Blockchain private sector implementation. Blockchain for everyone! | CRYPTO NEWS #8

This is Benjamin Davis with our daily Blockchain news update with Cointelegraph. Our first story today is about overstock.com if you don't know them, just think Amazon.com Stephen Baldwin they have announced plans to launch a new ICO through the company's majority owned subsidiary tZero, with a goal to raise 5,500 million dollars, which is double the record of 262 million set by Filecoin. If when you think overstock.com you have the sudden urge to visit Ikea, you're thinking of the right place. But they're a lot more than an e commerce and clothing retailer. In 2014, they launched a blockchain focused division of their company called Medici Ventures. Since then, this branch has been an ever growing part of Overstock's future and people are not disappointed in the results. The company saw 2 of their stock prices rise after adding the word blockchain to the title. Beyond that, their stock as a whole has continued to rise and is projected to go even further as people speculate whether they may sell their retail business entirely and become a fully fledged blockchain company. It seems that there are two things that might happen. Either Overstock fully transforms its business into a blockchain company and sell their retail business, or Overstock uses their new currency to allow customers to purchase goods online. Either way, this is another step in bringing cryptocurrencies from assets to actual currencies. And now it seems like adding the word blockchain to anything is just a magnet for money these days. And this brings us to our tip of the day and that is to pay attention to those companies that are implementing blockchain technology in their businesses right now, because those are the companies that are going to come out ahead in the future when blockchain becomes that universal norm. One of the most important and enticing aspects of cryptocurrencies is the security surrounding them. With this in mind, many are infuriated and in a state of disbelief after Parity Wallet was hacked by white hat hackers, causing 151 wallets to be frozen with balances totaling 152 million. This has been the second hack this year and it isn't looking good for Parity. How could this happen? According to a tweet by Parity Technologies, a user exploited an issue and thus removed the library code as it seems unaware of the consequences. Because the smart contract in the library is immutable, this means that the future is looking somewhat bleak, since the only way to reclaim these funds would be a hard fork of the entire Ethereum network. Since the funds were only frozen and not stolen, it seems that only time will tell. The problem is that these funds are not just individual traders, but also ICOs, which means that many of them could tank due to a lack of ability to pay back investors. This brings up an important question. Well, right now you have to at least be somewhat versed in technology to get into cryptocurrencies. But the goal of the technology is to make it more public. How could a hack like this impact the disposition of your average person who has no understanding of how all of it works? Now we'll talk about virtual real estate. Blockchain might not be making its way into the actual real estate market anytime soon, but that isn't keeping it from playing a major role in virtual real estate. Soon, there will be a land auction for parcels of land in what's called Decentraland. If you're having a hard time visualizing what this would look like, you're not alone. And when you read their website, they use terms like foot traffic and development, and it makes it sound like they're building an actual city, which in some respects they are. This is exactly what your stone sci fi friend was going on and on about. And this is exactly how he's going to make his millions. Because virtual reality and blockchain technology are undoubtedly the future. You gotta check out the link below to get some idea of what Decentraland is going to do with their new virtual city. It is very impressive. Everyone is afraid of bears, and rightfully so. They're bears. My uncle used to tell me a joke about two friends who were in the woods and they came across a bear. One friend freezes and the other starts taking off his shoes. The friend, standing there frozen, turns and says, you can't outrun a bear. To which the shoeless friend replies, he I don't have to. I just have to outrun you. When it comes to investment tactics, bears are something a bit more sinister. Bears are investors who get together to short stock. So, for example, they find a stock that is going through a period of uncertainty. We'll call it honey money, and it's being sold at $100 a share. What they'll do is borrow a bunch of this honey money at $100 a share and then sell it. They then wait or proceed to bully the price down through various tactics such as rumor mongering, and in order to buy it back at a lower price, returning the borrowed hunting money and making a substantial profit. Now, why does this matter for Bitcoin. Well, the CME announced that it will launch Bitcoin's futures in December of this year, which would legitimize Bitcoin as an asset. This legitimacy will mean that the SEC will have a much harder time blocking Bitcoin ETFs. This is great news for US investors, who are often blocked from trading in Bitcoin on various platforms. But it also opens up potential to short Bitcoin, lathering it with honey and welcoming the bears. However, it is important to remember that this is an unlikely strategy for investors since predicting the rise and fall of Bitcoin's value is foolish. So it seems like everyone can keep their shoes on. Even bears are not so reckless as to go after Bitcoin. Now we have a story about MasterCard. Is it any wonder that a company with Master in their name has a desire to control something? On November 9, MasterCard filed a patent for instantaneous payments using blockchain technology. So what will this do? Well, as it stands, when you make a purchase with a credit card, you get that little notice that says pending because it takes up to a few days for a transaction to go through. Implementing blockchain technology would eliminate this and make transactions instantaneously. In the past, mastercard's CEO has made multiple disparaging remarks about Bitcoin, attacking it for being unstable and highlighting its potential for illegal transactions. While these accusations have their merits, it's a pretty unstable high horse he's standing on, since credit cards themselves come with high interest rates and a whole plethora of hidden fees. Not to mention the Equifax hack that happened earlier this year, which compromised the details of over 200,000 Visa and MasterCard holders. So this doesn't make one side right or the other. It just means that when it comes to the world of finance, no one is perfect. But the implementation of blockchain in any system is a step in the right direction. Right now. Blockchain has gotten a lot of attention for its ability to improve business and make money, but this story shows how blockchain can be used to fight some of the world's greatest injustices. The UN and WIN to use Blockchain to fight Child Trafficking since child traffickers often use fake identification documents to get children over borders and into illegal activities. Win co founder and CEO Dr. Mariana DeHaan said in a statement that several developing countries are actively looking at more efficient ways to prevent child trafficking. Identification is always at the heart of the solution, and the UN Women Deputy Executive Director said that child trafficking is one of the greatest human rights abuses. Blockchain would be a potentially powerful technology to address the problem and potentially save millions of children. With these two powerful and influential people seeing the potential of blockchain, you can't help but feel encouraged that this technology really can do the world so much good. And that's all for today's daily news. Please don't forget to subscribe down below. And if you have any questions or more details about any of the stories you heard today, please don't be shy and come Visit us@cointelegraph.com.