After the goldrush comes the crash, over 800 cryptocurrencies are now dead
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Every market has its successes and failures and just like any investment ICO’s can gain and loose value too, making due diligence as important as ever. Anyone who reads any sort of business newspaper will know that cryptocurrency projects have been popping up left,...
IBM joins Sovrin Foundation to give individuals back control of their data
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Today there is no way you can control who uses or shares your information, despite regulations like GDPR, but Self-Soverign ID systems like this one gives users the power to control their own online information. It looks almost inevitable that Facebook will be punished,...
Hackers use 51 percent attack to commandeer three cryptocurrencies, steal millions
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF 51 percent attacks are rare, but as criminals continue to gain access to more computing power smaller cryptocurrency networks are in increasing danger of being comandeered. This week not one but three cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin Gold, Verge Coin, and Monacoin, were hit with a rarely seen cyber...
Air France KLM and Microsoft use blockchain to improve MRO
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Blockchain has enormous potential to improve the efficiency of supply chains and especially MRO, and this is one of the world’s first proof of concepts. Air France KLM’s engineering and maintenance division is evaluating the potential for Blockchain to become its new digital ledger...
Futurist keynote, Reading: Adapt or Die, Cherwell European Conference
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF The pace of change, and disruption, is accelerating. In this presentation I show just how fast, and how crazy, the world’s business environment is getting, it’s impact on every sector, and what you can do to future proof yourself. Firstly, I’d like to thank...
Decentralised energy grids and renewables get a boost from Centrica
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Renewable energy, and decentralised micro and tied-storage grids, are transforming the way energy is produced, transmitted and sold, so Centrica is testing the waters to see whether or not blockchain could play a vital role in the future of energy. Blockchain is increasingly being...
The world’s first Quantum blockchain is a “quantum time machine”
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF The introduction of Quantum computers threaten to undermine the encryption that supports all of today’s blockchain technologies so researchers are trying to develop blockchains that are immune from future attacks. A newly proposed Quantum Blockchain, which at first glance loosely resembles the Quantum Safe...
Basis creates a stable crypto currency, raises $133m from A-list investors
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF The value of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies swing wildly by the day making them almost useless as a medium of exchange, Basis has designed a stable cryptocurrency and if it works it “could replace money”. On its debut nearly a decade ago, one of...
UPS bets on blockchain to transform the $1 Trillion shipping industry
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Today’s global supply chains are plagued by a multitude of challenges, both bureaucratic and logistical, blockchain technology used correctly reduces the friction and eliminates many of them. The world is run by trade. Freight and logistics in the US alone account for nearly $1.5...
IBM wants to combine AI and blockchain to transform healthcare
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF AI and blockchain are two incredibly powerful technologies, but for different reasons, however, when they’re combined their significance, and impact, becomes even greater. The combination of Blockchain and Artificial Intelligence (AI) “could bring significant improvements to a healthcare sector plagued by interoperability problems and...
Ethereum falls after rumours of new powerful ASIC emerge
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF The more centralised the mining of an individual cryptocurrency becomes, especially if it leverages new, more powerful technology, the greater the impact on a cryptocurrencies value. Rumors of a new ASIC mining rig from Bitmain have driven Ethereum prices well below their one week high of...
IBM breaks the record for the world’s smallest computer
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF As computers continue to shrink it allows organisations to dream up new ways of using them, and in IBM’s case they want to use their new tech to help cryptographically secure the Internet of Things. Each year IBM showcases “5 in 5” technologies coming...
Companies have a plan to fix blockchain’s massive energy problem
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Processing Bitcoin is now consuming more energy than Denmark uses in a year, and as cryptocurrencies become increasingly popular their energy consumption is, literally, starting to affect the planet. You’d have to be almost deaf and blind to not notice that at the moment...
Blockchain without the miners, IOTA unveil their revolutionary new cryptocurrency
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Mining cryptocurrency is an incredibly contentious, complex, and energy expensive operation, but now a German non-profit has built a cryptocurrency that does away with miners completely, and they’re being backed by the biggest names in tech. Bitcoin isn’t the only cryptocurrency on a hot...
Pioneering blockchain experiment rewards volunteering and helping the community
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Most volunteering goes unrewarded and undocumented but Hull’s pioneering social blockchain experiment rewards people for helping the community. Volunteers and community workers in Hull in the UK will soon be able to obtain discounts at local retailers and even reductions in their council tax...
Futurist keynote, Paris: The Future of Sustainable Cities, ChangeNOW Summit
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF The effect that climate change and pollution is having on our society and wellbeing is well documented but it’s clear from this summit that for every problem we face there are hundreds of innovative solutions. Firstly, a big thanks to the wonderful team, lead...
Blockchain Autonomous Organisations, a new way to tackle corporate fuelled wealth inequality?
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Automation and the emergence of powerful, centralised platform companies are, arguably, helping fuel wealth inequality, could blockchain based distributed autonomous organisations be an answer? Many people know that Blockchain is the pivotal technology behind all of today’s major cryptocurrencies, like Bitcoin, and while it...
Russia announces plans to create its own national cryptocurrency
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF With more countries starting to develop and deploy their own national cryptocurrencies it’s only going to be a matter of time before they become the norm, that said though that time is still decades away Hot on the heels of China, Estonia and Sweden...
Infographic: The Future of Money
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF The future of money is an emotive topic but it can be characterised by being cashless, digital, and varied. A little while ago at the iGaming Show in Amsterdam I was asked to present a keynote on “The Future of Money” and then, shortly...
Ditch your telco provider, Blockchain based Mesh networks are coming to town
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Connectivity is ubiquitous, so we’re told, but today all these different communications channels are siloed and isolated, over the next decade, or two, devices will be able to hop between them all at will. Mesh networks, which ironically are the very same sorts of...
