Microsoft's Project ION (Identity Overlay Network) will allow users to mint decentralized digital identities, which aim to act as an immutable replacement for email addresses and usernames, and potentially a vault for sensitive personal data. These identities will be used to seamlessly access online applications without the need to indiscriminately surrender personal data. They could also be used in real-life applications by allowing doctors to cryptographically verify the medical details of patients, or university students to verify their qualifications. To scale to the capacity needed, Microsoft has built Project ION as a Layer 2 network, similar to Lightning but with no tokens and no signatories. Using the underlying protocol Sidetree, ION batches transactions and anchors them with a single hash, increasing efficiency and pushing fees down to what would be just a "rounding error" to Microsoft.
Microsoft has filed a patent application filed with the World Intellectual Property Organization for a system that can mine crypto-assets using data collected from humans as they exercise or read an advertisement. Sensors would detect activity associated with specific tasks and convert it into computer-readable data to solve computational problems, in much the same way as a conventional proof-of-work system. Microsoft suggested in its patent application that the system would be fully centralized.
RTGS Global launched Stage One of its real-time gross settlement platform which it says could revolutionise cross-border bank payments. The platform RTGS allows commercial and central banks to settle transactions instantly, authenticating the exchange of funds and creating real-time liquidity between participants. Stage two this autumn will see RTGS Global integrate its technology as an automatic add-in to Microsoft Azure, as part of a partnership with Microsoft, and further lowering the barrier to adoption for many banks. https://rtgs.global/https://www.finextra.com/newsarticle/34482/nick-ogden-launches-cross-border-liquidity-network-rtgsglobal
Microsoft is building a decentralized identity network atop of the bitcoin blockchain. The Identity Overlay Network is based on an evolving set of open standards developed in conjunction with the Decentralized Identity Foundation.
Microsoft is working on a Sidetree-based DID network, called ION (Identity Overlay Network) which runs atop the Bitcoin blockchain based on an emerging set of open standards that they developed with the Decentralized Identity Foundation.
Microsoft announced the launch of Money in Excel powered by Plaid. "Money in Excel features a Plaid integration and the new capabilities essentially turn the spreadsheet software into a fintech app. It allows users to securely connect their financial accounts, import the data within them, sync balances and transactions over time
Microsoft is taking its secret platform for creating tokens similar to bitcoin out for a test drive. The software giant, which was among the first to accept bitcoin for payment, has created a mint for issuing a wide range of crypto assets.
Ever since Microsoft bought Github for 7.5 billion dollars in June 2018 there have been multiple cases of censorship. For example, developers from Iran, Syria and Crimea have been blocked from the platform.
JP Morgan is tapping Microsoft's Azure cloud-based services to boost its blockchain-based Quorum platform, aiming to make it easier, faster and cheaper for companies to build and deploy blockchain applications.
IBM and Microsoft have released new technologies focus on tackling the challenge of identity on permissioned and public blockchains respectively. The approaches are different but they give us a glimpse of how innovation is evolving in this space.
"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."
The U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) may consider subpoenaing major tech companies like Apple, Google and Microsoft in search of taxpayers' unreported cryptocurrency holdings.
Enterprise blockchain developer tool-maker Tatum's nonprofit Save Your Business project has been launched with partners including Microsoft, and it is designed to deliver much-needed cashflow to firms that saw their income practically dry up overnight. The blockchain-based project gives consumers the opportunity to purchase vouchers for meals out, haircuts, and trips to the zoo. The vouchers can be redeemed once things are back to normal, giving small businesses crucial revenue in the meantime.
"Buy now, pay later" is no longer for big-ticket items like furniture. It's becoming increasingly popular for smaller items online, and is being quickly adopted by merchants and payment companies. Point-of-sale loans lets consumers buy something in increments, often without interest. Companies may eventually charge interest down the road, as well as late fees or processing fees. Similar to a credit card issuer, they may also get a percentage of the transaction price. Microsoft will let consumers finance the new $499 XBox in monthly payments, and PayPal launched its Pay-in-4 installment product. https://www.paypal.com/us/webapps/mpp/pay-in-4
The InterWork Alliance (IWA) launched operations as a platform-neutral, non-profit organization dedicated to creating the standards frameworks needed to increase innovation across token-enabled ecosystems. The new organization already has 36 members, including tech firms such as Accenture, IBM, and Microsoft; banking and exchange firms ING, Nasdaq, SDX, and UBS; and, blockchain companies Digital Asset, Neo Global Development, Hedera Hashgraph and R3.
China's Blockchain-based Service Network (BSN) - a public-private nationwide infrastructure project to spur mass adoption of blockchain technology - is setting up international portals in Turkey and Uzbekistan, following its September announcements to set up BSN portals in Hong Kong and South Korea. The BSN integrates frameworks such as Ethereum, Algorand, EOS, Polkadot, NEO, Tezos, Oasis, Hyperledger Fabric, ConsenSys Quorum, and Corda. It is also supported by cloud services, including Amazon Web Services, Google, and Microsoft Azure.
Visa developed a programmable finance platform that allows Brazilian soybean farmers to securely fund and sell their crop harvests on a permissioned version of the Ethereum blockchain. Partnering with Agrotoken, Microsoft, and Sinqia, Visa was one of nine finalists tasked with exploring innovative blockchain-based use cases for Brazil's real digital central bank-issued digital currency (CBDC) as part of the Banco Central do Brasil's most recent LIFT Challenge. The CBDC's programmability allows delivery and payment of assets and currencies to be automatically settled only when certain conditions are met, for more efficient capital usage and reduced counterparty risks. https://usa.visa.com/about-visa/newsroom/press-releases.releaseId.19706.html
The Banco Central do Brasil (BCB) selected 9 of 47 firms that applied to its Laboratory of Financial and Technological Innovations (LIFT) central bank digital currency (CBDC) solution challenge. The initiative aims to identify the fundamental characteristics of Digital Real infrastructure. The 9 firms selected were AAVE, Banco Santander, Febraban, Giesecke + Devrient, Itaú Unibanco, Mercado Bitcoin, Tecban, Vert, Visa (in association with Consensys and Microsoft.
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