25 leading pharmaceutical manufacturers, distributors, logistic partners, and other representatives of the pharma supply chain have published a report arguing in favor of adopting blockchain technology to track and trace prescription drugs after completing a pilot program with the US Food and Drug Administration.

During early 2019, the FDA began accepting proposals for projects seeking to assist the office meet the 2023 requirements of the Drug Supply Chain and Security Act (DSCSA) - which requires the pharmaceutical industry to track “legal changes in ownership of pharmaceuticals in the supply chain.”

In June 2019, the MediLedger Project was approved by the FDA, comprising a working group of 25 major companies operating within the pharmaceutical supply chain seeking to evaluate the blockchain-based MediLedger Network as a vehicle for tracking and tracing prescription medicines in the US.

MediLedger’s members include multinational pharmaceutical giant Pfizer, drug wholesaler AmerisourceBergen, operator of the United States’ second-largest pharmacy chain Walgreens, multinational retail corporation Walmart, and delivery services company FedEx.

US pharmaceutical supply chain could suffer without blockchain

The report states the working group believes that the absence of “a central point of data sharing” will result in the US pharmaceutical supply falling behind international competitors as companies “struggle with keeping data accurately and completely shared across a wide variety of partners, systems and technical formats.

The document warns that in the event of a significant public health crisis, “stakeholders and agents will struggle to locate and quarantine suspect product in a timely manner, continuing to put patients’ lives at stake,” adding that “using the advancements of technology like blockchain can avoid these significant risks.”

Zero-knowledge-proofs used to protect confidential information

The MediLedger report notes that data privacy requirements of the pharmaceutical industry can be upheld by maintaining zero knowledge proof technology, ensuring that no business intelligence of confidential information is shared while maintaining the immutability of the blockchain.

Despite asserting that the pilot evidenced that “blockchain has the capability to be the technology underlying an interoperable system for the pharmaceutical supply chain,” the report notes that it is “a complex solution” that would require a stabilization period.

The report also advances that the long-term success of an interoperable blockchain solution will be contingent on “strong participation and adoption from all industry stakeholders.”

Participating companies evaluate MediLedger

The MediLedger project comprised three core technologies: a private messaging system between clients by and trading partners, blockchain as an immutable, shared ledger for transaction validification and smart contract execution, and zero-knowledge to ensure robust privacy for messaging and transfers.

David Vershure, the vice president of channel and contract management at Genentech, asserts that the US pharmaceutical sector’s current point-to-point systems infrastructure is “lack[ing] the ability to keep data in-sync across the healthcare supply chain, which ultimately increases the risk of counterfeit, diverted or otherwise illegitimate products.”

The Genentech representative stated that the pilot “serves as a key milestone in demonstrating that blockchain technology is a viable option to address the complexity of building an interoperable system needed for DSCSA 2023."

Mack MacKenzie, Pfizer’s vice president of digital market access and revenue management solutions, expressed his satisfaction with the pilot’s execution, stating: "I am very encouraged by this demonstration of broad industry commitment to an interoperable system that achieves DSCSA compliance. It is exciting to imagine how we can build on this success to jointly deliver transformative digital services that add more value for patients."

Source: https://cointelegraph.com/news/big-pharma-urges-fda-to-use-blockchain-for-drug-tracking

Janet Jackson’s ex-husband, the Qatari billionaire Wissam Al Mana, is suing Facebook after a crypto scam used his image to promote itself in the Middle East without his permission.

Al Mana is claiming defamation, malicious falsehood and false advertising by the unnamed cryptocurrency firm, The Times reported on Feb. 23.

His defamation action has been filed in Dublin, Facebook’s European headquarters, where the legal framework for such cases is deemed to be more amenable for plaintiffs than the United States.

Sue Facebook in Dublin, not Menlo Park

Defamation cases, according to Belfast-based defamation lawyer Paul Tweed, stand a greater chance of success in Europe, as Facebook allegedly attempts to “hide” behind the U.S.’ first amendment principles to evade its responsibilities to protect users’ reputations.

Reluctant to give interviews, Al Mana reportedly takes pains to restrict public information and coverage to his official personal site, wissamalmana.com. Recently, he has used the site to clarify that he has no social media accounts and that any profiles ostensibly linked to him “should not be quoted or used as a source of accurate information.”

Al Mana — estimated to be worth 1 billion euro — owns the exclusive regional rights to prestige brands such as Harvey Nichols, Alexander McQueen, Balenciaga, and Hermès, as well as the McDonald’s franchise for Qatar. He was married to the well-known pop star Janet Jackson between 2012 and 2017.

Tweed has previously represented the likes of Djibouti president Ismail Omar Guelleh and Qatari critic Ghanem Nuseibeh against Facebook. He has also represented Justin Timberlake, Jessica Biel, Jennifer Lopez, Nicolas Cage and Harrison Ford in Irish defamation actions.

Milking the stars

Last fall, Cointelegraph reported that a nonexistent and potentially nefarious Bitcoin investment platform was using apparently false testimony from the actress Kate Winslet, as well as purporting to have the backing of the likes of Richard Branson, Elon Musk and Bill Gates.

Some celebrities have gotten caught up in legally murky cryptocurrency schemes, such as boxer Floyd ‘Money’ Mayweather and rapper DJ Khaled, who helped to promote the initial coin offering for crypto financial services startup Centra Tech. Centra Tech’s co-founders were later indicted and charged with securities and wire fraud by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Source: Janet Jackson's Billionaire Ex Sues Facebook Over Bogus Crypto Ads

The issue of race when it comes to cryptocurrency is a sensitive one, and not without reason. The African-American community is largely born at an economic disadvantage, with a legacy financial system fueled by unethical practices like redlining, among many others. However, cryptocurrencies may give them the opportunity to eventually level the playing field.

Jack Dorsey, CEO of Twitter, is no stranger to controversy himself. His platform currently hosts 330 million people around the world, and his individual followers currently number just over 4.3 million. On Sunday, he used that influence to promote a new book discussing Bitcoin’s potential benefits to the African-American community.

Source: Bitcoin’s Potential to Benefit the African-American Community

Christopher Giancarlo, the former chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) believes it's time for the Federal Reserve to issue a fully digital currency on Feb. 21.

Giancarlo told Yahoo Finance’s On the Move program that the Federal Reserve must issue a digital currency in order to compete with China’s central bank digital currency (CBDC).

The former CFTC chairman highlighted that online shopping would benefit from the U.S. offering a digital payment option as there won’t be any intermediary fees involved like with the traditional debit and credit cards. Giancarlo also added:

“When we talk about a digital dollar we’re talking about in the virtual world, to have that same immediacy of payment that we have in the analog human world.”

Digital dollar can serve to the equivalent to the digital gold, Bitcoin

Giancarlo believed that a digital dollar is agnostic to other initiatives in the cryptocurrency space. He said that Bitcoin and innovations like Facebook’s Libra have their own “value propositions” and could co-exist with a central bank issued digital currency (CBDC). He expressed that:

“I think the market is always better when there is a lot of competition out there… An instrument like Bitcoin may serve to the equivalent to the digital dollar might be equivalent to the digital gold.”

Giancarlo has also advocated that the U.S. regulatory framework needs updates to adapt to the changes that cryptocurrencies bring to the financial institutions. He says:

“It’s going to change things dramatically and our laws need to evolve with that as they’ve done over the 90 years, now they need to evolve again.”

As reported by Cointelegraph, Giancarlo is involved with a Digital Dollar project that is supported by a global consulting giant Accenture, which is allegedly collaborating with Sweden’s central bank on its own digital currency known as the e-krona. This project was initially started by Giancarlo with the goal of establishing a non-profit foundation to study prospects for converting the dollar into a “fully electronic currency based on blockchain.”

Cointelegraph reported earlier this month that the U.S. Congressman Bill Foster (D-IL) has questioned the Chair of the Federal Reserve Jerome H. Powell on U.S’s CBDC progress at a hearing on monetary policy.

He specifically cited China’s plan to implement the digital Yuan among countries involved in its Belt and Road initiative and thatit could jeopardize the dollar’s world reserve currency status.

Source: https://cointelegraph.com/news/former-cftc-chair-giancarlo-says-fed-should-create-a-digital-dollar

With finance ministers and central bank governors having recently discussed cryptocurrency regulations at the G-20 summit, Japan is taking notice at home. Leaders at the Bank of Japan (BOJ), Ministry of Finance (MOF), and Financial Services Agency (FSA) have held a number of meetings to determine whether the country should become next in line to adopt a government-sanctioned digital currency.

The issues under discussion include how the Japanese government embracing a central bank digital currency (CBDC) would impact the world economy. Despite the rise of numerous crypto exchanges, the U.S. dollar continues to be the de facto global currency.

Japan has always been a leader for cryptocurrency

As the birthplace of cryptocurrency, Japan has often been ahead of the global pack when it comes to utilizing blockchain technology. Its economy might well benefit most from adopting a digital currency. However, like other countries, it is facing the same concerns over hacking, financial crimes, and money laundering as such currencies become more widespread.

The latest meeting to address such issues was held in January. Among those in attendance were Ryozo Himino, FSA vice minister for international affairs, Yoshiki Takeuchi, vice minister of finance for international affairs, and Shinichi Uchida, BOJ executive director for international affairs.

The BOJ in particular plans to be prepared for issues related to Japan adopting a digital currency. Governor Haruhiko Kuroda previously stated there was no demand for a state-sanctioned digital currency in Japan, but still recognized one could arise once the regulatory challenges and risks were properly addressed:

“We are advancing research and study from the technical and legal perspectives so that we will be able to move in an appropriate way when there is a growing need.”

Other countries are well on their way to adopting digital currency

Developments abroad may be fueling these discussions in Japan. The People’s Bank of China began a two-year pilot program to assess digital yuan transactions. Beijing has made it clear any digital currency in China would complement the yuan, not replace it.

The Bank of England, the European Central Bank, and central banks in Sweden, Canada, and Switzerland have announced they would conduct a joint study on digital currencies with the Bank for International Settlements. Meanwhile, the U.S. Internal Revenue Service is preparing to hold a cryptocurrency summit in March.

Source: https://cointelegraph.com/news/japan-the-next-country-to-mint-a-digital-currency

The team behind Brave Browser thinks that Google has an unfair competitive advantage due to its massive trove of user data. In a submission filed with the United Kingdom’s consumer protection agency, Brave argued that the country’s failure to enforce European data protection laws gives Google an unfair advantage.

Brave’s stance

In an interview with Cointelegraph, Dr. Johnny Ryan, Brave’s chief policy and industry relations officer, insisted that it’s not about the competition between Chrome and Brave, but enforcing the laws that protect consumers:

“RTB [Real-time-bidding, an auction for online ads] is the biggest data breach in the world, personal data are being broadcasted to thousands of companies.”

This is a response to the U.K.’s Competition and Market Authority’s concern that enforcing the GDPR would give an additional advantage to Google because of the massive amounts of data it collects through its numerous services.

Vigorous enforcement of GDPR is fair

However, Dr. Ryan insists that the right approach is “a vigorous and robust enforcement” of the law that goes beyond real-time-bidding. The General Data Protection Regulation prohibits a major tech company from sharing user data across different arms of its business. He further notices that if the authorities don’t do their job,

“We may take them to court!’

Source: https://cointelegraph.com/news/brave-browser-wants-the-uk-to-use-gdpr-to-crack-down-on-google

Digital lead for Calibra Ben Maurer gave a presentation on Facebook's Move programming language at the Stanford Blockchain Conference on Feb. 19. Move was created by Facebook to provide a safe and programmable foundation for the Libra blockchain. Maurer explained that Move will make it easier and more secure to program financial applications that run on Libra. He said:

“Move is a new smart contract language built into the core of Libra that is designed to bring a modern approach to today’s financial systems.”

Maurer mentioned that Libra’s mission is to solve the lack of access to financial services, noting that 1.7 billion adults globally are unbanked, yet 1 billion of those individuals have mobile phones. Maurer also noted that migrants lose $25 billion a year due to remittance transaction fees. He explained that he recently spoke with someone who had to go to a physical store and pay a fee in order to send money to their family:

“As a technologist, we should be uneasy that someone has to go to a store and pay a fee to send money. Libra is trying to solve this problem by building a new global payment system powered by blockchain.”

According to Maurer, Libra offers both users and developers direct access to its platform, creating an inclusive financial system for all:

“With Libra, users don’t have to rely on intermediaries to store funds. Libra offers direct access to the platform and creates a more inclusive system. Developers can also access the platform and build applications to help provide services for people not included in today’s financial system.”

Why does Libra require a new programming language?

While the goal behind Libra is clear, Maurer mentioned that many people are still wondering why Facebook built an entirely new programming language to power the platform.

Maurer explained that the idea was to build a language designed to fit with the paradigms used when programming with money. Unlike many other blockchains that can be used for a variety of reasons, Libra is specifically focused on payments and financial use cases for consumers. That being said, Maurer noted that everything on the Libra blockchain is represented using Move. He explained:

“A Libra coin uses our Move language, which is agnostic like most mainstream languages. But beyond representing the Libra currency, we also represent things like what signature must be present on a transaction to authenticate it. When building Move, we focused on creating a safe, flexible language that allows us to express concepts that are easily tweakable and easy to analyze for financial use cases.”

Although Move is an entirely new programming language, it’s been mentioned before that Libra developers pulled concepts from the Bitcoin and Ethereum blockchains when crafting the project’s white paper. Unsurprisingly, an audience member did ask Maurer how much inspiration was drawn from Ethereum when building Move.

Maurer confirmed that like most technical systems, inspiration came from existing solutions. He noted that a lot of research was conducted when creating Move, but that there are slight differences between Move and other blockchains:

“We are building for financial inclusion, with a focus on having a financial ecosystem that works for people who don’t have access to that already. Move represents assets and authorities.”

According to the Libra blockchain’s technical paper, Libra is “designed to support a low-volatility cryptocurrency that will have the ability to serve as an efficient medium of exchange for billions of people around the world.”

Maurer explained that Libra uses Byzantine fault tolerance, letting clients submit transactions to a network of validators responsible for maintaining the database. BFT allows for an agreement to be reached regarding the transactions on the ledger. Clients can observe the ledger to understand the current state of the network. Maurer explained:

“The Libra blockchain is designed to track a set of states, which are transactions. Each transaction gets ordered using byzantine fault tolerance and then gets put on a ledger. This, in turn, changes the state of the blockchain. Someone building a financial ecosystem on top of a database will see that this makes a lot of sense, as blockchain is derived from this approach.”

Maurer further noted that Libra uses ever-growing Merkle trees to encode data and authenticate both current and historical transactions. This is unlike other blockchains that use linear links of blocks.

How will Move play out?

While Move is still in its very early stages, individuals are anxious to see how the programming language performs. Developers working for the startup Open Zeppelin recently found vulnerabilities in Move. The team, however, noted that the issue was found before the platform went live. Co-founder and chief scientist at Offchain Labs Edward Felten told Cointelegraph that Facebook creating a new programming language is an interesting choice:

“There are some innovations in Move that could have real value. For example, the way the language deals with coins and values is unique. I haven't seen anything like this before. They are striving to formally verify aspects of financial systems. I’m eager to see how this develops and how it will be adopted.”

Source: https://cointelegraph.com/news/calibra-technical-lead-tells-why-facebook-built-new-language-for-libra

Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales said Friday he has not seen a single practical use-case to convince him to integrate cryptocurrencies or blockchain into the platform.

Speaking at the CoinGeek Conference in London, Jimmy Wales said cryptocurrencies would not add anything useful to Wikipedia. In fact, he believed it would prove detrimental to its vision and ultimately damage the unique way in which the platform operates.

Speaking opposite Craig Wright, Wales said he tried to distinguish between the ideological and practical nature of cryptocurrencies. Wales has already turned down proposals from advocates, who asked him to consider making it possible for users to directly reward content creators and editors with digital assets.

"This is a really bad idea. It's an idea that doesn't actually work," Wales said. "If you take something that is a bad idea and put it on the blockchain, that doesn't necessarily make it a good idea."

Wikipedia relies on volunteer experts and enthusiasts to add and edit new content, as well as to check facts and remove inaccurate or irrelevant material, Wales said. By integrating cryptocurrencies, Wikipedia would be "taking a step back" by making it easier for people and companies to pay for the content they want on the platform, he said.

"Creating a mechanism where you effectively authenticate that type of behavior ... isn't going to help with the quality of Wikipedia at all," Wales said.

Wales also said getting creators and editors to stake cryptocurrency would "seriously harm" Wikipedia.

"To say to them, you're going to have to pay or put money at risk in order to edit Wikipedia is completely insane," he said.

If the platform made people place deposits, they could exclude experts and enthusiasts who contribute out of interest in their chosen topic. In their place would be people effectively competing against one another to create and edit content, as well as flag inaccurate entries, for monetary gain, he argued.

While he opposed creating incentives for Wikipedia posters, Wales said he had no problem with the platform accepting donations in different forms of cryptocurrency. Wikipedia is a charity and has accepted donations in bitcoin (BTC) since 2014.

There was some controversy when Wales was announced as the headline speaker at the CoinGeek's conference in London. Criticizing CoinGeek for implying he had endorsed bitcoin satoshi vision (BSV), Wales said on Twitter there was "zero chance" BSV would ever be used on Wikipedia.

Source: Wikipedia Co-Founder Says Crypto Integration Would Be ‘Completely Insane’