Experts warn Facebook’s cryptocurrency could help it become a virtual nation
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF As more of us become a part of online communities we are seeing the rise of the world’s first virtual nations, nations without territory or borders that can threaten the status of sovereign nations. Interested in the future and want to experience even more?! eXplore...
Blockchain startups are trying to break big tech’s hold on AI
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Companies with better brand recognition, and deeper pockets, are cornering the market for AI talent, but now companies want break that hold, and they have a way to do it. Despite how easy the combination is to mock, the idea of applying the Blockchain...
Dutch firm unveils the world’s first autonomous self-balancing energy grid for EV’s
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF New powerful technologies are letting us revolutionise how we generate and deliver electricity, and autonomous, self-balancing energy grids are now a thing. A little while ago I wrote about the US Department of Energy’s plans to create the world’s first autonomous energy grid, but...
JP Morgan becomes the first major US bank to roll its own crypto coins
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Bitcoin may have its critics, but noone can argue the impact that cryptocurrencies have had on the world, and now one of the US’ biggest banks is jumping on the bandwagon. With talks of China creating the first blockchain based national cryptocurrency and Ohio...
Ohio becomes first US state to let people pay business taxes in Bitcoin
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Many investors have said Bitcoin will take off when you can pay your taxes with it, well that time might be getting closer. There’s a lot of legal uncertainty in the US surrounding cryptocurrencies, and many other investors, like Kevin O’Leary ABC show Shark Tank fame,...
Decentralised hedge funds take aim at Wall Street elite
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Services and industries are increasingly becoming decentralised, and the financial services industry is no exception. A little while ago I discussed how one hedge fund, Aidyia, is now fully autonomous, a decentralised autonomous organisation run by an AI without humans, and how another, Numerai,...
IBM breakthrough uses AI to make blockchain more energy efficient
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Mining blockchain uses up an extraordinary amount of electricity, equivalent to an entire country, so companies are trying to fix the issue. Proof of Work (PoW), the common consensus mechanism that secures Bitcoin and numerous other cryptocurrency blockchains, has given the technology a reputation for...
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,...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
Blockchain entrepreneurs are helping utilities re-invent the powergrid
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF The power grids used by most countries were born in a different era, but now, thanks to new technologies like blockchain, grid scale storage and renewables, they’re about to get upgraded. Imagine the scene, a power pole collapses at 8PM on a hot night...
Ethereum founder thinks crypto can disrupt Mastercard and Visa in “next few years”
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF The processing networks that the major credit card companies have built up over the years means that they’re difficult to disrupt, but as we learn so often difficult doesn’t mean impossible… The brain behind the runaway train that is Ethereum, Vitalik Buterin, is matter of...
Chinese Government orders the “immediate shutdown” of all Bitcoin exchanges, BTC balks
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF Bitcoin shows no sign of stopping or slowing down so regulators and governments are now starting to take the regulation and “management” of the “stateless crypto economy” more seriously A little while ago I gave a talk on the Future of Money, which is...
The Beginning Of The End: Is The Ethereum Bubble About To Burst?
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF In this opinion piece CEX.io takes a look at the Ethereum and cryptocurrency marketplace and offers their perspective on whether or not they think the bubble is about to burst Never before has the saying “Nothing lasts forever” been more applicable. Eventually everything will...
Estonia announces plans to create its own national cryptocurrency
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF The future of money is digital, and more countries around the world are drawing up plans to develop and deploy their own national cryptocurrencies, signalling the demise of the cash society and ushering in a new era of government led transparency and control. Estonia...
China’s cashless future, PBoC gets ready to launch world’s first national cryptocurrency
WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF The use of cash in society is falling and some of the world’s largest central banks are creating new cryptocurrencies and planning for a future without cash. Love the Exponential Future? Join our XPotential Community, future proof yourself with courses from XPotential University, connect, watch a keynote, or browse my...
