How to choose your blockchain advisors
Or a guide for management teams on how to choose your advisors
Six months before Mr X. was barely known, he might not even know about the Blockchain. And now he is proudly broadcasted in major rating websites as one of the top ten best advisor of the sector. He is one of the ghost advisors of the Blockchain… They work for private multinational companies as employees or middle managers, more than 10 hours per day, they are often family men with many kids, and end up as advisors of more than 30 projects in less than 3 months (one might ask where they find the time). With credential related to their new positions, they are asking high upfront and percentages on ICOs. But, once you have dealt with them and send them your tokens… You will hardly heard of them (or just when it is time to cash in).
This is the new obscur face of the Blockchain. A new kind of financial vampires who is only here to suck the workforce of ICO team members and benefits of token holders. They have no genuine passion or vocation for the Blockchain technology and this amazing paradigm shift. With no real experience as CEO or real operational job in the Blockchain, they nonetheless, position themselves as the utmost experts.
For the last 3 years, Initial Coin Offerings has set up a new kind of company financing for companies using the Blockchain Technology. The technology application is still at an early stage, and changes occur at fast pace. The need for advisors to guide in each development section of the project has become vital for a project to succeed.
Surfing on this wave, a new kind of opportunists people have emerged far from the legitimate and genuine advisors. Entrepreneurs entering the sector must really be aware of the new practices settled by some unscrupulous advisors asking for shockingly huge compensation schemes.
In this context, it is sometimes difficult for CEOs and Blockchain project founders to find the right experts to assist and consult to develop the project. But there are solutions. And bear in mind that it is not the “best” advisor meaning the one with the most hyped reputation that will push your ICO to the next level, but the hard working and committed person that loves your project. I have being talking with many CEOs and experts as have been confronted with those Ghost Advisors over the last year. Here are few hints that will avoid traps and save you time.
If you are a CEO like I do and you get propositions from those people (and trust me if you have a legitimate project with growing reputation, they will come to you to propose their services). Hiring those persons is the worse things an Entrepreneur may do. They will suck the ressources needed to develop your project without tangible worked done in exchange. At Fieldcoin, in collaboration with our CLO and the management team we have seen this from the early beginnings. In order to avoid the traps, we have put a series of safeguards to protect the project and get the most of our Advisory team.
Signs that you are in front of a ghost advisor
High percentages of the ICO allocated to Advisors Some CEO’s are tempted to allocate high percentages of the ICO to Advisors. If you see an ICO with more than 3% allocated...
JPMorgan’s focus on blockchain is part of their digital transformation roadmap
A study into JPMorgan’s digital transformation initiatives has revealed that blockchain is a key technology for the bank’s roadmap, according to a press release published by ResearchAndMarkets.com (RM) October 3.
RM has analyzed JPMorgan’s enterprise-wide strategies to secure its “competitive edge” against rival banks, non-financial firms, and fintech startups. The bank has reportedly earmarked $10.8 billion for technology spending in 2018, $5 billion of which will go towards fintech investments.
The study covers JPMorgan’s digital transformation roadmap, with blockchain listed as the first in a range of bleeding-edge technologies that are being pursued by the bank — including big data, cloud, artificial intelligence (AI), and robotics.
It...
Australian Securities Exchange Delays Their Switch to Blockchain
The Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) has announced that it will delay its transition to use blockchain for equity transactions by six months, the Sydney Morning Herald reports September 4.
As Cointelegraph has previously reported, the ASX has been working to implement blockchain as of December 2017 to replace its current system for processing equity transactions.
According to the Sydney Morning Herald, the decision to delay the move comes as the exchange plans to devote more time to user development and testing. The launch date for the switchover has now been moved from the fourth quarter of 2020 to March-April...
South Korea to Double Public Sector Blockchain Trials Next Year
The South Korean government is literally doubling down on its efforts to trial blockchain in the public sector, adding more projects and increasing available funds for 2019.
The Korea Internet & Security Agency (KISA) – a sub-organization of the Ministry of ICT – has said it is aiming to increase the number of blockchain pilot projects in the public sector from six this year to 12 in 2019, as CoinDesk Korea reported on Tuesday.
"In the next year, we are considering expanding blockchain pilot projects in the public sector to 12, and plan to support more than three private-led blockchain national projects," said Min Kyung-sik, head of KISA's blockchain team.
Further, the government agency will also boost the blockchain pilot budget for 2019 to more than 10 billion Korean won,...
Alibaba, IBM and Mastercard Now Have The Most Blockchain Patents
The latest blockchain patent ranking was released recently by iPR Daily. The ranking was published on August 31st and in it you can see the clear leaders in Blockchain innovation by patents filed. The top four are the giants: Alibaba, IBM, Master Card and Bank of America. The fifth spot is taken by the People’s Bank of China, China’s Central Bank. The People’s Bank of China filed 44 patent applications related to their ambitions for a Central Bank digital currency in China. The data was consolidated by iPR Daily from across the world with the help of the World Intellectual Property Organization and the International Patent System.
Alibaba leads with 90 filed patents
The first place was taken by Alibaba with 90 filed Blockchain patents with a close second going to IBM with 89 filed Blockchain...
Blockchain Technology And The Disruptions It Is Causing In The Financial Industry [infographic]
The cryptocurrency industry has given birth to a whole host of interesting and useful technologies. One such technology that is making a huge difference in many industries is the blockchain technology.
This type of technology facilitates online transactions and it could potentially revolutionize the way that the financial industry operates. This article and infographic look at what the blockchain technology is and how it is causing disruptions in various industries.
What Is The Blockchain Technology?
Blockchain technology can be used as an online transaction facilitation. This technology uses a public ledger to record transactional data, and the process is sent through a peer-to-peer network. The transactions are encrypted and there are no centralized control or middlemen.
Basically, a blockchain transaction is conducted in the following way. The instigating party sends a transaction request through the peer-to-peer network. This transaction request is authenticated on the blockchain public ledger and added to it as a new block of data. This data is then passed through the peer-to-peer network to the recipient and finalized.
The following facts are some of the benefits of blockchain based transactions:
- The decentralized nature means no central control
- The lack of a middleman means lower transaction fees
- Encryption means greater security
- The peer-to-peer network means faster transactions
As you can see, blockchain offers many benefits. Generally, blockchain based transactions are faster, cheaper, and more secure than traditional online transaction methods.
What Industries Are Already Using The Blockchain Technology?
Currently, the most widespread use of blockchain technology is the authentication of cryptocurrency transactions. This is essentially what makes cryptocurrencies possible, so any person that participates in crypto coin trades, gambles at an online Bitcoin casino or even uses Bitcoin to pay products and services is directly dependent on blockchain tech. Whilst this technology is still in its infancy, it has already progressed hugely and many industries are actually experimenting with it in some interesting ways.
Possibly one of the most interesting implementations of the technology is what the government of Sierra Leone has actually this year. It held a blockchain based elections, which created the first-ever public vote that couldn’t be refuted or disputed. Due to the blockchain public ledger, each vote is recorded and there is irrefutable proof of its creation and content.
Blockchain technology is also being used in the energy supply industry, charitable organizations, cloud technologies, and even supply chain management, to name a few examples. As this type of technology develops and becomes widely accepted, we should only see an increase in its usage.
Furthermore, we should see a greater variety of different uses for the blockchain technology. It is clear that the financial industry must pay heed to it, as it could supersede traditional online payment methods in the future.
The infographic below provides additional information about this type of technology:
IBM Debuts 'Blockchain World Wire' Payments System Powered by Stellar
Every quarter we are seeing more Fortune 500 companies making headway into the blockchain with patents and beta testing.
IBM is taking its long-in-the-works blockchain-based payment system out of beta, with the launch of a new product called Blockchain World Wire.
Aimed at institutions and harnessing the stellar blockchain network, Big Blue says its new financial rail "can simultaneously clear and settle cross-border payments in near real-time."
Similar to other blockchain-based payment networks such as Ripple, World Wire attempts to do away with banking intermediaries that add complexity and cost to the traditional international payments systems.
According to a document provided by IBM, the product works by substituting the banking intermediaries normally needed for cross-border payments with digital assets sent over a distributed network.
The company says on its website:
"Two financial institutions transacting together agree to use a stable coin, central bank digital currency or other digital asset as the bridge asset between any two fiat currencies. The digital asset facilitates the trade and supplies important settlement instructions."
Effectively, using World Wire APIs plugged into banks' existing systems, fiat currency is exchanged into a digital asset at bank A. It is then transmitted to bank B, where it is converted into a second fiat currency. "All transaction details are...
Germany’s 2nd Largest Exchange Deutsche Borse Launched a Cryptocurrency Trading Platform
The race for crypto dominance is heating up in Germany after the country’s largest stock-exchange operator announced the creation of a new blockchain unit. The announcement came one month after Borse Stuttgart, Germany’s second-largest exchange operator, launched a new cryptocurrency trading platform.
Deutsche Borse Launches Blockchain Unit
The Frankfurt-based Deutsche Borse AG has created a centrally-steered unit dedicated to ‘DLT, Crypto Assets and New Market Structures,’ according to a press release that circulated Monday. The 24-person team, led by Jens Hachmeister, will further advance Deutsche Borse’s work in the blockchain arena.
“Deutsche Borse has been active with the technology in a first phase of ideation and exploration,” Hachmeister said in a statement. “We invested in various initiatives to create a sound understanding of the trends, the technology and its potential within the traditional segments of our value chain.
In order to use the full potential of the technology for our businesses, to generate efficiencies and create revenues, a centrally steered approach is necessary to make a greater impact,” he added.
Last month, Deutsche Borse acquired a minority stake in HQLAx, a liquidity and collateral management firm that is developing a new platform for blockchain-based securities lending.
Mainstream...
TAP Coin: Decentralized blockchain-based advertising #TokenSale
The new world of blockchain-based advertising will create a major shift at the cross-section of advertising and the internet.
HOOCH, the number top drink-a-day app that has changed the game for bargoers from New York to Hong Kong with their free drink app, is about to shake up the hospitality industry again. Not basking for long in the success of their recently-released lifestyle experience program, HOOCH Black, this next development is also set to be a surefire success.
Their new project, TAP Coin, is due to be launched soon and it’s an innovative product, to say the least. TAP Coin is more than just HOOCH. While HOOCH Black has 100,000 hotels on the platform, with discounts of up to 60% off Expedia and hotels.com rates, TAP Coin will feature more than just this. HOOCH will be the first — and only one of dozens of apps on the TAP decentralized ad network. This means that while HOOCH currently has 200,000 subscribers, other apps will have tens of millions on the network. But there’s more- the advertising potential is phenomenal with a platform like TAP Coin. Due to its decentralized nature, the network is magnitudes more efficient than advertising on a centralized platform like Facebook, Instagram or Google AdWords.
Millions of users, hundreds of thousands of venues, massive discounts and a radically new advertising model, all based on blockchain - TAP Coin is the next household name app.
Not only does TAP Coin offer major discounts on hotels, drinks and entertainment experiences, it also uses the power of blockchain to empower consumers with their own data. This means that users now have the choice to allow advertisers to collect their data or not. If users allow their data to be used by advertisers, then they are rewarded with TAP, which they can then redeem on hotels and experiences (at already discounted prices).
In this way, TAP becomes a defacto loyalty currency, which does not discriminate according to origin of the loyalty points. It solves the old...
EVENT: Join @BlLife_Forum for #BlockchainLife 2018 International Forum November 7-8
The biggest international forum on blockchain, cryptocurrency, and mining in Russia and Eastern Europe.
Event Details & Registration -> HERE
| 5000+ attendees
| 80 speakers
| 70 countries
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The two-day forum/conference at the Europe’s leading venue Expoforum gathers more than 5,000 participants from more than 70 countries. Сrypto traders, the owners of ICO projects, leading private investors and crypto funds, entrepreneurs and blockchain experts, developers on the blockchain, the owners and representatives of global exchanges, and miners, – the event brings together industry professionals and those who are just starting their way in the crypto industry.
Attending blockchain community members and experts are attending across all industry segments.
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