Unitize, the collaborative online blockchain event, organised by San Francisco Blockchain Week and Blockshow, has revealed its final agenda and added new high-profile speakers. 

The event, which takes place from 6 – 10 July 2020 and is free to attend, is designed to bring together the blockchain community and foster collaboration. It will see blockchain industry pioneers, regulators, policymakers, and investors discussing various topics including enterprise, regulation, cryptoeconomics, gaming, and trading and exchanges. 

In addition to the speakers already announced, also attending Unitize will be Brian Brooks, Acting Comptroller of the Currency at the OCC and the former Chief Legal Officer for Coinbase; CFTC Chairman Heath Tarbert; Denelle Dixon, CEO and Executive Director of the Stellar Development Foundation; Akon, the multi-platinum artist and Co-Founder of Akoin; Olaf Carlson-Wee, Founder and Investor at Polychain Capital; Christian Catalini, Head Economist at Novi and Co-Creator of Libra; Dr. Gavin Wood, Founder of Polkadot and Parity Technologies; Aya Miyaguchi, Executive Director of the Ethereum Foundation; and Juan Benet, the CEO and Founder of Filecoin.

Discussing the news Unitize organiser and Co-Founder of San Francisco Blockchain Week, Jonathan Allen, said:

“Unitize is bringing together people from all corners of the blockchain community to engage in a  dialogue about what has been achieved so far in 2020 and the areas that need additional focus for the remainder of the year. 

“With that in mind, we’ve designed the agenda around topics and trends that are the most significant to the industry, with a particular focus on regulatory affairs, enterprise use cases, and decentralized finance (DeFi). With some of the most well-respected voices from the worlds of technology and finance set to take to the stage, Unitize promises to be an event you do not want to miss.”

While Co-Organiser of Unitize and Head of Strategy at BlockShow, Gabriel Yang, added:

“2020 has already proven to be a pivotal year for the blockchain ecosystem in terms of enterprise adoption and the development of tangible use cases. 

“As we look to the second half of the year, we’re particularly excited to gather some of the brightest minds in the space for great conversations and to spark some exciting new collaborations. Anyone who is interested in the future of emerging technology and digital assets is sure to find a lot to be interested in at Unitize.”

For more information, please visit https://unitize.online/ 

AYO.NEWS says:

With the COVID-19 crisis showing no signs of abating, it’s fantastic to see the industry pull together to organise free online events like this. We’ll be particularly interested in getting a progress update from Akon regarding the Akon City project. 

‘AYO.NEWS says’ features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited or its affiliates or associates. 

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The Bank of Japan (BoJ) has announced plans to begin feasibility trials relating to the technical aspects of a central bank digital currency (CBD). 

In late January 2020 the BoJ signalled it had accepted the case for a CBD, with deputy governor Masayoshi Amamiya saying that the public would likely soon demand it. Now, it seems the BoJ is ready to commence a Proof of Concept (PoC) process with a digital yen.

The Bank has published a report titled Technical Hurdles for CBDC, and says it will be investigating technical feasibility in partnership with other central banks and institutions. 

In January 2020 the central banks for Japan, Britain, Canada, the euro zone, Sweden, and Switzerland announced they would be collaborating to look into the case for issuing central bank digital currencies. 

Apparently, the BoJ has identified two principal technical problems involved in the roll out of a central bank digital currency. Namely, how to ensure universal access, when many people still don’t have a smartphone, and how people would access the currency during times of crisis, like power failures, earthquakes, and other disasters. 

Another technical consideration is whether or not to use a blockchain-based system. While a decentralised platform would remove the risk of the entire system crashing due to a failure at a single point, there are still performance issues that would be problematic for an everyday currency – specifically transaction time. 

AYO.NEWS says:

With historical arch-rival China already way out in front when it comes to developing the world’s first major CBDC, having already thought to have tested it in Shenzhen, Chengdu, Suzhou, and Xiongan in April 2020, the Japanese seem to have a sudden sense of urgency regarding the matter!

Earlier this week Japanese blockchain company Soramitsu announced it would soon start testing its White Tiger digital currency for retailers at the University of of Aizu in Fukushima. 

‘AYO.NEWS says’ features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited or its affiliates or associates. 

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The Central Bank of Sri Lanka has shortlisted three firms to develop proof of concepts (PoC) for a shared blockchain-based Know Your Customer (KYC) platform. 

According to local news outlet Daily Mirror, the Bank launched the project in Autumn 2019, with a view to creating a blockchain-based platform to allow the government and banking sector to securely and efficiently share and update customer information across the country. 

Apparently the Bank invited software firms to develop a KYC PoC for free, as a “national project”, and received 36 responses from both local and international companies. 

The Bank has now shortlisted three, including one unnamed foreign technology firm. Over the next six to nine months, those three firms will develop their concepts, before submitting them for evaluation by the Payments and Settlements Department, the National Payment Council, and the Monetary Board. 

A number of Sri Lankan financial institutions have agreed to participate in the project, which it is hoped will improve financial inclusion in the country – where a significant percentage of the population remains either unbanked, or excluded from many services.

Sri Lanka has been striving to improve its financial system, implementing several Anti-Money Laundering (AML) reforms, to the point where it was recently removed from the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) “grey list” – which it had been added to in 2017 for inadequate Anti-Money Laundering and Counter Terrorism Financing safeguards. 

In response to the COVID-19 crisis, the Central Bank has also recently enabled digital on-boarding of customers, using digital KYC, to ensure customers can access their bank accounts and digital payment mechanisms despite closures and travel restrictions. 

AYO.NEWS says:

Maybe Malta could learn a thing or two from Sri Lanka? As we reported last week, it has emerged that the Mediterranean island nation, which ironically is a blockchain and fintech hub, is in very real danger of becoming the first EU nation to be grey listed by the Moneyval (the European division of the Financial Action Task Force). 

‘AYO.NEWS says’ features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited or its affiliates or associates. 

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After two years in development, yesterday Public Mint launched its groundbreaking ‘fiat-native’ public blockchain.

Backed by more than 200 banks and supported by Hyperledger and IBM Digital Asset Labs, Public Mint’s blockchain, which is a modified version of Hyperledger Besu, enables the tokenisation of fiat currencies, held by insured and regulated custodians. 

Public Mint allows the frictionless transfer of value, without the need to actually transfer fiat funds by essentially creating a fiat stablecoin. Companies will be able to accept payments through traditional means like credit card, wire transfer, or ACH, but still take full advantage of the ultra-low costs and efficiencies of tokenisation. Initially only US dollars are supported, but the company says more major fiat currencies will be added soon.

Public Mint was co-founded by pioneering tech entrepreneur and investor Halsey Minor, best known for co-founding digital media firm CNET in 1993. More recently he founded decentralised video media platform VideoCoin Network – one of Public Mint’s first customers. 

Announcing the launch of Public Mint, Co-Founder Halsey Minor said:

“The genesis of Public Mint was to allow regulated banks to hold funds which could then be tokenized or “minted”, allowing for the creation of applications and business processes around money without actually moving money between banks. 

“We further realized we could also connect every person, business and application globally in a frictionless network even including participants without bank accounts. Rarely does one technology provide so many benefits.”

While executive director, Hyperledger, Brian Behlendorf, added:

“At Hyperledger, we are excited to see Public Mint tackle the challenges of programmable currency and frictionless transfer of funds. By building its solution atop Hyperledger Besu, Public Mint is playing a valuable role in advancing the development and deployment of the newest Hyperledger DLT.”

In January 2020 AYO.NEWS’ Simona Pinterova caught up with Halsey Minor for a chat about VideoCoin Network, the future of cryptocurrencies, the potential of 5G and much more. 

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Audio avatar company Voicemod has raised $8 million USD in a Series A funding round led by BITKRAFT Ventures. 

Voicemod says its vision is to enable gamers and content creators to find their true voice by providing immersive audio experiences via personalised voice avatars. 

The company intends to use the new capital to launch mobile applications, expand further in Asian markets, and invest in neural network-based (AI) voice and speech conversion technologies to create more unique and realistic voices. 

Voicemod uses a combination of AI and Digital Signal processing technologies, enabling users to change their voice in real-time, enhancing gaming, streaming and social experiences, and allowing people to experiment with alternate personas. 

Sophisticated enough to allow for nuances as fine as creating an echo while driving through a tunnel in Grand Theft Auto, or being out of breath after parachuting onto the island in Fortnite, Voicemod adds depth and engagement to video games. 

Discussing the investment Voicemod CEO & Co-Founder, Jaime Bosch, said:

“We create sound effects that can take gamers and content creators anywhere and allow them to become anyone or anything. We believe that everybody should be able to express themselves creatively through sound so that every experience is amplified.

“Image and video filters have increased in popularity and Voicemod is bringing the missing piece – a voice filter that enhances gameplay with fully immersive audio experiences. Thanks to the backing from BITKRAFT Ventures, we will be able to advance our mission to create more entertaining and engaging interactive audiovisual communication.”

While BITKRAFT Founding General Partner, Malte Barth, added:

“Voice is a fundamental signature of human identity. Being able to alter your voice in digital platforms/games is an important tool to elevate human expression and create greater entertainment experiences. 

“Voicemod is changing the way we interact both socially on digital platforms and while playing online and the wide customer adoption of the Voicemod’s service proves that the product is driving the future for real-time voice creation and customization.”

Voicemod has already racked up over 10 million downloads on PC, and has doubled the size of its team since January, now employing 55 people. 

In addition to being compatible with popular games including Players Unknown Battleground, Apex Legends, League of Legends, VALORANT, CoD Warzone, Minecraft, Roblox, GTA V, and Fortnite, Voicemod also works with social, chat and video tools, including Discord, Skype, and Zoom. 

AYO.NEWS says:

With companies across the video gaming, esports, iGaming and social media industries always looking to drive engagement, audio has been a relatively neglected area, but the technology Voicemod is developing could be changing that very quickly. 

Yesterday Japanese Esports content provider PlayBrain announced it had secured $6M USD in a Series A funding round involving BITKRAFT Ventures. 

‘AYO.NEWS says’ features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited or its affiliates or associates. 

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

Beijing has announced ambitious plans to turn the city into a global hub for private blockchain innovation and public DLT adoption. 

With the publishing of the Beijing Blockchain Innovation Development Action Plan 2020–2022, a 20-point plan to encourage the development and deployment of distributed ledger technologies (DLT), the city’s municipal government is aiming to promote technological innovation and adoption across both the private and public sectors. 

Catalysing private blockchain innovation

Critically, the Beijing government is pledging to provide financial support for the plan, which it hopes will lead to the growth of a number of “unicorn enterprises” with “global influence” in the city. 

The plan calls for the establishment of a “blockchain industry development base”, and common standards of practice within the sector, and outlines support for research in related areas including cryptography, high-performance computing, chip technology, and “wisdom science”. 

To this end, a new “world-class” Beijing Blockchain Research Institute will be formed and, in close collaboration with other Chinese institutions and universities, set to work researching the “performance, security, privacy protection, scalability, and data authenticity” of DLT platforms, along with “network models, consensus mechanisms, distributed storage, zero-knowledge proofs, secure multi-party computing, cross-chain protocols, smart contracts, chains On-chain collaboration, and regulatory technology.”

By combining new DLT technologies with the Beijing government’s cloud, big data platform, and other “information facilities”, it is planned to gradually create an information infrastructure to support the development of a digital economy and digital society. 

Public DLT infrastructure

The plan doesn’t just call for private blockchain and DLT development either. The government itself also wants a new “independent and controllable underlying open-source technology platform” to be created for public administration uses. 

Public use cases envisioned by the city authorities include cross-chain interaction capable directory systems, data-sharing platforms, unified social credit applications, and a digital identity platform. Traceability systems relating to waste, food, emergency equipment, medical records, law enforcement, and rescue funds are also planned. 

Additionally, the plan calls for the empowerment of city management with “trusted interconnection and fine governance”, allowing it to explore the application of blockchain technology relating to urban transport, power, water, and other infrastructure. 

A “blockchain talent training system” is planned too. This will “encourage blockchain enterprises to establish corporate universities”, and accelerate training of professional and technical personnel. Blockchain training is also to be incorporated into the “cadre education and training system.”

AYO.NEWS says:

With the world distracted by the COVID-19 crisis and lockdown-induced economic collapse, and relations between China and much of the international community rapidly deteriorating, it’s unlikely we’ll see many foreign companies invest much in Beijing for a while. 

But, this plan is clearly a massive boost for the domestic blockchain and DLT sector, and could mark a new stage in the emerging international blockchain arms race. Western countries really need to launch their own serious, properly funded initiatives if they don’t want to be left in the dust.

‘AYO.NEWS says’ features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited or its affiliates or associates. 

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