Tim Sloane
Is this you? As a journalist, you can create a free Muck Rack account to customize your profile, list your contact preferences, and upload a portfolio of your best work.
Claim your profile
Articles by Tim Sloane
Will Inadequacies Render Cloud Computing Redundant in the Future?
In a piece written for TechRepublic, author Franklin Okeke says that cloud computing will prove inadequate in the future, though he doesn’t identify what will replace the cloud except a mention of the Internet of Things, Industry 4.0, and AI in smart devices and smart homes. He says: The fact that all of these are either connected to cloud services, can be run on the cloud, or are developed by cloud providers leads me to disagree with his prediction regarding cloud computing.
Will Inadequacies Render Cloud Computing Redundant in the Future?
Will Inadequacies Render Cloud Computing Redundant in the Future? In a piece written for TechRepublic, author Franklin Okeke says that cloud computing will prove inadequate in the future, though... NCSC Report Enumerates Safe Authentication Choices, Including FIDO and Magic Links It’s important that all business leaders have a basic understanding of authentication technologies if they are involved in assuring their...
NCSC Report Enumerates Safe Authentication Choices, Including FIDO and Magic Links
It’s important that all business leaders have a basic understanding of authentication technologies if they are involved in assuring their online assets are easy to access and yet still secure. This article details a UK National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) report that targets merchants, but is also a great place to start for others.
Are Interest Rate Swaps Part of the Future of Cryptocurrency?
DeFi is short for Decentralized Finance. It is a term used to describe the shift from traditional financial products and services to those that are built on decentralized protocols and smart contracts. This means that instead of relying on central intermediaries like banks or governments, DeFi applications are powered by code that runs on the Ethereum blockchain. This new wave of financial applications has the potential to democratize finance, making it more accessible and inclusive.
Bank Regulators Worry About Risk Exposure from Fintech Explosion
In recent years, there has been a growing demand for financial technology and solutions. Financial institutions have been quick to adopt new technologies to meet the needs of their customers. In particular, products and services have been used to streamline the process of opening and closing accounts, transferring funds, and making payments, including B2B payments. Fintech has also been used to develop new products, such as mobile banking apps and contactless payment methods.
The Merge: Ethereum’s Make or Break Moment
One of the key decisions that any cryptocurrency must make is how to validate transactions and prevent double-spending. The most common approach is Proof-of-Work, which relies on miners to confirm transactions and add blocks to the blockchain. In return for their efforts, miners are rewarded with a portion of the currency. However, Proof-of-Stake is an alternative that has become popular in recent years. Under this system, everyone who holds currency can participate in validation.
FBI Warning reinforces concerns regarding DeFi participation
Yesterday we wrote about critical issues associated with participating in any DeFi project. As it turns out this mirrored a warning issued by the FBI on the same day in a public announcement. The FBI has also identified smart contracts as a common vulnerability which was just one of several key findings in the publication Smart Contracts: New Contract Creation Tools Required to Ensure Contract Transparency and Trust.
Still thinking about moving to the cloud? Worried about your cloud utilization? Then read this!
In the past, businesses would have to invest heavily in their own hardware and software infrastructure. This inflexible approach made it difficult to respond quickly to changing market conditions. Cloud computing has changed all that by providing a more agile and flexible way to build and deploy applications.
Should the Definition of DeFi Include Anonymity and Are Smart Contracts Ready for Prime Time?
I applaud CoinDesk for creating a taxonomy to measure the size and growth of the DeFi market. This is a much needed first step to clarify terms and measure market dynamics. The charts provided will assuredly be used by many DeFi participants. That said, I have two primary problems. First, I cringe at the fact CoinDesk has for some reason identified anonymity as a fundamental construct. It would be insane to invest in any business where the main participants remain anonymous.
Which Will You Bet On: DeFi Versus Metaverse
A metaverse is a user-created virtual world that uses blockchain technology to enable the creation of digital assets. Proponents of the metaverse believe that it has the potential to become a new, decentralized internet where users can own their data and create their own virtual realities. The metaverse is still in its early stages of development, but there are already a number of applications and platforms that are being built on top of the metaverse blockchain.
NFL team The Texans accepts bitcoin via BitWallet for single game suites that cost $14 – $25K Original
Bitcoin is a digital currency that was created in 2009. Unlike traditional currencies, bitcoin is not regulated by a central bank or government. Instead, it is based on a peer-to-peer network of users who buy and sell bitcoin using a decentralized platform. Bitcoin has become increasingly popular in recent years, as more people have begun to see it as a viable alternative to traditional currency.
DeFi Hits a Bump, and as a result, so does Bitcoin and Ethereum
Decentralized finance (DeFi) is a term used for financial services that use smart contracts on a blockchain. It is an emerging technology that utilizes secure distributed ledgers. DeFi Networks See Losses This article in CoinDesk indicates that DeFi centric blockchain networks Solana, Polygon, Tron and Avalanche have seen losses, as has Decentralised exchange Uniswap and Convex. In fact, the total volumes have dropped a bit, the total volume is now reported to be US$67.3bn.
NFTs Will Benefit All Artists and Collectors, Not Just Musicians, But They Just Aren’t Ready Yet
This article makes a case that shouldn’t need to be made. It argues that NFTs will benefit musicians, which isn’t a huge surprise given the author is Matt Waters, founder of Unchained Music, a free music distribution project based on NFTs. NFTs will ultimately benefit all artists and collectors, not just musicians.
USDA Wants a Mobile Enabled SNAP Payment
The USDA deploys SNAP dollars to the states and each state selects what items can be purchased by recipients of SNAP payment using a local Electronic Benefits Program (EBT). Restrictions are enforced by EBT suppliers by using specialized Point of Sale technology at each merchant location. This technology validates each item in the shopper’s basket (using UPC Code) is approved by the state. As a result, every state has its own unique EBT solution.
The Days of the Crypto Free-For-All Could Soon Be Over
This article from Wired focuses on the SEC’s activities to identify crypto as a security. I don’t know if it is, or is not, a security, but I have often used the analogy that it operates like a diamond market. I also recognize that crypto, as it operates today, supports far too much criminal activity. The crypto elite suggest that anonymity, or pseudo-anonymity, is a positive attribute. If the only way we can force crypto exchanges to track user identities is to declare it a security, then so be it.
An argument that crypto and DeFi are investments to fight inflation
Crypto companies and enthusiasts are always throwing unwarranted hype at any situation. Stock market is healthy, crypto is doing better. Stock market is sinking or inflation skyrocketing, crypto is the only way out.
Claims that DeFi can Defy Bear Markets are Optimistic
The phrase “If it’s too good to be true, it probably is” should be applied to this recent article, about the recent collapse of the value of cryptocurrencies. The first hint is when the author claims that the failure of Terra, Celsius, and Three Arrows Capital was a “Black Swan” event. It was only a Black Swan event for those that thought the value of crypto couldn’t crash or those that ignored the string of inter-related crypto loans that were issued.
Is The So-called Democratic Nature of DeFi Real or Imagined?
My short answer; it’s totally imagined and not for just the reasons identified by Bloomberg. DeFi software does not just spring into existence, it needs to be created, fixed, and managed. The idea that this can be done democratically through voting is flawed. Deciding who gets to vote is the first undemocratic decision. However, the bigger issue is that as the number of use cases operating on top of the platform increase, so does the need for modifications to support those use cases.
Oracle intends to drive its cloud growth in India
Oracle is focusing on the Banking, Financial Services and Insurance sectors to drive growth. Oracle operates a local cloud in India to meet regulatory needs and clearly expects that to help it penetrate regulated markets. Oracle already claims Axis Bank, ICICI Bank, Federal Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, and SBI Card as clients.
Hong Kong Authority states the obvious at G20: ‘Crypto and DeFi Won’t Disappear’
As was mention in this article posted by CoinDesk, Eddie Yue, the CEO if the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, told a G20 meeting that crypto and decentralized finance will remain a significant force.
Google & Oracle Regional Cloud Computing Offerings Suffer a Heat Stroke
The insane heat hitting Europe has brought down both Google and Oracle cloud computing facilities. It seems the air conditioning failed and the computer systems overheated. One assumes apps that were designed to use multiple regions for fail over were not impacted while everyone else was.
An AI-Created Academic Paper Is Submitted for Review, but Will AI Always Talk Our Language?
This article in Scientific American explains how AI, a GPT-3 AI model, created its own academic paper after being told “Write an academic thesis in 500 words about GPT-3 and add scientific references and citations inside the text.” That paper is being reviewed for publication and has been published by the International French-owned pre-print server HAL. I wonder when it will become impossible for humans to understand the explanations written by AI if these systems are left unfettered?
3AC Crypto Hedge Fund Owners Go Missing
“According to Friday’s court filing, Zhu and Davies, both former traders for Credit Suisse, participated in an introductory Zoom call last week to discuss basic steps to preserve their assets. Neither founder turned on his video, and both remained muted for the duration, with all dialogue conducted through counsel.
Startup Rolls Out Biometric Payments in Nigeria
The Nigerian mobile infrastructure is not particularly robust and many Nigerians have no access to mobile phones. Based on the success of India’s Aadhaar deployment Torche Africa will also attempt to deploy a payments network using biometrics. The first implementation used fingerprints but has expanded to support face and palm recognition.
Apple CarPlay to Enable Fuel Purchase; 1,600 Sinclair Stations May Adopt
GM pulled its own in-dash fueling solution in March after 3 or 4 years in-market, but it appears Apple’s CarPlay is going to give the idea another try. Apple, as is usual, has provided almost no information about how this solution will be implemented, but given the close connection between CarPlay and the iPhone, it is likely to be connected to Apple Pay.
NIST Announces Its First Quantum Resistant Cryptographic Algorithms
We don’t know when quantum computing will become possible, or if its presence will be announced by our adversaries, but its arrival can make our past and future digitally encrypted secrets visible. The U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) started looking at multiple potential solutions in 2016, and it will take until 2024 to complete, as multiple quantum resistant algorithms are needed to protect a wide range of data storage and sharing situations.
Tech Giants to Address Two New Major EU Regulations
The EU has voted to adopt two new regulations that will have a major impact on tech giants. The Digital Markets Act imposes new rules on the online networks providing online messaging, digital advertising, and a managed app ecosystem. The Digital Services Act will impact social-media platforms forcing them to become proactive in dealing with content EU regulators perceive as harmful and must offer users a mechanism to register their complaints about content moderation.
Can DeFi Grow without a Standardized Smart Contract Environment?
This article suggests that decentralized finance is real and will succeed, not with a cryptocurrency, but instead by using tokens (presumably linked to traditional payment networks and bank accounts). An article in Fortune suggests that this is already happening in India utilizing the Unified Payment Services (UPI). What is not being discussed, however, is that DeFi requires participants to operate using the same smart contract solution and the same Oracle that the smart contracts utilize.
Mastercard Introduces NFT & Web3 Sites It Will Help Secure, Beating Visa
In a recent PJ article where Visa announced a program to assist artists around NFTs, I said “I’d like to see Visa utilize its technical and regulatory capabilities to develop a ‘NFT Certified by Visa’ program.” Now it appears Mastercard has done just that, but doesn’t make clear if they will stand behind these sites with Zero Liability or Purchase Protection: Overview by Tim Sloane, VP, Payments Innovation at Mercator Advisory Group Tags: MasterCardNFTVisaweb3 Sign up for the PaymentsJournal...
Binance Launders $2.35B for NK, Russia, and a Multitude of Criminals
This Reuters Special Report documents the staggering amount of funding that cryptocurrencies have enabled for foreign enemies and criminals, and now NFTs are joining the party.
Are Your Neighbors Sneaking Into Your Database on Azure?
In 2021, a security company found it could access all the data held by other companies that used the Microsoft Cosmos DB service. This cross-tenant hack enables one tenant on the shared Azure service to access resources used by other tenants, sort of like drilling a hole in your wall to spy on your neighbors.
Researchers Suggest Security Upgrades for FIDO2, Warn of Attacks
Apple, Google and Microsoft have all adopted FIDO2 for biometric authentication. This research was the first provable security analysis of this standard and makes recommendations for improvements, especially to strengthen defense against man-in-the-middle attacks. This type of attack is very hard to implement in the wild, but when this authentication method is used to protect highly valuable information, it is likely that additional authentication methods should be utilized.
Cloud-Native Benefits Reduce the Cost and Effort of Litigation (Yay?)
Microservices in can (containers) are eliminating capital expenditures on computers and eliminating the need to have computers on standby to address peak loads, making specialized computer services such as AI and large storage and analytics readily available, and lowering the cost of collecting data across multiple sources and different languages.
Coinbase Faces Class Action as Cryptocurrency Values Plunge
This article asks if cryptocurrencies are more similar to stocks or to gold. I’d argue they are more like diamonds where the supply is privately controlled. Coinbase faces a class-action lawsuit that argues it is dealing in unregistered securities, a position the SEC has also signaled: Coinbase indicates that the assets it holds could be forfeited in bankruptcy which suggests that the owner of the asset is actually Coinbase.
Does Zero Trust Mean Onboarding Processes Replace Authentication?
This article identifies the friction caused by Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA), but then suggests that the solution that adheres to Zero Trust will require re-onboarding of individuals each time they access an online service; its being called Identity-Based Authentication. While this will generate significant revenue for suppliers that validate identity cards and passports, I assume it will infuriate users, or at least the idea infuriates me.
Current Crime Wave Aside, This Is Why NFTS Will Ultimately Succeed
The lack of identity and provenance haunts most existing NFT platforms. In what world can anybody anonymously claim to own anything? When items are minted under the control of a system (like bitcoin is) or by an entity that controls the asset (like companies do), then the only two major issues remaining are the proper identification of marketplace participants and the credibility and security of the marketplace itself.
Mastercard Launches Pay-By-Biometric in Brazil, Soon to Expand
The technological approach suggests some sort of centrally managed database is utilized which is generally a bad idea for biometric data.
Entersekt indicates that Apple, Google, and Microsoft will now offer two new techniques to make FIDO Passkey more widely adopted.
Fuzzy Cloud, Edge, & Headless Architectures That Impact Business
Some cloud definitions, such as edge computing, could place some data, or even entire applications, on your systems, unbeknownst to you.
El Salvador’s Bitcoin Experiment Lesson: Change Doesn’t Come Easy
It has been roughly 8 months since El Salvador made bitcoin legal tender and the Salvadorian government has certainly encouraged its citizens to switch. The government offered a $30 incentive to those that loaded the government’s Chivo bitcoin wallet and then encouraged usage with a $0.30 per gallon gas discount.
Enabling Context-Aware Authentication with Biometrics and Digital IDs
Entersekt has deployed risk-based authentication solutions at banks worldwide that utilize secure channels and biometrics to enable assured authentication in
The fastest and most economical approach to creating practical qubits for quantum computing is by embedding the qubits in silicon.
Smart contracts are envisioned as enablers of many new and exciting scenarios, including implementing an entire business using the Decentralized
Geo-tagging is a common security method used by card networks as a potential fraud attribute. The location may be simply
RTP Is from Venus, Crypto Is from Mars
The article, “Do Advances In Real-Time Payments Make Crypto Less Interesting?” fails to recognize the key differences between the two payment platforms and poses the question, Are these “parallel but separate” rails? The obvious answer is “Yes, they are!” While crypto and RTP provide similar functions, there are two critical differences which are not related to payment rails; these differences are about funding and worldview. Funding: Investors won’t get rich investing in RTP.
The Race Is on to Digitize the U.S. Dollar
The global payment networks, the high-tech companies, and the U.S. Government are competing in the race to digitize the U.S. dollar.
3, 2, 1, Blast Off: U.S. Bank is off to the Cloud!
Most of the largest banks have announced a shift to the cloud using microservices and APIs. U.S. Bank has selected Microsoft Azure as the target for new projects, as well as for the lift and shift of existing platforms. Key to lowering future maintenance costs and flexibility will be the refactoring of the existing solutions it moves and what it decides to keep on the mainframe.
Show More
loading
Actions
Is this you?
As a journalist, you can create a free Muck Rack account to customize your profile, list your contact preferences, and upload a portfolio of your best work.Get in touch with Tim
Contact Tim, search articles and posts on X, monitor coverage, and track replies from one place.
Learn more about Muck Rack