March 2019 Updates
We bring you March 2019 updates, from Sentinel Chain Developments to release of FarmTrek Mobile V 1.1. and a Memorandum of Understanding signed with Rwanda’s Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources, and more, read on …
Sentinel Chain Developments
Sentinel Chain high-level architecture has remained intact since Orion testnet was launched in October 2018. However, some major design changes have to be made at the implementation level after much considerations.
Like most blockchain projects, design changes are often a trade-off between practicality and decentralisation. For instance, we have replaced the use of native cryptocurrency on Sentinel Chain (SENI) with its ERC20-version (SENI20) and removed the need for gas. The cross-chain bridge has been enhanced for whitelist support and cater for toll collection. The cross-chain oracle is extended to work with off-chain encrypted document transfer from FarmTrek (previously known as CrossPay) via RabbitMQ. The code is currently available on github and design undergoing audit while the team prepares for the mainnet launch by end of this month.
Unbeknownst to many, the challenges in blockchain projects do not lie with the development, but with the testing and validation itself. Since there are 3 types of blockchains involved in Sentinel Chain’s design, it is oftentimes more difficult to test than to build. Most of the testing are concentrated on the cross-chain bridge between Kovan (public blockchain testnet) and Orion (Sentinel consortium blockchain testnet) as well the cross-chain oracle services between Orion and FarmTrek testnet (private blockchain testnet). To avoid systemic risks to the Sentinel Chain network, the team has spent most of our time simulating and testing critical exception scenarios such as the cascading effect of chain forks, due to network partitioning on the different chains.
This is a crucial stage of the Sentinel Chain development. A monumental amount of work is still required before the launch of Sentinel Chain and no effort will be spared to ensure we rollout a completely tested Sentinel Chain.
Despite the arduous effort and long, intensive hours, the team’s morale remained very high. We are fuelled by the vision of Sentinel Chain being the driver of change to empower farmers.
InfoCorp Technologies Signs Memorandum of Understanding with Rwanda’s Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources
With the signing of our MoU with Rwanda’s Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources (MINAGRI) on 26th March, we have created the opportunity to formalise more than $500 million worth of informal cattle asset into Rwanda’s economy to deliver win-win outcomes for farmers, business and nation. The MoU sets the overarching cooperative framework for InfoCorp to implement FarmTrek as a bespoke solution for Rwanda to reduce poverty amongst cattle farmers, especially those under the Girinka Programme, and facilitate more efficient access to livestock insurance and livestock-backed financing via digital payment. Read the announcement here.
FarmTrek Mobile V 1.1.
Earlier this month, we also released the latest version of FarmTrek Mobile version 1.1. Available in seven countries. We invite you to check it out. Simply download from Google store.
Blockchain news around the world
The government of Argentina signs a four-year agreement with Binance Labs, committing to invest in local blockchain startups. Read it here.
Five regional financial institutions aim to release the first services of their blockchain-based financial platform in April. Read it here.
Starbucks may soon accept Bitcoin for coffee after equity deal with United Stated cryptocurrency platform, Bakkt. Starbucks is the founding partner of Bakkt when it was unveiled last August. Read it here.
Starting from March, French retail giant Carrefour is gradually rolling out its new blockchain-powered product, Carrefour Quality Line (CQL) micro-filtered full-fat milk, which is powered by IBM’s Hyperledger technology. CQL is touted to guarantee consumers complete product traceability across the entire supply chain — from farmers to the store shelves: Read it here.
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InfoCorp Technologies Pte. Ltd. is a fintech company that provides the infrastructure to accelerate financial inclusion to unbanked and underserved communities through the use of blockchain technology. It designs solutions for small bank consortiums in emerging countries to facilitate inter-bank transactions using distributed ledger technologies and provides consultancy services to clearing house and central banks on implementations and testing of real-time payment systems, and also to corporate clients on implementations and operations of distributed ledger technologies for production use.
Sentinel Chain is a blockchain-based international marketplace for cross-border financial services and the world’s first platform to accept the use of livestock as collateral. Taking a unique approach to the last mile problem of financial inclusion, the Sentinel Chain model establishes livestock provenance through the creation of livestock insurance on blockchain — the registration of livestock provenance on blockchain provides the unbanked with a new opportunity: the real possibility of accepting livestock as ‘collateral’ for loans. Sentinel Chain is a project by InfoCorp Technologies.
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