Oil and gas blockchain consortium says successful water haulage pilot is ‘tip of the iceberg’

The OOC Oil & Gas Blockchain Consortium has announced the competition of a first successful pilot around water haulage.

The project, which was developed in partnership with Data Gumbo, involved automating the water haulage process, from field readings to invoice payments. It is claimed to be the first industry-wide use of a blockchain-native network - Data Gumbo's GumboNet network -for produced water haulage.

Initial results of the pilot include reducing the current...

By | 3 June 2020 | Energy

Blockchain can be key to immunity passport success – but science must dictate rollout

The COVID-19 pandemic has ignited a reassessment of the role that technology can play in tackling health crises, as well as citizens’ right to privacy. This is particularly the case in the ongoing development of contact tracing apps, which have been heralded as the ticket out of the pandemic.

Another tool that has been suggested as one way of bringing the crisis under control – and has gained more and more attention over the last few weeks – are so-called ‘digital immunity...

By | 29 May 2020 | Healthcare

Facebook renames Calibra wallet as Novi to avoid confusion

Another step is afoot in the development of Facebook-led digital currency initiative Libra - as the Calibra wallet is renamed Novi to sever any links between it and Libra itself.

The move is aimed at ensuring Libra, whose membership includes Andreessen Horowitz, Coinbase and Shopify among others, is not seen as a Facebook-only entity. According to the company, the name Novi is derived from the Latin 'novus', for new, and 'via' for way.

The Novi wallet is the main bulwark...

By | 27 May 2020 | Banking

Blockchain-based electric vehicle charging and integration set to tip $1bn by end of decade

The combined markets of blockchain-based electric vehicle charging and grid integration is forecast to break $1 billion by the end of the decade at a CAGR of 77.9%, according to a new report.

The study, from Guidehouse Insights, argues that through in-house or working with consortia, increasing numbers of traditional energy stakeholders are experimenting with blockchain technology. Such use cases 'have emerged as technologically sound and feasible within the regulatory and...

By | 19 May 2020 | Applications

Blockchain spending in Europe will recover post-Covid-19, says IDC

The short-term outlook for blockchain technologies in Europe is not good right now amid the coronavirus pandemic - but there is a note of optimism in certain sectors, according to IDC.

The analyst firm's latest forecast, based on its European IT Buyer Sentiment Survey and global blockchain spending guide, shows spending on blockchain solutions will be down around 8% in 2020. This counters previous analysis which saw blockchain spending at $1.4 billion this year, running at a 58%...

By | 14 May 2020 | Blockchain

Analysing Bitcoin’s revival: CoinMarketCap notes cautious optimism amid Covid-19 – as halving arrives

The most recent quarter has been turbulent to say the least across all global economies - but while Bitcoin's performance naturally fell, according to CoinMarketCap's most recent analysis, it still outperformed global benchmarks for equities.

In its Q1 assessment of crypto market and user trends, CoinMarketCap argued that, amid the Covid-19 pandemic, crypto markets have 'regained a good portion' of their March losses, but warns there was 'still some way to go' before they fully...

By | 12 May 2020 | Bitcoin

Blockchain, AI, IoT and 5G to add $30bn to Sydney economy in 10 years, says Digital Realty

The combination of artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain, the Internet of Things (IoT), and 5G technologies will contribute more than AU$30 billion to Sydney's economy by 2029 - according to new research from Digital Realty.

As reported by IT Brief Australia, the data centre operator argues that Sydney is leading Australia in digital technology adoption. As of 2019, emerging technologies currently contribute AU$6.66bn to the Sydney economy, with IoT counting for half of that...

By | 11 May 2020 | Applications

Nervos looking to attract dapp developers with CKLabs funding project

Nervos has launched CKLabs, a project which is putting up $100,000 for teams looking to build a killer decentrealised application on its platform.

As announced in a blog post published by the company, Nervos, a competitor of Ethereum, is launching CKLabs as 'the next phase' of the network, expanding its utility with dapps and more sophisticated solutions.

"Nervos was designed to be a sustainable network capable of supporting a growing digital economy," the company wrote....

By | 7 May 2020 | Applications

TIXnGO launches blockchain-based health certificates aiming to help ease lockdowns

Swiss blockchain firm TIXnGO, whose platform has been taken up by various sporting bodies, has announced the launch of a secure health certificate mobile delivery offering.

The solution, called Health n Go, is a repurposing of the existing TIXnGO blockchain-based technology, which aims to enable secure ticket distribution. Health n Go 'is designed to safely deliver digital health certificates from a trusted authority', with a unique, encrypted, traceable identity attached to each...

By | 6 May 2020 | Applications

How Covid-19 is shining a light on supply chain flaws – and why blockchain can help

As the Covid-19 pandemic continues to escalate, many organisations are facing an uncertain future. With various furlough schemes in place around the world protecting businesses for the near-term, there may be a window of opportunity to assess your business proposition, explore future trends, and work out the best path to take once the 'new normal' establishes itself.

"Those kinds of things always require a bit of a step back," Alan Vey, co-founder of blockchain technology startup...

By | 1 May 2020 | Supply Chain