Author: CoinSpectator

Since the inception of cryptocurrency, a core value among enthusiasts and evangelists in the space has been a necessity for merchant adoption. Now, nine years since the creation of Bitcoin, some merchant integration has been seen, but the technology as a whole has yet to provide a seamless method for widespread adoption among consumers and producers alike. However, the SONDER project could potentially be the key component, the link that unites blockchain with merchants throughout the world.

Conceived in the Summer of 2017, SONDER represents an evolution in e-commerce initiatives in the blockchain sphere. Currently, a number of roadblocks: high fees, slow transactions, and a lack of transparency, has previously inhibited merchants from adopting blockchain market platforms. SONDER is a custom blockchain platform that addresses each of these issues through an ecosystem that is also both secure and easy-to-use for businesses and consumers alike.

Soft cap achieved

Recently, SONDER (SNR) has hit the US$4 million mark to reach the soft cap of the ICO. The hard cap rests at $6 million, and over $5.2 million in total contributions, that cap is poised to be achieved very shortly. The SONDER team is comprised of veterans and heavyweight in business settings throughout Japan and Europe. Investors see the capabilities of the team in forging a platform that accurately meets the needs of vendors worldwide, and, more importantly, connect them in a seamless manner to the new capabilities presented by blockchain infrastructure. The global e-commerce industry is worth close to US$2 trillion. With a hard cap of just $6 million, the payoff from a successful SONDER future is monumental.

SONDER offers a whole array of benefits unmatched by existing e-commerce opportunities in the cryptocurrency space. Merchants and consumers alike benefit from a zero fee ecosystem. With SONDER’s own API and SDK, integration on and usage of the platform is as simple as possible. End-to-end encryption, secure messaging, and Tor integration ensure a completely private, untraceable, and secure experience for every participant involved.

On top of this, the platform is equipped to handle different cryptocurrencies and even fiat currencies, further expanding the inclusivity provided. The custom blockchain, with near-instant transactions, is also equipped to scale far beyond the capacities of traditional e-commerce cryptocurrencies. Holders of SNR are also incentivized through the integration of high yielding masternodes. As the platform is developed and grows, individuals with masternodes will see their balances increase alongside inevitable price increases.

The ICO is concluding shortly, and with less than US$800,000 worth of SNR for sale, its imperative to look into SONDER sooner, rather than later. The price of SNR is pegged to .00007 ETH, with 70% of the 240 million supply distributed through crowdsale. Shortly following the crowdsale, SNR will see listing with major exchanges. This is shortly followed by an Alpha launch of the platform in the third quarter of this year, with the mobile app emerging in the following quarter. In the first quarter of 2019, both masternodes and the SONDER mainnet will launch. By the second quarter of next year, the SONDER platform will be fully published, with the zero fee ecosystem open to users worldwide.

Dr. Paolo Tasca, Executive Director at UCL Centre for Blockchain Technologies (CBT), Advisor on Blockchain for EU Parliament and the UN on OSA DC’s Mission to Renovate Retail.

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Why did you choose to join the OSA DC team as an advisor?

So basically I find that applying blockchain, artificial intelligence, and data analytics to the fast moving consumer good market is very interesting. I didn’t see any companies in the market taking OSA DC’s approach, so when they contacted me, I was very enthusiastic and I was happy to join the advisory board. It’s also a step ahead of its pees. It’s not just a whitepaper; there’s a serious team backing the project, which has already developed some milestones in the sector with the OSA Hybrid Platform. They have a strong expertise in AI, big data analytics, and blockchain, and their expertise was another strong factor to get me to join the advisory board.

I also like OSA’s combination of different technologies. The team understands something very important, something few companies and teams have understood so far in this industry. This is, the fact that you cannot treat the blockchain as the panacea to cure all the problems in the world. Rather, it is a medicine that needs to be used with other technologies to heal the system’s problems. You need artificial intelligence, machine learning, decentralized process management, image recognition technology, and so on. These are all part of the same toolbox, and I think the fact that they use this technology together is very unique — no one else is doing what they’re doing.

Do you feel that you can influence the industry on a personal level by working with the OSA DC team?

Well I hope so. I think that we are moving towards an era of real-time, high frequency data exchange between humans and Internet of Things (IoT) technology. Projections say that by 2030 there will be something like 100 billion IoT devices that we will exchange information with, so we need to collect this information somehow. The best way to do so is to give power back to citizens, to give them control over their data, and the tool do this is blockchain. So the fact that OSA decided to design their ecosystem on a blockchain platform that works with AI is very promising. The users, the consumers can decide whether they want to share, how much they want to share, and by doing so, they are rewarded, so they are actively taking part in the sharing economy. They basically take part in the production process because they help retailers and manufacturers to analyse consumer behavior and they alert them to product anomalies and risks.

Instead of having a monopolistic control, centralized control over the platform’s data — the kind of control we’ve seen over data for services like Facebook, Uber, and other centralized platforms — with OSA DC, we are creating a decentralized platform where the raw data and its use is directed by the people based on a community-driven reputation system. So bottom line, the people, the consumers are in control of the platform, and this is the major difference between OSA DC and the first wave of data management platforms that I’ve seen so far.

Do you think that the innovate technologies OSA integrates will improve the retail industry? Is it ready to accept the change?

Well yes, of course! We have a lot of data so we need to decide what we want to do with it. We have two choice. We can either ignore it and not collect it, or we can empower informational services with this data. I think the choice here is obvious, so we should go the second route by empowering ourselves with a larger informational reserve which allow us to make wiser, more intelligent decisions. Now, how we do that — that’s the tricky part. If we do it by centralizing everything and stealing information from consumers, this will not be beneficial for the consumer or the industry at large. But if we keep the consumer as an integral part of the production process, allowing them to interact directly with the producers, then this will be beneficial for all involved in the long run.

What are the key concerns you experience with the retail supply chain as a consumer?

The major concern that I have, which happens very often, is not being able to find the same product for the same brand across different stores. For instance, when I go to buy my favorite brand of buffalo mozzarella in the grocery store near my flat, it’s often out of stock on the shelf. So I have to walk more than a mile to the next shop to find the mozzarella that I want to buy, or I need to adjust my choice to find the next best brand.

So shelf stock-outs are the main problems that I see in my case. But also, you know, there’s the problem of having overly expensive prices. I find it difficult to justify some of these prices, because they cover retail market’s inefficient processes — you’re not paying for the product; you’re paying for the overhead. These are the most frustrating things that I find when I shop.

Absolutely, so something like OSA DC’s product master catalogue and its product registry and look-up would help tremendously with these problems.

Yes, absolutely.

How, in your opinion, can consumer data collection improve retail business processes?

It depends on how you handle the data. So here, OSA DC wants to use two important technologies: AI and image recognition, both for big data analytics. If you use AI, then you have a method to recognize data patterns, which enables the platform to forecast problems, such as in-store product shortages. Such problems can be detected by the AI, which can then respond to them in a timely manner. And image recognition is very useful from the consumer side of things. You enable the consumers to be able to pinpoint the products they really want, making sure that they match their expectations and diets. So if you integrated this with healthcare data, this could help consumers to make purchases based on the diet recommendations of a physician and help them to make healthier, more informed purchasing decisions.

Once you put all of this data on the blockchain, thus securing its integrity, all of this is very powerful.

Do you think it is important to encourage cooperation between each party — consumer and manufacturer, at each stage of product circulation?

Of course. Like I was saying earlier, connecting consumers to producers and retailers can only improve services, because it introduces a new level of cooperation and support. And this will help to provide value to the industry in a more holistic way, as it engages every actor involved with the industry.

What are the key innovations you believe in the most and why?

So there’s no particular technology that makes me say, “Ok, this is a breakthrough that has never been used before.” But the novelty of this ecosystem is its design and how the combination of technologies are put together and put to use. This originality has given us a very powerful platform, a very powerful tool to connect consumers to retailers, retailers to manufacturers, producers to consumers — all of the people in the supply chain are connected on a different level through this data. OSA DC connects all of them using these tools. So basically, the design of the platform is the kicker. It’s a new combination of existing technologies, not unlike blockchain itself. Blockchain is novel because it’s putting together all of these old technologies into something new. So the same for the platform here. I see this as an evolving platform that will mature over time with the help of artificial intelligence and big data analytics, so I think the combination of all these cutting edge technologies makes OSA DC truly novel in design.

How do you see the retail industry in 5 years and OSA DC’s role in it?

Yeah, so it is very difficult to predict the market. What’s interesting for me, what’s important to consider is that it is an agnostic platform. It’s a kind of research and development lab which is providing a platform which is put together in a regional fashion, and this will serve and bring power to the retail industry. But this same platform could be applied to other sectors. So I would say I think that OSA DC should be an industry agnostic platform, one that could expand to other services and industries in the future. Also, the fast moving consumer goods market has a large amount of available data, so we need to figure out how we can store, transfer, process, use, and power decisions using this data. So for retail specifically, given its first-mover advantage, I think OSA DC is well positioned in this sector, and I have high hopes for it even five years from now, especially considering I believe it can be applied to other sectors.

https://www.paolotasca.com/

We all know how difficult it has been to accept payments from multiple cryptocurrencies, whether it be via apps, websites, or d-apps –until now. The OPEN Blockchain platform makes it easy and that’s why it grew threefold since it went public, while Ethereum is sitting stagnant on exchanges.

Accepting In-App Cryptocurrency Payments Just Got Easier with OPEN Chain

OPEN is currently available on KuCoin exchange and supports trading in OPEN/BTC as well as OPEN/ETH. If you´re interested in making the dream of an interoperable crypto payment processing tool finally become a reality, be sure to explore (and invest in) OPEN Chain.

Recently the OPEN team proudly introduced the world’s first multi-cryptocurrency payment solution. It works a lot like Stripe, and is perfectly interoperable with a range of existing blockchains.

Previously this space was dominated by Ethereum. However, unlike Ethereum, the OPEN Blockchain platform can be easily implemented by e-commerce businesses, making this new technology a once in a lifetime investment opportunity.

All You Need in Order to Accept Crypto Payments Is a Few Simple Lines of Code

That’s right. And that’s why OPEN Blockchain Platform is set pick up where Ethereum fumbled; it will allow developers and sellers to support cryptocurrency payments on an unprecedented scale, all the while accepting multiple coins and running extremely fast.

The philosophy at the core of OPEN is this: to make one simple online solution that will process all the bits and pieces that go into crypto payment processing –and provide it as a single, elegant service; kind of like how Stripe has revolutionized FIAT payment processing. OPEN aspires to do the same with cryptocurrency.

Let’s take a deeper look into the idea and inner workings of OPEN now.

Who’s Backing OPEN Chain?

A few names you may recognize (from such projects such as Zilliqa, Ontology or VeChain) are presently backing OPEN: NEO, DHVC, Draper Dragon, Jeremy Gardner, Sora Ventures, RChain, and most recently Element Group.

The team behind OPEN Blockchain project no less impressive. You will find people like Roger Lim (NEO Global Capital), Lorne Lantz (Paypal Partner & Payments), Will Bunker (Match.com), John Gardiner (Facebook Messenger Apps & Games), Andrew Leung (Grindr) and Steven Zhang (backed by MaRSDD & Velocity Accelerator), among others.

Why Is OPEN Chain a Unique Proposition?

It’s clear by now that there is no use in repeating the same ideas and concepts over and over again if what we seek to achieve is a more efficient and practical payment solution.

The difference is all about the technology under the hood.

The OPEN Blockchain platform operates as a harmony of several different elements: OPEN Cluster, Scaffolds, OPEN State, as well as Blockchain Load Balancing Protocol.

It uses their Rapid Consensus mechanism, thus preserving the integrity of data and ensuring speed.

The OPEN cluster functions as an ecosystem of multiple blockchains making use of gateway applications known as Scaffolds, which then transmit data into OPEN States.

Every time a developer deploys a new blockchain, Scaffolds are added immediately to the cluster.

OPEN States link to the backend of applications where they provide a source for every piece of on-chain data transmitted through the blockchain cluster.

All data is processed on the fly and in parallel, via the Blockchain Load Balancing Protocol.

The details behind the OPEN Chain can be read in their most recent whitepaper here.

How Do These Elements Integrate?

The Rapid Consensus mechanism processes all payments on the OPEN Chain, which then sends it through the Blockchain Load Balancing Protocol to make sure it gets quickly distributed to all chains within the cluster.

Comparing the OPEN Blockchain platform to Traditional FIAT Payment Processing

There is an increasingly large demand worldwide for a cryptocurrency payment processing solution that would work as smoothly as traditional FIAT systems, while handling multiple cryptocurrencies, yet without having any centralized governing authority built into it. This is where OPEN comes in.

The simplicity for developers and how it feels for consumers who use OPEN are quite similar to those of Stripe.

Likewise, it is very simple to implement it on apps, d-apps, websites, e-commerce shops and other platforms. The cost-effectiveness of the system is second to none. Also, it has traceability in common with traditional payment methods, meaning that payments can be tied and tracked back to users, and account funds are verified before processing payments.

It works for both single purchases as well as subscriptions, and has support for shipping logic and various metrics is also possible to incorporate.

Larger businesses will appreciate the OPEN API, which will allow them to implement changes on an app-wide level, thus eliminating the inherent risks of new technology.

On the other hand, developers of highly popular apps and games will no longer be dependent on the existing payment solutions baked into app stores like those owned by Apple and Google.

Most importantly, for the ordinary user, the experience will be much like what they´re already used to –except for the sky-high processing fees typically attached by third parties (PayPal, anyone?).

This will allow developers of new crypto-ready apps (at any skill level) to start developing their apps with no more fear of the complications related to payments and support.

What Do You Think?

A decade after Bitcoin, it seems the world continues using traditional payment methods.

Users of all blockchains are particularly fond of the speed it allows, both for businesses and customers alike.

Hard forks –that were meant to speed up existing blockchains— and decreasing public trust have caused entire coins (including large capital stores) to fold.

There is definitely a problem with most mainstream coins; this is where OPEN can step in to help.

Don´t Miss This Investment Opportunity

Taking in the lessons learned from existing blockchains – Ethereum being too narrow, Bitcoin too slow – OPEN has set out to allow supporters around the world to finally get their foot in the door, and into the game. They do this by providing unprecedented speed, scalability, and wide-ranging cryptocurrency adoption.

The team behind OPEN have made it no secret that major announcements are coming very soon – and certainly, those who get on board early on will have significantly higher margins, as well as a strategic advantage.

If you believe OPEN to be the next big thing (which it is!), then definitely check it out: it´s available currently at KuCoin Exchange. OPEN/BTC and OPEN/ETH trading pairs are supported.

Being its first official listing partner, KuCoin is helping the OPEN Blockchain platform provide new investors with a hunger for innovation the same kind of once-in-a-lifetime chance they may have missed with Bitcoin.

Ubanx bridges the gap between a mainstream audience and the blockchain world.

During the Money Summit conference, Pablo Orlando, Ubanx’ President & Chairman, announced the world’s first one-stop blockchain place offering an easy onboarding to blockchain technologies. The company plans to open a network of retail stores, known as Ubanx Spaces, where the public will access a curated selection of the best blockchain products and financial services.

Ubanx connects a mainstream audience to the blockchain world, ensuring friendly, secure, frictionless and compliant experiences. Via strategic partnerships, Ubanx will provide a one-of-a-kind blockchain experience. Partners will provide market-ready, proven solutions to integrate into the Ubanx value proposition, including: hardware wallet providers, education institutions, frequent flyer programs, co-working spaces and exchanges just to name a few.

BANX token holders can enjoy the following benefits, along with using a cryptocurrency as money to be spent or exchanged:

• Your First Blockchain Account, easily buy or sell cryptocurrencies, and access the best financial services on blockchain, such as P2P lending or remittance.
• Access to PriorityPass, the world’s largest independent airport lounge access program.
• In-Store Retail Products, at the Spaces customers will find a selection of the best blockchain hardware equipment, including trading terminals, mining equipment, and hardware wallets in partnership with Trezor™
• Ubanx Express Locations and ATMs, a network of Pop-up Spaces, featuring the essential infrastructure to onboard customers. Operated by third parties like shopping malls or co-working spaces.
• Ubanx University, a place where the community will get an approach to the blockchain through training and courses in a seamless and secure way.

Firstly, Ubanx will open exclusive flagship stores, called Ubanx Spaces, in key cities around the world, where local customers can learn and access the latest developments in financial services and instruments. Similar to the perks that are common at most co-working spaces, Ubanx Spaces will provide free private meeting rooms for customers, an auditorium for meet-ups and startup-related presentations, and an amazing support team made up of fintech and blockchain experts.

In addition, with the BANX token as a medium, the Community will be able to operate a Ubanx Space via Ubanx RTOs (Right to Operate). They will participate in auctions -run in BANX- for exclusive rights to operate Spaces in their locations, and receiving the help they need from the Ubanx HQ Team while running them.

Furthermore, Ubanx plans to launch an incubator, Ubanx Accelerator, to work with the Ubanx’ community to encourage customers to start their own blockchain-based businesses. Customers that join the Ubanx Accelerator will benefit from the company’s network of partners while Ubanx will invest in the top projects.

Key dates include: BANX Token Presale starts on April 17th 2018 and ends when all tokens are sold or on May 31st 2018. Public Token Sale starts one week after Presale and lasts 2 months.

About Ubanx

The first blockchain retail place. By deploying a network of prime brick-and-mortar locations, Ubanx connects the mainstream audience to the best blockchain financial products in the industry. Ubanx is launching a Token Sale to issue tokens, called BANX, during the Presale and the Public Token Sale.

Learn more about Ubanx on its official site.

Find Ubanx on Facebook

Follow Ubanx on Twitter

Contact Ubanx on Telegram

Yes, this is the moment most of you have been waiting for – the release date of the new ARK Core v2 codebase for public testing on DevNet (our public test network). This is not a MainNet release, only for our testing DevNet, but the code for v2 will finally be available for the world to see, test and contribute to.

“We have completely rewritten our core to make it faster, more scalable, more modular, easier to work with and some great new features. Such as Dynamic Fees and Multisig support. This rewrite has been months in the making and we are very proud to show the world what the next level of DPoS can do!” – ARK Co-Founder Travis Walker

Although most of you are familiar with our motto “ARK Gives No Dates”, this latest release needs coordination with those running DevNet delegates and relay nodes. Anyone running a DevNet node needs to be on board and prepared prior to release. Before we tell you the date, let’s review the steps that will occur during the upcoming months.

1. Release of ARK Core v2 Codebase

First, we will release the ARK Core v2 code on our public GitHub repository. This will be accompanied by a detailed blog post on the date specified for public release.

Repository will be available at : http://github.com/arkecosystem/ark-core

Current ARK Node codebase will as such become deprecated, not maintained and replaced with the new ARK Core v2 repository.

2. Preparations and installation of ARK Core on DevNet

Next, our community and delegates who are running v1 DevNet nodes on the current codebase (ARK Node) will need to update their servers with ARK Core v2.

Don’t worry, we’ll release a detailed guide on how to install/replace your current ARK Node on DevNet. It will be much simpler to install the new Core and will now support different Operating Systems (including Windows). Be prepared for many new features to test!

With this, public testing of ARK Core v2 will begin! Test it thoroughly, try the most unimaginable of things, stress it, attacking the whole dev network, catch every issue you can, report bugs, provide improvements to the code, … and the end result will be a truly stable foundation for MainNet release. But who are we kidding, DevNet is where all the fun will be at so make sure you join in!

Note that the first iteration of the new ARK Core will be 100% backwards compatible (no new transaction types that are detailed in AIP-11). You will still be able to run your old ARK Node on DevNet, but we of course want you to switch to new code as soon as possible and help test it.

3. Transition from DevNet to MainNet

After DevNet testing is complete, we will provide another date anouncing transition of the ARK Core v2 to MainNet. From ARK gives no dates to ARK gives two dates, we know this is new for us too.

Predicting a date for MainNet at this time is highly unlikely as it all depends on how the testing on DevNet will go — on how many things that need to be modified, fixed and improved. Running on an internally controlled TestNet is a different beast from a live environment with real parameters and in a more distributed manner.

4. AIP-11 Hardfork

AIP-11 types (timelock, multipayments, IPFS, delegate resignation) will be part of a hardfork that will occur after we get our initial v2 release running on the MainNet. AIP-11 will require all delegates to update in order for the network to switch and support the new transaction. This hardfork will NOT be backwards compatible (and again it will be tested beforehand on DevNet).

The timing of the AIP-11 hardfork also depends on when we get the initial ARK Core v2 update onto MainNet. We expect to start testing the hardfork as soon as possible on DevNet after v2 is running on MainNet.

So batten down the hatches, furl those sails … all hands on deck as we prepare the ARK for stormy seas as our voyage continues….

Since most of you didn’t read any of this and just scrolled down for the date, ARK Core v2 codebase will become available on: 

Thursday, the 14th of June 2018, https://ark.io/countdown

To learn more about the ARK project visit these links:

Website- https://ark.io

Blog- https://blog.ark.io/

Twitter- https://twitter.com/ArkEcosystem

YouTube- https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpc2k6zOOutGT9y56urDClg

Slack Chat- https://ark.io/slack

Steemit Blog- https://steemit.com/@arkecosystem

25 May 2018, Zurich – Thaler.One is launching a blockchain real estate platform, offering institutional and private investors the combination of high-grade European real estate investment with the liquidity, flexibility and low transaction costs of the blockchain.

This represents the democratisation of investing into real estate, a proven high-performing asset class worth $220 trillion globally, as funds, private family offices and individuals can create a balanced portfolio of assets without the need to buy whole properties.

Thaler.One has the scalability to accommodate over $10 billion in assets and has already attracted high interest from institutional investors with aggregate assets under management (AUM) exceeding Euro 76 bn.

Thaler.One operates upon stringent fund governance standards and is EU-licensed, with an SEC-compliant token placement. By incorporating this level of governance from the outset, Thaler.One creates an institutional grade platform for investors keen to explore the advantages that blockchain technology has to offer.

The Thaler.One platform consists of two parts:

• The Thaler Fund – with digital units (Thaler Tokens) representing Fund units. The proceeds from the sale of Thaler Tokens are used to acquire real estate assets for the Fund’s portfolio.
• The Thaler MarketPlace – where digital units (ThalerBlock tokens) will be issued for every real estate asset listed on the MarketPlace, allowing smaller investors to build real estate portfolios of their desired return and risk profile.

Early investors with the Thaler Fund will receive a return higher than that of traditional real estate, due to the rental yields from the Thaler Fund portfolio combined with income from the MarketPlace operations.

Investors in ThalerBlock tokens on the Thaler MarketPlace will be given the power of choice in selecting their own diversified real estate portfolio. Seasoned cryptominers can lock in their profits by linking them to different physical real estate assets, which each pay ongoing yields.

All investors will be able to buy and sell Thalers across the Thaler MarketPlace and, later, select crypto exchanges, providing the liquidity and low transaction costs not traditionally available in real estate.

Thaler.One was founded by experienced real estate individuals who have previously worked at Morgan Stanley, Cushman Wakefield and EY, with advisors from Credit Suisse, JLL and the Crypto Valley Association, Switzerland.

Unlike other crypto market participants, Thaler.One is a clearly defined security token offering, with the company adhering in all aspects to the regulatory framework required to make it legally compliant.

A full breakdown of Thaler.One’s legal structure, as well as a demonstration of how investor funds are used, is included as standard by the company.

Will Andrich, Co-founder and CEO of Thaler.One, commented:

“Our vision is to transform and democratise real estate investing. Thanks to the governance standards instilled within our offering, we are already seeing initial interest from institutional real estate investors, family offices and seasoned crypto miners. Our blockchain based approach offers confidence and security, which investors appreciate, as well as additional rewards to early supporters.

Our income model means that we need very low leverage on our assets – typically only 30-40% Loan to Value (LTV), so we can generate an overall higher income, which is then passed to our investors.”

ENDS

For more information, visit: http://thaler.one/

Media enquiries

Yellow Jersey

Adam Wurf: [email protected]

Georgina Whittle: [email protected] 

About Thaler.One

Thaler.One is a new generation real estate investment vehicle which combines an EU-licensed fund with a crowdfunding marketplace, incorporating blockchain-based technologies to fundamentally improve investor access and control.

It is transforming real estate investing by offering investors access to core European real estate with the management experience, network and governance of institutional real estate, alongside blockchain based technologies to give investors greater control and flexibility with lower costs.

The Thaler.One advisory board comprises some of the world’s most successful real estate and blockchain investors, including Michael Lange (Managing Partner at ACG, Former Chairman of the Board at JLL), Mattia Rattaggi (Swiss Crypto Valley Association, former UBS Group executive), and Saydam Salaheddin (Head of EMEA Real Estate, Credit Suisse).