Smart lessons

BNP Paribas live blockchain payments; Axoni funding; Ledger debut; blockchain collaboration; smart contract lessons View this email in your browser December 22nd, 2016 "The assumption that what currently exists must necessarily exist is the acid that corrodes all visionary thinking." – Murray Bookchin Got this from a friend? SUBSCRIBE HERE Now that smart contract hype seems to be dying down, Jeffrey Billingham, blockchain lead for Markit, shares lessons learned.   Among the main takeaways: smart contracts are not the same as digital assets with relatively simple conditions; they cannot be implemented by the blockchain alone; and they require a rethinking of processes, beyond the transfer of value and information.   Looking forward, Billingham believes that 2017 will see a renewal of interest in smart assets and what smart contracts can do for them. We will also see, he predicts, a flurry of proof-of-concepts put into production. (You can see more of our 2016 Year in Review series HERE.)   Read the full story Share Tweet Ethereum has gone through some major changes this year. And next year looks like it will be even more interesting.   Hudson Jameson of the Ethereum Foundation will give a talk at CONSTRUCT, our invite-only developer conference in San Francisco, USA on January 30-31. He'll be joined by other senior engineers and industry leaders, in a unique gathering of the minds behind recent innovation and upcoming updates. Come take a look with us at where the sector is going. 😎 APPLY TO ATTEND 😎 Wait, there's more: Why Collaboration Will Drive Blockchain's Success in 2017 *Year in Review*: Richard Collin, software engineering lead at Thomson Reuters, believes that blockchain success depends on collaboration. To overcome the obstacles of usability, developers will need to collaborate with each other and with consumers. Collin urges developers to continue pooling resources and forging partnerships, which he says will give the sector resilience and shared strength. Read more. BNP Paribas Clients Conduct 'Live' Blockchain Payments It's getting real. A global collectibles seller and a packaging firm have conducted 'live' transactions using BNP Paribas' blockchain service. The participants were Panini Group, an Italy-based sports collectibles firm, and Amcor, an Australian packaging firm. Read more. $18 Million Series A for Blockchain Startup Axoni Blockchain firm Axoni has completed an $18m Series A round led by Wells Fargo and ICAP. Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Thomson Reuters, Andreessen Horowitz, DCG, FinTech Collective and F-Prime Capital Partners also participated. The New York-based startup focuses on blockchain applications for financial services. Read more. 'Ledger': 1st Volume of Peer-Reviewed Blockchain Research The first issue of the blockchain-focused academic journal 'Ledger' has been published. Aimed at encouraging academic contributions to blockchain technology, the articles are available to anyone. The editorial board includes representatives from Oxford, Cornell, the Bank of England, and ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin, among others. Read more.   Go to CoinDesk BTC: $867.96 +5.8%  ETH: $7.63 -2.1% @10:00 EST - More price details There's only two more days to take our survey and enter for a $100 Amazon gift certificate! 😁 Those of you who have already responded, we really thank you. We're looking forward to incorporating your comments and wishes in our product designs for 2017.  🎁 TAKE THE SURVEY  🎁 PRESS RELEASES   No RSS items found. Do you think this email is better with the longer, skimmable headlines? Or do you miss the short, witty (and sometimes enigmatic) teasers? Just hit "Reply" and let me know! If you like this email, how about sharing it with your friends by tweeting, posting or simply forwarding? We'd really appreciate it.  Share Tweet Copyright © 2016 CoinDesk, All rights reserved. You're receiving this email because you subscribed for updates on our website. Our mailing address is: CoinDesk 636 Avenue of the Americas New York City, NY 10011 Add us to your address book Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list