The joint blockchain cloud computing venture of computing giant AMD and Ethereum-focused development firm ConsenSys has received $20.5 million in funding. According to a June 25 announcement, AMD and ConsenSys’ W3bcloud joint venture obtained the funds through the sale of convertible notes to the founding firms and several family offices in the United Arab Emirates. Jörg Roskowetz — the head of the blockchain business unit at AMD — said, “Parallel and distributed computing focused on blockchain use cases is a fast-growing segment of the industry.” W3bcloud’s co-founder and CEO Sami Issa told Cointelegraph, “AMD will design the high-performance hardware technologies …

Six high-profile crypto firms will participate in an ETH 2.0 staking pilot project using the ConsenSys Codefi platform. On June 17, ConsenSys tweeted that cryptocurrency exchanges Binance and Crypto.com, digital asset custody providers Trustology, Matrixport and Huobi Wallet, and investment firm DARMA Capital would receive early access to an ETH 2.0 staking pilot thorough its decentralized finance Codefi platform. Increasing excitement for ETH 2.0 The move comes amid increasing excitement for the long-awaited ETH 2.0, which will integrate a proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus mechanism into Ethereum (ETH). The rollout will see a network of validators receive fees in exchange for securing …

The Baseline Protocol has launched integrations for Google Sheets and Microsoft Dynamics 365. The new function allows for the maintenance of verifiably consistent records using a spreadsheet in conjunction with an enterprise resource planning solution. Baseline published a proof-of-concept on Monday, demonstrating the "baselining" of spreadsheet data to verify that multiple independent private databases hold the same records. The Baseline Protocol was launched in March and was developed through collaboration between Microsoft, EY and ConsenSys. The concept used baselining to verify that the records held by separate entities’ databases were verifiably identical while allowing company information to “remain in traditional …

Ethereum co-founder Joseph Lubin’s firm ConsenSys is releasing a compliance service to keep an eye out on transactions conducted by DeFi companies and exchanges trading tokens issued on Ethereum. According to a Bloomberg article published on June 8, decentralized applications development company ConsenSys announced it would release a service for decentralized finance (DeFi) projects and crypto exchanges to analyze trades for tokens issued on the Ethereum network. ConsenSys’ service will be able to monitor user transactions of more than 280,000 coins issued on Ethereum, focusing on exchanges and DeFi companies. “There are more and more people building decentralized apps that …

Ethereum (ETH)-focused blockchain technology firm, ConsenSys, has published a report looking at the staking and custody preferences of ETH holders. The report finds that two-thirds of Ethereum investors plan to stake their coins once the first phase of ETH 2.0’s roll-out is completed. Interestingly, ETH holders who plan to run their own validator nodes are expecting to receive lower annualized rewards than those who intend to stake through a third-party provider. Staking preferences indicate counterparty risk thresholds Of the 287 survey respondents, the largest segment stated that they plan to use a third-party provider to stake with 33.1% of participants. …

Developers contributing to the Github of Baseline Protocol, an open-source blockchain project launched by Microsoft, EY, and ConsenSys, recently offered suggestions for a Baseline Protocol-based COVID-19 contact tracing system. The project aims to address security flaws noted in the proposals for a contact tracing system made by Google and Apple to-date, including record-falsification and data centralization. Cointelegraph spoke to John Wolpert, ConsenSys group executive and self-described “seeker of awesomeness,” to find out more about the project. Baseline Protocol developers propose contact tracing system Wolpert states that Baseline Protocol’s work toward a blockchain-based contact tracing system “emerged when a passionate community …

Developers working on Baseline, an enterprise smart contract and tokenization platform developed by Microsoft, Ernst & Young, and ConsenSys, are working to solve several flaws identified with Apple and Google’s proposal for coronavirus tracking initiatives. Google and Apple propose a contact tracing solution that would add cross-platform APIs that allow health authorities to monitor users. Both brands have discussed rolling out related software updates next month. The plan suggests using a phone’s Bluetooth Low Energy to detect other devices within 30 feet of each other. This would allow infected individuals to be identified through proximity detection. For people who come …

Covantis, a blockchain agribusiness initiative backed by major industry company ConsenSys, has taken another step towards transforming global trade and supply chain operations. Backed by global agribusiness giants like Cargill and Bunge, Covantis has been officially established as a legal entity in Geneva after receiving all necessary regulatory approval. First tests are expected to be carried out in May 2020 According to a March 31 announcement, the company is the joint initiative of six founding members: Archer Daniels Midland (ADM), Bunge, Cargill, COFCO, Louis Dreyfus Company and Glencore Agriculture. While Covantis’s legal entity has been established, the blockchain platform is …

The open-source Baseline Protocol code allowing private systems to be built on the Ethereum public blockchain has now been published to GitHub, as of March 19. This means that the EY, Microsoft and ConsenSys-developed protocol is available to the public. With transactions on the Ethereum blockchain being public and available for all to see, businesses requiring data privacy have tended to deploy their own private blockchain or an enterprise version of Ethereum. However, using zero-knowledge proofs, off-chain data storage, and distributed identity systems, the Baseline Protocol allows businesses to utilize the public Ethereum chain while keeping sensitive data private. According …

Decrypt, a major cryptocurrency and blockchain publication funded by ConsenSys, is launching a new token to reward users for engaging with its content. The new Ethereum-based Decrypt token will allow Decrypt readers to earn rewards in return for reading and sharing articles as well as other types of interactions with the company’s content. As officially announced on March 4, readers will be able to exchange collected tokens for goods and services including Amazon and Airbnb. Decrypt plans to roll out the new token as early as the second quarter of 2020. Decrypt token will act as a utility token pegged …

Global taxation and transaction advisory firm EY have announced the launch of their open-source Baseline protocol. Baseline comprises a smart contract and tokenization platform built for enterprises on top of the Ethereum blockchain. Baseline was founded by EY in partnership with Microsoft and ConsenSys, and was developed in collaboration with many companies operating in the cryptocurrency sector, including Chainlink, MakerDAO, Unibright and AMD. The platform’s code has been made available to select entities by invitation and will see a public release before April. Baseline features zero-knowledge proofs and off-chain storage to protect privacy In a video published by development partner …

ConsenSys, the Ethereum-focused company founded by Joseph Lubin, announced on Feb. 25 that it will spin off its health division. The new ConsenSys Health company will develop blockchain use cases to tackle issues in the U.S. healthcare industry. The announcement is part of ConsenSys’ strategy shift of favoring products such as Codefi and Infura, which led the company to spin out several internal projects into independent entities. ConsenSys Health focuses on applying blockchain to the health industry, citing issues such as rising costs and access to care as some of the areas where blockchain can contribute. Co-founder of Ethereum (ETH) …