Leadership

BIS And Swiss National Bank Announce Findings of CBDC Pilot Program

The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) and the Swiss National Bank (SNB) have released the first set of findings from Project Helvetia, a proof-of-concept experiment that aims to demonstrate that the Swiss franc can be tokenized as a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC). Revealed on Dec 3, the BIS claims the results demonstrate the operational feasibility and legal workability of a digital franc used only for interbank settlement on a blockchain testnet. Project Helvetia Background In the works since 2019, the collaboration brought together the BIS, SNB, and financial market

VeChain & Oxford Announce New Framework to Assess Consensus Protocols

Since 2018, VeChain has partnered with the Mathematical Institute at Oxford University to carry out research and provide independent scientific advice. As of August 11, it appears this collaboration is beginning to pay dividends. Yesterday, the VeChain Foundation tweeted, “with the purpose of supporting the #blockchain industry, #VeChain and the University of Oxford releases AlphaBlock – our joint research paper on blockchain consensus”. Source: Oxford University In a blog post, VeChain went on to detail the need for its proposed AlfaBlock framework, “considering the pivotal role of consensus protocols in

Ethereum Classic’s Leadership Says They Don’t Need Charles Hoskinson’s Bailout

Cardano (ADA) founder Charles Hoskinson recently offered to help the troubled Ethereum Classic (ETC) community, but it came with a major condition. The community would first have to institute a decentralized treasury system, similar to Hoskinson’s Cardano and many other blockchain projects. If the community did not accept his terms, Hoskinson felt like his help would have been a waste of time and money:“It's not worth my company's time or our strategies to pivot for a grant or a one off payment to go and bail us out. If there

UAS: The First Government to Bring Blockchain Development to The Masses

What constitutes development? Would one know it when they saw it? More importantly, why should it matter whether or not a nation attains it? Answers to these seemingly simple questions are as varied as people are. However, simply put, development is the expansion of a nation’s economy, complemented with a significant rise in its citizens’ living standards. From this, it is apparent that development is visible—additionally, its attainment matters. Africa, compared to other regions, is underdeveloped, albeit resource-rich. Ironically, incomes continue to rise across the continent while a majority of

There’s More To Bitcoin’s Rally Than Just Inflation Fears

While some analysts are pointing to inflation fears to explain bitcoin’s recent rally, there are so many other factors at play that affect the cryptocurrency’s rise.Neil Johnston was a creature of habit, and it was one of the things which his wife of twenty-four years Dorothy, both loved and loathed about him. While Dorothy appreciated Neil’s dependability, she was wondering if things were getting a little stale.So naturally Dorothy grew a little worried when Neil, who would walk through the door almost like clockwork at 7 pm every evening for

Crypto Tidbits: Bitcoin Explodes Past $11k, Ethereum 2.0 Nears, Cardano’s Shelley Launches

Another week, another round of Crypto Tidbits. It’s been an explosive week for the Bitcoin and crypto market, to say the very least. Bitcoin surged from under $10,000 to as high as $11,500 this week. Over the past seven days, the asset has gained approximately 20% — the best weekly performance in many months. Chart of BTC's price action over the past two weeks from TradingView.com Bitcoin’s recent price action comes as a breath of fresh air for crypto traders, which had to deal with BTC flatlining in the $9,000s for

South African National Blockchain Alliance Holds Online Launch

The South African National Blockchain Alliance carried out an online livestream launch while the country is in the midst of a 21-day lockdown to curb the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. The organization was due to be launched at the beginning of April in Johannesburg but had to be taken online as South Africa and the world tackles a global health crisis.The launch happened during a livestream on YouTube on April 3, which included a panel of speakers elaborating on how SANBA will help nurture blockchain-focused startups and companies that

Berkeley Blockchain Xcelerator Director on What DLT Startups Need to Succeed

The Berkeley Blockchain Xcelerator — an incubator for early stage distributed ledger technology startups at the University of California, Berkeley — recently launched its spring cohort, which includes startups seeking to fight COVID-19, launch a cannabis-themed massively multiplayer online game and create a reverse auction platform for loans.Cointelegraph spoke to Jocelyn Weber, the director of the Xcelerator, to find out more about the resources the program offers to startups, success stories from previous cohorts and advice for startups looking to launch in the crypto space.Cointelegraph: Could you give an overview