CoinSpectator Blog

Blockchain technology is very hot right now. Many global companies and financial institutions have implemented forms of the technology, to help improve the reliability and security of their processes. Forbes has recently reported that even the IRS is hoping to reap the benefits of the technology. One of the industries that could potentially see the greatest improvements from implementing blockchain technology is the online gambling industry.

The technology would deliver what customers and reputable online gambling providers have long since sought; a way of providing permanent verified information that is not open to any form of manipulation. This is a major change for a gambling industry that has sometimes suffered from a lack of trust shown by customers and been hampered by current verification systems which can be cumbersome and unwanted.

Early days of blockchain technology for online gambling

It’s still fairly early days for blockchain technology in the world of online gambling. However, many online casinos already accept cryptocurrencies like Ethereum as a deposit method. Here is a reliable list of recommended sites that provide Ethereum as an option in their cashier. Online casinos are also already implementing their own systems for the completion and signing of smart contracts.

A major sign that blockchain technology could be the way forward for online gambling is that Malta, the center of Europe’s Igaming has recently approved three separate cryptocurrency bills. The content of the bills concerns the legalization and regulation of cryptocurrencies for use in online casinos. This means that online casinos will have a way of being regulated and certified in the use of cryptocurrencies. The Digital Innovation Authority has also been formed, in order to keep check on information which is stored on  Distributed Ledger Technology platforms.

Why could blockchain technology be so important?

Online gambling is big business; it accounts for around 25% of all gambling revenue. This means that billions of dollars every year can be made in the gambling industry. The problem is that there are several issues which can have an adverse effect on the ability of the online gambling industry to reach its full potential; not least a perceived lack of transparency and trust.

Technology, such as that used for the Ethereum blockchain, enables the construction, signing and sharing of digital contracts between players and casinos. This means that it will no longer be possible for less reputable companies not to honor promises that have been made. This should mean that disputes will be a thing of the past and that the system of payouts will be quick and problem free. Of course, it’s possible that we will not see these benefits immediately, but blockchain technology certainly has the potential to ensure that these changes happen.

Transparency even behind the scenes

One of the biggest issues that online casinos have had to deal with is the common perception that they are hiding things from players. This could be anything from results to winners and the amount of money that is paid out in prizes. The public has a general belief that much of this type of information is hidden away from them. This often means that the profits from online gambling are not maximised and that the optimum playing experience is not achieved. Bringing blockchain technology into the online gambling arena has the potential to revolutionize it, by removing these issues.

This is a huge positive for online casinos. Many reputable casinos have previously suffered because rogue casinos gave the industry a bad name. How many times have you heard players bemoan the fact that the house always seems to win? If this type of concern becomes prevalent, people can start to stay away from a certain casino. This is no good for the industry. Using blockchain technology means that information is shared across everyone, so it’s not possible for casino to hide anything. This should mean that people have more faith in online casinos, meaning that they start to play more and the revenue of the casinos increases.

Cutting back on player fraud

It’s not just from a reputational point of view that online casinos will benefit from the ongoing use of blockchain technology; they should also see a reduction of losses due to player fraud. There are many different ways in which people who want to cheat the casino can do so; popular options are to hack into the casino or make fraudulent transactions in the cashier. This type of fraud can cost online casinos a lot of money. Using blockchain technology means that online casinos can ensure the security of transactions. Having distributed ledger technology in place means that all winnings are automatically calculated, and the results can clearly be seen by all. Smart contracts are in place and everything is completely open to scrutiny. This means that fraudsters should not be able to manipulate wins any longer. Preventing these losses from fraud is potentially a huge financial benefit for the online casino industry.

Simple payment options

Blockchain technology is obviously closely linked to the use of cryptocurrency, although its use has now gone far beyond that single realm. This original use of blockchain technology provides one of its most useful benefits when it comes to online gambling. The use of cryptocurrencies means that players are not restricted as to how and where they can gamble online, depending on the jurisdiction in which they live. These restrictions can be severe if a player tries to deposit or withdraw using a regulated payment service. Using cryptocurrencies also means that financial charges which casinos have to pay will decrease as they will not have to pay third party financial services providers. This should mean that online casinos no longer charge for the processing of banking transactions which are related to the use of cryptocurrencies.

Complete anonymity online

Anyone who has played at an online casino should know about the problems that sometimes arise from proof of identity being requested. Some casinos request that players provide a whole stack of private documents before they are able to withdraw any winnings. This identification process can be lengthy and extremely frustrating; not something that the casino or the player really wants.

The use of blockchain technology means that this type of identification process could be a thing of the past as the blockchain process itself provides transparency and authentication of contracts. All players should need to do is send blockchain as requested. There is no need to download software or even to create an account. This means that the players and casinos will experience less hassle and that it will not be as easy for hackers to get hold of the personal information of players. This sounds like a really good thing in some ways. However, some people view it as a means of evading current regulatory requirements relating to online casino activity. This can mean that cryptocurrency casinos are viewed with a certain amount of suspicion.

The introduction of Zero Edge

Zero Edge is an online gaming cryptocurrency provider that has fully embraced blockchain technology and its benefits to the world of online gambling. This is a brand new concept involving the launch of the Zerocoin cryptocurrency which is intended for use in the gaming industry.  The currency comes alongside a protocol developed by Zero Edge which means that the previously expected house edge no longer exists. This is an online gaming platform which is set to shape the future.

It remains to be seen how popular Zero Edge technology will become, but the more its popularity increases, the better the news is for players. This is because the value of Zerocoin could increase dramatically, which would also increase the value of winnings. It’s easy to see why Zero Edge has caused so much excitement so far. It takes all of the best points of blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies and brings them together in one online gambling solution. All of this means that the future of online gambling could be a place where odds are even, deposits and withdrawals are instant and safe and fairness is ensured across all casino games. As all Zerocoin holders are pooled together when using the system, verification issues are fulfilled. All that needs to be known is that a certain amount of Zerocoins has been deposited.

All of this sounds great in theory. However, it’s still very early days for blockchain technology in the world of online gambling. The technology has certainly already started to change online gambling and it has the potential to bring about many more changes in the future. It could increase the profits of online casinos while also making casinos fairer and safer for players. As blockchain technology continues to be at the center of many news stories, it will be interesting to see how its use in the online gaming industry progresses. Only time will tell whether all of the benefits can be embraced and blockchain technology can really become the norm, in the world of online gambling.

Image Source: www.mdgadvertising.com

One of the unique features of blockchain and an attribute that makes it very appealing to a lot of communities is the incentivized technology that it offers. Getting rewarded for one’s contribution towards the achievement any given goal is the best form of motivation that there is. It does not only encourage more participation but enables the fulfillment of the intended aim of any program.

Breaking the monopoly

In its current state, the digital environment is dominated by a handful of major stakeholders who thrive on the efforts and contributions of the rest of the people. Majority of whom are left without compensation. Facebook for instance would receive all the funds from an advertiser to reach an agreed audience and number of views. These audiences who represent the actual action point, in other words the targeted resource eventually end up being used. This is what you get with centralized systems. Power, control and reward is usually monopolized by the “boss” and the people are seen as tools.

The decentralization brought by blockchain is disrupting this structure and recognising the relevance of participants within networks and communities. In the advertising industry, blockchain solution seems like “the golden pen”. Rather than the ‘hit and hope’ approach adopted by existing systems, blockchain implementation is enabling platforms to structure and execute ad campaigns with a very high precision rate.

Focusing on the actual goal

Beyond just creating and broadcasting ads, the ultimate goal of every advertiser is to reach their intended targets with content that is relevant to their needs. This is why 2Key Network is creating a platform that makes it easy for advertisers and content creators to be able to define their specific budget and also the best possible campaign execution.

The 2Key platform, that brings GRN (Global Referral Network) technology, enables a sharing network where people would share with their friends, who share with their friends, who keep sharing until the set goal of a given campaign is reached. What is important here is that everyone in the network who made a positive impact during such campaign gets paid. This creates a real network effect and a real link sharing economy that is based on the incentive model.

Cleaning up the industry

Digital advertising platforms have been criticized for a number of activities that go on within the ecosystem. For instance, the non-transparent nature of operations of the big players further emphasizes the above mentioned ‘hit and hope’ approach. This usually leaves advertisers uncertain about the actual effect of the advertising efforts. Also, on the part of the audiences, spam messages, pop-ups ads, interruptive videos and other unwanted bombardments often come across as nuisance. These elements pass as sources of resentment towards these ads, prompting audiences to find ways of blocking them. Even when they cannot be stopped, advertisements should be appealing to the audience rather than be seen to be forced down their throats.

By incentivizing the act of content sharing, 2Key encourages participants to distribute valuable content. This is because the reward system within the chain will rate shared contents based on their impact and popularity. Therefore, the more a participant’s post is shared by the community, the more their rewards. Same applies to ineffective content, as they serve to reduce members ratings and their points in the long run.

Powered by Ethereum smart contract, 2Key enables the actual performance of shared content to be transparently measured. Hence, the huge waste incurred by advertisers will be drastically removed and the corruption present in the ads industry automatically eliminated.

Content sharing is about to become more profitable for everyone involved, and a more friendly advertising ecosystem introduced. Thanks to blockchain, in combination with Game theory and AI implementation.

Powered by blockchain, the Etheal.com platform allows patients to find doctors online anywhere in the world, access reviews in their own language and send inquiries immediately. The cost is a fraction of agency prices – saving American patients alone an estimated $1.98 billion per year, which would be enough to buy 700,000 CPAP machines for premature babies.

Golden Effie and Deloitte Tech Fast 50 award winning team

Lately every major newspaper from the New York Times and Forbes to Business Insider has been writing about medical tourism. They cite similar stories to that of Mr Gou’s by the Times, whose stomach tumor was not responding to chemo and radiation treatments. A trip to Boston, where he was able to access immunotherapy treatment unavailable in his native China, saved his life.

Similarly, Mr. Matthew, a Coachmag correspondent from the UK, could either suffer from a mind-numbingly painful toothache for 3 months before getting treated, or go private and pay £2,500 per dental implant. He opted instead to join the 50,000 British people who turn their toothache into a happy holiday every year. He flew to Hungary, where a dental implant costs approximately £480. In just 3 days, he cut the waiting list, received the highest quality treatment of his life, got relief from his agony, had a beautiful cultural experience, and saved a considerable amount of money.

Mayo Clinic, Cleveland Clinic and other top American hospitals are also angling for a piece of the market 

According to Fast Company, the world-famous Mayo Clinic launched a $6.5 billion plan to create the Destination Medical Center, targeting a small but incredibly wealthy segment of medical tourists. The DMC was built to win back American, European, east Asian and Gulf Arab patients who had started to opt for foreign options or domestic rivals like Baltimore’s Johns Hopkins University or the Cleveland Clinic.

So why isn’t everyone hopping on planes?

The whole thing sounds just too damn good to be true — there must be a catch. Today, between 1.5-2 million Americans travel for treatment every year. That’s the entire population of Boston, Seattle and San Francisco combined.

The problem is a lack of complete access to information, in a situation that demands a lot of trust. Medical tourism agencies help patients navigate foreign clinics and overcome language barriers. But the price to patients can be a steep 30% in commission, so in lots of the cases the middle-man earns more than the doctor performing the treatment, which in conservative estimates costs US patients abroad a total of $2 billion per year.

Medical Tourism 3.0 is on the way

Motivated by their own problems finding care abroad, the Etheal team, led by Stanford Innovative Healthcare Leader Alumnus Viktor Tabori, changing the way people access healthcare abroad.

With advisors like Michael Terpin, CEO of Transform Group, Peter Oszko, the Finance Minister of Hungary (2009-2010) and Pam Dixon, the president of the World Privacy Forum, Etheal is set on transforming the world of healthcare with a transparent global database of doctors and clinics.

Forbes reports, patients are already using cryptocurrency to pay for medical tourism services, and now Etheal is taking it to the next level. Building on their working product (https://doklist.com) that serves 2.5 million visits per year, the team has begun decentralizing public medical data to scale accessibility and reach.

Powered by blockchain, the Etheal.com platform allows patients to find doctors online anywhere in the world, access reviews in their own language and send inquiries immediately. The cost is a fraction of agency prices – saving American users alone an estimated $1.98 billion, which would be enough to buy 700,000 breathing machines for premature babies.

Etheal’s propietary tech solves medical tourism’s biggest problem: lack of trust 

Blockchain enables reviews to be translated easily, and Etheal’s proprietary Rank and Trust Score shows patients the entire history of a healthcare provider. This includes overall patient satisfaction, availability and communication, as well as quality of treatment.

Etheal’s Rank and Trust Score is modelled after the world’s largest hedge fund, Bridgewater Associates’ Believability Score. The groundbreaking paradigm is designed to rank participants based on merit, to circumvent an autocratic system ruled by gatekeepers or a democratic game of numbers. It does this by weighing votes cast in each unique category based on the individual track record, or domain expertise, of the voters themselves. In a democracy the majority decides equally, regardless of an individual’s expertise. Etheal’s system instead creates a meritocracy in voting, where the best, as determined by informed opinion, will rise to the top of the list.

Subjective, biased and fragmented data on doctors will be a thing of the past. Together, the healthcare community can create a transparent global database of providers with Etheal.com.

Helping 1 billion people around the world with Etheal’s blockchain layer

Medical tourism is just the beginning. The team plans to develop several in-house applications on the blockchain layer, including telemedicine and pharma research tools.

The roadmap also includes incentivizing developers to build third-party apps onto Etheal’s blockchain. These apps will be available in the platform app store, and can also plug into the existing payment and distribution infrastructure. By supporting the creation and mainstream adoption of real healthcare solutions with crypto, the team’s goal is to reach as many people  deprived of good care as possible.

Token sale

Etheal’s whitelist deposit period will close on the 18th of June, together with the opportunity to earn a 30% bonus. The project has a limited $10m hard cap, and has already sold $1+ million worth of HEAL tokens to 724 contributors.

Michael Terpin, David Orban and Harvard Medical School Alumnus professor Dr. Tibor Bartha, are advising the team. Etheal’s smart contract was successfully audited by Blockchainlabs New Zealand, which isn’t surprising, as co-founder and CTO Mr. Tabori lectures on smart contract security at UCIrvine and the Hong Kong Polytechnic University.

For crypto enthusiasts holding wallets full of payment, landing and gambling tokens, Etheal balances portfolios well as a top-rated ICO in the healthcare space. The team has an already working application with 2.5 million visits per year, which of course does not eliminate all the risks associated with crypto projects, but is a strong sign of credibility.

Whitelist closes on 18th of June: you can secure your spot here: https://etheal.com/

Get your personal referral code (7% reward): https://etheal.com/#personal_refcode

Contact: [email protected]

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.

With just over a week remaining before the end of the LocalCoinSwap ICO, Chief Operating Officer, Daniel Worsley, has confirmed that any of the ICO allocation of tokens not sold, will be destroyed.

“The ICO end date is final. Because our token-holders are our owners, we are wholly committed to burn any which go unsold, in order to protect the investment of existing LCS Cryptoshare funders” Worsley said.

“Whilst we are in negotiation with exchanges as we speak, we know that many of our investors are in this for the long haul, determined to hold on to their Cryptoshares in anticipation of the dividend payments which start early in 2019. Therefore whilst secondary market trading will open up the opportunity to buy Cryptoshares to those geographically constrained from ICO purchasing, we do anticipate a limited availability.”

With over $10m raised so far and the third stage of the token sale well underway, the team have their eyes focused on the future for the community. Complete transparency has always been the driving principle at LocalCoinSwap, and as the team count down the final days of their initial coin offering, they are totally clear about their future direction.

LocalCoinSwap will provide interlinked trading and communication tools to provide the greatest possible range of ways to buy and sell cryptocurrencies on a peer-to-peer basis.

“We want our users to have freedom to choose”, explains CTO Nathan Worsely. “They’ll be able to make deals in any currency, in any location. We’ll offer a choice of simple margin pricing, or the ability to use advanced formulae. And the social community tools are embedded in the platform by design, not bolted-on afterwards – every user will be able interact in the forum and build their own profile and reputation”.

With over 5500 unique users signed up and awaiting the platform launch in August, the community – many of whom are already actively engaged on a range of social media platforms  – are eager to get trading, and see the exchange come to life. And many have a vested interest in this, because LCS Cryptoshares come with additional benefits:

“We remain the only exchange which distributes 100% of profits back to its token holders,” Worsley explains, “and this shared ownership means that we all grow and develop as the exchange itself does.  For us, this underpins a fundamental value of accessibility, making the buying and selling of cryptocurrencies easy, safe and sociable – so that more and more people are encouraged to join us in this economic revolution”.

You still have time to take part in the ICO, which closes June 15th.

https://www.localcoinswap.com/index.html to find out more.