Blockchain This Week: Blockchain To Boost Agriculture Productivity

Blockchain This Week: World Bank Issues $33.8 Mn Of Blockchain Bond

SUMMARY

Several banks across the globe are investing in a digital cash system using blockchain

WhatsApp may now allow Bitcoin and Litecoin transactions using a bot

Seoul plans to use blockchain technology for building its citizen cards network

As blockchain technology finding new takers every day, several banks across the world are investing around $50 Mn to create a digital cash system using blockchain to carry out all their financial transactions.

The project known as “utility settlement coin,” was proposed in 2015 by Swiss bank UBS Group AG and London-based technology startup Clearmatics. The project is aimed at developing a system to ensure efficient clearing and settlement across financial markets.

Citing sources, a Reuters report said that several banks across the globe are investing in a new entity called “Fnality”, which would run the project. They also explained that the deal is yet to be finalised and the system might be launched in 2020.

Also, a research by the University of Southern California showed that a blockchain-based system can help in making ecommerce platform for digital goods “cheat proof”. It will also help in reducing the prices of the products.

Chart Of The Week

Blockchain News From India

Blockchain technology To Boost Agriculture Productivity

Agriculture research organisation International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) has joined hands with Eleven01 (blockchain platform) and KHETHINEXT (mobile-based agricultural solutions provider) to implement the deep technology for increasing productivity and incomes of the small farmers in India.“The idea is to deliver traceability to farmers, consumers and other agriculture value chain actors by automating trust through distributed ledger technology. This can have implications on both the input and output supply chains,” says Mr Ramkiran Dhulipala, theme leader of Digital Agriculture and Youth, and leader of the ihub, ICRISAT.

Enemetch Capital Backs Blockchain Startup Snapper Future

US-based Enemetch Capital Inc has invested in Pune-based blockchain startup Snapper Future Tech. Snapper which was founded in 2017 by Avinash Gupta, Naresh Jain and Prashant Surana Jain provides customised solutions for all different kind of business needs by analysing the business ecosystem. It offers services such as research, consulting, and application development.

Blockchain Startup Pick of the Week: myNK

Singapore-based blockchain-powered P2P platform MinersINC was founded by Narkhede and Deepak Jayaram in 2017. Its flagship product myNK short for ‘My Network’ is a video on demand (VOD) platform. The product was recently launched in India in beta mode. The app is expected to officially be launched in India in June. According to the startup, it recorded around 5K registrations in three weeks of the beta launch. It is now aimed at achieving 100K registrations and 1 Mn transactions over the next year.

The VOD app has a library of over 200 feature films sourced from 34 countries and in 23 languages, including films which won recognition at film festivals such as Tribeca, Cannes, Sundance and Berlin. It also claimed that none of the movies in its collection has been released in India before.

Blockchain News From Around The World

Content Aggregator Hubii Launched Blockchain Film Platform

Singapore-based content aggregator Hubii had launched a blockchain film funding platform named Hubii film during the 71st Cannes Film Festival. In this, Film projects with a decentralized marketplace will be given through the blockchain film funding platform. According to reports, the first film is looking for funds through the platform. The first film will be based upon the Bitcoin Goldrush in Iceland.

WhatsApp To Allow Bitcoin And Litecoin Transactions

Facebook-owned messaging app, WhatsApp will allow Bitcoin and Litecoin transactions. Switzerland-based blockchain platform Zulu Republic has launched a special bot named Lite.Im bot which will allow WhatsApp users to send and receive such currencies. In order to avail this service, one needs to install the app and follow the instructions to integrate the apps/

Global Funds Network Calastone Switches To Blockchain System

UK-headquartered global funds network Calastone said that it has changed its complete system for fund trade clearing services to a blockchain Distributed Market Infrastructure (DMI). According to the company, with this, financial organisations across the world irrespective of its size and scale may access a fully mutualised global funds marketplace through the DMI. Under this infrastructure, trading, settlement and servicing of funds will be conducted in real-time.

Seoul To Use Blockchain For Developing Its Citizen Cards

Seoul is reportedly looking to use blockchain technology in its citizen cards. While speaking at the Korea Future Forum (KFF) 2019 & Blockchain Tech Show, Park Won-soon, the mayor of Seoul talked about the importance of the technology in storing data. He explained that the city authorities will implement blockchain technology in collecting urban and administrative data which will help in enabling a range of new services such as integrated authentication system of citizen cards, and tools for easy access to various administrative services. Currently, Seoul authorities are already equipped with blockchain-enabled administrative services, including mobile evoting and car sales.