Crypto News, August 9 2018: Green Day

Highlights: IBM TradeLens attracting lots of attention, Charles and Vitalik deliver their opening punches, and Tron heads in an unexpected direction.

IBM Trade Blockchain Attracts 94 Companies

Source: CoinDesk

TradeLens, the global trade blockchain piloted by IBM and the Maersk shipping company, has attracted nearly 100 companies testing its platform. The companies represent a variety of industries related to trade and shipping, like port operators and customs officials. TradeLens, which has recently finished its pilot program, expects to be publicly available later this year.

Elastos TV Box Release

Source: ELA News

Elastos is releasing a TV box that will allow users to directly connect between their various devices. The box is similar to most TV boxes on the market, except that it connects to the Elastos network, leveraging peer-to-peer connections between the box and a user’s mobile device. It aims to improve the efficiency of media distribution, and hopes to sell 1 million units by the end of the year.

Everipedia Launches on EOS Mainnet

Source: Everipedia | Wikipedia

Everipedia, an EOS dapp aiming to compete with Wikipedia, has launched on the mainnet. It’s currently a complete copypasta of Wikipedia, as you can see from the two source links above. In the future, Everipedia plans to pay tokens to contributors to write articles.

Binance Releases DEX Preview Video

Source: YouTube

Binance is working on its DEX and has released a video preview of it. Check it out at the link above - it isn’t riveting by any means, but it’s nice to see progress.

Charles vs. Vitalik, Round 1

Source: IOHK | Reddit

Charles and Vitalik have completed Round 1 of their debate over their respective Proof-of-Stake systems, with Charles publishing to the IOHK link above and Vitalik responding on Reddit. A brief summary:

Charles outlines the meticulous process that development goes through in Cardano, including how documentation is drafted and how proofs are written to show that outcomes of proposals are in line with their stated objectives. His claim is that Ethereum does not subject itself to the same rigorous standards, specifically: the protocol is not fully documented or proven. Additionally, Charles claims that Cardano’s security protocol, which relies on 50% of staked tokens being honest, has an advantage over Ethereum’s ⅔ model. Finally, he states that Cardano reaches finality within half an hour, seemingly implying superiority over Ethereum’s time.

In response, Vitalik first claims that the essay it a “hit piece” rather than a meaningful engagement. To that end, he links the documentation that Charles cited as lacking or incomplete. He also clarifies that the “⅔” requirement in Ethereum is not based on honesty, but rather the token-holder’s vested interest in “not burning a billion dollars.” In other words, behavioral economics. As for finality, Vitalik claims that Ethereum matches Cardano’s level of security within one 8-16 second slot.

The point regarding security is (partially) the issue that sparked the original debate, and we’re looking forward to seeing Charles’s response to this point in Round 2.

Tron “Redefines ‘Shitcoin’” With New Smart Toilet Partnership

Source: Reddit

Tron is partnering with MOSHROOM, a Chinese smart toilet provider. Apparently, Tron will be providing technological infrastructure for MOSHROOM to be able to accept cross-border payments. Tron also says it hopes to help “ improve bathroom experience for more ordinary people.” I just don’t know whether “cross-border payments” and “vending machines” would top anyone’s list of exactly how to do that.

Kill It With Fire!

Source: xkcd

Tech nerd webcomic xkcd nails the sentiment around emerging technologies.

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Written content adapted/edited by @thepinkfreudian.