20 Apr
0
8 Ways to Become the MacGyver of Bitcoin
There are thousands of tools related to bitcoin and the blockchain, but only a few of these are very upstanding and useful.
These tools have being created by genious startups from all over the world, and they will allow you to become the next MacGyver of Bitcoin.
Below, in fact, you can read the list of tools we selected that are related to Bitcoin and the blockchain.
Cryptocurrencies Exchange Rates
Recently HolyTransaction created a new add-on for the Firefox browser only to see the exchange rates for cryptocurrency pairs.
This add-on allows you to see the exchange rates between the most popular currencies using only a couple of clicks.
Exchange rates are available between dollar, euro, bitcoin, litecoin, peercoin,dogecoin, dash, blackcoin and gridcoin.
Eternity Wall
Eternity Wall allows you to write text messages on the blockchain. Those messages cannot be deleted and, even if the Eternity Wall platform goes down or closed, the messages you wrote in here are guaranteed to persist. You can write everything you want: from love messages to contracts and more.
Open Bazaar
This is a peer-to-peer marketplace where you can buy everything using bitcoin as a method of payment. You just have to download the program and start doing some shopping!
Blockchain Info
Here you can see live all the transactions that happened on the bitcoin blockchain. Also you can read statistics, charts, and news about blockchain.info and related to the Bitcoin world.
This is platform that allows to donate bitcoin to people affected by natural disasters. Recently the Helperbit team won a Blockchain startup competition in Amsterdam. The website is still in development and you can read more details about Helperbit by clicking here.
It is a map where you can find all the shops and restaurants that accept bitcoin among their methods of payment.
Bitcoinity
Offers a succinct and graphical overview of the price of Bitcoins and market depth on the major Bitcoin exchanges.
BitLegal
This website explain everything you need to know about Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies regulation all around the world.
Multicurrencies Wallet
To use the most part of these tools you may need an online wallet where you can store your bitcoin. Sign here for free and create your HolyTransaction wallet.
Open your free digital wallet here to store your cryptocurrencies in a safe place.
15 Apr
0
European Parliament hosts a conference on Bitcoin
The European Parliament will host a conference on cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology.
The four days event aims at educating MEPs about new technologies related to finance and economy.
To do so, the event has been organized together with the European Digital Currency and Blockchain Technology Forum (EDCAB), a new Bruxelles platform related to Bitcoin and the Blockchain.
The conference will start next week and will see the partecipation of World Bank, IMF, OECD, Nasdaq, Blockchain.info, Bank for International Settlements, United Nations and Europol, among the others.
Syed Kamall, the event host, explained:
“I am pleased to be hosting the exhibition on blockchain and virtual currencies in the European Parliament. Legislators internationally are now looking at this area and how to protect the consumer while stimulating innovation.”
Unfortunately the conference will not be public, but it could represent a great opportunity and an important turn around for the cryptocurrencies ecosystem.
Also, this means that the most insightful companies and banks from all around the world are starting to understand the revolution that Bitcoin and the blockchain represents for our daily life.
About EDCAB
EDCAB aims at helping shape a sound regulatory and policy agenda for virtual currencies and distributed ledger technology in the European Union. We engage with EU policymakers, legislators and key stakeholders on live and upcoming issues, addressing both challenges and opportunities.
Open your free digital wallet here to store your cryptocurrencies in a safe place.
14 Apr
0
5 podcasts on Blockchain and Bitcoin You May Need Right Now
Several leading minds in the Bitcoin world share their knowledge on the cryptocurrencies and the blockchain technology.
That is why we have list the top 5 poadcasts related to the crypto sector.
Listen to these selected 5 podcasts to learn everything you need to know about Bitcoin and the Blockchain. Click on the images to listen to the podcasts.
1. Khan Academy teachs Bitcoin
Khan Academy is a non-profit organization that aims at educating people about several topics, including Bitcoin.
Some years ago, in fact, Zulfikar Ramzan, expert in computer security and cryptography, created nine videos in which he explained everything about bitcoin.
2. Andreas Antonopoulos talks about Bitcoin
Everyone knows who Andreas Antonopoulos is,and during this poadcast he talks about “The Other 6 Billion” or the 6 billion people who do not have access to financial services.
3. Token Talks by Wing Venture Capital
The show is an interview series with founders of emerging blockchain tech startups.
It’s for people that want to stay ahead of the curve of what’s happening in crypto.
4. Let’s talk about Bitcoin
Let’s talk about Bitcoin is a website where you can find all the most interesting and insightful poadcasts about the crypto world.
And, among their permanent host there is Andreas Antonopolous himself.
5. Anthony Pompliano on Off The Chain
Anthony Pompliano talks about bitcoin, explaining the origins of this cryptocurrency, how new currency was born and its future.
Multicurrency Wallet
Do you like cryptocurrencies? Open a new wallet here for FREE!
Open your free digital wallet here to store your cryptocurrencies in a safe place.
13 Apr
0
AirBnB hires ChangeTip employees
Recently Airbnb co-founder Nathan Blecharczyk annonunced the possible blockchain application among the company plans for this year.
And now, the company hired several employees from the bitcoin service called ChangeTip.
Among the people hired by AirBnB there is ChangeTip’s CEO and co-founder Nick Sullivan.
Unfortunately we don’t have more details yet.
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Blockchain Project for AirBnb
This news is the pure expression of the optimism that AirBnb has for its blockchain project.
As we previously reported, Blecharczyk explained that blockchain is in the company’s mind.
These were Blecharczyk words:
“I think that, within the context of Airbnb, your reputation is everything, and I can see it being even more so in the future, whereby you might need a certain reputation order to have access to certain types of homes. But then the question is whether there’s a way to export that and allow access elsewhere to help other sharing economy models really flourish. We’re looking for all different kinds of signals to tell us whether someone is reputable, and I could certainly see some of these more novel types of signals being plugged into our engine”.
ChangeTip funds
Recenlty, on December 2014 ChangeTip raised $3.5m in seed funding for its micropayments platform.
The round was guided by Pantera Capital, according to a ChangeTip’s press release.
Other participants in the round were 500 Startups, Boldstart Ventures, CryptoCurrency Partners and Idealab.
Multicurrency Wallet
Do you like cryptocurrencies? Open a new wallet here for FREE!
Open your free digital wallet here to store your cryptocurrencies in a safe place.
12 Apr
0
Ethereum Used for Paid Energy
An American resident used the Ethereum blockchain to sell energy to his neighbors.
The two men did the transaction through the LO3, a startup that aims at changing the energy industry.
Lawrence Orsini, founder at LO3, explained that his startup wants to show how people can use the blockchain daily to facilitate their peer-to-peer exchange.
During an intereview with Coindesk, Orsini commented:
“All the projects that we’re working on are squarely focused on the emerging distributed economy, peer to peer concepts. They’re all squarely focused on distributing and decentralizing assets into communities, into people’s hands, the new economy of the future.”
Thanks to LO3 and ConsenSys, the American resident Eric Frumin had the chance to sell renewable energy directly to Bob Sauchelli, the former program manager at EnergyStar.
The energy created by Frumin’s solar panel is tracked on the blockchain.
Sauchelli commented:
“With this arrangement, I’m going to pay him the whole premium, it won’t cost me anymore. I’m going to pay him what I’d pay the power company, but he’s going to get the whole premium, not just the wholesale rate”.
Bitcoin for Electricity
It’s not the first time we hear about electricity sold for cryptocurrencies and tracked through the blockchain.
In fact, during the MIT Enterprise Forum of Cambridge it was presented a new startup called Usizo, a crowdfunding company who is trying to improve energy payments between users and schools in the African country.
Read more about Usizo here.
Multicurrencies Wallet
Do you like cryptocurrencies? Open a new wallet here for FREE!
Open your free digital wallet here to store your cryptocurrencies in a safe place.
7 Apr
0
Red Hat to help blockchain related startups
Yesterday Red Hat announced its idea to start its OpenShift blockchain that aims at helping financial companies with their initiatives related to the disruptive distributed ledger.
Thanks to OpenShift, Red Hat users can create blockchain applications using tools provided by indipendent sellers and with the support of Red Hat’s Openshift Dedicated program.
How Openshift works
OpenShift Dedicated wants to help the startups related to blockchaintech, fintech ISVs, and traditional financial companies to begin their blockchain-based projects.
“A lot of folks in the market are looking to deploy on the big cloud providers, Amazon, Google, Microsoft. There are many companies offering cloud support”, Tapia commented.
Tapia clarified that OpenShift Dedicated is available on Amazon and will soon be available on Google and Microsoft Azure as well.
During a recent interview, director of OpenShift, Julio Tapia, explained that the company wants to use its own experience in the open source sector related to blockchain technology.
These were his words:
“We want to position ourselves with not only customers and partners, but leverage solutions developed in the entire ecosystem, taking all the innovation going on in the industry, maturing it for an enterprise market and making sure all the solutions can be launched and supported.”
Red Hat with Hyperledger
Previously, in February, Red Hat announced its partnership with the Linux Foundation’s Hyperledger project, “an open source platform to advance the blockchain digital technology for recording and verifying transactions”, according to the press release.
Open your free digital wallet here to store your cryptocurrencies in a safe place.
6 Apr
0
Artificial intelligence connected to the blockchain thanks to IBM
IBM is working on an artificial intelligence that will use the blockchain.Thanks to the possibilities offered by the blockchain in terms of value exchange, the IBM artificial intelligence will be able to analyze tons of data in a small portion of time.
During the past months, IBM studied how to introduce the blockchain technology to its artificial computer called Watson.
And thanks to Tim Hahn this will happen for real. He explained to CoinDesk:
“What we’re doing with blockchain and devices is enabling the information those devices supply to effect the blockchain…You begin to approach the kind of things we see in movies.”
The blockchain applications will include the possibility to allow devices to perform tasks at a certain set time.
Also, the devices wil be registered on the blockchain and – thanks to smart contracts – different types of access will be created, allowing lots of functionalities and customization.
For example, thanks to the blockchain, Watson software could be updated remotely.
“You better be ready to actively update your devices throughout the lifecycle of your devices. Vulnerabilities will be discovered long after the device is released”, commented Hahn.
Unfortunately Watson is still in a development phase and we don’t have more details about this disruptive invention.
“Its early days and we’re just playing around with prototypes now”, explained Hahn.
IBM invests in the Internet of Things
It was March when IBM announced its decision to invest $3bn to build an entire office that would be dedicated to the Internet of Things (IoT), or the smart connection between devices and Internet.
In a press release IBM explained that the company predicted to earn $235bn by the end of 2016 and an increase of 22% from 2014.
The statement also predicted 6.4 billion devices that will be used worldwide within the end of 2016, an amount that will reach 20.8 billion in 2020.
Previous statement
IBM, in fact, is also working on the Hyperledger Project, an open-source blockchain led by The Linux Foundation. Presented in December, this project stars thirty companies including ABN Amro, CME Group, Red Hat and several blockchain startups.
Open your free digital wallet here to store your cryptocurrencies in a safe place.
5 Apr
0
BNP Paribas to develop a blockchain project
Today BNP Paribas Group has announced a new partnership that aims at allowing private companies to issue securities through the blockchain ledger.
The partnership is between BNP Paribas Securities Services and SmartAngels, a crowdfunding platform that will help BNP Paribas in a pilot project to be launched within the end of 2016.
According to a press release, BNP Paribas will develope and manage a ledger for shares in companies through the blockchain.
The main goal is to allow non-listed companies crowdfunded on SmartAngels to issue their shares on the primary market, and allow investors an access to the secondary market based on blockchain technology.
The BNP press release explained:
“Investor payments will be processed immediately and e-certificates will be issued to them straight away. Financial transactions made via the platform will therefore be performed simply, quickly, securely and for a lower cost.”
BNP Paribas believes in the Blockchain
BNP Paribas is not new in the blockchain sector.
A few months ago, in fact, BNP confirmed its belief in distributed ledger technology for financial purposes and announced that they were working on blockchain technology.
Also, BNP Paribas previously created their blockchain Bizhackathon, with the objectives of finding use cases for distributed ledger technology in the banking system.
Open your free digital wallet here to store your cryptocurrencies in a safe place.
1 Apr
0
HolyTransaction Bitcoin Roundup March 2016
Welcome to HolyTransaction’s third monthly recap for the new year of 2016. This past month of March has been marked by continued interest in blockchain from everywhere; during that time, the bitcoin price rose from a high of $435.23 on March 1st to a low of $414.66 on March 31st, according to Bitcoin exchange Bitstamp.
It’s time to Blockchain-ize things like sneakers with Chronicled
A new blockchain startup, Chronicled, is planning to blockchain-ize the growing multi billion dollar industry that is sneakers. The company has raised $3.4 million on Crunchbase for its mission. The phenomenon of thousand dollar shoes for the male market has somewhat been predicted by similar economic pressures in shoes for females. Chronicled will use the blockchain to bring accountability and cleaner profits to this and other similarly affected industries.
Even Disney wants a piece of the blockchain action
The most recent surprise blockchain job opening is from Disney. While the corporate giant has many diversified products, this is a prime example of blockchain technology’s ability to help any company save in the middle and back office. Disney also probably has an interest in forever securing their rights via multiple blockchains.
VISA is planning its own blockchain for internal use. They are hiring an engineer/developer to help them and are also working with Chain.com. VISA believes that this area will have a critical impact on the future of the industry and wants to get ahead of the curve. Other companies from around the world that are creating blockchain labs and teams include Hitachi, Phillips, and even Walt Disney.
Ethereum’s newest version, Homestead, has officially launched. The price of ether was very volatile around the release of this software as new users rushed in. Homestead replaces Frontier, and allows users to begin using the smart contract technology. Already, companies are being built around the Ethereum blockchain.
Open your free digital wallet here to store your cryptocurrencies in a safe place.
31 Mar
0
Disney wants to the develop its private Blockchain
The Walt Disney Company has announced its decision to develop a private blockchain.
Some days ago, in fact, the company published a job post for a “Disney Private Blockchain Intern” in Seattle, Washington within the Disney Technology Solutions and Services Business office.
But the job post has now disappeared, so probably this means that the position has already been occupied.
The job proposal
These are the words of the original job post.
“The Disney Private Blockchain team assists business segment users and developers research and develop software mechanisms to protect privacy in distributed ledger participation. DTSS Engineering Services (Keystone and DPBC) applications and services. We provide the support, consulting, and solutions to meet the tactical needs of our customer’s business”.
The main goal is security
So, the Disney Private Blockchain team will research and develop a software that aims at protecting privacy, but unfortunately Disney didn’t reveal more details about the blockchain network.
We only know that the project is about designing and implementing an access control using blockchain technologies for Disney Corporate, ABC, ESPN, Disney Interactive and Walt Disney Productions.
More companies studying the blockchain
Recently we read about lots of important and worldwide companies who decided to invest in the blockchain and/or in bitcoins.
Open your free digital wallet here to store your cryptocurrencies in a safe place.