Charles Brett’s Blockchain Catch-up Week 31 (2021)

That is Charles Brett’s start-of-the-week Enterprise Instances ‘blockchain catch-up’ Week 31. Essentially it’s idiosyncratic and selective.

It’s not supposed to be complete however does search to focus on ‘Fast Takes’ on particular developments as nicely attention-grabbing items to learn, an inventory of some (not all) bulletins/press releases and pointers to approaching occasions.

Fast Takes – Charles Brett’s Blockchain Catch-up Week 31

Federal Reserve governor explains why non-public sector can construct a greater blockchain greenback

Throughout an occasion organized by the general public coverage suppose tank, American Enterprise Institute, Christopher Waller, a member of the Fed Reserve System’s Board of Governors, dismissed the concept of a US central financial institution digital foreign money as an answer searching for an issue. He argued that innovation throughout the non-public sector is quickly enhancing funds methods, with out the Fed needing to concern a CBDC.

“The non-public sector is already creating cheaper cost alternate options to compete with the banking system,” Waller mentioned. “Therefore it appears pointless for the Federal Reserve to create a CBDC to drive down cost calls for we see by banks. … After cautious consideration, I’m not satisfied that, as of but, a CBDC would remedy any present downside that isn’t being addressed extra promptly and effectively than different initiatives.”

Fast Take: This Forbes summary is helpful. On the similar time, Mr Waller’s thesis is at odds with most different central banks, and even the BIS. Whereas he should be proper that funds within the US want large enchancment, and that the non-public sector can (not essentially ‘will’) ship, the absence of a US$ CBDC may show to be one more weakening of the US$ ‘commonplace.

Sustainable provide chain optimisation for UKFT

The UK Trend & Textile Affiliation (UKFT) is working with IBM, Tech Information, and the Future Trend Manufacturing facility to design, prototype and pilot a brand new expertise platform. Based mostly on IBM applied sciences, the target is to assist the UK style and textile business to drive sustainability and profitability by elevated transparency throughout the provide chain. Retailers Subsequent, H&M (COS model), N Brown, New Look and yarn producer Laxtons will probably be a part of the preliminary pilot.

This Sustainable Provide Chain Optimisation challenge is receiving £1.4m in funding from Innovate UK, a part of UK Analysis and Innovation through the Industrial Technique Problem Fund (ISCF) Manufacturing Made Smarter Problem.

Fast Take: Trend is without doubt one of the greatest international polluters in addition to one of many best producers of waste. As well as there are repeating points round unsafe workplaces, labour abuses and low wages.

According to the UKFT “one of many main obstacles stopping organisations from implementing extra sustainable, accountable practices and stopping shoppers from purchasing extra sustainably is a basic lack of transparency and visibility throughout the completely different levels of the supply-chain. Information is siloed, methods are likely to function in isolation and events have had little to no incentive to share knowledge with the remainder of the ecosystem as a result of vital guide effort.”

The brand new expertise platform will, apparently, mix applied sciences like blockchain, AI and sensors. The aspiration is to digitise the important thing processes within the supply-chain making a shared system of information that the completely different events can belief and simply act upon. In a single sense that is ‘simply one other provide chain blockchain’ albeit with an emphasis on sustainability. But, if the give attention to sustainability works, the air pollution (in all senses) affect may very well be nice.

7 items to learn – Charles Brett’s Blockchain Catch-up Week 31

Chosen bulletins/press releases/opinions – Charles Brett’s Blockchain Catch-up Week 31

4 use circumstances of blockchain for companies to think about (opinion)
Central Financial institution of China plans to maintain regulatory stress on crypto business (opinion)
NFT gross sales prime US$1.2B in July as demand for blockchain video games soars (opinion)
Hanryu Financial institution declares the launch of blockchain mainnet ‘FandomChain’ in August (announcement)
Axelar to allow cross-chain communication on Polygon (announcement)
New advisable checklist of prime blockchain expertise firms at GoodFirms – 2021 (announcement)
GlobalData predicts future blockchain unicorns (announcement)
International Blockchain Know-how Market 2021-2025 (report).

Chosen upcoming occasions

Bitcoin to $60,000? What to expect the rest of 2021 and beyond (Webinar, August eleventh, 2021 1900 UTC, 1400 EST)
CordaCon 2021 (September Twenty eighth-Thirtieth, 2021)
TOKEN2049 Europe returns in-person in London (October Seventh-Eighth, 2021)
Crypto Valley Conference (October 28-Twenty ninth, 2021; Rotkreuz, Switzerland)
LA Blockchain Summit (November 2nd-Third, 2021)
Blockchain Conference/Blockchain Expo Europe 2021 (November Twenty third-Twenty fourth, 2021)
Blockchance Europe 2021 (December Eighth-Tenth, 2021 – was July Seventh-Ninth, 2021).