Bitcoin Phone, the fourth BSV Hackathon winner, provides a unique utility by using the concept of the “Voice Over Internet Protocol,” innovatively implementing it in a peer-to-peer application built on the BSV blockchain, and targeting the tutoring, skill- and language-learning markets.
BSV Hackathon is a competition that fosters the development of applications and platforms on the BSV blockchain, the only public blockchain that does unlimited scaling, continuously increases its throughput and offers the lowest transaction fees in the market—the same reasons Bitcoin Phone developer Joe Thomas decided to build his communications app on BSV.
“This is the cheapest and most efficient way to do transactions. No other blockchain as we know can support this at scale. And no other Bitcoin is cheap enough to support this. We thought about using Lightning, but it was a mess because we have to hop between six or seven different people and half the time it may not even work. And we’re also limited by the bandwidth of these smallest connections in that lightning path,” Thomas said during his presentation.
Thomas, who hails from Canada, was flown in with the two other finalists, TKS Pnt and CATN8 that won second and third place, respectively, to present in front of a live panel of judges and a live audience during the eighth CoinGeek Conference held in New York.
“If you told someone back then—and this is a commonly debated topic—‘I’m going to do a voice call over the Internet.’ They’d look at you a bit funny. And the reason for that is you’re essentially telling that ‘I’m going to take an IP packet, I’m going to turn it into audio, and I’m going to play it through the telephone. And someone else is going to decode that and play out through their speakers. They’d tell you, ‘Just pick up the phone and call somebody,’” Thomas said while introducing the concept of Bitcoin Phone.
Today, with larger bandwidths that allow for faster Internet speeds making possible even video calls and live streaming, Thomas declares that Bitcoin Phone can achieve what pioneers of the “Voice Over Internet Protocol” (VOIP) have done, such as Skype being a normal means of communication for people in different parts of the world, even overtaking the telephone in this regard.
In a nutshell, Bitcoin Phone “is the most efficient way to find and pay anyone on the globe with an Internet connection for any online service.” For instance, students and parents will be able to find the cheapest option for them. And they would not even need Bitcoin to use the app, those who need Bitcoin are just people who want to buy stuff.
“We’re really targeting the tutoring and language-learning services. And these are both 6 and 13 billion-dollar industries. And we’re attempting to disrupt them. So nowadays, if you want to hire a tutor and if you want to hire someone to help you learn a language, the platform that you do it on will charge somewhere between 15-30% in fees. But we’re able to bring that down to almost peanuts. And we’re able to that because of BSV,” Thomas explained.
Bitcoin Phone also comes with Bitcoin Phone relay, an interface that resolves network latency that can even be offered as a service by BSV miners in the future, a direct incentive for users to verify identities—when parents, for example, want to ensure that their children are learning from a degree holder in a specific language or field—and a way to settle disputes easily in the case of no-shows and other complaints.
With this creative implementation of the ubiquitous VOIP on Bitcoin, Thomas has won $50,000 in BSV, while loyalty points platform TKS Pnt has been awarded $30,000 and video streaming app CATN8 has taken home $20,000.
TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was up more than 100 points in late-morning trading, helped by strength in base metal and utility stocks, while U.S. stock markets were mixed.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 103.40 points at 24,542.48.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 192.31 points at 42,932.73. The S&P 500 index was up 7.14 points at 5,822.40, while the Nasdaq composite was down 9.03 points at 18,306.56.
The Canadian dollar traded for 72.61 cents US compared with 72.44 cents US on Tuesday.
The November crude oil contract was down 71 cents at US$69.87 per barrel and the November natural gas contract was down eight cents at US$2.42 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up US$7.20 at US$2,686.10 an ounce and the December copper contract was up a penny at US$4.35 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 16, 2024.
TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was up more than 200 points in late-morning trading, while U.S. stock markets were also headed higher.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 205.86 points at 24,508.12.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 336.62 points at 42,790.74. The S&P 500 index was up 34.19 points at 5,814.24, while the Nasdaq composite was up 60.27 points at 18.342.32.
The Canadian dollar traded for 72.61 cents US compared with 72.71 cents US on Thursday.
The November crude oil contract was down 15 cents at US$75.70 per barrel and the November natural gas contract was down two cents at US$2.65 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was down US$29.60 at US$2,668.90 an ounce and the December copper contract was up four cents at US$4.47 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 11, 2024.
TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was little changed in late-morning trading as the financial sector fell, but energy and base metal stocks moved higher.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 0.05 of a point at 24,224.95.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 94.31 points at 42,417.69. The S&P 500 index was down 10.91 points at 5,781.13, while the Nasdaq composite was down 29.59 points at 18,262.03.
The Canadian dollar traded for 72.71 cents US compared with 73.05 cents US on Wednesday.
The November crude oil contract was up US$1.69 at US$74.93 per barrel and the November natural gas contract was up a penny at US$2.67 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up US$14.70 at US$2,640.70 an ounce and the December copper contract was up two cents at US$4.42 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 10, 2024.
