Yury Ushakov, an aide of Russian president Vladimir Putin, revealed plans to create a digital blockchain payment system for the BRICS bloc. Ushakov remarked that the countries of the group would benefit from implementing such a system for the use of governments, common people, and businesses, stating that it would be convenient, cost-effective, and “free […]
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Universal loyalty programs can serve as potent tools, not only forging a direct link between a brand and its consumers but also influencing the latter’s shopping behaviour, Gennady Volchek, the CEO of the loyalty rewards app Shping, has said. However, by harnessing the power of blockchain and cryptocurrency, these loyalty programs empower brands to connect […]
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Over 214 million Brazilians will soon be using blockchain technology for digital identity, the government recently announced.
Rio de Janeiro, Goiás and Paraná will be the first states to issue identification documents on-chain through a private blockchain developed by Serpro, Brazil’s national data processing service. The entire country should be able to issue identity documents through blockchain technology by Nov. 6, reads a decree on Sept. 25.
According to Alexandre Amorim, president of Serpro, the immutability and decentralization of blockchain made it an ideal technology for the country’s digital identification project:
“Blockchain technology plays a critical role in protecting personal data and preventing fraud, offering a more secure digital experience for Brazilian citizens. Utilizing the b-Cadastros blockchain platform significantly enhances the security and reliability of the National Identity Card project.“
As per the local government, the national ID project is crucial in targeting organized crime, allowing government sectors to work together, offering a simpler way to access services and streamlining administrative records. The city of Buenos Aires, Argentina, recently disclosed a similar initiative, allowing residents to access identity documents via a digital wallet.
Over the past few years, Brazil has been working to unify identity issuance across its almost 30 states. The newly adopted technology will allow a more secure data exchange between the Federal Revenue and government departments, said the announcement.
Emissão da Carteira de Identidade Nacional (CIN) conta agora com a segurança do Blockchain. Saiba o que muda no documento e confira todos os detalhes que tornam a nova carteira de identidade dos brasileiros mais segura do que nunca!https://t.co/G2MigNkG1J
— Serpro (@SERPRO) September 25, 2023
Another significant development in the country is an upcoming central bank digital currency. The government released more information about the project in August, rebranding the digital currency to Drex.
According to previous reports, the central bank plans to expand business access to capital through a tokenization system associated with the Drex. The Drex code was discovered to allow a central authority to freeze funds or reduce balances, according to a local developer.
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Blockchain technology has recently penetrated a number of sectors, altering the way we do business, store data and interact with digital assets. The decentralized and transparent nature of blockchain also benefits content creators, including authors, musicians, artists and photographers.
Blockchain-based platforms offer unique opportunities for content creators to protect their intellectual property, receive fair compensation, and engage with a global audience. This article will explore seven blockchain-based platforms that enable content producers to earn money from their work while retaining creative control.
A blockchain-based social media site called Steemit pays content producers in cryptocurrency. By publishing creative material, supporting worthy content and engaging with the platform’s community, users can earn “Steem” tokens.
The decentralized nature of the network ensures that content producers retain ownership and control over their creations. As a blogging platform, Steemit has grown in popularity, drawing content producers from a variety of industries.
LBRY is a decentralized platform for publishing and sharing information that makes use of blockchain technology. By eliminating intermediaries, it enables content producers to publish their work directly on the platform.
Thanks to LBRY’s blockchain-based system, creators have complete ownership over their creations and receive fair compensation for their contributions. Additionally, users can find and access a variety of information thanks to LBRY’s distinctive architecture because no centralized authority controls what is made available.
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Ujo Music is a blockchain-based platform specifically designed for musicians and other music industry professionals. It provides an environment where musicians can publish their work, own their rights and receive payment from customers directly.
To make sure that artists are appropriately compensated for their work and have more control over licensing and royalties, Ujo Music makes use of the transparency and smart contracts offered by blockchain technology.
Po.et is a blockchain platform that seeks to establish a decentralized, unchangeable database for artistic productions. It enables content producers to timestamp all of their digital assets on the blockchain, such as texts, photos, videos and more.
Creators can demonstrate ownership and a record of the existence of their work by doing this, which can be extremely helpful in situations involving copyright infringement. Po.et gives content producers the ability to enforce their intellectual property rights and offers a market for licensing and remuneration for their productions.
Digital art can be purchased on SuperRare, a blockchain-based marketplace. It enables artists to produce and market original digital works of art in the form of nonfungible tokens (NFTs).
Thanks to blockchain technology, each NFT represents a one-of-a-kind work of art and is indubitably rare. SuperRare gives creators a platform to share and make money from their digital works, and collectors may buy and possess unique digital artworks.
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A decentralized music streaming service called Audius seeks to upend the established music business. It allows musicians to share and profit from their work without using intermediaries. Audius uses blockchain technology to make sure that creators are in charge of their content and are fairly compensated for their efforts.
The platform’s decentralized structure makes it possible for a more inclusive and diverse music ecosystem, which also aids up-and-coming musicians in gaining visibility and forging connections with their audience.
Content producers can monetize their social media presence with BitClout, a blockchain-based social media platform. It uses a novel business model where users can purchase and exchange “creator coins” that represent significant figures on the platform.
Fans can support the development of their favorite creators by purchasing creator coins. BitClout gives content producers a fresh method to interact with their audience and open up revenue streams.
Academic institutions house some of the world’s most important data generated from years of research. Yet centralized data storage models are becoming a concern for many universities looking to keep critical information safe and accessible.
Danny O’Brien, a senior fellow at the Filecoin Foundation and Filecoin Foundation for the Decentralized Web (FFDW) — an independent organization that facilitates governance of the Filecoin network and funds development projects — told Cointelegraph that data stored by academic institutions is at risk of vanishing due to centralized storage models. To put this in perspective, a recent Filecoin Foundation survey found that 71% of Americans have lost information and records due to challenges like deleted hyperlinks or locked online accounts.
To combat this, O’Brien explained that a handful of educational institutions have begun using decentralized data storage models to preserve data sets. “A growing number of higher education institutions, including the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Harvard University, the University of California, Berkeley, Stanford University, the University of South Carolina, and others, are all using Filecoin to store, preserve and archive their most important data on the blockchain,” he said.
For example, O’Brien pointed out that MIT is currently working on a three-year project with the FFDW to explore how decentralized technology can support its Open Learning programs. MIT’s Open Learning programs include “OpenCourseWare,” which is designed to provide free online materials from over 2,500 MIT courses. This will allow anyone worldwide to access MIT courses on the internet.
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O’Brien explained that through the support of the FFDW, MIT’s Open Learning programs will use decentralized storage to house cataloging, while preserving its OpenCourseWare materials. He added that MIT would soon host public seminars about the challenges and opportunities of the decentralized web. “Education’s ongoing embrace of decentralized Web3 data storage offers, via cryptographic proof, a guarantee that data remains available and unchanged over time, preserving their critical data for as long as they want,” he said.
The University of Utah also uses decentralized storage to protect and democratize access to large data sets. Valerio Pascucci, professor of computer science at the university, told Cointelegraph that the institution’s Center for Extreme Data Management Analysis and Visualization recently adopted a solution from Seal Storage — a decentralized cloud storage platform powered by Filecoin — to complement its current centralized infrastructure.
Pascucci explained that the model provided by Seal Storage allows the National Science Data Fabric (NSDF) — a pilot program working with institutions to democratize data — to further its goal of creating new mechanisms for easy access to scientific information.
“Traditionally, Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs), small colleges and other disadvantaged organizations cannot be part of scientific investigation endeavors because they cannot access the data necessary to do the work,” he mentioned. The NSDF’s use of decentralized storage will change that.
According to Pascucci, the NSDF-Seal Storage partnership has already demonstrated the possibility of distributing massive data collections to different communities without needing to deploy special servers or other complex processing capabilities that may be impractical for many institutions.
“For example, NASA stores on its largest supercomputer, ‘Pleiades,’ an open climate data set that is over 3 petabytes in size. Yet anyone who wants to use the data would need to have a special account on Pleiades and require the training needed to process the data,” he explained, “NSDF has adopted an ‘OpenVisus’ approach that has reorganized NASA’s data so that its distribution through decentralized storage allows for interactive processing and exploration virtually without any local resources.”
Pascucci added that this might be the first time a data set of this size has been made available for interactive exploration directly from the cloud. Moreover, he believes that the decentralized approach has enhanced security.
Although several universities have begun leveraging decentralized storage models, challenges that may hamper adoption remain.
For example, Pascucci pointed out that to distribute NASA’s open climate data set, NSDF’s OpenVisus data format had to be extended from traditional file systems to meet the storage model provided by Seal Storage. Jacques Swanepoel, chief technology officer at Seal Storage, told Cointelegraph that mapping and tagging data on the blockchain is a very complicated undertaking.
“Identifying which block on the blockchain contains specific information is key to fully utilizing the benefits of decentralized storage technology. In order to overcome these challenges, providers need to properly track where customer data is on the blockchain with creative software strategies.”
Yet it remains notable that academic institutions are using decentralized storage models. “Often considered slow-moving, academia has proven to be an early adopter of blockchain-based technologies, including decentralized storage, and continues to be a leader in adopting and deploying these tools,” O’Brien said.
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This may very well be the case, as Pascucci shared that The University of Utah and NSDF are working on implementing additional use cases with different universities.
“While the NASA use case is very high profile both for size and application to the important field of global climate change, we are already working on other use cases, including the experimental facility of the Cornell High Energy Synchrotron Source. This is where thousands of scientists go every year to collect data and share it with collaborators across the nation,” he said.