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Hype Cycle Blockchain

Blockchain has moved on…

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Blockchain has moved on since we started this journey. If Bitcoin was first generation Blockchain, Hyperledger was second generation. We are now into THIRD generation, which is described as permissioned decentralized blockchain.

Libra, Facebook’s offering in the digital currency space is exactly that, and Microsoft is clearly committed to blockchain technology. That being the case, you can bet Amazon and Google are not far behind.

In  many ways Scotcoin is lucky that solutions which less than a year ago appeared final and long term, have in fact proven to be less than robust. But we at Scotcoin have remained committed to research and partnerships with credible players in the industry.

We have refined our approach to define 5 pillars on which any solution must stand.

  • 1. An efficient and cost effective migration process. We have some 3500 holders of Scotcoin we need to migrate safely and securely
  • 2. A robust blockchain solution
  • 3. Un-issued surplus coin creation (for reward and future distribution)
  • 4. Access to an efficient secondary market or markets and
  • 5. Crucially, a reliable and durable delivery partner with likely longevity. Present management both of Scotcoin and providers of blockchains will unfortunately not live forever. That means the company we choose to go with must be extremely well capitalised and look to have longevity.

In terms of progress, for 1/2/3 and 5 we have solid ticks. 4 is the crucial one and is the most difficult for all altcoins.

It is however one we have to make sure works for all our holders. In essence it is the provision of liquidity to all Scotcoin users and this has to be guaranteed.

As ever, America is 6 to 9 months ahead of the UK and Europe in this regard, but that does mean we are able to look at solutions being offered and choose the best features. As usual, everything reverts to the mean and what a few months ago was thin on the ground is becoming almost commonplace today.

We have been through the classic hype cycle of euphoria followed by crash and burn, then slow revival and quiet confidence.

hype cycle for Blockchain business 2018

It looks very much as if we are now in this latter stage, with positive developments and progress on the provision of blockchain technology and you can be assured the Scotcoin team is across this.

We at Scotcoin as I say are very much in the penultimate  stages of choosing the long term provider we need, and look forward to announcing our collaboration with them in  the near future, which we aim to secure the future of your Scotcoin predicated on our five pillars.

Scotcoin - Chocolate Bitcoins

Chocolate Bitcoins

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If you are a chocoholic like me, you just might know that Belgium has been involved with the manufacture and sale of chocolate for nearly 400 years. Yes, 400 years. It has more than 2000 chocolate shops selling just – chocolate. They manufacture over 170,000 tons a year. It’s a big business. And it’s been growing for 400 years.

And that is actually the point here. It’s been growing for 400 years. What was it like after say…. 10 years? Around 1645……

Well, I’m not pretending I know exactly how much they produced, but I do know (from historical records) there were less than ten chocolate shops. So let’s just think what that means. In the last 373 years, the number of shops has grown from 10 to 2000. It represents an increase of just over 5 chocolate shops per year, every year, from then until now. That may not sound like much but look where it has ended up.

Now go back just say… 10 years from today. And hey, there’s this new thing called blockchain. And it does something called Bitcoin. And hey, usage, knowledge, and acceptance is growing.

My point is this blockchain business is absolutely in its infancy. It’s probably less accepted than chocolate was in Belgium after 10 years. From my point of view there is no contest between chocolate and the blockchain, but suppose blockchain grows as we all think it will.

All our present institutions and technology has had years to mature. Banks, as we know them, are 300 plus years old. The UK Parliament has been growing and evolving for more than 700 years.

So as regulators and central banks try to frame responses to where we are with blockchain and crypto currencies, let’s just reflect on how young this all is.

Let it grow. Let it evolve. Let it mature. And let it enrich – exactly has chocolate has done.

 

Rigging the crypto currency markets

Rigging The Crypto Currency Markets

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The news that US regulators are investigating crypto currency exchanges for illegal rigging activities should come as no surprise to anyone.

When you are in the Wild West, anything goes, and can go on for as long as no one pulls the plug on it.

But this particular move is all part of the worldwide efforts by regulators and central banks to bring some oversight and order to the crypto world. Think of the Wild West and how law and order came to it over a period once the abuses became so much that Washington got involved. The same is now happening with blockchain and crypto currencies – not a surprise to us at Scotcoin. We have been preaching about how regulation was coming and how this was a good thing for over two years now. Our new permissioned blockchain will handle all these requirements as a prerequisite.

What this also emphasises is how right we were to be happy to remove from Bittrex. The total speculation and pump and dump culture had no part in what we have been building.

There are still people who view cryptos as get rich quick schemes. Indeed I was looking at some exchanges on our Twitter (which please follow!) where someone was looking to buy something he could rapidly sell at a profit. That is actually counterproductive in terms of the evolution of digital currencies. If people are to have trust in them, they have to be sure of the value at any given point. Arguably, the worst offender is Bitcoin – A year ago $1000, Christmas $20,000, now $6500. How on earth can any business plan its forward sales and cash flows dealing with that?

Ideally you want a very slow and steady increase in price over time. Most people will by now have forgotten the German “Wirtschaftswunder” (Economic Miracle) of the 1950s ,60s and 70s. It is a given nowadays that Germany is one of the pre-eminent economies in the world. Not so after WW2 and into the early 60’s. Ludwig Erhard – the then German Economics Minister, equivalent to our Chancellor of the Exchequer – believed there was a way to guarantee economic growth. It wasn’t quantitative easing on a grand scale (as people seem to believe erroneously nowadays). He believed that what gave business the confidence to invest and grow was certainty. So he said categorically that the money supply would grow at 2% pa for the foreseeable future – no more and no less. And he stuck to that religiously for 20 odd years. He was so successful he ended up as German Chancellor.

We at Scotcoin have the same philosophy. We don’t want ups and downs destroying trade. We want trade to grow and grow with confidence, in the way that the German economy grew mightily from the 1950’s onward. If we could replicate that in Scotland we would, as the saying goes, be quids in.

Better Blockchain regulation needed – says former White House Regulator

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Former White House financial regulator and Goldman Sachs partner, Gary Gensler, today called for better blockchain regulation.  He suggests that both Ether and Ripple may well have issues surrounding American securities regulations because of the way they have been traded.  Bitcoin remains unaffected but it opens up the debate on more regulation within the cryptocurrency world.

Mr Gensler joins the world famous M.I.T. lab as a lecturer and has no virtual currency investments himself, said he was not tied to any coin’s winning the race. But he does think changes are necessary before blockchains can go mainstream.

FULL ARTICLE:

Scotcoin moves to private blockchain

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PRESS RELEASE: 23 October 2017 – SCOTCOIN TO MIGRATE TO ITS OWN PRIVATE BLOCKCHAIN

The Scotcoin Project is pleased to announce that it has awarded the contract to manage the migration from the Counterparty blockchain to its own private blockchain to Scotesq, a fintech company based in Edinburgh, Scotland.

The new blockchain will remove intermediate currency risk allowing participants in the ecosystem to move directly between Sterling and Scotcoin.  The new blockchain will also comply with Financial Conduct Authority ‘Know Your Customer/Anti Money Laundering (KYC/AML)’ obligations.

The investors’ objective and desire is for the Scottish Government to approve Scotcoin as the country’s unofficial cryptocurrency.

Willie Fleming of The Scotcoin Project said:

“We are proud to announce this important milestone in the development of the currency.  Regulation is coming to the crypto world, an evolution we both embrace and welcome.  The adoption of KYC/AML responsibilities will assist Scotcoin in gaining the legitimacy and respect necessary for Scotcoin to play its rightful role in Scotland and Europe’s economy.”

David Low of Scotesq said:

“We are delighted to work with The Scotcoin Project on this important development of the Scotcoin ecosystem which will ensure all work associated with the migration will stay in Scotland.”

Notes for media:-

Scotcoin is a crypto currency established in 2014 by Derek Nisbet, a Scottish fintech entrepreneur.  It operates on the Bitcoin blockchain using the Counterparty protocol and has a market value of 10 million USD placing it in the top 200 of global crypto currencies as measured by the USD value.

In 2016 all intellectual property associated with Scotcoin was acquired from Nisbet by Scottish fintech investors, David Low and Temple Melville

The investors’ desire is for the Scottish Government to approve Scotcoin as the country’s unofficial cryptocurrency.  It is acknowledged that currency is not a devolved responsibility whilst Scotland remains part of the UK.  Scotcoin could only become an official currency if Scotland was independent of the UK or current legislation was changed.

Media Contact: Willie Fleming – 07494 540764  [email protected]

BUY SCOTCOIN @ Exchange.ScotcoinProject.com