For the average millennial or at least anyone that pays attention to the business world, the term “cryptocurrency” would not seem like such a strange word. If that is, then the terms Bitcoin, Ethereum or at least Blockchain should ring a bell. One might wonder, why are these terms suddenly so prevalent, especially cryptocurrency news? Computing is getting rather pervasive and the society is leaning towards digital services. The finance world too isn’t spared as the disruption of technology into this sector has fostered the birth and development of Fintech organizations.
These Fintech organizations look to digitize payments and transactions, offering the same services that are currently in existence but in a better, efficient and more effective way.
Blockchain is the network upon which most of these cryptocurrencies operate on. The history of blockchain and bitcoin, in particular, does not have a definite story. In 2009, an individual or group of individuals known to be “Satoshi Nakomoto” developed and published the technology to allow people make digital payments between themselves anonymously without having an external party to verify or authorize the transfer of the currency being exchanged.
Although technologies like this might seem rather complex, understanding how Blockchain works is quite easy, given that one has a basic idea of how networks work. Blockchain is simply a database shared between several users, containing confirmed and secured entries. It is a network, where each entry has a connection to its previous entry.
This technology affords a very secure model whereby every record in the database cannot be tampered with. Apart from the stellar security that this network offers, the transparency and speed at which the network operates give it an edge over the conventional way of conducting transactions.
In simple terms, cryptocurrencies are just monies in digital form, transacted via digital means and over a digital network. The transfer of these currencies is utilized with cryptography and the aforementioned blockchain network. Up until the 2010s, cryptocurrencies were not really known until Bitcoin made its breakout and this gave rise to the birth of new cryptocurrencies.
Cryptocurrencies have had their fair share of bullish and bearish trends, going to show how unstable they can be. The latest cryptocurrency news reports lots of people predicting prices for various cryptocurrencies in the years to come but no-one can say for sure.
Blockchain, on the other hand, is making its way into pervasive computing, especially IoT, giving way for the development of new solutions that embrace data security and transparency.
Music streaming service has announced a new acquisition that will help the company to monitor music ownership information and prevent problems of attribution.
China’s leading internet services provider has unveiled plans to develop its own blockchain-based product and gave details in the new white paper.
Bitcoin easily recovered after the SEC clogged more-than-three-year efforts of investors Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss to bring the Bitcoin ETF to market.
The IoT security services provider has signed up to the initiative aimed at driving the adoption of fog computing to solve main IoT challenges.
The Estonia-based blockchain company unveiled during the last week’s Qtum event that it is planning to use the startup’s technology for its smart contracts platform.
Token was developed to provide universal access to financial services to help more than 2.5 billion people who do not have an account at a financial institution.
China’s major cryptocurrency exchange OKCoin has stopped accepting USD deposits, a day after the Hong Kong-based cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex suspended wire transfers.
The solution offered by Stampery wil enable document certification and verification in Microsoft Office.
Several days ago, Bitfinex announced delays in the processing of outbound USD wires while now warned customers to avoid sending incoming wires as far as they could not be processed.
Ukraine aims to create an entirely new ecosystem for state projects based on the blockchain technology.
The Royal Mint Gold project will make gold more available for trade, thus changing the way asset is executed and settled.
The UK’s central bank has developed its own Proof of Concept ledger and will make the next version of its interbank payments system compatible with settlement in a distributed ledger.
Euroclear and Paxos are preparing for the launch of the Bankchain service that is expected to deliver lower costs and lower risk for the London gold market.
The country’s Deputy Finance Minister unveiled that bitcoin may soon become a legal payment method, only a year after the Russian authorities threatened cryptocurrency users with jail time.
The supply chain platform developed by IBM and Sichuan Hejia aims to streamline flows among buyers, sellers and financiers in the pharmaceuticals space.