Agoracom Blog Home

Archive for the ‘Smallcap Blockchain stocks’ Category

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »

#Blockchain As An Application Platform $SX $SX.ca $IDK.ca #Blockstation $HIVE.ca $BLOC.ca $CODE.ca

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 10:30 AM on Monday, May 7th, 2018
  • Many business use cases can be improved and/or solved by using distributed ledger technology
  • Can be used in many cases where trust services are needed by business applications
  • Can be utilized by using blockchain technology as an application platform to build the underlying trust infrastructure of the system

Issam (Sam) Andoni

Seasoned technologist and recognized expert in the field of IDM, Security and Access Management, and the use of PKI technology.

 Issam (Sam) Andoni , Forbes Councils

Shutterstock

Many business use cases can be improved and/or solved by using distributed ledger technology. It can be used in many cases where trust services are needed by business applications. This can be utilized by using blockchain technology as an application platform to build the underlying trust infrastructure of the system.

Although Bitcoin, the first real implementation of blockchain, is a decentralized currency and payment system, the underlying constructs that form the basis of the system do not have to be limited to payment transactions, accounts, balances or users. Instead, blockchain technology in Bitcoin is nothing more than transactions secured and executed by a scripting language using cryptographic methods. This means that blockchain is a platform with a scripting language that can solve many use cases other than just cryptocurrencies.

This property of blockchain led to smart contracts, an innovation presented by the cryptocurrency known as Ethereum. In the case of Ethereum, developers can create private cryptocurrencies and contract-based applications using a Turing-complete language, which allows businesses to use this language to set their own rules and policies in such applications.

The distributed ledger technology used in blockchain offers multiple benefits to businesses that make a difference when implementing a solution that requires a high degree of trust for business transactions. Using the technology offers the possibility to reduce costs and offers the opportunity for businesses to build and maintain an infrastructure that delivers capabilities at lower expenses than traditional centralized models.

Blockchain can process transactions faster because it doesn’t use a centralized infrastructure. Although there is no system totally secure from cyberattacks, the distributed nature of blockchain provides an unprecedented level of trust. The unchangeable property of blockchain and its public availability among its users, whether in a public ledger or a private one, provides transparency. Any user of the system can query transactions on a real-time basis.

Blockchain For Cryptocurrency

Bitcoin was the first implementation of a cryptocurrency based on distributed ledger technology. It was invented in 2009. and since then, it has been gaining popularity and traction by business owners seeking a distributed trust model. The Bitcoin consensus algorithm is based on proof of work (PoW). In PoW, transactions are collected into blocks by miners and added to the blockchain only if the miner can solve a cryptographic challenge that requires much computational power to be solved. The cryptographic challenge can only be solved by guessing, ensuring neutrality.

Other forms of proofs have been invented and incorporated into other solutions, such as the proof of stake in Ethereum and proof of elapsed time introduced by Intel.

Bitcoin and blockchain solved a very old digital currency problem that many other digital currencies tried to solve in the past known as the double spending problem. Double spending means spending the same digital currency twice, and Bitcoin solved this by ensuring distributed consensus.

Another cryptocurrency benefit that blockchain technology provides is that transfers can cross national boundaries in seconds, with minimum fees, and without going through third-party entities such as banks.

Read entire article here: https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2018/05/07/blockchain-as-an-application-platform/#e679c405576e

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in All Recent Posts, Blockchain stocks, Blockstation, Canadian Blockchain Stocks, Smallcap Blockchain stocks | Comments Off on #Blockchain As An Application Platform $SX $SX.ca $IDK.ca #Blockstation $HIVE.ca $BLOC.ca $CODE.ca

Why #Blockchain, Why Now? $SX.ca $SXOOF $IDK.ca $AAO.ca $HPQ.ca

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 10:17 AM on Friday, April 27th, 2018
  • Blockchains record trust like an atomic clock records time
  • Unlike trust, time marches ever forward and is irreversible 

Dante Disparte , Contributor

Burkley. Washington state. USA USA dollars bills in God we trust 29 December 2014. hoto by Francis Joseph Dean/Deanpictures) (Photo by Francis Dean/Corbis via Getty Images)

Blockchains record trust like an atomic clock records time. Unlike trust, time marches ever forward and is irreversible.  What if trust could be recorded in the same manner, with exactly the same accuracy and fidelity? Trust can be lost just as soon as it is gained because of our reliance on experiential, opaque and analog methods of recording it.  When someone says “trust me” it usually engenders doubt.  Blockchain technology can change that.  Each year for the last 18 years, Edelman, a global public relations firm, has issued a report called the Trust Barometer. While the study is a compelling snapshot in time of global attitudes and perceptions of trust in public and private institutions, the more interesting insights are gleaned by looking at this body of work longitudinally. By this measure, Edelman’s most recent Trust Barometer confirms the sentiments we have seen driving unprecedented outcomes in ballot boxes, on streets and in the market.

The surprising Brexit vote and the election of President Trump, which was a veritable trans-Atlantic echo where voters sowed the seeds of their distrust in status quo irrespective of the consequences, are two macro-level examples of the trust deficit.  Indeed, following the Brexit vote, search terms for “what is Brexit?” and more troublingly, “what is the EU?” spiked in the U.K., showing the combustible political mix of antiestablishment tendencies, blended with populism and two-speed economic recovery.  Many pollsters and analysts missed just how deep this wellspring of mistrust really is and only six newspapers in the U.S. were in favor of the antiestablishment candidate Trump. The erosion of institutional trust is borne, in no small measure, out of opacity, informational asymmetries and agency issues that prop up status quo and friction-laden institutions.  Other than climate change, extreme income inequality and pandemics, the global trust deficit may be one of the world’s direst challenges – noting that they are all interconnected.  The trust deficit is the wellspring that irrigates the seeds of political risk and social polarization reversing the course on globalization and multilateralism.

Against this complex backdrop, blockchains are no panacea, but with the right blend of leadership and institutional shifts from analog to digital, and eventually to decentralized structures, we can begin arresting the trust deficit.  Markets, customers, investors and other stakeholders have all grown tired of learning about the misdeeds of large organizations during rare glimpses of sunlight that creeps through the crevices. Recent examples include Equifax executives selling stock days after a massive breach was discovered that exposed nearly the entire U.S. workforce to a lifetime of identity and financial risk. The massive account rigging scandal at Wells Fargo is another recent example that conspired to fuel growing distrust and anger in the market. Companies and institutions are responding to this trust deficit in many ways, often with the opposite expected outcomes. Starbucks’ recent decision to close 8,000 its U.S. stores on May 29 in response to the wrongful arrest of two black patrons at a store in Philadelphia may be such an overreaction to regain trust. The slow and somewhat tone-deaf response from Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s media-shy CEO, following the Cambridge Analytica scandal, which may have had election-swaying impacts, certainly contributed to Facebook’s trust deficit.  Although counter-intuitively Facebook has enjoyed a 50% quarterly revenue gain, showing that the platform may be too big to avoid or there is a lag effect in the market.

This corporate trust deficit is not singularly a U.S. phenomenon, as the Volkswagen emission-rigging scandal confirmed the cynical view that in the pursuit of growth there is no triple bottom line.  Indeed, institutional misdeeds have shown that there may be no ethical lines at all in the pursuit of profit, power maximization and preservation.  From finance, to elections, to combating fake news or guaranteeing supply chain provenance, market participants are desperately searching for ways of asserting how trustworthy they are beyond corporate social responsibility, marketing initiatives and executive promissory statements. With the impressive wave of blockchain prototyping taking place in many sectors, the solution to this global trust deficit is beginning to see the light of day.  Indeed, some are beginning to argue – perhaps to blockchain’s detriment – that the mere mention of the technology confers a good housekeeping seal of trustworthiness – a veritable LEED certification of trust.

When blockchain, like the internet before it, fades to the background, it can begin changing the world.  For this to take place, many entrenched and centralized institutions, which have become the single points of failure in the global economy accruing an embarrassment of power and riches, will need to be transformed.  Blockchain will not take these bricks apart one by one, contrary to the whims of technology investors, crypto-utopians and speculators.  Rather, these groups will be forced to change by the growing trust deficit that is sandblasting the veneer from even the most sacrosanct institutions. If the internet created a world of low fiction communication, blockchain can create a world of low fiction value transfer, in no small measure because of the irrevocable way in which it records trust.

It is worth noting that bitcoin and the rise of cryptocurrencies as a trillion-dollar asset class in 2017, was spurred without the oversight of a central bank or monetary authority guaranteeing trust or market conduct. Code and the bitcoin blockchain achieved a level of trust that millions of people, thousands of regulators and hundreds of enforcement agencies around the world struggle to maintain – all in a fraction of the time, with a higher degree of security and an infinitesimally lower cost.  However, for the true impacts of this technology (like the internet before it) to take hold, the conversation needs to shift from how to why and the technology must recede. We are at the very crest of the blockchain hype cycle where there is a lot of sizzle, little steak and the occasional setback or indictments.  All of this denotes progress.

Unfortunately, entrenched centralized institutions from politics, business and civil society, have little interest in truly deconstructing their business models to withstand the trust age. This is a similarly perilous play as the traditional media firms that ignored the rise of their digital twins, or the box retailers that ignored the rise of Amazon – same outcomes, more efficient delivery.  Ever since the Bretton Woods system pegged the global economy to promissory statements made behind closed doors and affixed on physical currencies emblazoned with words like In God We Trust, trust became the world’s thrift.  This rules-based system is being challenged by the return of economic nationalism and trade wars.  Indeed, proto-currencies that predate their pecuniary and digital twins by many thousands of years relied on many of the same mechanics as the cryptocurrencies that are the latest offshoots of our need for trust-based value exchange.

The world is facing many deliberate and unintended distortions of our social, economic and political order.  In short, complex forces are arrayed against the institutions that sowed post-war stability and trust is the first casualty in this war.  Social media platforms, such as Twitter, which the U.S. president has come to rely on almost singularly to convey his political, military and economic messages, is rife with fake news inducing bots, which comprise nearly 50 million of the platform’s users driving an outsized volume of site traffic.  Facebook proved to be an efficient backdoor for micro-targeting the minds of millions of voters, further isolating people in information bubbles of their own “truth.”  An equally unprecedented wave of complex risks, from climate change to cyber threats, calls into question the value of citizenship in even the most powerful economies in the world.  Puerto Rico’s plight is very much the canary in the climate change coal mine.  60% of FEMA claims being denied to households in Puerto Rico due to challenges evidencing property ownership highlights the critical flaw of relying on paper-based analog records in a risk-prone digital world.  In this world, a dollar may be worthless, a vote uncounted, a politician unaccountable and a contract unenforceable.  Blockchain can bridge these gaps and shore up the erosion of trust.  To do this, adopting blockchain technology in large institutions that benefit from status quo is more about leadership and a frame of mind, than it is about technology or digital transformation.

Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/dantedisparte/2018/04/26/why-blockchain-why-now/#db0fb1b4f428

Tags: , ,
Posted in Bitcoin, Blockchain stocks, Blockstation, Canadian Blockchain Stocks, Smallcap Blockchain stocks, St. Georges Platinum and Base Metals, ThreeD, ThreeD Capital | Comments Off on Why #Blockchain, Why Now? $SX.ca $SXOOF $IDK.ca $AAO.ca $HPQ.ca

Former Goldman Sachs $GS VP Joins #Crypto Wallet #Blockchain To Attract Institutional Clients $SX $SX.ca $SXOOF $IDK.ca #Blockstation #Earnings

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 3:00 PM on Tuesday, April 17th, 2018
  • Crypto wallet Blockchain.com has hired former Goldman Sachs executive Breanne Madigan as the head of institutional sales and strategy
  • Madigan had worked at Goldman Sachs from 2003 to 2017 as an associate, vice president, and finally as the head of institutional wealth services, a department that managed $1.49 trln worth of total assets in 2017, CNBC reports.

Blockchain.com, which has 24 mln active wallets according to CNBC, added a buy and sell feature for Bitcoin (BTC) – with Ethereum (ETH) and Bitcoin Cash (BCH) promised soon after – in 22 US states in mid-January of this year.

Peter Smith, the CEO of Blockchain.com, said in a statement that “Breanne has a proven track record of adding value to her teams and her clients,” continuing:

“As Blockchain continues to grow its institutional presence, I can think of no one better to help scale our business.”

In what seems to be a growing trend of former Wall Street talent and money moving to the crypto sphere, a report circulated last week that Goldman Sachs executive Richard Kim would be hired as the new chief operating officer of a crypto merchant bank founded and run by former Wall Street executive Mike Novogratz. A little more than a week ago, George Soros’s Fund Management has been reported to soon begin trading in crypto, and the Rockefeller’s venture capital arm formed a partnership with a crypto investment group to support Blockchain and crypto innovation.

Source: https://cointelegraph.com/news/former-goldman-sachs-vp-joins-crypto-wallet-blockchain-to-attract-institutional-clients

Tags: , ,
Posted in All Recent Posts, Blockchain stocks, Blockstation, Canadian Blockchain Stocks, Smallcap Blockchain stocks, St Georges Eco-Mining Technologies, ThreeD, ThreeD Capital | Comments Off on Former Goldman Sachs $GS VP Joins #Crypto Wallet #Blockchain To Attract Institutional Clients $SX $SX.ca $SXOOF $IDK.ca #Blockstation #Earnings

Santander $SAN launches a #blockchain – based foreign exchange service that uses #Ripple’s technology $SX $SX.ca $SXOOF $IDK.ca $AAO.ca $HIVE.ca $CODE.ca $BLOC.ca

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 3:53 PM on Thursday, April 12th, 2018
  • The service, called Santander One Pay FX, uses technology developed by blockchain firm Ripple.
  • Santander’s blockchain-powered foreign exchange platform is currently live in Spain, the U.K., Brazil and Poland.
  • Ripple has struck partnerships with multiple banks and other financial institutions, including Santander.

Published 4 Hours Ago CNBC.com

Jonathan Nicholson | NurPhoto | Getty Images

Santander has launched a foreign exchange service that uses blockchain technology to make same-day international money transfers.

The service, called Santander One Pay FX, uses tech developed by blockchain firm Ripple. Santander said it is the first cross-border payments service using blockchain to be made by a bank.

Blockchain, or distributed ledger technology, is a decentralized network that records a growing list of transactions. It was originally used as the technology to underpin bitcoin but banks have become increasingly interested in other use cases, like clearing and settling payments.

Santander’s blockchain-powered foreign exchange platform is currently live in four different countries — Spain, the U.K., Brazil and Poland. A wider roll-out is expected in coming months, the bank said.

Innoventures, a $200 million fintech, or financial technology, venture capital fund set up by Santander, was one of a number of investors to participate in Ripple’s first round of funding in 2015.

Ripple has struck partnerships with multiple banks and other financial institutions, including Santander. Banks are less keen to use the firm’s digital currency XRP, but earlier this year two money transfer firms, MoneyGram and Western Union, announced projects involving the cryptocurrency.

On Wednesday, Ripple invested $25 million into a fund started by Blockchain Capital, a venture capital firm dedicated to blockchain.

Source: https://www.cnbc.com/2018/04/12/santander-launches-blockchain-based-foreign-exchange-using-ripple-tech.html

Tags: , ,
Posted in All Recent Posts, Augusta Industries, Blockchain stocks, Canadian Blockchain Stocks, Smallcap Blockchain stocks, St Georges Eco-Mining Technologies, ThreeD, ThreeD Capital | Comments Off on Santander $SAN launches a #blockchain – based foreign exchange service that uses #Ripple’s technology $SX $SX.ca $SXOOF $IDK.ca $AAO.ca $HIVE.ca $CODE.ca $BLOC.ca

#Blockchain can be new economic pillar $SX $SX.ca $SXOOF $AAO.ca $HQP.ca #Blockstation

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 11:34 AM on Monday, April 9th, 2018

  • Bermuda is placing the emphasis on quality over quantity when it comes to attracting business opportunities in the blockchain and digital currency sector
  • If it gets things right the advantages will likely include adding a new pillar to the economy that can generate revenue to help reduce the island’s $2.5 billion public debt, together with the creation of jobs, education opportunities

Scott Neil, Assistant Business Editor

Apr 9, 2018 at 8:00 am

Bermuda is placing the emphasis on quality over quantity when it comes to attracting business opportunities in the blockchain and digital currency sector.

If it gets things right the advantages will likely include adding a new pillar to the economy that can generate revenue to help reduce the island’s $2.5 billion public debt, together with the creation of jobs, education opportunities and increasing Bermuda’s reputation in global markets.

Those were points highlighted by Chris Garrod in a presentation on the topic to the Bermuda Chamber of Commerce.

Mr Garrod, who is a partner at Conyers, Dill & Pearman, is involved in the blockchain and insurtech space. He played a role in the Bermuda launch of blockchain-based tokens Unikrn and iCash during the past seven months. In addition, he is on both working groups that form the Government of Bermuda’s Blockchain Task Force, announced in November. The task force’s aim is to advance the development of blockchain technology in Bermuda.

Mr Garrod said Bermuda is seeking to be the world leader in blockchain, not merely the offshore blockchain leader. He acknowledged that there is stiff competition from the likes of Singapore, Switzerland, Gibraltar, British Virgin Islands and Cayman Islands.

He noted that Cayman has been “progressing the most” among competing jurisdictions, and said: “Most of the queries I am getting from clients are saying ‘We’re trying to decide between Bermuda and Cayman’. They like Bermuda because we have a new, young, tech-savvy Premier and a new government. They are Googling Bermuda to see if it is moving into this space.”

Mr Garrod believes blockchain will be the next internet, and said that will become apparent over time. Using an analogy, he said in terms of development blockchain is today at the same stage as the “dot-com era” of the internet, when the likes of the now defunct Netscape Navigator web browser ruled the roost.

He said with blockchain “there will be failures, like Netscape and Pets.com, but you will have survivors like eBay and Amazon”.

Mr Garrod explained there were financial and non-financial uses for blockchain. Describing non-financial uses of the technology, where no regulation is required, he mentioned a proposal to update land registry details on blockchain, an aim aired by David Burt, the Premier, during a discussion linked to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, in January.

Other potential uses for non-financial blockchains are in the healthcare sector, where patient information could be speedily transferred and accessed between hospitals and institutions.

Mr Garrod pointed to the transport and shipping arena. He said Maersk, the world’s largest shipping company, has its own private blockchain allowing it to securely monitor movements of its cargo and goods. He also mentioned self-executing smart contracts, such as insurance policies that are automatically triggered when a specific circumstance occurs, such as a delayed flight resulting in a travel insurance payout.

In addition, Mr Garrod said: “Fifteen per cent of financial institutions are now using some form of blockchain.”

Financial uses of blockchain include utility tokens that are issued to fund a business and provide associated benefits, cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin and altcoin, which are bought as investments and are traded on exchanges, and security tokens that have attributes of both utility tokens and cryptocurrencies.

Mr Garrod said the next steps for Bermuda regarding its digital ledger technology and blockchain ambitions include amendments of the Companies Act, and the development of a code of conduct with anti-money laundering, and know-your-customer requirements. Further steps include the creation of a Virtual Currency Business Act.

Mr Garrod said: “Will our regulations be perfect to begin with? No. It is a fast-moving space.” However, he pointed out that Bermuda had successfully improved and streamlined its initial regulations for other sectors, such as insurance and reinsurance, in the past.

He added that the code of practice for the Virtual Currency Business Act, which is being finalised, will have stringent AML requirements, while the code of conduct for the ICO [initial coin offering] legislation is also in the works.

“The emphasis is still quality over quantity, which is what Bermuda has always tried to emphasise,” said Mr Garrod. “We have always taken that approach, whether it was our funds industry or our insurance industry, and that is going to be the same approach with this brand new industry — blockchain. We only want the best; the quality business.”

Source: http://mobile.royalgazette.com/international-business/article/20180409/blockchain-can-be-new-economic-pillar&template=mobileart

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in All Recent Posts, Augusta Industries, Blockchain stocks, Canadian Blockchain Stocks, HPQ-Silicon Resources Inc., Smallcap Blockchain stocks, St Georges Eco-Mining Technologies | Comments Off on #Blockchain can be new economic pillar $SX $SX.ca $SXOOF $AAO.ca $HQP.ca #Blockstation

#HPQ Signs MOU with Big Data Enterprise #Blockchain Solution Developer to Develop a Carbon Credit Marketplace for #Solar Carbon Credits Generated by its #PUREVAP™ Process $HIVE.ca $BLOC.ca $CODE.ca

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 8:15 AM on Tuesday, April 3rd, 2018

Hpq large

  • Entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with Undisclosed Blockchain Company
  • To advise, develop and implement a new set of blockchain solutions for the monetization of solar and renewable energy carbon credits through a marketplace
  • Will also serve to complete the Company’s vertical integration plans from quartz to solar cells

MONTREAL, April 03, 2018 – HPQ Silicon Resources Inc. (HPQ) (TSX-V:HPQ) (FWB:UGE) (OTCPink:URAGF) is pleased to inform shareholders that its newly created subsidiary, Solar Blockchain Energies Inc. (“SBEI”), has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (“MOU”) with an Undisclosed Blockchain Company (“UBC”) to advise, develop and implement a new set of blockchain solutions for the monetization of solar and renewable energy carbon credits through a marketplace, which will also serve to complete the Company’s vertical integration plans from quartz to solar cells.

The UBC is one of the world’s first developers of a hybrid permission-based blockchain protocol with big data capability. The UBC will develop a new set of blockchain solutions running on its core protocol that will develop, amongst other things, a marketplace for the monetization of solar based carbon credits generated in the near future by HPQ PUREVAP™Â process by both the Company and its customers in the solar and renewable energy industries.

Solar Carbon Footprint Lifecycle Requires Blockchain Traceability

While the end result of traditional solar energy solutions is often referred to as “low carbon” or “carbon neutral” because it does not emit CO2 during its operation, it is anything but a carbon-free form of energy generation due to significant CO2 emissions that arise in earlier phases of its life cycle. Specifically, production of silicon wafers from quartz can contribute to over 70%1 of the Solar Carbon Footprint Lifecycle (SCFL).

The Economist, in an article titled “How Clean Is Solar Power?” stated “Silicon is melted in electric furnaces where most electricity is produced by burning fossil fuels…so when a new solar panel is put to work it starts with a ‘carbon debt’ that has to be paid back before it can become part of the solution. A panel made in China, for example, costs nearly double the greenhouse-gas emissions of one made in Europe.”2

Since production processes and the geographical location of the plants play an important role in the extreme variability of each silicon wafer SCFL, it is almost impossible to accurately and transparently monetize the carbon credit that should be generated by Solar energy over its lifecycle without a universal ledger that can track the actual carbon footprint at both the production stage, as well as, the actual green energy produced by each silicon wafer.

By combining HPQ’s vertically integrated low carbon foot print PUREVAP production process to produce Solar Grade Silicon Metal with the UBC proprietary blockchain capacity, HPQ’s SBEI subsidiary will seek to create an open solar energy blockchain ecosystem that invites and allows other actors in the field to participate. HPQ’s SBEI subsidiary will also collaborate with the parent company of the UBC in order to monetize the carbon credit ledgers on a commercial marketplace, which should consolidate the Company’s leadership position in the low carbon foot print solar space. Though final data is not yet available, HPQ and its partners believe the PUREVAP™Â process can reduce the carbon footprint of a silicon wafer at production by 75%3. If so, this blockchain and marketplace initiative will help drive our global business by providing customers with significant carbon credit monetization opportunities.

Blockchain is the Key to Carbon Credit Monetization

Carbon credits, which put a price on carbon reductions, is a clear way in which companies and individuals can be empowered to reduce or offset the negative or unavoidable impact of their business and choices on the environment.

However, since its inception, the market is beset by a lack of visibility, which prevents people from trusting the carbon credit as an asset. Differing standards and regulations in different jurisdictions and the potential for double counting have resulted in a lack of confidence from potential market participants.

Without a universal ledger it isn’t easy to track how much carbon you’ve used or – if you offset it – what the impact of your reduction has been on a tangible level. As an individual, it is hard to incorporate carbon credits into your daily life.

Carbon credits are the perfect candidate for a digital currency as they are data-driven, rely on multiple approval steps and exist separately from the physical impacts to which they correlate. Put simply, blockchain is the name for a digital ledger in which transactions – often made with “tokens” or a cryptocurrency – are recorded chronologically and publicly.

By placing a value on the ecosystems that support our planet, carbon credits internalise the invisible costs of everyday choices and allow a sustainable marketplace to emerge. This is the ultimate goal of the HPQ SBEI subsidiary and UBC partnership. Creating both an ecosystem, (Solar Blockchain Energies) and a “carbon currency” in order to consolidate the Solar generated carbon market.

Bernard J. Tourillon, Chairman and CEO of HPQ Silicon stated, “Our entry into the solar and carbon credit blockchain space is a logical extension of our business model, and consistent with our proven approach of working with industry leaders in their specific fields. The Company has been considering this for some time but we waited until the right partnership project presented itself before moving forward. This transaction was done in such a way that both our PUREVAP™ project and our blockchain project will be independent from each other but will also benefit significantly from their respective strengths.”

This News Release is available on the company’s CEO Verified Discussion Forum, a moderated social media platform that enables civilized discussion and Q&A between Management and Shareholders.

1 Assessing the lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions from solar PV and wind energy: A critical meta-survey, Energy Policy, February 2014, Pages 229-244
2 https://www.economist.com/news/science-and-technology/21711301-new-paper-may-have-answer-how-clean-solar-power
3 Versus traditional chemical processes to purify SoG Si (Siemens Process) (HPQ PR dated March 15, 2016)

About HPQ Silicon

HPQ Silicon Resources Inc. is a TSX-V listed resource company planning to become a vertically integrated High Purity, Solar Grade Silicon Metal (SoG Si) producer and a manufacturer of multi and monocrystalline solar cells of the P and N types, required for high performance photovoltaic conversion.

HPQ’s first goal is to develop, in collaboration with industry leaders Pyrogenesis (PYR.T) and Apollon Solar the innovative metallurgical PUREVAPTM “Quartz Reduction Reactors (QRR)” process (patent pending), which will permit it to produce SoG Si in one step. The start of the pilot plant that will validate the commercial potential of the process is planned for second half of 2018.

Disclaimers:

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, statements containing the words “may”, “plan”, “will”, “estimate”, “continue”, “anticipate”, “intend”, “expect”, “in the process” and other similar expressions which constitute “forward-looking information” within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-looking statements reflect the Company’s current expectation and assumptions, and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties including, but not limited to, our expectations regarding the acceptance of our products by the market, our strategy to develop new products and enhance the capabilities of existing products, our strategy with respect to research and development, the impact of competitive products and pricing, new product development, and uncertainties related to the regulatory approval process. Such statements reflect the current views of the Company with respect to future events and are subject to certain risks and uncertainties and other risks detailed from time-to-time in the Company’s on-going filings with the securities regulatory authorities, which filings can be found at www.sedar.com. Actual results, events, and performance may differ materially. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements either as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable securities laws.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Shares outstanding: 194,867,557

For further information contact

Bernard J. Tourillon, Chairman and CEO, Tel: (514) 907-1011
Patrick Levasseur, President and COO, Tel: (514) 262-9239
www.HPQSilicon.com

Tags: , , ,
Posted in All Recent Posts, Blockchain stocks, Canadian Blockchain Stocks, Featured, HPQ-Silicon Resources Inc., Smallcap Blockchain stocks | Comments Off on #HPQ Signs MOU with Big Data Enterprise #Blockchain Solution Developer to Develop a Carbon Credit Marketplace for #Solar Carbon Credits Generated by its #PUREVAP™ Process $HIVE.ca $BLOC.ca $CODE.ca

The Problems With #Bitcoin And The Future Of #Blockchain $SX $SX.ca $SXOOF $IDK.ca $AAO.ca

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 11:10 AM on Thursday, March 29th, 2018

Saeed Elnaj , Forbes Councils

The author Henry Miller once said, “Confusion is a word we have invented for an order which is not understood.” And confusion seems to run rampant in many articles that criticise of blockchain, while the real problem is with Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies.

There are key differences between Bitcoin and blockchain. Blockchain is a digitized, distributed and secure ledger that guarantees immutable transactions and solves the trust problem when two parties exchange value. Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin rely on blockchain to conduct transactions. Yet blockchain transcends cryptocurrencies and offers many solutions that are likely to disrupt numerous industries with some profound implications.

In a simple metaphoric comparison, blockchain is like an engine that can be used in airplanes, vehicles, elevators, escalators, washers and dryers. Bitcoin, meanwhile, is like the first Ford Model T that was manufactured in 1908. This fundamental difference helps in understanding the polymorphic value of blockchain and the problems with bitcoin and most cryptocurrencies.

One area of confusion about blockchain is the perceived negative environmental negative impact, but this is a problem specific to bitcoin and some other cryptocurrencies. It is caused by the limitations of the decade-old design of bitcoin and due to Bitcoin’s mining process that requires a “proof of work” to validate transactions. Proof of work is a mathematical algorithm that is essential to validate transactions in the Bitcoin blockchain and consumes huge computational power and energy close to what Denmark consumes annually. Other cryptocurrencies operate differently. Ether, for example, uses the proof-of-stake concept, which is energy efficient, while the cryptocurrency ripple does not require mining.

Another misconstrued problem is blockchain’s slow performance, which is, again, a Bitcoin issue. Bitcoin’s network requires an average of 10 minutes to create a block, and it’s estimated that it can only manage seven transactions per second (TPS). Ethereum does better (20 TPS), and the IBM blockchain (1,000 TPS) and Ripple (1,500 TPS) are even more impressive.

There’s also discussion about the inability of financial institutions to adopt the blockchain technology, which is an issue with the financial institutions — not the technology.

But what is interesting is that there are additional and bigger problems specifically with regard to Bitcoin.

First, Bitcoin has a limited number of “coins” that amounts to 21 million BTCs when all the coins are mined by the year 2140. It’s likely that way before then, Bitcoin mining will not be profitable due to the high energy cost and expensive hardware needed for mining. The Bitcoin transaction fees will not be sufficient to keep the network going either. There are many theories in terms what might happen when mining stops, but the likely scenario could be that Bitcoin will not have the computing power needed to assure transactions, grinding the network to a halt. The question then, is, what will happen to the value of Bitcoin?

Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2018/03/29/the-problems-with-bitcoin-and-the-future-of-blockchain/#3695222868dc

 

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in All Recent Posts, Bitcoin, Blockstation, Canadian Blockchain Stocks, Smallcap Blockchain stocks, St Georges Eco-Mining Technologies, ThreeD Capital | Comments Off on The Problems With #Bitcoin And The Future Of #Blockchain $SX $SX.ca $SXOOF $IDK.ca $AAO.ca

St-Georges $SX SX.ca $SXOOF Retains Gravitas Securities Inc. as Strategic Financial Advisors #ZeU

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 9:02 AM on Tuesday, March 20th, 2018

Sx large

  • Retained services of Gravitas Securities Inc. to act as financial advisors to St-Georges and its related entities
  • Gravitas will be tasked with assisting ZeU Crypto Networks Inc.
  • Currently in the process of acquiring all the intellectual properties of Tiande, a developer of permission-based blockchain protocol with BigData connectivity

Montreal / March 20, 2018 – St-Georges Eco-Mining Corp. (CSE: SX) (OTC: SXOOF) (FSE: 85G1) is pleased to announce that it has retained the services of Gravitas Securities Inc. to act as financial advisors to St-Georges and its related entities.

Gravitas will be tasked with assisting ZeU Crypto Networks Inc., St-Georges wholly-owned subsidiary, which is currently in the process of acquiring all the intellectual properties of Tiande, a developer of permission-based blockchain protocol with BigData connectivity. Gravitas will provide a number of services to ZeU including providing capital markets intelligence & guidance, financial & operational analysis of the company, and recommendations on capital requirements and strategic business decisions.

“With its contingent of Sino-Canadian personnel able to review our technology and business legal documentation in mandarin and the positive approach of the firm toward disruptive blockchain technologies, Gravitas is an excellent match for us. Their involvement should help us accelerate our financing effort with other securities firms and institutional investors. We also welcome their expertise to assist us for any corporate actions that might be undertaken in the coming months by the company” commented ZeU President Frank Dumas.

About Gravitas

Gravitas Securities is a leading wealth management and capital markets firm comprised of tactical individuals known for their sophisticated sector expertise, commitment to excellence, and a global platform committed to integration and innovation. Gravitas provides a wide range of investment services for retail and corporate clients globally with offices in Toronto and Vancouver, and is represented in the United States through its FINRA representative, Gravitas Capital International, in New York.

Gravitas Securities Inc. is a member of IIROC and CIPF.

ZeU Crypto Networks welcomes Lord Razzall as a director of the corporation

ZeU is pleased to welcome Lord Edward Timothy Razzall on its board of directors. Lord Razzall is a member of the British Parliament’ House of Lords and a Commander of the British Empire (CBE). Baron Razzall has been co-chair of the Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Committee on Business, Innovation and Science. He has over 35 years’ corporate finance experience and has developed a reputation for his expertise in multinational and cross border transactions. He was until recently the Liberal Democrat spokesman on Trade and industry and he’s now the Lords spokesman for manufacturing. He is currently Co-Chair of the Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Party Committee on Business, Innovation and Skills. Lord Razzall studied at Oxford University and qualified as a solicitor in 1969. ZeU expect to leverage Tim’s experience and interest in regulations, governance, monetary policies, intellectual property and corporate finance to its advantage.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

“Frank Dumas”

FRANK DUMAS, PRESIDENT & CEO

About St-Georges

St-Georges is developing new technologies to solve the some of the most common environmental problems in the mining industry.

The Company controls directly or indirectly, through rights of first refusal, all of the active mineral tenures in Iceland. It also explores for nickel on the Julie Nickel Project & for industrial minerals on Quebec’s North Shore and for lithium and rare metals in Northern Quebec and in the Abitibi region. Headquartered in Montreal, St-Georges’ stock is listed on the CSE under the symbol SX, on the US OTC under the Symbol SXOOF and on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange under the symbol 85G1.

The Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE) has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or the accuracy of the contents of this release.

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Bitcoin, Blockchain stocks, Blockstation, Canadian Blockchain Stocks, Featured, Smallcap Blockchain stocks, St Georges Eco-Mining Technologies | Comments Off on St-Georges $SX SX.ca $SXOOF Retains Gravitas Securities Inc. as Strategic Financial Advisors #ZeU

#Blockchain: The Building Block of the Supply Chain of Tomorrow? $SX $SX.ca $SXOOF $IDK.ca #Blockstation

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 1:42 PM on Friday, March 16th, 2018
  • Blockchain for supply chain management is, in effect, a network application
  • Instead of being a centralized application, it is built on the distributed databases of supply chain partners in an extended supply chain
  • Decentralized architecture

Steve Banker , Contributor

I cover logistics and supply chain management. Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own.

At the HighJump Elevate conference this week in Dallas, one session – attended by roughly 600 conference attendees – was called “Blockchain: The ‘Building Block’ of the Supply Chain of Tomorrow. Really, the title of the panel should have had a question mark at the end – like the title of this article – because the panel was in large part composed of industry analysts who tend to be far more cautious about our assessment of blockchain than the broader technology community.

The panel was composed of me, a Vice President of Supply Chain Services at ARC Advisory Group; Dwight Klappich, a Vice President at Gartner; Victoria Brown, a Research Manager at IDC; and Piyush Dewangan, an Industry Research Manager at Quadrant Knowledge Solutions. There was one member of the panel, Kurt Wedgwood, North America Blockchain Leader at IBM, who represented the view of the technology community, which tends to be far more bullish on this technology than analysts.

Ms. Brown and I were asked the first question, which was to describe the technology. My answer was to try and put the technology in a context, using a vocabulary, that supply chain practitioners are familiar with.

“We understand that supply chain applications work better when they have access to network data from participants in our extended supply chains. If we can get access to near real-time data from further upstream and downstream in our supply chains, we can make better service and cost decisions. Further, supply chain networks, which are centralized Cloud applications that all network transactions flow through, eliminate the ‘he said, she said’ kinds of disputes. Because the transactions flow through the network, network master data can be used to resolve disputes among participants.”

“Blockchain for supply chain management is, in effect, a network application. But instead of being a centralized application, it is built on the distributed databases of supply chain partners in an extended supply chain. It is a decentralized architecture. It has the advantages of existing network solutions and, in theory, will also have better IT security than existing supply chain applications.”

Later I was asked to explain the difference between blockchain and bitcoin. “When I began my research into blockchain, I began by looking at the one place where blockchain is in general usage, cryptocurrencies and Bitcoin. When I dug into how these solutions work, I thought ‘This will never work for supply chain management! Not in a million years!” But blockchain for supply chain management differs from Bitcoin in fundamental ways.”

But the best exchanges among the Panel participants centered around the maturity of blockchain for supply chain management. Even Mr. Wedgwood from IBM was cautious. He saw the technical challenges as being much less difficult to solve than both internal cultural issues and getting different parties in an extended supply chain to participate in these proof of concepts. He saw these people issues as representing perhaps 60 percent of the challenge.

Mr. Klappich, of Gartner, said “I view the cultural issues as being 90 percent of the challenge.” Mr. Klappich went on to compare the hype surrounding blockchain as being like what occurred surrounding RFID in the early 2000s. RFID was mandated by Walmart, the analyst community raved about the prospects of this technology, but the initiative was abandoned by Walmart, and RFID even today is not in widespread usage for supply chain tracking.

Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/stevebanker/2018/03/16/blockchain-the-building-block-of-the-supply-chain-of-tomorrow/#3da56d304aff

Tags: , ,
Posted in All Recent Posts, Blockchain stocks, Blockstation, Canadian Blockchain Stocks, Smallcap Blockchain stocks, St Georges Eco-Mining Technologies | Comments Off on #Blockchain: The Building Block of the Supply Chain of Tomorrow? $SX $SX.ca $SXOOF $IDK.ca #Blockstation

12 Startups Utilizing #Blockchain Technology in New Ways $SX $SX.ca $IDK.ca $HIVE.ca $BLOC.ca $CODE.ca

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 5:55 PM on Thursday, March 15th, 2018

Image credit: monsitj | Getty Images
Jonathan Long
  • Cryptocurrency created quite the buzz this past year
  • Although the technology has been around for a few years, 2017 was the year it really took off
  • However, the technology behind these tokens, blockchain, has far more applications than just cryptocurrencies

Bitcoin, the first application of cryptocurrency technology, hit $20,000 a coin, while coins like Ethereum also saw their prices increase. However, the technology behind these tokens, blockchain, has far more applications than just cryptocurrencies.

Through a network of smart contracts that operate utilizing decentralized information on a ledger, blockchain is able to provide unmatched security and speed for data transfers. This means that blockchain technology has an application in nearly every industry where value is exchanged.

For this reason, many startups have started to explore how this technology can change the way the world works. Here are twelve of those startups, each of which are utilizing blockchain technology in new ways.

1. Fr8

Fr8‘s blockchain network facilitates the digitization of record-keeping related to the trade of assets, even in scenarios where intermediaries and brokers are incentivized to resist change. Last year, trucks drove 29 billion empty miles in the U.S. alone. By applying blockchain, Fr8 helps to streamline and organize the industry in a trustworthy manner.

2. IOST

The internet of Services (IOST) is a new cryptocurrency that is attempting to solve scalability problems. A technological descendant of Ethereum, IOST is a blockchain with the purpose of serving as infrastructure for developers to create decentralized applications. Building on top of a blockchain allows businesses to cut out intermediaries, and also gives them peace of mind in terms of data safety, as blockchain networks are notoriously secure.

3. ImpactPPA

ImpactPPA is creating the SmartPPA (PPA stands for power purchase agreement), a platform that connects the blockchain community with environmentally concerned and socially impactful projects that fuel the development of sustainable solutions. The platform is designed to manage renewable energy resources from generation to distribution to payment. Its aim is solving the globe’s most pressing environmental and humanitarian issues.

Related: Steal These 4 Proven Customer-Retention Strategies

4. ShipChain

ShipChain is a freight and logistics platform built on blockchain. The platform focuses on an end-to-end track and trace, which allows for unification across the entire supply chain, among all carriers. ShipChain is member of the Enterprise Ethereum Alliance (EEA) alongside Microsoft, and the Blockchain in Transport Alliance (BiTA), alongside UPS and DHL. The company recently announced a pilot program with Perdue Farms.

5. Nano Vision

Nano Vision is empowering global citizens to step up and lend their efforts to furthering disease-prevention research and development. Through blockchain’s inherently decentralized solution, anyone, whether they are scientists, doctors or simply engaged civilians, will have access to the data that has been collected and the research that has been recorded on Nano Vision’s platform. The initiative anticipates that this will fuel new steps in the research process, thus sparking faster innovation.

Related: 25 Tips for Earning Customer Loyalty

6. Inveniam

Inveniam is the first organization to successfully structure and tokenize a debt instrument that is capable of being listed on a public market. Equipped with a working product, Inveniam uses Decentralized Ledger Technology (DLT) and “regulated” contracts and tokens to transform structuring, clearing, custody and settlement of fixed-income instruments. This “regulated” token acts as the passkey for all of the underlying documentation associated with the debt, which trades with the token for the life of the instrument.

7. BuzzShow

BuzzShow is a platform that incorporates proof of contribution to reward online video users. It focuses on creating a decentralized social video ecosystem with a full economic cycle and rewards for creating, curating, viewing and sharing videos. Users retain full privacy and control over their video within the social media space. The platform currently has over 15,000 users.

Related: 5 Ways to Build Killer Relationships With Customers

8. Patron

Patron is a global influencer marketing platform built with blockchain technology. Started by Atsushi Hisatsumi, a Japanese influencer and entrepreneur, the company seeks to connect global influencers with brands in a secure and transparent ecosystem. Benefits of the platform include the elimination of most common intermediary fees, incentivization and voting using tokens to match parties. The company has raised over $10 million to date.

9. Photochain

Photochain is a decentralized stock photography platform built on the blockchain. Using the Photochain marketplace, photographers can retain up to 95 percent of their potential earnings, while ensuring all copyrights and protections are in place using the company’s Digital Copyright Chain (DCC) solution. The marketplace will also connect buyers for a fair and seamless experience, eliminating most of the fees and copyright problems currently found in the stock photography market.

10. ODEM

ODEM is the world’s first decentralized on-demand education marketplace. Using the power of blockchain technology and its smart contract-based payment platform, ODEM will enable students and professors to interact directly and participate in the exchange of education and learning, without the involvement of intermediaries. This means greater access to quality education at a lower cost, helping bridge the educational gap for millions of students globally.

11. MEvU

MEvU is a decentralized P2P (peer-to-peer) betting application that allows people to bet on anything, at any time and against anyone. MEvU uses smart contracts on the Ethereum blockchain to store players’ funds and information, providing players with confidence that their wagers will be executed securely and quickly. The goal is to reduce black market gaming, while promoting fun and transparent gaming between parties.

12. Boon Tech

Boon Tech is an artificial intelligence-powered micro-job platform on blockchain. With a technology developed to eliminate cryptocurrency volatility in their platform, Boon Tech has the potential to revolutionize the freelance economy. As an IBM business partner, Boon Tech uses IBM’s Watson AI algorithms in its ranking and review systems available on the platform.

Source: https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/310373

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in All Recent Posts, Blockchain stocks, Blockstation, Canadian Blockchain Stocks, Smallcap Blockchain stocks, St Georges Eco-Mining Technologies, ThreeD, ThreeD Capital | Comments Off on 12 Startups Utilizing #Blockchain Technology in New Ways $SX $SX.ca $IDK.ca $HIVE.ca $BLOC.ca $CODE.ca

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »