The commercial, state-run Bank of China, not to be confused with the People’s Bank of China, the country’s central bank, has filed a patent with the Chinese State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) for a solution to scale Blockchain technology systems, according to local news outlet tech.ifeng.

The bank originally applied for the patent on Sept. 28, 2017, with a Zhao Shuxiang indicated as the patent’s inventor, but SIPO only released news of the patent on Feb. 23, 2018.

The patent contains a method for compressing Blockchain data that seeks to solve the problem of storage space in new blocks without compromising on traceability and immutability.

As described in the patent, the amount of data stored in in new blocks would be reduced in the following way: when a full-size node receives a compression request from a client, it compresses transaction data from multiple blocks into a single “data block”, which would then be temporarily hosted on a different data storage system.

This data would then be run through a hash function with the data block hash value, and the compression transaction would map the relationship between the compressed block, the data block, and the compression event, which would all be recorded on the Blockchain.

While China has been one of the stricter countries globally in terms of cryptocurrency regulation, having banned Initial Coin Offerings (ICO) and foreign exchanges from operating within the country, the South Korean Finance Minister spoke earlier this month of a need to cooperate with China in the sphere of Blockchain during a meeting with the governor of the People’s Bank of China.

Earlier this week, Chinese multinational PC company Lenovo also filed a Blockchain-based patent for verifying the integrity of physical documents, but with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), rather than China’s SIPO.

The post Bank Of China Files Patent For New Blockchain Scaling appeared first on CryptoVila.

As Venezuela embarks on a radical experiment, as Turkey trades with Russia through crypto payments, as Iran considers its own cryptocurrency, and as Saudi Arabia as well as Dubai announce plans to issue digital currencies, the ramifications of blockchain technology to the post world war two financial order are becoming clearer by the day.

And as they do, this space has to grapple with a response. Are we to play favorites? Can we play favorites? Do we consider wider implications? Or do we roll the dice and let the chips fall where they may?

The natural response is to see the technology itself as neutral. Coders have no insight into geopolitics just as arguably no one else does as shown by the fact those geopolitical games always end in war.

But more importantly, no one can prevent state actors from using the internet, or cars, or electricity, or any other invention. It’s just impossible. Nor thus can anyone be prevented from using blockchain technology, whether of a public kind or private.

That too is impossible, for in the most abstract manner the blockchain isn’t a real thing, it’s an idea, and as soon as one knows of an idea they can not unknow it.

Neutrality, therefore, isn’t quite a choice, but a necessity. As such any response or position can’t be directed at the technology itself just as much as one can’t direct their policy towards the positive and negative discharge of electricity for it has no care of our views or policies.

At the same time, gradual transitions are preferable to instant shocks. Whatever the pros or cons of sanctions or blockades, you’d think they would be preferable to war. Just as you’d think in some cases they are a cause of war, or that in some cases they would be preferable to war for only one party.

Yet without dwelling into what we have no insight and we are sure no one else really does, it is probable sanctions are on a shelf life.

You simply can not have financial blockades when anyone can issue a decentralized digital currency that needs no third party permission and if you limit such blockades to only interconnections with traditional money you are simply precipitating the extinguishment of traditional money for the natively digital is clearly superior since it meets an obvious need.

What you need to do, therefore, is to engage in a race. Many western countries, and America in particular, are making a grave mistake in not seeing what they have in abundance of talent. It is the incumbent’s syndrome, and we know how that ends. Ask Kodak, Blockbuster, Nokia…

Instead of utilizing their advantages, many western countries are talking them down in a blunder that might go down in history. They listen to the bankers. Otherwise said, they’re listening to Kodak. Instead of listening to what now dominates the stock market, tech companies.

And in the process they’ve allowed Venezuela, and perhaps others, to do what, regardless of the politics and all the rest, to do what from a chess perspective is a brilliant move.

They are tapping into 21st century markets, into a new way to do finance, and if you just think about it for a second, the bonds, the stock market, by comparison they look so outdated.

Who… no one has bought bonds. Who buys stocks? They still issue paper certificates. Yet you tune into crypto, you just turn on some website, and you’re now rolling up or down.

Or you take the microphone, like Maduro has done, and now you have a global market. Plenty may say plenty. The markets never care.

In all this… ok, there’s Giancarlo, there’s London’s FCA, there’s Switzerland which is doing some great things, there’s Estonia which is doing some cool things, there’s Japan, but there isn’t really that embrace, that leadership of we must utilize this tech and we must do it better than anyone else.

There are gestures, but it’s all so cautious, it’s all wait and see, it’s all almost still at does this really work, and in some aspects it’s worse, with clueless idiots like bankers and China trying to wish it all ways, as if you can wish 2+2 away.

In some respects the caution is understandable, but at this stage it appear to come not from rational analysis but from outright denial that anything has changed.

Yet it has, it has. Get over it. Things won’t be the same, they can’t be the same. There’s an invention. Just as we can’t go back to candle light we can’t go back to pre-blockchain. It’s that simple, it’s like physics. And you know, physics doesn’t care what you think, or what you like. It just, if-thens.

So if you want to sit back while necessity breeds a jump to new technology for some locals, that’s your choice. And if you want to be even more foolish and try to deny reality or just wish it all away, well, you’re the king.

But if you want to reinvigorate your people and bring back optimism and a drive for better, then just take an open mind and see the capabilities, see what can be done, see how things could be better, see what advantages can be gained, see how all boats could be lifted, from Africa to the banking towers.

The post The Geopolitical Implications of Blockchain Technology appeared first on CryptoVila.

After reaching an all-time high at $1.12, Incent sharply corrected down to $0.16, losing 85% to USD. However, price found the support at $0.25 as the weekly closing price remained above that level and this is the price where the triangle was previously rejected after the breakout.

Currently, INCNT/USD is trading around $0.25 support, that could prove to be a good entry point for investors. The growth potential for Incent remains as high as 400% in the medium term, as the upside target is seen at $1.23, where double Fibonacci formed a strong resistance.

On the downside, the support area remains between $0.25 and $0.125 and Incent could get lower once again, but only break and close below $0.08 could invalidate bullish outlook.

The post Incent 400% Growth Potential appeared first on CryptoVila.

India’s National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Canada’s Blockchain Research Institute (BRI) to collaborate on Blockchain education and training in India, tech news outlet CIO reported yesterday, Feb. 22.

BRI tweeted a photo of their co-founder, Don Tapscott, signing the MoU alongside Sanjay Tugnait, CEO of consulting firm Capgemini Canada, and Sangeeta Gupta, VP for NASSCOM:

BRI co-founder and Executive Chairman @dtapscott signed an MoU with @nasscom to help foster #blockchain innovation in India. pic.twitter.com/Mqc6tT1NFZ

— Blockchain R.I. (@blockchainRI) February 21, 2018

NASSCOM and BRI together will establish the Centre of Excellence in India, designed to foster the adoption of Blockchain technologies in education, government, and startups, according to Indian information platform Inc42.

Raman Roy, Chairman of NASSCOM, said that the new alliance aimed at fostering India’s Blockchain environment will “help enhance our vision for a digital economy:”

“We believe Blockchain is a transformative technology for businesses. It is imperative that we identify and explain key application opportunities, issues, strategies and approaches that enable companies and governments to capitalize on this emerging technology.”

In relationship to the partnership, Don Tapscott said, “We need to create an awakening in India, showcase the power of Blockchain,” CIO reported.

A misinterpretation of the Indian Finance Minister’s warnings of a crackdown on cryptocurrencies that finance illegal activities as instead a ban of crypto in the country caused the crypto markets to slump in early February.

In a second misinterpretation of crypto news from India, India’s December 2017 tax policy for cryptocurrency was wrongly reported in the media as a new, strict policy earlier this month, causing the crypto markets to dip again amongst the confusion.

The post Indian Software Firm, Canadian Research Institute Part appeared first on CryptoVila.

Supply chain management is a complex, cumbersome process. The current supply chain paradigm is slow, unwieldy, and highly centralized, with relationships between manufacturers, suppliers, vendors, and customers facilitated by third parties at almost every step. Contracts between supply chain entities are handled by lawyers and financial institutions, adding extra costs.

Friction between supply chain entities transforms what could be simple transactions into multi-step procedures that impede efficiency. Blockchain technology, however, offers a potential solution to the issue of supply chain friction, enhancing transparency, traceability, and interoperability.

But is blockchain technology mature enough yet to decentralize supply chain architecture? We’ll proceed to examine the current state of distributed ledger technology in the global supply chain industry and investigate some of the most promising platforms that are bringing the supply chain onto the blockchain.

From Bitcoin to Business

Cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin are one of the most visible applications of blockchain technology, but they are far from the only use case— distributed ledger tech can be used to conduct any kind of exchange. The smart contract functionality offered by blockchain networks such as Ethereum, for example, can be used to execute “trustless” contracts between entities without the need for third-party arbitrators.

Security, immutability, and transparency— The same key blockchain features that make cryptocurrencies so attractive— are the same features that make it an ideal solution to the issues that currently address the supply chain industry.

In a cryptocurrency blockchain network such as Bitcoin, network participants agree on the current state of the ledger in order to ensure transactions and balances are valid. In the case of a distributed ledger focused on supply chain management, consensus is used not only to confirm payment, but also track transport, warehousing, or delivery status.

The transparent nature of a distributed ledger also streamlines provenance. Every entity involved in the movement of an asset is able to identify where and who it came from in an immutable provenance chain. Blockchain immutability also allows supply chain entities to operate with secure confirmation that remittance between organizations has occurred, or deliveries have been fulfilled.

Smart contracts, however, are the most disruptive element of blockchain technology as far as supply chain management is concerned. A smart contract is able to trigger an event based on ledger information, such as triggering delivery of an order as soon as payment is received.

The potential applications of blockchain-based supply chain platforms are diverse. US food retail giant Walmart is already using a blockchain solution to track pork meat purchases in China, improving food safety with immutable provenance techniques. Australian vehicle manufacturer Tomcar has been using blockchain solutions in order to pay suppliers in Israel and Taiwan in order to circumvent high fiat transaction fees since 2013.

RFID tags are already used to track products throughout the supply chain ecosystem, so why not integrate them into blockchain-based smart contracts to establish an open market in which logistics partners are able to bid for delivery contracts?

Is blockchain tech able to withstand the large-scale demands of established supply chain solutions, however? What is driving the adoption of blockchain solutions?

Supply Chain Network Effects & Blockchain Adoption

By eliminating third parties and automating processes that require manual checking, blockchain based supply chain solutions can considerably lower cost to serve. Supply chains are built, however, through network effects— in order for a supply chain solution built on the blockchain to deliver value, it would need to provide a solution that would immediately be adopted by a large number of industry participants.

A recent study conducted by the Department of Marketing & Logistics at the University of North Florida provides a detailed insight into the rate at which blockchain solutions are being adopted in the supply chain industry. The study, entitled “The Supply Chain Has No Clothes: Technology Adoption of Blockchain for Supply Chain Transparency”, references Professor Michael D Williams’ unified theory of acceptance and use of technology, or UTAUT, as the primary driver of blockchain tech acceptance in supply chain.

The UTAUT model identifies a positive feedback loop between performance expectancy of a new technology and the rate at which it is implemented. The increased transparency offered by blockchain technology allows asset managers to respond and adjust supply management techniques in response to improved information accuracy, as evidenced in a 2015 study on the impact of “phablets” in the supply chain industry.

By providing asset managers with a trusted single-source of distributed information, blockchain based supply chain solutions deliver the opportunity to scale and deploy resources in a far more efficient manner.

Widespread Adoption is Already Here

There are already a number of large-scale distributed ledger based supply chain management solutions operating in the industry, with the Blockchain in Transport Alliance, or BiTA, leading the way in catalyzing widespread adoption.

BiTA boasts an impressive roster of supply chain juggernauts on its member list, such as FedEx, UPS, and JD Logistics. The alliance is currently working toward solving the issues that are impeding the adoption of blockchain technology in the industry, which include a lack of technical talent, standardization, and scalability.

North American transportation management company Hub Group has recently joined BiTA, with Chief Information Officer Vava Dimond commenting on the potential impact of blockchain technology in logistics:

“A growing number of companies are identifying compelling use cases beyond solving the traditional challenges of complex supply chains… Joining BiTA means we can help create blockchain standards as well as collaborate on industry applications that will help shape the future of our industry.”

While some logistics and supply organizations may be joining forces to assess the potential viability of blockchain solutions, several blockchain networks are already delivering operational, highly efficient ready-to-use platforms.  

From ICO To IBM, Solutions Are On The Way

VeChain is a possibly the best-known of these at present, and a top-20 token according to CoinMarketCap. It’s a blockchain network focused on supply chain provenance that offers customized NFC chips embedded in luxury leather goods; these function as a blockchain-based anti-counterfeiting tool. Vechain also delivers food and drug provenance tracking, as well as a logistics solution that optimizes information flow between supply chain entities.

TE-FOOD is another blockchain-based supply chain solution that has created a farm-to-table food traceability network, responding to increased consumer awareness regarding food provenance. The TE-FOOD solution provides consumers with an app that reads product-based QR codes, drawing origin information directly from the blockchain. The company is preparing for an ICO at present.

Blockchain tech isn’t limited in scope to asset provenance, however. Eximchain is a blockchain platform that allows supply chain entities to verify remittance and finance within the industry, eliminating manual reconciliation and third party verification. Interestingly, Eximchain provides organizations with an SDK that allows for the rapid development and deployment of end-to-end supply chain apps with minimal difficulty, solving the issue of low blockchain tech literacy within the industry.

Eximchain is another ICO candidate – and in a move described by CEO Hope Liu as being due to an “unforeseeable global regulatory environment”, they recently canceled their public sale (and instead airdropped $500k to whitelisted participants). Such a move could highlight one challenge that emerging supply chain firms will all face – the very nature of their business requires international cooperation and compliance.

The blockchain revolution in supply chain is also delivering verifiable social benefits. Provenance is a blockchain based product tracking and tracing platform that allows producers to demonstrate their social and environmental impact at every point in the chain. The Provenance solution also allows non-profits and NGOs to access data from partners, allowing organizations such as FairFood to verify living wage payment to fair trade farmers. Other startups are tackling issues as serious as child slavery in Africa.

On the global blue-chip front, IBM has partnered with international shipping giant Maersk in order to develop a real-time shipping information pipeline, bringing the $4 trillion in goods carried annually by the ocean shipping industry onto the blockchain and demonstrating that blockchain innovation is no longer limited to the realm of ICOs and smaller startups.

The Future of Supply Chain and Blockchain Technology

Blockchain tech is beginning to take hold in the financial landscape— even established financial institutions that may appear to be losing out from the blockchain revolution are trialling blockchain solutions. Adoption in these sectors is slow, however, compared to the rapid rate at which blockchain solutions are entering the supply chain industry.

The compartmentalized, modular architecture of the industry allows organizations to begin using solutions such as smart contracts in small portions of their operations, creating fertile ground for the development of innovative new methodologies.

If BiTA and other industry proponents are able to solve the issues of scalability and standardization, it’s likely that we’ll see the supply chain sector become the first fully decentralized industry surprisingly soon.

The post Supply Chains Demand Blockchains appeared first on CryptoVila.

The weekly Technical Analysis, published every Wednesday, is provided by Dmitriy Gurkovskiy, Chief Analyst at RoboForex.

Needless to say, all statements and views expressed below and any forecasts contained herein are based on the authors’ particular opinion.

This analysis may not be treated as trading advice. RoboForex and Trustnodes bears no responsibility for trading results based on trading recommendations and reviews contained herein.

Bitcoin

Bitcoin price managed to break out the long term descending channel resistance and went into the projection channel. This breakout enabled forming an uptrend, and, by now, the price is just a bit short of $12,000, still unable to hit it.

Currently, the short term ascending channel support is being tested, and in case this attempt is successful, the price may hit the lower projection channel target at $10,000. Then, the price may fall step by step till $9,000, which is the support.

A wild downward breakout is also possible, as well as a mid-term downtrend, and if this is the case the price may well hit the lower support at $5,000.

Ethereum

Ether is trading within the same descending channel as before, but is now experiencing a pullback upwards. The price is heading towards the resistance, which lies at the important round number of $1,000.

In the short term, the local trend may have changed, as the support of the uptrend channel has been broken out, and the price has fallen into the projection channel, heading down to $815.

After this target has been tested, the price may fall further till $700. The overall trend is still descending, its target being as low as $300.

Bitcoin Cash

Bitcoin Cash went above the long term descending channel resistance, which allowed it to enter the upper projection channel and outlined a new short term ascending trend. The target of the latter may be around $1,800, which is the mid-term channel resistance.

Speaking short term, the price is breaking out the ascending channel support, with the closest target at $1,200. This is exactly the level determining the next trend phase, with many things depending on the market’s reaction to it.

With the support at $1,200 broken, the price may well hit the low at $400, but, if this is the case, it will probably happen in around a few weeks. If, on the contrary, the price bounces off $1,200 upwards, this will mean a new bullish impulse.

Litecoin

Litecoin has probably gained more momentum than many other cryptocurrencies out there. The primary descending channel resistance has been broken out, and the price has headed into the second projection channel.

The market is currently uptrending, while the support of the new projection channel is being tested. The most likely scenario is bouncing off the support and rise to the resistance at $305. Conversely, if the local support at $208 is broken out, the projection channel at $160 may be hit.

Ripple

Like many other digital coins, Ripple has entered the ascending pullback phase by breaking out the previous descending channel resistance. The main target within the current projection channel is probably its resistance at $1.54.

The current status quo shows Ripple is likely to start trading sideways, within the support and resistance of $0.85 and $1.22, respectively.

The market expects the resistance to get broken out and the uptrend to continue, while if the support is hit, the price may well fall to $0.60 and then to $0.35.

The post The Outlook Appears Bleak According to This Week’s Crypto Technical Analysis appeared first on CryptoVila.

The Israel Tax Authority (ITA) recently announced that Bitcoins and cryptocurrencies, in general, would be treated and taxed as property and not as an asset. On February 19th, the ITA through a professional circular declared, “Bitcoin is an asset and not a currency.”

The above mentioned circular read,

“For purposes of income tax….. a person whose activity as aforesaid does not reach a business is only entitled to capital gains tax and the person whose activity in the field reaches a business (trade in a distributed method of payment and Such a measure), tax will be paid for any business activity.” 

Israel is going forward with a two-pronged approach when it comes to taxing cryptocurrencies. The tax slab is going to be divided into two categories. The first one includes people who hold these virtual currencies in order to gain profits, i.e, create a capital gain and the second one includes businesses (or individuals) which ‘engage’ in Bitcoin for ‘business’ purposes.

The people in the first category will be liable to pay a capital gains tax, which currently is at 25% in Israel. The people in the second category will have to pay 17% as value added tax (VAT) in addition to the 25% as capital gains tax. Hence, a businessman engaging in cryptocurrencies to carry out business activities could potentially have to pay 42% as taxes.

Chairman of the Israeli Bitcoin Association, Manny Rosenfeld commented,

“The digital currency revolution is here to stay……. Tax Authority has made several amendments to the circular in accordance with the positions we presented.”

David Lewinson, a cryptocurrency trader from Israel commented,

“This decision by the government has both pros and cons. The pros being that this decision shows that cryptocurrencies are legitimate currencies and will instill confidence in the investors and the cons being that such a high rate will result in lower number of blockchain startups and will possibly result in locals shifting to other countries with friendlier tax laws to start their business.”

Gwen Wayne, an accountant from the US says,

“Profit from Bitcoin and other altcoins should be taxed just as profit from other trades is. How is it any different? At the end of the day, capital gains is taxable and so is cryptocurrencies.”

An interview with a couple of business owners in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem have had mixed reactions where everyone is happy about the acceptance of cryptocurrencies in Israel but unhappy with the 42% tax bracket on cryptocurrencies. Sources from within the ITA say they would like to discourage the use of cryptocurrencies but would not want to ban it considering the adoption and use cases in various industries.

The post Endangered species protection finds blockchain and Bitcoin love appeared first on CryptoVila.

Blockchain technology is penetrating almost every sector of business. It is able to accomplish this adoption across the board by driving down the costs to transact while providing transparency when needed. The freelance work model is no different. Many freelance employment platforms are turning to the blockchain to provide cryptocurrencies and the ability to transact they so adamantly desired.

Current State of the Freelance Market

The United States is expected to have over 57 million freelancers raking in over $1.4 trillion yearly. The question persists what types of jobs do freelancers specialize in? Upwork is the largest freelance platform and is always a great place to start for research. Over 33 percent of freelance workers are in web, mobile and software development. Design and creative make up for approximately 18 percent, while sales and marketing make up another 15 percent. Writing is composed of roughly 11 percent of freelancers. Administration and support comprises of eight percent of freelance opportunities with the “other” category represents the remaining 15 percent. Technology is driving the freelance platforms, with technological jobs being the most sought after.

The freelance market has recently exploded in popularity. The prediction is that within ten years there will be more freelance workers than full-time employees in the United States. A driving factor for this shift in the paradigm is technological advancements. Sites like Upwork and Fiverr have found their success in hosting freelance gigs that are worth billions annually. The blockchain has the ability to penetrate this market as the same benefits that apply to most businesses also apply to the freelance economy. The blockchain can decrease transaction costs, provide better security, and have a level of transparency determined by the user. These will benefit the freelance economy because of the current issues facing it.

Problems Plaguing the Freelance Market

Freelance marketplace has dealt with major issues in recent years. One of the largest issues for freelance marketplaces is scalability as they move into new geographic regions. Prompt payments in different currencies, across the globe, for millions of individuals, provides a significant challenge. The challenge is only exacerbated when the company hosting the freelance marketplace platform has to calculate exchange rates and rate of payment. Payment protocols to deal with multiple currencies, in multiple countries, with millions of people has become an increasing issue. This issue results in delays for the freelancers who expect to be paid promptly.

Other major issues plaguing the freelance economy are the quality of work and introduction of new freelancers to a platform. A freelancer with minimal reviews will not succeed in attaining much work on a new platform. Therefore, the individual is hesitant to join resulting in fewer freelancers, who do quality work, joining new platforms. The quality of the freelancer’s work is hard to determine as generally the freelancer and employer are thousands of miles from the office of the host company. This creates an issue ensuring freelancers can complete specific tasks at a professional level. Freelancers are also worried about future employment opportunities and even as employers are driven to freelance websites getting freelancers started is another major difficulty.

In contrast to Upwork and Fiverr; TopTal is a freelance platform that specializes high-quality freelancers. This a platform is known for the rigorous screening of any freelancer who wishes to sign up. TopTal’s approach to tackling the problem of low quality work is the highest level of screening. They proudly boast that only three percent of freelance applicants are even accepted, which almost guarantees the work quality by having such sophisticated freelancers. Even with their level of freelancers, TopTal ensures each of their projects. This guarantee and rigorous screening process is desirable for corporations who want high-quality freelancers. The freelancers are also paid the highest rate on sites like this, but the problem persists that 97 percent of freelancers are not allowed on the platform.

Payment Structures on the Centralized Freelance Platforms

Upwork: 20 percent up to $500, 10 percent up to $10,000, five percent over $10,000

Fiverr: 20 percent (most jobs are $5, making this a $1 fee)

Freelancer: 13 percent (ten percent from freelancers, three percent from employers)

Toptal: Undisclosed percentage

The employee is giving up between five and 20 percent of their payment to the platform hosting the advertisement. This can be greatly reduced on the blockchain.

To the Rescue

The blockchain is one of the most revolutionary technologies of our generation, and it promises to disrupt the majority of industries willing to adopt it. The blockchain provides alternatives which create a future where both the freelancers and employers have lower transaction fees, quicker payments, and many more incentives to make the experience for both parties better.

The blockchain is a prime candidate to make waves in the freelance market, and likely have significant market adoption. Blockchain-based alternatives to Fiverr and Upwork include recent ICOs like Global Job Coin (GJC), Hirematch (HIRE) and Canya.io (CAN).

Canya.io

Canya.io is a freelance platform based on the blockchain. It claims, “Decentralized payments, decentralized governance, decentralized storage, and eventually decentralized computers.” CanYa is unique as they offer both in-home freelance work (plumber, electrician) while also providing high-quality digital opportunities. CanYa highlights their simplicity to find, book and rate a multitude of service providers. CanYa created the CAN coin with a market cap of approximately $25 million and a cryptocurrency value of $.065.

The purpose of the CAN is for employers to pay freelancers for real-world services in it. The fees are one of the best selling points for freelancers. At approximately one percent, it is minuscule compared to all the other non-blockchain based freelance platforms. Of this one percent a portion is even provided in the form of rewards to encourage user growth. Currently, CanYa claims over 10,000 users and 46,000 service providers. Their ICO was launched in November of 2017 and is only a few steps behind Hirematch and Global Job Coin.

Global Job Coin (GJC)

GJC is based out of Europe and already has thousands of users signed up for their global job freelance platform. With their new cryptocurrency employers can instantly pay freelancers around the world for completing tasks. With a market cap of approximately $4.5 million and a cryptocurrency value of $0.325, this would be considered a small cap. GJC is trading at a third of its ICO value even with a functioning platform. Look for GJC to have a strong 2018 if the blockchain can continue to penetrate the freelance market.

Hirematch (HIRE)

HIRE is taking a slightly different approach to the freelance and employment market removing the middlemen in the recruitment field. The founders of Recruiter.com created HIRE and recently completed their ICO. HIRE intends to reward the matchmaker between employer and employee with HIRE tokens for bringing a job to an individual. Having just finished their ICO HIRE is a great opportunity to pick up when it lands on exchanges.

Both GJC and HIRE intend to accomplish their entrance into the freelance and employment markets in 2018. If either is successful, they are true mooning opportunities as GJC has under a $5 million market cap, and HIRE’s is not even public as their coin has not started trading. The freelance market is ripe for early entrants from the blockchain sector to disrupt it.

How Can the Blockchain Disrupt Freelance Marketplaces

HIRE, CAN, and GJC have already started doing it at the beginning of 2018. However, it can be further interrupted by providing faster payments using cryptocurrencies, by the elimination of middleman fees, and through the use of tokens and smart contracts to provide new incentives to both employers and employees.

The benefits to freelancers are very significant. One of the most important aspects is cash in their wallet faster and at a much lower fee, which means they can increase their profit on each job or be able to reduce their rates. Either way, they place themselves in a position to be more competitively priced, or have a higher take-home pay. The unbanked population still is an enormous percentage, over 39 percent. By using cryptocurrencies on their platforms, a population measuring in the billions can start participating in the freelance market. Cryptocurrencies are not centralized; this means there is significantly less control the business wields of the employee. The income cannot be unfairly held hostage which results in many nations worldwide. The freelancer has almost no reasons to be nervous about the implantation of the blockchain.

The employer does not receive all those benefits the freelancer does. However, one of the biggest concerns for employers and freelance platforms is attracting the top talent. If fees are the lowest and the freelancer has the most benefits on the blockchain, their choice of platform will be obvious. It will be one on the blockchain. Employers benefit because the top freelancers will seek out their blockchain-based freelance platforms for all the benefits it provides the freelancer. The most significant benefit for the employer is the efficiency of the blockchain. The freelance platform will run much more efficiently by using blockchain technology and leveraging smart contracts. The combination should lead to a higher quality of freelance work associated with less hiring risk.

Conclusion: The Blockchain has Successfully Entered the Freelance Market

The blockchain’s benefits apply to the majority of businesses. The freelance market is no different. Freelance fees are incredibly high currently, with many issues plaguing the process of being hired and ensuring quality and timely payment. The blockchain solves these issues and adds the benefits of transparency and security. The inefficiencies that have yet to be solved using the current techniques available are about to be resolved using the revolutionary technology of the blockchain. It will be very interesting to see which cryptocurrency will take over the freelance hiring marketplace. It seems HIRE, GJC, and CAN all have an early start!

The post Blockchain Technology Penetrates the Freelance Market (HIRE, CAN, GJC) appeared first on CryptoVila.

Blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies can be threatened in some ways. Quantum computing is perhaps of the biggest concerns as of right now. The Cardano Foundation and think-tank Z/YN recently released their findings on this potential threat to public key cryptography.

Cardano Wants to Become Quantum Computing-Resistant

Quantum computing is the next logical evolution in the world of technology. It allows for must faster calculations and unparalleled processing power. At the same time, this technology also poses concerns for public key cryptography. Most cryptocurrencies and blockchains rely on this type cryptography. As such, addressing potential future problems at an early stage is incredibly important.

Cardano is one of the cryptocurrencies focused on building quantum-resistant solutions. More specifically, the currency’s developers will support additional signature schemes in the future. Ensuring their cryptography and blockchain is quantum computing-resistant is a top priority as of right now.  This particular cryptocurrency project prioritizes security and interoperability over anything else.

One of the main reasons Cardano is so appealing is because of its intriguing design. At its core, the currency offers special extensions which allow for adding more signature schemes through a soft fork. With this focus on quantum computing, any major security layer can be added without network disruption. Thus, the only question is if and when quantum computing may become a problem for Cardano.

Conducting Research for Industry Standards

According to the recent study by the Cardano Foundation and think-tank Z/YEN, that is only a matter of time. The study concludes how large-scale quantum computing will effectively break the security of public key cryptography. This will have all kinds of different consequences for solutions built on top of this technology. It extends well beyond cryptocurrencies and blockchain as well. Most online communication services in the world rely on public key cryptography as of right now.

It is evident the Cardano Foundation wants to proactively deal with this threat whenever possible. There are some available solutions to nullify this issue, yet an industry-wide response standard will need to be established first and foremost. Cardano Foundation Chairman Michael Parsons added:

“As part of our extensive blockchain research programme with Z/Yen, we are exploring a range of issues from the technological, to regulation and governance and industry applications. The topics explored are forward-looking by their very nature, and the possible impact of quantum computing on the blockchain is a case in point.”

A future without cryptography is unthinkable as of right now. This technology forms the foundation of virtually everything we do online. With a growing interest in cryptocurrencies and blockchain, public key cryptography will only become more commonly used as well. The Cardano Foundation wants to lead the charge in addressing future issues associated with quantum computing.

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