Fetch.ai, a project building a network of autonomous agents for blockchains, has announced a partnership with Yoti, a digital identity provider. Blockchains, and DeFi smart contracts in particular, often require manual interactions to trigger specific events. These could be contract calls, particular exchange transactions, publishing oracle data and many more. While these actions are often permissionless or done by the developers of the smart contract, there may be circumstances where nobody is able to perform these actions. This is where Fetch comes in with its network of autonomous agents, as David Minarsch, Fetch lead economist told Cointelegraph: “Fetch is built …

Enterprise blockchain firm Iconloop has secured approval from South Korea’s Ministry of Science and ICT to test its decentralized identity, or DID, technology system to manage driver’s license data in the country. According to an announcement from the company, the trial run aims to showcase the DID’s capabilities in offering secure data storage while preventing data forgery. Commenting on the project, Iconloop CEO Jonghyup Kim remarked that the company’s DID platform allows users to better manage their personal information straight from the Zzeung mobile phone app, instead of using physical driver’s license cards. The app also reportedly gives users greater …

January will mark 12 years since the Bitcoin genesis block. In that time, blockchain technology has made many significant strides forward. The launch of Ethereum in 2015 introduced smart contracts and token minting. Subsequent years saw developments in areas, such as transaction privacy with the launch of Zcash (ZEC), platforms such as EOS and Tezos attempting to compete with Ethereum on scalability, and dozens of use cases being explored. In particular, 2018 and 2019 were difficult years. Following Bitcoin’s fall from its all-time high in December 2017, it’s fair to say that the general appetite for blockchain and cryptocurrencies waned …

Tencent Cloud is joining forces with blockchain company ShareRing to launch a new digital identification system to streamline international travel amid the COVID-19 pandemic. As the South China Morning Post reported Tuesday, ShareRing will combine its distributed ledger technology with Tencent Cloud's services to create a blockchain-based digital identity management platform. Specifically, ShareRing will use Tencent Cloud’s optical character recognition and facial recognition technology to help improve its “self-sovereign identity app.” In its current form, the app can be used to book flights, hotel reservations, car rentals and a variety of other services. In a joint statement, Tencent Cloud and …

Major financial institutions in Japan are moving into blockchain to streamline digital identity systems. Japan’s third-largest bank, Mizuho Bank, and local payment giant JCB are preparing to pilot a digital identity interoperability system based on blockchain technology. The new system will utilize a blockchain solution developed by Fujitsu Laboratories, Fujitsu announced on Thursday. The new joint initiative will allow the companies to verify mechanisms to securely transfer and link member ID information by multiple business operators. This data includes names, addresses and employers stored on a cloud platform built by Fujitsu. The pilot will also involve 100 Fujitsu Group employees. …

In an open letter today to Neo community members, the Neo Foundation reflected on the past four years of activity and teased their plans for the future: Neo3, the third iteration of their smart contract-enabled blockchain, which will sport file storage and D-ID (Digital or Decentralized Identity) features. Neo, the 22nd largest cryptocurrency by marketcap, has enjoyed a strong year, having successfully launched a cross-chain interoperability product in collaboration with Ontology and Switcheo. Additionally the self-styled “smart economy” platform’s foray into the summer DeFi craze was similarly successful -- the joint Binance and Neo effort Flamingo Finance peaked at over …

To navigate well in a digital world, we must be able to easily and securely establish our digital identity. Traditionally, a username, password and some trivial arcana like our first pet’s name have been key pieces of information held by institutions to establish our digital identity. Unfortunately, this system has come at a high cost. Trusting third parties to securely hold our personal data is a risky — and often losing — proposition. The number of hacks that have resulted in stolen personal data is staggering. In the top 15 data breaches, the personal data of 3.5 billion people have …

A new enterprise-focused blockchain is trying to carve a spot in this competitive market by focusing on an integrated digital identity system. Called Concordium, the blockchain is among the first to use identity proofs as an integral part of its protocol. Cointelegraph spoke with Concordium’s chief marketing officer, Beni Issembert, to learn more about this system. Issembert said that “the question of identity is what we thought was missing in the whole discussion when it comes to blockchain enterprise.” At first glance, the blockchain is set up in a similar way to any other, where the hashes representing wallet accounts …

Imagine if it were possible for your identity to be available at any time, where third parties could only access it with your consent. The discourse that everyone has the right to own their digital identity has been gaining momentum around the world. And the path to this is the development of “decentralized digital identity” solutions. What is a self-sovereign identity? Here, it is important to clarify that according to the concept of self-sovereign digital identity, owners (holders) of the digital identity are responsible for the control and management of their data. And that not only includes basic personal data …

One million South Koreans have foregone their physical drivers license in favour of a blockchain-powered digital alternative used in conjunction with the PASS smartphone app. This represents more than 3% of the entire driving population in South Korea, which sat at 32.6 million licensed drivers in 2019 according to Statista. This is the first authorized digital identification card to be used throughout South Korea and received approval by the nation’s Ministry of Science and ICT in September 2019. The project was launched in May by the National Police Agency in partnership with the Korea Road Traffic Authority, and the country’s …

Blockchain firm HashCash Consultants claims that banks are "chief arbiters" of people's identities, and need blockchain technology to do it better. According to an Aug. 11 announcement, “accurate identification of an individual is central to banking activities which makes them the chief arbiter of people's identities.” Still, the current system is not without its issues: “The existing manual processes make identification time-consuming and susceptible to errors. HashCash aims to streamline the process by helping the partner bank create digital identities for the customers over a decentralized network, where the customer data will be recorded on an immutable ledger, eliminating any …

Limestone Network, a Singapore-based blockchain project for building smart cities, has announced on July 23 it will list its native token-LIMEX on Bitrue crypto exchange for trading. According to the report, LIMEX will integrate an entire smart city's applications such as property management, retail malls, payments, financial services, transportation, parking, F&B and entertainment, to create an intelligent urban ecosystem. Leverage blockchain for data management and privacy Limestone Network started with a 100-hectare private development project in Phnom Penh, the capital city of Cambodia. It plans to have 10,000 tenants and a daily population of 190,000 people on board. Limestone Network …