Dorsey was recently interviewed at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View; Dorsey is bullish on the future of blockchain describing it as the "next big unlock"; believes that people need to be thoughtful in the applications of blockchain, focusing on what are the best applications of the technology; also discusses bitcoin and how it is beginning to reach more people. Source
In an opinion piece on American Banker, General Counsel of US Century Bank argues that community banks could gain a lot from using blockchain technology; unlike big banks they don't have resources to test ideas and spend millions of dollars; pooling their resources or joining a consortium would be the best way forward to begin to test usages of the technology; engaging with the big four bank vendors is another idea; FIS, Fiserv, Jack Henry and D+H provide the core banking software at most banks and ensuring a dialogue with them is crucial; increased efficiency can help community banks stay competitive in an environment that is becoming more crowded by the day. Source
NTT Data, Japan's largest IT services firm, has announced a new blockchain consortium; 13 participating members including three of Japan's megabanks: the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Mizuho and the Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation; other notable participants represent industries such as insurance, logistics, and import and export trade; the consortium's objectives include exploring the lead up to and validation of the feasibility of blockchain applications; the consortium will be officially launched on August 30 and expected to last until March 2018. Source
Inter-bank payments platform Swift says it is a step closer to adopting blockchain; a project that could potentially move member bank accounts to the blockchain and provide for real time reconciliation is now ready for its next phase; the project is focused on dormant funds held in various currencies supporting transactions. Source
The companies are grouped into 16 categories with total average fundraising from all 100 companies of $14 million; year to date ICO fundraising is at $1.5 billion with the top fundraisings from Filecoin and Tezos; in the US, most are falling within the SEC's definition of securities issuances, with the prevalent testing measure being the Howey Test. Source
Bank of America has filed over 20 blockchain and cryptocurrency-related patent applications since 2014; recent applications include the use of blockchain as a distributed database supporting the flow of certain actions; other patents involve the control of data, information verification, peer-to-peer payments and the protection of a generic cryptocurrency. Source
In speaking to CoinDesk, AngelList CEO Naval Ravikant said he is looking to fund a blockchain alternative to Twitter; he explained that the prize will be awarded to anyone who can build a Twitter alternative and where people can monetize the contributions; this is part of a program that will help developers who are looking to build applications on the Blockstack platform; Naval tells CoinDesk, "I am indeed helping the Blockstack team and will be donating a small prize for a decentralized microblogging service." Source
Decentraland is looking to create a virtual world where blockchain serves as a registry for digital plots of land; users who mine a block get ownership of the land which can eventually be traded; according to an article in March on the current version of the project, users can build structures using cubes, spheres and plains with more complex features being added in the future; the company hopes to bring support to VR headsets; the company raised 86,206 ether in a little over an hour. Source
Credit Suisse is leading a blockchain project seeking to develop a blockchain-based platform for syndicated loans; Emmanuel Aidoo from Credit Suisse is leading the project which began last fall and is expected to launch in 2018; the platform would involve more efficient processing of syndicated loans which involve multiple lenders providing capital to a corporate borrower; the parties involved believe that a blockchain-based syndicated loan platform could increase deal flow by reducing costs and processing time, making syndicated loans a more attractive investment for lenders. Source
TechCrunch reports that OmiseGO (OMG) and Qtum both surpassed $1 billion in market cap; they became the first subtokens built on ethereum and subsequently sold to investors to pass the $1 billion mark; both companies have achieved this in staggeringly short amounts of time; OMG raised $25 million in July and now tokens are valued at over $11 compared to $0.27 at the time of the raise; Qtum raised $15.6 million in March with tokens now priced over $17; both companies do not have an actual product available in the market. Source
