Block42

block42

What Are the Top Startups in Oceania?

During the creation of the Bitcoin blockchain, Satoshi Nakamoto may don't have the proper technology/resources or vision that's why he created a blockchain that grows with every transaction and now it is 285.06 gigabytes! So if you want to connect with the Bitcoin blockchain as a node then it will take a huge time for synchronization which is the major problem that slowly killing Bitcoin's decentralization and the same problem happening with Ethereum Blockchain { , }. Reference-1 Reference-2 First, I would like to say one thing in a layman's language that "more people join a network then it becomes more decentralized where fewer people join then the network becomes centralized". In the beginning, Bitcoin was mineable with simple computers. But now you can't able to mine without high power computers and dedicated miners, so the numbers of miners are consistently decreasing then only big farms will control whole bitcoin mining, hence they will control the bitcoin network which is nothing but become the centralization of bitcoin { }. Reference The block size of bitcoin increasing because the numbers of transactions are increasing which causing the system to become slower, expensive, and less scalable { }. Reference To make bitcoin more decentralized, we need to create more nodes means we need more independent miners and it can possible if we somehow reduce the size of bitcoin blockchain or node then every person can use his PC and mobile to run a bitcoin node which is technically impossible and here the word zk-SNARK come into work. What is zk-SNARK? The full form of is “Zero-Knowledge Succinct Non-Interactive Argument of Knowledge” which is nothing but a computation 'certificate' whose size just <1 kb and we can use zk-SNARK to certify blockchain database which means if you want to run a node in your device then you don't need to download a complete node or not need to synchronize a blockchain but you can just start your node by downloading zk-SNARK which will take a few seconds to start and run a node { }. zk-SNARK Reference Doc Potential use of zk-SNARK: Before telling you the potential use of zk-SNARK let's understand how zk-SNARK can implement in a blockchain so when a new blockchain born it has few blocks for example lets take a blockchain which has 5 blocks like block1, block2, block3, block4, and block5 so when a blockchain process from block1 to block2 a SNARK also produce but a block contains transaction hash because of which it has some good weight but SNARK don't contain transaction hash or data so it has lesser weight with compared to a block and the main thing that we can do with SNARKs is we can combine multiple SNARKs to create a single SNARK which also has <1 kb of weight which means all the SNARKs that generated when blockchain moves from block1 to block5 can combine all together in a single SNARK representing block1-block5 but we can't combine multiple blocks to create a single block of lightweight. So when you download a node you neither need to sync all blocks nor need to download all SNARKs, download a single zk-SNARK which will certify all SNARKs. Because of zk-SNARKS, a blockchain becomes very light around a few tweets, high efficiency, you can run node in your mobile phone, no need for high computation power, etc { }. Reference How zk-SNARK will protect decentralization? At the beginning of the article, I told a system remains decentralized if it has huge numbers of independent nods and as we know zk-SNARK helps to reduce the size of blockchain which makes a blockchain, every device friendly so now you can run a node even if from your mobile which will help to increase the nodes hence decentralization will increase and remains alive. Existing blockchain projects using zk-SNARK: Zcash is the first project which is using zk-SNARK to maintain strong privacy { } and Mina protocol using zk-SNARK to keep their blockchain size around a few tweets ( ). Reference Reference Conclusion: At the end, I can say zk-SNARK is a revolutionary technology which can solve or protect the decentralization of a blockchain, and Mina protocol is implementing zk-SNARK in the best way to create a lightweight blockchain and if you imagine then you can realize a lightweight blockchain is our future, we don't need a heavy blockchain which can eventually lose decentralization.

As The Bitcoin Blockchain Becomes More Centralized, We Need To Look At zk-SNARKS

As we know blockchains are designed to be immutable.
 Here we will design a simple blockchain that will help you understand how hashing makes a blockchain immutable with just a few lines of Java Code. Note: This is just a demo blockchain, real blockchain involves a lot of other things such as consensus mechanisms, digital signatures, Merkle Tree, etc.. This code sample will be beneficial for an ideal purpose. The first Block in a blockchain is a Genesis block. The genesis block is almost always hard coded into the software of the applications that utilize its blockchain. For every new block that is generated afterward, we are going to use the previous block’s hash, as well as its own transactions, as input to determine its block hash. As; [] contents ={Arrays.hashCode(transactions),previousHash};
  blockHash = Arrays.hashCode(contents); Object A hash function is a mathematical function that takes the input of arbitrary length numerical data and converts it into fixed-length numerical data. Different hash functions use different algorithms to produce hash values. Moreover, a hash function will always give same output for any particular input always.
 But if you make even a small change in the input the hash value produced will be completely different 
as compared to the previous one. Remember hashing is not encryption. In encryption, once you encrypt the data you can get it back by decrypting it, unlike in hashing you cannot get the input back by any method. You might have wondered sometime about why is there a need for hashing algorithms such as SHA256(SECURE HASH ALGORITHM)? The most important reason is that these algorithms help us avoid (similar hash values for different inputs). collisions Now let's see-through code how blockchain makes it impossible to change the hash of a block so that once a block is written to a blockchain, it cannot change. We will create a Block class. Each block will have: List of transactions(int) Previous Block Hash(String[]) Hash(int) After applying getter setter methods to the variables block class look like this: java.util.Arrays; { previousHash; String[] transactions; blockHash; { .previousHash = previousHash; .transactions = transactions;
        Object[] contents = {Arrays.hashCode(transactions),previousHash}; .blockHash = Arrays.hashCode(contents);
    } { previousHash;
    } String[] getTransactions() { transactions;
    } { blockHash;
    } { .previousHash = previousHash;
    } { .transactions = transactions;
        } { .blockHash = blockHash;
 }
} import public class Block private int private private int public Block ( previousHash, String[] transactions) int this this this public int getPreviousHash () return public return public int getBlockHash () return public void setPreviousHash ( previousHash) int this public void setTransactions (String[] transactions) this public void setBlockHash ( blockHash) int this Now let's create a blockchain. We will start by creating a Genesis Block. As Genesis block is the first block in the chain we will hard-code the transactions and previous hash value. Transactions in real blockchain are definitely going be some transaction class and different data structures will be used.
 For simplicity, I am writing them as strings. So the Main class looks like this: java.util.ArrayList; {

    ArrayList<Block> blockchain = ArrayList<>(); {
        String[] genesisTransactions = { , };
        Block genesisBlock = Block( ,genesisTransactions);
        System.out.println( +genesisBlock.getBlockHash());
        String[] block2Transactions = { , };
        Block block2= Block(genesisBlock.getBlockHash(), block2Transactions);
        System.out.println( +block2.getBlockHash());
       String[] block3Transactions = { };
       Block block3 = Block(block2.getBlockHash(), block3Transactions);
       System.out.println( +block3.getBlockHash());
    }        
} import public class Blockchain new public static void main (String[] args) "Suraj sent Ruja 1542 Bitcoins" "Ruja sent 10 Bitcoins to John" new 0 "Genesis Block Hash:" "John sent 10 bitcoins to Suraj" "Suraj sent 10 bitcoins to Alex" new "Block2 Hash:" "Alex sent 999 bitcoins to non" new "Block3 Hash:" Output: Genesis Block Hash:-1106827926 Block2 Hash:957910147 Block3 Hash:-716750945 You can output the HashCode of genesis block change it and see the changes you will see the output differs from the previous output a lot even if you change the case of a single alphabet in the string of transaction. Output after changing "S" of "Suraj" in genesis block transaction to "s": Genesis Block Hash:1528835466 Block2 Hash:-701393757 Block3 Hash:1918912447 This is how a chain of blocks is formed, each new block hash pointing to the block hash that came before it.
 This system of hashing guarantees that no transaction in the history can be tampered with because if any single part of the transaction changes, so does the hash of the block to which it belongs, and any following blocks’ hashes as a result. It would be fairly easy to catch any tampering as a result because you can just compare the hashes.

Building Your Own Blockchain in Java [A How-To Guide]

Image credit: https://launchpresso.com/ This article is for anyone who is curious about the Blockchain but has no idea what it is exactly. The goal is to make you understand what is Blockchain which means that there are few simplifications done while writing this. If you understand what Blockchain technology is, then my mission will be accomplished. Tips: Do not ignore the images mentioned in this article for the best understanding of blockchain technology. Images are very important. What is the Blockchain? Yes, Blockchain = Block + Chain = listOf(blocks) Here, we are starting with an analogy of the money transfer from my account to your account. Remember, Blockchain has many uses cases, the money transfer system is one of them. Suppose, I make a transaction of some amount from my account to your account. When I make a transaction from one account to your account, there has to be a place where this transaction information must be written down. That place is a block. In block, we write the information like: Who is transferring the money to whom? The amount associated with that transaction. Some other pieces of information like the signature. public {
  public data;
  public hash;
  ...
} class Block String String So, the block is an information holder similar to the cheque in the bank. The block also holds a unique hash(H) for its identity in addition to the information(I). The hash(H) is a very important concept. As there are many transactions, there will be many blocks. And these blocks are connected through a chain to form a Blockchain. Why are the blocks connected? The blocks are connected in order to provide security to the information. Connected: The hash of the current block is dependent on the hash of the previous block. Let’s understand this with an example below. Assume that we have 3 blocks with the following information as below: Block 1 holds the I1 as the information with a hash value of H1.Block 2 holds the I2 as the information with a hash value of H2.Block 3 holds the I3 as the information with a hash value of H3. H2 is created from the combination of the H1 and I2. Similarly, H3 is created from the combination of the H2 and I3 and so on. H2 = someCryptoFunction(H1, I2) H3 = someCryptoFunction(H2, I3) From where does the H1 comes. To start, we need to take a default value of H0. H1 = someCryptoFunction(H0, I1) where H0 is a default value. Currently, the above Blockchain is stable. Now, let’s say someone changed the information from I2 to I2' and hash from h2 to h2' of the block2 and left the other blocks as they were earlier. In this case, the Blockchain will become unstable like below. In this way, any modification requires end-to-end modification and verification. It’s not easy to modify any data via some hack. If done with the hack, the Blockchain will become unstable and we will be caught. List<Block> blockList = ArrayList(); new We keep the blocks in a list like above so that from the position of the current block, we can find the previous block very easily by doing . There are many ways to store the . blocklist.get(position — 1) blocks Security is the main reason that is why these blocks are connected. What is the Blockchain? The Blockchain is a distributed and decentralized ledger that stores data such as transactions, and that is publicly shared across all the nodes of its network. The above seems to be a very tricky definition of the blockchain. Well, don’t fear. We will understand each of those in detail. Ledger The ledger is the main record holder that holds the list of the block. Stores Data The block stores the data(information). The data can be anything or of any type, we can think of. Here, we are taking the transactional information as data as an example. Distributed and Decentralized Ledger Normally, there is a central machine that is responsible for doing everything with the data. But in the Blockchain, there are many machines(so it is not centralized) and all the machines are connected peer to peer with each other. And all those machines are having the same ledger. Hence, the Blockchain is a distributed and decentralized ledger. In other words, the Blockchain is distributed as the ledger itself that is shared with everyone using the same Blockchain network. Each one gets a copy of the entire ledger and gets the update when something is added anywhere. Shared across all the nodes of its network There is a network in which each machine is connected with each other. Every node(machine) is having the same copy of the ledger. It means the ledger is shared across all the nodes of its network. How does the Blockchain works? Steps showing how the Blockchain works: Mayur wants to make a transaction. Mayur creates the transaction. Mayur submits the transaction to the network. A machine in the network verifies the transaction and gives approval. The new block is created in the blockchain for the Amit’s transaction. The updated blockchain is broadcasted to everyone in the network. The transfer is done. If the Blockchain is distributed, how the Blockchain is secure? It uses cryptography to generate digital signatures. There is a concept of the private key and the public key to work with the digital signatures. Each one of us gets the own private key and the other’s public key. This key can be only accessed by the individual owner of that key. Private key: Each one of us are having access to each other’s public keys in the network. Public key: Assume, I want to create a new transaction. I encrypt the information with my own private key to create a digital signature. And then, I submit the transaction(information, public key, the digital signature which was created above) to the network for approval. In the process, the network decrypts the digital signature using the public key provided and extracts the information from that signature. If the original information matches with the information extracted from the signature as shown in the above image, then it approves else it declines. If the information does not match, there can be the following cases: The original information was manipulated somewhere in-between. The digital signature was generated with the private key which does not correspond to the public key provided. This is how the network will be able to catch the manipulation. Hence, the Blockchain is secure.

Bit About Blockchain [A Technical Perspective]

WOMEN IN BLOCKCHAIN | DECENTRALIZED

May 2019 #Block2 “Women in Blockchain” is a collective Series of well-respected Women in the Blockchain World. All the women taking part in this series have one common ground; to further Blockchain Technology through Education. Disclaimer: This is not Financial advice by myself or any of the participants in the Series. Full Disclaimer Here Why Education? One of my questions in this article is “If you had to be critical about yourself what would you change?” I think for me it would be to stand in front of a group of people with the self-confidence to share my passion, my train of thought, why, how, where and at the end come out unscathed. But with no mistakes, how would I learn. We need to make some mistakes to improve our confidence and learn from the experience. Having the confidence to say something, make a statement, put your reputation on the line is not easy unless you know what you are saying or doing. Let’s, however, be clear to differentiate between a loudmouth approach and or arrogance to hide one's inabilities. I certainly wouldn’t be writing this article if I thought I didn’t know enough about the subject. I embarked on my Blockchain Cryptocurrency research 2 years ago and my writing skills followed suite only because I am confident enough to share what I had learned, tried and tested. That to me with my children is the missing link, how do our children find the connection between what is handed out at school, what they see their parents are doing and of course what the YouTube world is telling them is possible? This series is about just that, uncovering ways to help our children see opportunities in one of the fastest-growing Job Categories in the world, Blockchain. You can Google “what is the fastest-growing Technology in the world” or go to . Deloitte to see Without further ado then First up is Evelina Lavrova | CMO Waves World 2017 Evelina works for Waves World, Expert CV Labs, Top 10 Females in Crypto Q & A Q #1 Give us a summary of your background and how you got into Blockchain & Digital Currency / Cryptocurrency? A #1 I started work when I was 17 years old and spent around 15 years in Business Development and Marketing in Tech, Media, FMCG, and Real Estate companies. In 2016 I worked at Pay-Me — an mPOS service that is the equivalent of Square in Russia and the CIS. Sometimes we had fraudulent transactions so we decided to use KYC, making a video interview with clients and recording it on the blockchain. That was my introduction to blockchain. Later that year I joined Waves Platform — a blockchain and web3 ecosystem. Q #2 Tell us about your current position, responsibilities and some day to day activities that you look forward to? A #2 I’m Founder and CEO of DeCrypto PR, CMO at the US-based Waves World mining pool and crypto marketplace, and Expert at CV Labs — a blockchain incubator in Zug, Switzerland. I’m also a part of the Global Women in Blockchain community. Every month or second month I attend or participate as a speaker at conferences. I’m always interested to meet new partners, clients, journalists, etc. I also work on my own or my clients’ interviews. Usually, I have some calls or meetings during the day. Q #3 If you had to be critical about yourself, which part of your career would you like to improve on? A #3 First, I would have started to learn English earlier! I moved to new cities and changed schools a few times, and after my graduation, I realized I didn’t know English well. I was rejected by a few international companies because of that. So I started to learn it again at the age of 25. Secondly, I wish I hadn’t had a 5-year gap in working in technology. I gained great experience in FMCG and real estate companies, but it wasn’t so dynamic and interesting as working in tech startups. Q #4 What advice do you have for children/youth (10–18 years) today especially young women about the Blockchain world? How do we nurture interest in this new Technology? A #4 I’m a little bit envious of modern teenagers because they have much more opportunity than my generation (I’m a millennial). I would advise they start discovering and learning about different technologies as early as they can, though I’m against kids using smartphones or tablets the whole time. Technologies are not the future, they’re our present. I also recommend learning languages, including English and Chinese, if they’re not your native languages. Q #5 What kind of skill set would you be looking at in job applicants? A #5 As important as specific disciplines like IT, programming, etc, is your character: curiosity, ambition, and responsibility. Q #6 Blockchain to me is a forward-thinking force of snowballing Technology, but where I’m from a lot of people still see Bitcoin as a scam. How do we bridge the gap between Technology and people that are skeptical about it? A #6 The period of ICO hype in 2017 casts a long shadow since a lot of people joined the blockchain industry just to get rich quickly or fundraise investment. Something like 90–95% of startups were scams. Very often we read stories about founders who fundraised large amounts of money and then disappeared with it. I recommend the skeptics try using it, to buy, sell and to pay people in crypto. For example, I pay for my air tickets using BTC (one of the airlines fly with very often accepts payments in bitcoin). Q #7 Can you please provide the details of an educational facility that is in your area or country if anyone reading this article decides to find out more about Blockchain? A #7 I like studying, but the practice is more important than education now. Here is an example. I participated in a competition for a scholarship for gaining a Masters degree at UK universities but failed twice. Six years later I got an invitation to speak to students from the blockchain community at Manchester University. Or here’s another example. In the last two years, top universities such as MIT, Berkeley, and Stanford have launched their own blockchain courses. I discussed and prepared a new course for blockchain developers for Coursera because such knowledge was in high demand from companies and developers. Q #8 What is your current opinion on the Digital Assets (cryptocurrency) market and share with us your opinion on where you think this Technology will take us? A #8 It’s not too late to join it, it’s still just beginning. We are in the process of early and possibly early majority adoption. We need more time for mass adoption, when huge financial organizations, corporations, and small and medium businesses will use it for data storage or will accept payments in cryptocurrencies. We also need more use cases, so financial institutions and banks should not fight with blockchain startups, they should work together because blockchain is a technology that brings much-needed transparency. Q #9 What new exciting projects are you currently working on or planning? A #9 At the beginning of the year, I was honored to join CV Labs — a blockchain incubator in Zug, Switzerland. I’m currently preparing my workshop: ‘How to promote a blockchain startup on the international market.’ I’m also in the process of negotiating with AI, energy and cryptocurrency payments solution startups. Recently I joined a team working on blockchain for social impact research at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. Q #10 What is your favorite Blockchain project and why? A #10 I like companies that want not simply to make money, but try to build products that change the existing paradigm. This is why the story of Vitalik Buterin and Ethereum is so inspiring. Inspiring Evelina, I remember the first time I read your Biography about a year ago when I was researching (one of the largest and true Decentralized Blockchains) I decided then that I had to be a part of this Ecosystem. Today I am proud to own WAVES and Waves World (WW) Tokens. Morne Olivier WAVES Platform I liked when you differentiated between Technology and the future: “Technologies are not the future, they’re our present.” and I think this is part of many peoples/parents frustrations, a topic I will leave for the book to come. Thank you, Evelina, good luck with your upcoming workshop: ‘“How to promote a blockchain startup on the international market.” It is these initiatives that will set the standard for Blockchain integration, real Pioneers work. *************************************************************** For our next participant, I have asked Anu Bhardwaj | 2019 Blockchain For Impact Summit Co-Chair to join us. | Serial entrepreneur & investor doing what I love and LOVING what I do. Deep Tech Adviser & EIR @ Marc Bell Capital | Anu Bhardwaj "Women Investing in Women Digital" Q&A A #1 I’ve had a super diverse and international academic career where I won over $500,000 to live, work, and travel to over 60 countries (primarily across Asia and Europe and North America). In 2008, I was selected as a Fulbright Scholar to attend the Indian Institute of Technology in Mumbai where I did a deep-dive into the private equity industry, which began a decade exploration into what is now labeled as “gender lens investing.” Q #1 Give us a summary of your background and how you got into Blockchain & Digital Currency / Cryptocurrency? I spent the next 7 years working very closely with close to 40 US private equity funds with various fundraising initiatives accessing institutional capital across the Nordics, the Middle East and other strategic markets in partnership with the US Department of Commerce and the US State Department, which of course, is now “classified.” My final Private Equity Trade Mission ended in Fall 2014 after which I started Women INVESTING in Women Digital, a leading global media platform which now has a news feed with over 1,000,000 FB followers. We have a highly active and curated sub-community within Women INVESTING in Women DIGITAL called Crypto Queens, a podcast series on iTunes, ACAST, and Voice America Kids called Women INVESTING in Women and Girls, which can also be found on our website: . http://www.thestateofwomen We just released our first global documentary on The State of Women earlier this year which had showing during Sundance Film Fest, London Blockchain Week, India Conclave, the MindChain Conference in Romania, and private showings in Stockholm and Austin during SXSW. I dove into blockchain & digital currency back in 2017 after some trial and error investing into an experimental crypto-fund and several Blockchain related tech companies. I was invited to moderate 6 panels during the World Economic Forum in Davos in 2018 which led to a 24-month roadshow Keynoting, Moderating, and MCing across Asia, Africa, Europe, North America, and Australia. Q #2 Tell us about your current position, responsibilities and some day to day activities that you look forward to? A #2 I am the Founder of , Crypto Queens, Krypto 4 Kids, and developing SHEQ, a multi-asset, multifunctional crypto wallet by women for women. Blockchain “world” is a super fast-moving space. I love having my own media platform since I’m in the heart of everything at all times. We have a bi-weekly newsletter for , curated by millennial women geared towards getting more women & millennials introduced to crypto in a simple and easy to understand content strategy. Women INVESTING in Women DIGITAL Crypto Queens I’m looking forward to starting various TV programs and shows in the near future, which we are currently discussing now with various producers. We launched Blockchain on The Beach, last November, at the Montage Laguna Beach Resort in Laguna Beach, California which we will be expanding to Miami Beach this Fall and globally in 2020. SHEQ will hopefully be LIVE by the end of this year — we’re almost finished with our back-end. This is my second technology product in the past year and I’m learning constantly as we design and develop our “dream project” for banking the unbanked at unprecedented levels. Q #3 If you had to be critical about yourself, which part of your career would you like to improve on? A #3 I’d love to be less ambitious but I don’t think that will ever be possible. I would like to be less detail-oriented, I don’t think that will happen either, unfortunately. Going forward, I’m going to work on getting more sleep, finding ways to be in 10 places at once without getting on a plane, and spending more time with my darling daughter and Co-Founder of Krypto 4 Kids, Arya Sitara Bhardwaj. I would love to see her speaking at more conferences and helping her build her various business ideas targeting young women and girls. Q #4 What advice do you have for children/youth (10–18 years ) today especially young woman about the Blockchain world? How do we nurture interest in this new Technology? A #4 The simpler you make this industry, the easier it will become for women and girls to participate. This is exactly what we are focusing on at Women INVESTING in Women DIGITAL, Crypto Queens, Krypto 4 Kids, and our new SHEQ Wallet, by women for women and our K4K apps which are already available on Google Play and iOS. My advice is to learn as much as you can and if it's not clear, make your own content to simplify what you learn for others. We are ALL on this journey together. No one knows everything! Q #5 What kind of skill set would you be looking at in job applicants? A #5 Hunger, Integrity, Passion, and Creativity. Q #6 Blockchain to me is a forward-thinking force of snowballing Technology, but where I’m from a lot of people still see Bitcoin as a scam. How do we bridge the gap between Technology and people that are skeptical about it? A #6 There is a tremendous amount of misinformation and noise in the cryptocurrency space which is why there will be skepticism about Bitcoin. We as an industry need to start a serious conversation around “digital assets” as the global financial industry, collectively. This will reduce fear and increase confidence which will solve many adoption issues that were a result of numerous scams in 2018. Q #7 Can you please provide the details of an educational facility that is in your area or country if anyone reading this article decides to find out more about Blockchain? A #7 Crypto Queens has partnered with recently during Consensus 2019 and we highly endorse Robert and his team! You will need to check out when his course is offered next. DLT Education Q #8 What is your current opinion on the Digital Assets (Cryptocurrency) market and share with us your opinion on where you think this Technology will take us? A #8 I am a huge fan of digital assets. I’ve invested in real estate, heavy metals like Gold & Silver, stocks & bonds, and early-stage technology deals, as an accredited investor. I had the highest gains in the shortest amount of time with digital assets not only because I entered the market at the right time but also because I was excited at the right time. Q #9 What new exciting projects are you currently working on or planning? A #9 I’m focused on launching my SHEQ Wallet and hosting Blockchain on the Beach in MIAMI, this Fall. I would love to start my own TV show sometime this year or possibly in 2020. We have a number of new partners helping us with Krypto 4 Kids — it’s awesome to have so many synergies with all of our various activities. Almost like we have our own unique crypto ecosystem designed for women & kids, made with love and powered by committed male counterparts who not only support but endorse our VISION! Q #10 What is your favorite Blockchain project and why? A #10 SHEQ WALLET and Krypto 4 KIDS. These two initiatives have the power and potential to bring so many new users into our global blockchain ecosystem, which is critical for our collective success! | | | | GLOBAL DIALOGUE PODCASTS VIDEOS TWEETS BIO Whoooh, I’ve just Interviewed my first Serial Entrepreneur. Thank you Anu, I think any woman out there that will read this will take away so much inspiration from your energy and drive. Your purpose in educating is a goal I share too and the common ground our children and how we can help them. Its been an honor getting to know you through your busy schedule and I am sure this is not the last time! I am really privileged to have come to know Woman in Blockchain like this, it has started to give me a whole new purpose of being involved in the Blockchain world. We will do this again next week and remember after the fifth article I will be launching my first book on Women in Blockchain with some surprises. Regards Morne #morneolivier #womeninblockchain #blockchainpci #pci Woman in Blockchain #Block1 In case you missed it my last Article Digital Currency exchanges | Volume / Liquidity Important Links to know about me: UPDATED 11/04/19 About Morne Olivier #Disclaimer #PassiveCryptoIncome Medium Twitter Telegram for Passive Income LinkedIn Telegram Steemit ONO MurMur

WOMEN IN BLOCKCHAIN | EDUCATION BREEDS CONFIDENCE

WOMEN IN BLOCKCHAIN | DO YOU QUALIFY?

In part I of this , we explored how transactions are sealed cryptographically making it impossible for anyone, except the owner, to claim them. We briefly talked about how those transactions are submitted through the wire and broadcasted to the full network. We also touched on how those transactions are picked up by the receiver and used in further transactions hence creating an ordering where outputs of previous transactions are consumed as inputs to a new transaction. two-part series After a transaction is created, it needs to be written down somewhere, so that it can be referenced later. This demands a storage model where all transactions can be recorded (also known as the ). Why do we need previous transactions? Because in order to verify that a particular transaction was correct and not fraudulent, you have to trace it down from the (starting from Nakamoto’s account). I recommend that you pause here and think for a second why that is required? And is there a more efficient way to handle this? ledger very beginning This is clearly a tedious process! With millions of transactions happening every minute, you can’t be spending all your computing resources trying to figure out how the transactions are structured. There is a simple, elegant way to handle this. Store bunch of transactions in blocks and chain the blocks together. And instead of stamping individual transactions as accepted, you stamp the whole block. This way when checking whether a certain transaction was indeed correct and not fraudulent, you just fetch the previously referenced transaction along with its block and verify against that. That summarizes the storage model in Bitcoin. But what about communication? There are various actors in blockchain — each having their own set of roles. Some are adding blocks to the blockchain. Some are simply passing on the blocks to each other — ensuring all blocks are accounted for. Some are creating/transmitting the actual transactions. Some are just verifying those transactions. Some are simply monitoring the activities that are happening on the blockchain. But how does all of this take place in a self-sustaining manner without possibility of an external influence. Before we delve further into theories, I would like to introduce some key actors in the system. Later we will further elaborate on their purpose. These actors (more concretely: ) may overlap in some form, but are conceptually separate entities. nodes Wallet A wallet (also known as simple payment verification node) has two responsibilities:1. It needs to scan the blockchain to see which transactions belong to him2. It needs to create the transactions which are broadcasted to the network (and eventually mined). Seed At all moments, each node is connected to several other arbitrary nodes; forming lattice-like structure of peer-to-peer nodes. However, in order to discover other nodes, a node must first connect to the “seed” nodes — which introduces it other nodes. Miner The miner puts the block in the blockchain. They pool all the unconfirmed transactions; sorting them by mining fee (highest first) and adding it onto the blockchain. This newly mined block is then broadcasted to the rest of the network. In a nutshell, a miner’s job is to convert transactions into blocks. Relayer A relayer just monitors activity. They can tell health of the network; participate in message passing; or query the blockchain for other statistics. In the previous post, we left the discussion on the note that given a system of cryptographically signed transactions, it is still possible to abuse the system. How do you ensure that the transactions added onto the blockchain have not been tampered with? What if a mischievous actor starts bombarding the system with false/incorrect transactions/messages. What if someone sends x BTC to A and x BTC to B nearly simultaneously (double-spending)? Which one is to be considered valid? What if miners accept two different transactions? How do nodes coordinate amongst themselves agree on network changes? To sum it up in one question: how is the system regulated? These are the hard problems in a cryptographically, secured network that is trust-less — in the sense that no party can jeopardize the ecosystem. All nodes must accord with the network rules and in case there are disagreements, a group of nodes can take a snapshot of the current blockchain; apply their own statutes; and branch-off forever. This famously happened in mid-2017 during the Bitcoin cash fork¹. A key concept in the proposed solution of Bitcoin is to form a well-defined ordering of blocks. If you have ordered blocks, which is unanimously agreed on by all peers, then it would be impossible for the same transaction to appear more than once in the blockchain. A trivial approach could be to simply add indices to the blocks (1,2,3 …). A slightly better way would be to add timestamps instead of numbers, as timestamps also give additional information about block creation time and each block can then reference the previous timestamp (assuming that each timestamp is unique). There is still a glaring problem in our system. Can you see what that might be? Anyone can create a block at any time and can spam the network with dozens of blocks². This would choke the network and Bitcoin would be entirely unusable. The solution put forth in Bitcoin white-paper is as follows: when adding a block onto the blockchain, the miner is asked to crack a cryptographic puzzle and add the resulting hash onto the block. The puzzle is designed in such a way that it is easy to verify if it was solved correctly, but harder to solve without knowing the solution beforehand. Additionally, the Bitcoin network can also tweak the puzzle periodically. For example, beginning of 2019, the difficulty of mining was roughly 1800% higher than it was 2 years ago³. This is done to counteract the rising hash power of the mining machines and maintain a balance in the system⁴. Of course, all this work would have been pointless if a miner had no incentive to mine the transactions. This is why all transactions take a fee — which goes to the miner. Prior to year 2140, miners will also collect some BTC as an extra incentive to keep mining. This hash produced as the outcome of this extra work is also used for ordering; instead of relying on timestamps. We still use timestamps on blocks, however, as they provide us with valuable information. So far we have a , , that seem quite sturdy. Let test it further. Is it possible for a miner to act maliciously? For instance, can he introduce a transaction in a block which was never requested by anyone? What about two different blocks containing a set of same transactions that were produced by two different miners nearly simultaneously? timestamped spam-protected chained-together blocks composed of transactions These are two separate concerns — but worth exploring. To address the first issue, we need to introduce how Bitcoin blockchain skillfully plays with hashes. A hash is a fixed-size data that is used for assuring the integrity of some input. First, we compute hashes of all transactions in a block. After that we use a technique called Merkle-root construction to compute a root hash⁵. This hash can be thought of: as a hash of all hashes. In simple terms, the root hash guarantees the integrity of all transactions in a block. It would be impossible for the miner or a relayer to introduce a transaction that was not part of the original block as that would break the hash of the overall block. Great, what about multiple blocks being produced at the same time? This is a bit more complicated as the Bitcoin paper does not provide a concrete answer here. Instead it is left on game of chance. Unfortunately, someone has to lose this battle. Let’s paint a picture. Imagine miner X in China and miner Y in United States that both include transaction T in their block. X produces block B1 and the resulting blockchain is […A → B1], while for Y the blockchain looks like […A → B2]. Both blocks are broadcasted and relayed further until eventually 74% of the nodes are aware of a blockchain […A → B1], while 18% know the blockchain as […A → B2]. Both blockchains seem valid albeit contradicting each other. Now, a miner Y in Germany, who sees blockchain as […A → B1], produces another block C and broadcasts it. His reach is 94% of the nodes. All miners that were previously dealing with the blockchain […A → B2] and now saw this new blockchain […A → B1 → C] will decide to drop the previous chain and replace it with the latest version. If they don’t do that, and instead keep mining with the older chain, they would risk losing their mined block to the majority. At the end of the day, . This is why, in general, it is recommended to wait up till 6 blocks before accepting a transaction as the state of blockchain might change. As a miner, you want to have access to as many nodes as possible, otherwise there is a risk that all your efforts might go to waste. On the other hand, unification of mining power poses a risk to decentralization of the Bitcoin network. If a group of miners gain 51% of the hash power, they can effectively spin-off a blockchain of their liking. This is an actual threat to the Bitcoin blockchain and currently there is no safeguards in place to ensure that this does not happen in future. The argument against it that it is highly unlikely and is in the detriment of all participates⁶. the most popular version of the blockchain is considered the standard Spam-protection (proof-of-work) combined with blockchain branching and eventual consolidation means that we should wait sometime after a transaction is broadcasted before we can say with enough confidence that it has been persisted in the blockchain network. Typically, it takes 10 minutes to mine a new block. If we wait 6 blocks, our transaction would have buried deep enough in the ledger that we can say with high degree of confidence that the transaction has gone through. But nobody likes waiting one hour for his/her coffee. And that is the bottleneck of Bitcoin. The technology can not scale for everyday usage, but leads the way for Internet money. Bear in mind, Bitcoin, itself, was a culmination of various attempts to create virtual currency. So, in my opinion, it would be incorrect to state that the technology has peaked. There are lots of improvement proposals. And the next version of cryptocurrency might deal with issues that the current system suffers from (such as volatility and transaction speed) while leveraging the concepts that Bitcoin (et al) brought forth. Footnotes [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] History of Bitcoin cash fork Hashcash to limit spam attack Bitcoin difficult chart Proof of work Merkle tree construction 51% attack This was a quick primer on Bitcoin. If you want to learn more about it, check out the book by Andreas Antonopoulos: Mastering Bitcoin . It covers various aspects of Bitcoin extensively. Some topics worth exploring are advanced scripting; hierarchical deterministic wallets; mining pool; and so forth. Cryptocurrency still has a long way to go before it truly becomes Internet money. The foundation has been laid, but a lot of challenges lay ahead. Follow me on twitter to get latest updates.

Trust model of Bitcoin — part II

San Francisco to host The World Digital Assets Summit (WDAS) in December. WDAS is e_xploring the potential of this revolutionary industry by bringing together thought leaders, educators, legislators and enthusiasts as well as combining the world of innovation with real-life applications._ Earlier this year, Singapore played host to the World Digital Assets Summit an event that was largely successful prompting the need for a similar summit before the year comes to an end. The next version of the event will be hosted in the United States. If you want to level up on your knowledge of everything blockchain, then is the place to be between Hyatt Regency Hotel in Francisco 9th up to the 11th of December. The summit will provide the big players in blockchain technology projects, startups, developers and all stakeholders of the digital asset technology with a platform for the exchange of ideas, discussions and engagement focusing on the latest development and trends in the blockchain industry. Highlights from the Singapore Event The inaugural event was held at the Ritz-Carlton, Millenia Singapore between 1–3 May 2018. The conference explored and its growing impact on the traditional economy. “tokenomics” Event showhouse The Singapore event was a two-day meeting in which various stakeholders in the blockchain industry; investors, industry practitioners and service providers shared insight and discussed the way forward for blockchain tech. The event featured panel discussions, as well as keynote speeches regarding and the big issue of . crypto economics scalability of blockchains More than 80 global blockchain pioneers, including , , l and participated in panel discussions on topical issues regarding blockchain technology. Elaine Shi Ryan Zurrer Ari Pau Thomas France The Scalability Panel The above picture features the Panel for the discussion**.** Top Left is Zhuling Chen from Xinshu Dong from Bottom left is Terrence Wang from and lastly Feng Cao from Scalability Aelf , Ziliqa . IOST Pchain . To note; the four projects mentioned above garnered a lot of attention from the crypto community in 2018 owing to their proposed solutions to the scalability problems of blockchains by building high TPS blockchain infrastructure. Another interesting discussion panel was that of 2018 is arguable the year of stablecoins necessitated by the price volatility witnessed at the beginning of the year when market prices skyrocketed and plummeted unprecedentedly. Currently there are as many as 50 stable coin projects under development. Stable coins offer investors escape from the price volatility of cryptocurrencies without having to cash out into fiat. Stable coins. The Stable coin panel The panel above features top left, Mathew Branton from , top center Kwon Do from and top right Pan hao from On the bottom left is Kain Warwick from bottom center is Shaun Dijie from and on the bottom left is Evan Kuo from Neutral Terra C MakerDaO . Havven , Digix Fragments Inc . The other noteworthy highlight is the which had a representation from blockchain industry’s biggest investment houses. The conference gave a chance to representatives from various blockchain start ups to mingle with investors and create working partnerships. blockchain investment panel, The blockchain investment panel First row from left to right; Vincent Zhou from Ryan Zurrer from Simon Seojoon Kim from Centre row Jehan Chu from Michael Arrington from and Brad Chun from Bottom row; Ari Paul from FBG Capital , Polychain , Hashed . ; Kenetic Capital , Arrington XRP Capital Shuttle Fund . Blocktower capital . Participants mingling at the summit. In retrospect, the May conference was quite successful, and it covered the biggest sticky issues that plague the blockchain ecosystem currently. Beyond my personal picks of , the conference featured panel discussions and keynote speeches on scalability, stable coins, and blockchain investment Emphasizing economic development Blockchain security issues Privacy Cryptography in the blockchain era Decentralized exchanges Global supply chain on the blockchain Blockchain in Europe Crypto trading AI and Blockchain Building trust in the Crypto Industry Blockchain services and best practices The December Event, The place to be The event, which will take three days from the 9th up to the 11th of December, will stick to the summit’s mission that is “to explore the potential of this revolutionary industry by bringing together thought leaders, educators, legislators and enthusiasts as well as combining the world of innovation with real-life applications.” A view of San Francisco; source The previous meetings were successful in providing a platform for the showcasing of ground-breaking technology developments, the radical and futuristic blockchain ideas from the companies and individuals for the blockchain universe. Therefore, if you are around or in the San Francisco region do not miss the chance to interact with fellow blockchain enthusiasts and to hear and share from some of the industry’s most influential professionals who will be attending. Tickets The tickets to the event are already available online on the website at . What’s interesting is that cryptocurrency payment method with Bitcoin, Etherium is accepted or credit cards; Mastercard, Visa Amex or AliPay. https://wdas.world A brief overview of the events expected at the event will be; A welcome reception 15 plus panels of global industry leaders 10 plus Keynotes speeches and Fireside chats Educational and Networking workshops The image below includes some of the industry’s influential professionals who will be attending. WDAS 2 Speakers. The in San Francisco will offer a unique and unparalleled access to the speakers and the world’s most influential and successful industry toppers. The fans will be in for a treat right from the welcome reception that will see them served with beverages and snacks as they mingle freely with the best. WDAS 2 Organizers; FBG Capital & Block 72 “FBG Capital is a digital asset management firm in blockchain-based capital market.” . Website FBG Capital have invested in several blockchain projects such as Aergo, Aelf, Mainframe and Zilliqa. When it comes to scouting, FBG Capital has superior techniques and it remains one of the industry’s top venture capitalist firm. “FBG capital is Asia’s Hottest Crypto Hedge Fund”. Forbes is a global consulting firm specializing in . Our team is led by senior management coming from top investment banks and management consulting firms like McKinsey and Ernst & Young. We have multiple offices across the world including . “Block72 blockchain and distributed ledger technology New York, Shanghai, Beijing, Seoul, and San Francisco” Website provides cryptocurrency and blockchain consulting services globally and is already working with top projects such as Aelf,WePower ,EximChain. BAT, Bancor, AE, Cortex, IoT Chain and DATA. Block72 Block 72 partnerships with blockchain projects. Other major sponsors of the event include Blockzone, CryptoBriefing, Global Coin Research, and CrushCrypto. Remarks The dissemination of information is important for everyday people to understand the underlying tech of blockchains and cryptocurrencies and the value blockchain technology offers to the way we live and work. Regardless of your role in the blockchain ecosystem, the summit will provide an excellent experience and platform for personal growth and professional development. WDAS 2 The speakers’ list is constantly updated and the summit’s agenda is yet to be posted on their website. Follow the official WDAS news channels to keep up to date with incoming information. Essential Links Website: https://wdas.world Twitter: https://twitter.com/wdas2018

San Francisco to host The World Digital Assets Summit (WDAS) in December this year, 2018.

Korea using Blockchain in Democratic Process; China’s Ban; Bitmain KYC; Binance Labs Incubator; 95% ICOs Trading Below ICO price 🎊Our fifth podcast with Crypto investors Richard Lee and Mike Chen is out. 🎊 Check it out ! In this episode, Joyce is joined by Crypto investors (left), founding partner of GBIC (Global Blockchain Innovative Capital), and (right), founding partner of GBIC and CEO of Block72. Both Richard and Mike have been seasoned crypto investors, and they look at companies from both Asia as well as the US. Their investments include Logos Network, Hadron Cloud, Origo, Airswap, and more. Richard Lee Mike Chen 🤔 Timestamps and discussion points from the podcast 1:45 — Introduction to GBIC and Block72 from Richard Lee and Mike Chen6:50- Markets in China and US, such as megacap ICOs, valuations, reverse-ICOs in Asia, VCs coming into the play16:14- Investment in Asian projects vs US projects, differences and how to think about them31:00- How being a global fund with reach in different countries is advantageous for a volatile market in Crypto34:45- Large tech companies in China doing reverse-ICOs outside of China38:20- Potential for India as the next market is is a multi-strategy crypto fund with offices in New York, Shanghai and Seoul. is a global consulting firm specializing in blockchain and distributed ledger technology, with offices in multiple offices across the world including New York, Shanghai, Beijing, Seoul, and San Francisco. GBIC Block72 Subscribe 🌟 China’s Ban This Week A number of government announcements came out from China this week banning various crypto activities in mainland. A quick take from me on each of these bans: Beijing’s ban of was targeted primarily to purge shillcoins. And there are of them in China commercial venues from hosting cryptocurrency events lots Blocking in the mainland can easily be circumnavigated by VPN (And many people already use VPN to get around to access Facebook/Google) access to over 120 offshore exchanges’ websites — lots of the accounts were originally just shilling coins, the good ones will have their bans lifted and the bad ones will figure out other ways to target citizens A number of media Wechat accounts have been banned have also been banned, but I think this will merely create short-term impact to the market, create large spreads until the Chinese figures out another way Large Alipay and Wechat transactions for crypto purchases To understand my thoughts in more detail, check it the full writeup here 🌟 Top News in Asia from Wednesday through Friday WSJ- after the government imposed a wide-ranging ban on local exchanges and fundraising for digital currencies. China is tightening its clampdown on cryptocurrencies, nearly a year https://on.wsj.com/2Lri9m2 Crackdown continues: Chinese authorities issue joint warning on ‘Illegal’ crypto fundraising. http://bit.ly/2P6bEHJ Binance Labs to hand out $500,000 to each program participant in exchange for a 10 percent stake in the business. https://tcrn.ch/2LpbYPn Bitmain introduces mandatory KYC. http://bit.ly/2P39sAz Over 95% of ICO tokens which got listed on Chinese major crypto exchanges . trade below the ICO price in the first half of 2018 http://bit.ly/2P45oAd South Korean political parties are debating the idea of , with advocates calling for the introduction of blockchain-powered voting systems. using blockchain technology as part of the democratic process http://bit.ly/2P1Va3f Singapore Central Bank partners with Deloitte, Nasdaq on blockchain asset settlement. http://bit.ly/2P3PXI1 . Philippines, Thailand, and South Korea are moving towards creating the next crypto valley http://bit.ly/2LpwvDi 💰 Deals Singapore-based fintech company in a private sale round.to create a cryptocurrency wallet for handling transactions globally. X Infinity has raised $20.5 million http://bit.ly/2MtukV1 , has raised an undisclosed amount of investment for its seed round led by SoftBank China Venture Capital, Baidu Ventures, Danhua Capital, and Fenbushi Digital. Atlas Protocol, an open protocol for blockchain interactive advertising and marketing http://bit.ly/2Mw1PWG Aly, the parent company behind the stock and cryptocurrency tracking app Spiking, has closed its pre-series A round with US$880,000 in funding. http://bit.ly/2MwS4Hu 💰 Coin and Token News Blockchain Seoul 2018 — B7 CEO Summit to be held on Sept 17 — , will talk about the direction of blockchain development and technology trajectory. Kathryn Brightman, CEO of Tezos, and Don Song, CEO of Oasis Labs http://bit.ly/2MsRL0o Jihan Wu from Bitmain: “ ” I believe ICOs are kind of an unsustainable financial bubble. It will burst eventually. http://bit.ly/2OXZhNN 💸 Exchange News South Korea’s biggest crypto exchanges Upbit recorded , Bithumb recorded $39mn in revenue in the Q3 2018 ( > 20% less than last year). $100 million in Q3 revenue http://bit.ly/2OYNy1k is offering new users a refund of 70% of the transaction fees as a token of appreciation and good will. Korea exchange Bithumb http://bit.ly/2P16o7Y 🎌 Regulation News with malware for both Windows and macOS. North Korean hackers have infected a cryptocurrency exchange http://bit.ly/2OXrnIX . World Bank offers world’s first public blockchain bond in Australia http://bit.ly/2MwS4Hu Newly appointed chief of Japan’s top financial regulator has stated his belief that there is industry. no need for “excessive” regulation of the country’s cryptocurrency http://bit.ly/2MrAFAd Pyongyang will hold an international blockchain conference at the end of September. http://bit.ly/2P4VVsk Shanghai Securities Times said that the but that are still available in the country. China National Fintech Risk Rectification Office has so far identified 124 trading platforms with overseas IP addresses http://bit.ly/2MyHG2k Tencent’s super-app that promoted initial coin offering (ICO) and cryptocurrency trading as China continues to clean up ICO activities. | followed. WeChat has shut down many official accounts http://bit.ly/2MyaBn5 Alibaba’s Alipay hotels and all other possible venues in the district from hosting activities related to cryptocurrencies. Chaoyang District of Beijing has released an official notice to ban office buildings, http://bit.ly/2MwoMck 💼 Business News Bitpay wallet users in . Japan can turn Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash into gifts cards for Amazon http://bit.ly/2LpvP10 🌹🌹🌹 What did you guys think of our thus far? What do you want to read or learn more about on Asia? Global Coin podcast Check our past 7 weekly pieces on , , , , , , and Southeast Asia Cryptocurrency Developments A Guide to Asia Crypto funds/investors Takeaways on Asia Crypto from Techcrunch Zug Cryptokitties Binance Bitmain China’s Crypto winners Subscribe

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