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Enterprise meets DeFi: Organizations work toward adopting blockchain tech

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Decentralized finance is quickly maturing. While the total value locked in DeFi is over $45 billion, financial institutions and large corporations are starting to implement DeFi concepts to automate business processes. This is known as “enterprise DeFi.”

For instance, invoices and other financial products can be tokenized to ensure that transactions are valid and should be processed for payment across multiple parties. Coke One North America is one of the first large corporations to demonstrate this.

CONA is leveraging the Baseline Protocol — a project that coordinates confidential workflows between enterprises using messaging, zero-knowledge cryptography and blockchain — to tokenize invoices. CONA aims to “baseline” its entire supply chain by giving internal bottlers and external suppliers access to a private, distributed integration network.

Through use cases like CONA, such solutions are quickly gaining traction. There are also a number of vendors entering this infrastructure market including Provide, an enterprise middleware provider, and Big Four firm Ernst & Young. Most recently, ConsenSys — one of the leading blockchain software companies — announced plans to use Baseline Protocol as a solution for its enterprise clients, further demonstrating the importance of enterprise DeFi adoption.

How ConsenSys plans to drive enterprise DeFi

Specifically, ConsenSys Codefi — ConsenSys’ fintech suite that connects financial use cases to blockchain counterparts — will soon offer a baseline-compliant solution for its enterprise clients.

Didier Le Floch, institutional products and engineering lead at ConsenSys Codefi, told Cointelegraph that while the Baseline Protocol was developed by EY, ConsenSys and Microsoft, Codefi has been taking steps to ensure that its products will eventually be fully compatible with it:

“We want to enable the use of digital assets and the financing of those assets for payment use cases. These use cases will generate maximum business value, combining automation of business processes and payments using things like stablecoins, for example.”

In order to achieve this, Floch explained that the Codefi tech stack will be combined with the Baseline Protocol to deliver an effortless user experience for cases such as financing supply chains. Floch remarked that this is a first step in the right direction, as Codefi strongly believes that the enterprise sector will soon converge with the DeFi market: “There will be ebbs and flows, and it will be a journey with various steps, but we’ve already seen the promise of this convergence in the DeFi market.”

To his point, MakerDAO — the protocol behind the stablecoin Dai — announced support in June 2020 to use non-crypto-native assets, such as invoices and music streaming royalties, as collateral for its Dai stablecoin. Maker also voted to support a protocol from blockchain startup Centrifuge to bring real-world assets on its platform. Known as “Centrifuge Chain,” this is built on Parity’s blockchain development framework, Substrate.

Asset originators can use the Centrifuge Chain to mint nonfungible tokens of real-world assets, converting them to ERC-721 tokens. These assets can then be added to Tinlake, which is Centrifuge’s Ethereum-based DeFi protocol for decentralized asset financing.

A Centrifuge spokesperson told Cointelegraph that the company is currently working with MakerDAO to bring New Silver, an online real-estate lender, on to the Maker platform as an asset originator. As such, NewSilver would be the first asset originator using Tinlake to get to the MakerDAO executive vote, ultimately allowing asset originators to generate Dai as a credit facility.

DeFi protocol Aave also introduced a diversified money market to support real-world assets back in October 2020. According to the Aave blog post, this money market would make it easy for the Aave community to onboard real-world assets into the protocol, allowing investors to lend against assets, such as invoices, real estate and inventory finance. “Right now, it’s at a small scale, but there are DeFi lending protocols already taking steps to incorporate real-world assets into their protocols,” said Floch.

Breaking down barriers hampering adoption

Many enterprise DeFi concepts are still in early development, as a number of barriers exist. For instance, there are concerns regarding publicly available sources to determine the price of collateralized assets. Furthermore, many DeFi protocols venturing into the enterprise space only allow solutions for borrowing in crypto, which may be unappealing to mainstream organizations. Moreover, paying transaction fees in cryptocurrency may also be problematic for enterprises that typically deal in fiat payments.

Floch explained that Codefi’s use of Baseline Protocol is intended to address these concerns. For example, he noted that there will be an “Infura ITX” integration that will enable corporations to pay gas fees in dollars rather than Ether (ETH) when using the Baseline Protocol. Since the platform leverages the Ethereum network as its mainnet of choice, or as a common frame of reference for complex workflows, this integration will ensure a better user experience overall.

In addition, Floch mentioned that ConsenSys’ open-source zero-knowledge proof library, known as “gnark,” will be leveraged to ensure enterprise data remains private, yet verifiable.

While notable, Codefi’s implementation of the Baseline Protocol isn’t the only solution intended to solve the challenges related to enterprise DeFi adoption.

For example, EY has been heavily involved in the blockchain space, specifically in terms of enterprise DeFi development. Paul Brody, global blockchain lead at EY, told Cointelegraph that the firm has been working on DeFi enabling solutions since 2016, with the goal of making the inputs and outputs of enterprise business processes tokenized and then transactable:

“This means purchase orders, invoices, receivables, inventory — everything in traditional business-to-business processes should be ready to integrate into a DeFi ecosystem.”

Of course, Brody is aware of the challenges regarding this vision, noting that the first element to be tackled is achieving an acceptable level of privacy for enterprise users. Once this is accomplished, Brody explained that necessary standards need to be established where bodies, such as the Enterprise Ethereum Association, can be key partners in the pursuit of these goals.

Brody further mentioned that as an industry auditor, EY will not be offering financial services involving DeFi. Rather, the firm is devoted to ensuring that enterprise clients will be able to plug their business operations into existing DeFi solutions. For example, Brody explained that EY’s Network Procurement solution is designed to manage purchase orders and fulfillment, which would allow enterprises to exchange tokens for purchase orders, contracts, invoices and inventory transfers. “As soon as we see standards we can leverage, we hope that our enterprise users will be able to take advantage of these markets,” said Brody.

Institutions show interest in DeFi?

In addition to a growing number of enterprise DeFi solutions in development, there is now interest in DeFi from large organizations and financial institutions. This was recently demonstrated by the leading digital currency asset manager, Grayscale. On Feb. 26, 2021, the firm announced consideration to offer investors access to DeFi assets, including Aave, Compound’s COMP, MakerDAO’s MKR, Reserve Rights (RSR), SushiSwap’s SUSHI, Synthetix Network Token (SNX), Uniswap’s UNI and Yearn.finance’s YFI.

Although this is separate from enterprises using DeFi protocols to find real-world assets, Floch noted that this demonstrates more institutional players are ready to invest in prominent DeFi protocols:

“For institutional customers of Grayscale to start investing in those tokens is definitely a sign that they’re getting more comfortable with Defi, while understanding the value of those protocols (asset management, collateralized lending and trading automated in smart contracts).”

Enterprise meets DeFi: Organizations work toward adopting blockchain tech

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Blockchain has the Potential to Fight Root Causes of Poverty

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Blockchain has the Potential to Fight Root Causes of Poverty

You must have come across various use-cases of Blockchain. Do you have any idea how this distributed ledger technology can fight the root causes of poverty? This article talks about how Blockchain can help lift poor people out of poverty in developing countries.

Table of Contents 

  • Overview 
  • General Causes for Poverty and How Blockchain can Deal with it
  • Conclusion: Is Blockchain the Solution to End Poverty?

Overview 

While various technological advancements have significantly reduced global poverty to a great extent, it is still existing. Blockchain, which is a P2P decentralized distributed ledger technology, is assumed to have the potential to create significant political, social, and economic gains for developing countries. Although a Blockchain-based database isn’t enough to solve these difficulties, it can definitely change the poor economy’s facet. 

According to NASSCOM that stands for National Association of Software and Services Companies, Blockchain-led improvement in productivity and cost reduction can create a value of around US$5 billion in the Indian economy in the next three years from now.

Interested in learning blockchain technology and become a Blockchain Expert? Check out the best online blockchain certification courses at Blockchain Council.

General Causes for Poverty and How Blockchain can Deal with it

Poor record-keeping methods and inaccurate registry are the significant challenges that make it nearly impossible for people to prove they own the land. Citizens of developing countries do not have a secure ledger to record and store their crucial information. Without the ability to verify deeds, people are unable to buy or sell their land, access loans, and other financial tools that are necessary to improve their financial position. They are still relying on third-party intermediaries for managing their documents, and therefore, their property records are typically vulnerable to inconsistencies, tampering, damage, and data loss. Lack of legal land ownership is one of the biggest causes of poverty in developing countries.

Distributed ledger technology like Blockchain can be piloted in novel ways to address such concerns. 

Using a blockchain to record transactions ensures that it is not susceptible to tampering. Since Blockchain records a clear history of modifications, including who did what and when thus records stored on the distributed ledger is virtually impossible to change. 

Using this technology for property ownership registration protects the rights of the owner and enables easy resolve of disputes, if any, prevents cheating, and makes the correct transfer of ownership after-sale possible. Thus, technology can be used to establish credit, allowing owners to open bank accounts and perform monetary transactions, thus enabling higher financial inclusion, paving the way to sound futures.

Lack of identity is another crucial issue in developing countries. According to the World Bank’s global financial index, around a quarter of the world’s population is unbanked, and due to this, people are unable to open their bank accounts and access financial services.

Blockchain can deal with this problem by providing a Blockchain-powered digital identity that could be utilized by all those who don’t have proper identification. Such identities can be used globally and hence enable poor people to access financial systems and transactions. Moreover, Blockchain-based smart contracts can also help in the verification process for availing the desired services in a truly independent manner. People no longer have to be dependent on higher-authorities for verifying their details for processing transactions.

Apart from this, Blockchain can also provide other benefits too. Like for instance, it can make the transferring of the land process easy and straightforward. Instead of relying upon central authorities like going to a public registry house to transfer their land, which costs heavily, moving the entire process onto the Blockchain can drop the cost and streamline the entire process.

Curious to learn more about the smart contract and become a Certified Smart Contract Developer? We are here to assist you.

Conclusion: Is Blockchain the Solution to End Poverty?

The living conditions of billions of people are improving, and all credit goes to advances in technology such as Blockchain. But this technology is solely not responsible for breaking the cycle of poverty. Technologies such as the IoT, 5G combined with sound economic and social policies are also the key players in this direction. Despite the promise of Blockchain, there are various fundamental challenges for its implementation. Also, bureaucrats may oppose using that technology that reduces their power and privileges.

If you are looking for the best Blockchain Certification courses, you can get enrolled in Blockchain Council and become a Certified Blockchain Developer/Expert.

To get instant updates about Blockchain Technology and to learn more about online Blockchain Certifications, check out Blockchain Council.  

Blockchain has the Potential to Fight Root Causes of Poverty

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Need for forking in blockchain

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Codezeros

The realm of finance is here for a major transformation and especially since the advent of cryptocurrencies. The term Blockchain Fork is a common one, being largely prevalent in the blockchain industry.

Before we talk about the importance of blockchain forks, let us discuss a bit about forking in brief.

Overview of forking:

Forking although sounds like a complicated term, however, it is even referred to in the general context. It is useful to describe anything that is diverging or cutting off from a code of existing software.

However, over time, it has come to mean something much broader. Fork in blockchain technology came into existence since the advent of the blockchain fork. A form takes place with the developers deciding to alter something fundamental.

It refers to a situation/stance with blockchain diverging to a change in protocol. It is commonly associated with a situation when two or more blocks comprise the same height. It efficiently points to a specific situation where custom cryptocurrency creation or project needs to acquire technical updates. These are further applied to alter the original project, without incurring any change.

Significance of forking:

Forking is beneficial for ensuring and safeguarding large transactions and is a must to be completed speedily. Forking in the blockchain is a divergence that might be temporary and permanent. Emerging as an integral part of the architecture, the decentralized nature of the blockchain is thus largely appreciated. Additionally, there is a growing need to establish considerate trust among the varied participants.

Hence, if you are someone with a stark interest in the realm of cryptocurrency forks, and if you wish to find varying opportunities in the domain, there certainly could not be a better profession for you than this. Here in this blog, you will explore more about the functionality of forks, their types, and the need for forking in the blockchain. If you are intrigued to explore the realm more, the article is just the right kind of read for you.

How do the forks operate?

In the realm of blockchain, consensus forking shifts the rules while moving them towards specific rules, as has been previously determined. These rules either need not be supported by anybody or can also be supported by the participants in the network.

It is a must for the nodes to evaluate the rules. However, if the nodes do not refer to any changes incurred in rules, it can lead to causing subsequent consequences.

Different Types of forking:

Hard Fork:

A hard fork in blockchain refers to a non-backward compatible upgrade to an already existing blockchain. This can be referred to the network nodes on a specific blockchain, either complying with the software protocol update or proceeding with a similar outdated protocol through creating a spate entity.

Soft Fork:

It can be referred to as a backward-compatible upgrade where the upgraded notes can essentially communicate with their counterparts. Every rule as added does not necessarily clash with the ones existing. The Ethereum and consensus fork and bitcoin blockchains utilize soft forks for implementing new updates.

How does forking cause an impact on a blockchain?

As far as hard fork is considered, an alteration made on nodes running on a previous set of rules is considered invalid. In other words, if any old node decides to verify and create a block, it often ends up being vouched as an invalid one. Hence, all necessary changes during hard fork cannot be deleted, or altered once is fully completed.

This is however not a similar case with a soft fork that is varied greatly. In this, if an old node is certain to verify and make a block; it is rather vouched as being a valid one by all significant nodes present on the network. This is applicable for all, irrespective of whether an old or a new one.

Conclusion:

Thus forking is largely needed in the domain of blockchain, with it playing a significant role in ways more than one. With the blockchain becoming the ‘hot cake’ of the hour, it is the ideal time to opt for a career in the field.

The sphere of blockchain is slowly but surely emerging as an established career choice among the budding professionals of today. There has been considerable growth in the field, with the number of positions increasing every year. A certified expert in blockchain with an expansive perspective market value is highly in demand in his field.

With the blockchain job openings making their way to ranking 3rd worldwide is definitely an achievement to savor upon. Thus, it can be considered as the ideal time to pursue a career in the field with it experiencing an uphill demand.

Need for forking in blockchain

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How has Blockchain Technology Influenced Online Trading?

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Trading has always been the most go-to profit-making technique of business fanatics, and it has worked fairly well for them. Assets building and finance managing is not an easy concept for a businessman, as they seek to make huge profits out of it and secure long term financial independence. One of the most apparent prospects for adopting online trading as a medium of investment and transaction is the lower transaction costs. Most of the traders get benefit from the traditional brokerage firms as it requires only $5 to $10 to enter into the trading market. Online trading has turned the financial world into an adaptable platform by enhancing the ease of investments and transactions.

The cryptocurrency was introduced to the economic world just over a decade ago. Since then, it has been able to attract potential investors and traders to carry out their transactions and invest in these digital currencies. With the potential of generating hefty profits, the influence of cryptocurrency has been constantly growing, not only in the business world but also over the general public in different regions. It has proven itself over the years and has risen to success through a definitive and secure mechanism that is well suited for the modern world order.

Investing Your Time and Resources in Online Trading

Online trading has made it easy for traders to make all their decisions independently. Many individuals are now investing in different stocks and cryptocurrencies all by themselves, and they have also started using cryptocurrency as a mode of transaction and payment. Furthermore, now there are different brokers that provide their services at a reasonable price and are more reliable for buying shares and stocks.

Platforms like Bitcoin Prime, offer flexibility and convenience to their users, and they execute trades efficiently and effectively. and it is a highly user-friendly platform with increased accessibility and ease-of-use handling. No doubt some of the brokers need special appointments for transactions, but other than this, an average investor or trader can immediately execute a trade.

Automation and Use of AI Technology

The world of online trading is also somewhat complicated, as there are fluctuating market trends, which reciprocate to international political, and socio-economic circumstances. These fluctuations can either account for massive profits or result in a significant amount of loss as well. However, trading platforms have simplified the trading process by supporting traders and investors through their AI-powered software that release market predictions and signals upon thorough research, and minimize the risk of loss. Traders can also practice on demo accounts to get an insight into the world of online trading and can convert their account to a normal one whenever they are ready.

Furthermore, Blockchain Technology has proven to be a revolutionizing concept in the world of online trading. It is basically a digital ledger of transactions that are stored in a computer, as each block of the chain carries the information of numerous transactions. Blockchain technology secures the entire mechanism of online crypto trading, as it eliminates the risk of hacking and theft. Additionally, the recorded ledger also provides a better insight into the market and proves vital in releasing more reliable market predictions. Therefore, platforms that use Blockchain technology are expected to perform even better in the trading world.

How has Blockchain Technology Influenced Online Trading?

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Understanding Upgradeable Smart Contracts from a Developer’s Perspective

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Codezeros

Smart contracts are immutable and cannot be added, modified, or eradicated once deployed. This makes it all the more safe, secure, and reliable. Although blockchain-based software tends to earn a lucrative profit from immutability, a specific degree of mutability is required to fix bugs and offer potential improvements.

Although it might look beneficial all the way, however, some cons deserve attention.

How is Immutability a con?

As we already know, the realm of software development largely depends on the ability to upgrade codes. This up-gradation is responsible for enhancing the software and reflects its working. With every new release, it improves its functionality by being a step better than the previous one.

However, coming to the con, a smart contract does not allow the up-gradation of its codes. As a result, it makes it difficult by not allowing any rectification. This is undoubtedly one of the most significant shortcomings, as let’s face it, the crypto world has witnessed a massive loss, with a few million going down the line with not being able to fix a small bug.

The immutable nature of the smart contracts is mostly reliable, and the ability to upgrade to smart contracts promises security. When talking about these, we need to mention an upgradeable blockchain smart contract.

Overview of upgradeable contract:

By now, we have analysed the nature of smart contracts and their rigid characteristics. It does not offer the liberty to alter a smart contract, even when enhancement and modification are involved. This is the underlying issue as addressed by upgradeable smart contracts. In other words, it is a process through which you can upgrade a smart contract efficiently and preserve the address, the state along with the balance of the initial contract. This complicated procedure is indeed not easy, although it might sound like one.

Tips for writing an upgradeable smart contract:

By now, we have analysed the nature of smart contracts and their rigid characteristics. It does not offer the liberty to alter a smart contract, even when enhancement and modification are involved. This is the underlying issue as addressed by upgradeable smart contracts. In other words, it is a process through which you can upgrade a smart contract efficiently and preserve the address, the state along with the balance of the initial contract. This complicated procedure is indeed not easy, although it might sound like one.

Effective blockers while writing the contracts:

As already visible, an upgradeable contract comprises varied complexities and also involves varying blockers. A primary upgradeable contract requires the following:

Creation and deployment:

It needs the deployment and creation of the new version of the existing contract and the modified code.

Manual migration of states:

The developers need to migrate the imperative states from an old contract to that of a new one.

Tackling unpreserved contract address:

A new contract changes the address as was previously utilized for contract interaction.

As a result, the entire scenario witnesses a sea of complications as there is a dire need to update the contract addresses to ensure the usage of the new one. By now, you also must be sure of how failed this process is.

By taking several approaches to create an upgradeable smart contract, it aims to achieve the following:

  • A distinctive logic and data
  • A partially smart contracts system
  • Master-Slave contracts
  • Proxy contracts
  • Eternal storage contracts

Proxy Contract Methodology:

  • Logic Implementation Contract:

The contract is mainly responsible for the logic and working mechanism.

  • Proxy Contract:

It comprises all functionalities for delegate calls and hence is crucial primarily to delegate calls to logic contracts.

  • Key Storage Contract:

The contract needs to be inherited by proxy, and logic contract

How to use upgradable storage proxy contracts?

  • The first contract that is required is the storage structure. This helps to define the storage variables needed and hence is inherited by both Implementation and Proxy contracts.
  • The next step is where you need a logic/implementation contract.
  • The third step involves the proxy contract.

In order to make this work, it is a must to deploy the ImplementationV1 and Proxy while calling the upgrade to (address) function of the Proxy contract.

If you intend to know more, get in touch with a professional, smart contract service provider.

Testing the upgraded contract:

As the contract has been upgraded, it is crucial to check and test it. You can do so with the help of the following:

  • By depositing money in the contract
  • By withdrawing ETHER

Conclusion:

Thus, merely understanding upgradable smart contracts is not enough; instead, you need to evaluate them from a developer’s perspective. It is hence ideal to seek the professional services of a smart contract company offering reliable assistance. By maximizing smart contract development services, you can grab a deeper understanding of the contracts and attain a developer’s perspective.

Understanding Upgradeable Smart Contracts from a Developer’s Perspective

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Why are Blockchain Professionals Salaries Going off the Charts?

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Wondering why the salaries of Blockchain Developers and Blockchain Architects are soaring? This article will illustrate why Blockchain is the most lucrative profession and will throw light on their salaries patterns.   

Table of Contents 

  • Who is a Blockchain Expert?
  • Blockchain: The Most Lucrative Profession
  • Blockchain Developers Salaries Higher Than Other IT Professions 
  • Future Scope for Blockchain Specialists: Concluding Lines 

Who is a Blockchain Expert?

Guided by the advancement of robust scalability solutions, the exponential growth of Blockchain technology has caught industries and enterprises’ attention worldwide. Blockchain development has made significant progress in the most desired programmer skills, and the expenditure on Blockchain solutions globally is projected to grow from 1.5 billion in 2018 to an expected 15.9 billion by the year 2023.

A Blockchain Expert is a professional who understands Blockchain technology profoundly and can build Blockchain-based applications for businesses. But one has to be incredibly experienced in a single niche to call himself a Blockchain specialist. More so, you will need to have functional and practical knowledge in the Blockchain/Crypto space. 

At present, the demand for Blockchain developers and Blockchain architects are soaring. Before we understand why their salaries are going off the charts, let’s understand who is a Blockchain Architect, and what do they do?

Blockchain Architects offers end-to-end solutions to its customers using Blockchain technology and helps develop an overall Blockchain ecosystem engagement strategy. Experts who understand business components and technical elements of Blockchain architecture are high in demand. 

Blockchain: The Most Lucrative Profession

Many non-technical consumers consider this technology, especially in relation to cryptocurrency, which is not true. Today Blockchain has its scope in almost all industries, and therefore it is becoming impossible to ignore its emergence. Technology is now being seriously considered by tech giants, governments, startups, and even by FDAs, and therefore, they are looking for developers and architects all over the world. According to a study by LinkedIn, it is found that Blockchain tops the list of most in-demand skills for 2020, which indicates the demand for Blockchain professionals is soaring. According to the “Future of Nature and Business” study, “Emerging business opportunities across Blockchain in energy and mining supply chains, manufacturing, and forestry could create over $3.5 trillion worth of annual value and almost 87 million jobs by 2030. 

However, identifying individuals who possess the right skills needed to build Blockchain solutions is proving difficult for organizations of all sizes. 

Blockchain Developers Salaries Higher Than Other IT Professions 

With a limited talent pool, Blockchain professionals are in huge demand. As the Blockchain job market is exploding, industries and enterprises are searching for skilled Blockchain professionals. 

As per Hired, Blockchain experts’ average salary lies between $150,000 and $175,000 per year in the hi-tech regions of the US, such as Silicon Valley, whereas Glassdoor specifies $94,000 as the US national average for a Blockchain Developer. 

Talking about New York City, Glassdoor reports that the average base pay of a Blockchain Software Engineer is $ 97,215 / yr. Senior Blockchain Developers tend to have high packages as compared to entry-level Blockchain developers. According to indeed.com, the average salary of a Senior Blockchain Developer is $126,410 per year. Codementor reports that in freelance markets, the average hourly rate of a Blockchain Developer is around $81-100.  

As we already mentioned, Blockchain Architect is the other most-in profession that recruiters are searching for. According to Glassdoor, the average Blockchain architect salary in the US ranges from $146,258 to $157,987. 

Future Scope for Blockchain Specialists: Concluding Lines 

Blockchain developer jobs are hot right now, and this popularity is expected to grow in the coming years by leaps and bounds. Blockchain technology offers tremendous career opportunities as one can be a Blockchain Developer, Blockchain Architect, Hyperledger Developer, Solidity Developer, Quorum Developer, Corda Developer/Architect, and much more. But remember, the right skills along with certifications, is all you need to get a high paying job. 

Blockchain Council, a globally renowned online training and certification organization in blockchain space, is a one-stop solution if you are wondering about taking your career in the Crypto/Blockchain world. Getting enrolled in Blockchain Council can help you achieve the success that you are looking for. 

To get instant updates about Blockchain Technology and to learn more about online Blockchain Certifications, check out Blockchain Council. 

Why are Blockchain Professionals Salaries Going off the Charts?

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