Ethereum’s pending major update Casper will already be part of a planned Ethereum hard fork titled Constantinople and is likely to occur between 2018 and 2019. In response to the news of the release of Bitmain’s powerful new Ethereum Miners, the Ethereum community is calling for a much sooner hard fork.
Bitmain’s Impact on Ethereum
On April 3rd, 2018, following extensive rumours, Bitmain released its Ethereum miner named the Antminer E3. The E3 is set to ship to buyers in July. The application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) miner is restricted to sales of one per customer, with further restrictions on shipping to China and Taiwan. The E3 is expensive but powerful, coming in at roughly three times more cost-effective in one by CryptoSlate in comparison to other similar hardware.
Though the Ethereum Casper update, moving Ethereum from proof-of-work (POW) to proof-of-stake (POS) would make the E3 obsolete, there is a significant amount of mining time available before the proposed Casper update happens.
The Ethereum community is concerned that large-scale Ethereum mining will reduce its decentralization, leaving too much Ether owned by mining firms and groups.
The concern doesn’t just originate from the E3 hitting the market. According to rumours, Bitmain has been using the E3 to mine Ethereum itself before releasing the new hardware to the public, potentially explaining a rise in Ethereum mining directly before the release of the E3.
Ethereum Community Propose a Hard Fork for ASIC Resistance
Developer Piper Merriam posted an as soon as rumours of the new Bitmain miner broke to discuss the potential of a hard fork to make Ethereum ASIC resistant. The discussion brought arguments for and against a hard fork for this reason. The Casper update, moving Ethereum to POS would solve the problem entirely, but it may be some time before the update is implemented.
Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin has yet to comment directly. In a developer chat in February to Buterin discussing the potential of such a development he said:
“I’m not convinced it’s worth expending resources caring too much, except to push faster on Casper.”
Ethereum has been against mining hardware since inception with methods to prevent its use incorporated into the initial Ethereum white paper.
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こんにちは。の金野です。
現在、私たちはベトナムにおいて、遊べるポイントサイト「」向けに、学びながらポイントも貯まる「マナビー」を開発しています。具体的には遊びながら英語が学べるゲームを開発しています。（残念ながらこのサービスは日本のユーザーしか利用できません。）
このサービスで得られるポイントは、ショッピング代に利用できたり、現金、電子マネー、ギフトカード等に交換することができます。
お金に換えられるとなると、なんだかポイントがトークンと同じように見えてきませんか？
実際のところ、ポイントとトークンは様々な点で異なります。以下に幾つかリストアップします。
ポイントの性質消費者に還元される値引きである会社側はポイント発行の負担分を引当金として負債に計上している価値の変動が無い投機性が無いトークンの性質価値の変動がある投機性がある仮想通貨に交換可能資金調達にも利用可能世界中にサービスを提供できる
私たちのようなポイントメディアコンテンツを提供する会社は、これまで法定通貨もしくはそれと連携できる電子マネーに換えられるサービスを行ってきました。法定通貨は国毎に管理されている通貨で、国毎に法律が異なります。もし、私たちが日本以外でポイントメディアサービスを提供しようとした場合、国毎の法律に併せたサービスを準備しなければなりません。実際、実現可能かどうかも分かりません。もし可能であっても大変な時間とコストがかかります。
ところが、トークンを使うと市場が一気にグローバルに広がります。
ポイントではなく、トークンを使うことで、グローバルなトークンエコノミー（トークン経済圏）を実現することが可能になる訳です。
と言うことで、私たちはトークンエコノミーを実現するためのDAppsゲームを開発中です。
では、ブロックチェーン開発に注力しています。
was originally published in on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
Facebook, Twitter and Google have recently restricted the promotion or advertising of cryptocurrency projects. In light of recent media reports, it would seem that many more platforms are likely to follow suit and leave marketing experts with no option but to get smart when it comes to cryptocurrency projects.
As you may know, the cryptocurrency markets have endured an extremely volatile time since December highs. In previous years, volatility was nothing new of course, but the extent of the retrace this year is a clear indication that the downturn on this occasion was a lot more severe. In other words, we are now witnessing a bear market and a much greater crash than anyone expected but there is also a slightly more sinister reason for this happening. Indeed, aside from market cycles and common factors which often instigate a downturn, there is no doubting the main reason as to why this year is so much worse than previous years.
Facebook, Twitter and Cryptocurrency Bans
When Twitter announced a ban recently with regard to cryptocurrency advertisements, this was merely one of many platforms who had taken a similar course. After all, Facebook had also restricted any cryptocurrency related advertisements and even Google had taken similar steps to prohibit these financial ads.
In case you might be asking yourself, these restrictions effectively restricted cryptocurrency projects from gaining traction online. In the case of Facebook, recent algorithms have meant that business page owners are unable to reach the vast majority of their following without promoting or “boosting” posts. Similarly, the only way to reach out to new followers on the same platform has been to avail of Facebook Ads which put the page in front of potential suitors. For the above reason, Facebook as a growth strategy is almost obselete for cryptocurrency projects in a sense that users can no longer boost or promote their content on the platform.
Similarly, Google Ads have enforced restrictions which have stopped cryptocurrency projects from availing of paid advertisements which is effectively the best way to reach out to a specific target market. That being said, while we mention Facebook and Google in particular, there are many more following suit and Twitter is the latest big gun to step up with a decision.
In alternative markets and industries, this may not feel like as big of a deal but this certainly matters in a sense that the cryptocurrency market is so young. With this in mind, cryptocurrency projects have not had time to optimize websites in such a way that they appear on page one for relevant searches. In fact, if you know the inner workings of SEO, these websites are often too young for Google to take seriously in terms of the rankings.
Why is this Happening in the Crypto Market?
Facebook explained this decision in quite a reasonable way and one which laid a foundation for other major players who may wish to follow suit. In essence, these platforms were concerned that fraudulent ICO’s or organisations were preying on uneducated users and Facebook, Google, and Twitter felt it was their responsibility to protect these people until the market was regulated and safer to navigate.
You may be familiar with the acronym “FUD” which stands for fear, uncertainty and doubt? Cryptocurrency blogs, websites, and channels quite often refer to media announcements as FUD and this is certainly the case with the above announcements by Facebook, Google and Twitter.
In the case of media, news reports are often exaggerated or inaccurate and the common belief amongst cryptocurrency enthusiasts is that this news is fabricated to have a negative impact on the market. Many subsequent reports support this theory and most of this news seems to correlate with times when the cryptocurrency markets are in a precarious state. For example, on the run up to December highs, Jamie Dimon, the CEO of JP Morgan Bank made a televised statement in which he attributed bitcoin as being fraudulent. However, only a few months later this same bank was found to be dabbling in cryptocurrency markets at which point Jamie Dimon released a second interview in which he announced his regret for calling the cryptocurrency a fraud and indicating that the blockchain has a bright future.
As a rule, there is no specific evidence to warrant accusations against media, government agencies or financial institutions but it must be said that market manipulation in cryptocurrency is certainly an issue at this time. While we do not know the precise players behind this manipulation or more importantly, the motive of these organizations, we should assume that restrictions around cryptocurrency in the mainstream is largely manipulative.
Alternative Approach to PR for Cryptocurrency Projects
Social Media should be used wherever possible. As a rule, Youtube and video content is still considered viral and the best way for cryptocurrency projects to reach the masses. When it comes to board-style websites, many crypto or business related message boards are still friendly toward cruyptocurrency while Steemit is still a very untapped resource.
In case you may not know, Steemit is the same provider of the cryptocurrency Steem. However, these are two separate concepts with the latter being a reward-style token and Steemit being a platform similar to Reddit. While this platform is still rather young, Steemit is growing at an exponential rate and home to an immense cryptocurrency community. Furthermore, you will find no such restrictions relating to ads on Steemit which makes this an ideal platform on which to grow a project and reach out to a relevant community.
Needless to say, Steemit is especially relevant when it comes to marketing for cryptocurrency projects but this is also one of many social media platforms which can still be used going forward. Furthermore, given the infancy of the cryptocurrency market, this is still a very early stage in which to grow an online presence using organice SEO tactics. Whether you focus on guest posting or creating content for the blog, SEO is a long term strategy which will can put any project in front of the masses and perform efficiently without the assistance of advertisements.
Getting Smart in the Face of Legislation
Indeed, the cryptocurrency market continues to thread lightly and this is set to continue until governments or regulatory bodies are more clear in terms of legislation. At the same time, the above mentioned advertising bans are also likely to become more common and do little more than reduce the impact of which cryptocurrency related projects can have with a target market.
However, in many ways, nothing has changed, for cryptocurrency has always been a somewhat underground movement. In fact, the recent spike and December highs was the main cause for cryptocurrency featuring so much in the mainstream and becoming the focus of advertising bands and potential legislation. Either way, we can already see that cryptocurrency is here to stay and set to play a pivotal role in the future of the financial industry. In this sense, while the way forward may not be as straightforward as in the past, there is still the same opportunity for cryptocurrency projects to grow but it would seem that the goalposts have movedξ, and now is the time to get smart.
Originally published at on April 6, 2018.
Constellations in Quadrant
Quadrant is a blockchain-based protocol that enables the access, creation, and distribution of data products and services with authenticity and provenance at its core. The data economy is similar to outer space: unmapped and chaotic. Quadrant serves as a blueprint that provides an organized system for the utilization of decentralized data.
In a few words, the Quadrant Protocol aims to create a transparent, trustworthy, and fluid flow of data. Considering that the real value of data depends on the procedures related to its collection, organization, and accuracy, the creation of a mechanism guaranteeing the originality and accuracy of data is critical to improving the data economy.
To fix the problem of data originality, our team introduced a simple, yet powerful process called Data Stamping. Data Stamping is a system used to prove the authenticity of data at the point of origin. Through this process, Quadrant creates a method of authenticity and provenance, making data verification possible. The result is a simple, secure, mutually rewarding for data creators & data users, independent, and portable proof of data integrity.
To make the presentation of Quadrant and its data stamping feature simpler and more comprehensive, we need to deconstruct the key participants and their roles in the platform:
Nurseries — Entities who create dataPioneers — Entities who use smart contracts to turn data into data products called ConstellationsElons — The visionaries who create innovative data use cases and build upon data within the system
These three entities empower the system, making new data available and driving innovations that will have an impact on the way we work and live. But to drive these innovations, we first must start with trust.
Data Stamping
Producer Client
Data stamping begins with the Nurseries. As soon as data is produced, the hash, along with metadata, is stamped into Quadrant. This ensures that when the data is consumed, either today or ten years from now, the Data Consumer is assured that the data is in the exact state it was in when it was produced.
As an example, a data producer has data streaming from millions of devices into his storage every hour. Quadrant’s Data Producer Client will be programmed to read from this storage and begin the stamping process. It will read the file or directory of files, create a hash, and then stamp the data’s metadata — its DNA — into Quadrant. This data DNA will be used to identify the data and its provenance in the network. At this point, the producer client has fulfilled its function of stamping data to the chain.
Consumer Client
When data is bought via smart contracts on Quadrant, our Consumer Client will kick in. It will read the delivered data and hash them for verification. After this data hashing, the generated hash will be used to identify the authenticity of the data as compared to the original files. In turn, the Quadrant Consumer Client will generate a stamp and verify it against the Quadrant Procurer Client. A match indicates the successful completion of verification.
The stamping and verification processes all run programmatically, with the respective users able to set the timeframes and create alerts to notify them of data hash mismatches.
Sophistication in Simplicity
With Quadrant Protocol’s Data Stamping, the problems associated with data provenance and authenticity are vastly diminished.
The authenticity of the point of origin with timestamped hashes on the chain proves both the origin and the volume of produced data. The uniqueness of the digital fingerprint is calculated from the file’s content, creating a design whereby it is computationally infeasible to find two different messages which produce the same number.Buyers’ involvement in verification is reduced, as the evaluation of the data by quality team experts is reduced to the minimum. Fewer experts’ contributions means more agility in the business procedures and less unneeded commission and cost.Machines do the veracity job, limiting errors and costs and enhancing privacy in this process, since no third parties who may be editing or forwarding data will be unable to do so.Irrefutable public proof of ownership and provenance trails for compliance are achieved. This feature is pioneering and catalytic in the new data world, covering the legal aspects of acquiring external data in a precise, quick, and cost-effective way.
Quadrant’s blockchain data stamping mechanism sets the foundation for data trading in a transparent and trusted manner. The applications of this process are limitless, from data rights to fake news; we can see stamping having far-reaching applications across industries. With this authentication foundation in the protocol, Quadrant will work to create a sustainable, trusted data economy. Quadrant will establish itself as the leading platform on which to build and host innovations related to data, AI, and the data driven applications that drive human ingenuity.
Follow our project on Telegram at
was originally published in on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
