Scientists from IBM Research and start-up Hello Tractor are piloting an agriculture digital wallet and decision-making tool which provides demand and supply visibility for farmers, tractor fleet providers and banks to give farmers the equipment and technology they need to build a sustainable farm. The technology was unveiled at TechCrunch Startup Battlefield Africa 2018. In Sub Sahara Africa more than 60% of farms are powered by humans, with less than 20% provided by engines, a model which is not sustainable as food demand increases due population growth, which is averaging…

Private Blockchain-based ProjectWhile the Swiss Post is Switzerland’s national postal service, Swisscom is one of the country’s largest state-owned telecom service providers. The two will ally to streamline their service offering and foster the blockchain ecosystem in the country. The joint venture is the first “private blockchain” platform in the country to be operated by two entities. The platform differs from other private blockchains in that the data will strictly remain within the borders of Switzerland. Further, the press release noted that the security of the platform would be on…

Sberbank, the National Settlement Depository (NSD) and MTS have summed up results of the deal to issue commercial bonds using blockchain. The nominal cost of MTS’s RUB 750 mln commercial bonds, organised and purchased by the corporate and investment banking business of Sberbank, was redeemed. A security deal using smart contracts – from issue to full execution of issuer’s obligations to the investor – was successfully carried out. Commercial bonds are privately-traded unsecured fixed income securities that are placed on the OTC market through a private subscription. Prior to the…

Multisectoral blockchain company Bitfury has partnered with the Plekhanov Russian University of Economics to create an accelerator for blockchain projects, Russian crypto news outlet Forklog reports Nov. 21. In addition to supporting the development of blockchain projects, the university will provide courses and additional education dedicated to “training specialists who are able to create innovative projects using digital technologies in a short time.” This will enable specialists to “bring [the projects] to market amid the new industrial revolution,” Dmitry Ufaev, the head of Bitfury Russia, told Forklog. According to Forklog,…

The German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi) is planning to fight tax evasion schemes by using blockchain, German business news outlet WirtschaftsWoche reported Nov. 22. Following the major European tax fraud scheme CumEx-Files, the BMWi has suggested that distributed ledger technology (DLT) is capable of making the tax system more efficient in terms of fraud prevention. Discovered in 2017, the CumEx-Files was a tax fraud scheme that reportedly was used by a network of banks, stock traders and top lawyers to obtain billions from European treasuries through…

The South Korean arm of the Tezos Foundation has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Yonsei University for the development of unique talents and expertise in blockchain technology, according to a press release published by Tezos. The release reads: “Through this agreement, both sides will strengthen the expertise of the blockchain and education expertise, and discuss various cooperation opportunities to lead the blockchain field.” The new agreement, which is between the Seoul-based Digital Society Research Center at Yonsei University and the Tezos Korea Foundation, will look into providing “blockchain…