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Kenyan electoral commission nominee clamors for blockchain voting

July 15, 2021 Coin Telegraph

Blockchain

One electoral commission aspirant in Kenya has said the country should consider adopting blockchain-based voting.

Justus Abonyo, former chair of Kenya’s Social Democratic Party, and current candidate for commissioner of the country’s Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), has called for the adoption of blockchain voting.

According to a report by Kenyan news outlet The Star, Abonyo made this appeal known while appearing before the selection committee overseeing the appointment of IEBC commissioners at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre on Thursday.

Detailing his support for blockchain voting adoption, Abonyo said such a move would have significant cost savings benefits of up to 300%, stating:

“The cost of a ballot in Kenya ranges between US$ 7-US$ 25 (Sh700-Sh2,500). If we use blockchain technology, this cost will go down to US$0.5 (Sh50). This is an area I would explore as a commissioner.”

The IEBC commissioner aspirant also argued that adopting blockchain voting will also help to improve the transparency and security of Kenya’s elections. Abonyo’s call for adopting the novel tech also comes as the country prepares for another general election in 2022.

Kenya’s previous presidential polls back in 2017 were reportedly marred by accusations of IEBC’s electronic voting system being compromised. These claims were further given credence by the murder of the IEBC’s IT manager days before the polls.

The jury is still out on the effectiveness of blockchain voting with MIT cybersecurity experts stating back in November 2020 that voting systems based on the novel tech carried “severe risks” to democracy.

Indeed, some recent deployments of blockchain-based voting protocols have come under performance scrutiny. In July 2020, reports emerged that the system utilized in Russia’s constitutional amendment vote back in 2020 allowed constituents and even third-party entities to decipher the ballots cast.

Meanwhile, Abonyo is not the first to offer blockchain as a panacea for ensuring security and transparency in the country. As previously reported by Cointelegraph, David Robinson, the regional anti-corruption advisor at the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, stated back in November 2020 that Kenyan authorities could use blockchain as a tool to fight corruption.

Nigeria’s comms minister links blockchain to national digital innovation efforts

June 24, 2021 Coin Telegraph

Blockchain

Nigeria’s government is looking to drive blockchain adoption as part of its plans to establish emerging technology centers across the country.

Speaking during Wednesday’s annual Digital Africa Conference, Isa Pantami, Nigeria’s Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, identified blockchain as part of the government’s focus on emerging technologies, according to a report by Voice of Nigeria.

Highlighting the conference theme — “Building a New Africa with AI and Blockchain” — Pantami stated that the government was working toward establishing innovation centers.

According to Pantami, these innovation centers will explore capacity-building protocols for artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, robotics, cloud computing and blockchain technology, among other fields.

As part of his address, the communications minister said the move was part of efforts to promote an innovation-driven culture in Nigeria, adding:

“We are also actively preparing to take advantage of blockchain technologies for our digital economy, and we recently developed a National Blockchain Adoption Strategy.”

Back in October 2020, Nigeria’s National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) issued a draft strategy framework for blockchain. The document included a six-point agenda for utilizing the novel technology including national digital identity and regulatory sandboxes for pilot implementations.

Addressing the conference, NITDA director-general Kashifu Inuwa stated that Nigeria can be a growth driver for AI and blockchain in Africa. In November 2020, Inuwa remarked that the country could generate up to $10 billion in revenue from blockchain by 2030.

Pantami’s ministry has been spearheading a mandatory national identity program in the country — a move that has generated significant controversy over the compulsory linkage of phone numbers to national ID data.

While addressing privacy and data security concerns, the minister’s address did not include any mention of possible blockchain adoption in the area of safely storing national ID records.

Back in February, Nigeria’s vice president, Yemi Osinbajo, stated that crypto and blockchain will revamp Nigeria’s financial landscape. The vice president’s comments followed on the heels of a ban imposed by the central bank prohibiting financial institutions from servicing cryptocurrency exchanges.

Spanish stock exchange ready to test blockchain-based SME financing system

May 14, 2021 Coin Telegraph

Blockchain

The Spanish stock exchange is moving forward with further tests of its planned blockchain-based system to finance small- and medium-scale enterprises.

Spanish stock exchange Bolsas y Mercados Españoles, or BME is set to test its blockchain infrastructure for small- and medium-sized enterprise financing following a successful pilot run back in 2020.

According to Finextra on Friday, this next set of trials by the BME will involve businesses that are part of the country’s SME financing ecosystem under the aegis of a regulatory sandbox created by Spain’s Ministry of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation.

As previously reported by Cointelegraph, this sandbox is seen as an important step in promoting greater fintech development in Spain with a focus on improving greater competition while reducing entry barriers for participants.

The aforementioned pilot phase that occurred back in 2020 drew participation from investment servicing companies and business credit providers.

As part of the second round of tests, the BME will likely be looking to examine the suitability of the Ethereum-based system in raising capital for limited liability companies outside the usual traditional bank financing route.

Indeed, the BME’s blockchain platform aims to facilitate SME financing digital assets that represent funding avenues like convertible notes and participatory loans.

The project marks a further extension of the BME’s digitization policy in recent times. Back in March 2019, the Spanish Stock Exchange completed pilot testing of its blockchain-based system for electronic certificates of collateral pledges.

For the SME financing project, the blockchain platform will also include a digital wallet for SMEs to store their assets — both financial investment instruments and electronic money.

chokepointsTrade finance is another touted use case for blockchain with decentralized ledger technology solutions being bootstrapped to eliminate significant chokepoints affecting SME financing.

Apart from SMEs, major banks are also looking towards blockchain technology to limit exposure to trade finance risks.

Nokia announces blockchain-powered data marketplace

May 6, 2021 Coin Telegraph

Blockchain

Nokia’s permissioned blockchain platform will reportedly allow trusted data exchange and monetization among client participants.

Smartphone maker Nokia has announced the launch Nokia Data Marketplace — the company’s enterprise-grade blockchain-based data marketplace infrastructure service.

In a release issued on Wednesday, Nokia revealed that its new blockchain service reportedly offers data transaction and analysis within the framework of a secure private, permissioned blockchain infrastructure.

As part of the announcement, Nokia declared that clients across diverse industries can participate in the blockchain network, leveraging the benefits of decentralized technology for trusted data transfer.

An excerpt from the release reads:

“This [the Nokia Data Marketplace] enables a wide range of vertical use cases, including electric vehicle charging, environmental data monetization, supply-chain automation and preventative maintenance powering numerous vertical segments, including transportation, ports, energy, smart cities and healthcare.”

As part of the vertical integration potential of its blockchain data marketplace, Nokia also stated that the new service could enable other communication service providers to develop similar networks.

“With Nokia Data Marketplace, enterprises and CSPs can now benefit from richer insights and predictive models to drive digital ways of working and tap into new revenue streams,” added Friedrich Trawoeger, vice president of cloud and cognitive services at Nokia.

Apart from trusted data exchange and monetization, Nokia is also reportedly eyeing the deployment of the new platform toward advances in artificial technology and machine learning via blockchain-based federated learning protocols.

Nokia becomes the latest company to debut a blockchain-based enterprise service as the market sector experienced significant growth in 2020. As previously reported by Cointelegraph, enterprise blockchain has been touted as a major adoption driver for 2021.

This significant growth in the enterprise blockchain arena has also positively impacted the price action of decentralized ledger technology projects that are building solutions in this market segment.

Indeed, enterprise-focused cryptocurrencies like Stellar Lumen (XLM), XinFin Network's XDC, and XRP have experienced upward price movements in recent times.

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