A collection of guides and tools that will have you developing on top of the Factom protocol in no time.Development Guides Tools Github The Factom Foundation is a nonprofit that is dedicated to supporting and maintaining the Factom Protocol and Network.The Factom protocol makes use of two kinds of tokens.Learn about them here.Factoids Entry Credits Have you been through the guides and still have questions?No problem, we'd be glad to help.Fans of the financial ledger technology known as Blockchain may be interested to know Morgan Stanley analysts today unveiled a longish (43 pages) white paper on the state of the technology in the financial services business, declaring that there is yet not “killer app” for BlockChain, but rather “we are now firmly in the middle of the proof-of-concept phase of development."The report also offers some thoughts about why Bitcoin, the crypto-currency that took off in tandem with Blockchain, has been soaring in value.Tech analyst James Faucette, along with several of his colleagues at Morgan, take a look bake at how things have progressed in the twelve months since they first wrote about the prospects for BlockChain to be used in financial settlements and other services.

The authors take a look at five case studies that have been done, including a government bond settlement project by BNY Mellon (BK), and something from UBS Group AG (UBS) called “utility settlement coin."The premise of all of these experiments, they note, has generally been that "Blockchain is a tool to improve efficiency.""As the technology matures, funds and securities firms will have an opportunity to further reduce headcount and operational expense as Blockchain technology becomes more widely used to clear and settle transactions."However, "Many proofs of concept are in the process globally, but there is no killer app yet, which we think is needed to kick-start adoption."As a consequence, "Blockchain still hasn't had a true test," the authors write."Early signs are that this is a promising technology, but many of the big questions have yet to be answered, and it hasn't been tested at scale in a complex, fast-moving business environment.""It is still too early for specific investment conclusions; however, progress is being made, and we may see initial parts of the  shared infrastructure emerge over the next 12-24 months."

Translation, from now through 2018 is the “proof of concept” phase, with 2017 to 2020 being a time for “shared infrastructure” to emerge, and 2021 to 2025 being a time when “assets proliferate."While it’s too soon to make an investment recommendations on all this, the authors opine that "incumbents are generally more likely to benefit than new entrants and are most likely to see cost benefits or possibly increased capital efficiency further down the road,” by which they mean “companies that are more involved early on in the process […] including ASX, UBS, BNY Mellon, Northern Trust, State Street, and JPM."bitcoin lost usbRegarding Bitcoin, and other crypto-currencies such as Ethereum and Ripple, the authors write that it’s “not clear why cryptocurrencies are appreciating so rapidly (apart from the appreciation itself drawing in more speculation against a potentially inefficient ability to sell)."bitcoin expected price 2018

They offer a few factors, including “ICOs,” the "initial currency offerings” that have been rising in popularity."Rapid appreciation of cryptocurrencies is encouraging speculative formation of new currencies,” they note."Many of these new currencies don’t actually have use cases yet, but are intended to be exchange mediums for everything from virtual goods in games to banking mechanisms for products like marijuana where legal implications are not yet fully clear,” they write.litecoin converter"ICOs are funded with existing cryptocurrencies, hence driving an appreciation circle—e.g., to support/invest in a new currency, one must buy and trade an existing cryptocurrency."quora bitcoinAnother one is China’s cheap servers: Moving funds in China.ethereum aud exchange

Up until the last few days, a disproportionate share of Bitcoin mining was taking place in China (where there is cheap access to servers and cheap electricity).Numerous press sources including The Wall Street Journal (November 5, 2016) and Fortune (January 5, 2017) commented on the possibility that Bitcoin was being used to help avoid monetary controls in China, which may help explain why the Chinese government has cracked down on Bitcoin mining recently.bitcoin core double spendAnd then there’s Korea and Japan: Increased demand from Korea and Japan.litecoin rigBitcoin appreciation seems to have been heavily driven in recent months by increased buying from Korea and Japan.bitcoin gouvernementIn Japan, the recent legalization of Bitcoin has led to an increase in activity, including the recent opening of new Bitcoin exchanges.1st bitcoin transaction

In Korea, however, there is not a clear explanation for the surge.In case you were wondering how much of crypto-currencies is in circulation, the team offer another infographic:Bitcoin’s price has been soaring, and if entrepreneur and provocateur Kim Dotcom’s latest scheme takes off, it’ll rocket even higher.The founder of Megaupload, who the US government has called a fugitive from copyright infringement charges, is creating a payments platform called Bitcache, which will let people get paid for digital content with bitcoin.Well, our savior announcement is here….#Bitcoin markets do seem happy about it https://t.co/7mEPEiycsI — Chris Burniske (@ARKblockchain) April 3, 2017 Dotcom tweeted a video showing a demo of the Bitcache system today.A user can upload any file or video stream and charge others to download it, setting the price himself.The uploader then gets paid in “Bits,” which can be converted into bitcoin.Precise details of how the Bitcache system works remains scarce, although he told Quartz the system will be available in about six months.

Bitcache & Megaupload 2:A first look at encrypted anonymous content delivery with build-in Bitcoin payments./QHjU5pisGe — Kim Dotcom (@KimDotcom) April 3, 2017 Micropayments for content is one of bitcoin’s most talked about uses.The Aspen Institute’s Walter Isaacson has called it journalism’s “savior,” while the creator of Javascript, Brendan Eich, is building a variety of technologies to turn it into a reality.The thinking is that bitcoin provides a low-cost way to send tiny amounts of value over the internet, free of the fees levied by the “antiquated banking system,” as Isaacson put it.Kim Dotcom’s idea is to allow any publisher on the web to easily charge readers tiny amounts for content with “one line of code” on their website.This service would eventually extend beyond individual files or streams to entire websites, he says in his demo video.The odds are stacked against Kim Dotcom’s new venture.He’s launching Bitcache as a service for a rebooted version of his original enterprise Megaupload, which allowed users to upload large files, and others to download them for free, or pay a fee as a member for quicker speeds.