As mentioned previously, one aspect of promoting the Blockstack ecosystem is to provide a platform to help support the global community of developers, designers, and others to submit their ideas and products for a chance to win a prize.  Over the last quarter or so and into 2017, Blockstack’s Signature Fund has held several bounties – see these links, here, and here (winner of portfolio app). 

Well, once again, the Blockstack Signature Fund — a $25 million dollar fund used to help support teams to build applications for the new internet has yet again announced another bounty for a dApp.  And, once again, Blockstack has partnered with a another project – ShapeShift – to bring the open source world a new wallet platform – Universal Wallet.

April 25, 2018

$50,000 Signature Bounty to Build a Universal Wallet

Blockstack Partners with ShapeShift (leading instant digital asset exchange) to build a universal wallet

Details

• Build an open source wallet app using Blockstack for
  • Authentication
  • Storage
  • Encryption
• Must support custom tokes
• Must use the ShapeShift API for token exchange
  
  • Shape Shift
    • Describes itself – leading instant digital asset exchange – “We Buy and Sell Digital Assets” and “the safest way to buy Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin and many other blockchain tokens.”

Register for the bounty at Blockstack

Other Bounties announced so far (completed):

2018

Blockstack: $50,000 Bounty for Messaging and Communication Applications…

2017

• Encrypted Token Portfolio app – Coins (winner of bounty)

Blockstack: A New Decentralized App – Coins

Blockstack Signature bounty for a new universal wallet is open and waiting for the Community. Go to this link for more details from Blockstack re: $50,000 Signature Bounty.

Note: If you do not have the Blockstack browser, please see this link (note – to enable the full functionality of any dApp built for the Blockstack ecosystem you need to use the Blockstack browser).

Thanks again for visiting The Stack Cafe^TM and we look forward to hearing from you. Please help us put out the word on Web^3.0 (e.g., building a new internet, a decentralized internet, a new decentralized internet, re-decentralizing the internet) by posting a comment below and signing up for e-mail notifications for future updates (right side-bar). Let’s help build the new internet | The Decentralized Way^TM.  A new decentralized internet | The Way The Future^TM.

The post Blockstack: The Signature Fund Opens its Wallet once again for a new Bounty – a Universal Wallet appeared first on The Stack Cafe™.

BlockChat has launched a messaging application platform that you can use with Blockstack and Blockstack’s Browser (for full functionality).

According to BlockChat, the messaging application gives you the ability to chat/message without being tracked or censored.

BlockChat:

• is a decentralized encrypted messaging platform built on Blockstack

We have logged in to the application (see below) but have not tried to message anyone at this point.  We hope to open a dialogue with the developers and will post any updates at the appropriate time.

Here are some screenshots of BlockChat

BlockChat offers some great features:

• censorship resistant
• control your data
• authentic identity

BlockChat is built on top of the open source platform built by Blockstack.  Blockstack is an open source architecture for a decentralized internet using applications built for use with the Blockstack browser.

BlockChat’s vision is to be the decentralized “WeChat” platform.

Blockchat’s Team members and developers.

Looks like a great new dApp.  We will have updates on the dApp as new features etc. are pushed by Team BlockChat.  Stay tuned!  For more on Blockchat, please visit this link here.

Below, we have included some screenshots of our visit to the home page and our subsequent login to the BlockChat application.

To login to the BlockChat application, please open the Blockstack browser portal (need the Blockstack browser to use and get the full functionality of the Blockstack architecture) and then go to the home page for BlockChat – this link here and/or here.  Then go ahead and sign-in to the application using the Blockstack browser.

Once you are logged in, you should find yourself on the application landing page.  Here, you can begin messaging and/or looking up other Blockstack users (via the search and blockstack ID for the user e.g. thestackcafe.id, and other features (upcoming)).  Have fun and message away.

Great new dApp for decentralized, secure, encrypted messaging.  Very nice Team BlockChat.

Remember —

Blockstack is a new internet.

A new internet that is more powerful yet simpler to use.

A new internet that you can trust because it is designed to protect you.

A new internet that gives you control over fundamental things:

• your identity
• your data/information
• your privacy
• your security.

A new internet that provides you a portal/window into a new world of decentralized applications.

Blockstack makes the internet you use better^TM.

Go join Blockstack and take part in the journey into the new decentralized internet, The Blockstack Way^TM.

Remember, you have to have the Blockstack Browser in order to take full advantage of the decentralized internet from Blockstack.

THE BLOCKSTACK BROWSER

Blockstack harnesses all of the power of the traditional internet and then adds the Blockstack Browser on top. The Blockstack Browser opens the window to a new internet, a decentralized internet that puts the power back in the hand of the users.

To begin your journey into the new decentralized internet designed by Blockstack, you will need to install the Blockstack Browser. The Blockstack Browser is your window/portal into the new decentralized internet for decentralized applications (dApps).

Download the Blockstack Browser

For help on installing and using the Blockstack Browser, please visit this link Getting started with the Blockstack Browser.

For a more in depth look into the Blockstack Browser, please visit these links – Inside the Blockstack Browser and Blockstack Browser: It does that?

Now that you have the browser installed, visit the Blockstack Browser homepage and try out some of the active decentralized applications – e.g., investment portfolio management, messaging, word processing… More decentralized applications are being added as developed.

See Screenshot of Blockstack’s Browser in the center with a white background and some dApps listed to use)

By using Blockstack you now can control how you use and interact with the internet instead of worrying about how the internet interacts with you and controls you. This is a big switch and a seminal tenet of the decentralized internet, dApps and the entire Blockstack design. Blockstack has designed a new internet (distributed, blockchain, bitcoin, decentralized, decentralized internet) that makes the internet you use better.

Resources re: Blockstack and dApps

• • Blockstack
  • @blockstack
    • @blockstackapps
  • Developers
    • Introduction
      • Papers
      • Videos
      • Tutorials
        • (e.g., todo and multi-player storage)
      • Installation
      • Github
        • Javascript
        • Core API
  • Blog

• Frequently Asked Questions
• Blockstack Meetups

Thanks again for visiting The Stack Cafe^TM and we look forward to hearing from you. Please help us put out the word on Web^3.0 by posting a comment below and signing up for e-mail notifications for future updates (right side-bar).

Let’s help build the new internet | The Decentralized Way^TM. A decentralized internet | The Way The Future^TM. Try out the new internet, The Blockstack Way^TM. Blockstack: The New Internet – It Makes The Internet You Use Better!^TM

The post Blockstack: A New dApp – BlockChat appeared first on The Stack Cafe™.

The latest applications to be added to the Blockstack Browser and Blockstack ecosystem include:

1. Hermes (a decentralized, encrypted chat app)
2. Stealthy (a decentralized, end to end encrypted, p2p chat and video application), and
3. DotPodcast (search, subscribe, and pay podcasters without being tracked or censored). 

This is just a quick glimpse related to update for the Blockstack browser and a brief overview of each new application will be forthcoming.  And, don’t forget that you need to use the Blockstack Browser when you access these applications in order to avail yourself to the all of the wonderful benefits the new decentralized Blockstack internet offers.

DOTPODCAST

A podcast player/application to use to search, subscribe, and pay podcasters without being tracked or censored that can be used with the Blockstack Browser

website: Dotpodcast

STEALTHY

A decentralized, end to end encrypted, p2p chat and video application that can be used with the Blockstack Browser

website: Stealthy

HERMES

A decentralized, encrypted chat application that can be used with the Blockstack Browser

site: Hermes

Blockstack has welcomed two communication/messaging applications and a podcast platform to its ecosystem.  Go open your Blockstack Browser and give the new applications a try.  And, stay tuned for a little more information on the new applications in subsequent posts.

Don’t forget – Blockstack appears to have not only taken the browser to the next level by making it better, more powerful and simpler, but it has also given the user more control over the internet experience.  When the Blockstack Browser is coupled with [sg_popup id=”3″ event=”click”]Blockstack’s ecosystem[/sg_popup], it allows the user to control how they use and interact with the internet. For instance, some of the items that the Blockstack Browser gives the user control over include:

• the user’s information/data/identity
• the storage/portability of user’s information/data
• access to the user’s information/data
• encryption of the user’s information/data.

The bottom line is that the blockstack browser allows the user to control many more things than the other browsers when those browsers are used on the traditional internet.

Along with being, not only the window – main portal or access point – into the Blockstack internet, the Blockstack Browser is a one stop shop tool to help the user control the user’s identity, wallet and all settings (guide for browser) that the user may need to make the new internet experience very powerful, simple and enjoyable.

Note: If you do not have the Blockstack browser, please see this link (note – to enable the full functionality of any dApp built for the Blockstack ecosystem (e.g., building a new internet, a decentralized internet, and re-decentralizing the internet) you need to use the Blockstack browser).

Resources re: Blockstack and dApps

• Blockstack
• @blockstack
  • @blockstackapps
• Developers
  • Introduction
    • Papers
    • Videos
    • Tutorials
      • (e.g., todo and multi-player storage)
    • Installation
    • Github
      • Javascript
      • Core API
• Blog
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Blockstack Meetups

For more on All things Developer^TM, see this link here. For more on the engineering meeting at Blockstack, please visit the forum. Blockstack makes the internet you use better!^TM

Thanks again for visiting The Stack Cafe^TM and we look forward to hearing from you. Please help us put out the word on Web^3.0 by posting a comment below and signing up for e-mail notifications for future updates (right side-bar). Let’s help build the new internet | The Decentralized Way^TM.  A decentralized internet | The Way The Future^TM.  Blockstack makes the internet you use better.^TM

The post Blockstack: The Blockstack Browser has been Updated… appeared first on The Stack Cafe™.

And, as you know (or see this), the bounty window closes in about two (2) weeks.  So, if you or your team have the dApp for the new communication reality, there is still plenty of time to submit applications for both dApps before the window closes – February 16, 2018 at 11:59 p.m. eastern.

Along with the Bounty participants, we wanted to also provide a brief overview about one of the open source platforms – Rocket.Chat – a Slack alternative, that is collaborating with Blockstack to help bring the new community messaging dApp to fruition. 

Rocket.Chat – in a nutshell – is an open source web based chat platform (server) that offers both companies or general communities the ability to privately host its own chat/messaging service.  In addition, it allows the developer community the ability to build custom chat platforms (web based chat platform (server)). 

The collaboration (generally) is about Blockstack providing its single sign on feature (no need to rely on any outside servers or third parties) and Rocket.Chat providing its open source web based chat platform (server) so that a team can figure out how to integrate (build) both into a new decentralized messaging platform.  The ultimate goal is to have a team build a new messaging platform that enables users to access Rocket.Chat with their Blockstack identity for secure login and identity verification (e.g., single sign on feature).  The team with the best decentralized messaging platform wins the bounty – $25,000.

Resources

• Blockstack
  • Build a Community Messaging App – Register for the bounty at Blockstack
  • Build a P2P Encrypted Messaging App – Register for the bounty at Blockstack
• Rocket.Chat
  • Collaboration w/Blockstack
  • Forum on Rocket.Chat re: Collaboration w/Blockstack
  • @RocketChat re: Collaboration w/Blockstack

Note: If you do not have the Blockstack browser, please see this link (note – to enable the full functionality of any dApp built for the Blockstack ecosystem (e.g., building a new internet, a decentralized internet, re-decentralizing the internet) you need to use the Blockstack browser).

Thanks again for visiting The Stack Cafe^TM and we look forward to hearing from you. Please help us put out the word on Web^3.0 by posting a comment below and signing up for e-mail notifications for future updates (right side-bar).  Let’s help build the new internet | The Decentralized Way^TM.  A decentralized internet | The Way The Future^TM.

The post Blockstack: Signature Bounties – Two Weeks to go… appeared first on The Stack Cafe™.