Blockchain Archives - Page 6 of 8

SHIPNEXT Interview: The only working Blockchain solution for Shipping

We had the pleasure of chatting with Alexander Varvarenko, CEO and Founder of SHIPNEXT, in an exclusive CoinSpectator.com interview, to find out more about one of the most promising blockchain companies in the freight industry.

Not heard of SHIPNEXT? The firm is digitalising the shipping industry with some amazing technology that aims to revolutionise how we deal with cargo.

Let’s begin:

1. Which organisation was the first to use the SHIPNEXT technology? How are they benefiting so far from using the platform?

SHIPNEXT is a product built using linear programming. natural language processing, machine learning and big data analysis. Anyone who sends a Freight request of a Ship’s position to SHIPNEXT gets an instant reply with one or more matches. The first company to use our technology was VARAMAR.

VARAMAR receives close to 10.000 emails each day, and prior using SHIPNEXT most of the clients remained without reply. In most of the cases for routes and segments where VARAMAR is not strong or not present. As a result of switching to SHIPNEXT, almost all the clients who sent their cargo/freight requests receive an instant reply with a solution.

2. The shipping industry still uses mainly paper for issuing proof of ownership; how is your solution different?

Shipping Industry is very traditional, and, historically, a “word” is considered a “bond”. The news on a breach of verbal agreement travels fast leading to bad reputation. With time any electronic message, be it an sms or an email with recapitulation of agreed terms and conditions gained force. Express bills of lading, electronic copies of Charter parties (contracts) or bills of lading are not uncommon neither.

SHIPNEXT created a solution which helps speed up the process of issuing an electronic version of a correctly filled in Charterer Party to literally a second. The open source bill of lading solution which SHIPNEXT created can be freely used by anyone to print secure, correctly and transparently made Bills of Lading.

3. Why do you think the industry needs blockchain technology? Isn’t the old saying “If it’s not broke, don’t fix it” true?

The transport industry may not be broken, but it is highly inefficient. Corruption, theft of cargo and freight, delays in transit and penalties arising as a result – these and more haunt the industry and lead add to the cost of the transported goods.

Blockchain is a technology that allows bring relative transparency, safety and efficiency. Its responsiveness to real-time data can avoid unnecessary losses – things which human being are sometimes simply not capable of being able to react to.

4. What inspired you to launch SHIPNEXT? Do you have a background in the shipping industry?

Before joining a Maritime University, I developed my own games and software. Ever since I always challenged traditional approach and technology in a conservative transport industry. With over 17 years experience in Shipping, let alone heavy and oversized cargo transportation, which I was mainly involved in, I understood that no matter what the cargo looks like, many processes remain the same.

That also involves a lot of routine and repetitive work, cross-checks, calculations, information search, and email exchange. Ass work flow grows, possibility for human error and inefficient decision-making increases.

Moreover, at a certain moment I saw most of my commercial managers remain their whole day behind their computer screen trying to catch up with the incoming email flow. With thousands incoming emails a day, some of them may remain unattended or missed.

I decided to digitalized the process of processing all the incoming emails, making routine calculations and cross-checks, calculations based on 80+ different data bases and, eventually, help professional managers make better commercial judgement, negotiations and, eventually, digitalized the documentation flow.

5. Have you approached any large organizations to tease them into using SHIPNEXT? If so what are their initial impressions

We have approached a number of large companies. Some of them have also started using SHIPNEXT, others are in the testing phase.

Some of the larger groups have already announced the launch of their in-house reverse auctioning platforms. Most of the companies initiated digitalization of their internal work-flow. All this is a good sign and a perfect opportunity for SHIPNEXT. However, with shipping being one of the most conservative sectors of ths transport industry, the process of digitalization will take a few years, until it, at least, catches up with other industries.

6. Are you focusing just on the shipping industry or with future plans to export to transport or even regional/ local deliveries ?

SHIPNEXT is looking for partners to help deliver a solution for wet bulk (tanker) shipping, and well a container liner shipping companies, to complete the work on SHIPNEXT’s container-related solution.

Other modes of transport will be included in the ecosystem with the help of other partners and solution providers only. Such cooperation is also a way to create a network of solutions, thus taking a step further towards a decentralized ecosystem.

7. How will a regular consumer benefit from SHIPNEXT?

SHIPNEXT helps save hundreds and thousands of work hours, build a reliable network of service providers, eliminate human error, receive up to date and real-time information to improve decision making.

8. How much volume in terms of weight has passed through the platform since lunching?

At any given moment SHIPNEXT contains thousands of cargoes (freight requests) as well as up to 18.000 ship’s positions. Anyone sending a Ship position or a Freight request by email to SHIPNEXT (at [email protected]) receives an instant feedback containing the most efficient match.

9. Do you see any regulatory issues proceeding with the platform in the future?

SHIPNEXT is a patented solution, and digitalized as well as automates the day to day processes taking place in Shipping. Each Shipper is able to use his own Contract forms or integrate SHIPNEXT algorithms into his internal work flows.

SHIPNEXT users make their own choice of using SHIPNEXT or not.

10. What is the SHIPNEXT token used for and how is it useful ?

SHIPNEXT has 2 tokens.

Ship Coin (SHPC) is a security token, giving its holders a stake in the company results and equity.

Ship Token (SHPT) on the other hand is a utility token – a tool given to banks and crypto-banks for issue and further use within SHIPNEXT as means of payment under Shipping Smart-contracts.

SHIPNEXT offers an escrow-like process of freight payment. This brings the necessary reliability and safety of transactions, as well as reassurance of contract execution. Freight is reserved on an escrow, is paid in parts upon gradual execution of cargo carriage, and ensures payments for bunker, canal transit, port dues, handling costs, etc.

11. Will any external organizations such as the authorities / or even the public have live or historic access to the blockchain?

Certainly the access of authorities to a supply chain related blockchain ecosystem is inevitable. Customs authorities alone are an integral part of the import and export control, and, on the other hand, a source of information which can be also used in Smart Contracts.

To influence the data, however, and participate in such blockchain based supply chain, authorities much themselves transform and adapt their documentation processing.

Healthy interactions with authorities in a decentralized ecosystem will help ensure safety and reliability of its work, simplify documentation handling and reduce costs.

The Ledger Blue Hardware Wallet Review: Securing Your Crypto Portfolio in 2018

Is the Ledger Blue a premier hardware wallet we’ve all been waiting for?

Starting to amass a decent-sized crypto portfolio? If you haven’t already, you should be taking steps to build your own digital Fort Knox, to stop the online highwaymen from pilfering all your well-researched buys. The Ledger Blue cryptocurrency wallet is one such security device that’s vying for your attention.

Launched at the backend of 2016, the Ledger Blue is a hardware wallet—a dedicated device in which to store your private keys—and has an number of top security features to try and make your crypto nest egg as safe as possible.

A premium hardware wallet with an advanced user experience thanks to a large touchscreen interface

As this wallet stores your private keys offline, it prevents nefarious hackers from being able to get their grubby hands on them. It can be locked using a pin code up to 8 digits in length, and backed up using a 24-word recovery phrase. It features a WYSIWYS paradigm—’What You See Is What You Get’—to ensure the integrity of all transactions, while protecting against viruses, malware and man-in-the-middle attacks.

https://www.ledger.com/products/ledger-blue

Price at over at £249 just over $250, it’s certainly not cheap, but it can be argued that the peace of mind it brings is worth it. With a 3.5 inch touchscreen, the Ledger Blue is a handheld device that’s compatible with computers and smartphones running most major operating systems—connecting via USB or Bluetooth—and is also able to operate independently of them.

It’s firmware is designed to run a number of apps over the top of it, supporting a wide range of currencies for storage, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Ripple and Neo. It’s also compatible with a number of software wallets such as Copay, Electrum, Mycelium, MyEtherWallet and BitGo.

As is the case with other hardware wallets, the Ledger Blue doesn’t physically hold any of your cryptocurrency portfolio on the device, instead storing the private keys needed to access each currency, and tracking your holdings on the blockchain.

Setting up the Ledger Blue

Upon setting up the device for first use, you’re able to install and configure any compatible companion wallet apps in order to manage the various coins in your portfolio. The Ledger Blue’s software guides you through this process from the beginning, while also prompting you to choose your pin code and backup recovery phrase, so you can be thoroughly secured before you start to send or receive payments.

Once you’re ready to transfer some funds in or out of your wallets, the Ledger Blue prompts you to connect to your computer or smartphone via USB. Using your secure pin code, you can then access your coin’s relevant app on the Blue, confirm the transaction amount, verify and send it securely using the Ledger’s touchscreen.

What currencies does the Ledger Blue support?

Bitcoin Cash (BCH)
Bitcoin Gold (BTG)
Bitcoin (BTC)
Dash (DASH)
Digibyte (DGB)
Dogecoin (DOGE)
Ethereum (ETH)
Ethereum Classic (ETC)
Expanse (EXP)
Hcash (HSR)
Komodo (KMD)
Litecoin (LTC)
Neo (NEO)
PivX (PIVX)
Qtum (QTUM)
Ripple (XRP)
Stealthcoin (XST)
Stratis (STRAT)
Ubiq (UBQ)
Vertcoin (VTC)
Viacoin (VIA)
Zcash (ZEC)
Ledger Blue alternatives

There are cheaper alternatives to the Ledger Blue on the market such as the Ledger Nano S which we reviewed, although most don’t contain the myriad of features or snazzy interface that the Blue boasts and can be extremely buggy when using the Chrome app or Ledger Live manager . Do your own research to determine which would suit you best—but remember—the security of your coins should be your most important priority. Get your Fort Knox built as soon as possible, and thwart hackers before they have the chance to do a number on you.

Other popular alternatives can be found by other different firms like the Trezor £84 or Trezor T priced at £175. The KeepKey Hardware wallet is also another well liked device with a plethora of features at £129.

Pro’s

Snazzy colour touchscreen making it super easy to control
Device feels robust and secure
Excellent support for assets and cryptocurrencies
Secure chip to keep private keys safe

Con’s

Can be buggy when using Ledger Live to manage the device
Expensive at £249 when compared to other devices
The device is bigger and not as easy to conceal when travelling

Ledger Blue review conclusion

The Ledger Blue comes with a number of quirks, but like most things in life time is the best healer and its nothing you can’t simply get used to and we’re sure Ledger will bring fixes to iron things out very soon like it has done in the past.

When compared with the other hardware wallets and the earlier model Ledger Nano S, the Blue wins hands-down despite only having a few exclusive features that are new to the device, the colour touch screen being one which makes a whole world of difference providing a sense of control when using it and everything feels easier.

You can get other hardware wallets at a much cheaper price but this is marketed for more premium and corporate users, that doesn’t mean crypto enthusiasts shouldn’t use it though as security is always paramount and this device does not lack in that area, with its secure robust chip thats designed to keep your private keeps super safe and isolated in the device thwarting man in the middle attacks.

I suppose the big elephant in the room is whether one should spend £249.99 on this expensive device, the Ledger Blue is so good we think you should!

How to buy the Ledger Blue?

You should only purchase the device from a verified seller or the official Ledger website to ensure your device is not tampered with by third parties, failure to do so could mean your assets are at risk of being stolen.

CLICK HERE: https://www.ledger.com/products/ledger-blue £249.99

Stick Sports mobile games company looks to make it big on the blockchain

Wildly popular mobile games company Stick Sports Ltd, creators of the fiendishly addictive Stick Cricket, Tennis and Football games, are climbing aboard the blockchain train and shaking things up in the free-to-play mobile games arena.

How exactly do they plan to initiate this shake up? It all centres around in-games assets and the player’s ownership of them. Currently, any assets a someone gets their hands on during a game are not technically owned by the player, instead being merely licenced out by the publisher—kinda like having your hand in the cookie jar but not being able to take it out to eat the aforementioned cookie. This is where Stick Sports plan to buck the trend, with the help of the blockchain.

The upcoming reboot of their Stick Cricket game will utilise blockchain tech to allow players to officially own any assets they buy, win, earn or create while playing, so they can take that cookie, and do whatever their heart desires with it, whether it’s keeping it, flogging it or digitally eating it. In addition, these players can record their own history on assets to make them truly one of kind items, in turn customising key components of the game. And gone are the days where assets will only hold any value when they’re inside the game. Utilising the blockchain means they will have real-world value outside of the gaming landscape. This essentially gives players a new dimension to work with, where they are not only gamers, but stakeholders holding an investment with a true incentive for the game they’re playing to be successful.

Games transitioning to the blockchain so far have still met some problems they need to overcome. For starters, it’s a sizeable entry barrier to entice someone with zero interest in crypto to head over to the blockchain world. However, the benefits are easy to see, and with current none-blockchain based games often lacking certain gameplay incentives, the number of people who do get into crypto could skyrocket once they start to see how it would enhance their experiences.

This is why Stick Sports are actively targeting gamers in their new venture, rather than traditional crypto-enthusiasts, creating a whole host of tantalising technologies to pique the interest of avid players, and remove the obstacles that often feel too complicated to the average consumer when they hear the word ‘blockchain’. Stick Sports Founder and CEO, Paul Collins, certainly believes that his company will be able to achieve this, saying “after this shift, there will be no going back for the industry. As a leading adopter of mobile games and free-to-play formats, we strive to be at the forefront of change within the games industry. We’re incredibly excited about the radical evolution this new initiative will bring.”

Paul Collins Stick Sports LTD — CEO Paul Collins

The new blockchain-based Stick Cricket game will first launch in India, such is their love of the sport there. Plus, with India being the largest market for Google Play downloads, and with a huge projected growth for new smartphones, there is certainly scope for reaching an massive untapped market.

With a staggering number of downloads across Android and iOS, currently over 70 million and counting, Stick Sports have certainly shown their ability to create successful games people love to play, now let’s see if they can mimic this success over on the blockchain landscape.

Source: Pressat

Nestlé taps blockchain to track milk from farm to mouth

Food giant Nestlé Nestlé envisions real-time trackable products on the blockchain tracking baby food from source to mouth

Nestlé, the largest food company in the world is tracking baby food products on the blockchain as part of a food industry exercise with nine other major food companies.

UPDATE: Nestlé has confirmed that Phase 3 of the Blockchain trial will testing products outside of the US which will be Mangoes from Columbia. The Phase 1 test last year on Libby’s product with single ingredient: pumpkin

The Blockchain implementation will be used to track the ingredients of its baby food product Gerber, with the goal of reducing food recalls and increasing consumer trust. Customers will be able to trace the origins of all ingredients and see where they have come from on a public ledger.

Speaking to CIO Journal’s Kim S. Nash, “People want to know, quite rightly, where ingredients they give to their baby have come from,” he said.

“Nestlé tracks ingredients across Blockchain from suppliers to Babies mouths”

The Swiss headquartered company is working in conjunction with nine other major food companies including Walmart Inc, International Business Machines Corp and rival Unilever PLC to develop a system called Food Trust which leverages blockchain technology to create a single record shared among the firms to speed up investigations of bad food or products that are recalled.

The Nestlé blockchain experiment is making progress but is still in its early stages as the whole supply chain infrastructure requires redevelopment.This includes shipping, processing, trucking and many software stages currently used.

The supply chain industry is one of the hottest areas where Blockchain can be implemented. Just earlier this year a food scare saw twelve million boxes of baby milk being recalled in a salmonella scandal by French dairy giant Lactalis. With Blockchain technology implemented into the supply chain process food recalls, ingredients, shipping, tracking and other areas become transparent and subsequently prevent and quickly resolve such issues.

Earlier this year the UK’s Food Standards Agency trialed blockchain technology to ensure compliance in cattle slaughterhouses, one of the many governments and large companies around the world who are also looking into the benefits of the blockchain.

AI Trader unveils its OCO Trading MODE to cryptocurrency investors

Artificial intelligence is the future, and if you don’t think so, then we’d suggest that you take a look around you. Everything from automatic playlists designed by music streaming sites, to home heating, is becoming ‘smart.’ Thus, it surely makes sense that cryptocurrency trading platforms would follow this trend, right?

That is indeed the view of Dubai based Kingdom Mining, who has released an independent cryptocurrency trading platform, called AI Trader. It has billed itself as “a next-generation intelligent autonomous trading program” with features above and beyond its competitors.

According to its website, AI Trader “uses Artificial Intelligence to identify patterns from big data processed by the program to recognize trends and autonomously process buy, hold and sell orders based on current market events.”

In other words, it uses information it has learned through algorithms and data to autonomously trade cryptocurrencies once a user lets it have this control.

For some, it may be disconcerting to let an app automatically deal with your investments, but for others, this might be a fun way to work.“We developed the AI ecosystem with a team of expert traders from established financial firms such as Morgan Stanley and Deutsche Bank and specialists from the fields of machine learning and artificial intelligence. We have had an overwhelming response from the community, and we are accepting new subscriptions until 20/07/2018 after which only those with a valid referral link will be on-boarded.”

How does it work?

A user selects a trading strategy; then AI trader begins trading on this user’s behalf using its artificial intelligence and learnings. Thus, it will buy, sell and hold based on its learnings.

Some of the advantages include that the AI Trader makes all its moves without emotion and fatigue. Anyone who has ever made a bad investment while tired will appreciate the significance of this.

AI Trader also gives users a full overview of the trades that have been done on its behalf, so the human investor isn’t left in the dark. It also attempts to recover losses and is available to Binance, and Bitmex registered account holders. The firm intends to add a host of exchanges soon. All subscribers have free access to all new upgrades.

Of course, the disadvantages include that the user has less control when making investments. Thus, AI Trader now sets a new bar in offering users the option to trade with One Cancels Other (OCO). Unlike other exchange platforms where only EITHER a stop loss OR a take profit can be set, AI Trader offers the opportunity to trade on ALL pairs with the ability to place BOTH a stop loss and take profit simultaneously. Users get real-time AI Powered buy signals to make their decisions.

Is it for you?

Of course, cryptocurrencies exist in a volatile marketplace and both AI and human traders can make losses, as well as gains. Whether you would like to work off machine learning, rather than your own, is a decision only you can make.

AI Trader currently offers three different pricing options starting from just $150; customers can pay in major cryptocurrencies such as BitcoinCash, Litecoin, Credit Card and Paypal, new subscriptions will be closed on 20/7/2018 until further notice. The price is fair if not a steal considering the platform is currently yielding 82% on average monthly returns while trading cryptocurrencies and 120% while leverage trading across all strategies put in place.

We found an independent review by Bitcoin Trading Challenge, a Cryptocurrency Day-Trader educating other traders within this market.

Platform Overview: https://vimeo.com/271853160
More details about the platform: https://aitrader.ai
Follow AI Trader on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Aitrader_Ai
About AI Trader: https://app.aitrader.ai/about
AI Trader Team: https://aitrader.ai/teamh

Contact AI Trader: [email protected]

*Trading is subject to market risks and AI Trader in no form guarantees returns

Has blockchain become a big fish in the tuna industry?

If you were fishing for a story about tuna and blockchain technology, then we’ve got some good news for you: this one is a real catch.

The world’s largest sustainable tuna fishery has launched a blockchain initiative which will cover all of its caught tuna.

To an outsider, this may seem like small fish, but it is actually massive news as PNA’s market development company Pacifical is the first large scale pioneer of blockchain within the $42 billion industry.

Pacifical is the global marketing company jointly set up by the 8 Parties to the Nauru Agreement (PNA) to promote the PNA region and actively trade their MSC certified sustainably caught tuna.

Eight Pacific Island nations and the Tokelau territory sees around a quarter of the world’s tuna caught in their waters each year, so this move towards traceability and committed-sustainability is a massive deal within the industry.

The initiative is being launched with the cooperation of Atato, a Thailand-based blockchain service providers. It will be powered by Ethereum’s smart contracts and will use IPFS decentralised storage.

The new system will cover the entire supply chain, which is no small deed – in fact it is estimated to be about 35 million tuna yearly. It is approximated that we will soon be able to trace 200 million consumer units of Pacifical tuna in over 20 countries through Ethereum blockchain.

The new initiative is expected to cover over 100 fishing vessels and the idea behind it is to put in a level of sustainability and tracability in place, which leads to unprecedented levels of trust within the industry.

In terms of the tuna industry, there aren’t many more bigger fish left to fry for blockchain.

Stellar Lumens given green light for trading in New York

In a boost for the cryptocurrency market in New York, Stellar Lumens has been approved for trade by the New York Financial Regulators.

This is the first time Lumens has been given the go-ahead in New York, which many may find slightly surprising, especially since Fortune describe it as “now the seventh or eighth most valuable cryptocurrency with a market capitalization of more than $4.3 billion.”

itBit has added it to their exchange. Chad Cascarilla, the co-founder and CEO of itBit’s parent company Paxos, told Fortune that the move away from the virtual currency being viewed as a security was a key reason for it being added to their platform.

He said: “That’s why we’ve added them to the exchange… If they were a security, you’d have to go through a different process.”

It will be interesting to see if this now leads to other exchanges, including CoinBase, taking on the cryptocurrency.

It is widely viewed as the leading exchange in the US and currently offers trading in Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum and Litecoin, although there are plans to also add Ethereum Classic to the mix.
Stellar, the company that created Lumens, was founded by Jed McCaleb in 2014. He also founded rival cryptocurrency Ripple.

This news had a significant impact on Stellar Lumens price, with Fortune reporting that it “rose more than 5% ahead of itBit’s news.”

While speaking to Fortune, Cascarilla added that he is not worried about the fluctuations in the price of cryptocurrencies currently.

He is quoted as saying; “The interest and the adoption from institutions and large firms that have a lot of credibility is very real.

“That might not be reflected in the price today, but from what I see, will certainly be changing the landscape over the next six to 12 months.”

Business schools and universities rush to get courses on bitcoin

Even people who understand cryptocurrencies and blockchain will admit that they can seem complicated, even at the best of times.

However, they are a big part of the world right now and most of us know that they are here to stay.

That being said, there are certain areas that have been slow to catch-up to this new and exciting technology.
Business schools and universities are getting to grips with this new movement now, but few would describe them as ‘up with the pace’ of cryptocurrencies or bitcoin.

The Financial Times has reported that these organisations are jumping to get courses that can give curious minds information on cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology, because there has been a huge surge in demand for these subjects to be put on curriculums.

Since bitcoin’s value went through the roof late last year, there has been a huge boost in demand for courses specialising in this area. It’s no surprise to see this demand surge, as this technology moves from the fringes of industry into mainstream society.

Organisations within industries ranging from banking to the motor industry are looking into how blockchain can work for them.

David Yermack, professor of finance and business transformation at the New York University Stern School of Business, told the Financial Times: “This is moving much faster than people expected. Business schools will have no choice but to update curriculums.”

Yermack detailed that the latest course in cryptocurrencies and blockchain within the MBA programme 230 students enrolled in it.

Jens Martin, programme director at the University of Amsterdam Business School, which offers a blockchain and cryptocurrencies course on its master in international finance, also told the FT that she believes this element of industry is going to continue growing.

She said: “The increase in value in the cryptos played a large part in the increase in public interest. However, we feel that the finance industry is very interested in the technology itself and the possibilities it offers. We see many applications not only from people with a banking background, but a more diverse group who are interested in applying these concepts to finance.”

This increased interest has seen a huge rise in the purchase of initial coin offerings (ICOs), as investors are doing their best to find the next bitcoin.

Courses in this technology can only help those trying to do this.

Volkswagen and IOTA work together in autonomous car initiative

Are autonomous cars the future of vehicles?

That’s a question we don’t quite have the answer for just yet, but some big names are certainly paying attention to this area.

For instance, Volkswagen and IOTA are working alongside each other on a proof-of-concept protocol which will use IOTA’s Tangle system.

In fact, on second thoughts, many experts think that the answer to our original question is a definitive ‘yes.’
These experts expect there to be over 200 million ‘smart’ vehicles on the road by 2020, so it seems like autonomous cars might be the ‘present’, never mind the future.

This protocol was presented at the Cebit 2018 Expo in Germany earlier this month. The proof of concept has been designed to allow Volkswagen transfer software updates to their connected cars.

The technology behind Tangle is slightly different to blockchain; instead of ‘blocks’ and ‘mining’, a directed acrylic graph (DAG) is used as part of a foundation. Thus, its chains work all at once and topologically.

The German car manufacture plans on using TANGLE to wirelessly and securely work with data from its autonomous car line.

There are several reports circulating suggesting that IOTA has joined up with MOBI (Mobility Open Blockchain Initiative) and many experts expect them to join up with other big names in the motor industry too.

IOTA is quite busy at the moment, as they are also planning to launch a Tangle-powered digital identification system.

MIOTA is currently trading at around $1.20.

Edgar Allan Poe inspires creatives’ blockchain start-up

There aren’t many blockchain start-ups that can say that they take their inspiration from a nineteenth century poet, but Qravity certainly can.

Inspired by the tiny amount that Edgar Allan Poe was paid for his writing output, Austrian producer and composer, David Brandstaetter, set-up the blockchain start-up Qravity.

The idea behind it is to give artists and content creators their just reward.

He discussed this inspiration, with The Drum reporting him as stating the following: “Poe’s work, especially The Raven and Annabel Lee, has always inspired me. He not only wrote some of the most famous poems of all time, he also established the foundations of the detective story and science fiction!”

Copyright infringement and fair payment are just some of the hurdles today’s creators have to face in order to get fair payment and Poe’s story of underpayment got the Austrian thinking about this.

Brandstaetter has a long history in the world of creativity, working for the likes of Sony and Rockstar Games, so he understands what it takes to make it in the fiercely competitive creative industries.
Thus, he founded Qravity in 2016 with the goal of helping others bring their content to the market.

In a world where opportunists exist at every corner, Qravity uses blockchain to keep all transactions transparent. It also uses smart contracts which keep immutable and transparent records of projects within its system.

He added: “In July 2017, we had a unique collaboration and communication tool for creative teams. Qravity also tracks tasks in such a way that creative members receive stakes in the content they help make. For example, a person who writes lyrics for a song gets a share, say five percent, of the song’s revenue. Every time someone buys that song, the lyricist gets five percent of that payment.”

Digital tokens that are called QPT are how creatives keep track of their records. Revenue is distributed based on how many QPT they hold relating to their content.

Payment is then given in the form of Qravity’s cryptocurrency, QCO.

For instance, if a drummer has a ten percent stake in the song he penned, a 1 QCO song earns him 0.10 QCO, which he can then trade on crypto exchanges, or spend in the Qravity marketplace.