Lifeboat Foundation

Experts from MIT are hosting an event next week to explore the potential blockchain technology could in making electricity markets cleaner and more efficient.

Cambridge chapter of the MIT Enterprise Forum will bring together experts including Joi Ito of the MIT Media Lab and Paul Brody of Ernst and Young for the blockchain transitioning energy industry event on Monday 22 February. They will be joined by a distinguished panel of emerging technology, blockchain, and energy industry leaders to discuss the intersection of energy grid transformation and distributed ledger technology.

Scott Clavenna of Greentech Media will moderate a panel consisting of Joi Ito, Paul Brody, Ed Hesse of Grid Singularity, and Lawrence Orsini of LO3 Energy. The event will tackle questions such as “How can cleantech enterprise and industry leverage the blockchain for innovation?” and “What are the new models for growth?”.

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Criminal’s favorite new tool for extortion.

Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center was the target of a ransomware extortion plot in which hackers seized control of the hospital’s computer systems and then demanded that directors pay in bitcoin to regain access, according to law enforcement sources.

Ransomware attacks on business data systems are becoming an increasingly common form of cyber crime. The assault on Hollywood Presbyterian computers occurred Feb. 5, when hackers prevented hospital staff from accessing patient information, according to law enforcement sources, who were not authorized to discuss the details of the investigation. The hackers then demanded an unspecified sum of computer currency.

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What will be interesting most about block chaining is when more countries drop their own traditional currency models & move to block chaining like one of the countries in Africa announced 2 weeks ago. I do know that many 2nd & 3rd world countries are finding electronic currency more appealing due to the Central Bank’s policies; however, what will be the impacts at the end of the day felt across the world as more and more 2nd & 3rd world markets switch their models. Immediately, we see risks with central banks; the question is where else (WBO, WTO, US, etc)

Many countries have experimented with price fixing and central planning over the last century. Right now, Venezuela’s government is fixing the prices of many products. This has resulted in widespread shortages of goods which we, as the lucky inhabitants of semi-free economies, take for granted.

Price fixing has failed in every area of the economy in which it has been tried. But while few serious economists would suggest that we have a team of bureaucrats set the price of rubber, wheat or coffee, we do have one sphere of the economy which is still centrally planned – our monetary system. This will fail just like all central planning fails. We are now moving into a dangerous new phase of price fixing by central banks. Having failed to stimulate economies with years of zero per cent interest rates, they are now discussing the prospect of negative interest rates (and some have even introduced them), the reductio ad absurdum of modern monetary economics.

Continue reading “How blockchain will save us from the perils of central bank price fixing” »

The Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs of the European Parliament spent an hour and a half discussing bitcoin and virtual currencies on Monday, although more questions were asked than answered.

#cryptocurrency #Bitcoin #blockchain

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1st Bitcoin and now this on Blockchaining record keeping in VT.

The cost of using the blockchain for a public records system would outweigh any benefits, a report prepared for Vermont’s legislature concludes.

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While many people focus on bitcoin’s price fluctuations and potential increase in adoption, currency is just the first application of this game-changing technology. The core of the blockchain provides an alternative governance model to the current oligarchic control shown in the harsh austerity forced against the will of the Greek people.

In the six years of its existence, public awareness of this technology has grown by leaps and bounds. Now, most who are aware of this groundbreaking innovation know the blockchain is a ledger. Yet, this ledger is not simply for accounting monetary transactions.

At its core, it is a platform that allows people to come to agreement on virtually anything without intermediaries. It provides a foundation to make social contracts based on the principle of consensus. Foremost, it enables a larger function of accounting; performing checks and balance on the self interests and the corruptible tendencies that exist in society.

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I administer the Bitcoin P2P discussion group at LinkedIn, a social media network for professionals. A frequent question posed by newcomers and even seasoned venture investors is: “How can I understand Bitcoin in its simplest terms?”

Engineers and coders offer answers that are anything but simple. Most focus on mining and the blockchain. In this primer, I will take an approach that is both familiar and accurate…

Terms/Concepts: • Miners • Blockchain • Double-Spend

First, forget about everything you have heard about ‘mining’ Bitcoin. That’s just a temporary mechanism to smooth out the initial distribution and make it fair, while also playing a critical role in validating the transactions between individuals. Starting with this mechanism is a bad way to understand Bitcoin, because its role in establishing value, influencing trust or stabilizing value is greatly overrated.

Continue reading “Bitcoin Primer: Don’t Start with Miners” »

Recently, I was named Most Viewed Writer on Bitcoin and cryptocurrency at Quora.com (writing under the pen name, “Ellery”). I don’t typically mirror posts at Lifeboat, but a question posed today is relevant to my role on the New Money Systems board at Lifeboat. Here, then, is my reply to: “How can governments ban Bitcoin?”

Governments can enact legislation that applies to any behavior or activity. That’s what governments do—at least the legislative arm of a government. Such edicts distinguish activities that are legal from those that are banned or regulated.

You asked: “How can governments ban Bitcoin?” But you didn’t really mean to ask in this way. After all, legislators ban whatever they wish by meeting in a congress or committee and promoting a bill into law. In the case of a monarchy or dictatorship, the leader simply issues an edict.

So perhaps, the real question is “Can a government ban on Bitcoin be effective?”

Continue reading “Can Governments Ban Bitcoin?” »

The world’s first A.I. fashion designer to create infinitely unique clothes inspired by science and technology. All garments’ source code is embedded in the blockchain as a certificate of authenticity. Exclusively sold in bitcoin on the darkweb.

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