Blockchain-focused electronics supplier SIRIN Labs will launch its first blockchain-based smartphone tomorrow, Nov. 29, U.S.-based IT and business tech magazine Computerworld reports today, Nov. 28. Following a funding round that raised $157 million in an Initial Coin Offering (ICO) for a blockchain-powered phone in December 2017, the Swiss-based firm announced this summer that they will release their blockchain-enabled smartphone FINNEY in November 2018. Based on both Android and SIRIN’s open-source operating system (OS), SIRIN OS, the FINNEY phone will offer a cold-storage crypto wallet and provide secure encrypted communications. On sale for $1,000, FINNEY will also contain a Token Conversion …

The U.S. should not “disadvantage” emerging technologies such as blockchain due to “antiquated” regulations, the head of the country’s telecoms regulator told Indian daily news outlet Indian Express Friday, Oct. 26. Speaking while attending the India Mobile Congress 2018, Ajit Pai, chairman of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC), also called for a “conversation” with tech giants such as Facebook and Google regarding data transparency. In the U.S., he explained, regulations governing telecoms first became law in the 1930s, and even with amendments posed difficulties for authorities attempting to get to grips with technology such as blockchain, artificial intelligence (AI) …

The social messaging app Wiper added a built-in bitcoin wallet last month, enabling instant transactions among contacts, as well as basic wallet functionality. Bitcoin integrated Wiper is most often compared to SnapChat, but unlike that popular app, it isn't entirely focused on vanishing messages. Wiper, unlike SnapChat, doesn't delete messages by default. Instead, users can decide when to delete messages from both their phones and the recipient's phone. Adding a bitcoin wallet in the app couldn't be simpler. Hit a few buttons, set a four digit pass code, write down the backup phrase and you are good to go. It …

When sending payments, popular services PayPal and SWIFT allow users to attach private messages that add an explanation about the payment. Before now, bitcoin services haven't supported this feature. However, CoinSpark just launched a tool that works that accomplishes this for bitcoin transactions. They open sourced this tool so that developers can implement the feature in their own applications. These messages, inserted as metadata on the blockchain, give context for the transaction. Users can explain that a transaction is payment for a loan, for instance, or payment for a bet. The message can come in a variety of forms, whether …

First there were social networks, then came Bitcoin. Then Bitcoin 2.0. Now, directly over the horizon, comes a new platform—a “social network 2.0” called Gems. This social network and messaging app is similar to Facebook and WhatsApp, but its developers have designed it with crucial differences. Gems will be decentralized, and it will reward its users for its success. Five years after the invention of Bitcoin, the latest innovators are building applications that work on top of the Bitcoin protocol and that make use of Bitcoin blockchain technology. One of the largest contenders in the Bitcoin 2.0 sphere is Counterparty, …