Afghanistan’s healthcare ministry and several local pharmaceutical companies will use Fantom’s blockchain to combat counterfeit drugs. According to Fantom on July 6, its Opera blockchain will be used to track 80,000 units of four different pharmaceutical products in Afghanistan. After this initial pilot, the system will be scaled up to cover more products later this year. 50,000 units of hand sanitizer, 10,000 joint creams, 10,000 Kofol tablets and 10,000 Dioacare foot creams will be tracked during the pilot. The system is meant to address Afghanistan’s problem with counterfeit pharmaceuticals. Fantom stated that local law enforcement seized 100 tons of counterfeit, …

Yesterday, Cointelegraph hosted another episode of “CT Talks,” dedicated to Pride Month and addressing important questions on diversity, inclusion, stigmatization, acceptance, challenges and opportunities for the LGBTQ+ community in the crypto and blockchain space. For many people — mostly heterosexuals — the terms “blockchain” and “LGBTQ+” used so close together might seem irrelevant. For those who are a part of the community, as I am, it is perfectly natural to raise this topic within the space, combining these discourses. Emerging technologies such as crypto, blockchain, AI and big data have already made an enormous impact on people all over the …

Beyond rapidly changing how we create, store and transfer value, cryptocurrencies are accelerating financial inclusion in a way that traditional financial institutions have either been unwilling or unable to. Yet crypto’s possibilities go way beyond banking the unbanked. It allows developing nations and those without access to financial services to avoid the bank completely and transact and grow small businesses using just a mobile phone. Why financial inclusion is so important Even today, almost 2 billion people around the world have no access to financial services. That’s approximately one-fourth of the global population. Having nowhere to place savings and not …

The past decade has produced an eruption in diverse giving channels and options for donating, changing the patterns of how people give. According to Blackbaud, online giving has shown steady increases, growing from 6.4% of all giving in 2013 to 8.5% in 2018. Hundreds of millions of dollars in cryptocurrencies have been donated as well, with notable donations including over $100 million to Fidelity Charitable, $29 million to DonorsChoose, $4 million to The Ellen Degeneres Wildlife Fund and many more. From industry startups designing programs that make donating cryptocurrency easier, to charities being more receptive to actually taking those donations, …

We are currently living in an unprecedented time, with the COVID-19 pandemic sweeping the world and taking far too many precious lives. Markets are being decimated and economies are on the brink of a global depression. Doctors, nurses, shopkeepers, pharmacy workers and everyone else working on the front lines will go down in history as the heroes of 2020. COVID-19, although devastating and disruptive, has revealed what can be achieved by humanity when individuals, governments, non-governmental organizations and corporations genuinely work in tandem to find adequate solutions to the most pressing issues. Although trivial in comparison to the devastation that …

Many financial and human resources are being deployed in the effort to fight the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Technologies are also being used in this fight: artificial intelligence for research, 5G to increase information transmission speed and many others. Blockchain is not being left out of this fight, as it now plays an important role in helping institutions and governments around the world respond to COVID-19, and is currently being integrated into healthcare and food supply chains. How blockchain platforms can help defeat a pandemic Blockchain platforms can be used to monitor pandemic material distribution, donations, relief distribution and other responses …

One of the linchpins of the internet is the ability to access and share data seamlessly. Whether it’s financial metrics for an institution or something as innocuous as a meme, the internet’s distinct pathways of protocols and standardization are the ideal medium for exchanging information. That transmissibility of information has not translated well to specific industries, however. Regulatory moats, cumbersome and outdated database architecture, and poorly designed user interfaces are a hindrance to major industries — particularly healthcare. Even in the United States, where healthcare standards are high, onerous regulatory processes inhibit the ability of doctors to adequately share patient …

In an effort to keep citizens safe, state authorities have rapidly implemented various emergency plans to curb the spread of COVID-19. In South Korea, the movements of infected citizens are being broadcasted via public text message. In Israel, the government has approved a law to track smartphones belonging to those suspected of being infected. In the United States, the government is in talks with Google and Facebook to access location data, and in the United Kingdom, data giant Palantir is merging data for the National Health Service to inform the nation’s response. The extent to which governments can leverage technology …

Before 2009, cryptocurrency and blockchain were not popular terms. However, since their release as open-source software that year, the underlying technology has become a crucial driver for various industries, including finance, gaming, health care, engineering and agriculture. The size of the blockchain industry is expected to reach a stunning $23.3 billion in 2023. Blockchain technology is a decentralized, digitized ledger or database for storing “blocks” of information. It allows for the transfer of ownership of units using an encryption system without requiring control by the government or a central bank. In this article, we will discuss how blockchain will revolutionize …

Cryptocurrency healthcare startup, Solve.Care, recently launched a blockchain remote medicine platform. According to an announcement sent to Cointelegraph on May 22, Solve.Care announced a new marketplace that allows users to consult medical practitioners anywhere in the world. It’s called the Global Telehealth Exchange, or GTHE. GTHE is meant to also provide physicians with a way to engage in telemedicine by publishing their profiles, rates, availability, and then accepting appointments. The system was designed with openness in mind, so third-party telehealth solutions will be able to use its registry. The service will be accessible through the Care.Wallet healthcare management system and …

UAE-based startup incubator, in5, is helping to design blockchain-based methods to contain the COVID-19 pandemic in the country and thus flatten the curve. According to a report published on May 20, Liber Health, supported by in5, is one of the platforms used for patient identification supported by blockchain technology. They are creating a contactless system to recognize the biometric ID data and analyze suspected COVID-19 symptoms. Liber Health hopes that by tracking patients that have been in contact with suspected COVID-19 cases, they can help individuals apply quarantine measures as soon as possible. Liber Health plans to expand conversations with …

This week’s headlines from Japan included SBI Holdings pairing up with Redstone Digital for a joint venture fund, LayerX teaming up with GMO Aozora for digitalization research, Decurret working to put aspects of the health system on the blockchain with Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance, BitFlyer exchange releasing a commercial, and a data company producing a report on crypto in Japan. Check out some of this week’s crypto and blockchain headlines, originally reported by Cointelegraph Japan. SBI Holdings starts up joint venture fund with Redstone Tokyo-based SBI Holdings has paired up with Redstone Digital, a German venture capital outfit, …