Startups blockchains of Spain stand out in innovation awards

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The startups that have blockchains of Spain, Air Institute and eSignus, were the winners of the innovation awards granted in the iberian country. The first of them presented a draft, based on a chain of blocks, which will seek to provide tourist information in real time and with which he won first place in the Challenge Transfer, convened by Alastria along with Tourism Data Driven Solutions (TDDS), and the Insular Council of Formentera.Signus, for its part, has received from the National Institute for Cybersecurity (INCIBE) a prize of 8,000 euros for their project of venture, a wallet hardware for cryptocurrencies with biometric reader, which offers the user to operate in a secure environment. The device, called a Hash Wallet was in the framework of the event Tech Spirit held in Barcelona on the 25th of February, which was attended by 30 other proposals, as reflected in a note published on the official website of INCIBE.The Hash Wallet is similar to a credit card, incorporates an e-ink screen, a sensor fingerprint and it is not programmable, which makes it a device that is resistant to attacks or to the intervention of third parties, detailing their developers.The creators of the Hash Wallet explain that the safety of the device is based on a principle that had called WYSIWYS stands for “What You See Is What You Sign” (what you see is What you sign), which means that the user is always displayed and confirm their operations and the only sign that achieved by observing on-screen, without relying on to do this, intermediaries or other platforms.

The solution presented by eSignus generates the key pairs (public and private) randomly and not based on a seed. The private key remains inside the card, without anyone knowing, not even the user. Therefore, what is not known is impossible to steal, they say.The user must maintain complete control of their operations in each of its stages. In addition, the confirmation is performed through a fingerprint reader built into the card itself. The feature is not programmable adds security by preventing the content to be difficult to alter, while keeping safe the software and the data stored in the wallet, as described in the official website of the company.To perform an operation with this wallet cold, the user must select their criptomoneda of preference in the application control device, either on a computer or on a smart phone. You are requested to send funds to the wallet, which must be turned on and active, so that it is possible to verify the transaction on the big screen of electronic ink.The card identifies the user via biometrics and generates public and private keys automatically. The same will remain in the interior of the device without that no one can access them, not even the user himself.In march of last year it became known that the purses cold are vulnerable. The developer Luke Champine, co-founder of the startup, Nebula, found a flaw that could allow an attacker to take over the index keys, which is essential for the access to the funds, and then demand a ransom in exchange.Champine reported the technical details of the vulnerability in a blog post on the project’s Sia, for which you developed the application Sia Ledger. As she explained, while working on this application, he discovered that almost all the applications of the purses of hardware Ledger and Trezor, the most popular on the market, were vulnerable to this attack. Subsequently, both firms generated updates of their firmware to fix the vulnerability.

A solution to the island Formentera

Air Institute, International Institute of Research in Artificial Intelligence and Computer Science, with headquarters in Valladolid (Spain), became the winner of the Challenge Transferred by presenting a solution that allows to measure and control the impact of tourists on the island of Formentera, with the aim of improving the experience and ensuring the sustainability of the tourist destination, according to a note published in Hosteltur.The proposal aims to balance the flow of tourism and to promote the sustainable use of natural resources. “Our solution is based on the decentralization, the traceability, the tokenization and contracts smart autorun. We won the challenge and we were awarded 10,000 euros for the development of the project”, explains the startup, on their official blog.

The Challenge Transfers that aims to contribute to the development of sustainable tourism, also seeks to support the undertaking of projects based on blockchains, through the implementation of pilot initiatives. Therefore, Air Institute will test of the idea in the territory of Fomentera with the idea that the island will become a global reference on sustainable tourism. Do not add more details of how the system would work.Spain is well known for the development of their startups blockchains. This also implies a financial industry modern that creates jobs, with the potential to attract investment and to fit the needs of new digital consumers.However, when exploring the possibilities of the digital transformation and technological innovation, these companies require a land legal firm, is therefore of relevance to the recent approval of the expected draft law for the Digital Transformation, as reported by Breaking News.In addition, now the startups that offer financial services capital market in Spain, related to the insurance, means of payments, personal finance, loans, blockchains or cryptocurrencies, among others, will have a bank of tests regulated to innovate and test their services before they are introduced to the market, in case you comply with the regulations set forth. This sandbox will be faced with challenges for which the blockchains of Spain can balance its accelerated pace of innovation and development, create jobs and also attract investment.

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