October 11, 2018
Bitcoin tech could help track whakapapa
A project to give individuals a self-sovereign digital identity to track their genealogy, iwi and whakapapa is the joint winner of the first Blockworks Hackfest, which challenged developers to find creative uses for the blockchain technology behind bitcoin.
While the Ahau solution was designed for Māori, it has the potential to be used by indigenous communities around the world.
More than 13 different ideas were presented across the weekend at the festival held at Auckland University of Technology and hosted by venture studio Centrality with support from web development school Enspiral Dev Academy and business accelerator Lightning Lab.
The other winner of the Open Hack category was CarbonClick, a carbon offset marketplace that enables consumers to purchase carbon credits and track their impact down to the tree being planted.
Talks are underway with both projects to enter the Centrality Accelerator programme, where they will get office space and support from Centrality's team of blockchain experts.
Blockworks founder Justin Flitter says the aim of Hackfest was to show people the potential of blockchain technology to transform the way we do business, govern and how we live.
The Blockworks conference tomorrow at the ASB Waterfront Theatre in Auckland's Wynyard Quarter will include presentations on how blockchain is transforming supply chain, finance, transport and services.
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