Announcements Original

The payments-focused company formerly known as Square, now called Block, has officially announced its intention to join the bitcoin mining game. According to The Block, Jack Dorsey initially teased such a move late last year, highlighting a possible bid to be “based on custom silicon and open source for individuals and businesses worldwide.” Now, statements […]

2021 was a momentous year for Blockchain Ireland. Moving beyond its initial development with IDA and Enterprise Ireland in October 2020, to the support of Technology Ireland ICT Skillnet and the leadership of the steering and working groups, Blockchain Ireland has gone from strength to strength. There were three key objectives for 2021. Setting up […]

US banking giant JPMorgan Chase has partnered with Siemens to develop a blockchain system for the German industrial group’s payments, in what the two companies said was a first-of-its-kind application, Financial Times reports. According to the report, Siemens said the improved automation is needed to process the far greater number of payments it expects due […]

Wells Fargo & Company WFC and HSBC Bank plc have come together to use a blockchain-based solution for the netting and settlement of matched foreign exchange (FX) transactions, reports Nasdaq.com. The development is Wells Fargo’s debut in utilising blockchain technology for the settlement process of cross-border payments. Both companies will share a settlement ledger to […]

Smart contract blockchains are the future, with the age of the commodity-only blockchain essentially over, according to an article on Crypto-news-flash.com. All over the world, people understand what blockchains are. The invention of smart contracts on blockchains has shown us a glimpse of what they can do. Smart contract blockchains bring out the potential of […]

Nearly half of the world’s population has no broadband internet access. The sad reality is most of this population is located in Africa, reports Cointelegraph. According to the United Nations (UN), Sustainable Development goals, providing universal access to the internet continues to increase in importance, allowing many to access life-enhancing online services in healthcare, education […]

As the application deadline of 22nd December is fast approaching for the Launchpool Web3 Techstars Accelerator program being run from April-June 2022 in Ireland, the local Techstars team have been busy engaging and sharing insights with the global Web3 community. Pete Townsend, who’s leading the program, recently published his ‘Web3 Investment Thesis‘ with a look inside the two […]

UPDATE: What a swell evening at Gallery of Photography on Thursday 16th Dec. BCIRL #Startups ecosystem was delighted to participate at the aftershow talk for the Galleries With[out] Walls exhibition (live stream video here). Fiona Delaney, our local expert was greatly impressed with the innovative and practical aspects of the international collaboration. The process involved […]

ConsenSys is creating 400 jobs globally as part of its bid to make blockchain and decentralised finance mainstream, reports Silicon Republic. The US blockchain software company plans to create 400 jobs across its global locations, including several positions at its growing Dublin base. Silicon Republic describes the company as a major player on the Web3 […]

Athlone IT’s Dr Saeed Hamood Alsamhi is researching the feasibility of applying blockchain tech to robotic systems, which could be used in areas ranging from smart manufacturing to disaster monitoring, reports Silicon Republic. Dr Alsamhi has been around the world on a research journey that brought him to the areas of blockchain and robotics, the […]

Non-fungible tokens, the unique digital assets, like artwork and sports trading cards, that are verified and stored using blockchain technology, exploded in popularity in 2021, according to an article from CNBC. People create, collect and trade NFTs for millions of dollars, some with the hopes to profit in the future. But experts are still sceptical […]

In October 2020, the European Blockchain Observatory and Forum circulated its inaugural “Report on EU Blockchain Ecosystem Developments”.  Ash Costello is a member of its Expert Panel and is currently updating Ireland’s chapter in the report, to be uploaded to the website in early 2022.  Any organisation (company, university, etc) which would like to include details […]