Blockchain news

  • Oracle to offer blockchain platform for smart contracts, supply chains - Busines... (businessinsider.com)
    Blockchain technology is no longer just for startups.Now even the big businesses are getting on board.In the latest example, Oracle announced Monday it will release a new platform next year that's designed to help businesses use blockchain technology for supply chain management and smart contracts.

    "Blockchain holds the promise to fundamentally transform how business is done, making business-to-business interactions more secure, transparent, and efficient," said Amit Zavery, senior vice president of Oracle Cloud Platform, in a press release.

    Oracle's platform, which is currently in beta testing, is designed to provide "pre-assembled" tools for enterprises to use for anything that requires contracts, transactions, or tracking.

    The platform is built on top of Hyperledger Fabric, an open-source blockchain endorsed by other enterprise competitors including IBM, Cisco, SAP, and Intel. Oracle joined the Hyperledger Project, which is part of the Linux Foundation, as a supporting member in August.

    Just like the technology behind bitcoin, Hyperledge Fabric is a digital ledger. It's designed to be extremely difficult to tamper with, thus reducing the likelihood of fraud.While many blockchains are public — which means the data on them can be seen by anyone with the technological know-how — Hyperledger is private.

    That's so businesses can use it without revealing proprietary information. Blockchains are often thought of in the context of bitcoin or other cyber currencies. But increasingly, companies outside of finance are using blockchain technology to replace long-held authentication practices in law, real estate, and shipping.

    IBM, for example, is working with food distributors like Walmart to integrate blockchain technology into their supply chain processes to help reduce the spread of food-borne illnesses.     Brian Behlendorf, the executive director of the...continue reading: http://www.businessinsider.com/oracle-to-offer-blockchain-platform-for-smart-contracts-supply-chains...

  • Ex-Fortress Billionaire: Crypto Market Will Be 'Largest Bubble of Our Lifet... (coindesk.com)
    A former principal at Fortress Investment Group is reportedly moving to establish a $500 million hedge fund focused on cryptocurrency and blockchain.

    Bloomberg News, citing a source with knowledge of the plans, reports that Mike Novogratz is investing $150 million of his own, with an additional $350 million expected to be raised from outside sources by the end of 2017.

     Novogratz opted not to confirm or deny his plans when asked directly, according to the outlet.    If true, the initiative would represent the billionaire hedge funder's most aggressive move in the space to date. 

    Novogratz previously made headlines earlier this year when he revealed that 10% of his net worth has been invested in bitcoin and ethereum. Speaking with Bloomberg, Novograts said that his stake in the market has since grown.

    Even if he isn't setting aside funds to back a cryptocurrency-specific hedge fund, Novogratz made it clear that he intends to take part in what he called "the largest bubble of our lifetimes.

    "He told Bloomberg:

    "This is going to be the largest bubble of our lifetimes. Prices are going to get way ahead of where they should be. You can make a whole lot of money on the way up, and we plan on it."

    Discover even more stories on CoinDesk here: 
    https://www.coindesk.com/ex-fortress-billionaire-crypto-market-will-largest-bubble-lifetimes/
      • 1
      Maria Gimeno I agree with Taner. I also agree that for investors this is a very exciting time. Now, let me save money to invest on crypto!
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      Taner Worker: AD6CYJRPVJ86O at Amazon Mechanical Turk Novogratz is a smart man. If people understood the way the blockchain operates, I believe that they would all be jumping on the investment opportunities of BTC, as well as (potentially) etherium and litecoin. Because BTC and cryptocurrencies are decentralized, people who are uneducated on the topics seem to view them as illegitimate currencies; however, these currencies are just as legitimate as centrally-controlled currencies like USD and CAD, or Euros. Since there is no central authority holding power in Bitcoin, it is confusing to many individuals as we are all used to a society reliant on central-authorities controlling the production and distribution of capital; we don't see virtual currencies are real currencies, yet we do see stocks and bonds as holding monetary value. As the general public becomes more and more educated on the true value and legitimacy of cryptocurrencies, the prices will not only continue to raise but potentially skyrocket as these decentralized cryptocurrencies become increasingly used as an alternative to centralized currencies. As Novogratz states: "Prices are going to get way ahead of where they should be" and "You can make a whole lot of money on the way up, and we plan on it." Bitcoin's volatility makes it the investors dream, as it consistently maintains plateaus and stability while having enough daily volatility making it perfect for day trading, and easy to understand in terms of investing (when to buy, when to sell, how to watch the charts). Bitcoin is what got me into investing in the first place due to its understandability, and I completely agree with Novogratz, except for the idea that Bitcoin is a bubble. A bubble implies a crash — I don't believe that bitcoin will crash, I believe that it will rise for years (indefinitely really), and come to a general plateau from which it will have slight increases and decreases like a stable stock in the stock exchange, without the risks associated with investing in a company.