Four years after setting up shop in Matosinhos, Revolut has just opened a new office in Lisbon, a region where around 250 of the 1,300 people it employs in the country are based, according to a report by ECO.

Revolut opens office in Lisbon - The Portugal News

“Blockchain is a revolutionary technology of the enlightenment, like the guillotine, designed to remove the crowned heads of Europe, or the centralizers that effectively control the industry,” said Miko Matsumura, managing partner, gumi Cryptos Capital ...

Challenging game developers to change their outdated blockchain mentality

Part one of a two-part series on how blockchain-based digital bonds are reinvigorating the global bond market. This part provides an overview of the technology powering this market shift, as well as certain regulatory and other considerations for capital markets participants.

Teaching an Old Bond New Tricks: Blockchain-Based Digital Bonds are Reinvigorating the Global Bond Market: Part 1

Argo Blockchain plc has emerged as a prominent player in the blockchain industry, leading the charge in the adoption and development of blockchain technology. With its innovative approach and commitment to excellence, the company has quickly gained ...

Argo Blockchain plc: Leading the Charge in Blockchain Technology

One of the key factors behind Argo Blockchain plc’s success is its commitment to innovation. The company has invested heavily in research and development, constantly pushing the boundaries of what is possible with blockchain technology. This dedication ...

Argo Blockchain plc: Pioneering the Blockchain Revolution

YdX, a significant decentralized exchange (DEX), has officially transitioned from its Ethereum base to launch its native chain. This marks the first instance of a major DEX opting for autonomy by setting up its own native blockchain.

dYdX Chain takes DeFi to new horizons with native blockchain launch

By Anthony O. Goriainoff Quantum Blockchain Technologies shares fell after the company said it will raise 2 million pounds ($2.4 million) via a

Quantum Blockchain Technologies Shares Fall on Plans to Raise GBP2 Mln in Discounted Placing

One of the most promising areas for blockchain application is in supply chain management. Internationally recognized bodies like the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s Nuclear Energy ...

Viability of Blockchain-based Nuclear Power Plant Management Systems

Check out how blockchain integration empower users to trade solar energy and make informed production and consumption choices.

Integrating Blockchain For Peer-to-Peer Solar Energy Trading

Innovative technologies have made the casino even more attractive in the eyes of its visitors. More and more users spend time in poker rooms with live dealers as well as betting on three-dimensional slots.

The Role of Blockchain Technology in Ensuring Fair Play at Online Casinos

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Investing in NFTs is a new and exciting way to diversify your portfolio. However, as with any other type of asset class, there are things you should avoid doing when investing in NFTs. Here are some common mistakes that investors make when choosing to invest in non-fungible tokens and an overview of how you can avoid those mistakes: 1. Not considering the liquidity Liquidity is the ability to quickly and easily sell a given asset. It's one of the most important factors to consider when investing in an , but it can be difficult to judge. NFT Some NFTs are more liquid than others, but it's important to consider the factors that influence this. Liquidity depends on several factors: -The popularity of the game/app where you earned your NFTs -Your holdings in other assets like bitcoin or ether -The nature of the token itself (what can it be used for besides trading?) 2. Not reading the ToS and privacy policy Reading the Terms of Service (ToS) and Privacy Policy is a must. These documents explain how your data is used, who has access to it, and how you can expect your digital assets to be handled if tokens are stolen or lost. They also outline what kind of information will be shared with advertisers and third parties. If you want an NFT that has these protections baked into its design from the ground up, look for one with a strong privacy policy. If you're looking at taking a more DIY approach, then it's worth researching how other developers have set up their own systems. 3. Lack of research When you invest in NFTs, you need to do some research. You don't want to take the plunge without understanding what a token does, how it makes its money, and how it fits into the . This can be tricky because many of these tokens are created on Ethereum or other platforms. Those platforms have unique ecosystems that anyone new to investing needs to learn about before they start investing in anything else. larger ecosystem of NFT Marketplace development Don't trust the hype around an NFT if you don't know why people like it—and especially if it's something that sounds too good to be true. 4. Not creating an NFT wallet It's crucial that you create an NFT wallet. You should never store your crypto assets on an exchange, as this puts you at risk of losing it all if the exchange gets hacked. Instead, you'll want to store them in a secure digital wallet that is only accessible to you and has no connection with any other accounts. The best way to do this is to use a hardware wallet, as it's the most secure option on the market today. It's also worth noting that you should never store your private key on any device that is connected to the internet or has access to your computer. 5. Not understanding the purpose of NFTs You might think NFTs are just a new way to collect digital art or rare collectibles. That's not the case, and they can be used for many different purposes. You can, for example, use them in video games, virtual worlds, and online games. These items have value because their owners are willing to pay real money for them — though it may take some time before you find someone who wants to buy your NFTs for cash. It would help if you understood that an NFT often depends on its rarity, which means that certain types of digital assets will become more valuable than others as time passes. In other words: there is no guarantee that your NFT will retain its value over time. 6. Not knowing who your buyers are When you're investing in NFTs, it's important to know who your buyers are. Knowing your buyers will help with marketing, development, and sales. If you think having a great product will be enough to get people to buy from you automatically, think again. To sell anything successfully, you must clearly understand who is likely to buy it and how they can be persuaded into purchasing something from you. You should also consider what kinds of products or services could be offered by the platform that would appeal directly to these groups of users - this may involve offering incentives such as rewards points which can then be spent on things like premium features within an app or even exclusive content delivered through the site itself. 7. Not claiming the intellectual property rights Intellectual property rights (IPR) are the rights that protect an author's work. They include copyrights, patents, and trademarks. If you create an NFT, you have every right to claim ownership of it—and when we say "you," we mean the artist who created it. Your creations can be anything from paintings to digital art or even songs. If your NFT is original enough and has enough value to other users, then it deserves its own IPR protection and should be categorized as intellectual property. 8. Ignoring blockchain governance Blockchain governance is a powerful concept that can revolutionize how we make decisions about the future of blockchain. For example, if you're building an NFT and want people to use it in their games, then you want them to be able to vote on when they want your game to end. That's why it's important for you, as an investor or creator of an NFT, to understand how blockchain governance works to leverage it properly and avoid mistakes. Conclusion: The above tips should help you stay on the right track to a successful NFT investment portfolio. While there is no guarantee of success in any form of investing, following these suggestions and avoiding common pitfalls can minimize the risk of failure and maximize your chances of earning a profit. Read More from Rejolut Here: https://hackernoon.com/self-reliance-is-the-only-way-forward-in-a-post-pandemic-world https://hackernoon.com/solana-defi-ecosystem-exploring-the-opportunities

Investing in NFTs: 8 Mistakes to Avoid

What is Ethereum? Ethereum is a blockchain platform that allows developers to build and deploy decentralized applications. The project was bootstrapped via an ether presale in 2014, at the time when the currency was just called “Ether”. has since grown into one of the world’s largest cryptocurrencies by market cap, with recent developments such as support for ERC-20 tokens and a switch from Proof-of-Work (PoW) to Proof-of-Stake (PoS) mining adding to its value as an investment opportunity. Ethereum Furthermore, Ethereum is an open-source, public blockchain platform that can be used to build decentralized applications and transmit what it calls "smart contracts"—agreements executed by a computer algorithm. In cryptocurrency terms, it's the token used to pay transaction fees on the network, and miners can earn Ether from mining blocks. The second part of the description above contains some jargon that might be unfamiliar to newcomers—but don't worry! We'll go over each component individually, so all will become clear soon enough. Ethereum’s features Ethereum is a platform that runs decentralized applications, or DApps. The Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) and smart contracts it runs allow developers to create markets, store registries of debts or promises, and move funds in accordance with instructions given long ago. The Ethereum Virtual Machine makes the process of creating much easier and more efficient than ever before. blockchain applications Decentralized apps built on top of Ethereum can be used to control real-world objects like cars or homes. The possibilities are endless. Smart Contract Powered DApps A smart contract is a computer program that runs on the and can facilitate, execute, and enforce the negotiation or performance of an agreement. Ethereum blockchain When you agree with someone, whether it's a business deal or a personal arrangement like sharing an apartment, you are entering into a contract. In most cases, these agreements will have some kind of penalty if both parties don't uphold them - otherwise, there would be no incentive to keep them alive and well. But what if we could create an agreement that doesn't need any human involvement? That's where smart contracts come in! With smart contracts, both parties must fulfil their end of the bargain; otherwise, they'll face penalties for executing computer code built into their contract itself. This feature makes them ideal for tasks such as paying rent when due. How does the Ethereum blockchain work? Ethereum - Its decentralized platform that runs smart contracts. Applications run precisely as programmed without any censorship, possibility of downtime, fraud or third-party interference. These applications run on a custom-built blockchain, shared global infrastructure that can move value around and represent the ownership of property. This enables developers to create markets, store registries of debts or promises, move funds in accordance with instructions given long in the past (like a will or trust) and many other things that have not been invented yet, all without a middleman. The Account Types, Value Transfer & Gas In Ethereum, there are different account types: ● This is what we usually think of when we talk about a person or organization having an account on the blockchain. EOAs have an address that is derived from the public key and can be used to send ether and other transactions. Externally Owned Accounts (EOAs): ● Contracts are pieces of code that run on top of Ethereum. They don't actually store any Ether but can still receive it as part of their execution process. You cannot directly interact with them, but they can interact with you using their own methods and functions through your wallet's API calls or web3 integration libraries such as . Contract Accounts: Metamask ● An account with only one owner has no concept of gas fees since the owner himself will always pay the fees. This means that it has no other way than to wait until he pays enough gas before executing any instruction given by this contract. Accounts with only one owner: Pros of Ethereum The Ethereum blockchain has many advantages. It is more than just a cryptocurrency; it offers users some unique features that make it stand out from the crowd of popular blockchains today. For example, Ethereum can be used to create decentralized applications (Dapps) or smart contracts on its platform. This gives Ethereum greater functionality than other cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, which is only used as a medium of exchange for buying goods and services online. In addition to this, Ethereum also offers faster transaction speeds. Any transactions made via the platform will be processed much quicker than with any other cryptocurrency network in operation today, such as Bitcoin or Litecoin. Furthermore, users will not have to worry about paying high fees when transacting with Ethers since the network charges very low transaction fees compared to its competitors like Ripple (XRP). Another advantage offered by Ether over other blockchains is its wider scope of application; you can use Ether tokens not just for purchasing items from merchants but also within your own company if you need stock option grants or employee salaries paid out using cryptocurrency tokens. Conclusion: We hope this blog has provided you with a complete understanding of the Ethereum blockchain, its features and the value it can bring to your business. If you’re new to this space and want to know more about Ethereum in general, then we would highly recommend checking out their official website for more information. Lead image source.

Your Ultimate Guide to Ethereum and its Working Principles 

Polygon is a blockchain platform designed to make applications run faster, safer, and cheaper. It’s also the name of the MATIC cryptocurrency that powers this network. So what exactly is Polygon, and how does it work? In this guide, we'll take you through everything you need to know about Polygon (MATIC), including what it is and how it works, as well as its history, potential benefits, and risks involved with investing in Polygon cryptocurrency. What is Polygon (MATIC)? Polygon (MATIC) is a blockchain based on the Ethereum network that allows users to create and publish their own 3D content. Polygon can be used to create a decentralized platform for creating and publishing 3D content. Users can use this platform to sell their creations, rent them out, or even share them for free with other users who want to use them in their own projects. What is the Polygon blockchain? Polygon is a blockchain-based, decentralized platform for the distribution of digital assets. Polygon allows users to create, register, and manage their own digital assets. The Polygon platform uses smart contracts that act as an intermediary between two parties in order to make transactions more efficient. In its simplest form, a smart contract is an algorithm that performs certain actions when certain conditions are met (hence its name). You can think of it like your computer’s autofill feature – if the text you’re typing matches what the program expects you to type next, then it fills those blanks in with no further input from you needed (or wanted). For example: “I want my car payment to automatically be deducted from my bank account every month at 3:00 PM Eastern Time on the first Wednesday after each full moon,"  there would be no need for me or anybody else involved to make sure these payments were made because they would all be handled automatically through this process known "smart contracts." How does Polygon blockchain work? Polygon blockchain is a decentralized blockchain based on the Ethereum network, which means it uses smart contracts to facilitate user transactions. The Polygon blockchain also uses a consensus algorithm to verify transactions. The first thing that sets apart from traditional blockchains like Bitcoin or Ethereum is that it uses a ledger system called “directed acyclic graph (DAG) structure” rather than simply being a linear chain of blocks as we see in many other cryptocurrencies today. This means that every transaction made using polygon blockchain technology has its own individual link back up to its parent node on some kind of “chain” structure, which makes it easier for these networks to be scaled up quickly due to their ability to handle more transactions per second (TPS). polygon blockchain The consensus algorithm is based on the proof-of-work (PoW) protocol that was first used by Bitcoin and has since been adopted by many other blockchains. Proof-of-stake (PoS) protocols are used less often, but they have their own advantages in speed and energy efficiency. Is Polygon (MATIC) worth investing in? Polygon is a cryptocurrency that is worth investing in. It's a new blockchain platform, a competitor to Ethereum, and an open-source project. The Polygon team has created a decentralized platform (the MATIC chain) that allows users to use smart contracts and build dApps. The total market cap as of August 2019 was $6 billion! This means there are only 1 billion tokens in circulation out of the 10 billion available for mining. This gives you an idea of how rare these coins are compared to most other cryptocurrencies. Where can you buy Polygon cryptocurrency? If you want to buy Polygon cryptocurrency, it’s best to do so through an exchange. You can also purchase Polygon cryptocurrencies from other people through peer-to-peer transactions, such as at a cryptocurrency conference or with an online marketplace. You should always look into the reputation and customer support of any exchange before signing up for it, as well as its fees and user interface. Some exchanges will charge higher fees for trading large amounts of money than others, which could potentially make a big difference in how much profit (or loss!) you make when buying or selling cryptocurrencies. The more reputable exchanges will also have better security measures in place to protect your funds against theft by hackers or fraudsters than those that have had their reputation tarnished by previous breaches or scams. In order to store your safely, it’s best if you download one from the official website or Google Play Store. These wallets are typically secure and easy enough for anyone who isn’t tech-savvy to use without needing any additional help from someone else who has experience using cryptocurrency wallets before. It's also essential to store your coins and keep backups of them on paper (or digitally) just in case something goes wrong with either version—which could happen, especially if there's ever a virus attack on computers across the world! Polygon token wallet Conclusion: The Polygon cryptocurrency is an exciting new venture that’s sure to change the way we think about gaming and entertainment forever. If you’re interested in getting involved, now is the time to do it! The Polygon cryptocurrency is still in its early stages and has plenty of room for growth. It won't be long before more people start using it, which means that those who get involved now will have more opportunities than ever before.

Everything You Need to Know About Polygon Blockchain Technology

Crypto exchange development is not easy, but it can be done. As a developer, you will need to write a lot of code and develop many different modules that work together. This article will help you understand what is involved in developing a crypto exchange from scratch and how to do it. Know Your Requirements Before you begin developing your exchange, take a moment to consider what features are necessary for its success. For example, suppose you plan on providing fiat currency to crypto trading pairs and want to allow users to trade in multiple languages. In that case, your platform will need a robust language translation system. If you’re not offering any fiat currency support or don’t care whether users can interact in their native tongue, then there’s no need for a translation tool at all. In addition to determining which features are essential for your exchange and which aren't important, it's also important that developers know the competitive landscape surrounding crypto exchanges. Suppose this is the first time an individual has developed one of these types of applications. In that case, they should look at other options available out there before making assumptions about what customers prefer when using crypto exchanges. Understand the Target Markets Understanding the target market is crucial for any new business. You will want to understand your potential customers, what they need, and how you can provide value for them. You'll also want to know about your competitor's strengths and weaknesses, so you can set yourself apart from them. Lastly, it's important that you understand the regulatory environment in which your business will operate within. This includes tax laws and other regulations that may affect your daily . cryptocurrency exchange Decide What Type of Cryptocurrency Exchange You Want to Build Decide what type of cryptocurrency exchange you want to build, and then match your goals with the best fit. There are many cryptocurrency exchanges: simple buy-and-sell services, high-frequency trading platforms, and peer-to-peer marketplaces for different assets. Your project can also focus on unique features like real-time coin swaps or cryptocurrencies that adhere to specific parameters. crypto exchange development Decide which type of exchange would suit your needs. For example: if you want a more casual service where users can purchase cryptocurrency with fiat currency directly through a bank account or credit card, then an exchange like Coinbase is probably a good choice. Pick a Suitable Technology Stack to Build Your Platform Choosing the right technology stack for your cryptocurrency exchange development is a key decision. This can be a time-consuming process, and there are many factors to consider, such as cost and complexity. In this section, we'll help you understand which platforms offer what options so that you can make an informed decision about which one will best suit your needs. What are the main features of each platform? How much does each platform cost? What are the minimum requirements for each platform? Pick the Right Payment Methods for Your Exchange Users When it comes to deciding what payment methods to integrate with, there are several factors you should consider. Among these are: Convenience for users. Users will likely want various ways to access your platform and make purchases. Whether they're looking for simple bank transfers or more advanced methods like credit cards or cryptocurrencies, you'll need a wide range of options so that everyone can easily use your exchange in their preferred way. Ease of integration (for exchanges). The simpler it is for you as developers to implement new payment methods on your exchange platform, the lower the cost will be overall. Plus, more likely it'll be that you can include every method requested by customers without having to raise prices just because some transactions take longer than others. Security measures (for exchanges). When integrating any kind of third-party service into an online application, security should always be taken into consideration first—and if there isn't enough available information about a particular payment method's security measures yet, then there might not even be enough trust between those two parties yet, either. User Verification Is a Must User verification is a must for all exchanges. You’ll need to know exactly who your users are and that they are who they say they are. Initially, this may seem like overkill, but it’s important to remember that crypto exchanges have become targets for hackers and scammers. By requiring your users to verify their identity with you, you can be sure that person has control over the account their funds are being moved into/out of. And protecting customer data is critical—if a single customer loses money because of an exchange hack or other security breach, it can ruin your reputation forever. Test Your Product Extensively Before the Launch Testing the product before its launch is important. Ensure all features work as expected and are easy to use. Test your product on different devices and browsers, and add some payment methods, currencies, and languages if possible. Use a testnet to test the product without spending real money. Once you are sure that everything works as expected, launch it! Conclusion: At the end of the day, it’s all about ensuring that you have a product ready for launch. If you take the time to consider these factors before launching, you can create a technically scalable and user-friendly exchange. Photo by Aleksandr Popov on Unsplash

Your Guide to Crypto Exchange Development

Decentralized Finance, or DeFi, inspired by its older cousin, blockchain, works on the same methodology—it allows multiple entities to access the history of transactions, details, and everything in between. It just takes the movement a step further. How? you ask. Imagine a scenario where everyone with a basic smartphone and internet can access every financial service, from loans and insurance to credit cards and trading. Even after decades of deployment of the internet, the majority of people thought of it as a fad – a dazzling display of breakthrough innovations and state-of-the-art tech infrastructure is a testimony to the growth of the internet today. Likewise, DeFi will have parallels to it. It’s an open architecture and is designed to be like the internet – decentralized but with layers to it. It’d be self-defeating and myopic to overlook the potential of DeFi at this point since it’s (take our word for it) here to stay. Take Token BOND, for instance recorded around a or a rise in price of next gen blockchain protocol. These numbers weave a story for the bright future for DeFi with the very fabric of promise in it. While the services will multiply, it’s only the elimination of middlemen making the process simpler. 200% increase Enters Solana Also considered the "Ethereum killer," Solana is one of the fastest blockchain networks capable of hosting decentralized apps. It makes it easier to simplify complex financial transactions, thanks to the speed, which is ! Unlike Ethereum, Solana uses Proof of History (PoH), which helps improve the efficiency of transactions by adding timestamps to it. 400 millisecond block times Even after decades of deployment of the internet, the majority of people thought of it as a fad – a dazzling display of breakthrough innovations and state-of-the-art tech infrastructure is a testimony to the growth of the internet today. Likewise, Solana has parallels to it. It’s an open architecture designed to be like the internet – decentralized but with more layers and transparency. Here’s how Solana is making the blockchain space better: There are other revolutionary methods out there, but they have their own inefficiencies due to slow speed throughput speeds, say 3-6 transactions/second. The offers split-second transfers, which means merchants can receive real-time crypto payments which can be spent or redeemed almost immediately. - High Speed: Solana Blockchain The Solana blockchain allows composability between multiple users by maintaining a single network across the globe as it scales. No more sharded chains or layer 2 networks! - Scalability: Solana’s customized blockchain platform reduces transaction costs. With a flat-rate transaction cost of $0.01 for both users and developers, the highly secure nature of the Solana Blockchain platform protects merchants and users from spam attacks. This encourages merchants and users to adopt the Solana payment platform at a highly economical cost and to eliminate the limitations of existing traditional blockchain solutions. - Low Transaction Cost: While it might be impractical to persuade traditional merchants and businesses to adapt to existing cryptocurrency payment solutions, Solana’s Blockchain solution enables merchants, retailers, businesses, and online e-commerce platforms to adopt cryptocurrency transactions and payments as a preferred mode of payment with various features. - Multiple Merchant Facing Functionalities: Top 4 DeFi platforms built on Solana: With 400+ projects built on the platform, the Solana ecosystem is growing and how! Here are a few projects that have contributed to the core DeFi projects: 1. Serum - the DEX Solana's low-cost and fast-speed transactions make it an ideal platform for any decentralized trade. Co-founded by the CEO of FTX Trade, Serum is a "permissionless" blockchain and DEX biological system based on Solana. Serum plans to develop decentralized trades by bringing every one of the advantages of a unified trade to the DeFi space. It is one of the main DEXes in the crypto space that is planned with an orderbook-style trade, offering an interface that helps brokers improve the client experience of unified trades given by computerized market creators. These features are additionally matched to the advantages of decentralized trades, like total security and transparency of decentralized hub engineering. This implies there are no KYC necessities and that clients can add their own business sectors without paying enormous expenses to a unified element to be recorded on the trade. 2. Raydium - the Automated Market Maker Isn’t it a perfect deal to have decentralized trades that are low-cost and quick to utilize? Yet one of the greatest difficulties in DeFi is to source liquidity, or money holds that can be utilized to ensure dealers can close their orders as close as conceivable to their ideal cost. Like Serum, Raydium gives on-chain liquidity options to an order book, making the client experience better and more recognizable. Truth be told, both of the ventures are intently connected, implying that clients of Raydium can get to the request stream and liquidity of the whole Serum biological system as well as the other way around. 3. Oxygen - the Decentralized Bank A must-watch in 2022 is the application developer that assists token holders with tracking down various purposes for similar collateral. Oxygen is a Brokerage Protocol that allows token holders to loan, get, procure yield, and create liquidity/exchanging influence simultaneously. So rather than simply having the option to procure revenue by loaning your resources, Oxygen clients can then get cash against those lent resources, so they actually have money to spend or exchange. Based on the order book, the Oxygen Protocol guarantees that loaning and acquiring rates are genuinely founded on the most recent market activity. 4. Saber - the Stablecoin Hub Saber is one of the major dApps based on Solana that are total value locked. Stablecoin liquidity is essential to DeFi, on the grounds that stablecoins serve countless capabilities in the environment. Market producers can store crypto into a Saber liquidity pool to procure yield from exchange charges, get a few token-based motivators and advantage from robotized DeFi procedures, which saves a ton of time physically pursuing the best yield across various pools and dApps. Solana is making the blockchain world better, one transaction at a time!

Solana DeFi Ecosystem: Exploring the Opportunities

If one of the latest reports by The Economist is to be believed, a major consequence of the pandemic would be the integration of data-enabled services into broader aspects of life. Contrary to popular opinion, digital transformation is more about people and less about technology. Buy as much technology as you can; the ability to adopt it would depend on developing the right skills, future-proofing your potential, and being open to learning new things. Think about it – while we’re wired for simplicity, patterns, and routine, we end up learning less on jobs the more time we give them. It’s undoubtedly easier to do this job on autopilot mode and eventually free up headspace, but in the long run, it’s counterproductive since people would miss out on new opportunities as they gain more experience. With the pandemic, a lot of people might end up with better career paths - paths they never thought they wanted to explore. “Never waste a good crisis,” is what Winston Churchill once said, and the COVID-19 pandemic is turning out to be a crisis with many learnings, one of them being self-reliant. Blockchain – Treading a Path For Self-Reliance? Given that blockchain technology is suited to share, verify, and secure data, it’s ideal for handling cross-border, inter-party, and multi-level transactions. The last decade was a testimony to the will of enterprises wanting to embrace blockchain and, therefore, vetting the tech with hundreds of Proofs of Concept. This is what the pandemic has made everyone realize – weakness in managing supply chains to difficulties in capturing the right amount of data, and the inability to allocate resources where we needed them the most. And, we have to thank people for repurposing to help the world address these challenges efficiently. While the situation is more uncertain and ambivalent than ever, one of the strongest bets is on cryptocurrencies for transparency and advanced connectivity. It goes without saying that cryptocurrency proved its resilience during the pandemic, offering reliable and instant alternative methods to share and access resources without crumbling down due to a financial shortfall, powerplay, or centralized functioning. blockchain development The Post-Pandemic Situation The loss of faith in conventional settings of banks and financial institutions necessitated the need for decentralized systems—now, the advent of more related technologies will become the lifeblood of the financial ecosystem (well, hopefully). Economically speaking, the world does not witness an event on the same scale as the COVID-19 pandemic very often, and this outbreak has caused every sector to reconfigure and self-examine itself. While the plummeting sales of oil had shockwaves creeping through the global economy, the cryptocurrency market was not an exception. And the world gasped in disbelief at the mere mention of cryptocurrency being a safe haven for financial transactions. With the new deal among Russia, Saudi Arabia, and the United States, prices of oil rose but nowhere near where they were before, and that’s where cryptocurrencies did the magic — a 50% decline at the outset of the pandemic rose to an all-time high in transactions, which meant more people entering the market. It became a trusted source for both trading and investment. During the pandemic, crypto-based projects continued to grow. People are entering the market, and consequently, related projects are becoming more formidable. Reddit recently introduced an Ethereum Community Point system with around 2 million users. And it saw over 10,000 wallet-registrations in the initial stages of the program! While this says a lot about the success and continued growth of cryptocurrencies, the rest will be decided later on when the world redefines the economic and social norms. Till then, it’s safe to say that cryptocurrencies will stay. Emerging From The Pandemic There’s no denying that we’re agile and tech-driven as a global community. Human beings are and will be the common denominator to put any technology forward. Whether it’s unleashing the potential of cryptocurrency, blockchain, or remote working, the revolution will be led by the people. The key to emerging from the lockdown would be to nurture curiosity – and the rest would fall into its place.

Self-Reliance Is The Only Way Forward In A Post-Pandemic World

Tell us a bit about yourself. For example, name, profession, and personal interests. My name is Thomas Mathew Cherickal. I was born in Kottayam, Kerala, but have stayed in Chennai, India for most of my life and all of my college years. I have a PG degree in Computer Science but I opted for writing technical content about my favorite research interests. I absolutely had to do it, my muse would not allow me to stay in a standard job. There was ever only one job I was enthusiastic about in my life other than my violin and singing in acapella choirs and that was independent, self-guided, self-taught research and coding discoveries. Interesting! What was your latest Hackernoon Top story about? My aim for a long time was to study the non-linear dynamics of machine learning systems. When LLMs burst onto the scene, they intrigued me even more because they were mysterious. Using the principle that , I was able to explain in a logical textual narrative how the LLM was able to generate coherent human speech. Call it textual proof, if you so will. all neural networks can act as universal function approximations Do you usually write on similar topics? If not, what do you usually write about? Most of my writing is about my research, I also have to live in this world, so I also did content writing for over ten years now. I worked with Dimensionless Technologies, Rejolut Technologies, and numerous other freelance projects including CareerVira. I also found that I enjoy writing science fiction. Great! What is your usual writing routine like (if you have one?) Well, unless I write, I can’t be content and I can’t be at rest, the urge to be creative is so high that it actually stopped my lucrative software engineering and content writing careers. I was freelancing for the last ten years, always desperate to find the next problem to write or solve. I find rest only in God or music. Writing research papers to solve common problems is something that is a part of me, despite my schedule, and the fact that I passed out of college 15 years ago. I kept myself up to date by reading Feedly every day and buying books about subjects that I was interested to work in. My latest purchase is Thinking In Systems by Donella Meadows. I’ve read Code Complete cover to cover at least twice, I learn about PyTorch from Deep Learning for Coders, Python from Fluent Python, Scikit-learn and TensorFlow from the famous book by A. Geron, Algorithms from CLRS, Design Patterns from Head-First Design Patterns, F# from Mastering F# by Nunez et al, Quantum Mechanics from Nouredine Zettili (I adore that book!), and Quantum Computation from Nielsen and Chuang. There is much more, but I’ll just refer you to my profile website. And yes, I’ve read the whole New Jerusalem Bible cover to cover at least seven times if not more. Being a writer in tech can be a challenge. It’s not often our main role, but an addition to another one. What is the biggest challenge you have when it comes to writing? I never have! Ideas pop in and out all the time. I think the biggest challenge I face is to make enough time to investigate and create theoretical science about what I’m thinking about at the moment now. For e.g. right now I was reading about some of the strange attractors of some machine learning models. I automatically started to think about doing the same for LLMs, despite the incredibly high computational cost. Making enough time for everything I want to do is my biggest challenge. What is the next thing you hope to achieve in your career? A collaboration with a few scientists from anywhere in the world about the smallest possible LLM model - the critical emergent point at which the LLM becomes articulate. I would love to work on that. And of course, Quantum AI. Wow, that’s admirable. Now, something more casual: What is your guilty pleasure of choice? Singing and 4-part violin . I call it guilty because I’m not up to the mark of a pro and it’s just for rest and actualization. God and Christian Music are my only two greater passions than problem formulation and ideating solutions. My mind is active non-stop. quartets Do you have other hobbies? If yes, what are they? I love badminton, cricket, table tennis, and swimming. Especially swimming. What can the Hacker Noon community expect to read from you next? Definitely more about the fundamentals of complexity theory and how they apply to LLMs. I also want to be on the frontiers of AGI, so I will be writing about the Spatial Web a lot (Google it).  Then we have Quantum AI changing the status quo in many areas of Machine Learning, so that as well. With source code. What’s your opinion on HackerNoon as a platform for writers? It’s amazing. This is the most popular writing platform on tech worldwide. I’m honored to be a part of it. The visibility you get worldwide is awesome. Thanks for taking the time to join our “ ” series. It was a pleasure. Do you have any closing words? Meet the writer Never give up. I’ve been on this for years. Recently an uncle of mine called Mathew Jacob called me to account for my life. That was the catalyst for an immense amount of activity over the next few years. Never give up on your dreams - fight for them - make sure they serve the people around you and your family. I’ve had my share of tough times, but I’ve always come out stronger. And with Jesus Christ in my life as a living transcendental reality, I now have confidence that I always will - regardless of the situation. Thank you for this opportunity!

Meet the Writer: Hacker Noon's Contributor Thomas Cherickal, Independent Theoretical Researcher

The Age of Exciting Opportunities This article will transform the living conditions of millions of disabled people around the world who actually have the financial wherewithal to use these modern technologies. How Technology is Making the Impossible Possible “The blind see, the deaf hear, the lame walk again and the dumb speak.” - Matthew 11:5 No, I’m not getting all-spiritual on you! What I am saying is that today, technology, artificial intelligence, machine learning, human-computer interfacing, bio-implants, cybernetics, and bio-prostheses have combined to help – literally - “The blind see, the deaf hear, the lame walk and the dumb speak.” So how do I show you these remarkable achievements? I thought, let’s go practical. We are going to use four real-life innovations – modern technology, using which the blind are enabled to see (well, more like audio assistance in most cases), the deaf are given hearing, the lame are given mobility, and the dumb are given speech. I haven’t been in a very long time! this excited Let’s get started! The Blind Will See There are two sides to this coin. With the current state of the art technology, thee are two ways in which the blind will ‘see’. The first has more to do with actual sight – bionic eyes. (From https://circuitdigest.com/article/bionic-eye ) A Bionic Eye is a technology fundamentally built around computer vision, human-computer interfacing, neural circuitry implants, and the receptor sensors themselves. Basically, they allow the light waves entering the bionic eye to be processed in a manner similar to the ways natural eyes work themselves. This is a considerable feat of engineering, but the human eye is such a complex and advanced entity that modelling it is a formidable challenge. However, these bionic eyes have restored basic eyesight to those suffering from illnesses such as retinal pigmentosa and macular degeneration. The eyesight restored is very primitive. However, it is a massive leap from seeing nothing at all, and technology will only improve this state-of-the-art device as time progresses. An AI Assistant to the Blind What if I told you that there was already an app installable on your phone that describes everything your phone camera points to? With the right configuration, this will change everything as far as a blind person is concerned. ‘ A blind person, with this app, that uses image recognition, computer vision, and deep neural networks has, for all purposes, a digital ‘friend’ who can describe everything around them, be it the denomination of currency notes or the expression of a persons face. For more, see below. EyeSense Is A New AI App That Helps the Blind Discover the World ID Labs developed EyeSense, an Artificial Intelligence application that helps blind and visually impaired people discover their surroundings, while also enhancing human-to-human connection. The AI app is also of great value for individuals with mild cognitive impairment – including memory, language, and thinking skill. EyeSense uses a deep learning-based computer vision to recognize objects and special facial features – like smiles and winks – with no need for an internet connection. Just point the EyeSense camera towards an object of interest and listen to the app identify it. EyeSense has the ability to easily “learn” new objects and recognize them from many different viewpoints in real-time. This can be done with no internet connection and with an easy training process. The design philosophy behind EyeSense lies in the ability to personalize each user’s expersience, and to enhance human-to-human interaction. is thus a remarkable technology-assisted enabler for the blind, for two simple reasons EyeSense it works offline it is capable of user personalization. Human-Computer Interfaces are going to change the ways we think, live, and work. All that you’ve seen till now is just the beginning. A revolution will take place, giving humans computer-like abilities and computers human-like abilities. It’s a very exciting prospect! Home Automation – the Role of Google Home and Amazon Echo AI-devices that manage homes like Amazon Echo provide unprecedented access to the entire world for the visually impaired. With Google Home, for example, one can surf the net, listen to songs, send messages, set alarms, start and stop home appliances, access radio channels. And much, much more. That too, the cheapest of these devices, the Amazon Echo Dot, is just 49 USD! The world is changing. Don’t let a blind person remain ignorant of these technological advances and And this home automation task list is just growing bigger and bigger every single minute, every single day. educate, educate, educate. The Deaf Will Hear. Now this has some precedents. Blindness, of course, is the greatest disability. But being deaf is bad as well! How can AI possibly improve the lives of the deaf? As it turns out, it can. And massively so! Speech Recognition, Captioning, and Conversion of ASL to Spoken English Microsoft has partnered with several industry leaders to bring a audio-enabled classroom to several universities in the United States and abroad. Perhaps Microsoft’s best move was to appoint a wonderful leader and a deaf person herself, Jenny Lay-Flurrie, who has brought in some wonderful innovation to the deaf using speech recognition technology and automatic speech captioning. This makes it possible for the deaf to hear what people are saying with apps that translate multiple languages to English text that people can read on the phone or their laptops. In fact, the technology is even capable of converting American Sign Language (ASL) to English in real-time! Bionic Ears You might say, all right, Thomas. AI translates speech to visual text. But you promised that the deaf would hear. Actually hear! Yes - I did. Have a look at one of the latest discoveries in hearing aids – bionic ears. The quote from http://www.bionicsinstitute.org/stories/bionic-ears-and-how-they-change-the-brain/: 30 years ago, the potential for deaf children to communicate verbally was greatly diminished. Now with bionic ears, and educational support, people with even a profound hearing loss can speak clearly and confidently – many even learn multiple languages. 5-year-old bilateral cochlear implant recipient Alana Brown has a passion for music and dancing. Alana was born profoundly deaf and received her first cochlear implant at 16 months and her second at 22 months. Alana’s family have written a poem about the change this made in their lives We cried the day that we found out, she could not hear a whisper even a shout. Sounds of music and birds that sing she couldn’t hear a single thing. Now a miracle has made her hear, it bought us hope and joy and many more tears. Now our girl can hear these things, can dance and move and even sing Doctors and audiologists observed that children implanted early in life like Alana respond very well to communications training. This was thought to be the result of brain plasticity – the ability of the brain to re-organize itself by forming new connections between brain cells (neurons) via new experiences. In the case of the bionic ear, the new experience is sound, from the device stimulating the auditory nerve in the cochlea. And this is not even examining the many and numerous advances that have taken place in the field of hearing aids assisted technologies. Is anyone you know deaf? Well – The only barrier between them and hearing is finance. Nothing else! Now you may have a question – how are all these advances taking place? What is the underlying technology behind all these developments? The answer is or for short. What is so special about them that enables them to do all these seemingly impossible things? I promise to devote one section to that at the end of this article. For now, let’s move on! artificial neural networks ANNs The Lame Will Walk This is one subject that is – well – easy to analyse. Being lame is one of the most serious disabilities a person can have. There are varying degrees of lameness. But to show how AI can contribute to overcoming this obstacle – well – have a look below! Bio-Prostheses How can AI help the lame to walk? The answer in one word – robotics! Well, to be more accurate – Human-Computer Interfacing through electrical chips and robot appendages wherever the missing limbs may be. There is even a video of a girl actually playing violin with a robotic arm, I won’t embed it but I am giving the link below just so that you, the reader, will understand exactly the amazing possibilities for someone missing any part of their body to enable normal functioning using technology and AI (the fuzzy logic control system for each limb, leg, arm, hand, foot, etc, used instead of PIDs (Google it), yes, that’s AI too!). The Miracle Violinist That Had Judges in Tears - Manami Ito’s World’s Best Audition Prostheses are essentially synthetic duplicates used in place of your missing limb. To connect a limb to the brain, so that the handicapped patient can use it properly, a little computer circuitry is need, as well as a knowledge of the brain. The wonder between our ears that all human beings on Earth possess is essentially an electromagnetic machine, with really, really, low voltages. Sending signals to and from the brain is possible using intricate bio-electric circuitry. How does this control system work? You guessed it – (in most cases). artificial neural networks Don’t confuse ANNs with real biological neurons, that equipment interfacing with the brain’s electromagnetic signals is a piece of computer circuitry – an embedded microprocessor. The control system that maps the brains signals to the movements of the prosthesis – which is a pattern recognition problem – is where you will find the ANN. Brain neurons have computer circuits and chips that are implanted so that the interfacing works correctly. The Dumb will Speak Now this is one of the most well-known and well-documented cases where those incapable of speech were given the ability to communicate through computers and technology. We will take one of the most celebrated of the dumb and the paralyzed – the cosmologist Stephen Hawking. Stephen William Hawking was born in 1942 and was a theoretical physicist. In 1963, he was diagnosed with progressive motor neuron disease (MND; also known as or Lou Gehrig's disease) that gradually paralysed him over the decades. amyotrophic lateral sclerosis "ALS" Even after the loss of his speech, he was still able to communicate through a speech-generating device, initially through use of a hand-held switch, and eventually by using a single cheek muscle. He died on 14 March 2018 at the age of 76, after living with the disease for more than 50 years. What is so remarkable about Stephen Hawking was his incredible prolificity despite his illness. Even while completely paralysed and unable to move, let alone talk, he published several books, authored an innumerable number of research papers, the last being published in 2018 just before his death, changed the entire world’s understanding about life and history, and became one of the most iconic of all British celebrities. His most famous book, sold over 9 million copies and was translated into several languages. A Brief History of Time How did Hawking Communicate? As the disease spread, Hawking became less mobile and began using a wheelchair, and finally was totally paralysed barring one muscle in his left cheek. A speech-generating device combined with a software program, served as his electronic voice, allowing Hawking to select his words by moving the muscles in his cheek. Think about it. He supervised 39 PhD students, won practically every single award available for scientists worldwide, with an illness so crippling that he was given a life expectancy of 2 years in Once again, it was and a speech generator using cheek gestures (another victory for the artificial neural network construct) that helped him speak, and it was developed at the University of Cambridge. 1963. AI to the rescue The Artificial Neural Network Magic Here, we’re going to take a little detour and deliver the goods on neural networks as promised. Why are neural nets so popular and so widely used? The answer lies in an AI science concept called the Universal Approximation theorem. to quote Wikipedia: In the mathematical theory of artificial neural networks, the universal approximation theorem states that a feed-forward network with a single hidden layer containing a finite number of neurons can approximate continuous functions on compact subsets of Rn, under mild assumptions on the activation function. The theorem thus states that simple neural networks can represent a wide variety of interesting functions when given appropriate parameters; however, it does not touch upon the algorithmic learnability of those parameters. One of the first versions of the theorem was proved by George Cybenko in 1989 for sigmoid activation functions. Kurt Hornik showed in 1991 that it is not the specific choice of the activation function, but rather the multilayer feedforward architecture itself which gives neural networks the potential of being universal approximators. The output units are always assumed to be linear. Let me translate that into English for you. Given enough data, a neural network with at least one hidden layer can map any real number set to any real number set. What does that mean? It means that you can ‘approximate’ any process in the world and extrapolate, predict, interpret, interpolate, forecast and simulate any natural process using a sufficient amount of data. But that opens up the whole world! Every single process is a function of some sort or the other! A process with inputs and outputs can be viewed as a function. What do we know about it? Nothing! But that’s the beauty of it – we don’t need to know anything about the function! Given enough input and output data, a neural network can approximate practically anything you want in the entire universe. To help you understand, here is a woefully incomplete list of the applications of artificial neural networks: Speech Recognition. Pattern Recognition Pattern Detection Image Processing Self-Driving Cars Speech Processing (Stephen Hawking?) Natural Language Processing Forecasting Regression Classification Fuzzy Control Systems (artificial leg?) Cancer Detection Anomaly Detection Video Games Playing AI Deep Learning Reinforcement Learning Scientific Simulation Voice Recognition Face Recognition … I can easily add 30 more entries without losing my breath, unfortunately I’m already over my word limit. So, I hope you understand now. Artificial Neural Networks act as Universal Function Approximators. As simple as that. Call for Compassion If there is one word to sum up this entire 21st century, it is indifference. Syrians crucified in the Middle East. People dying of hunger, thirst, and famine in Africa. Somalia. Ethiopia. North Indians butchering fellow countrymen over a cow. And that same cow treated with more respect than women are treated with in India (famously titled Hindustan/Rapistan). What’s our reaction? (My words – from the lips of Thomas Cherickal) “What’s there for breakfast today? I just finished reading the paper.” We need to identify and act for the oppressed. Sponsoring AI devices for the poor who can’t afford it all over the world would be an incredible first step. Any millionaires reading this? Mark Zuckerberg? Bill and Melinda Gates? (yes, their foundation already does wonderful work). Mukesh Ambani? Amir Khan? Roger Federer? Sachin Tendulkar? Priyanka Chopra? I know all of us want to leave a good impact on the world. A lasting legacy. So, my plea to all the super-rich and super-famous – be role models. Give technology that removes disabilities to the underprivileged (in person - so that you’re not scammed). Make it a mega-project. As for me, I’m going to see how many months I need to earn enough to sponsor a prosthetic for a lame child in Africa. Be human. Be genuine. Be compassionate. “ ”― Mandy Hale, The Single Woman: Life, Love, and a Dash of Sass There is nothing more beautiful than someone who goes out of their way to make life beautiful for others. Cheers! References Blindness https://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/2017/11/15/artificial-intelligence-is-helping-blind-people-to-see_a_23278974/ https://circuitdigest.com/article/bionic-eye http://id-labs.org/ai-app-eyesense/ https://www.visionaware.org/info/everyday-living/helpful-products/using-apps/seeing-ai-app/1235 Deafness https://blogs.microsoft.com/ai/ai-powered-captioning/ http://www.bionicsinstitute.org/stories/bionic-ears-and-how-they-change-the-brain/ Lameness https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prosthesis Dumbness http://www.hawking.org.uk/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Hawking https://www.scienceabc.com/innovation/stephen-hawking-cheek-communication-help-computer-speech-generating-device.html

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