Author: Thomas J Ackermann

Retail giant Walmart has applied for a cryptocurrency patent that bears some similarities to the Libra token proposed by Facebook in mid-June. In its application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, Walmart touts the concept of a digital currency “tied to a regular currency” – that is, what’s commonly known as a stablecoin. Libra…

The problem: Given 1024-bit input x, compute the verifiable delay function ‘h=x^(2^t) mod N’ as fast as possible. t=2^30 N=12406669568412474139879892740481443274469842712573568412813185506497689533 7309138910015071214657674309443149407457493434579063840841220334555160125016 3310409336906745695712173376302391915172057213101976083872398463643608502208 9677296497856968322944926681990341411705803010652807392863301711868982662559 4484331 If you can understand the above, you could be in for a portion of a $100,000 prize – that is, if you can then beat the others attempting to calculate the…

Concept automated truck Commerzbank has developed a blockchain-based solution for machine-to-machine payments that it says could be used to allow automated trucks to pay for power charging without the need for a human to get out their wallet. Calling it a “concrete pilot project,” the German bank worked together with its incubator research and development unit…

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has described how it was targeted by, and foiled, “a sophisticated, highly targeted, thought out attack” aimed to access its systems and presumably to make off with some of the billions of dollars’-worth of cryptocurrency it holds. In an Aug. 8 blog post that sets out in technical…

CEO Steven Schnall, left, and Patrick Sells, the bank’s Chief Innovation Officer A small bank in New York City has started doing business with cryptocurrency firms, joining the very short list of U.S. financial institutions to embrace the sector. Quontic Bank opened a checking account for a bitcoin ATM company a few weeks ago and is…

Patientory CEO Chrissa McFarlane Not all token sales led to quick failures or cash grabs. Some were part of a broader, albeit ambitious, business strategy. The blockchain startup Patientory, which makes a consumer health app and offers enterprise data management services to hospitals and clinics, just closed a $5.2 million Series A including R/GA Ventures.…

American technology behemoth IBM has filed with the United States Patent and Trademark Office for a blockchain-enabled web browser patent. According to a patent application published on Aug. 6, IBM has filed a patent application for a system that stores web browser events on a blockchain. The browser described in the filing collects information during…

The growing popularity of cryptocurrency has led to a revolution in the digital currency industry. Enterprises that were of noncrypto origin now have or plan to have their own crypto product. The 10 years of cryptocurrency’s existence has led to an unprecedented ease of transactions. It has also brought transparency into the e-commerce world. This…

Cyber criminals have netted $4.3 billion from digital currency exchanges, investors and users in 2019.  Blockchain security company CipherTrace gave its summary crypto-related theft in its Anti-Money Laundering report that it shared with Cointelegraph on Aug. 12. According to CipherTrace, outright thefts, scams and other kinds of misappropriation of funds from digital currency holders and…

Token generation events are raising twice as much capital as conventional equity fundings for the blockchain sector. According to an Aug. 1 report from analytics firm teQatlas, token generation events (TGEs) — an alternative term for initial coin offerings — raised $2.095 billion in H1 2019, as compared with the $1.248 billion raised by blockchain…

Frankfurt bank and financial services firm Commerzbank tested blockchain-based machine to machine payments with trucks produced by the firm behind the Mercedes-Benz auto brand, Daimler. Automated, human-free, payments According to a Commerzbank press release published on Aug. 8, the bank tested the exchange and settlement of payments between an electronic charging point and a Daimler…

German financial services giant Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty SE (AGCS) is developing a blockchain-based ecosystem to facilitate cross-border insurance payments for its corporate customers. Experimentations with blockchain technology Allianz is working on a token-based blockchain system, expecting it to streamline international insurance payments for its corporate customers, Forbes reported on Aug. 8. An Allianz…

German-based Dürr, one of the world’s leading mechanical and plant engineering firms, has secured a sustainability loan of 750 million euros, the interest on which is linked to its eco-friendly performance.  The credit agreement, reported on Aug. 8 by German-speaking Finance Magazine, was self-initiated by Dürr, utilizing a blockchain-based syndicated loan platform. The consortium process…

Worldwide spending on blockchain solutions is expected to hit almost $16 billion in 2023. A new report published on Aug. 8 by United States-based market research firm International Data Corporation (IDC) forecast that overall spending on the technology will reach $15.9 billion in 2023, at a five-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 60.2% between…

From the Wild West of “Alt Coins”: The Massachusetts-based crypto market research firm Coin Metrics says that 318 addresses hold at least $1 million worth of Tether (USDT), comprising 80% of the global Tether supply. Bloomberg reported the company’s finding in a report on Aug. 7. Coin Metrics co-founder Nic Carter additionally mentioned that some…