American logistics giant UPS has successfully delivered a blockchain-verified beef shipment from the United States to Japan. The company partnered with agritech firm HerdX to incorporate its packaging technology into a blockchain network to trace the journey of beef from Kansas to Japan, the firm announced on Nov. 11. As announced by UPS, the jointly-delivered shipment involved a blockchain partner network developed by HerdX. Meanwhile, UPS provided its visibility tool that integrates with HerdX's blockchain technology and records live updates, registering details throughout the journey. U.S. Embassy and Japanese officials checked the blockchain-recorded beef The pilot was supported by the …

Unilever, O2 and Sky are among the latest big firms to sign on to Jicwebs’ blockchain pilot program designed to improve trust and transparency in digital advertising. The news was revealed in a Nov. 12 report from United Kingdom-based industry magazine Campaign. Industry involvement Jicwebs — an acronym for the U.K. digital ad trading standards body, the Joint Industry Committee for Web Standards — first announced its blockchain pilot initiative in May 2019. It counts the participation of major global media agencies Zenith, OMD UK and Manning Gottlieb OMD, who have been evaluating the potential for blockchain technology to bolster …

How can I be informed of what’s happening with my crypto transactions? Some crypto exchanges are aiming to deliver full transparency to their users. This attitude toward openness can be especially beneficial for users who are using Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies for the first time. HitBTC, which bills itself as one of the most advanced crypto exchanges on the market today, has created a System Monitor that delivers live statistics concerning incoming and outgoing transactions for each of the cryptocurrencies it supports. Processing times for the last 100 transactions are provided — detailing the slowest and fastest execution times as …

Broadway’s largest ticket operator, the Shubert Organization, is integrating a blockchain solution into its business in a forthcoming pilot targeted at combating ticket fraud. The organization, via its Telecharge and Shubert Ticketing divisions, has partnered with Boston-based startup True Tickets, which offers an IBM blockchain-powered mobile ticketing solution. News of the partnership was revealed in an Oct. 16 report from Fast Company. Combating ticket fraud with blockchain True Tickets, which was selected to take part in this summer’s inaugural Broadway Tech Accelerator, will see its digital ticketing service integrated into components of the organization’s ticket sales businesses, including Telecharge.com and …

The digital assets-focused blockchain-based protocol, Aventus, revealed its next code release Aventus Classic designed to create a more equitable and transparent ticketing industry. Alleviate fraud and provide transparency On Sept 12, Aventus Network announced in a blog post the release of Aventus Classic, a fully decentralized open-source Ethereum-based ticketing protocol designed to stop fraud and provide more transparency to the event ticketing industry. The announcement goes on to say: “This release marks our first real step in engaging with the open-source community, as Aventus Classic will now be open to contributions from anyone and will no longer be solely developed …

Austin-based Antelope Water Management has announced that it is going to start using a blockchain platform developed by Data Gumbo. The announcement appeared in a press release on Aug. 15. Antelope Water Management is a company that develops sustainability-focused water services for oil and gas extractions, while Data Gumbo provides blockchain services for the oil and gas industry. According to the release, Data Gumbo’s blockchain network, GumboNet, will provide Antelope’s customers and vendors with data transparency, automatic contract executions and payments. Antelope CEO Dustin Brownlow remarked: “Data Gumbo is a game changer enabling us to provide customers, vendors and regulators …

CoinMarketCap, a major source of prices and volumetric data on crypto markets, has revealed plans for its first-ever acquisition in a press release shared with Cointelegaph on June 26 The United States-based company is acquiring electronic crypto trading fund Hashtag Capital in order to expand its efforts within its Data Accountability & Transparency Alliance (DATA), an initiative launched in May 2019 to provide greater transparency in crypto space. Following the acquisition, the Hashtag Capital team will be joining CoinMarketCap to work on pricing algorithms for over 2,000 digital coins listed on its platform, as well as to develop new data …

Major enterprise contract management service Icertis will collaborate with Microsoft to expand its blockchain-based contract solution, the company announced on June 11. By entering the collaboration, Microsoft will help Icertis to extend its Icertis Blockchain Framework, which is designed to enhance the transparency and efficiency of contractual frameworks using smart contracts technology. The Icertis Blockchain Framework offers a blockchain-powered solution to track contractual requirements and commitments, improving the quality of collaboration and accountability. The tool aims to solve various problems associated with contractual arrangements on the supply chain, including combating the use of child labor, conflict materials and tainted food …

Famous American economist and Nobel Prize winner Joseph Stiglitz has reiterated his negative stance on cryptocurrencies in a CNBC video released on May 6. “I actually think we should shut down the cryptocurrencies,” Stiglitz declared in the video, pointing out his opinion of the major deficiencies of the digital currencies like bitcoin (BTC). According to Stiglitz, crypto is not the right way to create a more efficient global economy due to a lack of transparency. Indeed, he emphasized that cryptocurrencies accompany illegal financial activities such as money laundering by moving money off “from a transparent platform into a dark platform.” …

Blockchain-powered agricultural project GrainChain has partnered with the Mexican state of Tamaulipas to expand its grain tracking service in the country, Forbes reports May 2. According to the report, the Tamaulipas government is now using GrainChain’s software for tracking major grains such as sorghum, soybean and corn. Implementing GrainChain’s blockchain-enabled tracking tools is expected to bring more transparency in the grain supply chain by automating data records and providing more clarity to the way grain is traced from the field to the end marketplace. GrainChain's software can purportedly verify the authenticity of the grain and identify its source. Combined with …

Crypto market cap tracker CoinMarketCap (CMC) will remove exchanges from its calculations if they fail to provide mandatory data by June, the firm wrote in its sixth anniversary blog post on May 1. CoinMarketCap, a major source of data about all traded digital currencies, has made a series of announcements to celebrate its sixth birthday today. As such, CMC has announced a brand new alliance called the Data Accountability & Transparency Alliance (DATA) in order to provide “greater transparency, accountability, and disclosure from projects in the crypto space.” A broad number of exchanges have already joined the new alliance, including …

International tobacco company Philip Morris is considering blockchain use in tracking tax stamps on cigarette boxes, the firm’s spokesperson confirmed to Cointelegraph on April 26. Philip Morris International is looking to implement emerging technologies such as blockchain in order to improve the efficiency, transparency and cost effectiveness of its business, the company’s representative said in an email to Cointelegraph. Specifically, Nitin Manoharan, Philip Morris’ global head of architecture and tech innovation, has recently estimated that Philip Morris alone could save up to $20 million by reducing tax stamp paperwork and fraud with blockchain, according to crypto industry news outlet CoinDesk. …