Chained Weekly Digest #7 – 16 – 22 July incoming! This week we’ve found a lot of interesting articles in Hyperledger space, but not only there. Notes from news about regulations, interviews, points and remarks in blockchain space are also part of this summary, enjoy the read!

„EU Parliament Study: Central Bank Digital Currencies ‘Will Reshape Competition’ in Crypto Market”

Author: Molly Jane Zuckerman
Source: EU Parliament Study: Central Bank Digital Currencies ‘Will Reshape Competition’ in Crypto Market
Date of publication: July 2018

Key points:

• According to study done by European Parliament Committee on Ecomonic and Monetary Affairs (ECON) central bank-issued digital currecies, could be a „remedy” for a lack of competition policy in the crypto sector;
• ECON distinguished private digital currencies from central bank-issued digital currencies (CBDC), stating that CBDCs differ as they are based on a „conventional bilateral settlement with a trusted central party”;
• Following the study, closed cryptocurrency systems require a supervisory authority, central banks could be considering using „permissioned cryptocurrency systems” to „complement or substitute” the currencies already used;
• Based on ECON studies,competition issues can be divided into two groups: „inter cryptocurrency market” – competition between cryptocurrencies, and „intra-cryptocurrency” – competition between service providers like exchanges.

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„Oracle rolls out its own blockchain service”

Author: Lucas Mearian
Source: Oracle rolls out its own blockchain service
Date of publication: July 2018

Key points:

• Oracle has joined IBM, SAP and Microsoft and has started to offer blockchain-as-a-service as a deployable distributed ledger technology without the expenses connected with introducing the technology on-premise;
• Oracle BaaS (Blockchain-as-a-service) was initially introduced at OpenWorld in October last year;
• Current solution is based on the Linux Foundation’s Hyperledger Fabric platform;
• Oracle has also announced it has couple of early BaaS adoptes that are build PoCs, among others Arab Jordan Investment Bank, CargoSmart, Nigeria Customs or Certified Origins.

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„UK Set to Become a Blockchain and Crypto Economy Leader, New Report Says”

Author: Max Yakubowski
Source: UK Set to Become a Blockchain and Crypto Economy Leader, New Report Says
Date of publication: July 2018

Key points:

• Based on Guardian report UK has potential to become a leader in blockchain technology and the crypto economy by 2022;
• Report was conducted by the Big Innovation Centre, DAG Global, and Deep Knowledge Analytics;
• „It states that more than £500 million in investments were made into British blockchain companies in 2017-2018”;
• Birgitte Andersen CEO of Big Innovation Centre emphasized that the UK parliament „has shown commitment to support the accelerated development of the digital economy via a variety of government initiatives”.

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„Boeing to Develop Blockchain-Enabled Unmanned Vehicles in New Partnership”

Author: William Suberg
Source: Boeing to Develop Blockchain-Enabled Unmanned Vehicles in New Partnership
Date of publication: July 2018

Key points:

• Boeing is partnering with Texas-based AI company (SparkCognition) to develop pilotless vehicles and other products using blockchain, according to a press release from July 17;
• As press release explains: the partnership “will also provide a standardized programming interface to support package delivery, industrial inspection and other commercial applications”.

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„TCS eyes $200 million in revenue from blockchain in FY19”

Author: Varun Sood
Source: TCS eyes $200 million in revenue from blockchain in FY19
Date of publication: July 2018

Key points:

• Tata Consultancy Services Ltd (TCS) believes 2018-19 will be the year of blockchain adoption by the largest banks and stock exchanges, which should eventually help the Mumbai-based company generate at least $200 million in annual revenue from its blockchain practice;
• TCS first started to look into blockchain technology in 2016 when it first started to work on its core banking software, BaNCS, based on underlying technology behind virtual currency Bitcoin.

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„Why This Cryptocurrency Leader Believes Blockchain Is A New Paradigm For Inclusion”

Author: Emily Joffrion (interview with Nyla Rogers, Founder of Mama Hope and Satoshi is Female)
Source: Why This Cryptocurrency Leader Believes Blockchain Is A New Paradigm For Inclusion
Date of publication: July 2018

Key points (quotes from perspective of Nyla Rodgers – it is worth reading the whole interview):

• „I believe that the blockchain is an inherently feminine way to move value across the world. And that’s because it’s collaborative, inclusive, values-driven and community-centered.”;
• „If we replicate the system we have now, we aren’t asking ourselves why we need a new economic system in the first place”;
• „My main theory is that the new ecosystem cannot be solely architected by the people who benefit from the current one”;
• „I want this new system to be completely inclusive of everybody — including men — because this conversation is about how to create this new world together.”;
• „To truly make an impact, you must take into account all of the deep-seeded and integrated structural problems and ask how the projects that you fund give power and prosperity back.”.

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„American Express Files Patent for Blockchain-Powered Proof-of-Payment System”

Author: Marie Huillet
Source: American Express Files Patent for Blockchain-Powered Proof-of-Payment System
Date of publication: July 2018

Key points:

• Blockchain-based Proof-of-payment system patent was filled by American Express (Amex), according to U.S. Patent and Trademark Office filling published Thursday, July 12;
• Proposed system „would automate proof-of-payments by encrypting payment payload data with a public key on an initial node of the blockchain”, and then data could be securely pushed to a second blockchain node, from where it could be fetched by a connected smart device that would be able to decrypt the payment payload data and match it with a second identifiers – the customer;
• Hotel reservations, real estate rental, ticketless access to events and venues are mentioned as examples of use cases for such secured system.