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 …

Back in the 2000s, when I worked for PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), I was the director of technology and innovation. Part of that role was not only helping the company and some of our clients with tech innovation projects, but it was looking out five years, 10 years, 15 years and thinking about what technology was emerging and what it might mean for our industry. And so, all along the way, I’ve had a real interest in identifying things that are interesting that maybe a lot of people weren’t paying attention to yet. One was the role of speech recognition. I was …

While cryptocurrency markets are experiencing another crash this Monday, major digital asset platform Bakkt has some good news. Referred to as one of the most promising crypto-related initiatives for its physically settled Bitcoin (BTC) futures, Bakkt has now raised an additional $300 million to continue developing digital asset-focused services, the firm’s new CEO Mike Blandina announced on March 16. Closed the funding round on March 13, Bakkt has now totally raised $482.5 million According to the announcement, the Series B financing round featured Bakkt’s parent company, the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), Microsoft’s venture capital arm M12, fintech firm PayU, Boston Consulting …

According to a press release, software developer, philanthropist, and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates will depart the company’s board. Now 64 years old, the business magnate started Microsoft alongside Paul Allen in 1975. The company is surely most known for its Windows computer operating system, which was first released in 1985 and remains as vital as ever today. Microsoft announced a blockchain token and data management service at the end of 2019 that would be a new tool for users of its enterprise Azure service. Gates himself has also recently backed a blockchain-enabled security service for fintech companies operating in Africa …

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 …

A former employee at Microsoft has been found guilty of 18 federal felonies in connection with a complex scheme to embezzle $10 million using cryptocurrency. The man — a 25-year old Ukrainian national, Volodymyr Kvashuk — worked as a full-time software engineer at the firm from August 2016, before being fired in June 2018. Kvashuk was convicted in the United States District Court in Seattle, the Department of Justice revealed on Feb. 25. “A house of lies” The multi-count conviction reveals the complexity of Kvashuk’s scheme, in which he hid behind accounts tied to his fellow employees and resorted to …

Lition, a commercial blockchain, announced on Feb. 18 that Microsoft has officially brought Lition blockchain solution to its Azure cloud marketplace. This makes Lition one of the few public/private blockchains currently supported by a major cloud provider like Microsoft. Microsoft also became the first to bring blockchain to the cloud and continues to remain at the cutting edge of blockchain adoption. Enterprises worldwide to benefit from blockchain adoption Integrating Lition blockchain into Azure allows Microsoft Azure’s worldwide enterprise clients to develop, test and deploy Lition side chains and applications with a click of a button on its platform, according to …

Edge, the web browser of information technology giant Microsoft, now blocks cryptojacking malware. A Microsoft Edge spokesperson told Cointelegraph on Feb. 10 that the latest version of the web browser features a new PUA (Potentially Unwanted Apps) blocking feature that may block some illicit cryptocurrency mining malware. When asked about whether Microsoft plans to protect Edge users from illicit cryptocurrency miners, the spokesperson said that “this will be a particular area of focus.” As cryptojacking is increasingly becoming a cybersecurity threat, efforts to tackle the issue are also scaling up. A new cybersecurity feature Cryptojacking is the practice of illicitly …

Blockchain will be the most in-demand hard skill in 2020, according to a new study by the educational subsidiary of professional social network LinkedIn. A newcomer to LinkedIn’s annual list of top-demanded hard skills, blockchain now tops the list of the most-needed skills in 2020, according to a LinkedIn Learning blog post on Jan. 13. Blockchain to surpass cloud computing and AI in 2020 In 2019, blockchain-as-a-skill overtook major hard skills including cloud computing, analytical reasoning, artificial intelligence (AI), and user experience (UX) design, becoming the number one hard skill in demand among global employers in 2020, according to LinkedIn …

Ever since the game CryptoKitties was released in November 2017, the concept of nonfungible token has been ingrained in the minds of developers and investors in the crypto community. However, 2019 has been the year that NFTs have gained mainstream attention. And it should come as no surprise that even huge, multinational companies are currently developing NFT projects. Recently, Mirosoft’s blockchain-based cloud platform, Azure, released its own nonfungible tokens program called “Azure Heroes” with the aim of rewarding its developer community. Azure Heroes Through Azure Heroes, Microsoft is on a mission to empower technical practitioners of all backgrounds. With that …

Microsoft’s blockchain-enabled cloud service Microsoft Azure announced new tokenization and blockchain data management services. In a post published on the official Microsoft Azure blog on Dec. 6, the IT service giant announced the Azure Blockchain Tokens and blockchain data manager. New tools for Azure blockchain users The Azure Blockchain Tokens service aims to simplify the definition, creation and management of compliant tokens built to industry standards. The firm also provides pre-built templates for common uses and hosts a gallery for templates created by partners, which are expected to be added in the future. The announcement reads: “With this latest offering, …

Microsoft’s blockchain-enabled cloud platform Microsoft Azure announced the “Azure Heroes” blockchain non-fungible tokens (NFT) aimed at rewarding its developer community. The tokens represent cartoonish badgers (a play on the word “badge”) and aim to compensate positive behavior in Azure’s community. Each badger has a limited supply ranging from just 100 units to 10,000, Microsoft announced on Dec. 4. The firm said: “Azure Heroes aims to reward individuals for verifiable acts of impact such as coaching, creating demos, building sample code, blogging about Azure or completing certain challenges. Community members that have demonstrated their contributions will be recognised with badges across …