The Ethereum (ETH) developer that co-authored the ERC-20 token standard has introduced a new model for Initial Coin Offerings (ICO), Czech business news outlet Kurzy reports Oct. 31. Speaking at Ethereum’s annual Devcon conference in Prague Oct. 30, Fabian Vogelsteller, also the main developer of decentralized application (DApp) browser Mist, proposed a new approach for running ICOs that he claims will better protect investors. Vogelsteller described the concept, dubbed a “reversible ICO” (RICO), as a fundraising model that allows investors to return their tokens – and be reimbursed – at any stage of the project, via a special-purpose smart contract. …

Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak has been announced as a co-founder of recently launched blockchain-focused venture capital fund EQUI Global, global business outlet Verdict reports Monday, Oct. 15. Following an announcement about his plans to become “involved” in a blockchain project earlier in August, Wozniak has been revealed today as a co-founder of EQUI Global, a venture capital fund focusing on blockchain technology and built on a blockchain-powered backend. The new venture capital fund aims to change the concept of the traditional industry by enabling non-institutional investments, as well as allowing investors to trade on external crypto exchanges via EquiTokens. The …

South Korea mobile messaging giant Kakao Corp. unveiled the testnet version of its new blockchain platform Monday, October 8, ahead of a formal launch in Q1 2019, local media outlet Korea Herald reports. The platform, dubbed Klaytn, is the brainchild of Kakao subsidiary Ground X. Focused on decentralized apps (‘DApps’), developers are currently working with around ten domestic and international partners to experiment with the new ecosystem. A meetup to introduce Klaytn will further run during the San Francisco Blockchain Week October 10, the Korea Herland reports. “The popularization of blockchain requires providing a practical blockchain service for mass adoption …

Cryptocurrency wallet and Ethereum decentralized app (DApp) extension MetaMask has blocked the most popular DApp for Ethereum, 333ETH. The Next Web reported on the block Friday, September 28. 333ETH promises “lifelong” payouts of Ether (ETH) to investors’ wallets via smart contracts upon an initial down payment. The latest in a series of popular Ethereum DApps to attract scam accusations, it is currently ranked the most popular on monitoring site DAppRadar. In comments on Twitter, MetaMask said it had opted to create the block, which it added it would make optional, due to the 333ETH DApp being an “active scam.” MetaMask …

Opera is launching today a “Labs” special edition of its desktop web browser with built-in crypto wallet functionality, according to an exclusive blog post shared with Cointelegraph Monday, September 24. Opera first announced it would be integrating a built-in crypto wallet for its desktop browser in early August, and “Labs” is today open for private beta testers of Opera for Android. According to the blog post, the new edition will enable users to authenticate Web 3.0 and decentralized application (DApp) transactions made on their computer using their Android phone. “Labs” is therefore fully interoperable with the mobile crypto wallet that …

Last week, statements from Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao (aka CZ) and Ethereum co-creator Vitalik Buterin led the community to speculate on the possibility of the crypto market achieving a 1,000 return in value in the long-term. On Sept. 8, Buterin stated with the awareness of cryptocurrencies by the general public and mainstream reaching a peak in late 2017, it is unrealistic for the valuation of the crypto market to increase by a thousand fold from its current value at $200 billion. A thousand fold increase from $200 billion is $200 trillion, which is 70 percent of global wealth that includes …

On Sept. 4, the Credits platform, which specializes in providing a range of services for launching DApps, announced in a Medium post that it joined Lenovo’s New Vision Technology project. Together, the companies will work on developing an Internet of Things (IoT) and AR/VR hybrid software. The software is planned to be implemented in a variety of industries, such as fintech and logistics, reads the announcement. Lenovo New Vision Technology As the official press release says, Credits “will utilize their blockchain expertise to help facilitate building software” for Lenovo’s New Vision Technology project. The Lenovo project is focused in the …

Intel and software multinational company SAP have announced that they are joining forces to address “gaps in the market” for solutions that power enterprise blockchain systems, according to an official Intel post September 4. Intel and SAP write that their 25-year collaboration on enterprise infrastructure platforms has recently expanded to encompass blockchain technologies, spearheaded by the creation of a SAP-led global industry blockchain consortium. The post outlines both companies’ blockchain initiatives to date, some of which aim to make the technology interoperable with the SAP HANA Data Management System, on which both companies have worked together closely to develop. The …

On Aug. 31, Line, Japan’s most widely utilized messaging app with more than 200 million active users, revealed the launch of its own cryptocurrency called LINK. Upon its announcement, Line immediately listed LINK on its digital asset exchange BitBox, which it launched back in July of this year. Uniquely, as Cointelegraph reported, Line has decided not to conduct an Initial Coin Offering (ICO) to raise a significant amount of capital in exchange for the distribution of its token. Instead, Line utilized a mechanism called ‘airdrop’ to give users LINK as compensation for utilizing products within the Line ecosystem. Essentially, LINK …

Japanese social messaging giant LINE has launched its own cryptocurrency and in-house blockchain, according to an announcement released today, August 31. LINE has revealed that the genesis block of its new mainnent, LINK chain, was generated August 23. The company describes the mainnet as a “service-oriented” blockchain network that will enable decentralized apps (dApps) to be directly applied to LINE’s messaging platform. The company plans to issue a total of 1 billion LINK tokens to users of its platform, saying it will keep 20 percent — or 200 million tokens — as a company reserve. The tokens will be used …

The Canadian government-funded research program Industrial Research Assistance Program (IRAP) is now hosting its own blockchain explorer, according to an official statement on Aug. 20. The IRAP, managed by the National Research Council of Canada (NRC), has announced that the project has implemented the blockchain-based app on InterPlanetary File System (IPFS), a protocol and network that is designed to enable peer-to-peer storing and sharing of data on a distributed ledger. According to an article published on Newswire, the IPFS blockchain browser has been implemented via Catena Blockchain Suite, a product provided by BitAccess. With its new initiative, IRAP plans to …

Toshi, the open source decentralized app (DApp) browser and wallet developed by Coinbase, will reportedly support Bitcoin (BTC), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), and Litecoin (LTC) “very soon,” according to an official Medium post published August 15. The wallet, which has initial support for Ethereum (ETH) and ERC-20 tokens, has also been rebranded to become “Coinbase Wallet.” The newly rebranded wallet allows users to access decentralized exchanges, use third-party dApps, buy and store crypto-collectibles, and receive airdrops and tokens from Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs). Coinbase notes that users will be able to store their private keys within their devices, rather than on …