Ethereum Blockchain Solutions for Enterprise Business: Pros and Cons - Cointelegraph

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• Ethereum Blockchain Solutions for Enterprise Business: Pros and Cons - Cointelegraph
• US Moves Closer to Accepting Blockchain, Still Uncertain Over Crypto - Cointelegraph
• Blockchain copyright under the DCI certification - PRNewswire

Ethereum Blockchain Solutions for Enterprise Business: Pros and Cons - Cointelegraph Posted: 27 Jul 2019 12:07 PM PDT Ethereum currently is known as the most popular public blockchain network for the development of decentralized applications (DApps) and smart contracts. Its prospective blockchain protocol is one of the few cryptocurrency projects actually achieving real-world adoption, with dozens of applications that can be divided into 11 major categories: open finance, decentralized exchanges, gaming, collectibles, marketplaces, developer tools, identity, governance, infrastructure, token-curated registries and Ethereum Request for Comments (ERC) token standards. Thus, it appears to be leading the field of enterprise blockchain solutions. Ethereum is contributing to the revolutionizing of the internet with the creation of the Decentralized Web — or Web3 — that facilitates peer-to-peer (P2P) transactions (i.e., without a middleman). It means that Ethereum's blockchain technology is gradually changing the internet's P2P economy through a means of control over the technologies and applications that we use extensively. There are three primary ways Ethereum is doing this: The first is by making money (cryptocurrency) a native feature of the internet; the second is by decentralizing applications to offer users new capabilities, for example, user-driven contribution to Open Government Data; and third is by giving users control over their data and digital identities.  Real-world Ethereum adoption Out of the 2,000+ cryptocurrencies out there, Ethereum has demonstrated how a blockchain technology can achieve real-world adoption with both individuals and enterprise businesses.  Since Ethereum's inception in 2015, there have been over 2,500 DApps built on the Ethereum blockchain. At the forefront of Ethereum enterprise adoption is the Enterprise Ethereum Alliance, a blockchain consortium with over 450 enterprise business members, including Microsoft, JPMorgan Chase, Santander, Accenture, ING, Intel, Cisco and others. Enterprises implementing Ethereum's blockchain technology Microsoft and Amazon have started using Ethereum's protocol to enable users to create and manage blockchains through their cloud computing blockchain-as-a-service (BaaS) platforms — i.e., Microsoft Azure in May 2019 and Amazon Managed Blockchain earlier in April respectively.  These BaaS platforms could contribute to Ethereum's growth and adoption. Additionally, they also provide access to Ethereum variants such as JPMorgan's Quorum blockchain, which is an enterprise-focused, open-source blockchain platform based on Ethereum.  The Quorum blockchain has been exposed to more than 250 global banks so far through Quorum's Interbank Information Network (IIN) and is now usable by a larger universe of firms through BaaS platforms. While JPMorgan's Quorum blockchain is a private or permissioned version of Ethereum, major developments are taking place on the public Ethereum blockchain as well. For instance, Big Four accounting firm, Ernst & Young (EY) recently released a public blockchain protocol called Nightfall. This protocol is a privacy tool based on the zk-SNARKs protocol that enables large corporates and enterprises that require blockchain privacy to build upon the public Ethereum network. Why large corporations and enterprises choose Ethereum  Ethereum appears to be the leading blockchain among enterprises. For instance, more than 50% of the billion-dollar firms included in Forbes' "Blockchain 50: Billion Dollar Babies" list are building applications on top of Ethereum or deriving platforms from it.  Here are some of the primary reasons these enterprises are choosing Ethereum: First mover advantage: Ethereum is the first programmable blockchain that features a Turing-complete language on its blockchain that features smart contract functionality. It's a well-planned project: The majority of cryptocurrencies are quite spontaneous, appearing and dying quickly. Ethereum, on the other hand, is a project with a high level of credibility based on its lasting history — in comparison to other crypto projects — with its white paper released in 2013 and its launch in 2015.  The project has a clear roadmap and vision for its scaling in order to make its blockchain technologically relevant for years to come. The project will scale with the release of Ethereum 2.0, which is a major upgrade being released in four phases over the next two-three years. It's an open system: Ethereum's public blockchain is an open system, meaning that anyone can join the project and contribute to its growth and development. This is a major advantage because it makes it possible for anyone to develop the ecosystem and improve it. Closed or private blockchain platforms like Hyperledger, Hashgraph, Corda, etc., do not garner the same network effect as open systems like Ethereum.  It has massive support: Ethereum has the largest community of developers working on its blockchain protocol. Hundreds of thousands of developers are working on the Ethereum ecosystem, and the project is backed by both medium-sized companies and large corporations. Also, the Ethereum Enterprise Alliance and Hyperledger monitor and contribute to the development of the project continually. Private transactions: Enterprises can achieve privacy with Ethereum by forming private consortia with private transaction layers, and JPMorgan's Quorum would be a good example of that. Also, enterprises can now achieve privacy on the public Ethereum blockchain with Ernst & Young's Nightfall protocol.  Rapid deployment: It's easy for developers and enterprises to get started with Ethereum. All-in-one BaaS platforms like Microsoft Azure and Amazon Managed Blockchain services and software-as-a-service (SaaS) platforms like ConsenSys-backed Kaleido attempt to make it easy for businesses to develop their own blockchain networks. New tools and development kits are continuously being released so that Ethereum can easily be adopted among enterprises and businesses.  Interoperability: Enterprises can develop Ethereum-based private/permissioned blockchain networks and plug them into the public Ethereum mainnet to enjoy the vast, active, high-value public blockchain and all the parts of its ecosystem. An example of this is Pantheon from PegaSys, which is Ethereum's first enterprise client that is compatible with the public chain. All in all, Ethereum's interoperability essentially keeps enterprise blockchains up to date, as it offers them global reach, an expansive network of users and DApps, and continuous developments and upgrades. Investment: The price of Ethereum's native cryptocurrency, Ether, has increased by over 9,000% from the time of its launch. Early adopters and investors have benefitted from an exceptional return on investment and ETH prices are expected to continuously increase throughout time. Ethereum 4-years price chart. Courtesy of Coin360 Fueling an increasing ETH price is the adoption of the Ethereum protocol, new tokenomics — such as staking, which essentially pays stakers dividends, as well as reduced ETH issuance by 10x by 2021. For these reasons, Ethereum is expected to net large conglomerates, enterprises and investors massive returns on investment.  Drawbacks of Ethereum for enterprise While Ethereum may be the front-running blockchain for enterprise business solutions, it isn't the be-all and end-all solution, there are some drawbacks. Some of the biggest concerns from enterprise businesses for Ethereum include: Scalability: The primary problem with Ethereum is scalability. Transactions are still very slow, as Ethereum's public blockchain can only process roughly 15-20 transactions per second (TPS) compared to the 45,000 processed by Visa. Enterprises require a very high throughput of transactions, and Ethereum can not yet offer that on its public mainnet.  Source: Cointelegraph Analytics  However, permissioned variants of the Ethereum blockchain do not suffer the same constraints as public Ethereum and can transact much faster than 15-20 TPS. Therefore, Ethereum has somewhat solved this problem for now, as Enterprises can develop these private Ethereum blockchains and bridge them to the public Ethereum blockchain when it's able to scale. Earlier this month, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin suggested to use Bitcoin Cash blockchain as a temporal solution that would help solve the scalability problems of the Ethereum network. Uncertainty: Another major drawback to Ethereum for enterprise is that the project is still being heavily developed, and there can be some breakdowns in the system along the way. For instance, in order for Ethereum to scale, it must transition from a proof-of-work (PoW) to a proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus algorithm in the Ethereum 2.0 upgrade. This is a very serious change — and if it doesn't go smoothly, the whole system can crash.  Competition: While Ethereum is leading the way in enterprise blockchain adoption, it is competing with other blockchain protocols that claim to be more scalable than Ethereum. Such competitors include EOS, Cardano, Stellar, Neo, TRON, and others. As well, Ethereum will be competing with new blockchain protocols that haven't even launched yet, such as Hedera Hashgraph, Polkadot and Telegram Open Network (TON) . Ethereum 2.0: How will it change enterprise interaction with the ecosystem Ethereum currently suffers from a number of problems and limitations surrounding its blockchain technology, including problems with interoperability, economic and transactional scalability, security, stability, governance and more. However, the team behind Ethereum is addressing these issues with a radical overhaul of the protocol through the Ethereum 2.0 upgrade. As put by Buterin: "Ethereum 1.0 is a couple of people's scrappy attempt to build the world computer; Ethereum 2.0 will actually be the world computer."  To make Ethereum "the world computer," the upgrade will introduce three primary components that are poised to help the protocol succeed and be adopted as the standard among businesses: A switch from the energy-intensive PoW consensus algorithm to a PoS consensus algorithm. Ethereum holders will be able to stake with a minimum of 32 ETH or can pool their ETH together. This will enable more participants to join the network, making Ethereum 2.0 more decentralized, resilient and secure. Implementation of network-wide, second-layer scaling solutions such as sharding, which will allow Ethereum transactions on a parallel subchain. This scaling solution will be combined with Plasma chains and will enable Ethereum to handle a higher volume of transactions — "many tens of thousands of decentralized transactions per second," according to Ethereum co-founder Joseph Lubin. The Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) — which is the engine responsible for the deployment of DApps on the blockchain — will be completely revamped and run on a new programming code called WebAssembly (WASM). This part of the upgrade will increase Ethereum's overall speed, usability and security. Moreover, Ethereum 2.0 is being delivered over seven distinct phases and the first three phases — Phase 0 – Beacon Chain, Phase 1–Basic Sharding and Phase 2 –eWASM — are slated to take at least a year and a half before implementation is complete, and it is expected to be launched at the beginning of 2020. This simply means that Ethereum 2.0's delivery is going to take a long time, and we can expect to see delays along the way, just as it was with Ethereum's major Constantinople hard fork that saw multiple delays and was quite hard to implement.  Being one of the oldest players on the crypto field, Ethereum has gained a trusted credibility among enterprise businesses. Also, its protocol's real-world applications has covered 11 major categories that enterprise businesses could potentially be interested in. And Ethereum's large community of developers, which works on the blockchain's protocol improvements, could be considered by enterprise businesses as a technological benefit. Meanwhile, Ethereum constantly faces update delays, a low level of scalability and burgeoning competitors.  All in all, Ethereum could easily be replaced by a competing blockchain protocol that's able to deliver on its promises and expand its blockchain network faster. After all, it is still very early in this innovative world of blockchain technology and there are no clear winners just yet.  Do you think Ethereum will continue to be the leading blockchain for enterprise blockchain solutions or will another project come along and prove to be better? Let us know what you think in the comment section below. The views, thoughts and opinions expressed here are the authors alone and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph. Jeremy Wall is a financial writer and aspiring investor. He is also a cryptocurrency enthusiast who's fascinated with blockchain technology and the financial markets. When he's not researching and learning about cryptocurrency, he's traveling the world with his dog and girlfriend.

US Moves Closer to Accepting Blockchain, Still Uncertain Over Crypto - Cointelegraph Posted: 27 Jul 2019 02:21 PM PDT Despite concerns expressed by many United States regulators during the recent House Committee on Financial Services' hearing on Facebook's proposed digital currency, Libra, an increasing number of U.S. lawmakers are speaking out in favor of developing a permissive regulatory apparatus to prevent stifling innovation in the cryptocurrency sector. Several days prior to the hearing, the passing of the Blockchain Promotion Act signposted the government's intention to develop a prudent legislative framework to oversee possible implementation of blockchain technology in various public sectors. Skepticism pertaining to the operation of Facebook and its stablecoin project aside, the month's regulatory proceeding indicated that lawmakers may be moving closer to embracing digital assets — and especially the technology behind them — at least from a regulatory point of view. Bitcoin is an "unstoppable force" Rep. Patrick McHenry, who represents North Carolina's 10th Congressional District and is a ranking member of the U.S. House Committee on Financial Services, described Bitcoin as comprising an "unstoppable force" while delivering a testimony as part of the committee's recent hearing.  McHenry implored regulators to encourage innovation within the United States' digital currency sector, stating:  "The world that Satoshi Nakamoto — author of the Bitcoin white paper — envisioned, and others are building, is an unstoppable force. We should not attempt to deter this innovation, and governments cannot stop this innovation, and those who have tried have already failed. So the question then becomes, what are American policymakers going to do to meet the challenges and the opportunities of this new world of innovation?" McHenry asserted that the desire to tightly regulate cryptocurrency is symptomatic of policymakers who wish to stifle innovation, stating, "Some politicians want us to live in a permission-based society, where you need to come to government, ask for its blessing before you can begin to even think about innovating." On the same day, McHenry was interviewed on CNBC's "Squawk Box" to discuss the hearing on Facebook's proposed digital currency at Capitol Hill, in which he described a "knee-jerk reaction to kill it [Libra] before it grows" that many U.S. lawmakers might have. He argued: "There's a white paper that's an idea. And there's a consortium of companies — some with better reputations than Facebook currently has — that are developing a digital payments platform and a digital currency. Interesting, right? Instead, we have a knee-jerk reaction to kill an idea." McHenry emphasized the need to encourage and foster innovation given the context of the United States' "stagnant economy," saying, "If they can comply with existing laws, have at it." Cryptocurrency regulation comprises matter of "financial inclusion" McHenry described "financial inclusion for those who are on the margins, where the transfer of money is exceedingly high" as the fundamental issue at stake when discussing the regulation of digital currency. "So, you have an immigrant who, on Friday evenings, judiciously, every week, sends money back to his family where he grew up, wherever in the world. He's paying Western Union 7% to 10% to move that money. Libra is a very different mover in that space to reduce the cost of those low-dollar remittances." McHenry also advanced distributed ledger technology as a potential solution to the challenges pertaining to the global movement of large sums of money, stating: "It's exceedingly costly, and the SWIFT network that is being broadly used is a very expensive one, and an old technology." So, there is huge opportunity for financial inclusion for low-dollar and extreme cost-savings potentially for high-dollar movements of cash." U.S. Senate committee approves "Blockchain Promotion Act" On July 9, the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee approved the Blockchain Promotion Act. The bill, which was first introduced to the House of Representatives in October 2018 and then moved on to the Senate in February 2019, directs the Department of Commerce to establish a standard definition for "blockchain." Rob Odell, vice president of product and marketing at crypto-backed loan provider Salt, told Cointelegraph that: "By developing a taxonomy or set of agreed-upon terms and definitions for blockchain and crypto-related concepts, people can begin speaking about these concepts in a way that drives understanding and alignment among industry and governmental leaders. As blockchain achieves a global definition, regulatory bodies will be forced to acknowledge, discuss, and eventually understand what blockchains are already providing and what they have the potential to provide." The bill is intended to prevent the development of a patchwork regulatory definition pertinent to distributed ledger technology at the state level by establishing a fundamental framework for future legislation — and to recommend potential applications for the nascent technology. The bill has received bipartisan support in both the Senate and the House. Odell went on to say regarding this: "The passing of the Blockchain Promotion Act by the Senate creates an opportunity to promote the technology at a federal level and expose more government organizations to how it can bring more transparency and efficiency to their work. What's especially exciting about this bill is that it's received bipartisan support-- a testament to the fact that members of both major political parties in the US are recognizing the value that blockchain technology can bring to the United States and to the rest of the world, whether it's by preventing tax fraud, eliminating bureaucracy or reducing waste."    In the Senate, the Blockchain Promotion Act is co-sponsored by Democratic Sen. Ed Markey of Massachusetts and Republican Sen. Todd Young of Indiana. Markey described blockchain as "an exciting new technology with great potential and promise," adding:  "At its core, blockchain is a tool for exchanging data in a secure and accountable fashion, and it has already been deployed to expand access to renewable energy, enhance health care delivery systems, and improve supply chain efficiency. This legislation will help further understand applications for this technology and explore opportunities for its use within the federal government. This is a commonsense step that will help position the United States and for success." Republican Sen. Todd Young emphasized the potential for distributed ledger technology to comprise a catalyst for sustained economic growth across all industries. He said:  "If America leads in its development, we can ensure that it's benefits will be shared far and wide. Blockchain has the potential to not only provide financial and economic benefits at home, but humanitarian and social support in developing countries will benefit from American leadership." In the House, the bill is co-sponsored by a Republican Rep. Brett Guthrie of Kentucky's 2nd Congressional District and Democrat Rep. Doris Matsui of California's 6th Congressional District. Congressman Guthrie emphasized the need to eliminate "regulatory uncertainty" within the blockchain sector, stating:  "As our economies become increasingly digital, more organizations are turning to blockchain for business transactions and other new applications. Blockchain can be a great resource for innovation and technology, but as the technology develops we must reduce regulatory uncertainty by figuring out whether there is a common definition and how the technology can be used." Matsui expressed her assumption that the Blockchain Promotion Act will lay the groundwork for fostering innovation within the distributed ledger technology sector, stating:  "This bipartisan, bicameral bill will bring a broad group of stakeholders together to develop a common definition of blockchain, and, perhaps even more importantly, recommend opportunities to leverage the technology to promote new innovations." Blockchain Working Group to be established within U.S. Department of Commerce  Within 90 days of the enactment of the Blockchain Promotion Act, the U.S. Secretary of Commerce, Wilbur Ross, will be required to establish a working group within the Department of Commerce.  The group, called the Blockchain Working Group, will be partially comprised of members representing a "cross-section" of federal agencies that could benefit from the adoption of distributed ledger technology, and representatives from industry stakeholders, academic institutions, nonprofit organizations and consumer advocacy groups engaged in activities relating to blockchain technology. Additionally, the Blockchain Working Group is required to  include representatives from industry stakeholders specifically from sectors other than technology, as well as representation from both rural and urban stakeholders. The working group is tasked with submitting a report to Congress within one year of the Blockchain Promotion Act's enactment. The report will include a recommendation for a definition of "blockchain technology," in addition to making recommendations on a study examining the range of potential applications for distributed ledger technology and suggesting possible applications for blockchain technology that will promote efficiency within U.S. federal agencies. The group will also be tasked with recommending a study into the impact of blockchain on "electromagnetic spectrum policy," which will be carried out by the assistant secretary of commerce for communications and information in coordination with the Federal Communications Commission. Lastly, the Blockchain Working Group is encouraged to consider any recommendations made within the National Institute of Standards and Technology's "Blockchain Technology Report" from October 2018.

Blockchain copyright under the DCI certification - PRNewswire Posted: 28 Jul 2019 01:02 AM PDT SINGAPORE, July 28, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The copyright certificate is not just a paper certificate. Its revolutionary change is popularized with the development of blockchain technology. The Internet has brought convenience to copyright protection, but it still has many uncertain factors. The tamper-resistance characteristics of blockchain have made the industry see new hopes, and copyright industry practitioners say: "Fortunately, the 'time stamping' feature of the blockchain is naturally suitable for copyright protection." In 2017, blockchain copyright projects were released gradually and the Unlimited IP whitepaper was launched in August. The UIP team of Singapore became the pioneer in the blockchain copyright application scenario. In 2018, in a case of a copyright dispute in Hangzhou, by the judge's critical decision, the blockchain evidence in the copyright field officially stepped onto the stage. This is the industry's recognition of blockchain technology. In 2019, the UIP team's chief strategic business partner in China, Lianyi (Beijing) Technology Co., Ltd. (referred to as Lianyi Technology) and the Copyright Protection Center of China carried out the DCI certification system cooperation, so far, the original creators can get the zone In addition to the blockchain copyright protection, there is a more secure and reliable digital copyright proof with legal effect at the national level. Looking back at the development of copyright in the blockchain industry, let's take a look at the way to survive the blockchain copyright combined with DCI certification. 01 Origin The traditional copyright protection process is very traditional, and it is so called the "Copyright Protection Law for the Poor." Because the traditional copyright registration cost is very high, according to the data of the Copyright Protection Center of China, the registration fee of more than 10,000 words for words and oral works is RMB300. The registration fee for art works is also RMB300. In addition, the cumbersome process procedures and weekly processing time make the creators discouraged. Previously, Internet + digital copyright protection, electronic data was generated at the same time as various problems, such as scattered, incomplete or lost evidence; evidence stored in the infringer's equipment was forged or tampered with; time of electronic evidence It is reset by the machine, resulting in the loss of legal validity and so on. These will make it difficult for the prosecutor to carry out the rights protection to the end. The emergence of blockchains is like a effective medicine in the copyright field, combating opacity in the copyright field, high cost of intermediaries, etc., and stamping the time stamp that cannot be falsified, replacing the "Copyright Protection Law for the Poor." Based on this idea, the UIP team formed in August 2017. This is a cross-border team based on entertainment copyright and blockchain. The team design model combines the decentralization of the blockchain with the nature of copyright transactions. On-chain deposits, using time stamps to effectively reduce a series of cumbersome personal proofs, while fighting piracy, can also provide security and benefits for copyright IP authors. In the Unlimited IP depository platform, in the context of the blockchain in the ascendant, the team began to draw blueprints from the concept. When other blockchain companies test the water in the financial and insurance fields, the blockchain finally ushered in the copyright protection. 02 Implementation "Blockchain protects copyright," the slogan is very loud, it sounds very reasonable, but implementation is not an easy task. "At the very beginning of implementing the blockchain copyright idea, there are still a lot of teams who have put their eyes on this one. This shows that our goal is correct. The more people do this, the more we are happy, the proof that our direction is correct, but from the establishment of the UIP team in the middle of 2017 to the first day of 2018, copyright certified-storage service platform has in beta, we found that there are not many people in the same industry, we have become the pioneer," a founding member of the UIP team told us. From the concept of the combination of blockchain technology and copyright technology, the team that is eager to try is not in the minority. However, after the UIP Foundation's copyright deposit service platform was launched in 2018, the team was shocked that the team had been developing for half a year. Many of the former project friends have quietly withdrawn from the arena. "There are fewer competitors. Instead, we start thinking, we will have some concerns, we will question our own judgment. Our team discussed one night and finally firmly believe that we are doing the right thing. Other people may have various reasons. Persevere, but this does not mean that we are not able to do blockchain projects under the copyright scene." In the past two years, various arguments about blockchain technology have been rampant, ups and downs, many project parties have left, and many project parties are still insisting. By June 2019, the copyright certified-storage service platform was updated and iterated several versions, and launched the Unlimited IP international version of the crowdfunding platform, opened a crowdfunding concert, signed a number of artists' works, and the team laid out according to their own rhythm. Copyright ecology, development. 03 the future of DCI "The blockchain protects the copyright certified-storage that cannot be tampered with. Many people still want to have a 'center' to tell us that we protect you, so we cooperate with the Copyright Protection Center of China through our partner Chain Technology," The CEO of UIP Foundation of Singapore - Derek, told us. So how do you look at the "decentralization" that the blockchain has been discussing? This is not a gimmick. The idea of blockchain is decentralization. The belief in technology is decentralized. The UIP team believes that in the world of blockchains. With decentralized technology to protect copyright, everyone can store certificates and see the circulation path of copyright, which is very important for splitting copyright beneficiaries. But when the time to get out of the blockchain is in line with the three-dimensional world, we need some channels, or our society and creators need an authority to avoid disputes to a great extent, with minimal input. It is closest to the security of traditional copyright certificates. "The cooperation with DCI can be said to be a strong alliance." The copyright blockchain field is constantly exploring a more perfect way to land. More artists and more IP copyrights can be protected and continue to generate new vitality. According to the "China Internet Copyright Industry Development Report (2018)," in 2018, China's online copyright market size reached RMB743.2 billion alone. It increased by 16.6% yoy. Among them, the scale of user payment in China's online copyright industry continued to grow at a high speed. The total scale increased from 222.9 billion in 2016 to 368.6 billion in 2018, accounting for more than 50% of the overall market size of the online copyright industry. The copyright industry is one of the implementations of application of blockchain technology. The blockchain copyright is trying to outstand the challenges in front of the huge copyright market with a unique attitude. On this road, the UIP team has peers and comrades who have left. In any case, they are still insisting on development and constantly updating. At present, while the UIP team is exploring the implementation, it is more focused on how to smoothly intervene in the traditional copyright world. Everything is worth looking forward to, and it is not predictable until the end as if life. Glossary: DCI, (Digital Copyright Identifier), a digital copyright unique identifier, is an innovative service system proposed by the Copyright Protection Center of China to better provide copyright public services in a digital network environment. SOURCE UIP Foundation of Singapore

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