Eleven Questions On Blockchain Technology

This article Eleven Questions On Blockchain Technology is courtesy of kcbusinesslawgroup.com

When it comes to blockchain technology, a lot of people are confused. Heck, we even get a bit scrambled at times.  In theory, it’s not that difficult, but over time it can be a bit harder to unravel.  Below is a really nice article on 11 different things about blockchain and how it works. It’s a good article.11 Questions About Blockchain You May Feel Too Dumb to Ask11 Questions About Blockchain You May Feel Too Dumb to AskCHRISTINA COMBENQuestions about BlockchainUnless you dedicate your working week to crypto (and even then, new concepts develop at lightning speed), you probably still have a few questions about blockchain. And maybe you feel too dumb to ask them in your circle of knowledgeable peers. Well, there’s no judgment here. We’re all on a learning curve when it comes this new technology.This isn’t a beginner’s guide (if you want to take a deeper dive, we have you covered here). Think of this list of questions about blockchain more like the notes you borrowed from a classmate for the lectures you missed.Here are the answers to 11 questions about blockchain you probably feel too dumb to ask:1. Is Blockchain Actually Secure?Whether it’s idle chit-chat at the dinner table or your Mom wanting to know why Bithumb lost $30 million if Bitcoin can’t be hacked, you’ve probably been asked more than once if blockchain is secure. “Of course,” you say, except… you still have a nagging doubt.Is blockchain actually secure? And, if it isn’t, how do you explain its defects in simple terms? Here goes: Blockchain technology is secure, in the sense that it can’t be tampered with or censored. There’s also no single point of control, as it’s a decentralized system that belongs to no one person or group.What’s the advantage of that? Well, with traditional infrastructure, a hacker can easily enter a system (think Equifax) and cause unthinkable damage. This is because there is just one single point of entry–and failure–making the hack much easier.Hacking the blockchain requires a tremendous amount of money, power, and coordination (the likes of which not even many small countries could afford).So then, a blockchain can be hacked?The blockchain can be hacked. But it’s incredibly difficult.Technically, yes. In what’s called a 51% attack, a hacker would have to gain control over more than half of all the Bitcoin network mining hash power. And even then, all they could alter would be their own transactions in recent blocks by performing double operations. They wouldn’t be able to gain control over other people’s funds or operations.So of all the questions about blockchain, this is one of the most complex because, no, blockchain isn’t technically 100 percent secure. Just 99.9999999%. And also, not all blockchains are created equal, but we’ll get to that in a moment.2. How Many Blockchains Are There?There’s no easy answer to this question since it’s not a static number. New blockchains are being created just as new cryptocurrencies are coming out. The key takeaway is that there are […]

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Ethereum versus Litecoin vs Bitcoin – A comparison

The blog post Ethereum versus Litecoin vs Bitcoin – A comparison was originally published on Business Law Group

Comparing Bitcoin, Litecoin, and EthereumBelow is a good comparison on the differences between the big three digital currencies – Litecoin, Ethereum and Bitcoin.  As a part of our FinTech practice, we are constantly dealing with questions about these different platforms.  What we do is help our client navigate the waters that are described in the article.  The article is a long, but that is what makes it so good. Be sure to take a gander. For more about us, visit https://kcbusinesslawgroup.com/Posted by Business Law Group.https://www.mintdice.com/blog/bitcoin-vs-ethereum-vs-litecoinBITCOIN VS. ETHEREUM VS. LITECOINWhile cryptocurrency has only recently become a popular term in finance, it has been around for a long time. Before names like Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Litecoin even existed, there were attempts to create a decentralized currency.David Chaum, a respected cryptographer, launched ECash, an anonymous system in the 1990s but it failed. Chaum built the system on currently existing government financial principles and infrastructure like credit cards. RPOW, BitGold, B-Money were also created but failed.Cryptographers could not get past specific challenges that they faced at the time. The first challenge was how to achieve true decentralization and the second was the issue of double spending. The prevention of double spending meant the use of a third-party clearing house. This wasn’t acceptable because to achieve the type of innovative digital finance they wanted; the system had to be independent of any institution.In 2008, cryptographers finally stumbled on the information they had been searching for when an anonymous contender released the blueprint for a digital currency known as Bitcoin. It showed the technical specifications of the blockchain — a decentralized technology that creates a trustless, permissionless system and eliminates the problem of double spending. This new technology took the world by storm, later leading to changes in the financial industry as well as other industries such as real estate. With the cryptocurrency revolution, came many coins, tokens, and altcoins. Here, we take a deep dive into the similarities and differences between some of the most popular and valued ones: Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Litecoin.BITCOIN EXPLAINEDBitcoin is a digital currency, created as a store of value for the anonymous exchange of goods and services online. It typically has all the properties of a more traditional currency and can be broken down into smaller parts, up to eight decimal places. It’s also the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization.A BRIEF HISTORY OF BITCOINBitcoin first originated in 2008 when an anonymous programmer under the pseudonym of Satoshi Nakamoto released a paper in a cryptography mailing list. This paper detailed the workings of a new digital currency, built on blockchain technology. The virtual currency was designed to imitate key qualities of traditional money while providing anonymity, transparency and eliminating the need for a third party.Researchers tried to find out the identity of this anonymous programmer, all to no avail. It became a mystery to the cryptography community who could not ignore this act of charity, containing a brilliant solution that had eluded them for so long.The technology behind Bitcoin is open source, […]

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Distributed Ledger Platforms – Digital Asset

This article Distributed Ledger Platforms – Digital Asset was first published to www.kcbusinesslawgroup.com

Below is a good article from CoinCentral on a new company that is working in the crypto space.  As a part of our FinTech practice, we are constantly dealing with the issues in the article.  What we do is help our client navigate the waters that are described in the article.  The article is a bit sales-y, but it’s still a good read on some of the innovations that are being brought to the market. Be sure to check it out. For more about us, visit https://kcbusinesslawgroup.com/Posted by Business Law Group.What Is Digital Asset? | Distributed Ledgers for Financial InstitutionsWhat Is Digital Asset? | Distributed Ledgers for Financial InstitutionsDigital Asset HoldingsBlockchain technology is often called the “Internet of value.” If so, it makes sense that the financial industry should be among the biggest to benefit from distributed ledgers. Digital Asset is a company providing a flexible infrastructure for regulated financial institutions to share processes and data securely. And it’s one of the first big movers to start developing products that will integrate blockchain into the heavily regulated global financial markets.Its current project portfolio, partnerships, and overall vision are set to bring a steep change to the way that financial and other multi-party transactions are carried out. This is much needed for an industry that still feels the regulatory repercussions of the 2008 global crisis.Current Landscape in the Financial IndustryThe financial industry processes transactions worth trillions of dollars on a daily basis. The infrastructure that processes this transaction volume has evolved–laws, market regulations, computer systems, and databases.There’s a vast amount of data duplicated across different databases that serve to create trust and resilience in the transactions that are taking place. Each party to a transaction must reconcile each entry, a necessary exercise to ensure the integrity of recorded data. Think double-entry bookkeeping on a global scale.Because the current infrastructure has evolved to deal with a heavy transaction volume over time, it comes with problems. If there is a regulatory change, like those prompted by the global financial crisis, systems need to be updated to accommodate the changes.Similarly, hackers force developments and upgrades in security protocols, which in turn require software upgrades that can be expensive and cumbersome for financial firms to apply across legacy systems.Enter Digital AssetDigital Asset recognizes the potential that distributed ledger technologies (DLTs) can bring to the financial sector. DLTs provide a permanent record of truth held between multiple parties, making the duplication of data across various systems controlled by different parties redundant.DLTs update in real time, unlike many current systems. The automation capabilities of smart contracts also provide enormous value within the financial sector, creating an automated workflow for the exchange of value, with an immutable fulfillment of agreed conditions. Smart contracts, therefore, can help to standardize and automate the many complex legal agreements that are commonplace across the financial industry today.Digital Asset also understands that existing blockchains are generally not fit for the purpose of the financial industry. This is due to the many legal and market […]

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Crypto Attorneys – Do we Need Them?

This following Crypto Attorneys – Do we Need Them? is courtesy of kcBusinessLawGroup.com Blog

Below is a good article from CoinCentral on what crypto lawyers are and why we need them.  As a part of our FinTech practice, we are constantly dealing with the issues in the article.  What we do is help our client navigate the waters that are described in the article.  Be sure to check it out. For more about us, visit https://kcbusinesslawgroup.com/Crypto Lawyers: What Are They and Why Do We Need Them?Crypto Lawyers: What Are They and Why Do We Need Them?Crypto Lawyers Guiding Us Through an Unregulated JungleLawyers are specialized in many fields, from animal law to timeshare law. And as the popularity of cryptocurrency grows, so does the need for crypto lawyers. The laws surrounding cryptocurrency can be vague, and vary from place to place. Along with these muddled regulations, cryptocurrency has brought about its own brand of lawsuits. While these lawsuits can seem similar to those in the financial world, many still require a crypto expert to help during litigation.Crypto lawyers are experts in blockchain technology and cryptocurrency regulations. They help break down the technology to court during litigation. They also help break down the laws for cryptocurrency developers, exchanges, and startups. These lawyers are the designated liaison between the crypto world and lawmakers. The two biggest areas where cryptocurrency lawyers are important are ICOs and Exchanges.ICO BlundersIt’s easy to fall for a phony crypto whitepaper, just look at HoweyCoins. Investors also tend to skim through whitepapers and invest in a cryptocurrency purely because of the hype around it. Or even if the whitepaper is solid and the hype is real, sometimes developers are just unable to deliver. It’s not an easy task to determine whether an ICO is a scam or not. However, when we choose wrong, it’s time to call in a crypto lawyer.One example of an ICO not living up to expectations is Centra Tech. The company’s founders are facing charges after raising $32 million through an ICO and endorsements from DJ Khaled and Floyd Mayweather. This ICO scheme lured investors in with claims of major credit card partnerships, fake founder biographies, and price manipulation of its Centra tokens (CTR).In cases like the one above, a crypto lawyer is a necessity. Investors know they were victims of fraud, but pointing out fraud in the unregulated legal world of crypto takes experience. In the US, one important factor that connects fraudulent ICO’s to the legal system is the SEC’s definition of a security. But even with the SEC’s definition, it’s up to a crypto lawyer to convince the court whether or not an ICO is a security. In the case of Centra Tech legal crypto experts were able to define CTR tokens as a security, and tacked on securities fraud along with the other charges against the company.Crypto lawyers are also important in preventing lawsuits stemming from ICOs. Even legitimate companies creating a cryptocurrency with good intentions can be subject to legal action. Every country has their own strict regulations. In the US every state has […]

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