Here’s what happened in blockchain in Switzerland this week. Facebook’s new cryptocurrency project in Geneva, Crypto Valley Week kicks off, Metaco, AlgoTrader and Cysec sign new partnership, and Energy Web Foundation launches public blockchain for energy sector.June 28: What happened in blockchain this week?
Facebook’s Libra was the talk of the town at Crypto Valley Conference, PwC Switzerland released its fifth ICO/STO report, United International Business Schools is turning to blockchain for diplomas, and Bitcoin’s ride past $13,000.
Facebook’s Libra could shake up the banking industry
Facebook is promising low transaction costs for users of Libra, its new digital currency. At the Crypto Valley Conference in Zug, we find out how this will impact the banking industry.
June 21: What happened in blockchain this week?
Here’s what happened in blockchain in Switzerland this week. Facebook’s new cryptocurrency project in Geneva, Crypto Valley Week kicks off, Metaco, AlgoTrader and Cysec sign new partnership, and Energy Web Foundation launches public blockchain for energy sector.
Ticino’s push for a place on the Swiss blockchain map
Switzerland is home to over 800 blockchain firms, more than 40 of which are based in the country’s Italian-speaking region. CNNMoney Switzerland heads to Ticino to find out how blockchain is breathing new life into the canton.
June 7: What happened in blockchain this week?
The International Testing Agency is exploring blockchain to fight doping at the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics, Avenir Suisse releases report on blockchain’s impact on the financial sector, the first Swiss-Polish Blockchain Symposium kicks off in Warsaw, and Blockchain Valley Ventures sets up new office in Singapore.
BlockFactory teams up with ITA to fight doping with blockchain
BlockFactory is collaborating with the International Testing Agency in Lausanne on a blockchain prototype to combat doping. The Zug-based blockchain firm walks us through how it works and what happens when a tampered document is discovered. “I think there is a lot of potential for using blockchain in sports,” says Antoine Verdon, a partner at BlockFactory. “Another field I would see, for example, is when you are testing samples….I would also see a lot of potential by digitizing the identities of the athletes.”
International Testing Agency eyes blockchain for 2020 Summer Olympics
The International Testing Agency revealed to CNNMoney Switzerland today that it is exploring the use of blockchain for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. The independent organization based in Lausanne is working on a prototype with blockchain firm BlockFactory to see how the technology can be used to fight doping. “I think it’s ambitious to have it ready by Tokyo, but we are there to be ambitious,” says Benjamin Cohen, director general of the ITA. The agency has chosen to focus on Therapeutic Use Exemption, or TUE, which states that athletes can take prohibited substances if they have a medical reason. The ITA is trying to digitize this process so that any of the documents uploaded can’t be forged. “Blockchain can be one of the answers,” Cohen says. On the partnership with BlockFactory, Cohen says: “Today I am pretty sure that we can reach a satisfactory solution where we can have some of the processes secured at a reasonable cost.”
May 31: What happened in blockchain this week?
Global blockchain accelerator Blockchain Propulsion backed by Switzerland Global Enterprise launches in Crypto Valley, Cryptix eyes blockchain-based electronic money, and swissnex India and Presence Switzerland organize a Swiss blockchain tour for an Indian delegation.
The race to attract the next big blockchain idea in Switzerland
A new global blockchain accelerator has launched in Crypto Valley, backed by the cantons of Zug and Uri, and the Greater Zurich Area. Stefan Deiss, the founder and CEO of Blockchain Propulsion, says that the aim is to onboard 100 blockchain projects over the next five years across 15 to 18 hubs around the world.
