A Blockchain Company Actually Making a Profit

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Dear Readers,

We found this tweet pretty funny. Over 70% of executives think they are blockchain experts according to Deloitte.

Apple’s Steve Wozniak Plans to Get ‘Involved’ in Blockchain Project for First Time

What’s the Story? Title is self-explanatory

Why It’s Important? Steve Wozniak made his intentions to get involved with blockchain clear at the ChainXchange blockchain conference on August 13–15th. He plans to participate in a blockchain startup, not directly in cryptocurrency. He explained his fascination with blockchain technology by saying, “It’s so independent! It’s kind of like the internet when it was brand new. I was amazed at the technology behind it.” Wozniak went on to compare the Ethereum platform to Apple’s App Store, as it allows individuals to develop and run their applications. Let’s not forget that earlier this spring Wozniak had called blockchain a “bubble.” However, he then referred to Bitcoin as, “The only digital gold.” At this point, his stance appears a bit ambiguous. However, it is likely that he, along with many other business leaders, have begun to see blockchain as a potential revenue source.

CoinDesk’s quietly profitable media business

What’s the Story? Coindesk is one of the few companies in the cryptocurrency space turning a profit.

Why It’s Important? DCG purchased Coindesk in 2016 for $500,000. This acquisition has turned into a shrewd purchase as Coindesk now has brought in $20MM YTD and is profitable. It’s one of the few companies in the blockchain space that is turning a profit. Coindesk now brings in five million unique visitors a month and has a 25-person editorial staff. On a broader note, this is one of DCG’s shining jewels, along with Grayscale and Genesis. It hasn’t been talked about, but if Coindesk continues to grow, we might see DCG go public in the next few years.

Rohingya turn to blockchain to solve identity crisis

What’s the Story? Refugees are turning to blockchain technology as a way to address their lack of officially-recognized identity.

Why It’s Important? The Rohingya are Muslims living in majority-Buddhist Myanmar. They are commonly referred to as “the world’s most persecuted minority”. The Rodihgya were the target of military violence a year ago this time. A “clearance operation” led by the Buddhist military sent over 700,000 Rohingya into Bangladesh without passports or ID. The Myanmar government has agreed to take them back, but refuses to grant them citizenship. Understandably, many do not want to return home without an identity. The solution is a blockchain-based idea, led by Rohingya community leader Noor, that will use digital identity cards to help with services such as banking and education. Mainly, a blockchain database will record individual digital IDs which can be issued once people have taken a test to verify they are genuine Rohingya. The idea is fantastic and presents a compelling use case. However, we have one primary concern. The inherent nature of this idea revolves around decentralization. That is, central authority does not need to verify the network for it to exist. In this specific use case, banks and other centralized entities still need to agree to accept these IDs for them to have any validity. It is incredibly unlikely at such a time that they would be allowing of these digital identification cards.

What We Read This Morning

• Bitcoin Bulls’ Favorite Lingo On the Decline as Crypto Prices Fizzle: Lily Katz of Bloomberg reports that more people are now searching for the word Rekt than the word Hodl.
• Big Investors Deny Involvement In Crypto Miner Bitmain’s Pre-IPO Funding: Coindesk reports that Softbank and Tencent deny involvement in Bitmain’s Pre-Ipo round.
• US Government Grants $800K to Blockchain Researchers: Nikhilesh De of Coindesk writes about the US government awarding an $800,000 grant to UCSD to fund a distributed ledger platform.

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Originally published at pop.substack.com.