Tag Archives: Bitcoin

Business, Cryptocurrency, Economy, Entertainment, Sports

Bitcoin used as National Currency; Sports and NFTs; Tile Acquisition

Leave a comment

I’m trying a different format with the use of video to discuss topics. Appreciate any input. Maybe next time I’ll dress for the part.

Topics of Conversation for this Episode.

  1. Explore the recent decision of El Salvador to adopt Bitcoin as their national currency
    https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/bitcoin-use-el-salvador-grows-setbacks-adopting-legal-tender-rcna2743
  2. Huge opportunity for EVERYONE involved in NFTs for sports memorabilia.
    https://rosemansolutions.io/2021/11/24/sweet-spot-for-digital-collectables/
  3. Review the acquisition of Tile by Life360
    https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/life360-to-acquire-tile-creating-the-world-leader-in-finding-and-location-solutions-301430364.html
Cryptocurrency, Work

Maison Reserve & Co. launches the world’s first cryptocurrency tethered to the supply and demand of consumer products

Leave a comment

Maison Reserve & Co. launches cryptocurrency tied to the supply and demand of their manufactured consumer products. A huge twist on “Cash Back”, where consumers are “gifted” cryptocurrency as their rewards. Flexible / wider margins exist on the wholesale of manufactured goods, and “white label” consumer retail brands. The wider the margins, the more loyalty incentive can be passed onto the customer in the form of % of the purchase, and the rewards in the form of cryptocurrency.

Maison Reserve manufactures products consumers regularly buy such as deodorant, lotion, or shampoo. They then sell their products at competitive market prices and give the customer 50-75% cashback in form of Maison Reserve crypto (MRSV) which can be swapped for USD, BTC, ETH, or used for buying more products on the Maison Reserve & Co. website and partner sites.

Significant opportunity for big-box retail companies, such as Costco with “white label” brands/products. The new business model provides “Cash Back” for purchases in the form of cryptocurrency, % of the retail purchase.

Even the logo is genius. “Made with …”

Made With

Click here for the press release.

Economy, Finance, Science, Science Fiction, Technology

Cryptocurrency + Quantum Computing := Encryption Fail, The Next Y2K

Leave a comment

Over the last several months I’ve been researching Quantum Computing (QC) and trying to determine how far we’ve come from the theoretical to the practical implementation.  It seems we are in the early commercial prototypical phase.

Practical Application of QC

The most discussed application of Quantum Computing has been to crack encryption.  Encrypted data that may take months or years to decipher given our current supercomputing capabilities, may take hours or minutes when the full potential of Quantum Computing has been realized.

Bitcoin and Ethereum Go Boom

One source paraphrased: Once quantum computing is actualized, encryption will be in lockstep progress, and a new cryptology paradigm will be implemented to secure our data. This kind of optimism has no place in the “Real World”. and most certainly not in the world financial markets.   Are there hedge funds which rightfully hedge against the cryptocurrency / QC risk paradigm?

Where is the Skepticism?

Is there anyone researching next steps in the evolution of cryptography/encryption, hedging the risk that marketplace encryption will be ready? The lack of fervor in the development of “Quantum Computing Ready” encryption has me speechless. Government organizations like DARPA / SBIR should already be at a conceptual level if not at the prototypical phase with next-generation cryptology.

Too Many Secrets

“Sneakers“, a classic fictional action movie with a fantastic cast, and its plot, a mathematician in secret develops the ultimate code-breaking device, and everyone is out to possess the device.  An excellent movie soon to be non-fictional..?

References:

 

Entertainment, Media, Technology

KODAKOne platform and KODAKCoin cryptocurrency | An Innovative Path Forward

Leave a comment

The KODAKOne image rights management platform will create an encrypted, digital ledger of rights ownership for photographers to register both new and archive work that they can then license within the platform. KODAKCoin allows participating photographers to take part in a new economy for photography, receive payment for licensing their work immediately upon sale, and sell their work confidently on a secure blockchain [cryptocurrency] platform.

Source: KODAKOne platform and KODAKCoin  | Kodak Graphic Communications Group

I’m really excited about these two technologies coming to fruition.  I believe there are several companies already in the digital asset enforcement and management space, such as embedded digital watermarks, so I’m curious how Kodak and WENN Digital will:

  • Crawl the digital landscape we call the Internet and identify potential infringements of licensing for specific digital photos.
  • The ability to “automatically” notify the person(s) or legal business entity who have been flagged for the infringement.
  • Enforcement of licensing or the removal of images.

I’m more skeptical re: Cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin.  However, with KODAKCoin, it gives me more to reflect upon.

Based on the minimum information currently released:

Government-backed regulation
This community [KODAKCoin] will be supported with a set of unique benefits only available by the issuance of KODAKCoin cryptocurrency via an SEC Regulated Initial Coin Offering (ICO).

Branded cryptocurrency could have some legitimate legs which are “relatable” to a wider audience of people who “don’t get it.”  Kodak still has a solid brand, and a business model to integrate the coin.

Business, Finance, Technology

Bitcoin Exchange, and Practical Usage: What Can I get for a Bitcoin?

Leave a comment

I was reading the article, As Big Investors Emerge, Bitcoin Gets Ready for Its Close-Up, and am amazed how far people are taking Bitcoin as a real currency.  I read in the article that there are investors paying substantial real money to acquire Bitcoins.  The article states they hope retail places like Starbuck or Amazon may accept this currency.

When I go to Marketwatch.com and compare the currency exchange rates, GBP: USD, for example, I’d like to see this currency listed so I understand the actual value, the futures of this ‘foreign’ currency.  There are many economic questions regarding the creation of a currency, and the belief in that currency.  Look at Greece and the Euro, the Peso, the Loonie, speaking of, it seems that there may be a market for bitcoins, but not in the traditional sense that ‘physical’ goods are currently exchanged.

Bitcoins will be traded for the use of cloud resources and services, such as computation cycles, and other cloud applications and resources.  If Grid Computing, where users allow the utilization of their computation resources as I suggest in my Post Grid and Cloud Computing Going Head to Head: Profit for You, then both Cloud and Grid computing can trade in Bitcoins,and what they buy is cloud resource utilization.  An exchange may exist so people can trade,  and the value of these coins may have value, allowing for the  ‘tangible’ purchase of computation resource, which may actually mean something.

This approach gets muddied when you are able to apply cloud printing resources which print 3D ‘physical’ goods.    I would have to see major cloud players, such as Amazon to allow for the acceptance of these coins.

For starters, I can see, if you acquire an Amazon Visa or Mastercard, instead of the points system where the cardholder gets reward points, they can be allocated Bitcoins.  Amazon would have to acquire real Bitcoins, and an exchange would have to be established, so if Amazon’s clients are distributed Bitcoins, they are given the proper allocation, e.g. 1 USD to N Bitcoins.  Anyway, Starbucks coffee for thought.

Here are a few other ideas for Bitcoin Applications:

  • Atlantic City, Las Vegas, or Other Physical Casino slot machines that accept and pay out in Bitcoins
  • On line gaming, such as on line poker or slots, that accept and pay out Bitcoins
  • Affinity Card programs that pay out in Bitcoins, according to their own standard, anything from On line stores like Amazon, to Computer Electronics Brick and Mortar stores to Credit Cards
  • PayPal, or other intermediary transaction firms that allow their customers to send and receive Bitcoins as payment.  The transaction intermediary firm may have an independent account for Bitcoins specifically, exclusive from other currencies.