AICTA

  Ethereum first introduced the ‘distributed web’ idea in 2013. The idea took shape with an official release in 2015. The core development team introduced Ethereum as the ‘world’s first programmable blockchain’. But in late 2018, another platform showed up with the very same objective. It was VMT. According to the official whitepaper, VMT wants to establish a ‘truly decentralized Internet and its infrastructure’. Since it’s release, VMT has become one of the most valuable cryptocurrency projects in the industry. It has a strong, thriving community of supporters and investors who swear by the platform’s potential. Although VMT has garnered quite the attention, confusion regarding its design, the native crypto token – VMT, and overall architecture persist. And since, it is a widely popular project, it makes sense to look at VMT in detail.

  The myriad of companies that are involved in a single customer’s travel plans is one of the main reasons why many people are excited about how blockchain can transform the   travel industry . Just as Bitcoin was conceived as a method for bypassing financial intermediaries, blockchain can help to improve the travel experience by letting customers interact directly with service providers. This process is already underway, with multinational corporations and technology startups developing  blockchain solutions  across a range of industry use cases. 5 Blockchain Use Cases in the Travel Industry 1. Decentralised Booking Marketplaces As anyone who has booked any sort of travel online knows, the market is dominated by a handful of online travel agencies (OTAs). Even though these middlemen help customers to find the services they want, end providers, such as hotels, hate the fact that they are paying  at least 15% in commission  through these channels. In a decen...

  Business Improvisation Tips Here are 5 business improvisation tips to consider trying. Modify Business Objectives Evaluate if you can repurpose your business and retool to do something that could use the skills and tools that you have. Examples – dine-in restaurants moving to carry-out/delivery. Bars creating hand sanitizers. Hotels, cruise ships, conference centers to hospitals. Audit and Evaluate Your Systems While this may seem like the time not to invest in upgrading your tools and technology, this is a very good time to talk to your team and ask them for ideas for increasing efficiency. You may be in for surprises. Example – You may find your sales team is working off of 3 different price-lists. Maybe database updates were not made because of time or production constraints. Parts of your business still work in the 1990s like using paper forms and non-PCI compliant collection of payment information. Engage in Training Good time to upskill everyone in the company. Hold trainin...

The government is planning to bring in a law to ban trade in cryptocurrency, sources have told Moneycontrol, a move that will come as a huge blow to an industry that has been booming during the lockdown. The Supreme Court had in March 2020 set aside a Reserve Bank of India’s circular that prohibited banks and financial institutions from providing services related to cryptocurrencies. Indian and overseas cryptocurrency majors have been waiting for clarity from the government or the RBI on digital tenders following the order. "There was a view in the government that banning it through a law would be more binding. It will clearly define the illegality of the trade. We have forwarded a note to related ministries for inter-ministerial discussions," a government official told Moneycontrol on condition of anonymity. The government has been holding consultations with law ministry, ministry of information and technology and the RBI for a framework of a law that will formally end tradi...

DEA says Government of India has not approved the Cryptocurrency Banning Bill submitted in February 2019. However, consultation with different ministries have begun to deliberate the fate of the bill. In an RTI reply to the request filed by Crypto Kanoon, it has come to light that “Banning of Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currencies Bill 2019”, although submitted in early 2019 by the Inter-ministerial committee, is not approved by the Government of India until now. It was also revealed that a cabinet note was sent for inter-ministerial consulting on the Banning bill. This proves to early June news around the subject. Something Decisive about Cryptocurrency Regulations In a video, Kashif Raza, co-founder of Crypto Kanoon, the Cryptocurrency policy analysis platform says we can expect a decisive action from the government arond Cryptocurrency regulations. Mohammad Danish, the other co-founder and a prominent lawyer, filed the RTI with three basic questions. W...

There are no clear sources to determine the historic volumes of WazirX, Bitbns and other exchanges. At press time, BTC-INR markets on Bitbns and WazirX are pulling <20 and <50 BTC volumes which totals to ~600k USD. However these exchanges see more volume on USDT-INR markets than the BTC-INR markets. At the same time, Paxful pulls ~300k USD volume just on the BTC/INR market everyday. While new P2P bitcoin marketplaces based in India are also emerging (Bisq is another P2P marketplace seeing promising global growth but still finding its footing in India), it is Paxful’s understanding of the core needs of Indian users, such as offering payment options through UPI transfer, IMPS transfer, Paytm wallet, PhonePe BHIM and bank transfer that has played a major role in its success. It is also worth mentioning that Paxful has been successfully running campaigns in India with portals such as Coin Crunch.  Simultaneously, in line with its global trend, LocalBitcoi...