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Tech Update

Banks, tech companies move on from bitcoin to blockchain

by Rajdeep
written by Rajdeep

A Bitcoin (virtual currency) paper wallet with QR codes and a coin are seen in an illustration picture taken at La Maison du Bitcoin in Paris, France, May 27, 2015. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/File Photo

As a debate raged across the internet Monday over whether the mysterious founder of the bitcoin digital currency had finally been identified, executives at a major bitcoin conference in New York had a simple message: we’ve moved on.

That’s because bitcoin, the digital currency, has largely been supplanted by blockchain, the technology that underlies it, as the main interest of investors, technology companies and financial institutions.

“If there is a 100 percent opportunity in the blockchain, bitcoin, or the currency, is only 1 percent of it,” said Jerry Cuomo, vice president, Blockchain Technologies at International Business Machines Corp. “So there is a whole 99 percent that has broad applications across the broad industries.”

Over the past year numerous Wall Street firms, led by Goldman Sachs, have declared their commitment to pursuing blockchain as a potential revolutionary technology for tracking and clearing financial transactions.

The blockchain technology works by creating permanent, public “ledgers” of all transactions that could potentially replace complicated clearing and settlement systems with one simple ledger.

Still, bitcoin is by far the largest implementation of blockchain technology and there is considerable debate as to whether one can truly develop without the other.

“Bitcoin is still the only blockchain-enabled, cross-border large scale, provable application that’s actually in production,” said Joseph Guastella, a principal at Deloitte Consulting in New York. “Bitcoin as a currency may not be as relevant as it was in many ways, but it actually is relevant as a proof case for the blockchain technology.”

Bitcoins are created through a “mining” process, in which specialized computers solve complex math problems in exchange for bitcoins. One bitcoin is equivalent to $444.75 late on Monday and trade on various exchanges around the world.

But bitcoin transaction volume has been in decline over the past six months amid a bitter split over technical changes in the protocol that are needed to increase the capacity of the system that produces them. Because the cryptocurrency has no formal governance, it relies on a core group of developers for direction – and they are sharply divided over the changes.

But that debate was of relatively little concern to the Blockchain enthusiasts gathered in New York.

Australian tech entrepreneur Craig Wright identified himself on Monday as the creator of controversial digital currency bitcoin.

“It’s irrelevant because his announcement doesn’t solve a problem or resolve a conflict,” said Bharat Solanki, managing director at Cambrian Consulting in New York.

“It probably helps to determine the origins of bitcoin but only for recognition,” Solanki said.

For Naoki Taniguchi, a global innovation expert at The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd in San Francisco, he does not really care about who created bitcoin.

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Education

Telangana Joins CoinSwitch Kuber, Lumos Labs to Launch ‘India Blockchain Accelerator’ Program for Startups

by Loknath Das
written by Loknath Das

Telangana Joins CoinSwitch Kuber, Lumos Labs to Launch ‘India Blockchain Accelerator’ Program for Startups

Before India decides the rules and regulations for the crypto space, a ‘Blockchain Accelerator’ plans to give some startups the necessary assistance to succeed. The Telangana government has inked deals with crypto exchange CoinSwitch Kuber and innovation management firm Lomos Labs to mark the blockchain education-focused initiative in India. Entrepreneurs wanting to enter the blockchain space would be able to use the initiative to explore opportunities, mentorship, tech support, and funding scopes for their projects. India Blockchain Accelerator is the second edition of T-Block Accelerator, a Telangana-originated programme.

Blockchain is the underlying technology of cryptocurrencies and consists of information called blocks connected through cryptography. Blockchain technology currently supports cryptocurrencies, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), as well as the metaverse in the present day.

Entrepreneurs from eight selected startups will also get an opportunity to secure up to $700,000 (roughly Rs. 5.32 crore) for pre-seed and seed funding from companies like Lightspeed and WoodstockFund.

Members of the chosen startups will also be allowed to attend workshops, meet-ups, mentorship, and coaching.

“Right now, anybody who’s launching an enterprise online has to pay 70 percent of its income to international infrastructure suppliers, and cash strikes out. The blockchain trade is forming a brand new Internet altogether,” said Ashish Singhal, Founder, CoinSwitch Kuber.

The development comes at a time when India is mulling over what regulations to impose on the crypto space.

The government has expressed concern that cryptocurrencies may be used for luring investors with misleading claims and for funding terror activities and money laundering.

Recently, the crypto market was left shaken by reports that the Parliament agenda in India included a bill seeking to prohibit all private cryptocurrencies from operating in the country. The agenda also noted that the government wishes to bring an official digital currency for India.

However, it should be noted that this exact same bill was also listed for the Budget Session, but did not get discussed at the time.

Currently, the proposal drafted by the finance ministry is awaiting cabinet approval before it reaches Parliament.

Earlier this month, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Twitter handle was briefly hacked, and a tweet claiming that India has “officially adopted Bitcoin as legal tender” was put out from it.

The Prime Minister’s Office later said the account was immediately secured after the matter was escalated to Twitter.

[“source=gadgets.ndtv”]
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Online Marketing

How Will Blockchain Impact Digital Marketing?

by Loknath Das
written by Loknath Das

Marketing, and levels of data transparency, may take strides forward thanks to blockchain.

Blockchain technology is rapidly moving in on many industries. While it’s usually discussed in the financial and banking realm, there are many implications of blockchain outside of traditional markets.

According to Statistica, in the telecommunications, media, and technology sector, blockchain research is well underway. Of this group, 40 percent noted they are in the awareness phase or becoming educated on the technology. Thirty-nine percent said they are experimenting with blockchain or creating proofs of concept, and 12 percent are already deploying blockchain technology and using it in their business.

Since blockchain is so synonymous with finance, many wonder how marketers would even use this technology. Is there a place for blockchain technology in marketing? It turns out, yes, there is. Blockchain has the ability to change how marketers collect and use data, how they address customers and how they manage ads. Here’s a look at the impact blockchain will have on digital marketing.

[“source=business”]

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Online Marketing

The impact of blockchain technology in digital marketing

by Loknath Das
written by Loknath Das

Digital marketing is a very important part of any business. To make a brand more visible in this diverse society, a business must be able to use various online platforms effectively to advertise. One of these online platforms is social media. Nowadays digital marketing is growing rapidly. But another technology that is advancing rapidly is blockchain, which is set to change the world of digital marketing in a new way.

Image: Shutterstock

Understanding blockchain technology

The blockchain is a digital, decentralized technology that is growing and making a mark in different industries such as digital marketing. Blockchain keeps a record of the transactions that take place on the peer-to-peer networks. The list of records continuously grows. These records are stored securely in numerous decentralized systems that are interconnected. As the blockchain doesn’t have a centralized point, it doesn’t have a single point of vulnerability, and hence is less vulnerable.

Now it is also growing in the digital marketing industry, adding a new revolution to the relationship between consumers and businesses. Blockchain aims to increase transparency in all sectors of a business as the information is stored digitally. This information can’t be tampered or deleted. This enables the companies to see the exact use of the funds and if the audience receives them or not. To get more idea about blockchain, one can always refer to several online blockchain tutorials to get a good grip in this area.

Affecting data privacy

Blockchain can affect digital marketing in many ways, and one of the predicted changes is in the sharing of consumer’s data. One of the most serious issues in online activities is privacy. Companies have profiles for every customer based on visited sites, searches made, products purchased, and various other things.

Hacking and leakage of personal data online are commonplace. But these could all be prevented through the use of blockchain technology. When a person uses an app or visits a site, then the company can no longer access the data, and all the personal information remains with the consumer. Due to blockchain technology, all the personal data of consumers remain safe.

Through this, the users will have control over the data and can determine how much data to share. This also means companies will also have to rely on different ways to collect data from consumers. Previously they automatically received data from consumers – now they will have to rely on consumers for receiving their data.

Changes in digital advertising

Digital marketing is a type of marketing that still has a ways to go. Consumers always have one irritating issue faced by them – ad overloads. Companies always show and send users a load of advertisements instead of sending fewer advertisements. The main reason behind this is the lack of understanding of companies about their audience.

As they don’t know the taste of their audience, they just send numerous ads hoping one will catch their interest. Most of the time, these companies annoy users by popping ads on a page that consumers visit which takes up most of the screen, which can be extremely frustrating and intrusive for the consumers.

Not only are they annoying but these large ads can also drain the battery life of devices and take up bandwidth. Blockchain-based companies are introducing apps such as Basic Attention Token (BAT) that bring changes to the interaction between advertisers, users, and publishers. The steps involved in this are:

  • Advertisers can buy advertisements using the app on the brave platform.
  • Users will be able to decide the type of ads they want to see. Rather than dealing with an unwanted and unnecessary number of ads, they will be able to see the ads that peak their interest most. If a user sees an ad, then they will be paid with a certain small portion of what was paid to buy the ad by the advertiser.
  • As consumers receive a commission from BAT, the publishers are also paid, but the amount they receive is larger than what consumers receive.

As blockchain is a decentralized technology, it assures the digital marketers that their transactions are secure by improving cybersecurity. Also, it is not controlled centrally – in simple words, nobody owns or controls the blockchain. With this, companies or businesses will be able to avail of the numerous advantages provided by blockchain.

What about using cryptocurrencies? These are the new digital currencies that work based on blockchain technology. These are not physical or actual coins or cash but are used in the digital world, where these are stored in a digital wallet a person as coins. Just like in the real world, the values of these digital currencies are also affected by supply and demand and many other things.

No intermediaries

Beyond cryptocurrencies, blockchain offers a world of opportunities. It can affect the digital marketing industry greatly. One of this is the elimination of depending upon a middleman or intermediary in digital marketing, such as social media sites or Google. This can add more value to the ad campaigns of the companies.

Traditionally, marketers depend on these middlemen for the transactions made and also for the launch of ad campaigns, but with blockchain, there is no need to depend upon them. Blockchain eliminates the need for companies to communicate with website owners through a medium whenever an ad is going to be published.

Previously this job was done by sites like Facebook or Google to make the communication between site owners and digital marketers. But with blockchain, there is no need for intermediaries when users sign a contract related to advertising. This ensures a significant increase in the income of digital marketers due to the cutting of cost that went to intermediaries previously.

Transparency

Previously advertisers knew very fewer details about the use of ads by publishers, which led to high expenses for publishing ads and also in some cases ad fraud. But, with blockchain, the process is more transparent – also they can learn who is seeing their ads and know if it is marketed to the right audience or not.

Clearly, blockchain is a very useful technology that is revolutionizing various industries, and it can also have a great positive impact on the digital marketing industry.

Saurabh Hooda is the Co-founder of Hackr.

[“Source-yourstory”]

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Online Marketing

How Blockchain Is Creating a New Future for Digital Marketing

by Loknath Das
written by Loknath Das

How Blockchain Is Creating a New Future for Digital Marketing

Advertising today is a multi-billion-dollar industry. And, according to market research company Forrester, digital marketing expenditures in the United States are on pace to reach levels near $120 billion by 2021. No wonder: Every day, companies like Google, Facebook and Amazon collect information about consumers nonstrop.

Related: Just What the Heck Is Blockchain? Watch This Explainer Video.

However, nearly 50 percent of all ad traffic is being generated by bots. Brands are paying huge amounts of money to reach potential customers. But this doesn’t give them any guarantee that those ads will increase sales.

What’s intriguing is that this scenario could well change once businesses have the ability to target individual customers directly.

Already, a number of technological advancements, like blockchain and smart contracts, are innovating the digital marketing industry to do just that.

I’m bullish on blockchain as an underlying technology that’s going to spur disruption in more ways than we can think or dream. That’s partly why I’m building an augmented reality platform that integrates cryptocurrency and rewards users for viewing augmented reality (AR) experiences. But, mine is just one simple use case.

What’s yours? Let’s look at how your business could utilize these innovations to more effectively market itself.

Direct-to-consumer digital marketing

Blockchain, the revolutionary technology that has recently taken the advertising industry by storm, allows information to be stored and distributed, but not to be changed or copied.

Because blockchain is a decentralized system, data stored this way has a high level of security. This technology is going to disrupt and overhaul the online advertising industry because it will negate the need for middle men. Currently, businesses run Google or Facebook ads, and both platforms make money off these ads. But blockchain companies, like BitClave, are focusing on search-data privacy, giving users full control over their data.

BitClave’s search engine uses Ethereum blockchain technology and eliminates the need for ad service people, creating a direct connection between consumers and businesses. This is the hallmark of blockchain technology: It eliminates the need for middle men in all transactions.

When users perform a search, they can select the amount of data they want to be released to advertisers. Then, unlike what happens with other digital marketing services, users can be compensated for their data. So, instead of an intermediary selling your data to advertisers, you’re selling it to them directly — yourself.

Cross-promotional B2B contracts

Smart contracts assist in helping you exchange money, shares or anything of value in a conflict-free and transparent manner and letting you avoid additional players, like lawyers. These computer programmed contracts operate on blockchain technology that facilitates, verifies and executes the terms of an irrevocable contract that can only be replaced by a brand new contract.

Related: Why You Can’t Afford to Ignore Cryptocurrencies and Blockchain Anymore

These contracts will make B2B cross-promotional marketing much more efficient, especially in the age of influencers and bloggers, who use platforms such as Instagram and YouTube to cultivate personal brands.

Digital marketing with this group of influencers can be fruitful but has its challenges since there is no third party regulating the terms of the agreement and each individual determines his or her own costs.

Smart contracts can automatically enforce obligations from all parties involved, to ensure that payments are made only after the terms are met. For example, if a blogger never publishes an article or social media post about a brand, the smart contract that’s in place won’t release the blogger’s payment. Each contractual milestone has to be met in order for the next step of the process to take place.

“Digital marketing fuels the engine of global ecommerce today, and as such, it should rely on the most advanced and secure backbone, rather than the security risk-prone technologies of yesterday,” Roger Haenni, cofounder of the blockchain-based data storage company Datum,, told Forbes last month.

Blockchain allows for a “new class” of services with smart-contract technology. This technology helps businesses focus on commerce and protect themselves, Haenni said.

Transparency in contracts and with consumers

Companies can use blockchain to show consumers whom they are selling their data to. And, since this information cannot be changed or copied, companies that use this technology to store their data can rest assured that their information will not be tampered with.

Related: Where Is Social Media Headed in 2018 and Beyond?

The transparent nature of blockchain data can also make consumers feel at ease because companies cannot manipulate their data. This tells consumers that the data and information they are viewing is factual and accurate. And that is something consumers want.

Source:-entrepreneur

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News Update

From Wallets and UPI to Blockchain, How Digital Payments are Evolving in India

by Loknath Das
written by Loknath Das

From Wallets and UPI to Blockchain, How Digital Payments are Evolving in India

HIGHLIGHTS

  • The government has played a key role in the digitisation of cash in India
  • Digital payments went down in February but are rising again
  • Upcoming payments firms will have to expand reach via new channels

Most accounts of successful digitisation feature technology providers or tech-hungry consumers in the lead role. But in the story of digital payments in India, it is the government that is the unlikely hero.

In his budget speech this year, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley set the nation a target of 25 billion digital transactions for 2017-18. And enabling this, we have the creation of a new category of financial institutions, namely the Payments Banks. Telecom/ e-commerce companies have turned into payments banks, and are processing huge numbers of low-value transactions via digital wallets and other electronic prepaid instruments for their subscribers and customers, many of whom never had the benefit of formal financial services.

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In August 2014, India’s financial inclusion agenda got a huge boost with the launch of the “Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana”, devised to provide every Indian easy access to basic banking services. In just over two and a half years, the Jan Dhan Yojana has garnered a record breaking 282.3 million “no-frills” bank accounts and deposits worth Rs. 640 billion. From here, the next step is to enable these accounts to make and receive digital payments. Aadhaar, India’s unique identification program, is the perfect platform for that because it links to bank accounts to enable both Direct Benefit Transfer (of government payouts) and a host of simple financial transactions via the Aadhaar Enabled Payment System.

aadhaar card reuters 548

Another government initiative that ended up promoting digital payments, even though that was not its primary intent, was the overnight demonetisation of Rs. 500 and Rs. 1,000 currency notes in November 2016. With about 86 percent of cash instantly going out of circulation, consumers from all segments, and even tiny, unorganised businesses were forced into digital transactions, shooting that number from 672 million in November 2016, to 958 million just a month later. Even after the new notes flowed into the system and digital transactions dipped considerably, they remained at higher than pre-demonetisation levels at 763 million in February 2017, and were at 844.7 million in June 2017, as per the RBI.

But arguably, the government’s crowning achievement is the Unified Payments Interface, which has transformed the fragmented mobile payments landscape with an environment where money can move from any bank or financial provider to any other, instantly, cheaply, securely and transparently.

The path ahead
Although the average Indian consumer is way more financially empowered today than a few years ago, as a nation, India still has a long way to go. Getting the one billion plus largely feature phone subscribers to use their device for simple financial transactions is one thing, educating them into financially responsible, informed consumers, quite another. Although India’s payments infrastructure is looking solid, there is a need for a massive effort to build awareness about basic financial management as well as safe financial practices to protect customers from fraud. The fact that India is deemed a favourite target for cyber-attack underlines the seriousness of the problem.

Viability is a big challenge for India’s niche digital payment providers, who are pouring large sums of money into acquiring customers and keeping them happy. At present, almost all digital payment services are being offered free of cost or with attractive incentives – for instance Paytm Payments Bankcharges no fees on any online transaction, while Airtel Payments Bank offers free talktime. Once the honeymoon is over, providers will certainly look at charging these services, which might put the brakes on growth.

payent1

One way to keep costs (and hence fees and charges) down is to leverage Blockchain and other open source technologies to facilitate digital payment transactions. Actually, Blockchain fells several challenges in one go – it collapses transaction time and cost, improves transparency, and provides virtually impenetrable security. It can also scale up to meet India’s requirements with ease.

The last point is crucial because it is also the key to viability. Niche payment providers will need to extend their services down to the very last mile and feature phone to sustain the business; banks, although under less pressure, should also look at expanding reach via mobile and other channels, such as micro ATMs and business correspondent agents carrying handheld devices for delivering digital payments to the doorstep.

Rajashekara V Maiya is Associate Vice President & Head – Finacle Product Strategy.

[“Source-gadgets.ndtv”]
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