Blockchain in healthcare: The applications which are potentially ‘transformational’

Feature From South Korea to the US, governments this year have been trying to develop blockchain-based technologies to track citizens’ vaccination status whilst maintaining a respect for individual privacy. Aside from the controversies of this topic, the situation has thrust blockchain’s potential in the healthcare industry into the limelight moreso than ever before, at a time when the industry faces an increasing number of challenges.

With developed countries spending an...

7 May 2021 | Applications

MorganFranklin announces partnership with blockchain cybersecurity firm 1Kosmos

Global financial advisory firm MorganFranklin is looking to expand its cybersecurity services through an alliance with 1Kosmos a provider of security technology which leverages blockchain and biometrics authentication.

1Kosmos’ BlockID platform provides digital identity proofing with advanced biometrics and passwordless authentication through a secured private blockchain. The authentication process involves a liveness test and the use of verifiable credentials in digital format....

8 April 2021 | Applications

William Lovell, Bank of England: Why blockchain is maturing – but healthy scepticism remains

As blockchain technologies and the thinking around them have matured, the role of each of its stakeholders tends to mature with it. For the central bank, the inherent understanding of risk with blockchain has always been there. But this does not mean innovation and progress cannot march forwards.

William Lovell is head of future technology at the Bank of England. Naturally, this remit means blockchain is not the only game in town, but its intrinsic link to finance makes it a...

1 April 2021 | Banking

Chainalysis valued at more than $2 billion after series D funding and Bluestone Analytics partnership

Chainalysis continues to cement itself in the top realm of global blockchain analysis providers after a fourth round of funding led by Paradigm secured $100 million (£72m).

The company, now valued at over $2 billion (£1.45bn), also received increased investments from previous investors Ribbit and Addition, as well as Marc Benioff’s investment fund, TIME Ventures.

Chainalysis is used by government agencies to investigate crypto-based crime and leading digital...

29 March 2021 | Big Data

Aries becomes next Hyperledger project graduating to active status

The Hyperledger Technical Steering Committee (TSC) has approved Hyperledger Aries as the latest of Hyperledger’s projects to graduate from incubation to active status.

Hyperledger Aries provides tool kits designed to build interopable and verifiable credentials for secure communication without a central authority. The Aries project grew out of the need for protocols and open source tools to enable verifiable credentials, such as those supported by Hyperledger...

1 March 2021 | Applications

KPMG, BitGo, and Coin Metrics launch combined offering for public blockchains

Global accounting firm KPMG has announced the launch of a suite of products and services designed to enable increased adoption of cryptoassets and public blockchains in a combined offering with digital asset firms BitGo and Coin Metrics.

The collaboration seeks to bring KPMG’s Chain Fusion services, capabilities and accelerators; BitGo’s custody technology; and Coin Metrics’ data and intelligence products to market through a deeply integrated offering.

The...

24 February 2021 | Banking

Chainalysis investigation shows connections between four notorious ransomware strains

Chainalysis, a blockchain analysis company, has released part of a report showing potential connections between four major ransomware cybercrime groups.

The company's 2021 Crypto Crime Report, which is due to be fully released in February, analyses blockchain ledgers to identify how cybercriminals are using cryptocurrencies.

Maze, Egregor, SunCrypt, and Doppelpaymer are the primary groups identified in the report.

Use of ransomware has massive increased in...

9 February 2021 | Cryptocurrency

SIMBA Chain secures $1.5 million Navy contract for blockchain demand sensing

SIMBA Chain, an Indiana-based blockchain technology provider, has been awarded a $1.5 million contract from the US Office of Navy Research to 'design and build a blockchain solution to enable demand sensing.'

The contract, which falls under the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II branch, will see SIMBA Chain develop a demand sensing solution for the Defense Logistics Agency. Demand sensing is used by the US military to ensure critical replacement parts for weaponry...

13 January 2021 | Government

ISACA offers guidance for enterprise blockchain initiatives with new framework

ISACA, the association focused on security and governance for IT professionals, is looking at how enterprises can safely make the most of blockchain technologies with the launch of a new framework.

The framework, which can be found in the Blockchain Framework and Guidance report, looks to help enterprises answer three questions with regard to implementation:

Do the proposed blockchain control objective domains adequately cover risk vectors and business process objectives...

11 January 2021 | Enterprise

Blockchains acquires PayPal-backed Cambridge Blockchain to beef up identity play

Software development company Blockchains has announced the acquisition of Cambridge Blockchain, a Massachusetts-based blockchain identity management and compliance provider.

Cambridge Blockchain, which notably secured funding from PayPal in its series A round last year, has two products which aim to strike a balance between trusted, distributed identity to organisations and returning control of personal data back to users. IDBridge focuses on digital identity management through...

2 December 2020 | M&A