regulation News
WeChat, China’s social media, messaging and payments giant, has updated its policy following increased government crackdown on cryptocurrency. The move effectively bans Binance and Bitcoin from the platform (which currently has almost 1 billion users). In spite of this, Binance CEO Changpeng CZ Zhao believes that while profits will suffer in the short-term, the restrictions will eventually push more people towards cryptocurrency.
[Read] 8 minutes, May 7th
Blockchain Development News
Ethereum’s long-await proof-of-stake code may soon be finalized. The consensus model switch is anticipated to be a key moment in blockchain’s history. Ethereum Foundation researcher Justin Drake confirmed that the code specifications for the first phase of the transition should be ready by June 30th.
[Read] 5 minutes, May 2nd
Microsoft’s Azure is making blockchain-based app development more accessible by releasing a set of app-building tools for the Ethereum network. In addition, they have announced the release of ION (Identity Overlay Network), a Side-tree based DID for the Bitcoin network.
[Read] Ethereum, 4 minutes, May 7th, [Read] ION, 13 minutes, May 13th
In a move celebrated by anti-regulation advocates in the crypto-community, The European Central Bank (ECB) have stated that cryptocurrencies are not currently a threat to the euro-zone’s financial stability.
[Read] 5 minutes, May 20th
Other Blockchain News
In the ongoing BitFinex/Tether alleged loan cover-up, the office of New York Attorney General Letitia James has advised a local court that they should force the company to turn over its documents.
[Read] 5 minutes, May 4th
The popular global cryptocurrency exchange Binance was hacked. According to Binance, 7000 BTC was stolen (with the approximate value of $40m) which equates to approximately 2% of Binance’s holdings. They have stated that their Secure Asset Fund for Users (SAFU) will cover user losses without external assistance.
[Read] 8 minutes, May 8th
Facebook has softened its advertising policy for cryptocurrency and blockchain. In 2018 Facebook implemented an effective ban on nearly all blockchain-related content unless it passed a stringent review process. Advertisements for ICOs and token-sales are still forbidden and ads for exchanges, hardware and software will still need to be reviewed. However, most ads relating to blockchain technology, educational content, industry news and events may now bypass the review process.
[Read] 5 minutes, May 9th
The value of Bitcoin has increased significantly in May, having moved from approximately $7000 in early May to almost $9000. Search results and market prices for other popular cryptocurrencies are also increasing.
[Read] 9 minutes, May 28th
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