The Congressional Research Service has released a report that examines, among other things, the potential advantages and disadvantages of pursuing blockchain-based solutions for the energy sector. The Congressional Research Service released their findings in a report on Aug. 9, entitled “Bitcoin, Blockchain, and the Energy Sector.” In its report, the research group noted that launching a blockchain solution which allows consumers to purchase energy services within a distributed system, in particular, could make for an energy system that is more transparent, efficient and flexible for the consumer. However, releasing such a service also comes with potential issues related to distribution …
The United States Department of Energy (DOE) has awarded a grant worth $1.05 million to organizations working to commercialize a blockchain-based energy transaction platform. From energy management to energy exchange The news comes from an August 9 press release shared by energy company ComEd, one of the grant’s four reported recipient organizations. The others are the University of Denver, Virginia Tech and BEM Controls, a company specializing in energy management software. The new project is reportedly a continuation of BEM Controls’ existing DOE-funded work on software to enhance energy efficiency in buildings. This latest grant is to expand and promote …
A blockchain project sponsored by the United States government aiming to bolster power plant security has entered its second phase, participants confirmed in a press release on April 10. The project, principally a partnership between the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) and Colorado-based security firm Taekion, aims to reduce the ability of cybercriminals to compromise aspects of the energy supply chain. The effort, which is worth $1 million, utilizes blockchain to shore up security and prevent remote attacks such as those which afflicted Ukraine’s grid in 2016. Taekion is currently researching how the technology could …
In recent months, the race for the development of a central bank digital currency is gaining pace. The last signal was launched by Chinese President Xi Jinping, who publicly stated the need to invest public resources in blockchain, slated to be the core technology of the future. The euphoria of the Chinese market following the presidential declaration induced Mark Zuckerberg — who had been encountering considerable resistance from Western authorities since the beginning of the Libra project — to raise the alarm on an alleged Chinese overtaking of digital currency technology. A CBDC is a new type of legal tender …
On Monday, decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol Transit Swap announced that it had reached an agreement with its biggest hacker for the return of funds. Approximately one week prior, a hacker exploited an internal bug on a swap contract within the protocol and caused other individuals to imitate the security breach, leading to a loss of over $23 million in user funds. However, the main hacker has since returned approximately 70% of exploited funds thanks to the help of security companies such as Peckshield, SlowMist, Bitrace, and TokenPocket. They quickly tracked down the hacker by identifying their IP address, email address, …