We Depend on Plastic but, Now we’re Drowning in it



“Ignorance is bliss” a proverb that means if one is unaware of an unpleasant fact or situation, one can never be troubled by it. An overlooked case of plastics and the problems caused due to it. We use plastic products on a large scale, unaware of the fact that how many problems it causes to the environment and ultimately affects us.
Talking about marine pollution due to plastic products; the major sources of plastic wastes in our oceans are plastic bags and plastic packaging materials. These particles are large in size and they break down into plastic particles of 5 mm size which are termed as micro plastics and thus results in marine micro plastic pollution. Although there are various recommended ways of recycling plastic waste but not all waste can be recycled and also not every country has capabilities to adapt these techniques. Due to the durability of plastic, it lasts longer taking so much time to degrade, which results in dumping of plastics as land-fill and a portion of it ends up in rivers and eventually it reaches to the oceans.
Use of plastic micro beads in day-to-day products also contribute to marine pollution as when we use them for our personal care they get washed out through drains and eventually end up in the oceans. According to a UN report in 2010, between 5 million to 13 million tons of plastic was found in the oceans which was eventually found inside the stomachs of water bodies. According to a Professor of marine biology, Plymouth University, a quarter of the fishes that are sold in the markets contains plastic.
Shocking results came in a study conducted in 2015 in the United States of America when it was found that nearly 8.1 trillion micro beads end up in the oceans everyday. But soon after this study companies such as Clarins and Procter & Gamble decided to remove these micro beads from their products. These facts reflect the threat we are under.
But just by merely discussing about this problem won’t solve it then “What should we do”, so here are some instances where this problem was rather countered with:
•   In July 2016, The Grantham Institute at Imperial College London suggested that by managing plastic waste at source itself is the most effective way of reducing marine pollution. They believed that plastic should not be thrown away as it can be a valuable raw material in various places such as in building roads.
•   Rwanda launched a Vision 2020 plan under which they banned the use of non-biodegradable polythene bags in 2008. The outcome of this plan was that Rwanda became the world’s first plastic-free nation.
•   On 14th November, 2017 , The Blockchain Development Company (Technology Start-Up) calculated and neutralized the annual plastic of organizations and families by purchasing credits using Blockchain Technology.
• On 16th May, 2018 , National Geographic launches "Planet Or Plastic?"- a multilayer initiative to reduce Single-use Plastics and their impact on the World’s Ocean.
“Don’t these instances make us believe that if we determine to fight against this problem then it can be countered effectively so let’s take a pledge that we will stand together and fight against it in every possible way.”

https://medium.com/@swachhcoin/we-depend-on-plastic-but-now-were-drowning-in-it-3cda0f2277ed

TravelFlex wallet source update

We have completed the wallet source update at v1.1 and will be available on Github in a few hours.
All QT wallets will be updated (Linux/Windows/OSX).
Wallet Android - will be unavailable for several hours until the upgrade.
Web wallets will be also unavailable for several hours (cp.travelflex.org, wallet.travelflex.org)
The update starts Today, May 20, 2018.

What is new?

1. The transaction speed is two times higher
2. We doubled the amount of transactions per block
3. Block reward is 0.5 TRF.

Notes:

Please do not make transactions on days 20, 21, 22 of May until the wallet has not been updated as some blocks may come in late.
It’s a huge update and it will solve the sales pressure. Miners can dump coins anymore.
https://medium.com/@travelflexcoin/travelflex-wallet-source-update-2e694fe296db

Datawallet Launches New Website

we are very pleased to share with you our new website which aims to make the big idea that is Datawallet more easily understandable. We are breaking down our vision for the different stakeholders and will be keeping you informed on all things Datawallet. Let us explain to you the different parts and what’s yet to come.
https://medium.com/datawallet-blog/datawallet-launches-new-website-ca38549f9a27

Sunday TIMEs Issue #31
14 May — 20 May 2018

Welcome to the Issue #31 of Sunday TIMEs: Only 4 more days until LaborX beta launch, New Telegram sticker pack online, The Labour-Hour Tokens Economy, Ask us anything about LaborX and TimeX, personal data on LaborX and Price Update. https://blog.chronobank.io/sunday-times-issue-31-d0b270e0f354

MT Market is near!
Friday is a great day to share our good news with you. We are excited to finally introduce MT Market! Read on to discover what it will look like, it’s awesome features, traded goods & future updates.We are planning to release the beta of new improved MT Market by May 30, and implement all the features by mid June. https://medium.com/@ModulTrade/mt-market-is-near-d6788d07bcaf

Play2Live Exchange Listing & Project Updates



We are proud to announce that we have reached an agreement with Yobit, CoinBene and HitBTC — the world’s fourth largest trading volume crypto exchange.
 “We have reached preliminary agreements with several exchanges, including Yobit, CoinBene and HitBTC. Starting May 21, 2018 our token will be traded on HitBTC — one of the most reliable crypto exchanges in the world. To ensure further development of Play2Live ecosystem and Level Up Chain, users will be offered an opportunity to trade LUC token on other reliable and established cryptocurrency exchange platforms, “ comments Alexey Burdyko, CEO and Founder of Play2Live. https://medium.com/@play2live.project/play2live-exchange-listing-project-updates-9bff47f7bc0a

Vestarin: an update from developers



Dear friends, community and all, who are interested in the Vestarin project! We want to share with you the latest news and the important announcement — release of the new functions is on the way!

What we are busy now with
At first, about the current situation. Now we work on back-end functionality of a mobile application of the platform. Plus, the front-end part of the desktop version is ready. Also, our team continues to involve new partners to the Vestarin ecosystem, that could be seen in social networks.

What to wait for in the near future?
About the future important events, along with completion of the separate elements of the platform, we prepare for the release of the first sections of the Vestarin system. The release of the first functionality will take place very soon: within two weeks. We plan to start the sections Registration, Professionals, Chat, Profile, News and ICO.

Of course, the sections News and ICO still demand to fill by content, it will take some time. But there will be ready sections with qualitative information and thematic materials from the world of ICO projects, the fintech-industry and blockchain technologies.

Vestarin becomes one more step closer to the fully working multipurpose platform.

To the community
We want to thank all who support our project and help to achieve the goal. We need your support now. We urge all VST token-holders to be patient. Soon you will be able to estimate functionality of Vestarin and to be convinced, that we really make all efforts, creating for you a really qualitative product.

Don’t follow the token-hunters or beginners, who are interested in the token, not in the platform with a full-fledged turn of tokens. It is an extremely short-sighted approach. We will remind, cryptocurrencies with the serious turnover are accepted by the exchanges with much more loyal conditions — this way is longer, but it is more reliable.

Token-hunters, exchange speculators and beginners panic consciously or on ignorance, not up to the end understanding how the long-term investments work. Some people want to get rid of tokens as soon as possible, bringing its price down, thus, having framed the community and our team of developers. This is an unfair behavior, but we don’t ignore even their interests — just ask to wait. Everything is good in its season!

International cryptocurrency marketplace is not even an online store, which development takes many months — it is much more difficult and more large-scale. It is impossible to build a qualitative digital product in one month, therefore, we urge you to be patient for the sake of future achievements. Much thanks to those, who understand it and support the team!

In fact, we are the first and we move forward at own risk. There are no ready decisions for the creation of the multipurpose crypto — platform, but our experts are firmly convinced of the course and know how to achieve goals. Token not end in itself, but only an ecosystem element, important, however not only.

We create everything have from scratch and have already achieved quite good results in development. At the same time, we develop the mobile and desktop application version, we continue to look for and successfully find new partners for a marketplace of the platform. In our opinion, it is a very good speed for a so young startup. Our team doesn’t look for a momentary hype but tries to create a really working and necessary product, that will give a token a stable liquidity and provide its further growth.

Vestarin doesn’t intend to stop and will move forward only, contrary to all ill-wishers and skeptics! The future of the fintech-industry is ours!

VINstuff #4 (May 14 - May 20) https://vinchain.io/ru/blog/199
Here is our weekly update on everything that we are currently doing! Read all about our latest news, developments, conferences, and future plans! Our project is growing and developing further and we are happy to share our progress with you! Please leave us your feedback as we will be extremely glad to hear from you!

AirPod’s Pre-Sale is Now on Track, Dates Announced
https://www.newsbtc.com/2018/05/18/airpods-pre-sale-now-track-dates-announced/

The state-of-the-art ICO project by AirPod is taking off after the platform announced May 29, 2018, as the day when APOD tokens are going to become available for purchase. The token sale is set to start after the AirPod presentation at CryptoKonf in Belgrade on the same day and it will drive the project, enabling a blockchain based franchise distribution model for sleeping pods. The AirPod project is designed to be a self-expanding business with utmost levels of transparency, provided with the help of an internal fast-growing crypto-economy.

The AirPod token sale provides an opportunity for any cryptocurrency investor to create a profitable and stable channel to earn passive income.

Vladislav Martynov, Ethereum Advisory Board member and Ilya Yashin, CEO of World Wi-Fi AMA Stream

Tune in to watch our AMA session with Vladislav Martynov, Ethereum Advisory Board member and Ilya Yashin, CEO of World Wi-Fi. This time the Stream is dedicated to "Practical applications of blockchain in the Sharing Economy segment".
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYx2bjYXzOQpCHjf_xFOQQg/live

Horizon State joins the Australian Digital Commerce Association

MELBOURNE, 9 May, 2018 — Horizon State has joined the Australian Digital Commerce Association (ADCA).

The ADCA is an industry group made up of Australian businesses implementing blockchain solutions, with members working together to build understanding of the technology and engaging with government and regulatory stakeholders.

ADCA aims to encourage the responsible adoption of blockchain technology by industry and governments across Australia as a means to drive innovation in service delivery across all sectors of the economy.

ADCA counts among its members professional services firms EY, PwC, Accenture, KPMG and Deloitte; law firms Gilbert + Tobin, Allens, Maddocks and DLA Piper; and leading corporates such as Illion, Equifax, Perpetual, Optus and Computershare.

The news follows the recent announcement by the Australian government on the increase in funding towards blockchain research under its 2018–19 Budget. The government will set aside AU$700,000 in funding for the Digital Transformation Agency (DTA) to “investigate areas where blockchain technology could offer the most value for government services”.

Australia is uniquely positioned to provide global leadership in the adoption of blockchain technologies, with ADCA partnering with the Australian Trade and Investment Commission on several trade missions to promote Australian blockchain businesses and showcase proof of concepts overseas.

As a member of ADCA, Horizon State will work with stakeholder groups such as Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) to advocate for the technology and help with setting best-practice standards for the industry.

Chief executive officer of the ADCA, Nicholas Giurietto, has praised Horizon State’s addition to the industry group.

“Horizon State is an Australian blockchain pioneer, building solutions that have the potential to transform corporate governance and even the efficiency and confidence in our electoral system,” Giurietto said.

Speaking from Melbourne, co-founder Jamie Skella said he was delighted the company was joining the ADCA as an industry partner.

“The ADCA offers Horizon State the industry network needed to build an understanding of the potential of the technology in order to advocate for best practices and engage with government and regulatory stakeholders,” Skella said.

https://medium.com/horizonstate/horizon-state-joins-the-australian-digital-commerce-association-d7d3ddc73d4f

The Tap Project Episode 7 : From MVP to SLC ! https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=2&v=5gJRJzruM_E

Join Co-founders Haniff and Hugh as they discuss the Tap Project, ICO's, Cryptocurrencies and Blockchain gaming . This is the 7th episode of a bi-weekly series where the co-founders will be discussing anything surrounding blockchain technology. Visit www.tapproject.net to learn more about the Tap Coin; And how it serves a utility by paying gamers to play videogames. Follow to hear each podcast on the 2nd and last Saturday of each month!

The Tap Project is a blockchain based transferable in-game token that aims to decentralize the gaming industry and provide gamers with options and opportunities when it comes to in-game earned and premium currencies.

It additionally provides developers an immediate and additional revenue stream for each published game on the Tap Platform. The Tap Coin allows in-game digital currency to be exchanged into Tap Coins and other cryptocurrencies.

What are tokens and how does token differ from cryptocurrency?

Tokens can perform the role of currency within the project, have purchasing power, be a representation of the shareholder’s share in the project, be a form of reward for certain actions, or an indicator of something.

• Token, unlike cryptocurrency, can be issued not only decentralized, but also under management of one organization.
• While a cryptocurrency is designed for payments and transactions, a token has a much larger field of application — it can be used to obtain services or purchase goods, as a representation of the shareholder’s share in a certain project, as the basis of a loyalty program, etc.
• The token does not have its own blockchain, unlike the main cryptocurrencies.
• The scope of using the token is smaller than the cryptocurrency, since the token is originally an element of a closed ecosystem. In this respect, the cryptocurrency can be compared with US dollars, and the token — for example, with subway tokens.
• Factors influencing the price formation of tokens may include such characteristic aspects as linking to an external asset, conditional principles of emission or reward, etc.

https://medium.com/@bloomzed/what-are-tokens-and-how-does-token-differ-from-cryptocurrency-f7ce30296e80

Metaverse Weekly Report (4.30–5.4)

Welcome to the Metaverse Weekly Progress Report for the week of April 30th! Read about our development and marketing progress in this weekly update brought to you by the Metaverse team.

Top Development Attainments

1) Metaverse Digital Identity

· Wrote the technical doc file for digital identity

2) Metaverse Digital Asset

· Designed the DID logic verification of Digital Asset

· Finished the development of asset lock and release model, the model is currently in testing phase.

· Completed asset create/issue/transfer etc. API automatic usage

3) Front-end for Full-node wallet

· Added a confirmation showing a transaction summary before sending a transaction

· Added transfer of ETP and Assets to DID

· Added feature: export account via QR Code directly to Lightwallet app

4）Light Wallet (MyETPWallet)

· Added Japanese language

5) Other

· Completed the development of domain certificate

· Completed the development of naming right for domain certificate

· Following the failure of restart issue due to the crash of zmq and database

· Added didsendmore command

· Optimized the automatic testing framework of RPC based interface

· Completed the test code written up for asset create/issue/transfer

Marketing Progress

1) Conference & Meetup

— Eric, founder and CEO of Metaverse, was invited to join the d10e Tokyo conference on May 1st. Eric spoke about the importance of digital identity using zero proof technology.

2) Metaverse Ambassador

— This week, we were joined by a new Metaverse Ambassador from Hong Kong.

3) Other

— Dr. Zhang, a specialist in Applied Mathematics from Zhejiang University, visited the Metaverse office on May 4th to discuss project collaboration with Eric. Dr. Zhang has worked for Microsoft and Ali Cloud, and currently leads a blockchain studio that primarily provides blockchain consulting services for the government and banks. More details on this will be coming up next week. Stay tuned!

https://medium.com/@mvs_org/metaverse-weekly-report-4-30-5-4-8087196a0e3d

The Publicans: Meet Publica's community
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PmESJj6QhEU

The Publicans. Watch the second episode of the series of videos on Publica, the first publishing platform on the Blockchain. In this video Josef (Publica CEO), Aleks and Dante are sharing their thoughts on what Publica's community means to the project. Publica is the first publishing platform to use blockchain technology to innovate how books are funded, distributed, bought, and read.

Attention: Scam Alert!
Dear Emphy Community,

It has come to our attention that scammers are trying to acquire our community’s contributions to Emphy via the fraudulent website (screenshot attached).

In addition, two fake Twitter accounts were created to advertise the scam giveaway — @EmphyOffucia1 and @EmphyOfficia1. Both profiles were designed to look like our legitimate Twitter profile but again, it’s fake and it’s only purpose is to defraud members of our community. We have already reported the fake accounts to Twitter and we hope that it’s taken down ASAP.

Please do not trust any other company which uses our brand name and report such instances to us so we can take strict action against scammers.

https://medium.com/@EmphyOfficial/attention-scam-alert-18680b876150

The First Industry Workshop on Blockchain Based Travel Distribution comes to Travel Tech Con 2018



Blockchain technology and its applications in travel have been a major discussion topic over the last year. Now it’s time to take that next step and get your hands dirty — gain practical training on how to build the next generation travel products leveraging Blockchain based distribution.

This is your chance to jump into a hands-on training delivered by Winding Tree — the team that has successfully completed its ICO, partnered with Lufthansa, Air New Zealand, Nordic Hotels, and other travel businesses looking to disrupt the current state of travel distribution, skipping costly intermediaries and majorly improving inventory data accuracy.

This is the first and only opportunity in travel industry to deep dive into decentralized distribution and learn practical skills to work with Blockchain technology on both demand and supply side of travel.

All TTC18 pass holders are eligible to join the workshop, however due to high demand — this workshop requires an advance RSVP which we will share with attendees prior to the workshops day. If you’re a startup — save $200 and get your TTC18 startup pass till May 1 here.

We had a chance to ask Augusto a few questions about his vision on the future of technology.
https://medium.com/traveltechcon/the-first-industry-workshop-on-blockchain-based-travel-distribution-comes-to-travel-tech-con-2018-de6f93d811df

Air Ambulance: currently available for VST tokens https://www.facebook.com/vestarin.io/photos/a.173373966577245.1073741828.173221989925776/223923541522287/?type=3&theater

As we promised, we keep searching for new partners to offer Vestarin platform users more opportunities. We are happy to announce our new partner in travel sphere 103air providing full service in organising air transportation of patients in need of emergency medical aid.
The market of personal air transportation is at square one at the moment. The cost of these services will become available at affordable prices shortly. Our project will also make the impact. The Vestarin team considers this sphere forward-looking and is happy to have a charter aircraft company as a partner. We support ideas and innovations in all spheres.
Vestarin and 103air - we work promptly and effectively!