Age Of Asset Tokenization: Decentralization Vs. Regulation...
4 mins read
When one says “tokenization”, many people tend to think about cryptocurrency and token sales, which made headlines in 2017. But this is only the hype version of the story.
Some time ago, there was only one question faced by Crypto investors: whether to invest or not to invest in Bitcoin. And now, that question has become more complex. On the hype of thousands of ICOs, investors stormed blindly into Cryptocurrency. When the cryptocurrency and ICO bubble burst, it was a time of reflection for investors and issuers alike. However, there were many positive developments to come out of this initial round of crypto investment. For one, the interest in the crypto space shifted from the fringe of techno-geeks and libertarians to the mainstream. For another, ICOs paved the way for STOs – a trend that has gained popularity in many countries.
Every decade, the IT marketplace experiences a major innovation that changes the entire data management infrastructure. In recent years, cryptocurrencies have appeared as an example of how a financial system can be made robust in a completely hostile environment—fully anonymous, permission less, distributed, and without any security administrators, firewalls or physical security. Many ideas can be borrowed from that scenario and applied to the much more friendly environment of enterprise asset management.
Today, financial assets are too much like a loose pill on the counter. You don’t know enough about where it’s been, what’s in it, or what it will do to you. But the process we call tokenization is going to make many assets a lot more attractive to a lot more investors, in part by providing an unprecedented level of information.
Tokenization is the process of the digital transformation of asset accounting and management systems. It has nothing to do with the creation of virtual currencies. Tokenized assets are always issued to perform registration of users, processing of transactions and custodial services. These activities are performed according to local regulations.
Tokenization has plenty of promising possibilities:
The primary benefits of tokenization are that operations with tokens are cheaper and more secure than with traditional database records.
Reliable real-time audit of an accounting system from the owner or customer perspective increases business confidence and strengthens relationships.
Increased user convenience by using uniform software allows bringing onboard more customers.
The liquidity of assets is increased as a result of reduced trading frictions.
However, many important questions have yet to be answered. Regulators are still figuring out whether a utility token is a security.
TOKENIZATION TRENDS AND REGULATION
Tokenization is simply a traditional contract linking token rights to an asset. A trusted third party plays a vital role to ensure asset security through the token link. The issuer has fiduciary duty to protect the asset, distribute dividends, and return capital upon liquidation.
The complicated part is regulation. For an STO to comply with US security law, the process is rather straightforward. The issuer must either file a public offering registration or rely on exemptions to sell securities. The complicated part is secondary trading that limits shareholder ability to transfer or trade-restricted tokens between accredited investors.
DECENTRALIZATION VS. REGULATION
China and the US boast the strongest regulations when it comes to governing the crypto world. China completely banned ICOs and crypto exchanges. The US is still waiting for the SEC to approve a Bitcoin ETF for investors that do not own a crypto wallet. For these and other reasons, we are entering an age where business models and technology lead to regulation.
DECENTRALIZING EXCHANGES
Because of the existing security issues with crypto exchanges, the blockchain industry decided to experiment with decentralized exchanges, in which no company or website holds the customers’ cryptocurrency. Instead, investors can trade directly from their wallets and exchange their cryptocurrencies into other currencies or other wallets quickly and safely.
CONCLUSION
At the end of the day, decentralized or not, regulated or not, one point remains clear in the new world of tokenization: the basic rules to evaluate and select an investment do not change. Prudence, due diligence, risk evaluation and research analysis still rule the day.
5 Digital Marketing Strategies for Building Your Brand...
4 mins read
The word “Branding” is talked about a lot in the business world, but what does it mean in the age of digital marketing? Precisely, Branding is anything that helps your target customers instantly recognize your company. Traditionally, your brand includes things like your company name, logo, Slogans, color schemes, and advertising methods. In this era of Digital Marketing, the main question that arises is that what’s your Digital Brand worth?
It can be of great worth. You can measure its impact in reduced marketing costs and increased revenues for your small business.
But if you’re not executing that brand consistently, branding leads to confusion. You miss opportunities. Customer acquisition costs skyrocket. All the while, you continue to try branding the wrong way, costing you more.
Because of the sudden massive surge of new digital technologies over the past decade, the way consumers interact with brands has also changed.
Here are 5 Digital Marketing Strategies to set up a solid branding foundation:
Don’t be too dependent on anyone Platform- it is important that you fully understand the pros and cons of each platform, who uses them, and how to engage with the users properly. Multichannel marketing better showcases your brand because what works today, won’t necessarily work tomorrow. Digital Marketing is a never-ending process of testing, pivoting, and never allowing yourself to become too reliant on any one platform, website, or method. If you have an unknown brand, leveraging the power of influencers is a great way to uplift your brand presence on social media.
Make sure your Website represents your Brand Identity- as more than 90% of online experience starts with a search, there is a better chance that a user will come into contact with your brand first through your website than any other online channel. Having a responsive website is the home base for everything you do to brand your business online. It is extremely important to leave a good brand impression to your audience the first time they visit your website- this includes the content you share on social media, overall design, and technical factors such as site speed.
Create Content- creating content is the most convincing way to strengthen and expand your presence online. Whether it’s a blog, social media post, website, or email, content helps you create the brand personality you want your audience to recognize. As said. Content is the king, it helps you engage with a large audience. Your content speaks for your website, it has become a parameter of success for a lot of modern brands today. A part of building a great brand is to align your content marketing with what your brand thinks, does and says.
Earn the Trust of your Customers- There can be no brand building without trust. We are living in an era where people don’t trust businesses easily, so techniques like publicity in which the company boasts of its achievements don’t work as well as they used to. Instead, the new generation trusts social proof and you need to find new ways to gain the trust of people. There’s no doubt that the brands who gain maximum trust generate maximum revenue. Be consistently available for customers when they need you.
Leverage your Brand with Advertising- once you are done with building a brand, it’s time to leverage that brand to get the greatest return on your paid advertising budget. People feel something when they see your brand. When using social media ads, make sure they visually align with your presence on the corresponding social media sites. When someone sees a display ad on a website, they should instantly recognize you. The language or the tagline you use remind people of your brand.
To get the most out of your branding efforts, be consistent. Develop a style guide and clear branding strategy. Follow these strategies across channels. Increase visibility and evoke positive feelings toward your brand.
Amazon Web Services Launches Its Amazon Managed Blockchain (AMB) Servi...
2 mins read
Amazon’s cloud computing platform subsidiary, Amazon Web Services after announcing that they were launching a managed blockchain service late last year, is now opening that service for general availability. Amazon specifically states that Amazon Managed Blockchain can scale to support thousands to millions of transactions. The retail giant further adds that the Blockchain-as-a-Service (BaaS), will allow the businesses to develop their networks quickly and that also at a lower cost by eliminating the need “to provision hardware, install software, create and manage certificates for access control, and configure network settings.”
Rahul Pathak, General Manager of Amazon Managed Blockchain at AWS says:
“Amazon Managed Blockchain takes care of provisioning nodes, setting up the network, managing certificates and security, and scaling the network. Customers can now get a functioning Blockchain network set up quickly and easily, so they can focus on application development instead of keeping a Blockchain network up and running.”
Amazon Managed Blockchain is a fully managed service that makes it easy to create and manage scalable Blockchain networks using the popular open-source frameworks Hyperledger Fabric and Ethereum.
The announcement further states that major firms that have put into effect the AMB include the United States communications giant AT&T, the Nestle global food and beverage company, and Singapore exchange limited. AMB was announced by AWS in November 2018 along with the Amazon Quantum Ledger Database (QLDB) which is a fully managed ledger database created to provide users with a transparent, immutable, and cryptographically verifiable log of transactions which is controlled by a central authority.
Blockchain And Cryptocurrency Regulation In India...
5 mins read
INTRODUCTION
In India, Cryptocurrencies started to become a popular term around 2013, when small businesses started accepting Bitcoin for payments. Since then, Cryptocurrencies have emerged as the new means of investment in India. The first regulatory response in the context of Cryptocurrencies was issued by the RBI on December 24, 2013. The Press Note 1 released by RBI was in terms of neither sanctioning nor prohibiting Cryptocurrencies. All it was a caution to users, holders, and traders of ‘virtual currency’ and of potential risks associated with Cryptocurrencies. Ultimately, Cryptocurrencies were not banned or prohibited and India witnessed a steady rise in transactions in Cryptocurrencies.
In scope to Press Note 1, the RBI released similar warnings on February 1, 2017 (Press Note 2) and December 5, 2017 (Press Note 3) restating its cautions and this time clarifying that RBI has not provided any organization with license or sanction to transact with Cryptocurrency.
On February 1, 2018, the Indian Finance Minister in his budget speech stated that, as the Indian Government does not recognize Bitcoin as legal tender, it will take all measures to eliminate the use of Blockchain technology in financing illegitimate activities, or as part of the payment system.
After the circular issued by RBI on April 6, 2018, the dealing of Cryptocurrencies got substantially impeded in India. This circular issued by RBI banned all the entities regulated by it from facilitating any dealings in Cryptocurrencies.
INDIAN SUPREME COURT ON CRYPTOCURRENCY
Two primary Petitions were filed seeking to address the legality of Cryptocurrency 1. Dalmia Petition: This Petition was filed against the Union of India, Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Finance and RBI seeking the restraining of sale and purchase of Cryptocurrencies in India.
Bhowmick Petition: This Petition was against the Union of India, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Law and Justice, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, SEBI, RBI, Income Tax Department, and Enforcement Directorate. It was filed for seeking issuance of directions as to regulate the flow of Bitcoin and to ensure that the same be made accountable to the national treasury.
After the above-mentioned petitions, many other industry participants filed a writ petition challenging the RBI’s circular and asked for clarity on regulation. Since the Supreme Court has admitted these petitions, the matters remain debatable.
IS CRYPTOCURRENCY VALID IN INDIA?
According to section 26 of the RBI Act, every banknote shall be legal tender at any place in India and shall be guaranteed by the Central Government. The Central Government decides the denomination value, form, and material of such banknotes and RBI consists of the sole right to issue banknotes in India. Similar to this, Section 6(1) of the Coinage Act allows the legal sanction to coins that are made of the material that is approved by the Central Government. Hence, there is no sanction of Cryptocurrencies as legal tender in India.
IS CRYPTOCURRENCY A VALID PAYMENT METHOD IN INDIA?
The India Payments and Settlement Act, 2017 (PSSA) regulates prepaid instruments and payment systems. Before the execution of PSSA, a report was issued on July 11, 2002, by a working group on electronic money set up by the RBI. This report defined electronic money as a monetary value electronic stored on a technical device used for making payments without necessarily involving bank accounts in the transactions.
Broadly, these products can be categorized as a) prepaid stored-value card ( electronic purse or e-wallet) b) pre-paid, a software-based product that uses computer networks (digital cash or network money).
PSSA does not explicitly define electronic money but regulates payment systems that enable payment between a payer and beneficiary involving clearing, payment or settlement service, or all of them but does not include a stock change. Such systems consist of Credit cards, Debit cards, smart cards, and money transfer operations.
Furthermore, the RBI also issued the “Master Direction on Issuance and Operation of Pre-paid Payment Instruments” to regulate prepaid wallets on October 11, 2017. Prepaid wallets may be issued by a bank or non-bank entities to facilitate the purchase of goods and services against the value stored in these instruments.
According to the above understanding, the instrument in question must store some monetary value. Cryptocurrencies may not have any value stored on them or their value (if any) is contingent on market speculation so, their issuance is not likely to be constructed as a valid payment system, according to Indian regulation.
ARE CRYPTOCURRENCY CROSS-BORDER TRADES VALID?
An Indian-resident individual may remit up to US $250,000 per year towards a permissible current or capital account transaction, or both under the RBI Liberalized Remittance Scheme dated January 1, 2016.
A permissible current account transaction includes inter alia remittance towards a) business travel or private visits; b) medical treatment abroad; c) participation in international events/competitions; d) film shooting; e) emigration consultancy fees; f) fees for participation in global conferences.
A permissible capital account transaction includes inter alia remittance towards a) foreign currency loans; b) foreign securities investment; c) guarantees; d) loans and overdrafts; e) insurance policies; f) capital assets.
Cross-border transactions require periodic reporting and declarations to be made before undertaking the transaction
CONCLUSION
Regulatory uncertainty doesn't seem to have obstructed industry participants from using creative alternatives to capitalize on the Indian Cryptocurrency market as cryptocurrency exchanges are exploring the option to act as an intermediary between entities trading in cryptocurrency. This clearly shows that businesses in India are keen to adopt blockchain and cryptocurrency, evidenced by various banks exploring the use of blockchain to facilitate cross-border payments.
It will be interesting to witness whether the Indian Government recognizes the need for such technology by providing for regulation or not.
The Blockchain and E-commerce: A Winning Combination...
9 mins read
E-commerce selling has been around for decades now and the evolution of the industry has been exceptional. Over the years the concept of online selling has been highly impacted by technological improvements. The latest amongst these technologies is Blockchain which is ready to revolutionize the industry with its unmatched potential. From the removal of middlemen to streamlining of operations and reducing complexities at all levels, Blockchain has a lot to offer to help e-commerce businesses resolve their everyday as well as long-term challenges.
In addition of course comes the fact that this technology is the foundation of cryptocurrency payments which makes it even more important for the e-commerce domain. It would not be wrong to say that blockchain is poised to change the way transactions are made. With this, both traditional brick-and-mortar setups and e-commerce businesses should be ready for radical changes. We will be focusing on the impact that Blockchain is going to have on e-commerce businesses shortly.
First Things First: Let’s understand the biggest e-commerce challenges
Before exploring the impact that Blockchain can cause on the E-commerce industry, understanding the challenges and pain points of the industry is a must. E-commerce is a complex domain where survival, sustenance and growth are even more difficult. Here are some key challenges that sellers in this domain have to face on a day-to-day basis as well as in the long run.
The e-commerce market has always been very competitive, with participants of all sizes offering similar products and services. Moreover, more and more sellers are joining the bandwagon at a rapid pace. This includes new businesses as well as those transitioning from the brick-and-mortar model to this one. So businesses have to embrace smarter business models and technologies to stay in the race, right from setting up exceptional E-commerce stores to streamlining the processes that are to be carried on as a part of the business.
Besides the challenge of huge competition, another pain point of the sellers is that the traditional business model has middlemen who take away a large share of the earnings during the selling process. For instance, sellers have to pay transaction processing fees to facilitate payments for the completion of the transactions. These fees cut down the profits of the sellers to a considerable extent and result in lower revenues.
Protection of consumer data is another key concern for these businesses as they need to build the customer’s trust assuring them that their personal and financial details are completely safe. Furthermore, the implementation of data security regulations such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) has made data security a critical concern for online enterprises. For this reason, sellers usually have to invest heavily in data encryption and other measures to prevent hacking.
E-commerce selling is a complex process as it involves an array of operations such as supply chain, logistics, payments, and more. Managing these operations and the intermediaries involved is another key challenge for the industry. From ensuring that the inventory is replenished at the right time, to streamlining the shipping and delivery functions, looking after customer relationships, and more, there are a lot of things that merchants need to manage.
As these challenges have been very great in the amount the sellers from the very beginning have been looking for one technology that is capable of handling them all. Fortunately, they have found their solution in Blockchain Technology. Being decentralized brings a host of benefits to the e-commerce industry. Let’s explore how:
Payment Methods will be Improved- Blockchain-powered Cryptocurrencies that are being used as an alternative to traditional currencies are the first implementation of Blockchain Technology. Customers can choose to pay with Bitcoin, Ethereum, or Ripple in the same way as they would choose to pay with any other payment processor. Some significant features are listed below,
Decentralized
Blockchain is not regulated by any Central Authority which simply implies that only the buyer and seller control Blockchain operations. Thus, no third party can alter, delete or manipulate your transactions. Blockchain technology offers high security, radical visibility, and faster processing speed with traceability through the decentralized system.
Identity Protection
Cryptocurrencies based on Blockchain Technology don’t reveal the identities of the transacting parties. Cryptocurrencies are like cash in that they don't require the customer to expose sensitive data such as Credit Card numbers.
Freedom of Transactions
There is no Governing body to control how a person uses his/her Cryptocurrencies. Regular payment methods are often imposed with several limits based on the amount and even geographical location. However, this isn’t the case with currencies like bitcoin — Blockchain-based currencies gives users absolute freedom to perform transactions without any spending limit.
Ease of Use
Blockchain-based currencies are unbelievably comfortable to use. One doesn’t need to visit any regulatory authority to create an account like traditional currencies. All this can be easily done in the comfort of your home. Additionally, the virtual currency wallet is free, so you don’t have to levy any charges to open an account.
Faster Transactions
Traditional transfers often take long, especially sending money across continents may take up to several days to accomplish whereas blockchain transactions take place on a single network, reducing or eliminating the need for middlemen. The speed of the transaction is limited only by the speed of the network and by the speed at which new blocks can be generated.
Reduced Fraud
Blockchain-based currencies are extremely secure to transact with. Because of peer-to-peer technology, it is tough to hack into the process and conduct fraud. Thus making it one of the safest modes of transaction.
Supply Chain Management will get Revamped- Supply chain management is perhaps one of the most pressing concerns every E-commerce business is impaired with. As the Supply Chain is a critical element of any E-commerce business- Blockchain implementation in the sector will likely solve many problems. Blockchain can be extensively leveraged to solve supply chain issues like recordkeeping, tracking of projects as a less corruptible and better alternative to the centralized database. Other use cases of a supply chain include,
Provenance Tracking
In a Blockchain-based supply chain, record keeping and provenance tracking have become easy, as the product information can be accessed with the help of RFID tags and embedded sensors. The timeline of a product right from its beginning to where it is at present can be traced through Blockchain. Besides this, the type of accurate provenance tracking can also be leveraged to detect anomalies in any segment of the supply chain.
Cost Reduction
When Blockchain is applied to increase the administrative processes in the Blockchain, the additional value incurred by the system is automatically reduced while still guaranteeing the security of transactions. The elimination of intermediaries also removes the risks of fraud, product duplicity while saving money at the same time. Customers and suppliers further process payments within the supply chain by utilising Cryptocurrencies rather than customers and suppliers.
Inventory Management
Blockchain can be extensively utilized in the backend of the supply chain as well. For instance, the management of inventory becomes a whole lot easier by introducing Blockchain in the process. Blockchain implementations in inventory management enable retailers to avoid unessential expenditure on hiring new workers time and again.
More Transparent E-commerce- With the recent backlash that big retailers have been facing in the wake of charges of lack of transparency — this is one of the more serious concerns faced by existing E-commerce platforms. For instance, Amazon was in the news for cutting off and even disabling a merchant’s page without any explanation. Thus, applying Blockchain technology in the E-commerce marketplace would establish a decentralized environment where any wrongdoings on the part of the business or merchant can be efficiently monitored. A transparent E-commerce marketplace also facilitates conducting transactions in a frictionless and efficient manner.
Secure- Blockchain today, can be easily deemed as one of the most secure platforms out there. The Distributed Ledger Technology or DLT which Blockchain boasts offers excellent security for online database platforms that makes it ideal for implementation in E-commerce. Also, there has been almost negligible reporting of security breaches in blockchain-powered networks. Another significant upside that blockchain offers for E-commerce businesses is that blockchain-based currencies don’t exhibit personally identifiable information. Cryptocurrencies operate like cash in the sense that they don’t require a user to expose sensitive data. The customer himself permits a transfer from his/her own personal “wallet” to that of the recipient. The only discerning piece of data tied to each user’s wallet is a randomly-generated unique identifier. Since cyber-attacks and data crime have rapidly increased, there is an unavoidable risk of losing customers' data. Therefore, adopting blockchain is the perfect solution to solve these challenges.
Genuine Reviews- Good or bad reviews can determine the order in which a business appears in an E-commerce marketplace or a search query result. Fake reviews tarnish the reputation of a good company while at the same time promoting a fraudulent one. The reputation of an online enterprise relies on the legitimacy of its reviews. Hence many online operators have increasing concerns regarding the product service reviews found on the internet. Thus, making Blockchain technology an important source to verify the reviews on their products or services. Bringing Blockchain into the game can help restrict fake reviews, as blockchain stores data in blocks which is then added to a chain of similar information blocks. Each block requires to be verified across a network of computers before it can be added to the chain — once verified — it cannot be altered or deleted. The technology can be employed to create a digital map of someone, one which cannot be modified.
CONCLUSION
Seeing the considerable benefits of E-commerce Blockchain, it becomes imperative for businesses to embrace it for achieving expansive growth. The E-commerce marketplace is waiting to be revolutionized by the applications of Blockchain. Although it may take us a little time to witness these implementations change is definitely in the pipeline.
Blockchain: Transforming The Future Of The Education Industry...
4 mins read
Blockchain is an undisputedly innovative technology that is propelling various cryptocurrencies and has skyrocketed the cryptocurrency market cap by storm. Each block of Blockchain contains a reference to the previous block, chaining the blocks together to create a permanent secure record of all verified transactions. Blockchain is an encrypted ledger that has disrupted various industries that take security seriously, including finance and healthcare. The Education sector is just as important as healthcare and finance, and there are areas within this sector that could be improved using Blockchain technology.
Blockchain technology builds a self-checking network that is better in its transparency, security and cannot be corrupted in any way.
Blockchain technology is sure to transform the education industry like it has transformed the financial sector. The fact is true that the education system is far from where it needs to be. Using this technology, plenty of improvements can be made in the education sector.
There’s no denying that blockchain technology is poised to disrupt almost every industry. But, before moving ahead, let's understand the main problems of the traditional education system.
Crucial data can be tampered with or can be deleted due to natural disasters or accidents
Foundation/Student can prevent access or put conditions on the access of data
An individual can utilize essential information in an unauthorized way
Overseeing huge volumes of data and Hassles of dealing with gigantic amounts of paper applications
The issue of fake certificates
The requirement for carrying of original certificates to verify the authenticity
The absence of automation and spending of enormous amounts of labor to conduct manual verification
Technologies like Artificial Intelligence and Virtual Reality are already paving their way into the education sector. It’s only a matter of time before blockchain technology becomes popular too.
Let’s see how exactly blockchain technology fits into the education field:
ALTERING THE CURRENT EDUCATION MODEL
Now education is not just restricted to schools or colleges, there are numerous other opportunities where students can get educated in formal and informal environments. There are multiple online courses and open schools which provide learning and certificates to students at different levels. Micro accreditation can happen through a Blockchain allowing for the easy validation and transfer of skills and credentials.
NO USAGE OF PAPER
Applying Blockchain technology solutions to Educational institutes will keep track of learning achievements, securely and permanently for the lifetime, store all records, certificates, and awards, and reduce endless tree-killing for making paper.
LESS EXPENSIVE
With the Blockchain system, every individual will be engaged and will have control and ownership over their data. This way the cost of data management and administration costs can be directly reduced by the educational institutes. The data has to confront legal issues if it is not kept safely.
MORE CREDIBLE CREDENTIALS
Blockchain technology enables you to create an app to issue virtual diplomas. These digital certificates are secure and can not be tampered with. Also, students can easily receive and share these certificates via smartphones. There are many Educational sectors developing Blockchain platforms which compile and manage records of students from various schools, to verify the credibility of the credentials submitted to them.
BUILD TRUST
The consent of individuals is taken before accessing their records to build greater trust in the process while verifying the credentials. Various educational institutes across the world have already implemented blockchain technology and acquired huge benefits.
KEEP EVERY RECORD OF STUDENTS SECURE AND ACCESSIBLE
Individuals teaching and studying in the institute can misplace essential papers or lose their certificates due to unfortunate reasons. Data may also get lost due to any natural disaster or get removed or hacked by some unknown person. Implementing blockchain can save an Educational Institute from all of these mishappenings.
Implementing Blockchain to Education will benefit both institutions and students as Blockchain technology is a transparent and cost-effective model. There are no intermediaries. Individuals can store their data securely in the blockchain, protecting it from malicious insiders who can manipulate it. With the help of blockchain, it becomes easy to verify every individual’s record in time. Therefore, reducing the time and effort during the admission process.
