‘Solar’ mining and blockchain-based voting: main events of the week in the blockchain industry

MIT will protect data of tech companies using blockchain, Square refuses from services of crypto exchanges in favor of brokers, and there will be a new way of exchanging Bitcoin to several digital coins in a single transaction. Read about these and other events of the week in the world of blockchain and cryptocurrencies in our digest.

‘Solar’ mining

Head of Kazakhstan company LIGHTHouse Almas Zhumanov developed mining data centers that use renewable energy sources to reduce the negative influence of mining on the ecology. The name of the project is Electrominer.

According to the author, the concept involves removable containers that are similar to cargo containers. The difference is that they will house mining equipment. Containers will be equipped with solar panels not to depend on the traditional sources of electricity. The air cooling system will also use the solar energy to function. It is expected that users will be able to control such data centers remotely.

Electrominer is launching an ICO. The pre-sale stage starts on August 15.

One transaction instead of ten

ShapeShift cryptocurrency exchange announced the acquisition of Bitcraft tech startup that developed a tool to trade Bitcoin into numerous digital assets in a single transaction.

Startup owners believe that the service will find use with crypto investors. Now they will have a possibility to carry out one transaction to exchange BTC to ten different cryptocurrencies, instead of making ten different transactions. Moreover, it will reduce transaction fees. Investors will be able to quickly diversify and rebalance their asset portfolio.

The tool will be integrated into the ShapeShift’s platform.

Crypto exchanges vs brokers

The US company Square that develops electronic payment acceptance and processing solutions will not use crypto exchanges to provide customers with the Bitcoin trading service. Instead, it will turn to private brokers.

Chief strategy officer at CoinShares Meltem Demirors comments on this step saying that Square likely wants to get access to better prices and tools that the exchanges lack; besides, floating orders on the open market do not possess high reliability.

He also notes that the company possibly wants to avoid risks related to hacking attacks on cryptocurrency exchanges. Moreover, by using brokerage services, Square can hide its activity from competitors.

Everyone should attend elections!

CNN reports that the government of West Virginia plans to use a blockchain application that allows users to cast their votes at the US elections from any part of the world.

The app was developed by Voatz startup. To sign up with the app, the US citizens will have to obtain an identifier from the state and to undergo the face recognition procedure. A fingerprint will be required to enter the app.

The solution is expected to find use with the US military men that live overseas.

MIT protects data

Scientists of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology developed a blockchain system to track data queries that law enforcement agencies send to tech companies.

The point is that the US tech companies are obliged to provide the required information to law enforcement if they receive a request. In most cases, the goals of such requests are not disclosed.

For the law enforcement officers not to overstep authority in the use of the obtained data, scientists of the MIT developed a blockchain-based CSAIL system that will serve as a single database. Companies will be able to send data to police through this database and track its usage. Blockchain will ensure data integrity and privacy.