Ukrainian Bitcoin Exchange Kuna Partners Dedicated … – Finance Magnates

TaaS, a tokenized closed end fund dedicated to blockchain assets, has partnered with two cryptocurrency exchanges, Livecoin and Ukraines Kuna, to offer its tokens for trading. Userswill be able to trade the tokens after the conclusion of TaaS Initial Coin Offering (ICO), which will run untilApril 27, 2017.

The London Summit 2017 is coming, get involved!

So far, the TaaS ICO has raised more than BTC 2,873 ($3.3 million) from 1539 investors with twenty days left to go.

TaaS Co-founder and President Ruslan Gavrilyuk said: TaaS is proud to partner with Livecoin and Kuna, helping early adopters capitalize on the surging blockchain and cryptocurrency spaces. With the TaaS token tradable on the Livecoin and Kuna exchanges, more investors can gain easy, fully transparent and convenient access to the vast cryptocurrency market.

Livecoin CEO Svetlana Geller said: The partnership with TaaS will aid us in our mission to provide a modern and easy-to-use service for accessing cryptocurrency exchange markets. Our agreement with TaaS will prove mutually beneficial in allowing both companies to bring even more people into the burgeoning space of digital currency investments.

Kuna Founder Michael Chobanian added: Kuna is delighted to add TaaS, an innovator in blockchain technology investment, to the Kuna cryptocurrency exchange. We believe Kunas customers will greatly appreciate the opportunity to take advantage of TaaS groundbreaking offering and that the partnership will help to grow and strengthen Kunas platform.

Go here to read the rest:
Ukrainian Bitcoin Exchange Kuna Partners Dedicated ... - Finance Magnates

Hospital in Pakistan Accepts Cryptocurrency Payments, Offers Discounts – newsBTC

Abid Hospital in Pakistan has become the first Asian hospital to accept cryptocurrency payments. Read more...

The healthcare industry has been actively exploring the use of cryptocurrency technology and not the cryptocurrencies itself. While there are a select few places in the world where one can pay for their treatment with Bitcoin, Abid Hospital in Pakistan has become the first Asian healthcare provider to accept cryptocurrency payments.

According to local media reports, the Blue Area, Islamabad-based Abid Hospital has announced the acceptance of PakCoin, a region-specific cryptocurrency created along the lines of Bitcoin. The relatively new hospital started in 2015 has been known for its technology adoption. The multispecialty hospital, offering round the clock healthcare services including emergency room and critical care has also decided to offer an additional discount for those opting to pay with PakCoin.

Healthcare is one of the most expensive services around the world. While Asian countries are known for their inexpensive and efficient healthcare systems, the costs are still high according to local standards. In such a scenario, any discount is good for the patients. The 20 % discount makes Abid Hospital an attractive option for patients. It will also help drive the adoption of PakCoin among the visitors.

Abid Hospital is not new to discount offerings. The institution has been offering 50% discount on frequently used services like the OPD (Out- Patient Department) and lab tests. Also, the hospital has special packages for Islamabads police and traffic police, with a discount rate of 20%. The same is also applicable for admitted, in-patients as well.

PakCoin holds the distinction of being the countrys first cryptocurrency. It is based on Litecoin and can be used not only in Pakistan but across the world. The creators of PakCoin have fixed the total supply of the digital currency at 182 million tokens, out of which 10 percent is already pre-mined. The cryptocurrency platform is also planning to give away 50 PakCoin tokens each to over 150,000 people in the coming days.

The popularity of PakCoin is currently increasing within the country as many people continue to adopt the digital currency and soon it may emerge as a leading virtual currency in Asia. Like Abid Hospital many other healthcare services providers may also join forces and do something similar, driving adoption even further.

Visit link:
Hospital in Pakistan Accepts Cryptocurrency Payments, Offers Discounts - newsBTC

Freewallet Extends Support to Dash Cryptocurrency – newsBTC

Freewallet has announced the launch of a cryptocurrency wallet application for Dash cryptocurrency. Read more...

Dash is one of the fastest growing cryptocurrencies in the market, thanks to the technology prowess continually being showcased by the developer community. As the demand for Dash continues to increase, various cryptocurrency companies are now coming onboard by integrating Dash support to their platforms. Freewallet has become the latest platform to do so.

Freewallet is one of the leading cryptocurrency wallet providers. The company already has wallets for 11 different cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Monero, and others. The release of Dash wallet makes it the 12th crypto-wallet in Freewallets portfolio. The company announced the release a few days ago.

Dash Freewallet application is now available for download on Google Play Store, and it is soon expected to arrive on the Apple App Store as well. According to reports, the platform is currently waiting for approval from Apple to be included in the app store. However, given the strict policies regarding cryptocurrency based applications, one cant be sure until the wallet makes an appearance on the App Store.

A recent article on one of the financial website quoted the Freewallet team explaining the reason behind Dash integration. A team member said,

while Bitcoin increases fees, operating extremely slowly, Dash benefits its users providing instant transactions and low fees.

The release comes at a great timing as Dash, with its recent Sentinel upgrade as paved for the future cryptocurrency based payment system codenamed Project Evolution. As Dash works on creating a comprehensive cryptocurrency payments system for merchants, businesses and individuals alike, the number of users switching to Dash is bound to increase. Freewallet now stands to retain its existing customers of other crypto-wallets while attracting new ones at the same time.

Alvin Hagg, the founder of Freewallet said,

Freewallets policy is aimed at supporting the community in a timely manner. We regularly monitor the market to provide user-friendly services to make cryptocurrencies easy to use. Dash presence on crypto-scene has been particularly visible lately, and we did our utmost to release the wallet promptly.

The easy to use Freewallet, with intuitive interface and support for over seven languages, makes it an ideal wallet for the Dash community. The wallet is expected to soon gain traction, just like the other versions. Meanwhile, other providers are also likely to include support for Dash in the coming days.

Read the original:
Freewallet Extends Support to Dash Cryptocurrency - newsBTC

Bitso Creates Cryptocurrency-Based Remittance Corridor Between Mexico and Canada – The Dash Times (blog)

Cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin and Dash have a big role to play in the future of remittance payments. Cryptocurrencies are easy to transfer across the globe without being hindered by banking requirements. Bitso, one of Mexicos largest bitcoin exchanges, has created a Mexico-Canada remittance corridor with the help of Paycase. Moving funds from bank accounts between the two countries by using blockchain technology is now an official feature.

Finding a way to enable fiat currency-based micropayments has been challenging, to say the least. Using the banking system means these transfers suffer from high fees and unnecessary delays. Cryptocurrencies make a lot more sense in this regard, due to their global accessibility and lower fees. To be more precise, this made a lot of sense for bitcoin, yet its transaction fees have gone up spectacularly these past few weeks.

Bitso, one of the Mexican cryptocurrency exchanges, feels the time is now to put cryptocurrency technology to the test in the remittance sector. Creating a microtransaction corridor between Mexico and Canada is an important first step to make this happen. A bank transfer has been sent to Paycase and relayed to Bitso by using bitcoin. The final transfer between Bitso and the recipient occurred in the form of depositing Mexican pesos into a bank account. This entire process took around three minutes to complete, which is a lot quicker than using regular bank transfers.

For the time being, it remains unclear when the service will be made available to customers in either country. It is evident bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies can support global payments in a quick manner without charging ludicrous fees. Remittance corridors need to be created to keep local economies alive. While Canada is economically healthy, the same does not apply to Mexico right now. The country has been warming up a bit to cryptocurrency over these past few weeks, albeit no significant bullish behavior has been recorded to date.

Although this particular trial makes use of bitcoin technology, it is not unthinkable alternative currencies such as Dash can be used for similar purposes. Dash transfers can even be sent anonymously, which allows users to retain a level of privacy by not exposing personal information to third parties. Bitcoin-based remittance services have been scrutinized by governments these past few years, which only makes a stronger case to use alternative currencies for this type of purpose.

Header image courtesy of Shutterstock

Here is the original post:
Bitso Creates Cryptocurrency-Based Remittance Corridor Between Mexico and Canada - The Dash Times (blog)

Bitcoin ETF Rejection Reinforces Faith in Cryptocurrency – newsBTC

When SEC announced the rejection of Bitcoin ETF, a huge drop in Bitcoin price was expected. But nobody expected a sudden recovery soon after. Read more...

Bitcoin ETF easily qualifies as one of the buzzwords of 2017. The much-awaited SEC ruling on Bitcoin ETF left many people disappointed after the regulatory body weighed against it. However, the incident has also presented Bitcoin in a new light.

Bitcoin price is known for its volatility due to various influencing factors. These external factors fuel speculation, driving demand against supply. As the cryptocurrency matures, the room for speculating is gradually reducing, and need-based demand has taken over the driving seat, influencing Bitcoin price.

The renewed interest among investors in light of the potential approval of Bitcoin ETF by the SEC was considered to be the reason behind increasing demand in the recent days. It was also predicted that the failure of ETF approval would lead to a massive drop in demand, driving the digital currencys price down by hundreds of dollars. When the SEC announced its decision, people were expecting the cryptocurrency market to face a huge shock which might take a while to recover.

These speculations partially came true. Bitcoins price following the SEC announcement fell by close to $200. But surprisingly, the digital currency price recovered soon after to reach close to the earlier held levels. The quick bounce-back wasnt expected by many people, just like the time when the Chinese government cracked down on the countrys Bitcoin platforms. The effects of external factors on Bitcoin price has reduced drastically in the past few months, showing resiliency.

These two examples Chinese market volumes and Bitcoin ETF, were both expected to have a long-term effect on the digital currency. But thanks to the active community, effects were negligible, which has, in turn, increased the credibility of Bitcoin. The cryptocurrency has proved to be more stable than ever, giving it a chance to grab the mainstream currency title.

The failure of SEC to approve Bitcoin ETF may have proven to be more beneficial for Bitcoin than expected. The cryptocurrency has gained the faith of people, irrespective of whether they are part of the Bitcoin community or not. It will help Bitcoin further expand its community and emerge stronger than ever. Eventually, it will also influence regulatory agencies to approve the use of Bitcoin like any other currency.

See the original post here:
Bitcoin ETF Rejection Reinforces Faith in Cryptocurrency - newsBTC

New Hampshire House reverses stance on cryptocurrency money transmitter status – Brave New Coin

New Hampshire is home to the largest community of freedom advocates in the US, and possibly the largest Bitcoin-using community as well. The New Hampshire State House of Representatives recently passed an important bill for local Bitcoin businesses. The legislation unwinds a bill created two years prior, an ominous-sounding Bill, HB 666, which defined bitcoin and cryptocurrency-using businesses as money transmitter services.

The law forced at least one Bitcoin business from accepting customers in the state, and has kept new businesses from starting up in the otherwise bitcoin-friendly stronghold. The popular bitcoin and altcoin exchange Poloniex, based in Washington DC, discontinued services in October 2016, due to changes in New Hampshires regulatory statute as it applies to cryptocurrency.

Other Bitcoin exchanges, including Coinbase, CoinEx and Circle registered with the state Banking Department. They also handle US dollars, whereas Poloniex only deals in cryptocurrencies.

- Poloniex

Poloniexs CEO Michael Demopoulos later testified to a Committee studying Cryptocurrency regulation in New Hampshire, and began discussions with the New Hampshire Banking Department soon thereafter.

LBRY CEO Jeremy Kauffman joined the conversation when the New Hampshire governor appointed him as an industry expert on virtual currencies. [New Hampshire] already has the highest per-capita Bitcoin usage, Kauffman said soon after the new bill was approved, And very soon it is likely to have the most favorable regulatory climate. New Hampshire is passing legislation to completely deregulate cryptocurrencies.

Ian Freeman has also been working to overturn the legislation. How did this happen in a state with the largest concentration of bitcoin enthusiasts per capita? asked Freeman, who worked with a couple of the State Representatives to help clarify cryptocurrency usage. Honestly, we were caught off-guard, but now thats all changed.

Freeman is the Program Director of LRN.FM and hosts the popular libertarian podcast, Free Talk Live. He founded the the Free Keene blog in late 2006, after moving to New Hampshire as part of the Free State Project. The activist and talk show host had been attending and recording sessions of the state house committee formed in the wake of the Poloniex withdraw to study cryptocurrency.

- Ian Freeman, Program Director of LRN.FM and host of Free Talk Live

The bill [HB 436] as filed wasnt quite what wed hoped for, Freeman said on the Free Keene blog. It created a new definition and exemption for virtual currency in the statutes, but still left in statutes a definition and regulation for convertible virtual currency.

We explained to them that this was confusing and they should be striking the regulation for convertible virtual currency rather than creating the additional terminology, Freeman continued. You know what? They listened AND did us one better!

While the new bill removes cryptocurrencies from the category of money transmitter services, and therefore no longer requires licensing, it still has to pass the State Senate before becoming law. The commerce committee amended the bill and turned it into the best possible protection for bitcoin businesses in New Hampshire! The amended bill completely exempts from the money transmitter statutes, Freeman concluded.

New Hampshires legislature has had more than its share of run-ins with Bitcoin. In January 2016, the same House of Representatives voted 264 to 74 to kill a separate bill allowing citizens in New Hampshire to pay their taxes and other state fees using bitcoin.

The New Hampshire State Treasurer would have been forced to not only accept the cryptocurrency if the bill had passed, but also to choose a bitcoin payment processing firm to convert the transactions by January 2017. The bill faced serious opposition and has not been re-introduced since.

- New Hampshire Department of Revenue Administration

More and more states have been considering following New Hampshires early lead into Bitcoin regulation. Both Hawaii and Washington State recently introduce new rules. Bitfinex has since changed the terms of service on their website to exclude customers from Washington State.

Two weeks ago Coinbase announced that it will cease offering services in Hawaii. The state now requires local Bitcoin businesses to get a license and hold 100% reserves for each customer.

The Hawaii Division of Financial Institutions demanded that customer reserves be held in fiat currency. Although Coinbase securely maintains 100% of all customer funds on behalf of our customers, the company said in their announcement, it is impractical, costly, and inefficient for us to establish a redundant reserve of fiat currency over and above customer digital currency secured on our platform.

View original post here:
New Hampshire House reverses stance on cryptocurrency money transmitter status - Brave New Coin

E-Tao Uses Cryptocurrency and Blockchain for Shopping – AllCoinsNews.com (blog)

Earlier this year, E-Tao, an application for the sale of new/used goods was launched on Chinese and Indonesian markets with the ability to pay for goods using various cryptocurrenies. The application I run on a blockchain to prevent fraud from taking place. Bitcoin and other leading cryptocurrencies will be connected to the E-Tao application.

The E-Tao creators noted: Today, Chinese applications are already the most popular in the world. Such services have gained traction among many clients. Nowadays, every third smartphone owner in China is an active user of the platforms for the sale of second-hand things We have gained the support of big business, and thanks to the unique design and technology of E-Tao application, we plan to change the existing industry, to take a leading position,

Investors have expressed confidence that the E-Tao platform has broad prospects, since similar projects have attracted the attention of major investors: recently, used mobile phones platform Huishou bao received A series investments of 100 million yuan, whereas the Jiu Ai company gained 30 million yuan in angel investments.

Predict market players commented: Payments in cryptocurrency is the niche service allowing to buy and sell goods without multiple conversions while maintaining anonymity and paying no attention to the dollar, the euro, and the yen fluctuations. E-tao will be the safest, most convenient and effective exchange platform of commodities, leaving behind those using old technology platforms,

In the future, the project will be expanding to be available for English-speaking users, as well as for those speaking Russian and Hindi later on.

View post:
E-Tao Uses Cryptocurrency and Blockchain for Shopping - AllCoinsNews.com (blog)

China mulls national cryptocurrency in race to digital money – Naked Security

Eight years ago, bitcoin was an experimental technology of interest only to a handful of enthusiasts. Today, China which contains one in every five internet users is mulling the idea of a national cryptocurrency.

The Peoples Bank of China (PBOC) has been trialling a national digital currency based onthe same underlying technology as Bitcoin. Heres a description of how the blockchain works, but in summary its decentralized, transparent and secure.

Governments worldwide have had a problematic relationship with Bitcoin. The US has held federal hearings on it, while at a state level New York has heavily regulated the cryptocurrency with its Bitlicense. Ecuador, Bolivia and Russia have all moved to ban Bitcoin outright, while other countries have taken their time working out what to do with the cryptocurrency.

China has been among the more aggressively anti-Bitcoin regimes. Over the past few years, PBOC has pressured exchanges and banks over Bitcoin, and the government turned up the heatagain this year.

Its not surprising that countries have found it difficult to tackle cryptocurrencies. People exchanging things on peer to peer (P2P) networks used to be the music and video industrys problem. Now, suddenly, people were exchanging money with them.

When used properly, P2P money offers true anonymity, which creates problems for authorities trying to track the flow of cash to terrorists and organized criminals. Left unchecked, its also a greattax evasion tool.Wheregovernments are regulating, theyre typically making sure that anyone trading bitcoins registers their identities so that authoritiescan follow the money.

Its a tricky line for policymakers to walk. Governments need to control cryptocurrencies, but if they squash them altogether, they risk missing some of its best innovations. These include fast payments, micropayments, integration with the Internet of Things, and the ability to secure transactions using permission from multiple parties.

Governments could digitize paymentsusing a centrally controlled digital currency, sans blockchain, but then people might not trust it.Many people would find the idea ofgovernment-tracked money unpalatable.

Could a cryptocurrency-based national currency satisfy everyone, providing convenience and privacy, while giving governments enoughvisibility to avoid fraud and criminal financing? Thats what China seems to be hoping for.

PBOC said as far back as January 2016 that it was exploring a digital national currency, arguing that it would reduce the cost of distributing money, also also help curb financial fraud. It released several working papers, and trialled a blockchain-based trading platform that also supported currency issuance.

Fan Yifei, PBOCs vice-governor, has emphasised the differences between privately issued currencies (like Bitcoin) and other cryptocurrencies issued by central banks. The former is volatile, with limited acceptance, he has said, while sovereign credit backs the latter.

PBOC deputy director Yao Ago last autumn described a digital currency that could be issued by Chinas central bank, but through commercial banks that distribute it to the public. PBOC seems to recognize the need for anonymity, and wants to preserve that through the use of cryptography, but also wants to analyze data at a macroscopic level to understand where its going.

In short, he seems to be saying you can trust us. Bitcoins original ethos, though, was that you didnt have to trust anyone.

Still, tighter currency controls will be more attractive to many countries wanting to understand where the money goes and nowhere more than China, which faces a hefty shadow banking problem.

China isnt the only country to consider a digital version of a national currency. Singapore has been testing one. In the UK, a Bank of England economist at least toyed with the idea. In Canada, which for a while mulled its own digital payment system before selling it, the central bank has suggested that a digital currency would need its guiding hand to be truly successful.

National cryptocurrencies can come from other sources. In Iceland, where the economy suffered more than most during the financial crisis, anonymous cryptocurrency advocates released a cryptocurrency for the nation, called Auroracoin.

The blockchain isnt a necessity for countries considering digitised national currencies, but if used, it does offer at least a shot at privacy. Detail is everything, though, and specialists focused on cryptocurrency and security will be taking a close look.

See the article here:
China mulls national cryptocurrency in race to digital money - Naked Security

Four More Cryptocurrency Exchanges Add ChronoBank’s TIME – Finance Magnates

ChronoBank, a blockchain-based initiative aimed at disrupting the short-term recruitment sector which ended its crowdsale with $5.4 million in funding, has announced thatTIME the Ethereum token representing a stake in ChronoBank has been added to several new exchanges.

Livecoin is an exchange that opened in 2015, registered in London.The exchange evenoffers VISA cards for rapid and easy withdrawal of funds. Currently, the majority of TIMEs volume occurs on Livecoin, as recorded by CoinMarketCap.

Liqui is a fairly new and relatively small exchange, but one that has a thriving community and a dedicated core of traders. Liqui is often quick to add new coins, proving agile where the larger exchanges take their time.

Mercatox is a professional trading platform for digital currencies. Although they focus on bitcoin, they have taken the decision to add TIME as well, judging it to have potential and appeal to their traders.

EtherDelta is a decentralised exchange built on Ethereum. More tech-savvy users will be able to trade peer-to-peer, without any risk of hacking or the failures that come with centralised exchanges.

ChronoBank are actively exploring listings with larger exchanges, and working closely with them to ensure that both compliance and technical requirements can be met, comments ChronoBank CEO Sergei Sergienko. The nature of this is that it can be a relatively drawn-out process, because it needs doing right, though rest assured that we are working as fast as we can from our end.

Here is the original post:
Four More Cryptocurrency Exchanges Add ChronoBank's TIME - Finance Magnates

IOHK founds blockchain lab with Edinburgh University, creates Cryptocurrency Collaborative Research Chair with … – CoinReport

The northern end of Ice House Street, near the junction with Chater Road. Input Output Hong Kong is located at Suites 2001-3, 20th Floor, St. Georges Building 2,Ice House Street, Central Hong Kong

Blockchain research and development company Input Output Hong Kong (IOHK) announced in press releases sent to CoinReport that it, with the University of Edinburgh, has established a Blockchain Technology Laboratory and, with the Tokyo Institute of Technology, created the Input Output Cryptocurrency Collaborative Research Chair.

The lab is located within the Appleton Tower of Edinburgh Universitys School of Informatics, while the chair is located within the Tokyo Institute of Technologys School of Computing.

Blockchain Technology Laboratory

The lab will unite students and academics to work together on blockchain research and development with an emphasis on industry-inspired issues.

IOHK co-founder and CEO Charles Hoskinson said on the occasion, IOHK is delighted to be partnering with the University of Edinburgh, a world-leading institution in information, cognition and computing research and teaching. The partnership will develop IOHKs core business area, cryptocurrencies and blockchain related technologies, and nurture and develop the global talent in these areas in the United Kingdom.

Serving as the headquarters for IOHKs growing network of global university partnerships, the lab is led by Professor Aggelos Kiayias, chair in cyber security and privacy at the University of Edinburgh and chief scientist at IOHK. Prof. Kiayias, as the director of the lab, will organize teamwork with other academics at the university and supervise researchers and students from undergraduate to PhD level in a wide array of topics connected to blockchain systems.

Square in front of the McEwan Hall, University of Edinburgh, on graduation day

Being interdisciplinary in nature, research collaborations will include, beyond cryptography and computer science, business, game theory, law, regulation and compliance and economics. By offering a direct connection between researchers and developers, the lab helps to get projects live faster and aims to pursue outreach projects with businesspersons in the vibrant local technology community of Edinburgh. Outreach and recruiting has already begun. The full facility, however, will be operational from summer

Professor Kiayias said: We are very excited regarding this collaboration on blockchain technology between the School of Informatics and IOHK. Distributed ledgers is an upcoming disruptive technology that can scale information services to a global level. The academic and industry connection forged by this collaboration puts the Blockchain Technology Lab at Edinburgh at the forefront of innovation in blockchain systems.

All funded research and development will be open source and patent-free.

Sir Timothy OShea, the principal of the University of Edinburgh, said, We are delighted to be at the forefront of UK institutions in the field of distributed ledgers and proud to have a dedicated research laboratory for industry inspired research in this important emerging area.

IOHK co-founder Jeremy Wood commented, IOHKs partnership with the University of Edinburgh provides unique opportunities for current students to become the next generation of blockchain and cryptography leaders. As a headquarters for IOHKs international academic research community, we expect to see the university facilitate innovative projects that drive how businesses and governments approach blockchain and cryptocurrencies.

Input Output Cryptocurrency Collaborative Research Chair

The Centennial Hall in okayama campus of Tokyo Institute of Technology, designed by the renowned architect Kazuo Shinohara, professor at Tokodai.

Under the banner of the chair, the Tokyo Institute of Technology and IOHK will, during 2017 and 2018, push joint research in blockchain and digital currencies-related technologies among teams of professors and researchers of the two establishments. Specifically, IOHK researchers will join the institute, while graduate students and professors will take on industry issues in this fast-evolving area of research.

The chair also has the goal of producing young professionals and educating society about blockchains benefits.

Hoskinson said, This collaboration has two main goals: the first is develop our business area, which is cryptocurrencies and blockchain related technologies in the fundamental level. The second is to nurture and develop global talent in these areas in Japan.

The Tokyo Institute of Technology president Yoshinao Mishima commented, This agreement is important because Tokyo Tech is seeking to enhance the collaboration with industries and universities in Japan and abroad by producing groundbreaking results in research and engineering which will be published in internationally renowned scientific journals and conferences.

Researchers of both organizations will produce actionable research through joint activities like production of academic papers and organization of seminars. Another activity is to start offering blockchain technology courses with lectures on the topics of cryptocurrencies and cryptographic protocols, made available to the students of the Tokyo Institute of Technology, pioneering it among educational institutions in Japan.

All research and developments in the labs will be open source and patent-free, with the research findings helping the industry at large.

The formation of the chair is an extension of a six-month collaborative work agreement between IOHK and the Tokyo Institute of Technology. The agreement began on July 1, 2016 and concluded on December 31. Professor Tanaka, who is the chief research for the chair on behalf of the institute, and his team were in contact with IOHK during the period of the agreement, with weekly seminars being conducted and a body of students studying the scientific literature and the latest development of digital currencies. The end result of these activities was a published paper that was presented at the Symposium Cryptography and information Security (SCIS), the national forum in Japan for security research, in January 2017. Another activity presently under way is the Japanese version of the Ouroboros paper, the Proof-of-Stake protocol developed by IOHK.

The chair will, from 2017, improve the founded association with the inclusion of the two IOHK researchers, Dr. Mario Larangeira and Bernardo David, to Prof. Tanaka-managed Tokyo Institute of Technology research team. Both of them will work full-time with the team of Prof. Tanaka at Ookayama campus, the institutes main campus, on daily basis.

The chair will also support graduate students and researchers to attend international conferences.

IOHK is committed to developing industry standards and best practices that progress the field of cryptography. The companys chair, along with the center at the University of Edinburgh, is the first in its growing global network of technology laboratories. IOHK intends to set up more research laboratories, particularly in the United States and Greece, later this year, and has plans for more the following year.

Image credits:

Photo of Ice House Street Ceeseven(CC BY-SA 3.0)

Photo of square in front of McEwan Hall Duncan Grey(CC BY-SA 2.0)

Photo ofThe Centennial Hall in okayama campus Hykw-a4 at Japanese Wikipedia(CC BY-SA 3.0)

More here:
IOHK founds blockchain lab with Edinburgh University, creates Cryptocurrency Collaborative Research Chair with ... - CoinReport