Bitcoin Tsunami

What will governments look like 5 years from now? Today DUBAI announced its plan to be... “The World’s first BLOCKCHAIN POWERED GOVERNMENT” with a plan to move 100% to blockchain by 2020 🔹 ArabianChain is moving all Dubai’s government paperwork onto the blockchain, so it doesn’t need lawyers and government departments for verification. 🔹 ObjectTech is providing digital passports and blockchain security to Dubali International airport to deliver seamless entry and exit from the country. 🔹 The Dubai Land Department has launched a blockchain system to record all real estate contracts and record all property-related transactions such as rental, utility and telcom bills. 🔹 In October, Dubai launched emCash, its own cryptocurrecny for citizens to pay for all services via digital cash. 🔹 The country has set up the 46-member Global Blockchain Council, including companies like Microsoft, IBM and Cisco, to lead the way in the country’s adopti...

Mike Novogratz, CEO of Galaxy Investment Partners, is not just any billionaire. The former  Fortress Investment Group  principal and erstwhile  Goldman Sachs  employee famously said in  2013 , “Put a little money in Bitcoin…Come back in a few years and it’s going to be worth a lot.” At the time, bitcoin was worth $200. Today, it’s circling $6,000. Novogratz has invested a substantial amount in bitcoin and ethereum, making a US$250 million profit in one go. He went out and got himself a  Gulfstream G550 jet  as a treat for his smart investment choice. Novogratz  predicts  that bitcoin will reach US$10,000 in the next 6 to 10 months. He is of the  opinion  that bitcoin is the “largest bubble of our lifetimes” but that you should own it anyway. In September, he responded to Jamie Dimon’s  opinionated statement , backing bitcoin. "I normally agree with Jamie Dimon but he’s dead wrong ...

Microsoft is partnering with Israel’s Bank Hapoalim on a blockchain-based platform to support digital bank guarantees for customers, according to The Times of Israel. Bank Hapoalim becomes the first Israeli bank to deploy blockchain technology in financial contracts, the lender noted in a statement. The project will simplify and hasten the process of signing up guarantors. Bank customers in need of a bank guarantee typically have to go to a branch, transfer the guarantee to the beneficiary, then return it to the bank in the event the guarantee is not used. Simplifying Bank Guarantees Arik Pinto, Bank Hapoalim’s CEO, said in a prepared statement that bank customers will receive security documents in an automated, digital and secure manner and in a short process. The use of blockchain technology will “significantly improve” the customer’s level of trust in the banking system, as well as the customer experience, he said. Under the partner...

Every country has its own currency. Estonia and the Eurozone have the Euro, Russia has the Rouble and the USA has US Dollars, Nigeria has the Naira and Ghana has the Cedi. We exchange money in banks or specialized foreign exchanges, transfer it worldwide and invest it.  In our times of technological innovation it is safe to say that most, if not all money transfers are conducted through the Internet. Is it then such a great surprise that an online currency such as Bitcoin has emerged? Interest in the currency has grown towards the end of 2013 due to significant spikes in the currency’s value, but let’s start from the beginning. In 2009, an unknown programmer by the name of Satoshi Nakamoto put forward a whitepaper that proposed a creation of new form of digital currency – cryptocurrency. Cryptocurrency functions the same way as regular currencies do in that its used as a means of exchange, unit of account and a store of value. Cryptocurrency, ...