TheBlockchainExaminer.com – Page 23

Engiven, Inc. Becomes World’s First Cryptocurrency Donation Platform to Receive SOC2 Type 1 Compliance Certification

July 20, 2022 Published by TheBlockchainExaminer.com

Engiven Inc. announced today that it has achieved SOC 2 Type 1 compliance in accordance with American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) standards for SOC for Service Organizations also known as SSAE 18. Achieving this standard with an unqualified opinion serves as third-party industry validation that Engiven Inc. provides enterprise-level security for customer’s data secured in the Engiven Inc. System.

Engiven Inc. provides SaaS-based technologies that equip nonprofit organizations to securely accept and liquidate cryptocurrency donations while eliminating the complexity and risk associated with cryptocurrency transactions. Engiven provides a highly automated end-to-end solution where the crypto donation is verified on the blockchain, exchanged for USD and the donor is immediately provided with a gift receipt.

“The certification is truly just a formalization of the industry-best practices we employ to safeguard our data and that of our clients,” explained Brandon Murphy, COO of Engiven. “Ethics and compliance are not boxes we check – they are integral to who we are. We are firmly committed to the highest level of integrity in all of our business practices.”

Engiven Inc. was audited by Prescient Assurance, a leader in security and compliance attestation for B2B, SAAS companies worldwide. Prescient Assurance is a registered public accounting firm in the US and Canada and provides risk management and assurance services which includes but is not limited to SOC 2, PCI, ISO, NIST, GDPR, CCPA, HIPAA, and CSA STAR.

An unqualified opinion on a SOC 2 Type 1 audit report demonstrates to Engiven’s current and future clients that they manage their data with the highest standard of security and compliance. Additionally, Engiven is committed to obtaining its SOC 2 Type 2, a higher level of SOC 2 assurance, to further test the effectiveness of its internal controls.

“Engiven is the world’s first cryptocurrency donation management platform to achieve this level of security compliance. The SOC 2 Type 1 Report further demonstrates our commitment to safeguarding transactions and client data,” said James Lawrence, Engiven’s Cofounder and CEO. “By obtaining this level of compliance, we hope to show our commitment to the highest level of security standards that every nonprofit deserves.”

Compassion International launches revolutionary NFT collection, created completely in VR

July 20, 2022 Published by TheBlockchainExaminer.com

Today, Compassion International launched “Many Hands,” a revolutionary non fungible token (NFT) digital artwork collection created completely in virtual reality (VR). Funds raised from the collection will provide full-ride college scholarships for 32 high-achieving Haitian youth. The scholarship will cover a full four years of university tuition, a laptop, leadership development training, and continuous support throughout their education, starting this fall.

“Many Hands” is Compassion’s first-ever NFT collection, and the collection’s digital artwork will be sold directly by Compassion through the Ethereum blockchain. Minting begins today, July 20, at 10:30 a.m. Eastern at ManyHandsNFT.com. (Those who are new to NFTs can join Compassion’s Discord and visit the #nft-101 channel for more information.)

The collection’s artist, Patrick Bezalel, donated his time and talent to create five thousand pieces of art, all created in VR. Each piece represents Haiti’s countryside and villages, along with the realities the country continues to face due to poverty, unrest, and natural disasters. Bezalel painted each layer using HTC Pro VR, where he was completely immersed in a three-dimensional, computer-generated environment.

Bezalel and his wife, Lily, first heard about Compassion more than a decade ago at a conference and were greatly moved by the organization’s work. Since then, they have sponsored children through Compassion, and they currently sponsor two children from Haiti. Bezalel hopes the collection will sell out, adding, “I want to present Haiti in a way that has never been presented before in a VR environment. VR has the ability to immerse you into any space, and this art form is my way of immersing and involving everyone in their support for Compassion and their projects. It is not just about education – it is hope for the future.”

According to USAID, the majority of Haitians lack access to a quality education, citing challenges like low enrollment and poor literacy rates. The average Haitian, age 25 years or older, has less than five years of schooling; and only 61 percent of the adult population is literate.

Education is crucial to breaking the cycle of poverty. UNESCO reports that if all adults completed secondary education, the global poverty rate could be cut by more than half. And yet, the majority of Haitians cannot afford to send their children to school.

Abbel Joseph, senior manager of program support at Compassion Haiti, sees many young people who have the skills, knowledge, and inclination to attend university, but not the finances. He explains, “The target group that we work with are among the most vulnerable in the country. That’s why it is so important to help them to get that scholarship in order to go to college. For the development of the community, people need to get educated … to learn things in order to help themselves, to help their community. A lot of them, without this scholarship – they end up not having any possibility at all to go to college.”

To this difficulty, Compassion responds, “Men anpil, chay pa lou.” Roughly translated from Creole, this Haitian proverb means, “Many hands make the load lighter.” And beginning at 10:30 am Eastern on July 20, individuals can make the load lighter for 32 Haitian students by minting “Many Hands” NFTs at ManyHandsNFT.com. The project will empower youth in poverty to become teachers, entrepreneurs, doctors, scientists, and other members of society who can break the chains of poverty and bring about a brighter future for all of Haiti.

Just ask Esterflie, a 19-year-old Haitian student slated to participate in the program. She shares, “I would like to have a career with computers – maybe a computer engineer. Technology is something that is very important for [the] development of a country. My parents are excited for me to have the opportunity to go to college. They are very proud of me.”

Witness the Rise of the Power of Innovation, Final of the Global Digital Economy Innovation Competition 2022 to Be Staged at the End of this July

July 19, 2022 Published by TheBlockchainExaminer.com

Since its launch, the Global Digital Economy Innovation Competition 2022 has attracted 500+ projects from over 20 countries to sign up. The final will be staged at China National Convention Center in Beijing on July 29.

The Global Digital Economy Conference (hereinafter referred to as GDEC) 2022 is hosted by Peoples Government of Beijing Municipality, National Development and Reform Commission, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Ministry of Commerce, Cyberspace Administration of China, and China Association for Science and Technology. As an important part of the GDEC 2022, the GDEIC is jointly organized by Beijing Municipal Bureau of Economy and Information Technology, Chaoyang District Peoples Government of Beijing Municipality and Asia Data Group. With the theme of “Scientific and Technological Innovation Empowers Industry – A New Pattern of Digital Economy”, the competition consists of five sub competitions as well as exhibitions, industry matchmaking and cloud competitions to create a high-quality innovation competition that integrates online and offline. 11 high-quality projects stood out and won the admission ticket to the final after five fierce sub competitions. At that time, guests from governments, enterprises, universities, research institutes and finance and end-users will gather to witness the wonderful moment when the dream of innovation and entrepreneurship in the digital economy blossoms.

Gathering global high-quality innovation resources

As a China-based competition with a global outlook, this GDEIC, adhering to the concept of openness and collaboration, recruits roadshow projects from 20+ countries around the world. The selection criteria for projects will center on the hot issues, key points and difficulties in the development of the global digital economy. Innovation projects that are leading and promising in the field of digital economy will be cherry-picked from key industries such as the new-generation of information technology, digital healthcare, digital culture and sports, digital low carbon, digital consumption, and digital manufacturing as well as more than 20 sub-sectors, including artificial intelligence, blockchain, network security and digital environmental protection.

The five sub competitions has attracted more than 500 projects worldwide so as to bring together high-quality innovation resources and provide an important platform for global makers to display and communicate. In the end, 11 outstanding projects were shortlisted for the final. They are Yuntu WiseVision, Guodian Gaoke, Ilodo (Beijing) Sports Technology Co., Ltd., Nanhuai, Shenzhen Meikyo Environmental Technology Co., Ltd., German OLI Ecoystem, SHINEtoilets, Fubao Robot, E3A Healthcare Pte Ltd, PIXMOVING INC and Changhui Auto Steering System (Huangshan) Co., Ltd.

Accelerating the landing and transformation for projects

The final will invite executives from more than 100 leading investment institutions around the world, such as IDG Capital, Sequoia Capital, SBCVC, ASBV and GSR Ventures as investment mentors to provide more opportunities for excellent projects to interact with capital. Besides, experts, scholars and elites in digital economy will be invited to participate in the competition, all to build a benchmark event for digital economy entrepreneurship.

In order to help participants better present their projects, cloud exhibitions, web conferencing, livestreaming videos and metaverse venues will be adopted, together with interaction on the same screen, to realize superior display, communication and docking that break the limits of time and space. Furthermore, digital special effects are used offline for the diversified display of project information to build a metaverse scene where infinite creativity is enabled via technology.

According to the GDEIC’s Organizing Committee, in addition to the competition among 11 projects during the final, 20 companies will be invited for roadshows, exhibitions and docking on the spot to facilitate the deep integration of the digital economy and the real economy. Moreover, the introduction and promotion of landing policies for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, and industry docking and exchanges will be set, with government leaders, representatives of innovative enterprises and incubators, heads of industrial parks and leading companies in the industry invited to get involved in the on-site docking, so as to build a bridge for participants to communicate with governments, industrial parks, and enterprises of different natures, and promote the follow-up development and implementation of the industry.

The final will kick off in Chaoyang District. Since it first proposed to build a digital economy demonstration zone in Beijing in September 2020, the district, combined with its own resources, guided by the cultivation of digital industrial clusters and focused on enabling the upgrading of traditional industries, has been actively cultivating future-oriented new technologies, new business formats and new models, with a leading edge in the field of digital economy formed. The final will build a communication and cooperation platform for the shortlisted high-quality projects.

Sango – The First National Digital Monetary System built by the Central African Republic powered by Blockchain

July 19, 2022 Published by TheBlockchainExaminer.com

The world was taken by surprise when the President of CAR , Faustin-Archange Touadéra, made his announcement regarding the adoption of Bitcoin as legal tender on the 21th of April and then with the following implementation of the SANGO Coin (https://sango.org/ ) on the 3rd of July.

To view the Multimedia News Release, please click:
https://www.multivu.com/players/uk/9070251-sango-first-national-digital-monetary-system-built-by-central-african-republic/

In this regard, the Central African Republic, a country located in the heart of Africa, a region with untapped growth potential, is working on a new structure for its economy, paving the way to a digital future:

“There is already a vision for Africa: a common cryptocurrency and an integrated capital market that could stimulate commerce and sustain growth.” Faustin-Archange Touadéra, president of the Central African Republic.

The Central African Republic plans to raise a total of $1 Billion by issuing the first national digital currency, called SANGO. Once raised, the capital will be used to tokenize the country’s resources, offering worldwide investors the opportunity to contribute, benefit from it, and to build the entire digital infrastructure, based on Sango blockchain, a novel Layer-2 Bitcoin sidechain.

With more than $2.2 Trillion in Iron ore and a further $60 Billion in each individual resource of Gold, Oil, Diamonds and Lithium, CAR is leading the way to the democratisation of access to resources. Tokenization allows access to global capital in a democratic and transparent way, allowing investors of all sizes to buy fractionalized assets representing the country’s resources.

From the decentralisation and tokenization of its resources, to offering citizenship, e-residency and land through locking the newly issued coin, Sango will govern the whole economic ecosystem of the Central African Republic. It already appears that other African countries are showing significant interest in finding similar digital solutions.

The initiative has already gone mainstream as it is backed by the country’s administration and also applauded by big names in the industry and Africa. Changpeng Zhao (Binance), Michael Saylor (MicroStrategy), Ricardo Salinas Pliego (Salinas Group) and Reuben Abati (Nigerian Presidential Spokesperson) are among those that have shown their support on Twitter since the official announcement.

The official GENESIS PAPER { https://sango.org/genesis-paper.pdf } of Sango has been released together with the Concept Deck for a complete understanding of the technical complexity and benefits of the ambitious Central African project. SANGO, the first national digital currency is also the first currency to be fractionally backed by Bitcoin “digital gold”.

Starting from yesterday, the platform is also open for registrations and KYC. The official launch date of the SANGO GENESIS has been set to the 25th of July and it will mark the beginning of a new era for the Central African Republic and perhaps for the entire world.

This new economical approach sheds more light on the integration and potential participation of the entire world in a country’s development, with limitless investment possibilities for anyone in the crypto space and beyond it.

Function X launched EVM Chain to scale its DeFi ecosystem

July 18, 2022 Published by TheBlockchainExaminer.com

The Function X blockchain project is proud to celebrate its latest milestone: the launch of the EVM compatible chain (FXEVM) on the Function X Mainnet and completed its upgrade at block height 5,713,000.

This upgrade allows developers to migrate their decentralized apps (dApps) to Function X instantly and provides the infrastructure to make sure the dApps run smoothly, with low fees and on a secured network. Function X is one of the first projects to integrate an EVM compatible chain on a chain based on the Cosmos network.

The EVM compatible chain is crucial to Function X’s goal of becoming a decentralized finance (DeFi) blockchain platform that strengthens the DeFi ecosystem and encourage developers to use Function X to contribute to the advancement of DeFi and blockchain technology.

More new use-cases will be built on the ecosystem. For example, the FXEVM launch follows the successful deployment of a retail payment solution (Pundi X Chain) and perpetual derivatives trading platform (MarginX). Function X also allows developers to customize the chain based on their needs using the Subnet solution while inheriting Function X’s speed and security.

After the FXEVM upgrade, users can bridge their $FX and other tokens (such as FX, PUNDIX, PURSE, USDT, and more) from Ethereum to FXEVM using FX Bridge. f(x)Swap will be one of the first dApps available on FXEVM. It’s a decentralized exchange that users can swap different cryptocurrency via MetaMask or any other decentralized wallet supporting WalletConnect e.g f(x)Wallet.

Apart from swapping, there will also be Liquidity Pools, where anyone can become a liquidity provider for a pool and earn rewards in the form of trading fees when users trade in those pools.

Deploying dApps to Function X EVM

Function X invites all developers to come and build on the FXEVM. The dApps the developers w’ll be able to build include not only DEXes but also liquidity protocols, yield aggregators, NFT Marketplaces, and many more. To top it off, the Foundation is allocating $20 million from its Ecosystem Genesis Fund to attract developers and nurture the development of the Function X ecosystem.

The Ecosystem Genesis Fund is transparent and accessible to all developers through governance proposals. This fund is allocated to encourage and help to accelerate the development of Function X and FXEVM.

With the recent FXEVM upgrade and new investments into the Ecosystem Genesis Fund, the Function X network is set for impressive growth and exciting times ahead.

Watch FXEVM at https://youtu.be/F2VHnHd2-bs

Bosonic expands Commercial Management Team with the appointment of key Business Development and Client Success roles

July 15, 2022 Published by TheBlockchainExaminer.com

Bosonic, a layer-2 blockchain infrastructure (dFMI) provider for real-time digital assets clearing and settlement, has today announced the appointment of Julie Briand as Head of Client Success and Sarthak Jain as Regional Manager of Institutional Sales. Both roles will be based in London, UK.

As Bosonic experiences a period of significant growth, Julie brings a wealth of industry expertise in managing client onboarding and service delivery, having previously been responsible for several of the largest institutional clients while at Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BAML).

Sarthak joins the business after an already successful career selling institutional enterprise solutions in the UK and Europe for Bloomberg and, most recently, crypto exchange Binance. Having built strong relationships with key institutional participants within the industry, Sarthak will help to grow Bosonic’s institutional client portfolio and expand the Bosonic Network.

Jason Nabi, Bosonic’s Chief Revenue Officer, said, “We are incredibly fortunate to be scaling our business at pace while attracting some of the top talents in the industry to continue on this trajectory. Julie and Sarthak bring a wealth of experience across multiple continents in the Financial Services industry, having held roles with several major players. We are delighted they have chosen Bosonic to progress their careers, and we look forward to demonstrating the calibre of our services to more global institutional clients.”

Julie Briand, Head of Client Success commented: “Traditional finance is increasingly recognising the need to embrace blockchain based peer to peer infrastructure. I’m delighted to be joining Bosonic to bring my institutional expertise to bear in the digital asset world and help foster closer relationships between the two industry segments.”

Sarthak Jain, Regional Manager of Institutional Sales added: “The market for infrastructure that eliminates counterparty credit and settlement risk in the Digital Assets space is growing exponentially. I am excited to join Bosonic and help in serving its clients with best-in-class solutions that are demonstrably shaping the future of our industry.”

The Bosonic Network is a best-in-class and unique infrastructure for institutional clients, that is both liquidity and custodian agnostic. Bosonic connects clients to exchanges and market makers and enables a Payment versus Payment (PvP) atomic swap for instantaneous settlement on a layer-2 blockchain operated by digital asset custodians.

XT.com Lists CRYPTOKKI (TOKKI) With USDT Trading Pair

July 14, 2022 Published by TheBlockchainExaminer.com

XT.com, the world’s first social infused trading platform has announced a significant expansion of its offering by listing CRYPTOKKI’s native currency, TOKKI, in its Main Zone (DeFi). For all crypto traders, XT.com has listed TOKKI with USDT trading pair to enable the CRYPTOKKI global community, and anyone to trade TOKKI on its platform.

CRYPTOKKI (TOKKI) is a blockchain-based digital asset commerce payment ecosystem. TOKKI operates as a fundamental currency for 7 million small business operators nationwide that facilitates transactions within the CRYPTOKKI ecosystem of crypto services. Buyers, sellers, developers, collectors, and crypto believers are enabled to trade TOKKI assets conveniently on XT.com.

In addition, TOKKI is one of the heavyweight tokens that XT.com has onboarded on its exchange. For better customer satisfaction, TOKKI deposits and trading have been made available for everyone to capitalize on the token by trading it. Best of all, anyone who trades the token on the XT.com exchange is entitled to execute a withdrawal at any time without hassle.

In order to further safeguard its users’ interests, the platform rigorously assesses and evaluates TOKKI with its listing criteria before making it available for trading on its platform. Through the vetting process, TOKKI scored a good rating based on XT.com qualitative and quantitative factors such as trading volumes, demand, statistics, traceability, use cases, tokenomic model, and the token’s potential for growth.

As a part of its token listing expansion agenda, XT.com will be listing more and more selections of tokens in the coming days. Interestingly, the XT team is constantly engaging with the global crypto community in response to their crypto trading demand, thereby listing TOKKI to be traded by everyone.

Orbital Wins Best Use Of Crypto/Blockchain At MPE Awards

July 11, 2022 Published by TheBlockchainExaminer.com

Orbital has been awarded ‘Best Use of Crypto/Blockchain in the Merchant Payments Ecosystem’ at MPE 2022, for their crypto-commerce solution.

Voted for by a panel of independent expert judges, the best of the payments industry were recognised for their achievements across 13 categories during the awards ceremony held in Berlin. Other attendees included Louis Vuitton, Mercedes-Benz AG, Netflix, Adidas and Kering who own Gucci, YSL and Balenciaga, amongst many others.

Luke Wingfield-Digby, Co-Founder and CIO said; “We’re so proud to receive this award from the payment industry’s most respected event, MPE. This serves as great validation that what we’re building at Orbital, not only solves real-world problems for global merchants but is innovative and leading in the crypto space. We’re extremely proud of our team and what they’ve built. Orbital is excited to be enabling the next wave of global businesses to support crypto.”

As per MPE’s award certification criteria, the accolade is confirmation that Orbital’s crypto-commerce solution provides exceptional flexibility, functionality, and innovation in crypto/blockchain-based payments.

Bairong Inc. Included in MSCI China All Shares Small Cap Index

July 7, 2022 Published by TheBlockchainExaminer.com

Bairong Inc. (“Bairong” or “the Company”, 6608.HK), a leading independent AI-powered technology platform in China, has been added to the MSCI China All Shares Small Cap Index, which has been implemented as of the close of May 31, 2022.

MSCI is a leading provider of critical decision support tools and services for the global investment community. It announced the results of the May 2022 Semi-Annual Index Review for the MSCI Equity Indexes, including the MSCI China All Shares Indexes, last month.

Aiming to empower financial services providers in China, Bairong is committed to supporting the digital transformation of China’s financial industry. With smart analytics services and solutions covering the whole business process, Bairong’s client base includes the majority of state-owned banks, regional banks, consumer finance companies and main insurance companies. By the end of the first quarter of 2022, the Company provided services to 5,900 FSP clients in China, including 3,501 paying FSP clients.

To help the financial industry better understand the trend of future financial services in the next decade and the urgency and imperative for digital transformation, Bairong, together with the Outlook Think Tank, recently released “The Second Half of Digitalization: White Paper on Digital Transformation for Banks”.

Opening and converging are becoming the foremost trends for the financial industry in China over the next decade, according to the white paper. After digitalization of services and operations, banks need to further digitalize customers’ demands and provide differentiated services based on accurate understanding of their needs.

As a result, the digital transformation for banks is entering the “opening” stage, which will enable diversified and superior services for customers. For example, banks are opening to offer consumers with daily life services, such as ordering food deliveries, buying movie tickets, and booking travels. For institutions, banks can provide new value-added services, including smart salary calculation, smart office, and smart accounting.

Opening is leading to converging as banks need to deepen the cooperation with partners for opening more services, based on privacy computing to ensure data security. Meanwhile, it is also imperative for banks to converge financial services with more scenarios to cover consumers’ daily lives.

Different types of banks can take different approaches for digital transformation, said the white paper. Large state-owned banks can upgrade their entire ecosystems based on cloud, AI and blockchain technologies. Small and medium-sized banks should focus on regional ecosystem to better serve regional customers. Internet banks can continue to deepen digitalization of services with digital modules.

Targeting key pain points in banks’ digital transformation drive, the white paper also provided suggestions for banks. First, banks should set up clear direction, path and rhythm for digital transformation based on their mission and overall strategy. Secondly, banks should focus on key business areas for digital transformation, including industrial finance, inclusive finance, consumer finance and wealth management. Thirdly, banks should strengthen digital risk management, deepen digital customer relationship and improve digital customer experience.

FUSANG AND CENTRE OF COMMERCIAL LAW, UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD, HOSTS 4th EDITION OF THE DIGITAL ASSETS CONFERENCE 2022

July 5, 2022 Published by TheBlockchainExaminer.com

Fusang Corp, Asia’s first fully licensed and regulated digital exchange for both public and private markets, recently partnered with the Centre of Commercial Law at Harris Manchester College, University of Oxford, in hosting the Digital Assets Conference 2022.

The Digital Assets Conference 2022 was the fourth annual conference held by the Digital Assets Project. It was held on 29 June 2022 at Maevadi Hall, Harris Manchester College, Oxford and online. The event was attended by more than 100 delegates comprising leading lawyers, academics, representatives from global regulatory agencies, legal practitioners, national statutory bodies as well as multilateral organisations.

Blockchain technology powered by smart contracts has led to the emergence of innovative new asset classes such as security tokens, crypto-securities and other tradable digital assets. The developments within this asset class have in turn raised challenging legal scenarios and considerations, especially with regards to the rights of holders, and the identification of asset classes, all of which was discussed at the conference.

The event included a keynote presentation by The Honourable Justice Philip Jeyaratnam, Judge of the High Court of Singapore “New Wine in Old Wineskins: Adapting the Law for the New Digital Economy”, as well as presentations by Dr Jason Allen from SMU and Stirling & Rose Digital Law; Nanyang Technological University Associate Professor Hannah Yee-Fen Lim; Michel Rauchs from the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance; and UCL Professor Iris Chiu.

The Digital Assets Project is a collaboration between Fusang and the Centre of Commercial Law at Harris Manchester College, University of Oxford. It holds an annual academic conference and an annual online updating session, and has developed a centralised online platform which provides access to research papers and published articles on digital assets. This platform www.oxforddigitalassets.org, managed by Fusang, will continue to support the Digital Assets Project (under the purview of the Commercial Law Centre, Harris Manchester College, Oxford University) is run by Professor Louise Gullifer (University of Cambridge) and Professor Jennifer Payne (University of Oxford).

QUOTES

Professor Louise Gullifer (University of Cambridge) and Professor Jennifer Payne (University of Oxford) commented, “This conference enabled academics working in the area of digital assets law and finance to present their research to a wide and global audience of interested people, sparking debate among market participants, practitioners, regulators and policy makers as well as within the academic community. It is this ability to engender discussion among such a wide variety of global players that is the distinctive contribution of the Digital Assets Project to the future development of the law in this area.”

Henry Chong, CEO of Fusang commented, “This partnership has and will continue to build networks between thought leaders and the industry leaders that will be beneficial for both. The digital assets community is driven by innovation, translated into real business ideas and opportunities, and the conference is an excellent arena to discuss mutual areas of interest and expand perspectives. Our commitment to the Digital Assets project is testament to Fusang’s belief that the future of digital is now.”

Author: TheBlockchainExaminer.com