Electricity Direct Trading Using Blockchain Explored By Japanese Consortium

A Japanese consortium is currently researching the use of blockchain technology to determine its viability for price determination of surplus electricity generated by photovoltaic power generation and a new system for direct trading.

The Japanese consortium is consist of University of Tokyo, Japan Unisys, Kansai Electric Power and Mitsubishi UFJ Bank.

University of Tokyo is one of the most prestigious higher learning institutions in Japan and will be in charge of research and findings.

Japan Unisys will be in charge og developing the distributed system with Mitsubishi UFJ Bank, the largest bank in Japan, advising on the use of blockchain on settlement and transactions.

The study will use the surplus electricity generated with solar power equipment at consumers’ houses to determine prices, conduct simulated transactions with blockchain technology, and send power to multiple consumers.

On a side note, the use of blockchain for electricity is not new as BittWatt has recently launched its decentralized service of energy supply, billing and balancing.

The platform enables energy suppliers, grid operators and consumers to share regulatory information and data across all stake holders.

Cyrpto Acquisition Up By 200% Despite Market Conditions

According to a report released by JMP Securities from their analytics service PitchBook, the acquisition of crypto assets has not slowed down even when most of crypto assets prices have declined significantly from its late year bull run of 2017 and early 2018.

The firm has revealed that the number of overall acquisitions is up over 200% over last year with 115 so far in 2018 compared to 47 in all of 2017.

The exact figures of how much these acquisition cost were not disclosed but $100 million deals are reportedly not uncommon and generally seen as low.

This revelations show show a buyer’s market, in which very promising projects may be undervalued because of the current state of prices of digital assets in general.

According to Satya Bajpai of JMP, the value of most crypto tokens remains correlated with bitcoin which may create an ideal opportunity for strategic acquirers.

Recent studies found that the entire crypto market these days tend to move with bitcoin prices, although there are some variances in shorter time frames.

Content Creators For Reddit and Twitter Now Can Be Tipped With BAT Token

Brave has recently introduced a new feature that will allow the tipping of individual Reddit and Twitter users.

This function will be implemented within the browser window and enable micro-payments using its native BAT token.

This new feature is part of Brave’s strategy to bring in innovative features to its browser, which offers enhanced privacy and security functionalities.

The browser does not store data, blocks malware and phishing by default, and prevents identifications and site-to-site tracking.

Brave presents a radical new revenue model where users choose a monthly contribution amount, which can automatically be distributed among the sites visited most often.

Moreover, users can also tip sites directly or set up recurring monthly payments similar to Patreon.

The new feature will be released Q4 of 2018 and should the new feature be a success, similar features will be initiated across other social media platforms.

The built-in cryptocurrency payment functionality ensures users payment are neither identifiable nor traceable even by Brave servers.

Dogecoin Added As Collateral Option In SALT Crypto Lending Platform

SALT lending has recently announced that they are officially accepting Dogecoin as collateral for users requesting loans on its platform.

This makes Doge the fourth cryptocurrency on the SALT platform including BTC, LTC and ETH.

SALT’s platform enables users to receive loans in USD, GBP and JPY and use their cryptocurrency as collateral.

The organization believes that by adding support from more cryptocurrencies will add users and liquidity to its platform.

HODL’ers can leverage their digital asset to obtain tangible funds in real world cash.

In order to get a loan, users need to apply at SALT’s website and once approved, the cryptocurrencies are held in a multi-sig wallet for the duration of the loan.

Payments can be sent using automatic ACH transfer, and SALT does not charge origination, serving, or prepayment fees.

Conditions to avail of loans includes a minimum of at least $5,000 and interest rates starting at 5.99%.

Dogecoin was built from the Bitcoin code base and has positioned itself as a fun, easy to use cryptocurrency with low fees and fast transaction times.

It has currently over $520 million market capitalization and currently trading at $0.0044 USD.

Upcoming $4 Million Bitcoin Auction By US Marshals Service

The US Marshals Service is reportedly having an auction for over $4 million worth of seized Bitcoin from various legal proceedings.

The auction is scheduled to take place in November in which the agency will offer approximately 660 BTC seized from several civil, criminal and administrative cases under the asset forfeiture framework of the Department of Justice.

Interested parties who want to partake in the auction must register with the USMS between October 22 and October 31 to be evaluated and cleared for the bid process.

Eligible bid candidates will be announced on November 1, ahead of the auction which is scheduled to take place on November 5.

Over the pass years, governments around the world have increasingly recognized Bitcoin as an asset to be confiscated during civil and criminal proceedings that necessitate asset seizure.

The asset forfeiture program has traditionally been used to go after asset acquired through proceeds of illegal or criminal activity, which are usually in the form of real estate, artworks, vehicle, jewelry and cash.

With the inclusion of cryptocurrencies as assets that can be forfeited can be seen as a positive development as it acknowledges the store value of digital assets.

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