Tag: Blockchain

Global Blockchain Spending to Hit $11.7 Billion in 2022: Report

Enthusiasm for blockchain technology in businesses and organizations continues to gather steam, with global spending on blockchain solutions expected to rise almost tenfold between 2018 and 2022. According to market research firm International Data Corporation, the global expenditure on blockchain is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 73.2% to reach a figure of $11.7 billion in 2022. This year, $1.5 billion is expected to be spent on these solutions. Worldwide Spending on #Blockchain Forecast to Reach $11.7 Billion in 2022. Learn more: https://t.co/Hv30XRWg96 pic.twitter.com/47m1YvqqNp — IDC…

Bank of England to Open New Payment System to Blockchain Users

The Bank of England is executing a complete overhaul of its interbank payment system, and officials have now confirmed that it will open the network to fintech firms that process transactions across a blockchain network. The British central bank on Monday published a report evaluating its recent Proof-of-Concept (PoC) with several firms operating in the distributed ledger technology (DLT) space, a test intended to examine the feasibility of connecting blockchain firms to an updated version of the bank’s Real-Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) service. The RTGS facilitates settlements between financial institutions,…

South Korean Telecom Giant Launches 2,500 Txns/s Commercial Blockchain

KT Corp may only be the second-biggest mobile carrier in South Korea, but the telecommunications firm is reportedly the first in the world to launch a blockchain-based commercial network. According to The Korea Herald, KT Corp’s blockchain network will initially have the capacity to handle 2,500 transactions per second. Before the end of 2018, however, the capacity will have been quadrupled. By the end of next year, KT Corp intends to have increased the number of transactions per second to 100,000, according to the head of Blockchain Center at the…

Singapore Airlines Launches Blockchain Digital Wallet ‘KrisPay’ for Travelers

Singapore Airlines, one of the world’s leading and best-rated airline operators, has launched KrisPay – a digital blockchain wallet that allows frequent fliers to convert airmiles into digital currency. Announced on Tuesday, the digital wallet app will be accessible for users of the airline’s ‘KrisFlyer’ frequent flyer program and will use blockchain technology to enable travelers to spend their air miles at retail establishments, hotels, petrol stations and other partner merchants in the island nation. As reported previously in February, SIA will use its own private blockchain developed with technology…

Liverpool Taps Blockchain to Be World’s First ‘Climate Positive’ City by 2020

The Liverpool City Council (LCC) has announced a partnership with Poseidon Foundation to help reduce the city’s carbon emission. Over the coming months, the LCC and the Poseidon Foundation will test out a new carbon credit system which is expected to cut the city’s carbon emission, according to a local publication. According to its white paper, among other things, Malta-based Poseidon Foundation uses the blockchain “to make and track an impact where it matters most-forest conservation.” The non-profit’s decentralized platform is currently being used in the UK to cut the…

126-Year-Old General Electric (GE) Invests in Blockchain Cybersecurity Startup

The venture capital arm of industrial conglomerate General Electric (GE) is one of the participants in a $12 million Series A fundraising round for Xage, a cybersecurity startup. The firm uses blockchain technology in securely linking industrial Internet of Things (IoT) devices. Other investors in the fundraising round, which is being led by March Capital Partners, are City Light Capital and NexStar Partners. Prior to the ongoing fundraising round, the valuation of Xage stood at around $35 million. The fundraising round comes at a time when there is an increasing…

Wanchain’s Bridge to the Ethereum Blockchain Is Now Open

Amber Baldet, former JPMorgan blockchain program lead (and current CEO of Clovyr), has expressed her doubts about the proliferation of blockchain protocols: “Each of these blockchains speaks a different language,” she said in April. Getting different blockchains to talk to one another has become a pressing issue, as more and more protocols pop up – eos, tezos, neo, cardano, not to mention the two incumbent giants, bitcoin and ethereum. The growing interoperability problem may be meeting its match, however. On Monday, the Beijing- and Austin-based startup Wanchain announced the live release…

EOS Leads China’s Blockchain Rankings Again, Bitcoin Still Out of Top 15

The Chinese government has released its third round of public blockchain rankings, and EOS — the fifth-largest cryptocurrency by total market cap — once again reigned supreme. EOS Tops China’s Blockchain Rankings for Second-Straight Month Those rankings, published by the state-backed China Electronic Information Industry Development (CCID) and released this week, evaluated public blockchain networks according to three metrics, roughly translated as technology, applicability, and innovation, which were then compiled into an overall index score. Though scoring below its peers on applicability (middle column), EOS led the rankings with an…

Crypto Bull Run | New Blockchain Patents Push Market Upwards

The cryptocurrency market is booming this morning after a slew of crypto-positive announcements have hit the media. Is a crypto bull run upon us? Bitcoin (BTC) is eyeing the $7,500 mark, and Ethereum is just under $500. Stellar (XLM) and Cardano (ADA) are leading the market today as both coins are seeing over 20% price gains. Mastercard, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo all announced this morning that they are pursuing new blockchain-related patents. This very well could be the reason why investors are buying into crypto this morning. Wells…

UK Blockchain Takes Off | Will the UK Become a Global Crypto Leader?

UK blockchain: With its latest moves in the crypto space, the UK is well-placed at becoming a global leader in blockchain technologies. According to the group analysis by DAG Global, Big Innovation Centre, and Deep Knowledge Analytics, Great Britain has all the required resources to become a global hub for blockchain technology by the year 2022. CEO of DAG Global, Sean Kiernan, told The Guardian: “The UK is a major global financial hub and in recent years has become a fintech leader as well. At the same time, it is…