An academic at the University of Hong Kong claims that blockchain and AI-driven strategies should be implemented to better tackle responses to the coronavirus epidemic. Syren Johnstone — executive director of the master in laws (compliance and regulation) program at the University of Hong Kong — published a post for the Oxford University Faculty of Law Department blog on Feb. 5 arguing that the coronavirus outbreak should be seen as a “call to arms for the tech industry.” Blockchain, AI and the market Johnstone’s argument opens with the claim that charities are currently hindered in their ability to channel donations …

As megablazes ravage Australia, destroying vast amounts of land and wildlife, Cointelegraph and Oxygen Seven have partnered in a Bitcoin fundraising effort to benefit recovery efforts in the country. Fighting fire with fundraising The announcement between Cointelegraph and Oxygen Seven came last week. Through a page on Cointelegraph’s website, users can make anonymous or attributed donations in Bitcoin. The Bitcoin wallet address belongs to Oxygen Seven, which in turn is contributing all of the funds to the Australian Wildfire Fund. It’s a natural fit for Oxygen Seven, which focuses on issues of climate change, biodiversity, and reforestation. Having recently finished …

January 16, 2020 — As a company, Cointelegraph cares about the environment and the world in which we all live. The wildfire crisis in Australia has mobilized us as an organization to take action to help the current recovery efforts down under. Cointelegraph is pleased to announce a partnership with ecological preservation organization Oxygen Seven. We have created a bitcoin donation fund with all money raised going directly to the Australian Wildfire Fund (https://aussieark.org/). Helen Vitalie Lang, Deputy CEO of Cointelegraph: “After seeing the horrific scenes coming out of Australia and the magnitude of loss and suffering being experienced by …

Though their market is small, their reach is mighty. The National Basketball Association’s (NBA) Sacramento Kings are at it again and will tip off a live auction for gear with a blockchain-based app. On Jan. 15, the team announced its new live auction platform with blockchain development firm ConsenSys. Starting tonight, fans can bid live on in-game sports gear. The platform reportedly authenticates auction items, patching problems that have long bedeviled gear-hungry fans. How it works Fans anywhere can bid on game-worn gear with the new Kings + Golden 1 Center app. The first garb to hit the virtual block …

To address the after-effects of the bushfires in Australia, the Binance Charity Foundation (BCF) is donating $1 million worth of BNB tokens to the Australia Bushfire Donations project. In a Jan. 7 blog post, BCF — the philanthropic arm of major cryptocurrency exchange Binance — announced the launch of a new charity project dubbed Australia Bushfire Donations, to which BCF is donating $1 million worth of Binance’s native Binance Coins (BNB). The funds raised within the project will be used to help relieve the devastating impact of fires across the continent. Ensuring transparency of donations Since the Australia Bushfire Donations …

A former MakerDAO contributor and Carnegie Mellon alumnus has committed 10,000 MKR — valued at just under $4.3 million at press time — to his alma mater to develop a research program for decentralized applications. Who is giving what for what? Nikolai Mushegian announced the donation in a Jan. 1 post on his website. By his account, he already donated 3,200 MKR ($1.3 million) on the previous day and “informally committed” another 6,800 MKR ($2.9 million). In the post, the developer said that his goal for the donation is “to establish a research program for decentralized applications/protocols and game-theoretic mechanisms.” …

Ongoing technological advancement in digital currencies is a phenomenon that can help developing countries both politically and economically. Cryptocurrencies can solve problems that are unique to these countries by providing access to a bank account, easy transfer of money across borders, and fractionalized payments. Improving the accessibility of financial services can help improve developing economies by providing greater transparency in transactions and reducing corruption at all levels, and including previously unbanked persons into the financial system stimulates economic growth and enables more accurate forecasting, risk management, and analysis. Cryptocurrency allows money to be sent from someone on any corner of …

Three national units of the Red Cross — the largest humanitarian donor after the United Nations — are backing a blockchain-based currency scheme to enhance aid delivery and boost local economies. According to a report from the Thomas Reuters Foundation on Nov. 26, the Red Cross societies of Norway, Denmark and Kenya have launched a two-year plan to replace cash and voucher provision in aid and development efforts with blockchain-backed "local currencies." Plans to onboard 320,000 users As the report outlines, the Red Cross currently distributes $1 billion annually as cash and vouchers, either specifically targeted at disaster relief or …

The United Kingdom-based charity organization Oxfam International announced the success of its blockchain-based delivery system of microinsurance to paddy field farmers in Sri Lanka. In a Nov. 4 press release, Etherisc announced that Oxfam’s blockchain-based insurance system had made pay-outs to Sri Lankan farmers who continue to risk losing their crops due to extreme weather events. Blockchain reduces costs and increases pay-outs Oxfam in Sri Lanka, together with its partners Etherisc and Aon plc, will now continue to seek solutions to some of the challenges that will present themselves as the new cropping season starts in the month of November. …

Visit the website of any stock exchange platform, like the Nasdaq or the New York Stock Exchange, and the listing fees for new companies are there to see. There is hardly any controversy when it is clearly stated like this, but the same cannot be said for the cryptocurrency space. Here, numerous reports show that crypto exchanges are being decidedly opaque about the structure of their listing fees. Take Blockstack, for example: A recent filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission revealed a $250,000 payment to Binance in its listing of STX token. The cryptocurrency trading giant, however, denied …

Entrepreneur and Bitcoin (BTC) entrepreneur Kim Dotcom has revealed his new company K.im is directly supporting WikiLeaks founder, Julian Assange. Dotcom offers Bitcoin to Assange In a tweet on Oct. 29, Dotcom said 10% of K.im’s transaction fees were going towards helping Assange’s ongoing legal battle. “http://K.im supports @Wikileaks and Julian Assange by committing 10% of our transaction fee income to Wikileaks and Julian’s legal team,” he wrote. Dotcom added: “This may provide sufficient Bitcoin for his defense and enable Wikileaks to increase its truth-telling capabilities. Stay strong!” Assange currently faces extradition to the United States on charges of allegedly …

A Reuters report published on Oct. 8 claimed that Japan’s internal affairs and communications minister, Sanae Takaichi, confirmed to ministers in the country that crypto donations are not subject to financial regulations. However, in the same announcement, Takaichi mentioned that donating cash or securities directly to a politician or a campaign is illegal. Only through technicalities in classification have crypto assets been able to fly under the radar of regulatory ordinance. As a result, politicians in Japan can receive individual crypto campaign funding without reporting the donations publicly. Crypto regulation in Japan Notably, Japan is one of the few countries …