Quadum – Collaborative Stock Market Analysis Meta Model
“How Quadum Could Have Stopped the 2008 Financial Crisis” is the headline to an article on CCN published on the 18th of January. Okay, it’s an advertisement – a ‘sponsored story’ – so it must be approached with scepticism. The author, however, makes a convincing argument that the financial meltdown of 2008 was a result of a monopolizing cabal of credit rating agencies bestowing AAA ratings to junkyard-worthy securities, with the banks and regulators going along for the ride.
A crowd-sourced system such as Quadum, the author argues, could have prevented this from happening. How? Because a system that promotes input from all experts, who are rewarded by tokens for their accurate input, would have spotted the gaping fallacies in these ratings at an early stage, giving investors a clearer picture of what was happening to their investments.
That article was written by Tom Clancy. Probably not the same Tom Clancy who wrote The Hunt For Red October, but it’s a fun thought (that Tom Clancy died in 2013). If you accepted Sean Connery as a Russian submarine commander in the movie version of that book – Scottish accent and all – you might be able to swallow the sweeping, low-detail, ambitions of this ICO.
At its heart, Quadum has an excellent idea and offers a low-cost investment that could reap a large reward. Just don’t ask if anyone knows how it’s going to work.
Quadum’s aims:
Quadum proposes a decentralized data analysis model to predict trends in global stock markets. Currently, there are hundreds of systems trying to predict what’s going to happen next to the market, but they work in competition with each other and use different methodologies.
Quadum wants to invite the data scientists of the world, and anyone else who has an interest, to contribute using blockchain technology. These experts will be incentivized and rewarded with tokens. In the first phase, the pre-existing ‘Meta-Model’ will use data from current industry sources, but over time it is hoped that this outdated information will be overtaken by Quadum’s decentralized data which will be more accurate.
Quadum hopes to solve the problem of overfitting. No, overfitting is not what your pants do after all that Christmas cake; it’s a statistical problem that occurs when a model cannot function properly because of too much data noise.
The token sale
5 Billion QDMs will be generated, 26% of which will be released in the ICO. 3.7% will be released in the pre-sale.
For phase one, Quadum hopes to raise $30 million from the sale of 1.2 billion tokens, with each priced at $0.02.
There are no dates for your diary yet, but if you are interested, now is the time to climb on board the submarine before it departs. The low price of tokens will tempt investors who are happy to put their faith in this project at the early stage of its development.
Once created the distribution of the token will look like this:
• Development – 30%
• Token sale contribution – 30%
• Team share – 10%
• Token released in ICO – 26%
• Pre-sale tokens – 3.7%
• Bounty tokens – 0.3%
Visibility
Currently, Quadum has a website, but information is sparse. Google just wants to tell you about Quadrum, which will hopefully change over time. The figures on social media look like this:
These numbers aren’t bad considering Quadum has only been in existence for a couple of months, but potential investors would hope to see the company represented on other platforms such as Telegram and Medium before they feel comfortable about the ICO’s prospects.
The team
Quadum has a small team based in Tbilisi, Georgia:
There is no whitepaper yet, but an executive summary outlines the ICO ambitions. Like the rest of the site, it’s short on detail and investors will be taking a punt on the ICO’s core ideas rather than on specific details at this stage. The website is nicely laid out and unfussy.
Conclusion
The devil, as we know, is in the detail. Just how Quadum delivers on its promises remains to be seen, but those who play the markets will prick up their ears at anything that might deliver accurate data and analysis. With the Australian stock exchange expected to fully adopt Blockchain this year, ISO investors and hedge fund managers will be looking for an edge over their competitors and the promise of having the world’s brightest-and-best’s predictions and data all in one place is tempting indeed. At 0.02 per token, now is the time to take a chance on this risky but potentially rewarding ICO.
Every so often a blockchain project comes along that knocks your socks off, and Kleros may be just the that one. Steeped in intellectual concepts, Kleros delivers a decentralized organization that promises fast, affordable, and transparent justice for all. Given that we live in a time where justice is perceived as the preserve of the rich, this platform may very well change the world.
Let’s start with the name and philosophical origins. Kleros derives from classical Greek. Jury duty was much sought after in Ancient Greece and, moreover, paid. Citizens wishing to be picked for jury duty would submit tokens, called pinakions, into an allotment machine called a kleroterion. A justice officer would use a dice on the side of the machine eliminating random names with the remaining people selected.
Fast forward to more recent history and consider the work of American economist Thomas Schelling: he set up an experiment where he asked students to rendezvous in New York without giving either party a time or place. The most popular choice selected was the information booth in Grand Central Station at noon. This introduced the concept of the Focal Point, often called the Schelling point, where people can reach accommodation without communication in a case of ‘each person’s expectation of what the other expects him to expect to be expected to do.’
Incentivized truth
The plot thickens. Contemporary economist Paul Sztorc created the Truthcoin, called the most important invention since Bitcoin by Roger Ver. In this invention he posited that, if polled, people would normally tell the truth, especially if they were incentivized. In the Truthcoin platform, people would deposit coins, then vote on an issue or question. If they were found to be lying, they forfeited their coin.
Why these concepts are important for Kleros is that they underpin the thinking under the justice protocol. CEO Dr. Federico Ast from Argentina is a graduate from the Singularity University in Silicon Valley. Essentially a think tank for exceptional thinkers, Singularity University selects the brightest minds from across the world, just under a hundred in total, and then subjects them to the ultimate deep-dive immersion in exponential technologies and inspirational world leaders, then asks them how they can change the world.
For Dr. Ast, already involved in blockchain and working on a doctorate in management, this was the catalyst for him to create his justice protocol. “I did not want to reform the legal system in Argentina,” he says, “I wanted to look at radically different solutions.”
Kleros is a dispute resolution layer built on Ethereum. There will be many sectors where it will add value but one good example is small claims or disputes in website development.
Online conflict resolution
Consider this example: a company decides to build a website and outsources the work. Given the digital nature of the work it can choose to award the contract to any individual or business in the world. Outsourcing has many benefits, especially in speed and value, but distance may prove a problem if the work hits a bump.
Using Kleros, both company and developer agree the contract, a smart contract, with a defined set of outcomes. At the completion of the project, the smart contract will execute. However, what happens if the work is shoddy or if the company is slow in paying? This is where Kleros comes in.
At the start of the contract, a sum is added to the price of the contract in case mediation or arbitration is needed. Should either party be unhappy, the mediation trigger is pulled.
A digital jury of specialists
A panel of experts and individuals from different sectors are accessible through the site. If a dispute is lodged in a website salvo then those ‘jurors’ registered in that area may be picked at random to be the digital jury and are entered into the kleroterion of Kleros. Jurors are picked anonymously and without prejudice. They review the evidence and then cast their vote.
The Kleros principal works on the basis that the jury, formed of an odd number in case of stalemate, will analyze the evidence, and with the right incentives will reach the right decision.
The future for justice protocol
In cases where the voting ratio reaches equilibrium, there is more work to do. “We are still are our early stages.” says Dr. Ast. “Outside a 75 -25% split it is harder to deploy an outcome but we have very gifted mathematicians working on that.”
In terms of what is the right amount to pay a juror on a given case, Dr. Ast believes that the market will determine that figure. “It is a bit like the awards in terms of car accidents; typically these tend to be similar amounts across countries.”
Kleros is so far self-funded. They are looking at a token sale early this year but cannot be committed to a date so far.
“We have a lot to do and can do.” says Dr. Ast. “There are so many sectors where the Kleros platform can provide transparency and fairness to people in dispute. No longer is it who can afford the most expensive barrister: with Kleros it will be who is in the right. Simple justice.”
The Blockchain Revolution, And How It Will Affect Social Media Version 3.0
By Christos Hatjoullis, an examination of STEEMIT, and it’s use of BlockChain for Social Media
Back in the early 2000’s when Bitcoin was just a twinkle in Satoshi Nakamoto’s eye, Facebook was busy helping along a millennial revolution in the way we interact online. It rapidly became a household name and went on to capture over 2 billion users, becoming one of the Internet’s most influential and widely used networks with immense power. (Even though most people using it were and still are using it to keep in touch with remotely located friends and family, sharing funny cat videos and birthday photos of their kids / Grandmas and other pets. It’s been widely criticised by internet users in recent years for tailoring users content, deploying tracking to present ads and like most successful corporate ventures, making billions of dollars for a centralised corporation, while the users do all the work with zero reward.
Social Media V3.0
It was only a matter of time before someone came up with a new approach to build Social Media V3.0, based on the ever popular blogging format and using BlockChain to create a decentralised and incentivised system. No ads, no tracking and a share of the pie. Ned Scott and Bitshares founder, Dan Larimer came up with an answer many people had been asking for years. How do you encourage and reward quality content creation with micro-payments? The answer lay in crytptocurrencies and the master stroke was to develop the currency of STEEM and the Steemit Network. Because it’s a decentralised BlockChain network, users (witnesses who host the network) run it themselves on a series of nodes. Users pay for their own equipment and connection, they are rewarded for their work. Witnesses form an important element of the network, which incidentally is the most active (or largest) BlockChain in the world. Steemit is based on Graphene and has no transaction fees. It can process 180,000 transactions per second, which makes it almost real-time. It has capacity for potentially millions. It makes Bitcoin’s several transactions per second look tawdry.
Professional Crypto-Blogging
The platform’s currencies; Steem & Steem Dollars have become highly traded coins and valuable currency in their own right, making Steemit incentives valuable. Some high profile members are making a good living from it and a few are full time Steemians as their day job. It has a reputation based system which means trolling is pretty much non existent. You can’t say that about most online forums. Because money is involved, albeit digital coins, it’s more like a work environment. Employees are generally self regulating because they don’t want to be fired. In the same way, trolls don’t get paid on Steemit and users with a higher rep can downvote users who spam, plagiarise or otherwise try to cheat the system. Spammers end up with a negative rep which means they don’t get any airtime at all. It’s a clever way to encourage good etiquette. Growth of one’s own user rep and in turn voting power and potential rewards by other users, is also dictated by user visibility, the quality and consistency of content and the amount of interaction, curation and conversation being generated with other users. Being a constructive critic is important element of the Steemit experience.
Community Interests
Niche interest communities have grown rapidly throughout Steemit using Discord chat servers and Steemitchat. Photography, the ubiquitous form of self documentation is very popular and lots of photo competitions offer good exposure & valuable prizes. Contests are popular as a way for hosts to increase their own visibility and for entrants to show off their skill and be rewarded. Creative writing has well developed sub communities of professionals, helping novice writers sharpen their pencils and of course.. all things Crypto are covered in depth by reams of dedicated writers, analysts and developers. For the uninitiated, Steemit is an excellent place to learn all about cryptocurrencies, wallet technology, trading, staking, airdrops, ICO’s and TGE’s.
Blockchain technology has potential answers for a host of age old problems afflicting many industries and organisations; like perfect accounting, trust ability and open access to information. If you want to know more about the BlockChain revolution, head over to Steemit and explore it http://steemit.com/pick_account It’s easy to join and you can look me up @outerground
Christos is co-founder & Creative Director at award winning Shroomstudio.com in London. He is also a Business Mentor and Crypto Writer with a special interest in the potential socio-economic effects of BlockChain technology.
Using Blockchain Technology To Solve Issues Afflicting Humanity, Wulf Kaal Speaking At Wef18, Davos 2018
Interesting interview with Wulf Kaal who will be speaking at WEF18 in Davos, Switzerland.
1 min pitch for what you are doing now?
As CEO of the Repute Platform, my goal is to build a blockchain domain-specific reputation platform. We are partnering with leading blockchain platforms to help them develop their ecosystem and address infrastructure, blockchain governance, consensus protocol and evolutionary challenges by leveraging the Repute architecture. We are also collaborating with leading IoT Enterprises in Europe and Asia, which allow us to test the Repute architecture in IoT contexts.
The main design goals of the Repute platform are to 1) evaluate domain specific reputation across a wide variety of expertises; 2) ensure security, including resistance to Sybil attacks, tyranny of the majority, and 51% attacks; 3) provide a minimal, robust core architecture which supports modular constructions for a wide range of use cases.
The Repute platform creates a transparent, fair, and predictable system that facilitates certainty of outcomes, security, and efficiency.
I am also the COO of a crypto hedge fund that invests in the Repute platform and other top blockchain projects, with a focus on sustainability. The fund aims to identify crypto startups that have the potential for solving significant problems afflicting humanity. The fund attracts sustainability focused investors who believe in solving humanity’s problems via crypto solutions.
How was the last year, what worked well, what didn’t move as quickly as you would have liked?
2017 involved almost weekly public speaking engagements on blockchain topics in Europe and the US, across different industries. I’ve been helping regulators and governments, including offshore jurisdictions, realize the potential of blockchain technology. On the entrepreneurial side, I started a Blokchcain development company (HighTechBlock), Repute Platform, and became COO of the sustainability focused crypto hedge fund.
Compared to 2017, I hope that in 2018, Blockchain technologies will be better understood and valued by the general public.
What are your plans for the future?
In 2018, my goals are to:
Continue promoting blockchain technologies across the world.
Grow the Repute team, release the core infrastructure and evaluate & test top application-level use cases with leading enterprises.
On the fund side: continue investing in top crypto startups that match our investment criteria, sustainability requirements, and attract investors who are driven by our mission and values.
In my keynote and various panels at WEF18 in Davos at the #ConsenSys space, I plan on addressing the following:
How can blockchain technology provide solutions for the main issues afflicting humanity?
Explain how the Repute Platform can fix core problems which are impeding blockchain technology from reaching its full potential, for the benefit of humanity.
Present our fund’s investment thesis, attract investors who are driven by our mission & values, and identify key startups to invest in.
What inspired you to attend it?
Over the past few years, I’ve noticed several industries being disrupted by Blockchain technology. I’m attending the WEF18 in Davos in order to channel as much of that disruption towards causes that solve humanity’s largest problems.
Which influencers and websites do you follow to keep up to date with the latest developments?
I use Medium, Twitter and LinkedIn to stay up to speed with the latest development in Blockchain. Among the top influencers, I pay a lot of attention to: Brock Pierce, Daniel Larimer, William Mougayar, Sally Eaves, Tuur Demeester, Nick Szabo, Barry Silbert, Simon Cocking, Anthony Di Iorio, Vlad Zamfir, Gavin Wood.
How can people find out more about what you are working on?
Wulf is one of the leading voices at the intersection of crypto economics, blockchain and law. He teaches blockchain, innovation and coding for lawyers. He is an advisor to several EU and US crypto companies. Ex-Goldman Sachs, Cravath. MBA from Durham University. Ph.D. Law & Economics from Humboldt-Universitat zu Berlin. J.D. from University of Illinois.
Further Bitcoin Cash Developments To Improve Scalability Of Cryptocurrency
The unique social media network that is tailored to cryptocurrency, Yours.org, has raised $1.5 million for its project which aims to introduce mainstream users to cryptocurrency.
Yours.org is a unique social media-like concept which is tailored to the crypto community. Essentially, users get rewarded in bitcoin cash for creating content. This platform now seeks to upgrade their operations after raising $1.5 million in funding. The funds, called the Series A funding, was provided by prominent mining companies, Nchain and Bitmain, will be used towards the site administrators’ mission to create awareness of cryptocurrency and provide mainstream users with easily accessible educational materials on the subject.
Yours.org was created by Ryan X Charles, a notable bitcoiner. Since its establishment last summer, the platform has grown into one of the most successful websites to use and implement bitcoin cash. The platform consists of a number of elements such as social networks and news blogs in a minimalist design which allows users to share everything from cryptocurrency news, humor, art, and fiction. Ever since its establishment, the site has been wildly popular and continues to grow in number. Yours.org, was also positively received by the crypto community, as crypto enthusiasts finally had an incentive to create strong content that is relevant to them.
Several crypto veterans have waxed nostalgic over their very first crypto purchase. The earliest purchases were likely limited to darknet purchases or small peer-to-peer transactions using bitcoin. However, one aspect remains the same, the thrill of their very first purchase. However, recent bitcoin bandwagoners can’t pretend to know the same joy as newcomers to the industry have yet to find out what it truly feels like to hoard buy, and of course, hodl. However, Yours.org is hoping to change that.
At the moment, the bitcoin network is essentially useless, at least for small transactions, however, bitcoin cash is stepping up and proving to be a viable alternative.
When the Yours.org CEO, Ryan X Charles announced the platform’s latest ambitions, he stated that any individual anywhere on the planet has the capacity to earn money from doing what they feel passionate about. The CEO added that there is currently a huge potential to change the social media structure and to enhance the overall quality of available content.
The crypto community is a fan of Yours.org, this includes Jihan WU from Bitmain. Wu noted that the platform has been hugely beneficial in ensuring that bitcoin cash has utility even in small amounts. The capital that Nchain and Bitmain have provided will allow the platform to hire more engineers to grow and reach a wider audience.
Interview With Erik Finman: A Visionary Leader In Education And The Blockchain Industry
The story of Erik Finman is great from many points of view. It’s a combination of intelligence, entrepreneurship, risk and challenge. Erik at the age of 19 has managed to become a well-known entrepreneur in the education industry and the Blockchain world.
A Blockchain Story: An opportunity in a life
A Negative education system.
To understand Erik’s history, we have to look back to 2012. Growing up in Idaho outside of Coeur d’Alene, Finman was especially frustrated with his high school teachers and told his parents to let him drop out at 15 because his teachers were negative and told him that the only thing he would do in his life would be to work at McDonald’s. Also, he wanted to start his own business at a very earlier age.
The bet.
Finman’s parents accepted that he studied at home, since their other two children studied at home and they did not do badly. His older brother, was a child prodigy since he was 16 years old at Johns Hopkins University and Ross, his middle brother works in the world of robotics after passing through Harvard and MIT. When Erik Finman left high school to study at home, he made a bet with his parents: if he was a millionaire by the time he turned 18, he would not be forced to go to university. That year his grandmother gave him an envelope with $1,000 for his birthday and instead of spending it on a video game console or a phone like any other teenager, he preferred to invest in Bitcoin, which value on that moment ranged from $10 to $12, buying a total of more than 80 Bitcoin (BTC).
Selling on the top: 1 BTC = $1.200.
It took almost 2 years for Bitcoin to reach $1,200 for the first time. The $1,000 had become $100,000, he turned some BTC on FIAT and got enough money to create a platform calledBotangle, a company which purpose was to create a meeting point for students who were looking for information other than what is learned in colleges and universities, and also to offer experts who could provide support.
Botangle: an elective learning by the student.
Botangle is a platform that provides private classes on any subject, charging for hours. We just have to find the subject we want to learn and find the right teacher, consult their file and hire their services. Botangle offers online videoconferencing and office tools to allow full interaction between students and teachers, helping to distribute knowledge regardless of the geographical area.
Buy on the deep (and HODL): 1 BTC = $200.
The learning platform that already had 20 employees and several active users participating in the project was sold in January 2015. The investor gave Erik an option: either to pay $100,000 or 300 BTC, which price at that moment had dropped to just over $200 . Of course, Finman opted for the 300 BTC.
Thanks to the collaboration of Erick’s personal agent, Kathryn Campisano and our editor-in-chief, Simon Cocking, it was possible to arrange an exclusive Skype interview with Erik Finman for Cryptocoins.New:
Abel Colmenares:First of all, we wanted to thank you for the opportunity you have given us to make this interview possible and for the time you are dedicating to us.
Erik, we have read your story and we love that you are willing to share it with the public. Our public is beyond excited about knowing your story. Your decision-making and actions that you have taken from a young age are worthy of respect, merit and recognition. The Blockchain industry needs leaders at this time to guide people who are not aware of this technology and we hope that from Cryptocoin.News, with you, we can do our bit. Erik, we would like to start this interview with the following question:
How and when was the first time you heard about Bitcoin and what was your first impression about the technology?
Erik Finman:A few years back, my family and community were surrounded by all these protests, tear gas and conflict was part of that time. But during this time is where I first heard about bitcoin, I was part of this political community, where people thought that bitcoin was this way of being, completely independent of everything. There’s a lot of corruption around fiat currency, around of wall street, and banks and all the financial system basically, so people thought of bitcoin as the way to get out of that. This was around 2010 when I first heard about it. I remember when it was worth pennies, and then, after studying the technology, it was kinda like this huge catalyst for political change. I remember this was kinda what we all thought about it back in the day, and I think that’s was kinda the main thought because, with the blockchain technology you can’t shut anyone down, companies can’t shut you down, if you put a person in jail, the government can’t stop you. I think this was what everybody thought was so great about bitcoin, This is the value of bitcoin.
AC: When you invested the $1,000 in Bitcoin, did you really think that this investment could make you a millionaire before you turned 18?
EF: I think with bitcoin, I kinda knew it was really going to go up in value, and I remember thinking a lot about it, what could happen before I made a million dollars by the time I was 18. I remember thinking that I had a lot of ways to do it, to get to that goal; but I always thought that bitcoin was going to go up, so I think I kinda knew in a way; which is why I used those $1,000 and bought bitcoins when the value was in the $10 – $12 range. After that, I spent every day trying to get more and more points up on this, and when it finally happened, I sold some when it reached the $1,200 barrier. I then used what I got out of that sell to start a business, ended up with less bitcoins but then I was able to generate more money off that business and eventually sold that company for bitcoins, which was very cool. I actually made a lot of those bitcoins by working my ass off.
AC: If you were given the opportunity to change the world education system as it is right now, would you make it look like Botangle? What would be the tools or innovations that you would introduce to make it better?
EF: I thought a lot about this, I don’t know if you’ve seen some news in the articles that came out. I’m looking at starting my own impersonal school because I’ve done it online very successfully and now I do a lot of education consulting for like the government, we have a company out there where we do consult and teaching training over there so that’s a very cool thing. I am, and we have some other people as well, where we have all these experience in education and we feel like we can really change things we feel like we can really shake things up. We have one person on our team that even started their own school, and that was something that I was kinda a part of, but it was mainly this person. So I think we just have this excellent team where we can really fix education, and we want to do this impersonal school, we’re looking in Dubai, Singapore and maybe even the US. We also developed a way where it can be cheap and affordable for the student, teachers can make an obscene amount of money, so this business model could become a billion-dollar company as well. Sounds almost too good to be true but we actually have done it and we’ve done the math and we just have to wait and see.
It’s going to be a while before it gets going but we think we can fix it and we think this is where bitcoin will have to reach $60,000, and I mean, don’t get me wrong I already have money to do this right now but it’s even better if Bitcoin prices went up $60,000 tomorrow, so that this project would be where I would put most of the money into implementing that school system because it shouldn’t be the way it is right now. The reason I got into bitcoin was to get out of Wall Street and corruption and there’s so much corruption in education. No one talks about this, but there are a lot of payoffs f, to school boards and districts to get certain people in. The education system is just screwed up and it doesn’t even incentive you to learn, it just incentivizes you to take your place in a seat and listen for someone go on for 8 hours, which I don’t even think the teacher likes. It’s just not fun or incentivizing for anyone. So that’s what I would do, that’s what I am doing with education and it will look a little bit like an impersonal Botangle if you will, be a little bit different but actually pretty similar so that’s what kinda I would go for in my mind.
AC: Apart from Bitcoin, what are the Blockchain platforms that most attract you today?
EF:It’s the decentralization, the ability to almost decentralized any industry using blockchain technology in one way or another. I think that blows my mind, for example, a friend and I had this idea to develop some sort of Airbnb for Insurance companies and that was to decentralize the whole insurances market. Insurances are such a screwed up industry but if you could somehow decentralize this industry, what a world-changing would that be. We even talked to a lawyer about it and the lawyer laughed, said we could go to jail for the rest of our lives if we did AirBnB for Insurances. Even though it’s a good idea, it was not possible at the time. Now, you can do that in the blockchain to make it decentralized, an AirBnB that’s not run by any company or insurance, and that’s something incredible.
It’s an amazing idea I think, something that is totally fine and totally normal, but for some reason, it’s just not possible to do. Like some stupid rule that you can’t start your own currency, or you can’t do AirBnB for insurance or something like that; this is where blockchain technology really comes in handy. It’s a way of kinda transcend the system if you will. What bitcoin is doing to Wall Street, what uber did to taxis, blockchain technology can be similar to that, a world-changing idea where people thought some things were impossible to do but can actually be done; and even things that were in somewhere of a legal grey area, not that I recommend on going on a legal grey area but I think that’s what is so exciting about this technology, that you can overpass those obstacles and actually create great things.
AC: If today you were given $ 1,000 again, what would you invest in?
EF: There are very few like once in a lifetime opportunities that come in someone’s life, and that could allow you to just completely ride the waves, and when you know it’s the wave, that’s when you can do it. Like, I knew that was the wave, and that bitcoin was going to be big, so I thought how could I get on top of this wave. I guess now I would just trade all altcoins, I don’t really do much of them now but I would surf the wave, bitcoin was hard to work the math around but altcoin is even harder, to get to a million dollars using altcoins is possible and I think I could do it but if it was hard to do it with bitcoin, it would be like a million times harder with altcoins. Nowadays, I would do the altcoins, I still think you can get rich quick if you will by using cryptocurrency, although it’ll be a little bit harder than how it was with bitcoin but it is still possible. I would use my $1,000 to invest in alternative coins and make a million dollars and probably eventually convert that to bitcoins.
AC: What are your projects or announcements for 2018 and how can people actively follow you through social media?
EF:We’re doing a lot of exciting stuff in 2018, my satellite project is launching, there is some article about it. Earlier I got a massive contact to launch a satellite and we’re doing like a time capsule in space thing too, and it’s about to launch in March. My satellite will be launching in New Zealand and I should be even making more announcements about that imperson school that I know I’m going to be doing. My goal would be to build a ground on it soon, rather this year or the year after. I want to get going on it actually very quickly, it’s just a passionate project for me just because of my experience with the education system so I would like to get started on the education project in 2020 and I think there’s a really good shot of me actually doing that in 2020; so lots of stuff, launching of time capsule, satellite on march and the future education project.
There’s also a really cool cryptocurrency project that I can’t really talk much about but it’s going to be coming this year, that’s actually what I’ve been mainly working on and mainly thinking about. There’s like so many people saying that the blockchains technol is the future, but nobody is actually building applications on that or developing to prove this, like really showing the world what this technology really means and that’s really my goal in 2018, to really show off this technology and make it mainstream. My goal is for the average person to use this technology as well. Again, I can’t really talk about what this is going to be but I’m very excited about it. That’s probably one of the most exciting things that I’m working on right now, it’s going to be a blast.
I’m always sharing information about my future projects on my twitter account, which is @erikfinman
Omnitude Ico Review: Middleware Connectivity And Fraud Prevention Services For Ecommerce, Built On The Blockchain
eCommerce has a very simple definition: The provision of goods and services online, via electronic means.
People love shopping. It is one the most common leisure activities. Million of people do it every day, and up to a couple of decades ago, customers had to physically visit their nearest shopping emporium to satisfy their spending needs.
The advent of the internet heralded the arrival of a new era of shopping. You can shop from anywhere these days. All you need is a device with access to the internet, and a credit card or e-wallet.
And eCommerce is big business, too. The industry was worth an astonishing $1.86tn. And it shows no signs of stopping. eCommerce’s worth is expected to top $4.48tn by the year 2021.
But while the definition and concept for the eCommerce industry may be simple, if one looks under the hood however, eCommerce is anything but.
The industry includes a wide array of technologies and professional disciplines such as supply chain, marketing, warehousing, etc., all with one single goal in mind: To deliver the item or service to the customer’s door, as quickly as possible.
This complexity in the eCommerce landscape means that there is a market gap for making things simpler.
Omnitude is a brand new ICO that aims to achieve exactly that. Its value proposition is based on using blockchain technology as middleware to connect eCommerce platforms and enterprise systems.
This piece is an analysis of the facts available about the Omnitude ICO. It should not be read as offering advice or a recommendation. While ICOs have quickly become a popular tool for funding projects and start-ups, they can also be very high-risk for token purchasers.
Additionally, ICOs currently have an unclear legal and financial status. Token buyers may find that their purchase does not offer them any security or equity because the ICO is closer to a crowdfunding initiative than a traditional IPO. As such, any investor who plans to buy tokens during any ICO needs to obtain all relevant independent advice and carry out their own appropriate due diligence.
Omnitude: Middleware services built on blockchain technology
The underlying complexity of the eCommerce ecosystem calls for the simplification of the industry.
There currently are a myriad of independent eCommerce platforms, built on different technologies, which means these platforms pose integration challenges.
Omnitude offers a middleware solution to the challenges of eCommerce, including the seamless integration of diverse platforms and enterprise systems, and also fraud prevention services, all built on the blockchain.
According to its website, ‘Omnitude is a blockchain smart platform that connects blockchain technologies, eCommerce platforms & enterprise systems involved in building end to end supply chains.‘
Omnitude in figures & quick facts
Token Name ECOM
Total Tokens Produced – 100,000,000
Token Value (Pre-sale) – 1 ECOM = $0.40
Token Value (ICO) – 1 ECOM = $0.46
Hard cap – $23m (50m ECOM)
ICO Start Date – Q1 2018
ICO End Date – tbd
The Omnitude token
As with any other ICO, the company will issue its own currency, the Omnitude token (ECOM).
Merchants will use the ECOM token to make payments to other users of the platform, while customers can use it as an alternative to fiat currencies.
Once created, the ECOM token will be distributed as follows:
Omnitude’s website presents a core team of 8 people, plus 4 advisors, which includes a ‘blockchain mob’.
The team itself includes a lot of managerial and director roles, with only one person listed as ‘blockchain expert’. This begs the question of who actually does the work within this ICO.
There is no link to any LinkedIn profile so it is not possible to independently verify the team’s claims of past expertise.
A strong presence on Social Media is usually a good indicator of a company’s popularity, though it is not the only factor that determines success.
Here’s the numbers for Omnitude at the time of writing (January 2018).
Twitter – 218 followers
Facebook – 141 followers
LinkedIn – 21 followers
Telegram – 207 followers
These numbers are not particularly remarkable, but this in itself does not denote success or failure, it simply highlights the need for more work on the ICOs part.
Global reach through Social Media requires a lot of work, so Omnitude’s team of managers and directors does have a lot of work to cover if they intend to attain success.
Competition
eCommerce is a rather popular choice for ICOs, it seems, and Omnitude will not find itself alone in the playing field by any means.
KEYRPTO, EiraCube, JWC Ventures, and a few others will be in direct competition with Omnitude, so the fight for dominance is going to be fierce.
Omnitude’s lack of any substantial presence on Social Media may hinder its chances for success in the long run.
Website quality & layout
An ICO’s website is the first port of call for any potential investors, and if the site isn’t appealing enough, they will move on and forget about your proposition, no matter how good or viable it may be. It is therefore imperative to design a good website, to make a strong and lasting first impression.
Omnitude’s website is simple, but elegant. It displays all the necessary information clearly and concisely, with a nice color scheme to boot.
The site only has four pages (Home, About, How it works, and Team), but all the information is there. The page is secure, and easy to navigate.
Overall, the Omnitude site ranks as ‘Good’.
Whitepaper
A well laid out, informative, comprehensive Whitepaper is a must for any ICO, if they are to be taken seriously. Documentation is sometimes treated as an afterthought, leaving many companies open to some criticism.
Omnitude’s Whitepaper comes in two flavors: The technical and non-technical one. They are actually two separate documents, which is a smart move. Many other ICOs would just laden their Whitepaper with a lot of technical jargon just to pad it out, turning the document into a boring and unreadable mess.
In this case, there is a clever and welcome separation of both types, and kudos to Omnitude for that.
The non-technical paper itself is brief but complete, offering all the info required in a clear, easy to read manner.
The technical Whitepaper follows the same format. It is a good technical document that clearly explains the technology underlying the Omnitude proposition.
The separation of both documents alone earns Omnitude a lot of positive points. Overall, this ICO’s Whitepapers rank as ‘Good’.
Conclusion
Shopping will never go out of fashion. People enjoy spending money to get stuff, either online or offline.
So it stands to reason that any ICOs working on the eCommerce ecosystem have a good chance to succeed, if their value proposition is unique and sound.
As mentioned above, there currently are plenty of ICOs offering eCommerce & supply chain services, so it’s going to be a tough struggle for domination.
The world first Blockchain Fashion Conference will be held during Kiev Fashion Days. The conference is a new event dedicated to link the fashion industry with the transformation power of blockchain. The focus for both guests and speakers will be on blockchain technology, crypto-currencies and the potential they present for integration and application in the fashion industry.
The inaugural conference is linked to the internationally recognised Kiev Fashion Days held each year in the Ukraine. This year KFD will run from 1st of February till 4th of February 2018.
The Blockchain Fashion Conference’s vision is ambitious and a world-first and is designed to unite two industries – fashion and blockchain, – where the most up-to-date data and analysis will be presented by leaders and professionals in the field of blockchain, experts in the emerging cryptocurrency field, successful startups and fashion industry insiders.
Participants will also have a unique opportunity to communicate with the best speakers and leading experts from Ukraine and abroad, as well as to find out what challenges and changes await the fashion industry in the year ahead.
The Blockchain Fashion Conference is an innovative platform for resolving problems in the fashion industry with the assistance of Blockchain-technology, as well as for picking the brains of individuals with a wealth of experience in their various fields.
CryptoCoin.News’ reporter Jillian Godsil is speaking at the conference.
To bring the idea of Blockchain Fashion Week into life the new cryptocurrency called Fashion Coin will be issued. The supervisory board will include the founder of Fashion GPS and Launchmetrics Eddie Mullon, as well as the founders and leaders of fashion weeks around the world.
“With more than a decade of helping thousands of brands in the fashion industry, Blockchain is a technology that will revolutionise the processes, just as the iPhone transformed the cell phone”, says Eddie Mullon.
Blockchain Fashion Hackathon is an absolutely unprecedented event for the discussion of resolving and revolutionizing fashion industry issues using Blockchain technology.
Snejana Onopka. – the face of Kiev Fashion Days
On February 3 and 4, developers of services based on blockchain technology have a unique opportunity to gather at the epicenter of the fashion industry. Participants will be able to develop their product using the technology presented, obtain quality consultation from blockchain industry experts and eventually create a prototype to cater to their projects, which presents a potential breakthrough in the evolution of the blockchain and fashion ecosystem where both industries will work alongside each other.
Blockchain Fashion Hackathon is the first event of its kind in the world, designed to unite the fashion industry with fast-growing blockchain technology. Mentors will be leaders and professionals in the blockchain sphere, and crypto experts.
Communicating with leading Ukrainian and world blockchain experts,participants will gain the expertise to exert influence on the development of the fashion industry now and into the future.
About Kiev Fashion Days
Kiev Fashion Days is “a capital for the emerging brands”. It has already welcomed the designers from more than 15 countries all over the world. Leading journalists from Vogue.com, Vogue Italia, Vogue UK, Elle UK, L’Officiel Italia, Wonderzine, Huffington Post, Financial Times, The Guardian, Forbes and buyers from Lane Crawford, Saks Fifth Avenue, Joyce, Boon The Shop Each are coming to cover Kiev Fashion Days. Kiev Fashion Days designers are now represented at all major fashion weeks — in New York, London, Paris and Milan.
The face of Kiev Fashion Days advertising campaign is Ukrainian top-model Snejana Onopka, who has now become an ambassador of Blockchain Fashion Week around the world.
Snejana Onopka has participated in the shows and campaigns of Calvin Klein, Dolce & Gabbana, Gucci, Lanvin, Prada, Saint Laurent, Louis Vuitton, twice appeared on the cover of Vogue Italia and was named one of the most successful models of the world.
New Protocol In Bitcoin Cash To Enhance User Privacy
Bitcoin Cash was recently added to exchanges in Hong Kong and India, and, as this cryptocurrency grows in popularity every day, more and more companies scramble to add support for the Bitcoin offspring. One hardware wallet service provider has implemented software to include support for Bitcoin Cash, and over 4,500 Indian merchants will be capable of accepting Bitcoin Cash payments in the near future.
Keepkey, which was bought by the Shapeshift in exchange in August 2017, announced that their product will now offer support for Bitcoin Cash. According to the wallet manufacturer, they felt confident that their beta client for Bitcoin Cash was mature enough to be released to the public.
For those users that possessed Bitcoin at the time of the Bitcoin Cash fork on 1st August 2017, but had not yet claimed their Bitcoin Cash, Keepkey will provide them with an option to do so by clicking on the Bitcoin Cash listing at the bottom of the screen when they open their account. Users will be able to add Bitcoin Cash accounts from which they can send and receive funds, as well as trade the funds using Shapeshift.
There will be even more choice when it comes to Bitcoin Cash trading, including two added Asian exchanges. Earlier today, the largest Indian cryptocurrency exchange platform, Zebpay, announced that they’ve integrated support for Bitcoin Cash as part of their new 2.0 version. Zebpay was established in July 2015, and works primarily using an app which is available to both Android and iOS users. The platform, however, is not limited to cryptocurrency exchange, but also enables users to recharge their phone prepaid packages, buy vouchers, etc.
Kucoin, the Hong Kong-based cryptocurrency exchange platform confirmed that they will be adding support for Bitcoin Cash trading, allowing users to choose from six new trading pairs, each including Bitcoin Cash. According to Kucoin, their users have requested that the platform be more flexible in terms of Bitcoin Cash trading options. They aim to provide their users with a diverse and comprehensive trading experience.
Bitcoin cash might soon enjoy added utility, as several users in India could use their funds to settle restaurant bills and pay for goods and services in-store. Quickwallet is a popular cryptocurrency-based payment processing server which provides cryptocurrency payment solutions to over 4,500 retailers and restaurants across India. The CEO of Quickwallet, Mohit Lalvani, confirmed earlier this week that the company planned on adding support for Bitcoin Cash payments within the next month. Lalvani sees Bitcoin Cash as a more viable alternative to Bitcoin, which has become too expensive and takes long to process.
Another turbulent week for the Altcoins as Ethereum rules the roost again, Telegram’s ICO could be worth $500 Million, Click, Kodak steals the thunder at CES, and Venezuelan Petro currency hits hard opposition.
Venezuelan Petro currency hits hard opposition
A recent controversial currency development planned by Nicolas Maduro, the president of Venezuela, has run into a lot of strong internal opposition. The currency in question, The Petro, is reported to be backed by oil reserves and will have the potential to negate international sanctions against the country. Earlier last week, Nicolas Maduro, announced these plans live on national TV. He spoke of the launch of the currency which would stand at $5.9 Billion. However, this week in the opposition-held parliament, a debate took place which declared the plan to be illegal. The idea that was put forward for the new currency was shot down heavily and was labeled a scheme to allow further corruption and fraud, with opposition politician Jorge Milan stating;
“This is not a cryptocurrency, this is a forward sale of Venezuelan oil. It is tailor-made for corruption.”
Similarly to Venezuela, Russia also recently announced its plans for the potential launch of a new national cryptocurrency now dubbed the “Crypto Ruble” to combat existing international sanctions in place. It will be interesting to see how these two stories develop. the fact that Cryptocurrencies, a phenomenon that most of the world thought (incorrectly of course) to only be useful for criminals, now has the potential to become a nationally used form of payment is very progressive indeed.
Kodak steals the thunder at CES
In what seemed to be a completely unprecedented move and a complete change of direction for the company, Kodak took all the attendees of the Consumer Electronics Show (CES 2018) by surprise when they announced their plans to launch the KodakCoin. This new venture of theirs is fueled by their aim to protect photographers copyright as well as their desire to get involved in the crypto scene. The KodakCoin, as previously mentioned, is a currency that protects photographers copyright and will also facilitate renting out cryptocurrency mining rigs. These mining rigs will be housed in Kodaks own facility and will be run using cheap electricity from Kodak’s generating capacity.
As the news of the announcement hits mainstream media, shares shot up by 120% as the story became viral. Kodak has had a tough few years, they had to file for bankruptcy in 2012 and also has extended its brand name to be licensed for the manufacturing of batteries, printers, drones, tablets, and cameras. KodakOne, the ICO for Kodaks new business venture, will be released on January 31st, 2018 and it will interesting to see just how much traction they can generate in the long term. The CEO for Kodak Jeff Clarke is clearly quite forward thinking with this new dip into the crypto world and is confident with this new product “Engaging with a new platform, it is critical photographers know their work and their income is handled securely and with trust, which is exactly what we did with KodakCoin.”
Telegram’s ICO could be a billion dollar bid
News broke this week of the popular messenger app Telegram planning to launch its own cryptocurrency which will introduce the Gram token to the market. The cryptocurrency will run on Telegrams own blockchain dubbed the Telegram Open Network. It is rumored that the funds surrounded this new ICO will range from $500 Million up to the Billions. The founder of this new venture is Pavel Durov, who is a past employee of VKontakt which is a Russian equivalent of Facebook. Pavel was forced to leave Russia due to the immense political pressure and he set up Telegram on the basis of absolute privacy and freedom to communicate.
While unprecedented, the ICO in question could make some big moves in the world of Initial Coin Offerings is sure to be one to watch. Due to the background of Pavel and the ethos of the Telegram app as a whole, this new project is perfectly situated in the middle of the cryptocurrency community and will be able to gather a decent amount of attention as well as the trust of its investors. The big question, whether this ICO can get off the ground, is yet to be answered. We’ll just have to wait and see, however, this could be the biggest ICO this year and maybe the biggest one to date.
Ethereum rules the roost again
Panic in the market, most likely caused by the rumors of a potential ban on all cryptocurrencies for South Korea, caused a momentary dip for Ethereum. Coinmarketcap actually made the decision to delist all of the Korean exchanges due to the rumors surrounding the ban on crypto. Ethereum dropped a bit, chugging for a few hours, but it quickly returned to form and carried on its recent growth reaching a new high of $1400. Ethereum has been growing at an aggressive rate in recent times and it is really proving to be one to watch.
Ripple also felt the heat and took a bit of a tumble as the rising price of Ethereum and the temporary removal of a large quantity of their fanbase in the Korean market pushed it back to third place in the top ten rankings of Crypto based on overall market capitalization. A lot of other Altcoins such as Cardano, Verge and Stellar were hit hard too, however, the coin that experienced the biggest drop was Tron. Tron’s dip was related to the controversy surrounding its business partners and claims of plagiarism on its whitepaper. Tron recently had a price spike up to 21 cents but is currently sitting at a measly 4 cents. Justin Sun now needs to put some real work in and get a working product on the market.
