And we have a winner! Two weeks ago we announced that Expanse is having an EXPEX contest. The prize is that one lucky project will receive one year of listing on our decentralized exchange at no cost. That is a $10,000 USD value.  

We received hundreds of entries, and the winner of the free listing is the Ether-1 Project. The Ether-1 Project aims to completely disrupt  how information is shared and controlled. It is a fully decentralized hosting platform that combines blockchain indexing technology and the IPFS protocol to deliver decentralized content on-demand. It utilizes the node network for storage and bandwidth, along with providing DDoS protection, censorship resistance and high reliability due to not having any single points of failure. 

“We are thrilled to have won this listing and about the new exchange in general,” said Ether-1 Project Manager, @Primate411.  “We need more exchanges like EXPEX to stop relying on huge exchanges that don’t have the users’ interests at heart.”

“We are happy to welcome ETHO to our impending trading platform,” said Christopher  Franko, Expanse CEO and Founder. “It is a real credit to the ETHO-1 community members, whose loyalty and support led to the win.”

Congratulations Ether-1, and welcome to the Expanse ecosystem via EXPEX!

The EXPEX development team, led by Asim Ashfaq, has updated the development timeline for EXPEX, given a change in their approach. The team has been heavily  immersed in the design process and is now moving into development. Here is the revised timeline

As we reported in the June 15 newsletter, Expanse Founder and CEO, Christopher Franko, defined the specifications for Gander v3. The specs include a slew of enhancements and new features. So as not to have Gander offline for any length of time, we took the approach of adding enhancements as they were  complete. Read the release notes in the Gander channel on our Discord to learn more about the details.

Here’s a recap of the enhancements that comprise Gander v3, all of which are now live:

• Users can use our public API to get decoded information of transactions, blocks and uncles.
• Contract input decoding script is in place and been tested right now, so in future you can view decoded contract input so they can be understandable.
• All new graphs so anyone can view what’s happening on the network.

The Cryptofacil Exchange is now taking deposits in over 250 listed coins, including Expanse. Before this week, they were just taking deposits in BTC, but now you can deposit your EXP directly and start trading. 

Read the announcement here: https://cryptofacil.com/blog/en/announcing-deposits-with-multiple-coins/

Guatemala and d/t (Decentralized Technologies) are hosting Blockchain week in early September.  d/t is a Guatemalan open source blockchain movement founded to empower the individual through the use of smart contracts. The belief is that mass adoption of blockchain tech can start through those who need it most: emerging economies like Guatemala.

The week will be filled with tours, educational sessions, and inspirational speakers, ending with a Hackathon. Here’s how Expanse is participating:

• Omar Alvarez to Headline Guatemala Blockchain Week

• Expanse to Sponsor Guatemala Blockchain Week Hackathon
  Expanse joins other well-known blockchain companies, such as Binance, to end the week of activities by hosting a hackathon. The hackathon challenge is for entrants to build a dApp that empowers individuals using open source protocols.

Omar, Expanse Creative Director, an active member of the blockchain movement in Guatemala, is contributing to the planning and execution of the event. He is also a featured speaker, helping to raise awareness of Expanse. 

We haven’t featured an update from the Slips team in the last few editions of this newsletter and it seems a lot has changed with the team in the last few months. When we previously spoke to them, they had just finished their tough three month stint participating in a San Francisco based incubator.

Since then, Husain has relocated to Bangkok to continue working on the project meanwhile Kyle as mentioned in the Discord previously has left Slips to continue working on his own projects. This change in structure was a big reason we have not heard from them recently but it looks like there’s a number of new developments.

First of all they have released a polished new deck which explains in further detail their new pivot which will help them launch the product we’ve been eagerly expecting in places where they cannot legally allow users to gamble. You can take a look at the deck which looks extremely polished here: http://bit.ly/2LK6fsa

Secondly, they have a new concept which came about as a result of some of their marketing efforts. The idea which takes some rather early efforts by the likes of FirstBlood.io, Play2live and other blockchain based projects and adds a completely new dimension is an ambitious effort to launch a blockchain powered esports league. There is a nice pitch deck which gives a brief overview of the concept here: http://bit.ly/2OhLEgO and a longer whitepaper which goes into detail about how the tokenomics of the project will work: http://bit.ly/2Mn4EIn

In addition to this, Slips has a new automated marketing system that is up and running and will allow them to increase their reach and attract streamers to the project. The system which was built completely in-house downloads a list of followers from Twitter and then sends canned messages directing people into Slips’ user acquisition funnel. Initial runs have yielded an impressive 30% response rate!

They’ve also managed to put on some exciting tournaments for gaming fans with many challenges being made using Slips. The biggest disappointment is that they weren’t able to offer real betting with Expanse as initially planned but the tournaments were still a resounding success and created some interesting content and clips which you can view here: https://www.twitch.tv/officialslipshq/clips?filter=clips&range=30d

We look forward to seeing how these new ideas take shape in the next few months.

Jitendra Rathod, newsletter contributing editor, provides insights into the ongoing technological revolution that is underway via the Internet. 

Ever since humans have occupied the earth, centuries have been marked by inventions and innovations which have brought sweeping changes in the way we live and think. Going back to history, the fire was the first tool humankind used to arm, civilize and better its lifestyle. Since then, the wheels of science and technology have never stopped. Electricity was discovered, wireless communication was established, man invented televisions, airplanes, rockets, satellites, and the internet.

The last of these, as we have seen, is a technological revolution of the kind never witnessed before. It has changed the face of the earth and everything on it— it has seeped in our daily lives through and through. Today, we use it not only to the end of staying connected with the rest of the world but also for managing our tasks which previously involved cumbersome methods and processes. Coming to the latest, there are two technological innovations which have dominated our decade— the Blockchain and Internet of Things.

What is the Blockchain?

Simply defined, blockchain is a digital database containing information (such as records of financial transactions) that can be simultaneously used and shared within a large decentralized, publicly accessible network.

It is clear, even from this definition that decentralization is at the heart of this technology. This contains in itself the notion that blockchain is essentially, a peer-to-peer platform. It does not have central control over it and hence it cannot be manipulated. It naturally follows that the possibility of the presence of any third party is eliminated. Since it is a distributed ledger technology and encrypted from end to end, the data it holds cannot be tampered with.

Moreover, data can only be added to the blockchain in a time-sequential order. This attribute seals the fact that any data contained in the blockchain is rendered immutable. All of these characteristics go on to establish how successful an ally blockchain could prove to be to the Internet of Things.

What is the Internet of Things?

By definition, again, IoT is a computing concept that describes the idea of everyday physical objects being connected to the internet and being able to identify themselves to other devices. 

Now, it is to be made note of that traditional IoT systems are based on a centralized architecture. The devices thus connected send the information to the cloud (internet), which in its turn processes the data analytically and then sends it back to the IoT devices. IoT contains in itself the potential to connect billions of devices; which would inevitably come under the umbrella of a centralized system.

It is clear, therefore, that the present-day IoT systems are far from perfect. Devices share a lot of critical and important information to the internet. This makes it very vulnerable to hackers and thus poses significant data privacy and security risks. The most infamous of IoT attacks include Mirai botnet, which, in 2016, infected a huge number of IoT devices, taking down Etsy, GitHub, Netflix, Shopify, SoundCloud, Spotify, Twitter, and a number of other important websites; and the Brickerbot attack which simply killed the devices.

Moreover, based on a centralized network, IoT also runs the risk of single point failures when one nuance can damage the entire existing network.

These are the areas where the IoT is still struggling and this is exactly where blockchain can come to its aid.

Two Innovations Merging into a Revolution

It is commonly said that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. This age-old adage cannot be more suitable for anything than the combination of blockchain and the Internet of Things. Indeed, the advantages of such a merger are many:

• To begin with, blockchain is an encrypted ledger technology, which means that the data which is contained in it could be trusted by all the parties involved. It would be next to impossible to tamper with the information stored on a blockchain.
• Smart contracts, a feature of some blockchain platforms like Ethereum, allows the creation of agreements which are executed only when certain conditions are met. This would not only make transactions easier and cheaper by the elimination of third parties but would also ensure that no individual can use the data for personal benefits. Cryptographic sharing of information shall cross out the risks of security breaches.
• Blockchain shall lead to the betterment of the overall IoT security environment. It is to be noted that most of the data IoT deals with is very private and contains details of the lives of ordinary people. This data is made useful by getting shared with other machines and services. However, this also implies that it is prone to hackers which in turn means that individual privacy is put at risk. Blockchain shall provide a robust security system which shall be difficult to penetrate.
• Lastly, blockchain shall help eliminate single-point failures which IoT runs the risk of. This would ensure that the IoT machinery runs without hindrance, hence making it more efficient.

Existing Blockchain-IoT Platforms

Steps have already been taken in the direction of merging the blockchain technology with IoT. Many platforms have emerged which understand the importance of such a combination:

• HDAC: The Hyundai Digital Asset Company is making use of blockchain technology to enhance communication and data storage on the IoT devices.
• Walton Chain: Walton Chain combines RFID and the blockchain for making IoT more efficient.
• IOTA: IOTA is famously the first-ever platform to integrate blockchain into the Internet of Things.

These are just a few platforms which have adopted the revolutionary idea of combining blockchain and IoT. Other names that surface on this list include VeChain, Ambrosus, Power Ledger and Helium.

Parting Words

The applications of blockchain technology are enormous. The technology is akin to the discovery of electricity that fired up all the innovations that run on it. It is currently beyond our comprehension as to how blockchain technology may fire up other innovations. It is clear how blockchain could transform IoT and the combination can create something more secure, more efficient and more useful than the existing order.