Facebook CEO and founder Mark Zuckerberg considered the ramifications of blockchain-based authorization of user data during an interview with Harvard Law professor Jonathan Zittrain on Feb. 20. During a discussion covering such topics as the future of technology and society, Zuckerberg noted that he “think[s] about the work we [Facebook] are a decentralizing force in the world.” Zuckerberg said that people of his generation got into technology because “it gives individuals power, and is not massively centralizing.” Zuckerberg mentioned that he was considering a potential blockchain use case by which users could have control over their data, adding “Basically, you …

Users of Coinbase Wallet can now back up their private keys on Google Drive or iCloud, according to an official announcement on Feb. 12. In the statement, Coinbase states that allowing users to upload their keys to a cloud provides a safeguard against lost keys, will will help them avoid losing funds should the keys be misplaced. The announcement notes: “The private keys generated and stored on your mobile device are the only way to access your funds on the blockchain. Owners of ‘user-controlled wallets’ like Coinbase Wallet sometimes lose their devices or fail to backup their 12 word recovery …

Disclaimer: this article was updated on Feb. 6 to include the results of the hearing at Nova Scotia Supreme Court, where QuadrigaCX’s CCAA application was reviewed. Canadian cryptocurrency exchange QuadrigaCX is in hot water: Following the sudden death of its 30-year-old founder, Gerald Cotten, the exchange has allegedly lost access to its cold wallets, where most of the funds were stored. Now, the exchange has taken to court to avoid the collapse, but some community members suggest that QuadrigaCX’s cold wallets never existed. QuadrigaCX has been granted an order for creditor protection in the Nova Scotia Supreme Court. Justice Michael …

Merck, the world’s oldest operating pharmaceutical firm, has won a blockchain patent from the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), Cointelegraph auf Deutsch reported Jan. 30 The German multinational has developed a system that uses a combination of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and blockchain tech to establish the authenticity of unique physical objects. As Merck reports in a press release Jan. 30: “The new technology uses machine learning to link physical objects to a blockchain through their own unique identifiers or ‘fingerprints‘.” According the firm, the new patent describes a technology that can identify and record any unique feature of …

Iceland’s blockchain-based identity verification platform Authenteq has raised $5 million in a funding round led by Draper Associates and Capital300, the American tech website VentureBeat reports on Jan. 14. Following the two-week funding round, the company revealed its intention to conduct the second closing of the Series A financing for additional investors in the coming weeks. The latest $5 million closing was held on Jan. 10, while the total amount raised constitutes $7 million over seven rounds since 2015, according to business data provider Crunchbase. Authenteq funding rounds and key investors. Source: Crunchbase Within the latest funding round, Authenteq has …

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 …

Global ticketing giant Ticketmaster has acquired blockchain-focused live events firm Upgraded, according to an Oct. 18 press release. Ticketmaster, a division of the world’s largest live-entertainment business Live Nation, plans to use blockchain technology through the partnership as a way to provide more transparency and better control ticket distribution. Additionally, the company hopes it will protect clients from fraud associated with the existing ticketing system, which works in the form of printed or PDF-based tickets. The blockchain live events company Upgraded will enable Ticketmaster to digitize traditional tickets into interactive units protected by blockchain technology via encrypted barcodes. The press …

The U.S.’s second-largest bank, Bank of America (BofA), has applied for another blockchain patent on the development of a secure crypto storage system, according to a patent document published by the U.S. Patent and Trademarks Office (USPTO) August 23. The patent, entitled “Block Chain Encryption Tags,” describes a system of recording and storing cryptocurrency-related transactions that are handled by enterprises. In short, the invention offers a system of data security for blockchain networks by implementing encryption and linking data units to the blocks of a certain blockchain. In the patent document filed on April 18, 2018, the North Carolina-based bank …

The recently released personal identification authorization tool Telegram Passport from messenger app Telegram is vulnerable to brute force attacks, according to an Aug. 1 report by cryptographic software and services developer Virgil Security, Inc. On July 26, Telegram announced the launch of Telegram Passport designed to encrypt users’ personal ID information and let them share their ID data with third parties such as initial coin offerings ICOs, crypto wallets, and anyone complying with know your customer (KYC) regulations. Users’ data is kept on the Telegram cloud using end-to-end encryption, subsequently moved to a decentralized cloud, which cannot decrypt personal data …

The crypto and blockchain industry’s go-to encrypted messenger app Telegram has released a personal identification authorization tool, according to an official statement published July 26. The tool, dubbed Telegram Passport, reportedly encrypts a user’s personal ID information and let’s users securely share their ID data with third parties, which the Telegram post elaborates on as “finance, ICOs, etc.” According to the post, users’ ID data will currently be stored on the Telegram cloud, but “In the future, all Telegram Passport data will move to a decentralized cloud.” The new tool is currently integrated with digital payment operator ePayments, which Telegram …

Geopolitical analyst George Friedman says that blockchain technology will one day become “obsolete,” CNBC reported June 15. Friedman is a founder of Geopolitical Futures, an online publication dedicated to predicting the future course of international affairs, and author of "The Next 100 Years: A Forecast for the 21st Century." He told CNBC that he has “never known any encryption technology not to be broken,” and that he doubts “between Russia, China, U.S. intelligence services" that blockchain cannot be decrypted. He added: "It's useful. It's visible, at some point it'll be obsolete." Friedman said that blockchain is "one of those hypes. …

Financial services provider Mastercard has filed a patent for a blockchain system to provide faster and more secure payments on their cards, according to US Patent and Trademark Office USPTO patent filing released June 7. The patent application dubbed “Method And System For Payment Card Verification Via Blockchain” describes a public blockchain-assisted conveyance and retrieval of payment processes to verify and secure users’ information. In the document, Mastercard noted the vulnerability of existing means of “wireless transmission of payment credentials,” claiming that they can be “subject to intercept.” By implementing a blockchain, the company aims to enable a secure way …