This week we bring you some more news from Ireland as well as upcoming local events where you will be welcome to come and learn about Blockchain and Cryptocurrencies.

What is happening on the Irish Blockchain scene?

Weekly News

Digital Health Incubator

https://www.tcd.ie/explore-innovation/validator/

There is no doubt in my mind that the health care industry will be transformed by Blockchain, Etheal is one great example that you should check out.

An article in Silicon Republic this week covers Trinity College Dublin's 8 week intensive incubator program Validator, where start ups from all over europe can explore opportunities in the health care industry.

Will any Blockchain startups take part in the validator programme in Trinity this year?

https://www.siliconrepublic.com/start-ups/digital-health-incubator-trinity-dublin-eit

Silicon Valley Banks Claire Lee

This June Inspirefest will be taking place in Dublin where Wicklow native Claire Lee will be speaking. In this weeks article on Silicon Republic Claire comments on the representation of women in the Blockchain space.

https://www.siliconrepublic.com/start-ups/claire-lee-silicon-valley-bank-inspirefest-2018

The adoption of Blockchain in Ireland

This article in Irish Tech News reports about a recent study by a team at NUIG. This study examines organisational readiness in Ireland.

“We expect blockchain will significantly transform the traditional business operations of organisations across a multitude of industries such as health, food, financial and Government sectors in Ireland over the next five years. However, we have also identified a number of barriers which organisations will have to overcome such as the need for them to view blockchain as a separate entity to cryptocurrencies, a lack of technology workers who possess the requisite blockchain skills and competencies, and a lack of university level blockchain courses encompassing a number of core competencies identified in the study.”
Dr. Clohessy NUIG

https://irishtechnews.ie/blockchain-the-new-kid-on-the-irish-technology-block/

Blockchain and GDPR

The GDPR which comes into force in May has every company in Europe that deals with customer data scrambling to ensure compliance. What will this piece of legislation mean for Blockchain?
This weeks article in Irish Tech News outlines some of the challenges faced by organisations, and in my mind it reiterates how pointless permissioned ledgers are. Implications are organisations will have to start deleting blocks. How is that going to work? It kind of defeats the whole purpose of using a blockchain. Of course the there will be implications for decentralised open ledgers as a result of GDPR but I suspect it will not lead to deleting data from these blockchains.