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The "Blockchain Trilemma" is a term used to describe the challenge of increasing performance, security, and decentralisation at the same time. Current enterprise blockchains are not truly decentralised. They may be structurally decentralised, but are operationally centralised. By reversing this, having structurally centralised, but operationally decentralised architecture, a CBDC can achieve a high-performance blockchain. However, any blockchain-based CBDC should not only solve the blockchain trilemma, but also the CBDC design trilemma, which notes that identity, privacy, and programmability cannot be easily enhanced at the same time. A CBDC cannot ignore privacy for the sake of achieving legal compliance and implementing programmable money. From an expertise point of view, the answer to this trilemma is the use of a decentralized identity system such as self-sovereign identity (SSID) to find the perfect equilibrium for the CBDC design trilemma. Self-sovereign identity is very popular for its advanced privacy protection. By having an SSID-based blockchain system, a CBDC can incorporate both privacy and transparency into the blockchain-based CBDC system. Additionally, a use of zero-knowledge encryption to protect the transaction privacy of blockchain data is highly recommended for any CBDC implementation.

Bianjie has launched the first open permissioned blockchain on China's Blockchain-based Service Network (BSN). This WenChang blockchain is powered by Cosmos' interoperable blockchain ecosystem. WenChang Chain is compliant with Chinese enterprise standards and offers permissioned controls. The global city node infrastructure, deployed by BSN, presents developers with a ready, open blockchain network so they can focus on refining the application layer, develop business logic, and deploy dApps in an easy and more cost-effective way.

The European Commission in collaboration with the 30-country alliance called the European Blockchain Partnership (EBP) plans to launch a pan-European blockchain regulatory sandbox by 2022. The European Commission will work with EBP on the sandbox to test use cases of blockchain and digital assets in the European Blockchain Services Infrastructure (EBSI). The EBSI aims to deliver cross-border digital public services across the EU using blockchain technology. https://ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/legal-and-regulatory-framework-blockchain

"This analysis shows that permissioned and private ledgers form a subclass of Distributed Ledger Technologies (DLT), which are distinguished from the original blockchain. DLTs operate with databases known as "ledgers," copies of which are distributed among multiple nodes, but not anyone can create and validate new blocks of data in such a ledger; they are not decentralized. On the contrary, blockchain was designed as a decentralized, open, and competitive peer-to-peer system. The widespread misconception is to call any technology "blockchain" when it has some chunks of data connected through cryptographic hashes. The technology of creating a sequence of timestamped records connected with hashes is not new, it was designed in the early 90s, but nobody has ever called it "blockchain," as it has never dealt with decentralized consensus protocols and did not operate in a distributed network. Hence, not every chain of blocks is the blockchain. The paper dives into the details of various of DLTs and blockchains. It aims to bring rigor into terminology and academic discourse. It also raises the alarm on false expectations that may appear across industries and the public about a decentralization effect that some DLTs might not bring."

"We develop a model of transaction safety in permissioned and permissionless blockchains to study this tradeoff and find that in several settings there may be no tradeoff at all. With a minimal level of trust in the blockchain operators and the supporting institutions, well-designed permissioned blockchains can offer both higher operational efficiency and higher transaction security. While this minimal trust in the ``system'' is essential to the functioning of permissioned blockchains, it is also inherent in most business relationships, making permissioned blockchains well suited for enterprise applications of the technology. We explore the implications of our analysis for the design of permissioned blockchains, such as the reputation or bonding implications for their validators."

"Curious about the potential of blockchain, our internal IT organization developed the idea to take existing paper contracts between Accenture and our clients and put them on a shared blockchain database that every party can use to securely view contracts, revise and accept changes, all captured on a blockchain ledger. We worked with other Accenture specialists, including legal, to prove out the idea, develop the platform, test and ultimately deploy a new product-Accenture Blockchain for Contracts. Built on R3 Corda technology and hosted through Microsoft Azure, Accenture Blockchain for Contracts provides a new way to draft and sign contracts with low friction, high efficiency and encrypted data."

BlackRock Financial Management posted a job ad for a VP-level blockchain lead to create and implement strategies designed to drive demand for the firm's offerings and enhance the value proposition to clients of the firm's investments and technology offerings. The candidates must have experience in: articulating the technological foundations of blockchain technology including cryptographic hash functions, distributed network consensus mechanisms, and public-private key cryptography; devising and articulating fundamental valuation methodologies for crypto-assets; evaluating game theory and decentralizing governance models associated with blockchain technology; and working with key drivers of blockchain networks' design and their impact on the four key dimensions of blockchain performance including speed, scalability, privacy, and security.

Deloitte's 2020 Global Blockchain Survey revealed increased sentiment, investments, and more strategic talent sourcing and requirements for blockchain initiatives. 39% of global respondents have already incorporated blockchain into production (versus 23% in 2019) and 55% view blockchain as a top strategic priority (versus 53%). 82% are hiring staff with blockchain expertise or plan to do so within the next 12 months (versus 73%). The results are based on a poll 1,488 senior executives and practitioners in 14 countries and territories.

The United States Postal Service (USPS) has moved to patent a novel vote-by-mail elections system secured with blockchain technology. An application published Thursday by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and filed by USPS on February 7 envisions combining the "dependability and security" of the USPS with blockchain "to prevent tampering" of electronic ballots. Among the various "embodiments" include: mailing out token-linked QR codes; distributing scannable paper passcodes to a digital voting system; storing voter identification on the blockchain; storing electronic voting signatures on the blockchain; and storing the votes themselves on the blockchain.

"A better solution for enterprises is public/permissioned blockchain. In building on public/permissioned, providers get the scale benefit of public blockchain, with the enterprise-level governance of private blockchain. Cryptocurrencies are generally needed, which enterprises will need to accept to evolve, and solutions exist that allow users to avoid touching the crypto directly. Importantly, public/permissioned blockchains are operated by select groups, often larger trusted organisations. This gives greater control over the capacity and speed of the network, while providing comfort to large corporates over the decision making at the blockchain company and creates an element of trust that is more familiar."

The Atrium, a United Nations (UN) inter-agency blockchain platform designed to boost collaboration and accelerate blockchain innovation launched the Practical Guide to Blockchain. The Atrium is a UN-only platform that provides the foundational blockchain under-layer that will enable members to build their own blockchain-based apps.

In the enterprise platforms space where the development and the results outcomes usually happen slowly and over a few years, the blockchain ecosystem is moving at a blazing speed. Alongside the other popular segments of the crypto and blockchain space like exchanges, wallets and custodian services, the enterprise blockchain platforms are seeing a lot of investments which will help deliver products and go-to-market rollouts faster. Overall, it's net positive for the blockchain space as the technology matures and proves itself indispensable in solving real business problems.

Rosetta is an open-source specification and set of tools that purports to make integrating with blockchains simpler, faster, and more reliable. For developers of new blockchain projects, the Rosetta interface makes it easier to ensure compatibility with exchanges that use Rosetta, and can dramatically speed up the time it takes exchanges to integrate with new blockchains and protect customer funds by ensuring specific security conditions are met. For the broader community of crypto developers, Rosetta makes it easier to build cross-blockchain applications such as block explorers, wallets and dapps.

EY today announced the release of the third-generation zero-knowledge proof (ZKP) blockchain technology to the public domain on the Ethereum public blockchain. The enhancements of the ZKP blockchain technology will help make private transactions on public blockchains more scalable by significantly reducing transaction costs through batching multiple private transfers together in a single transaction.

Blockchain technology may offer greater levels of security than the internet at large, but a new research paper claims its approach to privacy may be in violation of European "right to be forgotten" laws. Once someone's details are embedded in a blockchain, the system never forgets. Those details might be encrypted, but they are also part of an irreversible ledger, and one that's on the cloud. As long as a blockchain is in existence, it clashes with the European ruling that people have the right to retract data. All of this leaves the blockchain industry in a massive quandary, because the technology's transparency and immutability is one of its biggest selling points. https://journal.acs.org.au/index.php/ajis/article/view/2801

The Bank of Lithuania has finished the research phase of its blockchain-related project, LBChain. In the next phase, it will create a sandbox that mixes technological and regulatory infrastructure for the technology. Among the projects mentioned, LBChain included a solution for blockchain-based regulatory reporting, a blockchain platform for green bond issuance, and a blockchain-based digital bank. https://www.lb.lt/en/news/lbchain-the-cradle-of-future-technologies-unrestricted-by-geographical-or-sectoral-boundaries

The Bank of Thailand reportedly launched the world's first blockchain-based government savings bond issuance platform using IBM's blockchain technology. Within two weeks of the launch, the central bank sold more than $1.6 billion worth of savings bonds. The use of blockchain technology is said to have reduced the bond issuance time from 15 days to just two days. The increased efficiency of the process has also reduced operational cost and redundant validation of documents involved in bond issuance. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/bank-of-thailand-launches-worlds-first-government-savings-bond-on-ibm-blockchain-technology-301145253.html

Oracles are lines of code that connect information in the real world to contracts and other agreements on a blockchain. They serve as a bridge between on-chain, which is every interaction that occurs on the blockchain, and off-chain data. While oracles solve one problem for blockchains, giving them access to real-world information, they create another in the form of centralization. Decentralized oracles solve the off-chain data problem by granting blockchains access to real-world information without introducing a single point of failure. They do this by using distributed data sources to avoid single points of vulnerability.

China's National Blockchain Technology Innovation Center officially started its work, collaborating with local universities, think tanks and blockchain businesses to develop blockchain technology in China. It will reportedly train more than 500,000 specialists in distributed ledger technology (DLT). The center's mission is to connect various blockchain use cases in the country into a single cohesive network.

As blockchain adoption increases globally, scaling solutions will be necessary to keep pace with demand while layer-1 blockchains come up to speed. There are blockchain scaling solutions for every type of business. Permissioned blockchains like Hyperledger Fabric and Consensys Qorum can be ideal for enterprises; meanwhile, for smaller projects, layer-2 solutions are sufficient to perform the required tasks. For example, instead of developing dApps for a payment application on the Ethereum main chain, businesses can utilize the likes of SKALE, Polygon PoS, or Loom Network's side chain ecosystem to effortlessly process transactions. Meanwhile, if you need instant and free peer-to-peer Ethereum transactions, state channels like Perun or Connext could be your solution. If you want to use your digital assets on a different chain to conduct business, look for a platform that utilizes cross-chain bridges and see what its ecosystem offers.