How the First ESG Blockchain Is Doing It Right?

With several blockchains projects competing to get the edge, the big names frequently get the shots. However, small blockchains like Telos still manage to make a name for themselves and even exceed the functionality of the bigger ones in some areas.

It is always important to look beyond the big names because the undervalued blockchains (such as Telos) are known to offer tremendous potential.

Major enterprises and organisations have overlooked the big-name blockchains and are now turning to Telos to launch and run blockchain applications.

With this in consideration, this article, therefore, aims to explore how Telos – the first ESG Blockchain – is doing it right.

Socially Responsible Investing

As the global economic landscape continues evolving at a rapid pace, it appears that an increasing number of investors are fast becoming more environmentally conscious. For example, Elon Musk, Tesla CEO, recently halted accepting Bitcoin payments for the automaker’s various products. Musk cited that reaching such a decision was due to Bitcoin’s mining processes being relatively energy-intensive.

In recent times, environmental, social & Governance (ESG) investment and business practices have begun to gain widespread attention. Many investors are starting to use ESG as one of the main standards when weighing the potential risks of any business initiative looking to put their finances.

However, ESG reporting has come with certain challenges, which can be addressed by decentralised, transparent blockchain technology. While the calls of the integration of blockchain markets and the ESG have continued rising in the fintech landscape, only a few blockchain solutions have sought to integrate two aspects together, an issue that has made Telos widely known.

Since its inception, Telos, which is regarded as the best and fastest, virtually fee-less blockchain platform, has been helping to mitigate several environmental problems that have hindered the growth of the blockchain industry.

The energy usage ratio of the Telos blockchain is identified to be significantly lower than several of its blockchain competitors such as Cardano, Ethereum 2.0, Bitcoin, and others. Telos normally undergo regular audits to keep its CO2 generation figures and native energy consumption in check.

Telos – the first ESG blockchain provider – has been receiving mass adoption by real-world users across the globe because of its environmental and social consciousness.

Cracking Interoperability Problem

Lack of interoperability is a major concern that has been preventing blockchain mass adoption. Interoperability is highly crucial as organisations and enterprises depend on higher levels of interactions and collaborations. No enterprise will want to conduct its payments with a blockchain whose overall infrastructure is not interoperable and secured.

Telos is getting much more attention than other blockchains because of its ability to offer interoperability solutions.

Telos blockchain supports transactions on other chains and networks, integrates existing systems with multiple apps, and makes it simpler for developers to switch from one underlying platform to another.

Telos supports the creation of dApps and DAOs running on EOSIO and enables developers to create and run Ethereum-compatible smart contracts without any transaction fees. 

With Telos EVM (Ethereum Virtual Machine), people can build and deploy decentralised applications how they were meant to be, with high speeds, no limit on users, and no middlemen.

Telos EVM allows blockchain developers to choose whatever languages and tools they want and create an EVM bytecode they want to deploy on an Ethereum-powered blockchain and drop it to an EOSIO blockchain uninterruptedly. Also, with Telos blockchain, clients using Web 3.0 can shift to a different series of API (Application Program Interface) providers.

Telos’ Transledger platform uses its blockchain technology to empower its interoperability network, thus enabling transferring different cryptocurrencies between different blockchains.

Scalability Solutions

When people talk about various blockchains in the market, they frequently point at those ecosystems that belong to cryptocurrencies with high market capitalisation. Ethereum, Cardano, Polkadot, and Tezos are popular blockchains because nobody can deny their prominent positions in the market capitalisation rankings.

Despite such popularity, Ethereum has shown several scalability problems. Polkadot has still not launched its parachain upgrade to hook individual side-chains into the main blockchain. While Cardano has only recently launched smart contracts, Tezos, which recognises itself with NFTs, DeFi and other tools, most of its projects are still in development.

To achieve efficiency, blockchain technology needs to be scalable, fast, and facilitate mass adoption. Telos, which has been existing since 2018, might be undervalued in that regard.

Compared to other major blockchains, Telos differentiates itself across several segments. The Telos Network is widely known for its ability to process about 5,000 transactions per second, and its average transaction is much faster than other blockchains.

Conclusion

All the functionalities mentioned above have attracted the attention of some big brands. Cisco, Microsoft, Siemens, Taikai, and Zalando are just a few firms using Telos blockchain to develop applications and unlock real-world activities.

Telos combines the best of different ecosystems and successfully adds other benefits on top, and this makes it offer important features that other blockchains do not provide.

While other blockchains appear to focus mainly on cryptocurrency users, Telos seems to tackle real-world problems and scenarios.

With gaps still being seen in major blockchains, alternative ecosystems like Telos offer impressive solutions. Big brands have noticed this and are now turning to Telos to launch and run their applications on the blockchain.

Image source: Shutterstock

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@OptimistLib @ErikVoorhees @ryanunderdev @SatoshiChela Swtiching cost is basically nil. @cz_binance has BSC with fees a fraction of ETH. TRX and probably EOS similar. If/when incentive is there users will switch on a dime.

@OptimistLib @ErikVoorhees @ryanunderdev @SatoshiChela Swtiching cost is basically nil. @cz_binance has BSC with fees a fraction of ETH. TRX and probably EOS similar. If/when incentive is there users will switch on a dime.

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@gutiman18 Facebook is a company that provides its users with services they value, advertisers with a way to reach their customers, and generates profits for its shareholders. What does that have to do with Bitcoin?

@gutiman18 Facebook is a company that provides its users with services they value, advertisers with a way to reach their customers, and generates profits for its shareholders. What does that have to do with #Bitcoin?

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Binance Launches “Vanilla” Options Contracts, “European Style”

In brief

  • Binance has launched a new Bitcoin options contract.
  • It will allow traders to issue their own contracts.
  • Users will be able to buy Bitcoin at an agreed-upon price, then trade it for other currencies.

Crypto exchange Binance today announced a new type of Bitcoin options contract that simplifies things for traders and lets them issue their own contracts for the first time. 

Termed “European-Style Vanilla Bitcoin Options,” they allow users to buy Bitcoin at an agreed-upon price upon the expiry of the contract, then trade it for other cryptocurrencies. 

European-style contracts depart from the American-style options contracts that Binance launched in April 2020, which allow traders to purchase the Bitcoin at any point, right up until the contract expires. 

European-style contracts are called “vanilla” options contracts because they’re far less “exotic” than the more complex American options contracts, claims the company, which opened its doors in China (before the government decided that Binance was itself too “exotic” for the country’s centrally-planned economy.)

Binance claims that these European-style contracts also protect traders from volatility: investors can sell these contracts Bitcoin at a specified price within an agreed time frame. They’re settled in the US dollar-pegged stablecoin, Tether (USDT). 

But European-style contracts also come with greater risk…and potential reward. While Binance was the sole-issuer of American-style contracts, traders can issue these European-style options themselves. 

This means that traders can set their own rules: there are no limits on the size of the contract, so long as the issuer has sufficient collateral. 

And this means that buyers may pay a greater premium for the contracts, but also that an issuer is obliged to fulfill the contract, even if Bitcoin’s price reaches a billion squillion cajillion dollars. 

Binance said that it’s launching the European-style contracts to encourage investment from institutional investors; the exchange hit $1 billion in daily volumes for options trading this month and reckoned that it’s time to kick things up a notch. 

Bitcoin options are a very popular way to invest in the cryptocurrency. It’s expected that open interest in Bitcoin options will exceed $10 billion next year, according to data from crypto analytics firm Skew

A Bitcoin market full of options contracts, however, is potentially a volatile one. Should the price of Bitcoin have increased by the time contracts expire, traders may want to dump some of it to cash out on their investment. If enough traders dump at once, the price of Bitcoin could drop. 

On Christmas Day, some $2.3 billion in Bitcoin options contracts expired, unleashing all that Bitcoin onto the market.

But Bitcoin’s price jumped by $4,000 in two days, hitting all-time high after all-time high.

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Huobi Welcomes New Year in Style, Offers Over $1 Million in Awards and Gifts Giveaways to its Users

The leading cryptocurrency derivatives exchange and trading platform, Huobi is all set to make the beginning of 2021 a memorable one for its loyal userbase. Thanking the community for its support, Huobi has announced the “Celebrate 2021 by Joining Huobi Happy New Year Activities” campaign where users can win daily rewards and more than 400 gifts this holiday season, between Dec 24, 2020, and Jan 6, 2021.

Apart from winning the holiday giveaways by trading and spinning the wheel, Huobi also has a huge $1,000,000 lucky draw planned as a part of its “Trade USDT-Margined Swaps to Win $1 Million Lucky Draw” campaign. While further details about the lucky draw campaign are still awaited, here is some information about the reward programs that one can start participating in right away.

Trade, Spin and Get Daily Awards

First of the two “Celebrate 2021 by Joining Huobi Happy New Year Activities” events, it starts at 00:00 on Dec 24, 2020, and ends at 23:59 on Jan 6, 2021. During the event period, spot trading any digital asset on Huobi Global gives users a chance to spin the Wheel of Fortune and win daily rewards, in real-time.

Reloads and free spins available every day, for every player, in mBitcasino Crypto Autumn Bonanza! Play Now!

To be eligible to participate in the contest, the users will have to satisfy the following requirements and the maximum number of spins per day is limited to three.







Activity I Requirement

Trading Volume)

Spins Rewards Time
Trade, Spin and Get Daily Rewards 100USDT – 1,000USDT Once (1) Huobi Point Card、HUSD Airdrop From 24th December 2020 to 6th January, 2021
1,000USDT – 10,000USDT Twice (2)
>10,000USDT Three times (3)

The spins earned on a particular day must be used on the same day and can’t be carried over for a later date. The rewards issued in real-time will be available to winners in their exchange accounts within three days.

2021 New Year Exclusive – Trade, Spin and Win “Treasure Chests”

As a continuation of the previous contest, those spinning the Wheel of Fortune at least 10 times till Jan 5, 2020, will get a chance to spin for winning Treasure Chests (New Year gifts) on the last day. The Treasure Chests are blind boxes with New Year gifts which may include an iPhone 122 Max (512 GB), a LEGO Star Wars Episode VIII (1416 Piece), a GoPro HERO9, a pair of Beats Solo3 Wireless ON-Ear Headphones, Amazon eGift Card, Redragon S101 Wired Gaming Keyboard and Mouse Combo or a RUNMUS Gaming Headset Xbox. The Treasure Chest prize will be opened in real-time.





Activity II

2021 New Year Exclusive)

Requirement

Spins)

Spins Rewards Time
Trade, Spin and Win

“Treasure Chests”

≥10 Once (1) iPhone 12 Pro Max (512GB)/ LEGO Star Wars Episode VIII (1416 Piece)/ GoPro HERO9/ Beats Solo3 Wireless On-Ear Headphones – Pop Magenta (Renewed)/ Amazon eGift Card/ Redragon S101 Wired Gaming Keyboard and Mouse Combo/ RUNMUS Gaming Headset Xbox From 24th December 2020 to 6th January 2021

Spin to win and open  “Treasure Chest” on 6th January 2021

Huobi’s “Celebrate 2021 by Joining Huobi Happy New Year Activities” event is also open for new users. By signing up on the platform, they can also win a $170 Welcome Bonus.

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Users vs. governments: The ‘infinity war’ for blockchain privacy may be over

The unique power of blockchain and cryptocurrency can also be considered their weakness. Crypto users gain unparalleled privacy for financial transactions through a decentralized transactional system. Governments, however, demand transparency in financial transactions for legal concerns. This creates a paradox. People are less inclined to use financial instruments if, in doing so, they expose their money to the world. Conversely, there are a number of regulations requiring financial institutions to counteract terrorism and money laundering — serious concerns for many governments.

The crux of the issue is that most public blockchains require a consensus of all participants to validate transactions. How can both sides — individual users and governments — achieve their conflicting objectives when they’re diametrically opposed?

A potential solution to this problem involves balancing the privacy concerns of users with the centralized oversight necessary for governments to ensure that regulations like Anti-Money Laundering, Know Your Customer and Combating the Financing of Terrorism are observed. Implementing measures for confidential transactions alongside those for governmental surveillance strikes a delicate balance in which cryptocurrency assets remain discreet yet subject to the laws governing finance around the world.

Related: Comparing money laundering with cryptocurrencies and fiat

Countering terrorism and money laundering

The government’s need to monitor cryptocurrency transactions for counterterrorism and AML purposes is critical for public safety, especially since these two areas are interrelated. Money laundering can be used to fund terrorist activities, which — like everything else — require funding, even if it doesn’t involve money laundering. Surveying the money flow between parties on popular cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH) and others can provide invaluable information for preventing these crimes. Regulatory bodies need insight into which parties are paying whom and why, at the very least.

However, cryptocurrency’s very nature makes it easy to mask these and other transactions. Bitcoin may be traceable with modern tools, but some transactions are completely untraceable with other cryptocurrencies. These legitimate concerns partly explain the formation of organizations like the Financial Action Task Force, which exists to counteract money laundering and terrorist financing, and whose efforts would greatly benefit from improved visibility into cryptocurrency transactions.

Related: A minister’s look at what regulators expect from the industry

Privacy matters

The general public’s privacy issues about using cryptocurrencies are, in many ways, opposed to the visibility the government requires for AML and terrorism efforts. People simply want to keep their business as discreet with cryptocurrencies as it is with conventional currency transactions. However, the transaction validation features of public blockchains can potentially expose this information, invading users’ financial privacy.

Related: Blockchain can provide the right to privacy that everyone deserves

The first element of a solution providing consumer privacy in tandem with governmental oversight is to redress this issue. There are confidential transaction features — some of which are used by cryptocurrencies Monero (XMR) or Zcash (ZEC) — that obfuscate the amount and participants of a transaction while still validating it for a blockchain. These cryptocurrencies provide measures to prevent people from knowing the origin, the destination and the amount of a specific transaction. These approaches assuage many of the privacy concerns of cryptocurrency holders.

Related: Dash claims ‘inaccurate categorization’ as ShapeShift delists privacy coins

Cryptocurrency surveillance

By pairing these privacy methods with the following ideas for cryptocurrency surveillance, governments can monitor activity for counter-terrorism and AML purposes. Say, for example, there is a cryptocurrency backed by an organization consisting of a finite number of banks. The first thing users would have to do is onboard with those institutions — much as they would with any other — which provides an initial layer of insight into cryptocurrency behavior while supporting mandates like KYC. Then, after users issue transactions to others enrolled in this organization, they would be obligated to disclose the details to one of the banking members for proof. This obligation can be enforced on the transactor by the use of cryptography so that the validators can ascertain that the disclosure has been correctly made.

Related: The data economy is a dystopian nightmare

Such an approach would enable the government to collectively ask each bank the particulars of a transaction so it can monitor the money flow. The government would therefore have central oversight courtesy of the individual financial institutions’ input. With this paradigm, the banks validate transactions, the government collects all the data for central analysis and surveillance, and consumer privacy is upheld among financial organizations and cryptocurrency users. There are additional cryptographic approaches that, when coupled with blockchain’s cryptographic underpinnings, can support this model for both privacy and regulatory adherence.

Related: You should care about decentralized identity in the wake of COVID-19

Cryptocurrency usage is rapidly evolving. It’s unacceptable for financial institutions to tell national or international regulators that they don’t know whether transactions are legitimate. It’s equally unacceptable to expose the financial prowess of legitimate users to everyone on a blockchain. 

The views, thoughts and opinions expressed here are the author’s alone and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.

Debasish Ray Chawdhuri is the senior principal engineer at Talentica. Debasish is an IIT Delhi alumnus and a researcher who has worked closely with founders of high-growth startups and enabled the adoption of emerging technologies like Blockchain. He has published several research papers on privacy, cryptocurrency, smart contracts and cryptography on prominent platforms like IEEE and Springer. He also authored a renowned book on data structure and algorithms.