Blockchain and Bitcoin round-up: 28 April 2017
Quick steps to quick news. Hot on the heels of Wednesday’s (26 April) blockchain and Bitcoin round-up, here’s another one. Featuring Emercoin, IHS Markit, Santiment and Coinsource.
“We have crossed the Rubicon, getting rid of the last instruments which affect the health of the Emercoin network. Whether this was the right step or a mistake — only time will tell. We are guided by the ideals and principles which Satoshi [Nakamoto] impressed on us and which we share. We are in favour of decentralisation.” It all sounds like Julius Caesar, but in fact these are the words of Evgenii Shumilov, founder and CEO of digital cryptocurrency Emercoin.
In its latest version, an embedded cryptocurrency exchanger has been added and the final remnants of centralisation have ceased operation. These were centralised alerts and compulsory dynamic check-points. The code was used during the initial development of the Emercoin blockchain. Its users can now keep alerts turned on; create a public key independently for a third party, who they trust; or switch off alerts as a matter of principle.
Data provider IHS Markit has joined the Washington DC-based Chamber of Digital Commerce, a trade association that promotes the use of digital assets and distributed ledger technology (DLT).
As part of the Chamber lot, IHS Markit will work with other firms to support legislative and regulatory efforts for DLT in financial markets.
Let’s go on a Santiment journey – a new blockchain network that pays traders for financial data. Santiment is the “world’s first crypto-market information network”, combining sentiment data indicators and a “reputation-backed” financial content network.
The “Sentiment Tracker” lets traders select an asset and submit whether they are bullish or bearish on it, thereby getting access to the community sentiment. Over time, traders will be able to compare how their instincts fared against the market and the general perceptions of the trading community. The firm says more data-feeds, including new crypto-financial games, are planned after the completion of this first game, which is currently an alpha version.
Coinsource, the “world’s largest bitcoin ATM network”, has reached the 100 machine milestone after a Q1 expansion in New York, adding 14 kiosks to the Empire State since January. Founded in 2015, Coinsource has gone from 70 to 103 machines since the start of the year. It now controls 36% of the market in New York, operating 30 of the 83 machines in the city area.
Coinsource currently has 103 machines spread across nine states, including California, Louisiana, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Texas. CEO and co-founder Sheffield Clark says: “New York will always have a special place in our heart because it was the origin of our first successful bitcoin ATM.” Let’s end there before we are all overcome by emotion.
