James Bourne, Author at The Block

What to look out for at Blockchain Expo Europe and NA 2022: Mastercard, UNICEF, Walmart and more

Umar Farooq, CEO of Onyx, JP Morgan’s digital assets business, made an interesting comment at a seminar held recently by the Monetary Authority of Singapore. Most of crypto, he argued, was ‘still junk.’ “With the exception of a few dozen tokens, everything else that has been mentioned is either noise or, frankly is just going to go away,” Farooq added.

Put this alongside a recent statistic from S&P Global Market Intelligence that global private equity and venture...

15 September 2022 | Blockchain

How an idea of blockchain for power of attorney turned into a full document management solution

Smart contracts are a key method of digitising supply chains through blockchain technologies - but innovation does not have to stop at a single use case.

One example which has the potential to be transformed through blockchain is power of attorney (POA). It is an idea which has taken shape at certain hackathons, as well as being cited in certain legal blogs. Alongside the process being streamlined, it could also counteract potential issues with fraud.

As a Wikiversity...

25 May 2021 | Blockchain Applications

Weekly NFT roundup May 12-18: K-League, Fox and CoinBurp

K-League partnership and Coppa Italia gets NFT treatment

The K-League, the top professional football league in South Korea, has announced a partnership with NFT developer Blueberry NFT.

As reported by Ledger Insights, the partnership, alongside the Korean Professional Football Federation, will also include a collaboration down the line with regard to content creation.

Earlier this month, Crypto.com secured a partnership with Serie A, the foremost...

19 May 2021 | NFT

Musk backtracks on Bitcoin as Tesla payment method citing environmental concerns

Tesla has suspended users' ability to purchase vehicles through Bitcoin amid concern over 'rapidly increasing use' of fossil fuels for mining and transactions.

CEO Elon Musk said in a tweet that the company was 'looking at other cryptocurrencies' which used less than 1% of Bitcoin's energy per transaction.

"Cryptocurrency is a good idea on many levels and we believe it has a promising future, but this cannot come at great cost to the environment," Musk wrote. "Tesla will...

13 May 2021 | Bitcoin

Polestar partners with Circulor for blockchain traceability and transparency

Electric performance car manufacturer Polestar has announced a partnership with Circulor in a move which will target blockchain traceability and carbon dioxide tracking.

The companies already work together to trace cobalt in the batteries of the Polestar 2 electric performance fastback. This additional collaboration has seen the companies 'set a progressive scope and ambition that aims to entail a range of raw materials', as the duo put it.

These raw materials are...

12 May 2021 | Blockchain

Weekly NFT roundup May 5-11: Music and wine industry updates – plus a meta definition

Another week, another roundup of NFT stories which would have sounded remarkable at the start of this year. Yet as The Block continues to document, many industries are getting on board with the concept, from real estate, to various consumer products.

Here are the highlights from the past seven days in chronological order:

Merriam-Webster offers the NFT of the definition of NFT

Dictionary guardian Merriam-Webster has, as of this morning (May 11), added NFT to...

11 May 2021 | Cryptocurrency

William Lovell, Bank of England: Why blockchain is maturing – but healthy scepticism remains

As blockchain technologies and the thinking around them have matured, the role of each of its stakeholders tends to mature with it. For the central bank, the inherent understanding of risk with blockchain has always been there. But this does not mean innovation and progress cannot march forwards.

William Lovell is head of future technology at the Bank of England. Naturally, this remit means blockchain is not the only game in town, but its intrinsic link to finance makes it a...

1 April 2021 | Banking

PayPal confirms addition of Checkout with Crypto capability

PayPal has confirmed the launch of Checkout with Crypto, which enables US customers to pay with cryptocurrency and aims to 'significantly increase' utility.

Customers will be able to select their cryptocurrency of choice - Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, or Litecoin - with only one type of cryptocurrency able to be used for each purchase. Once the customer confirms the purchase, the cryptocurrency is then converted to fiat currency by PayPal on the customer's behalf to complete...

30 March 2021 | Bitcoin

Fireblocks raises $133m in series C funding to connect banks with crypto

Fireblocks, a New York-based provider of crypto infrastructure, has secured $133 million (£95.4m) in series C funding to continue its mission of connecting banks and fintech providers to crypto capital markets.

The funding takes the company's overall capital raised to $179m, claimed to be the 'most well-funded crypto infrastructure provider in the industry.' The round was led by Coatue, Ribbit and Stripes, with 11 firms named as participants in total.

Fireblocks "offers...

18 March 2021 | Banking

Beeple NFT digital artwork sells for $69.3 million in Christie’s auction

Auction house Christie's has concluded its single lot online of Beeple's 'Everydays: The First 5000 Days' artwork for $69.3 million (£49.8m) as the NFT (non-fungible token) space continues to heat up.

Christie's said the sale was the highest total for any online-only auction, as well as setting a new world record for any work of digital art and the third highest price for a living artist at auction. The company said it was a 'watershed moment in the development of digital...