Pro-crypto travel booking agency Travala.com is releasing a decentralized property rental service. In a Wednesday announcement, Travala said it had partnered with former executives from Airbnb, Expedia, and other companies to launch Dtravel, a decentralized vacation rental platform that may serve as a competitor for sites like Airbnb and Vrbo. The platform is community governed through Dtravel’s Decentralized Autonomous Organization, or DAO, and uses DeFi to facilitate smart contracts between hosts and guests. Dtravel claims to repair “the broken relationship between hosts and guests created by existing centralized home-sharing platforms.” The platform said that issues stemming from centralized control on …

Even though the ongoing coronavirus pandemic has yet to fully recede, an increasing number of countries are beginning to open up their borders to tourists once again. Furthermore, with large-scale vaccination drives taking place all over the world, it appears as though by the time summer rolls around again, it will become possible for many individuals to travel to certain holiday destinations once again. In fact, according to the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, American tourists will be able to pay a visit to their favorite European Union countries during summer 2021, given that they are …

A blockchain-based travel booking site has teamed up with a leading online travel agency in a deal that could bring its consumer-focused hotel and airfare reservation marketplace before a global audience. Australia-based Webjet has invested $4.1 million into LockTrip with a view toward integrating the consumer travel site and its LOC blockchain into the Webjet OTA platform — an industry leader in its home country and New Zealand. In addition, Webjet will explore migrating its own enterprise blockchain project, the Rezchain booking verification system, onto LockTrip’s decentralized, proof-of-stake Hydra Chain. That would be a big step towards LockTrip’s ultimate goal …

Passengers flying with Latvian airline airBaltic now have more cryptocurrency payment options. According to an announcement on the airline’s website on Monday, passengers can now pay for flight tickets using Ether (ETH) and Dogecoin (DOGE). Other accepted digital currencies include Bitcoin Cash (BCH) and four U.S. dollar-pegged stablecoins: USD Coin (USDC), Binance USD (BUSD), Gemini Dollar (GUSD) and Paxos Standard (PAX). The airline began accepting Bitcoin (BTC) payments back in July 2014. Indeed, the Latvian national carrier is touted as being the first airline in the world to offer cryptocurrency payment options. As part of its announcement, airBaltic clarified that …

Updated 1:09 AM UTC: At the time of publication, SpaceX had not ruled out making one last attempt to launch the Starship SN10. It completed a successful launch and landing, but the Starship exploded shortly thereafter. Heavily pumped by Elon Musk’s tweets, Dogecoin may be the first cryptocurrency to literally reach the moon following an aborted launch of a SpaceX ship. The aerospace company attempted to launch its Starship SN10 vehicle today from SpaceX’s facility in Boca Chica, Texas. The final version of the spacecraft will reportedly be capable of reaching the moon after refueling in Earth orbit, but the …

With travel and tourism being one of the industries hardest-hit by the coronavirus-pandemic-induced lockdowns, several stakeholders are increasingly prioritizing digital and contactless solutions. In this vein, Air France has partnered with MedAire, SGS, International SOS and the International Chamber of Commerce to test a blockchain-based COVID-19 travel system. Beginning March 11, Air France will begin the pilot test of the ICC AOKpass system developed by MedAire and the International SOS. The ICC AOKpass is an app that travelers can install on their smartphones that contains a secure record of their COVID-19 test results from approved labs. With the app, travelers …

For the first time ever, the World Economic Forum’s Global Risk Report’s top-five global risks were all climate-related. From devastating wildfires in Australia and the Amazon to ravaging locust plagues on the Horn of Africa, 2020 was punctuated not only by the global COVID-19 pandemic but also a number of worrying reminders about the effects of climate change if left unchecked. Over the past year, we witnessed the severe effects of belated action amid impending crises. While the timeframe for climate change is not measured in days or weeks, climate change headlines over the coming decade may not look dissimilar …

The International Air Transport Association will soon roll out blockchain-based passports that digitally store an individual’s health information — specifically, their COVID-19 testing and vaccination status. In a move that IATA says has the potential to reopen international travel and loosen current global quarantine restrictions, a “health” passport will be stored in a user’s smartphone in the form of an app, with the first real-world testing expected to take place as soon as February. Known as the IATA Travel Pass and described as a way to give travelers complete control over their own data, the app would reportedly also act …

Short-term accommodation booking platform Airbnb has filed a prospectus for a $1 billion initial public offering with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission on Nov. 16. Hidden away in the 350-page document is a half page dedicated to the risks of not being able to adapt to changes in technology. The document reels off a list of buzzwords that savvy investors may want to be sure are under consideration: “Our future success will also depend on our ability to adapt to emerging technologies such as tokenization, cryptocurrencies, new authentication technologies, such as biometrics, distributed ledger and blockchain technologies, artificial …

A California-based visa and passport processing company announced it would be accepting Bitcoin as a form of payment as the U.S. State Department's operations are beginning to return to normal. According to a Nov. 6 announcement from passport and visa expeditor Peninsula Visa based in San Jose, the company stated it would be giving customers the option to pay for select passport services using Bitcoin (BTC). Backed by retailer payment facilitator Coinbase Commerce, Peninsula Visa will be offering passport renewals and name changes in addition to applications related to second passports. U.S. citizens over the age of 16 are allowed …

A private aircraft sales company has started allowing customers to purchase any of their multi-million dollar jets using Bitcoin. According to a Sept. 13 report from news outlet Business Insider, U.S.-based Aviatrade is currently selling an upgraded 2014 Gulfstream G650ER for $40 million — roughly 3,750 Bitcoin (BTC) as of this writing. Billionaires including Amazon’s Jeff Bezos and Tesla CEO Elon Musk reportedly own the same model, which is capable of traveling up to 7,500 nautical miles, or roughly the distance between Los Angeles and Sydney. "We accept Bitcoin as payment for all bizjet [business jet] purchases,” states Aviatrade’s website. …

Micheal O’Leary, the CEO of major budget airline Ryanair, has come out very bearish on Bitcoin (BTC). Recently speaking to The Times, O’Leary likened Bitcoin to a Ponzi scheme and advised investors to avoid it: “I have never, and would never, invest one cent in Bitcoin, which I believe is equivalent to a Ponzi scheme. [...] I would strongly advise everyone with any shred of common sense to ignore this false story and avoid Bitcoin like a plague.” O’Leary was referring to an apparent crypto scam, “Bitcoin Lifestyle,” which claimed to have his approval in a promotional campaign. A bogus …