Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Alert levels extended until next Monday with new rules put in, managed isolation worker still hasn’t got test results, and Peters has new connection with Bad Boy of Brexit. The current alert levels will remain for another week at least, and even after that, things … Read more
Not calling it ‘Facebucks’ might be a lost opportunity but the giant social media platform’s new form of money could offer benefits to New Zealanders, writes Aaron McDonald. Facebook’s foray into cryptocurrency has a lot of people shaking their heads in unequal parts of confusion, disbelief and misunderstanding. Blockchain is an emerging technology, one that … Read more
It’s been a rollercoaster ride for the once flourishing company that now owes investors tens of millions of dollars. Don’t follow? Here’s a brief recap of Cryptopia’s historic downfall over the last five months. First thing’s first, what is Cryptopia? Cryptopia is (well, was) a Christchurch-based cryptocurrency exchange founded by Rob Dawson and Adam Clark … Read more
Researching ancestry is a spiritual matter for Māori, and platforms like ancestry.com just don’t cut it. Ahau, a Māori-led startup, believes the mysterious technology of blockchain holds the answer. Dan Walker was a bit nervous when he put his great-great-great grandfather Tuwhakaruru Katene into ancestry.com. Tuwhakaruru lived through some of the hardest years of colonisation for … Read more
If your eyes glaze over at the very mention of the word, purple-haired ‘community strategist’ Savannah Peterson is here to change your mind about blockchain, writes Maria Slade. If Savannah Peterson were Mark Zuckerberg, she’d be transforming Facebook into a social network based on blockchain as we speak. Peterson is no ‘crypto-naut’. With her purple … Read more
Every week on The Primer we ask a local business or product to introduce themselves in eight simple takes. This week we talk to Craig MacGregor, one of the founding developers of NavCoin, an alternative cryptocurrency that’s gaining steam around the world. ONE: How did NavCoin start and what was the inspiration behind it? NavCoin first … Read more
How can we be sure catching the tuna we’re eating hasn’t also harmed humans? At the moment we can’t. But could new technology bring transparency to the fishing industry, and help stamp out unsafe conditions? Sushi. We Kiwis love it. Incredible to think that in the 1980s it was still something many of us baulked … Read more
The hype around bitcoin as an investment is hard to miss. But could new infrastructure being built off the back of the digital currency allow us to have an internet where we keep our privacy? Technology blogger Richard MacManus says blockchain is a new and significant platform. Right now we’re experiencing a bubble in cryptocurrencies, … Read more
A key characteristic of so-called ‘exponential technologies’ is that they change what is possible extremely quickly – and it can be fascinating to observe how fast or slowly governments react. Lawyer Steven Moe looks at the developing world of space law, and questions whether similar moves are needed for other exponential technologies on our immediate … Read more
At Techweek’17, over breakfast baps and muesli cups, Henry Oliver looked into the future. Of money. In the ASB cube in Wynyard Quarter, upstairs from an enormous version of Michael Parekowhai’s Six60 cover art (jokes – it’s called ‘Achy Breaky Heart’ and it’s cool), a room full of young bankers in smart casual, ex-bankers in … Read more