Cryptocurrency derivatives exchange BitMEX has launched a dedicated COVID-19 Response Fund, and already contributed $2.5 million.

HDR Global Trading, the Seychelles-registered operator of BitMEX, has granted funds to four recipients engaged in providing relief during the pandemic.

Announcing the fund, BitMEX said that, as a fintech, the best way it could help fight COVID-19 was by strategically directing funds to fill gaps in the global response, helping organisations that are “well-equipped but under-resourced.”

The four beneficiaries of the funds are the Gates Philanthropy Partners COVID-19 Funds, the Biosecurity program at the Nuclear Threat Initiative, OpenMined, and Our World in Data – organisations focused on reducing biological risks, and developing vaccines, diagnostics and treatment, data research and open-source support for data privacy.

According to the company, contributions made via the COVID-19 Response Fund are separate from the personal philanthropic contributions and initiatives of Ben Delo, co-found of BitMEX and a signatory of the Giving Pledge.

AYO.NEWS says:

From the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis in China we have seen crypto, blockchain and other emerging tech firms at the forefront of both fundraising and research efforts. One of the first to step up was Malta-based crypto exchange Binance, which purchased $1.4m worth of medical supplies for Wuhan back in January. The exchange is now aiming to raise $5m in crypto donations to buy more medical supplies for affected countries. Blockchain marketing service firm Krypital was also one of the first to help, raising funds for medical supplies in Wuhan.

Meanwhile, a number of cryptocurrency companies have been contributing computing power for the Folding@Home distributed computing project, which is currently engaged in COVID-19 research. Earlier this month, the Stellar Development Foundation also announced it was giving 2.5m Lumens to non-profits providing COVID-19 relief.

In March, various tech companies and institutions also released the COVID-19 Open Research Dataset – the most extensive machine-readable Coronavirus literature collection available for data and text mining to-date, in the hope that Artificial Intelligence experts would be able to develop new techniques to help the scientific community answer high-priority questions about COVID-19.

AYO.NEWS says features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited.

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Enterprise blockchain Ontology has announced ONT-33D, a crypto asset pegged to Ontology (ONT) tokens, has been issued on Binance Chain.

Binance has also announced plans to list the ONT-33D asset on Binance DEX, the decentralised exchange developed on top of the Binance Chain.

Discussing the news Co-founder of Ontology, Andy Ji, said:

“Today’s announcement continues the groundswell of momentum we have been experiencing at Ontology so far in 2020. The issuance of ONT-33D on Binance Chain is a firm seal of approval for the ONT token from one of the world’s most revered blockchain companies and digital asset exchanges.

“This move underscores our ambition to play a central role in the ongoing deployment of digital assets on a global stage, and we look forward to leveraging the burgeoning Binance ecosystem to extend the reach of ONT to new swathes of proficient traders.”

ONT-33D is a BEP2 token backed by ONT with 1:1 correlation, and Binance says it will be issuing an initial tranche of approximately 1.5 million tradable tokens on Binance DEX, with additional tokens added periodically according to market demand.

Since launching in April 2019, Binance DEX has grown to become on of the leading global decentralised exchanges, and it is the first platform offering ONT users access to decentralised trading services.

Earlier this month, UK-based online banking platform Cashaa announced a fiat gateway for BEP2 tokens on Binance Chain, meaning BEP2 tokens can now be converted into fiat currency.

Powered by the Ontology Token (ONT), Ontology is a distributed collaboration platform allowing businesses to enjoy the benefits of smart contracts and tokenisation while retaining control of their sensitive data. The platform supports all ERC-20 tokens and in-dApp stablecoins, with a node staking feature expected to be integrated with Binance DEX.

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Venture Smart Asia’s blockchain division, Arrano Capital, has confirmed it has met all regulatory requirements and launched Hong Kong’s first officially approved mainstream crypto fund.

According to Bloomberg, Arrano’s Chief Investment Officer, Avaneesh Acquilla, has said it is a tracker fund, buying and selling Bitcoin (BTC), and it is hoped to have $100m under management within 12 months. He also said the firm hopes to launch a second fund, actively managed and dealing with a basket of tokens, later in 2020.

Acquilla, who previously spent nine years with Och-Ziff Capital Management in Asia, and seven years with Goldman Sachs and UBS in London, said the fund was launched in response to market demand from “professional investors who are increasingly focused on Bitcoin as an alternative store of value.”

The Hong Kong SFC first announced formal regulation of the cryptocurrency space in October 2018, when it decided to regulate exchanges. Although some other firms, like Diginex, have since been authorised to offer products to specified professional investors, Arrano’s new crypto fund is the first to be officially approved for a wider mainstream market.

AYO.NEWS says:

Though the scale of the COVID-19 (coronavirus) crisis was not appreciated by markets initially, the unprecedented global economic crash it is now likely to trigger could massively increase the interest in Bitcoin as a ‘safe haven’ store of value. If it does, funds like Arrano’s are going to be well placed to ride the wave.

AYO.NEWS says features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited.

All original content featured on this site is © Pentagon Digital Limited, 2020.

Blockchain-based global healthcare platform Solve.Care has made two new key appointments, as part of its strategic expansion.

The company has appointed Sandra Hannon as Global Head of Human Resources, and Eleanor Cahill as Regional Director, Southeast Asia.

Global Head of Human Resources

With more than 20 years’ of human resources, personnel management, and talent development experience, Hannon previously served as Global HR Business Partner of LR Energy Inspection, where she led the TR Talent Working Group.

In her new role with Solve.Care, Hannon will play a key role in ensuring the smooth operation of HRM activities, provide strategic counsel on all people-related matters, and oversee recruitment, training, and employee development.

Commenting on her appointment, Hannon said:

“Solve.Care is a fast-growing and truly innovative company, committed to putting power back into the hands of patients as they navigate their individual health journeys. I am delighted to be a part of Solve.Care’s immensely talented global team as we work towards the critical mission of transforming healthcare.”

Regional Director, Southeast Asia

Cahill is joining Solve.Care from global professional services firm Aon, where she held various positions over the past decade. With a proven track record in program management, business transformation, and operational efficiency, in her new role Cahill will be responsible for driving the development of Solve.Care in the Asia Pacific region.

Regarding her new appointment, Cahill said:

“Solve.Care’s commitment to transforming the delivery of healthcare and improving the lives of patients around the world is something to behold. Through partnerships with tech and pharmaceutical giants such as Uber Health and Boehringer Ingelheim, Solve.Care has solidified its position on the world stage and, following the opening of a new global headquarters in Singapore late last year, I am thrilled to be joining the company as we seek to build on this momentum and expand our presence in Asia.”

Accelerating healthcare processes and lowering costs

Solve.Care is a decentralised blockchain-based healthcare system, designed for the coordination, administration, and payments of healthcare benefits. The platform’s native programmable token is called SOLVE.

According to the company, using blockchain and smart contracts accelerates healthcare processes, reduces administrative burden, and lowers costs in healthcare and benefit programs. Decentralisation also gives stakeholders, including patients, doctors, insurers, pharmacies, laboratories, providers, and others more control.

350 million SOLVE tokens were sold through an early-adopter sale (ended 30 Nov. 2017), pre-sale (15 Jan. – 9 Mar. 2018), and token sale (31 Mar. – 30 Apr. 2018). Prices ranged from $0.07 – $0.20.

AYO.NEWS says:

With the current COVID-19 (coronavirus) crisis dramatically highlighting some of the inefficiencies of traditional healthcare systems, especially in terms of response time and resource allocation, blockchain and smart contracts now have an opportunity to prove their worth in the sector, and we’re sure Solve.Care will be at the forefront of the revolution.

AYO.NEWS says features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited.

All original content featured on this site is © Pentagon Digital Limited, 2020.

With governments around the world clearly having no realistic exit strategies for the COVID-19 lockdowns, tech companies are piling in to make a bad situation worse.

After Malta-based Chiliz revealed it is developing a blockchain-based system to allow fans to “prove their immunity” and attend football matches again, Oracle has now partnered with Vottun to release a digital health passport, which it says will allow employees to go back to work.

The “Immunity Passport” developed by Vottun is said to record your immunity status on the blockchain, allowing it to be easily checked by authorities by scanning a QR code.

Spain, which has been one of the countries hardest-hit by COVID-19, is already rolling out the system in partnership with PwC, while Vottun has said is has been talking with authorities in the United States too.

AYO.NEWS says:

This madness needs to stop now. Tech companies are understandably enthusiastic about the technology, but there is far more at stake here, and it seems they are all missing the big picture.

As we have argued previously, this technology will absolutely create a two-tier segregated society in which only those ‘approved’ by authorities are allowed to re-join society. This is opening the door to digital ghettoization or apartheid.

No one can argue the COVID-19 (coronavirus) is not having a terrible impact, but it seems people are losing all perspective and rationality. The lockdowns have already ensured the biggest economic calamity since the Great Depression, and if they go on longer they are sure to lead to mass social issues in many places. This will all lead to FAR more deaths in the long-run, than the virus could have ever inflicted.

But, trying to fix this by creating some sort of 1984 or Gattaca-style dystopia is utter madness. What is the point in fighting this “war” against the virus, if the society we are left with has forsaken everything millions have fought, and died, defending across generations, including World War 2?

Of course, there are a myriad of other reasons why this system is madness too, including the fact tests are not reliable, there is growing evidence that being infected and recovering does not make you immune, the virus is rapidly mutating, and it will obviously cause people to TRY and get infected so they can resume their lives.

Lockdowns could have worked in small areas, if they had been implemented early enough. However, politicians in every country refused to see reality and procrastinated. Now they have implemented them, utterly destroying many millions of lives for the foreseeable future. Now, we have tech companies jumping on the bandwagon, claiming to offer a way out, but actually just opening the doors to an even worse nightmare.

I’m with John McAfee on this one.

AYO.NEWS says features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited.

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Digivault, a subsidiary of Nasdaq-listed crypto company Diginex, has launched a new permanently live warm custody solution.

Called ‘Helios’, the company says the new solution features hardware protection of networks, is operated from ‘military-grade secure locations’ and offers protection against key duplication and theft.

The new solution is seamlessly integrated with Digivault’s Kelvin cold storage solution, which launched in 2019. This offers clients the ability to store digital assets next to gold and silver in real vaults in Asia and Europe. The company says the solution is compliant with the UK government-backed Cyber Essential Plus Certification.

Digivault, describes Helios as a ‘warm custody’ solution – in that it does allow online access to the assets, like a ‘hot custody’ solution, but the keys are stored in a protected hardware device rather than on the server.

Diginex is scheduled to go public through a reverse merger with investment holding firm 8i Enterprises Acquisition Corp, after getting the green light from the United States Securities and Exchanges Commission.

AYO.NEWS says:

In an increasingly insecure and unstable world, top-grade secure custody solutions like this are going to be pivotal to enable widespread institutional adoption of digital assets. With the world now bracing for an unprecedented economic collapse thanks to COVID-19 triggered lockdowns, if cryptocurrencies do prove to be the safe haven assets many expect them to be, Digivault could find itself very busy indeed!

AYO.NEWS says features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited.

All original content featured on this site is © Pentagon Digital Limited, 2020.