US Financial Index Conference: 11 blockchain projects you can’t miss

Brian Forde, director of digital currency at MIT Media Lab, gave an example of buying a ticket when explaining the definition of blockchain. You bought a concert ticket online. On the day of the show, you took the ticket to the ticket gate, but you couldn't be 100% sure that the ticket was valid. What if the ticket was fake?

If you bought the ticket with digital currency, all records can be found on the blockchain ledger, so you don't have to worry about the authenticity of the ticket. Everyone knows that blockchain is the distributed data technology behind Bitcoin. Forde said at the Exponential Finance conference at Singularity University in the United States that blockchain is a decentralized way to trade digital assets (including various forms of assets and data such as tickets and songs).

Forde used the example of buying tickets to simplify the concept of blockchain technology. He believes that the business application of blockchain ultimately comes down to the choice between public blockchains and private blockchains.

I think the application of blockchain is a great opportunity for the banking and financial industry to regain the public's trust. Bitcoin was not born for enterprises, but for individuals.

In simple terms, public blockchain refers to cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin or Ethereum, which enable P2P transactions and have revolutionized the cross-border payment sector. A typical example of private blockchain is the distributed ledger consortium R3, whose blockchain program development platform is hosted on virtual private networks (VPNs) or private clouds. R3 is currently developing technology for the operation of banks and enterprises.

Forde compared the relationship between public and private chains to that between Linux and Red Hat (a company that develops, sells Linux packages and provides technical services). Public chains, such as Bitcoin, are pioneers of the open source movement and focus on the technology itself, while private chains, such as the R3 Alliance, focus on commercializing the technology.

The financial industry itself is very difficult to understand, and blockchain makes it even more complicated. In fact, private chains are equivalent to corporate internal networks, while public chains are equivalent to the entire Internet. The world has undergone tremendous changes due to the Internet, but corporate internal networks cannot do the same. In other words, compared with private chains, public chains have a subversive effect on corporate operations.

Most of the discussion about blockchain at this conference revolved around banking and finance topics: transfers, cross-border payments in financial ledgers, contract management, etc. But Forde also brought up many interesting application examples, which are the exploration of distributed ledgers by MIT and other research institutions. These groundbreaking studies include the application of blockchain in education, government contracts and healthcare. Many blockchain startups were also introduced at this conference, and they studied the application of blockchain from multiple angles.

1. Digital Certificate

MIT researcher Juliana Nazaré and Philipp Schmidt, director of academic innovation, recently published an article on how to design a degree certificate system on the blockchain. The article explains in detail how the certificate issuer signs digital certificates and stores hash values ​​in blockchain transactions. Blockchain can effectively verify and provide schools and employers with authentic and reliable data.

The verification protocols we currently use are not reliable. The great thing about this project is that it puts a safety lock on digital certificates. Imagine if there was a green check mark on the degree certificate you uploaded on LinkedIn, proving that it has been verified by the blockchain, wouldn’t it look more reliable? This can prevent you from being deceived.

2. MedRec

Another MIT research project is blockchain medical record management. Forde said MedRec (built on the Ethereum blockchain) is a digitized family history medical record. Imagine sitting in the doctor's office and being asked about your family medical history and your mind goes blank. But with the MedRec blockchain, families and hospitals can create a shared medical record that can be passed down from generation to generation.

Since the introduction of the Obamacare Act (ACA), everyone has an electronic medical record, but this data is too closed. We need a technology or protocol to enable data sharing. MedRec can achieve this function. It not only enables data interoperability, but also protects data security.

Miners protect the Bitcoin blockchain, process transactions, develop blocks, and so on, which enables them to receive 25 Bitcoins as rewards. The reward mechanism of MedRec is similar to that of Internet transactions: you are free to experience this service, but at the same time we have to pay some data information in return. For example, medical experts build a blockchain for medical data so that they can get this data faster when needed.

3. Abra

Abra is a blockchain digital wallet. Founder and CEO Bill Barhydt compares blockchain to "TCP or IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) for currency." Using the Abra wallet, transactions can be made anytime, anywhere without providing a bank account or paying fees.

4. Augur

Augur is a decentralized market prediction platform that predicts market trends by selling blockchain tokens called "Reputation".

5. Bitwage

Bitwage is a blockchain cross-border wage payment platform. It helps employees receive their wages faster and more securely. Founded in 2014, Bitwage simplifies cross-border human resource management through Bitcoin payment channels. To date, the transaction amount on Bitwage has exceeded 4.5 billion US dollars. It provides users with US or European bank accounts, which can be received the next day. Through the Bitcoin blockchain, digital currencies can also be converted into local currencies. The main purpose of Bitwage is to avoid delayed payments and solve cross-border transfer loopholes.

6. BlockCypher

BlockCypher is a cloud network service platform for blockchain apps. Its co-founder and CEO Catheryne Nicholson said that BlockCypher is a supporter of Ethereum. The platform has fully managed blockchain nodes, data centers, and a series of distributed databases to support the operation of blockchain apps. Nicholson believes that in addition to applications in the financial field, blockchain technology has unlimited potential in identity authentication management.

7. Bluzelle

Bluzelle is an intermediary that is not restricted by the protocol (meaning it supports all forms of blockchain, including Bitcoin and Ethereum) and is dedicated to developing blockchain financial apps. Bluzelle CEO Pavel Bains believes that they are the Red Hat of the blockchain industry because their payment API, gateway technology and financial transaction services are not restricted by platforms and are focused on solving problems in the banking and payment fields.

8. Credit Dream

Credit Dream is a mobile-based blockchain lending platform dedicated to establishing connections between borrowers and lenders without borders.

9. Dwolla

Dwolla is a real-time transaction processing platform built on the blockchain. Dwolla co-founder and CEO Ben Milne said his company's system connects the blockchain with existing financial infrastructure.

If this connection is severed, these systems will cease to exist. Even if financial institutions and blockchain startups have long-standing grievances, as long as both parties are profitable, this hostile relationship will definitely turn into a cooperative relationship.

10. Everledger

Everledger is a blockchain-based valuable asset detection system. It uses a "hybrid" blockchain - combining the Bitcoin blockchain and private chain to create smart contracts to detect the authenticity of valuable items such as diamonds for users.

Forde said:

Everledger records diamonds or artworks with hash values ​​on the blockchain. Valuable items on Everledger, such as diamond rings, will have a unique "fingerprint" that can prove their identity.

11. Mycelia

Mycelia is a blockchain property rights protection project that enables musicians to freely trade music. Its initiator is British singer Imogen Heap.