Category: Blockchain

Categories
Australia Blockchain Industries

Entrust And Hedera Join Forces to Secure Australian Food Quality

Australian companies have noticed that clients both foreign and domestic are willing to pay a premium for Aussie quality – and the Australian Government has invested over AUD 150,00 into blockchain technology for Australian Food and Drink industries.

Measures have been taken to prevent the continuous loss of AUD 1.7 billion yearly, out of $50 billion worldwide, according to investigative reports published by Food Innovation Australia – and now the official announcement regarding the technology to be used is here.

The transparent, immutable nature of blockchain technology would allow Australian businesses to create unforgeable digital certificates in order to protect their products and brand.

 In addition to discussing the potential use cases of blockchain technology in Australian supply chain applications, Australia’s first blockchain-based Cooperative Research Center has raised over $60 million in order to push blockchain adoption through Australian startups.

National Australian QA Blockchain Teams Up With Highly Scalable Hedera Hashgraph Technology

Entrust – Australia’s first comprehensive agricultural supply chain platform – has announced it will operate on Hedera Hashgraph, the enterprise-grade distributed ledger.

Launched last Sunday by South Australian Premier Steven Marshall, Entrust hopes to live up to its name by growing trust in the high-profile wine and dairy industries.

Entrust will allow farmers and winemakers and map the movement of primary products all the way to factories and processing plants, and from there on down the supply chain until the shop.

The tracking will be carried out through a combination of time-stamping, geolocation, and the transparent immutable storage of key events. Hedera Hashgraph offers improvements in speed and security when facing off against decentralized first-generation blockchains.

Mance Harmon – the CEO of Hedera – commended Entrust for taking the necessary steps to ensure accountability in an already thriving food industry.

“Entrust’s successful initial pilot with the wine industry, and strong early demand from other agricultural sectors, demonstrates the pent-up desire by producers and consumers to have more visibility into the provenance and lifecycle of our food and drinks.”

With this partnership, fraud in Australian agriculture will be virtually eliminated – all because of technology running on GPS-enabled smartphones and the creative thinking of innovators worldwide.

Categories
Blockchain Gaming Industries Initial Coin Offering

Flow Blockchain Poised To Change The World Of Digital Gaming Assets

Since the invention of Blockchain and its’ use in the world of payments, Blockchain technology has started taking root in every industry, with many benefits – from banking guarantees to supply chain certification, many businesses stand to benefit from the Blockchain revolution.

 Being Unique Pays Off

Customers feel safe paying more for an item if it’s authenticity is guaranteed – and this extends to in-game collectible items.

Users have been shown to spend 10-100x more on NFT assets than regular “in-game” digital assets because NFTs guarantee that the in-game item is unique and will remain with them forever. This means that NFT in-game items have a distinct value outside of the ecosystems that they were originally designed for. Someone who owns a distinct item can even pass it down as a heirloom.

Aside from the special value that a Flow NFT asset has, the Flow blockchain is highly scalable and built so that third-party developers can easily integrate Flow assets into their own applications – thereby increasing the potential value of said asset.

The team at Flow has partnered up with industry staple companies NBA, UFC, Dr. Seuss, and many more to change the way gaming companies will market their assets.

With the community sale of Flow tokens opening up, indie devs and multimillion-dollar corporations alike have the opportunity to snap up tokens for the blockchain system that brought you CryptoKitties.

If in the past gamers have felt deceived by market manipulation of in-game items, Flow’s environment paves the way for a higher level of trust from eager gamers. They’ve already gathered to discuss this new development on Discord – join the discussion and see why the decentralization of gaming assets can help dodge high Ethereum gas costs, onboarding issues for new projects, and even unscrupulous marketing teams.

If you are interested in checking in with the world-class team behind certified consumer blockchain experiences such as Dapper and NBA TopShot, they are always available on Discord or via the contact form on their page.

With an award-winning team and sound partnerships, Flow seems set to bring the blockchain world closer to the gaming world – this time without making GPU prices skyrocket.

Flow as a community token offering (ICO) going live on Coinlist find out more here >>> https://www.coinlist.co/flow.

Categories
Australia Blockchain Cryptocurrencies

Ralph Kalsi Expands Business With Blockchain Autonomous Solutions

Ralph Kalsi — founder of leading Australian company Ralph Kalsi Blockchain Consultancy — has launched the autonomous company Blockchain Australia Solutions with the goal of ramping up research on blockchain technology and its applications — such as quality assurance, eco-friendly housing, and much more.

Setting Aside Marketing To Pursue Research

After a successful career in digital marketing, Kalsi has taken the decision to retire from the lucrative field of digital marketing in order to focus on the development of blockchain technology and its game-changing potential. 

Consulting services will also be provided by Blockchain Australia Solutions. BAS has made itself a fully separate entity from Kalsi’s previous firm. Formerly the Managing Director of One Stop Media, Ralph Kalsi dove into the competitive field of blockchain in 2016 — and became a world leader in his field within only three years.

Aside from blockchain development and consulting, Blockchain Australia Solutions also provides a vast range of services to help investors commodify real-life assets such as art, venture capital funds, and real estate into security token offerings (STO).

Blockchain Australia Solutions will also provide tailor-made Blockchain-powered solutions to companies and even to entire industries that show an interest in this field.

 The organisation aims to transform every aspect of our society  using an innovative approach towards a myriad of problems.

Since it was founded, Blockchain Australia Solutions has partnered up with Fintech Australia — an advocacy group for new technologies in the financial sector that aims to use blockchain technology — among other cutting edge technologies —  in order to create a fintech ecosystem in Australia and beyond.

  BAS has also joined forces with R3Corda, a company that harnesses blockchain technology in order to find solutions to specific business challenges in both dynamic and highly regulated markets, all while providing industry-specific distributed ledger technology for companies in a variety of industries. 
With a great track record in an innovative field, Ralph Kalsi’s full embrace of blockchain is yet another example of leading figures using blockchain to change the current modus operandi.

Categories
Australia Blockchain Cryptocurrencies Regulation

Reserve Bank Rejects Aussie Central Bank Cryptocurrency, Unsure of Facebook Libra Approval

While other countries around the world are flirting with the idea of issuing a central bank backed crypto currency, the Reserve Bank of Australia says no — citing a lack of compelling policy.

Countries such as Sweden, Canada, and China are all actively investigating the potential benefits of a central bank issued digital currency, but the RBA isn’t swayed by the use cases of blockchain technology. In a payments paper issued on Thursday, the RAB expressed doubts regarding the future of stablecoins, along with cryptocurrencies such as Facebook’s Libra project.

The RBA has stated that it remains to be seen whether or not Facebook’s Libra cryptocurrency will gain regulatory approval and be allowed to operate in Australia. Other assessments in the paper highlight the slow rate at which cash payments are declining compared to relatively cashless countries such as Sweden.

RBA Won’t Eliminate Cash — Yet

The widespread adoption of real-time payment solutions such as the New Payments Platform place Australia ahead of the curve with regards to safe, low cost, and convenient payment platforms from traditional banks, according to the RBA.

“The (RBA’s) view is that there is currently no strong public policy case to introduce a CBDC (Central Bank Digital Currency) for retail use,” 

The RBA isn’t planning on ceasing the issuance of banknotes despite the ongoing push to minimize the use of cash in Australia, stating that it will continue to provide “reasonable access” to banknotes “for as long as Australians wish to keep using them.”

While the RBA is opposed to the concept of a central bank issued cryptocurrency, other countries are not so recalcitrant. Sweden’s Riksbank has floated the idea of an e-Krona several times over the last three years, citing the country’s rapid adoption of cashless alternatives.

The Bank of Canada, however, has taken further steps toward a central bank issued crypto, with the Bank of Canada announcing in February that it will develop the capacity to issue a retail central bank digital currency as soon as it becomes desirable.

Categories
Australia Blockchain Cryptocurrencies

Bitcoin SV Introduced As An Option On 4 More Online Platforms

The ability to buy and trade Bitcoin SV (BSV) has been enabled on 4 more platforms whose target markets are the UK and Australia.

The platforms who have just gone live with a BSV offering are Bitcoin.com.au – and it’s UK counterpart Bitcoin.co.uk – Coinloft.com.au, and BuyaBitcoin.com.au.

A Blast From The Past

Bitcoin SV – a cryptocurrency that claims to be the only version of Bitcoin that still follows Satoshi’s original vision for a crypto world – is seeking to expand its market and hopefully attract new investors as well as older investors who have had skin in the game for years and remember the days when a pizza was bought for a few thousand bitcoins.

The Bitcoin Association’s Founding President, Jimmy Nguyen, has a positive view of the move by these 4 trading platforms and hopes that this is only the beginning of widespread Bitcoin SV adoption.

“These retail sites help bring digital currencies to the mainstream by making it easy for everyday users to buy BSV.   They also forge new links between the traditional financial system and the digital asset ecosystem.  We look forward to more growth of Bitcoin SV’s ecosystem across the world.”

Coinloft offers a variety of cryptocurrencies for sale on their website that can be paid for through a multitude of payment methods. Aside from the usual online payments done via credit or debit card, you can even buy cryptocurrency on the Coinloft platform from your local post office.

Buyabitcoin is a fintech company based in Melbourne that also allows payment at your local retailer. Like Coinloft, Buyabitcoin also offers its services at Australian Post Offices – and at certain newsstands too.

Whether Bitcoin SV will take off in the current competitive market for cryptocurrencies in Australia is yet to be seen. Between market cornerstones like Ethereum and Bitcoin and new innovative currencies like Qoin, Bitcoin SV may have a hard time establishing itself on the crypto market.

Categories
Australia Blockchain Power Ledger

Australian Blockchain Energy Platform Dives into Property Market

Power Ledger, one of Australia’s most successful blockchain ventures, has announced that it will partner with a Western Australian building company in order to create another real-world implementation of the platform’s unique blockchain-enabled energy market.

Announced on September 14, the new initiative will see Power Ledger partner with Western Australian property developer OP Properties in order to create a new blockchain-enabled apartment complex that integrates the energy tokenization technology of the Power Ledger platform.

Residents living in the soon-to-be developed apartment complex will access savings of up to 50 percent on their annual strata levies due to Power Ledger blockchain technology, saving significant amounts of money on the cost of maintaining common areas.

The development will see 39 new apartments built near the center of Fremantle, with building roofs incorporating a 75kW solar rooftop PV and 670kWh on-site battery storage. The development, apart from integrating energy saving blockchain technology, will also draw from 100 percent green energy sourced from local energy retailer Change Energy.

Residents Cash In on Blockchain Energy Market

The biggest benefit provided to individuals living in the new development is the ability to sell excess solar electricity generated through the solar panel installation. Through Power Ledger, residents are able to sell excess energy in the form of tokenized energy assets, which also allows them to buy back electricity at predetermined prices from the on site battery at an agreed price.

Power Ledger co-founder and Executive Chairman Dr Jemma Green highlighted the unique nature of the new development in statements released to Smart Energy:

“This is the first time we’ve seen such a progressive model being implemented in an apartment building. The development shows what’s possible in residential energy trading when developers commit to renewable energy as part of their early planning.”

Power Ledger is notable for capturing over $34 million in funding during an October 2017 initial coin offering, making it one of the most successful Australian ICOs and blockchain ventures to date.

Categories
Australia Blockchain Crypto News

Aussie Banks Served With Blockchain Wake-Up Call by Work Economic Forum

The rapid evolution of the international financial ecosystem has resulted in a new wave of forward-leaning institutional organizations adopting a hybridized approach to finance technology, integrating blockchain and AI in order to create a new world of finance — and Aussie banks are paying close attention.

The World Economic Forum’s recently-published Future of AI and Automation in Financial Services report, released as a 200-page slide deck on Thursday, focuses solely on innovation and change within the financial ecosystem, and is set to significantly disrupt the way Australian banks do business.

Banks around the world, according to the World Economic Forum, are currently working closely with some of the largest providers of cloud computing power globally, leveraging decentralized processing power in order to accelerate data analytics and experiment with AI-drivel solutions.

The new competitive landscape emerging from the fintech ecosystem has already galvanized change within Australian finance — National Australia Bank is currently in discussions with Amazon Web Services, mirroring the actions of other banks around the world such as Deutsche Bank, Barclays, and Citibank, who have teamed up with Google, IBM, and Microsoft respectively.

Blockchain, AI, Cloud Computing Set to Rearrange Australian Finance

Cloud computing and blockchain technology, paired with artificial intelligence services creates unique use cases that are highly attractive to large-scale banking enterprises. Dynamic cash flow assessments, for example can support the gig economy, while integrated blockchain-enabled biometrics are a game changer for the insurance industry.

Arthur Calipo, operator of the lead financial service practice in Australia for Deloitte, highlighted the importance of adaptation for Australian financial platforms in statements released to the Australian Financial Review:

“It’s not so much about the threat of competition from Google, Apple and Amazon, but about these companies embedding themselves as enablers for financial institutions to increase value – and this points to the need to create alliances,” 

Members of Australia’s big five banks are taking the disruptive nature of fintech and blockchain seriously — IBM’s global head of cloud computing is scheduled to brief over 20 Australian banking and insurance sector executives on Friday 11th September regarding advanced automation, blockchain, and AI in the banking sector at a Trans-Tasman Business Circle event.

Categories
Australia Blockchain Crypto News

Aussie Microcaps Create Blockchain Solutions to Track COVID Cure

The international race to develop a vaccine for COVID-19 ahead of potential national rollouts has involved hundreds of pharmaceutical companies around the world — including Australian blood products enterprise CSL.

A number of Aussie tech companies are taking vaccination efforts further, developing the blockchain-powered infrastructure that will handle distribution.

Blockchain technology has a critical role to play in the fight against COVID. The immutable nature of blockchain technology allows supply chain enterprises to track the distribution of vaccines on decentralized ledgers, ensuring that all vaccines are delivered free from tampering and tracked from manufacture to administration.

Security Matters, a publicly traded Australian company, is currently developing a chemical-based hidden barcode system that works in tandem with unique reader technology, supported by blockchain architecture. 

Tracking COVID Vaccines on the Blockchain

The Security Matters supply chain tracking and quality assurance platform focuses on creating a physical to digital twin for tracked products, and is currently working on an application that will mark pharmaceutical products — including the COVID vaccine — with blockchain-tracked codes. 

Security Matters CEO Haggai Alon highlighted the ability of the blockchain-enabled tracking platform to assist in the distribution of pharmaceuticals in interview statements:

“We have been consulting with a number of major drug companies on how our application can benefit the sector amidst so much uncertainty,”

The pharmaceutical tracking application, set to launch in 2021, could potentially streamline the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines in Australia — but Security Matters isn’t the only platform focused on leveraging blockchain technology in the fight against Coronavirus. 

The APAC Provenance Council, for example, is currently working with VeChain in order to integrate blockchain technology into the food supply chain in order to promote COVID-proof food distribution.

Categories
Australia Blockchain Cryptocurrency Law

Lygon Blockchain Guarantee Solution To Go Commercial

Recently, ANZ Bank, Westpac, and Commonwealth Bank joined forces to found Lygon, a company that will switch traditional bank guarantees signed on paper for blockchain-based smart contracts.

Now – after a successful pilot with its founders and 20 other Aussie businesses – Lygon seems to be going commercial.

 Speeding up SLAs

Up until now, banks would issue physical guarantees after an arduous KYC procedure that could take up to a month to complete.

With Lygon, the expected SLA has shrunk to a single day. The three Australian banks ANZ, Westpac, and CBA Switch – partnered with the Scentre Group – are planning to market the Lygon platform for commercial use, according to a report published on the 1st of September.

When asked for comment, Nigel Dobson, the chairman of Lygon, stated the following:

“The commercialization of the Lygon platform represents a significant milestone for blockchain technology in Australia and globally. We’ve gone from a proof of concept to a newly incorporated company and commercially available platform in two years – at a time when the demand for digital has never been stronger. In digitizing a bank guarantee, we’ve essentially transformed a three-way contract. We’ve digitized the paperwork, the process, and the legality behind it. This means wherever there’s a manual, paper-based process based on legal frameworks or similar regulations, we can apply Lygon.”

Lygon is reported to have brought new applicants on board within in under 15 minutes – a great show of interest in the platform to be certain.

In addition to checking potential customers credit, Lygon will support several common bank operations such as including amendments and cancellations.

After the commercial launch of the blockchain banking platform, Lygon shareholders say they plan to expand into New Zealand and other international markets in 2021. In order to garner more interest in the platform, the developers have promised more features to come soon.

Categories
Australia Blockchain China

Australian Blockchain Startup Wins Australia’s Biggest Design Award

The results of Australia’s Peak most prestigious international design award — the Good Design Award — have been announced, with Aussie blockchain startup Beefledger taking home the Good Design 2020 Award in two categories. 

BeefLedger is primarily focused on streamlining transactions in the beef supply chain industry, offering blockchain-based solutions that track Aussie beef throughout the international supply chain. The platform won recognition in Good Design’s Commercial Services category for the award, with Good Design noting the “outstanding design” and innovation offered by BeefLedger.

The BeefLedger platform primarily focuses on reducing the $40 billion dollars in fraud that occurs annually within the Australian food supply chain, using blockchain-enabled beef provenance tracking and a blockchain-powered credentialing platform in order to minimize fraud and falsely labeled products.

BeefLedger Gets Aussie Farmers Paid Faster

Notably, BeefLedger incorporates smart contracts into an international cross-border payments platform that streamlines the international export and payment within the Australian beef industry, minimizing administrative friction and helping Aussie farmers get paid faster.

Judges presiding over the 2020 Good Design Awards highlighted BeefLedger’s innovative approach, focusing on the platform’s forward-leaning incorporation of decentralized solutions:

“A strong design combining mature approaches with newly developed blockchain technologies for an elegantly simple result. It’s a great example that demonstrates the intersection of data and design.”

By integrating blockchain technology into the Australian beef export supply chain, BeefLEdger embeds authentic regional data into the packaging and credentials provided to consumers that purchase Aussie beef in China, connecting multiple stakeholders in the supply chain for mutual benefit.