About author: Julia Travers

Cheetah Mobile, a China-based international mobile app company, announced the release of a new cryptocurrency wallet called Safe Wallet on January 31, 2018. Cheetah Mobile makes security products including Security Master and Clean Master and stated, “By leveraging its extensive mobile security and product development experience, Cheetah Mobile has truly created a safer mobile wallet.” “Cheetah Mobile’s move into the…

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On January 25, 2018, Canada announced the start of a pilot digital identity program called the Known Traveler Digital Identity system (KTDI). This system relies on biometric and other personal data as well as blockchain technology to create an ID that travelers can share with authorities. The project arose out of two years of collaboration between international partners as part…

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On January 26, 2018, Yamada Denki, one of the biggest consumer electronics chains in Japan, announced that it is going to start accepting bitcoin payments at two of its largest stores in Tokyo. A press release explains this new option is currently a trial but is expected to expand nationwide in the future. Yamada Denki is offering this “bitcoin settlement…

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On January 22, 2018, the UN announced the formation of a group called the “Climate Chain Coalition” (CCC). The coalition has the specific purpose of exploring and applying blockchain technology as a tool to mitigate climate change, in line with the Paris Climate Agreement and the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This initiative was described in a blog post that…

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On January 24, 2018, the central bank of the Netherlands (DNB) released a statement addressing cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology. It expressed support for blockchain technology and explained it has been studying how it might best be used since 2015. While acknowledging there are inherent investment risks in the evolving cryptocurrency sphere, it states it “is currently not in favor of…

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The Sweatcoin app counts users’ steps through their smartphone and then rewards them with its own cryptocurrency: the Sweatcoin. As of January 18, 2018, it is currently No. 5 out of the App Store’s free apps, only behind the new Google Arts & Culture app, Netflix, Instagram and YouTube. Fitness Ecosystem Sweatcoin has 2 million active weekly users and gained…

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NASA has awarded University of Akron (UA) Assistant Professor Jin Wei Kocsis a three-year $333,000 Early Career Faculty grant as part of its Space Technology Research Grants (STRG) program. Dr. Kocsis will utilize the grant to develop AI and blockchain-based technology that will help satellites safely travel farther away while making decisions independently. Space Travel and Fuzzy Logic Satellites currently…

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Joachim Wuermeling, a member of the board of Bundesbank, Germany’s central bank, says only global regulations will be useful in controlling cryptocurrencies. His January 2018 statement comes on the heels of the introduction of increased EU regulations on digital currencies in December 2017. Controlling a Borderless Economy “Effective regulation of virtual currencies would therefore only be achievable through the greatest…

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Kodak announced it was entering into a partnership with WENN Digital to launch a cryptocurrency called KODAKCoin along with a blockchain-based image rights-management platform called KODAKOne. This platform and coin are designed to create a specialized business ecosystem for photography, in which photographers and photo agencies can have greater authority over their content and work, a press release explains. A…

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Virtual wallets with a total of 213,519 bitcoin have gone missing while in the reported possession of Bulgarian authorities. The digital currency was seized as part of a criminal investigation called PRATKA/VIRUS that the South East European Law Enforcement Centre (SELEC) carried out in partnership with Bulgaria. The international cybercrime bust, arrests of 23 suspects and seizures of property including…

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