Bitcoin Daily: Nasdaq Awarded Blockchain Newswire Patent; Blockchain Protocol From MIT Professor Snags $62M

Nasdaq gained a patent for technology that would use blockchain to release time-sensitive information at the right moment, CoinDesk reported. As it stands, newswire and other similar services send information to designated recipients at the right time. However, gaps in the audit trail can occur, so “new and improved techniques and systems for delivering and securing such time-sensitive information are continually sought after,” according to the patent. To take on this challenge, the blockchain platform explained in the Nasdaq patent would use smart contracts, which will be added to the blockchain and deliver information to the right recipients at a time set in advance.

On another note, blockchain protocol Algorand has notched new funding of $62 million, CoinDesk said. The investment for the protocol, which MIT Professor Silvio Micali founded, follows a $4 million Seed investment from Union Square Ventures and Pillar. The latest investment, per a press release from the company, was brought in by a “broad global investment group representing the venture capital, cryptocurrency and financial services communities.” While a test network for the technology rolled out in July, the firm is planning to have a launch later this year.

In a press release, Micali said, “We have been developing Algorand as a technology for several years, with the ultimate goal of creating a business-ready protocol for a truly global and decentralized economy. Our team of scientists is comprised of some of the most accomplished minds in cryptography, theory and finance, and we are very excited to add the proven business acumen we need to help bring our protocol to market.”

On Wednesday (Oct. 24), the crypto industry gained self-regulatory status from Japan’s Financial Services Agency (FSA), according to DealStreetAsia. As a result, the Japan Virtual Currency Exchange would be able to regulate the space and, in the case of violations, sanction exchanges.