This is Charles Brett’s start-of-the-week Enterprise Times blockchain catch-up 2022-Week 4. Necessarily it is idiosyncratic and selective.
It is not intended to be comprehensive but does seek to highlight ‘Quick Takes’ on specific developments as well interesting pieces to read, a listing of some (not all) announcements/press releases and pointers to upcoming events.
Quick Takes – Charles Brett’s Blockchain Catch-up 2022-Week 4
Blockchain and the evolution of business models in the game industry
This analysis argues that, with the introduction of blockchain-based assets for games, (there) comes the possibility of entirely new business models and innovative development.
Quick Take: Enterprise Times remain sceptical about this. Yet the amount of money pouring into the blockchain/gaming combo suggests that scepticism may be wrong.
EU securities regulator calls for proof-of-work crypto mining ban
Erik Thedéen, the vice-chair of the European Securities and Markets Authority, has raised concerns over the growing use of renewable energy for Bitcoin mining. In a recent interview with the Financial Times, Thedéen said that Bitcoin (BTC) mining has become a “national issue” and warned cryptocurrencies could pose a risk to climate change goals.
He called upon European regulators to take special exception to proof-of-work (PoW) mining, which is primarily used by Bitcoin and a few other forked altcoins. He also advocated for “proof-of-stake (PoS) as a better, energy-efficient alternative…”
Quick Take: the notion that climate change might undermine (sorry – irresistible) Bitcoin is both delightful and, potentially, necessary. Mining operations that consume as much electricity as medium-sized national economies are not sustainable unless their electricity demonstrably comes from no-carbon emission sources.
7 pieces to read – Charles Brett’s Blockchain Catch-up 2022-Week 4
- What is the blockchain and what’s it used for?
- IMF: blockchain consensus mechanisms
- China selects pilot zones, application areas for blockchain project
- How blockchain can become the financial system the world needs
- The $50 trillion industry making a huge bet on blockchain (video – behind Bloomberg paywall)
- Google Cloud is hiring a legion of blockchain experts to expand its business
- How blockchain could solve the problem of digital identity
Selected announcements/press releases/opinions – Charles Brett’s Blockchain Catch-up 2022-Week 4
- The strange allure of the blockchain (opinion, behind NYT paywall)
- Explaining Web 2.0 vs Web 3.0 (opinion)
- What the Fed thinks about CDBCs (opinion)
- GIANT Protocol publishes litepaper for decentralized Internet connectivity economy (announcement)
- US SEC approves new US exchange with blockchain feed, faster settlement (announcement)
- World’s largest asset manager Blackrock files for blockchain tech ETF (announcement).
Selected upcoming events
- Digital Assets Week (21-25 March 2022)
- Bitcoin 2022 (April 6th-9th, 2022)
- Paris Blockchain Week Summit (12-14th April 2022).
