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Photo: Unsplash Retail is a huge industry. Last year, retailers in the U.S. reported a staggering $3.53 trillion in sales, and the apparel market alone is worth $3 trillion globally. It’s a big market, because we depend on it. Everyone needs things like clothes, shoes, and basic electronics in today’s world, and our only option is to visit a store (either online or in person) and buy them. So it’s clear to see that retail is going absolutely nowhere. But that doesn’t mean retailers can just sit back and heave a sigh of relief. Like many other industries in today’s world, retail is undergoing big and rapid changes. Gone are the days when the only way to shop was to drive or walk to your nearest store and trudge around with bags full of products. We live in the age of the internet, and shopping has evolved into something new, something we do from our smartphones and laptops in the comfort of our homes and offices. As retail has become increasingly digital, big shifts have taken...

Wozniak said that they would soon start their operations in the crypto-friendly state of Matla which has been attracting blockchain companies from around the world. Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak has been a long time Bitcoin evangelist and remained much vocal about his fascination with the world’s largest currency. In the past, Wozniak has made some bold statements claiming that he would want Bitcoin to be the world’s single currency in the future while replacing the U.S. Dollar. This time, Wozniak prefers to be directly a part of the blockchain ecosystem as the tech aficionado is joining an investment-focused cryptocurrency startup called Equi Capital. In the latest conversation with Null Transaction, Wozniak said that this would be for the very time he will be working with a blockchain-focused firm and also added that  he “was amazed at the technology behind [cryptocurrency].” Wozniak did not explicitly state his role in the crypto startup but said tha...

The UAE continues its involvement in the field of digital currencies as a local company is set to launch the very first cryptocurrency exchange compliant with Shariah legislation. Moving Forward ADAB Solutions, a UAE-based company, is reportedly going to launch the very first cryptocurrency exchange compliant with Shariah law. The project is conveniently called the First Islamic Crypto Exchange (FICE). The cryptocurrency exchange will operate globally, and it intends to further the involvement of Muslims and users of Islamic finance in the cryptocurrency market. Supposedly, this will become the first digital asset exchange which will be carrying out the transactions in accordance with the regulations of Islamic finance. Timur Turzhan, founder and CEO at ADAB solutions, said: Ideas that correspond to the norms of the Shariah are based on the understandable material value, have a clear business strategy, and this allows us to confidently assert that halal projects are incom...

Despite the fact that the overall cryptocurrency market has declined with around 70 percent since January 2018, interest in blockchain-based technology grows stronger. Yet another major company, UPS, demonstrates its serious intentions for implementing DLT in its operations. UPS Boards the Blockchain Bandwagon The shipping giant UPS has filed an application for a patent with the US Patent & Trademark Office. The company seeks legal protection for a system which takes advantage of blockchain-based technology for storing different types of information within a distributed ledger network. The data includes details about the package’s destination, its actual movement, as well as transportation plans and others of the kind. The patent reads: An exemplary method comprises receiving and storing in a distributed ledger service offers for transporting a shipment unit; receiving and storing in a distributed ledger shipment unit data comprising an origin, a destination, and transpor...

Yet another blockchain investment fund is set to launch in South Korea. Messaging giant Line furthers its foray into the field of cryptocurrencies and is dedicated to streamlining early-stage startup investments with a $10 million fund. Additionally, the company announced the successful listing of TRON to its cryptocurrency exchange. South Korea Sees Serious Investments in Blockchain Line, the Japanese messaging company harboring over 200 million users announced August 15, that is set to launch a $10 million investment fund through its Korea-based blockchain subsidiary Unblock Corporation. With this initiative, LINE will become one of the very first publicly traded companies to formalize investments in tokens through a dedicated corporate fund. The fund aims to “boost the development and adoption of cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology.” Furthermore, the announcement also made it clear that the fund is “expected to expand in the future.” Just yesterday Bitcoinist reporte...

ICO exit scams over the last two years have left people $96.8 million out of pocket, according to data compiled by blockchain intelligence firm Diar. However, this is only a drop in the ocean with regards to the influx of investment the cryptocurrency space is receiving. For context, blockchain start-ups have raised over $6.8 billion from ICOs in 2018 alone. Nonetheless, $100 million is an eye-watering amount. Let’s look at the top 5 ICO exit scams. 1. $60,000,000 – ACChain, Puyin, and BioLifeChain The Chinese company Shenzhen Puyin Blockchain is responsible for $60 million of all thefts. The company raised funds for three ventures – ACChain, Puyin, and BioLifeChain – none of which materialized. Shenzhen police have since arrested six suspects involved in the fraud. 2. $12,000,000 – Cryptokami Cryptokami promised to be, “The New 3 rd Generation Blockchain Infrastructure for Global Financial Services.” It would do so by giving “a biological community foundation to outsid...

Information as of August 13, 2018 This report was created by: This report presents data on ICO market changes during 2018. Special emphasis has been placed on an analysis of the changes that have taken place during August 2018, including over the past week (August 6-12, 2018). 1. General analysis of the ICO market (by week, month) 1.1. Brief overview of ICO market trends Table 1.1. Brief ICO market overview, key events, news for the past week (August 6-12, 2018) № Factors and events (link to source) Date of news Description Type of impact 1.                     Report: Facebook Denies Partnership With Stellar [source: cointelegraph.com ] August 9, 2018 The media previously reported that the social network was considering the possibility of creating a payment system. Unfavorable Stellar ⇓ 2.            ...

Cryptocurrency mining giant Bitmain continues to gain attention over its initial public offering (IPO) as critics raise the alarm over its financial outlook. Bitcoin Cash Bets As Bitcoinist reported at the end of July, the manufacturer announced its plans to hold a $14 billion IPO before the end of 2018, having achieved Q1 profits of over $1 billion. Since then, data about the offering to pre-IPO investors have raised suspicions over Bitmain’s prospects, doubts specifically focusing over its huge reserves of altcoin Bitcoin Cash (BCH), which would remain illiquid unless markets transformed prior to the IPO date. “According to the Bitmain pre-IPO investor deck, they sold most of their [Bitcoin] for [Bitcoin Cash],” Blockstream CSO Samson Mow wrote on Twitter August 11. The Bitmain IPO is incredibly risky for any investor to buy into. The potential for massive losses are just around the corner as they have no idea how to maintain BCH, but are all-in. Play stupid games, win stu...

A Hong Kong man skeptical of the cryptocurrency exchange KuCoin, paid a visit to its registered address in Hong Kong, only to find that it doesn’t actually exist. Communication Breakdown In a recent post on Medium , Jackson Wong from Hong Kong wrote about his experience visiting the KuCoin offices in Hong Kong — or rather not visiting, as he found barely a trace of the company in its registered HK location. The search was prompted by concerns Wong voiced in a previous post in January of this year, in which he warned readers that KuCoin was not actually operating out of Hong Kong like they had claimed. This came after finding out that KuCoin’s registered operating address was in mainland China. This was important at the time because of an announcement by the People’s Bank Of China (PBOC) stating that it would block access to all domestic and foreign cryptocurrency exchanges and ICO websites, which would include affecting the KuCoin exchange. Wong warned us...

Sources familiar with the matter said that the two companies have been deciding on creating a fork in the Stellar blockchain while letting Facebook develop its indigenous digital token on a separate blockchain. It has been a while after Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg announced about the company’s interest in studying cryptocurrency-related technology. So far the social media giant has not been much vocal regarding its progress in the cryptocurrency space, however, some of the recent developments give us highlights into what can be expected ahead. Yesterday’s report from Business Insider suggests that executives from Facebook’s blockchain division have met with Stellar for discussing as to how the social media giant can effectively use and deploy distributed ledger technology (DLT) at their end for its payments system. As per some of the unnamed sources, the two companies discussed as to how Facebook can use the Stellar blockchain and fork into it while creating its own crypto...

In its early days, the web’s founding principles were clear and simple: A new way to host and distribute information globally, bringing data together in a way that’s fair and open for all. But as adoption rose, networks swelled and our reliance on the internet grew, and finding a home for all that data became a challenge — and so we turned to cloud computing as the answer. Consumers adjusted to the idea of their information being ‘up in the cloud,’ and businesses gradually moved to software as a service (SaaS) and centralized cloud storage. At the surface-level, the transformation was a success — but it came at a significant cost. Few involved in the shift realized that cloud computing wasn’t fit for its purpose. Data centers became bloated, expensive and environmentally damaging; speed, safety, and reliability of networks struggled to keep up with the rate of increasing consumer expectations; and most alarmingly, a small group of technology corporates took control of managing and...