Bitcoin Dissident Sees Dark Warnings in China's Blockchain Push - Coindesk

Bitcoin Dissident Sees Dark Warnings in China's Blockchain Push - Coindesk

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• Bitcoin Dissident Sees Dark Warnings in China's Blockchain Push - Coindesk
• What J.K. Rowling Can Teach Us About Blockchain’s Relationship to Magic - Observer
• The Benefits Of Applying Blockchain Technology In Any Industry - Forbes

Bitcoin Dissident Sees Dark Warnings in China's Blockchain Push - Coindesk Posted: 31 Oct 2019 03:20 AM PDT China's recent multi-front embrace of blockchain technology has divided the global cryptocurrency community. While some see it as helpful validation, others worry that crypto is diverging further from its anti-authoritarian roots. Authorities in China have long discouraged investment in grassroots cryptocurrencies like bitcoin. But the world's most populous country is making significant progress with plans for a national cryptocurrency that could increase the government's surveillance powers over the economy. CoinDesk spoke with one anonymous bitcoiner who grew up in China and has since moved elsewhere in East Asia. Far from seeing blockchain "adoption" as a march toward liberation, he expects the government to use such technologies to increase its control over the population. After all, the propaganda office for China's Communist Party announced a blockchain-based application over the weekend that allows members to pledge their allegiance to the party. Given China's mass detention centers currently being used to "re-educate" over a million Chinese Muslims, this bitcoiner feared local minorities will face even harsher conditions under a fully integrated financial system controlled by the government. What follows is a condensed transcript of the interview with this greybeard bitcoiner, a programmer who started following the project in 2014. The text has been edited for clarity. We agreed to keep the identity of this person secret because he feared repercussions for his family. Q: What do you think about the recent "pro-blockchain" announcements coming out of China? It terrifies the crap out of me. Crypto is technology is just like nuclear fusion is just technology: You can use it to create nuclear generators that might benefit a lot of humanity, or you can use it to create atomic bombs. We do need to think about ethics when it comes to these things. If the value is something a totalitarian state can take hold of and use to track every single person and what they're doing, enforcing the strictest currency controls, then this is what they are going to do. Q: Why do you think there are so many people celebrating such news this as a positive indicator for "adoption" in the crypto community? People in East Asia are very comfortable with the idea that the government is like our parents, that they'll take care of us. Even if they read novels like Brave New World or 1984, the world to them is OK for the most part. But the few people who want to act in a way that the government does not agree with will be persecuted. My parents have been [Christian] missionaries for about 18 years now, and being a missionary is outlawed in China. Our phones were getting tapped, our computer was getting hacked. My parents' names were on the Chinese police blacklist. People like my parents are  called terrorists or Tibetan freedom fighters. In China, there's very strict capital controls. So when I read about bitcoin, it was like, "This is a great way to store money with real censorship resistance." Q: How did you guys live under such constant surveillance? We had very specific protocols for operational security. For example, when we're talking over the phone or email, we switch out all sensitive words and make sure our servers are not located in China. My parents once had their WePay and AliPay accounts cut off. But luckily they had cash, fiat currency and physical cash so they could live. If China had been 100 percent digital, there would have been no way for them to survive. Q: How does your family use (relatively) decentralized blockchain technology today? I don't send my parents money in crypto. But my biggest fear growing up was that my parents would be deported. In China, after they tell you that you need to leave the country, you need to liquidate all your assets in 48 hours. We used to practice this thing where we'd pack everything we have in less than 48 hours. It was kind of like our drill. Right now, all my parents' assets are in crypto. As long as there's one of us, somewhere in the world with access to our private key, our wealth is OK. It's still very difficult for my parents to access their crypto, though. They can't do it by themselves. They definitely need my help. That's why I hold most of their stuff. In that way, accessibility [with crypto] is still lacking, even if it provides a store of value. And my parents don't really understand crypto the way they understand banking services. At the end of the day, censorship resistance is not enough. We need a private way of transacting and a way to make it accessible, understandable to everyone. We're not there yet. China surveillance image via Shutterstock

What J.K. Rowling Can Teach Us About Blockchain’s Relationship to Magic - Observer Posted: 31 Oct 2019 04:31 AM PDT J.K. Rowling's nonprofit Lumos is working to end the systematic institutionalization of children—and blockchain could play a vital part. Rob Stothard/Getty Images J.K. Rowling cast a powerful spell last week, one that revealed the nonprofit world's most deceptive illusion. Speaking at the One Young World Summit, the acclaimed Harry Potter writer warned activists against the dangers of "orphanage tourism," encouraging students to instead "look at what drives children into institutions" and address these causes with "vital services." From one Gryffindor to another: Bravo, Mrs. Rowling. SEE ALSO: Yes, Blockchain Is Still a Possible Gun Control Solution As a global ambassador to the UK-based nonprofit Hope and Homes for Children, I am all-too familiar with the destructive system the author described. Although I spent decades in a global development role at the World Bank and elsewhere, nothing prepared me for learning that charities involved in orphanage care were doing more harm than good. While an estimated eight million children today reside in orphanages, more than 80% have at least one living parent. These children are prime targets for sex traffickers and drug dealers, as well as 500 times more likely to take their own life. If we take Rowling's suggestion and look at what drives children into these orphanages, we see the core of this problem involves identity. Children in orphanages lack the most basic human right: a proof of their existence, in the form of a birth certificate or personal ID document. They can't escape the abusive cycle of orphanages because they do not have the necessary documents to trace back their origins and reunite with their families. Many children in the orphanage systems are being lost forever. They vanish, going from one orphanage to another and remaining hostages of these sinister institutions. Although several governments in recent years have passed deinstitutionalization laws against orphanages, they continue to flourish because children keep being uprooted and separated from their family members. This global epidemic has been exacerbated by other crises like Syria's civil war and the rise of statelessness due to the Indian government's removal of citizens from its national ID registry. There is no longer a sense of belonging, and "children in cages" at the border ends up becoming children in orphanages. Working with local authorities, both Rowling's Lumos and Hope and Homes for Children have managed to close a good percentage of orphanages worldwide. But millions of children are still waiting to be reunited with a loving family. Many of them risk being taken out of the country by human traffickers, often ending up in modern slavery or the human organ trade. One solution I believe will prevent these human rights violations is a form of universally recognized personal identity. In 2017, I founded the World Identity Network, an advocacy group promoting new implementations of exponential technologies, such as blockchain. Shortly after our launch, we partnered with the United Nations to roll out a pilot program in my home country of Moldova—arguably one of the most dangerous countries in the world for young children. We're piloting a blockchain-based system that flags every unauthorized exit of a child with someone who is not a parent as a possible attempt at trafficking. In Moldova, we work with a local antennae of Hope and Homes for Children, CCF Moldova, to get children out of the orphanage system, provide them with personal ID papers, trace their family lineage and reunite them with family members. We buy them comfortable homes and cover costs for their most basic needs. Furthermore, with our support, the government of Moldova passed a law requiring every minor to posses a proof of personal ID, if intending to leave the country. Using blockchain on top of existing systems will flag and record every unlawful attempt to exit, helping to ensure that no child is taken out of the country using fake ID documents produced by human traffickers. I believe this systematic approach echoes magic in that it has the ability to empower individuals over their destinies. It all starts with the premise that everyone deserves proof of identity and that blockchain technology offers limitless possibilities to do it correctly. We should harness its capabilities to elevate humanity à la Wingardium Leviosa. Dr. Mariana Dahan is the founder of the World Identity Network, a nonprofit launched on Sir Richard Branson's Necker Island advocating for universal identity. She previously served at the World Bank for eight years and launched the organization's Identification for Development (ID4D) program—read her full bio here.

The Benefits Of Applying Blockchain Technology In Any Industry - Forbes Posted: 23 Oct 2019 12:00 AM PDT Blockchain technology has evolved greatly since the introduction of Bitcoin in 2008, the first decentralized peer-to-peer electronic cash system. Today, innovators in various fields are realizing the benefits of the technology behind Bitcoin. From medicine to finance, many sectors are looking for ways to integrate blockchain into their infrastructures. With its decentralized and trustless nature, Blockchain technology can lead to new opportunities and benefit businesses through greater transparency, enhanced security, and easier traceability. Blockchain Concept and Manhattan Skyline at Night Getty How Blockchain Can Power Up Your Business Blockchain solutions are not only limited to the exchange of cryptocurrencies. There are numerous benefits that this technology can present to businesses in many different industries, through its distributed and decentralized nature:  #1 Greater Transparency Blockchain's greatest characteristic stems from the fact that its transaction ledger for public addresses is open to viewing. In financial systems and businesses, this adds an unprecedented layer of accountability, holding each sector of the business responsible to act with integrity towards the company's growth, its community and customers. #2 Increased Efficiency Due to its decentralized nature, Blockchain removes the need for middlemen in many processes for fields such as payments and real estate. In comparison to traditional financial services, blockchain facilitates faster transactions by allowing P2P cross-border transfers with a digital currency. Property management processes are made more efficient with a unified system of ownership records, and smart contracts that would automate tenant-landlord agreements. #3 Better Security Blockchain is far more secure than other record keeping systems because each new transaction is encrypted and linked to the previous transaction. Blockchain, as the name suggests, is formed by a network of computers coming together to confirm a 'block', this block is then added to a ledger, which forms a 'chain'. Blockchain is formed by a complicated string of mathematical numbers and is impossible to be altered once formed. This immutable and incorruptible nature of blockchain makes it safe from falsified information and hacks. It's decentralized nature also gives it a unique quality of being 'trustless' – meaning that parties do not need trust to transact safely.  #4 Improved Traceability With the blockchain ledger, each time an exchange of goods is recorded on a Blockchain, an audit trail is present to trace where the goods came from. This can not only help improve security and prevent fraud in exchange-related businesses, but it can also help verify the authenticity of the traded assets. In industries such as medicine, it can be used to track the supply chain from manufacturer to distributer, or in the art industry to provide an irrefutable proof of ownership.  Blockchain-as-a-Service for Simpler Integration The problem that many businesses face, however, is that blockchain is sophisticated to integrate, and lack a technical team that is well-versed in this arena. BaaS or Blockchain-as-a-Service companies allow customers to integrate Blockchain technology into their businesses easily, without disruption to their daily processes. One such company that identified the need for BaaS is Broctagon Fintech Group. With a global presence across 7 countries, Broctagon provides premier fintech solutions including multi-asset liquidity, brokerage technology solutions, and enterprise blockchain development. Businesses are also apprehensive about blockchain integration, especially about investing large sums of funds into development for a technology that is still considered 'disruptive'. Starter kits like Blockchain-in-a-Box allows modern businesses to create a proof-of-concept to confirm blockchain's viability and feasibility for their business before embarking on a full development. Investors are more likely going to finance a project they can see, rather than just a conceptual idea. With it's Blockchain-in-a-Box starter kit, businesses can create a fully tangible platform to stand out in their market and gain confidence for their projects. Blockchain has the potential for many use cases, applicable to a multitude of industries, and BaaS facilitates that movement from 'disruptive' into 'mainstream'.

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