The number of Bitcoin nodes is at an all-time high, with 11,558 reachable nodes currently active, according to Bitnodes.io. Another Bitcoin network statistics tracker, coin.dance, calculates the total number of Bitcoin nodes at 11,613, which is just above the previous high of 11,250 set one year ago this month. The Bitcoin Core software update 0.21.0 was released for public download on Jan. 14 2021 and is currently the fourth most utilized version of the software among nodes There are currently 619 nodes running this version of the software, which represents about 5.5% of all nodes running some version of Bitcoin …

Blockchain is one of the biggest buzzwords in business right now. As Deloitte’s annual survey revealed, 55% of leaders say this technology is critical to the future of their operations — so much so that it’s in their top five strategic priorities. There’s just one problem: blockchain is complicated and it takes immense expertise to build one of these networks from the ground up. Platinum Software Development Company, which describes itself as a leader in DeFi and blockchain software development, says its goal is to deliver complex products for businesses of all sizes. Platinum has been developing enterprise-level blockchains and …

Coincheck, one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in Japan, is expanding its push into non-fungible tokens, or NFTs, with a new partnership with the developer of CryptoKitties. According to an Oct. 6 announcement, Coincheck has partnered with Dapper Labs, which developed one of the world’s most popular decentralized applications launched on the Ethereum blockchain. Coincheck said that the new partnership will bring NFTs to a mainstream Japanese audience by providing exposure to millions of its users. Coincheck plans to integrate the CryptoKitties app into its upcoming NFT marketplace. The exchange is also considering implementing the Dapper Labs-founded Flow blockchain, which …

With the exposure of traditional banks and financial institutions to crypto-assets and all the risks involved, as well as the continued advice from governmental authorities to banks to integrate a crypto risk management system, what are the solutions available? In order to align with current regulatory standards, banks and financial institutions entering the digital asset space, whether as direct or indirect service providers, must comply with Anti-Money Laundering and Know Your Transaction, or KYT, compliance — as part of broader Know Your Customer processes. To do so, they need to be able to effectively monitor the risks associated with blockchain …

Dr. Richard Stallman is well-known for his free software movement activism. His speeches and work revolve around a term: freedom. And it is precisely that word that prompted Stallman to launch the GNU Project, founding the Free Software Foundation and releasing the GNU General Public License, among other projects, to promote the free software concept. RMS, as Dr. Stallman is also known, has some opinions regarding the concept of cryptocurrencies that have been widely discussed within the crypto community. Three freedoms To understand the concept of freedom Stallman often mentions in his speeches, he explains the difference between "free software" …

The ongoing global COVID-19 pandemic has upended businesses around the world, forcing companies to retool their organizations to weather one of the worst disruptions to the global economy in decades. In the face of unpredictability, both decentralization in the workplace and system architectures have taken center stage as methods to combat ever-changing circumstances. While each company faces its own set of challenges, decentralized organizations are inherently better equipped to take on today’s inclement business environment. Decentralization via microservices Binance’s system architecture is a good case study when it comes to decentralization. Over the past two years, our core development team …

Telegram recently delayed their open network, TON, and their cryptocurrency, GRAM, once again. There is one related project that has not experienced these setbacks, however. TON OS, an operating system for the TON blockchain, will soon get an open source release. TON Labs, a third-party group of TON infrastructure developers, are planning to open source the main components of the TON OS on GitHub tomorrow. Mitja Goroshevsky, CTO at TON Labs, confirmed the news to Cointelegraph on May 6. TON Labs to issue a token known as TON Cash within a month As reported by industry publication, ForkLog, the release …

Data privacy issues have been escalating in 2020 as personal data is increasingly being used to fight COVID-19. The Linux Foundation, a non-profit technology consortium, has today announced a new data privacy project featuring dozens of cross-industry giants like Mastercard and IBM. Called the ToIP Foundation, the new data trust coalition aims to provide a trusted exchange of data over the internet and establish a global standard to ensure digital trust. Blockchain consortium R3 outlines Corda’s potential for private transactions According to a May 5 announcement, the ToIP Foundation’s participants include a wide list of companies, governments and nonprofits across …

Amid the apparent global surge of cryptocurrency-related scams, New Zealand’s financial regulator has warned the public against another suspected Bitcoin (BTC) investment scam scheme. In an April 6 statement, the country’s major financial watchdog, the Financial Markets Authority (FMA), issued an official warning against “Profit Bitcoin” — an alleged get-rich-quick scam that promises returns by using software that “wins” Bitcoin trades with “99.4% accuracy.” Scam purportedly involved false claims from the New Zealand’s government The FMA noted that the entity and its website, theprofitbtc.com, have the “hallmarks of a scam,” emphasizing that Profit Bitcoin is not registered as a financial …

While cryptocurrency markets are experiencing another crash this Monday, major digital asset platform Bakkt has some good news. Referred to as one of the most promising crypto-related initiatives for its physically settled Bitcoin (BTC) futures, Bakkt has now raised an additional $300 million to continue developing digital asset-focused services, the firm’s new CEO Mike Blandina announced on March 16. Closed the funding round on March 13, Bakkt has now totally raised $482.5 million According to the announcement, the Series B financing round featured Bakkt’s parent company, the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), Microsoft’s venture capital arm M12, fintech firm PayU, Boston Consulting …

The application that was recently used in the Iowa Democratic caucus was “not mobile voting,” according to major blockchain voting firm Voatz. The mobile software designed to calculate votes in the Iowa Democratic caucus on Feb. 3 has become the center of discussion after an alleged error in the smartphone app resulted in the Democrats delaying all public reporting of the results of Monday's caucuses. According to a report by the Associated Press, party officials in Iowa subsequently blamed an unknown “coding issue” with the software that led to producing only “partial and unreliable results.” As reported, the application was …

Blockchain software company Consensys let go of an additional chunk of its staff while splitting its focus in two separate directions. Consensys cut its employee base down by roughly 14%, the company announced on Feb. 4 in a press release. Headquartered in New York, Consensys has also decided to split the company. Part of the operation will continue in the software sector while the other part pursues investment endeavors, the press release said. More layoffs Job cuts are nothing new to Consensys as the company previously headlined multiple stories regarding staff reductions. Rumors circulated in December 2018 surrounding a possible …