Minecraft has made it clear that blockchain technology is not welcome.

EquityCoin is not your average company using blockchain technology. In fact, they may be the only company that is not only Black and Latinx-owned but also uses the new technology to combat the homelessness crisis in America — with an ultimate goal to reach $1 billion in wealth in communities of color by the year 2030. In a press release announcement, EquityCoin revealed that their first step to creating equitable and affordable housing using blockchain technology was by creating a digital token. Its next phase of development involves the creation of what they’re calling EquityShare, which streamlines the tokenization process between the prospective unhoused buyer and real estate agents. The transactions will take place on the Ethereum -based blockchain. “By marrying blockchain technology and affordable housing, we will revitalize urban areas from coast to coast, building a more healthy, livable, and sustainable society. It’s not only important to do the work, but also to have the...

According to a report, two percent of global cryptocurrency transactions are currently housed in Africa — an alarming statistic for a continent housing over one billion people who serve as the demographic for the smallest cryptocurrency market in the world. On a mission to change this, TechCrunch reports Nelly Chatue-Diop founded Ejara to serve as a cryptocurrency and investment platform within Francophone Africa. Little did she know, a financial crisis she experienced at a young age due to the devaluation of the CFA franc in 1994, would lead her to launch the tech company, which would provide additional avenues to accumulate income. Now — just about a year after its launch — Ejara has raised a $2 million seed funding round led by CoinShares Ventures and Anthemis Group. Other participants included angel investors Pascal Gauthier of Ledger and Jason Yanowitz of Blockworks along with a syndicate social fund, Lateral Capital, Mercy Corps Ventures, LoftyInc Capital and NetX Fund.

Coined NFTs, the craze over non-fungible tokens has been sweeping the digital art world, but will they last? This expert doesn’t think so. Damon Abramson is the founder of Harmony Technologies and he is confident that NFTs won’t last once the hype calms down. He has has been working in the digital space for more than 40 years, and he is an expert digital marketing consultant who has been following blockchain and NFTs from the start. He told AfroTech that NFTs have actually been around for three or four years, which is a lot longer than the craze going on right now. “I see NFTs going away,” Abramson said. “Think about it, generally, this is how we place value on things. They are unique and not everyone can get them. The NFT situation is, okay it’s unique, but everyone can make a copy of it. It’s not like you can charge me in a museum to see your digital art.” If you aren’t familiar with NFTs yet, think of them as one-of-a-kind trading cards as The Verge explained. No one card is the...

Each year more technology companies are shifting their focus to create more social impact initiatives. Some are trying to use artificial intelligence to take the implicit biases out of the hiring process, while others are finding ways to provide identification tools for homeless communities through blockchain technologies. Robert Greenfield — the co-founder of ConsenSys Social Impact — is highlighting the importance of social impact initiatives at his company. The ConsenSys Social Impact team researches and solves problems for its partners. The team has worked with the University of Michigan, Human Rights Foundation, Lane Crawford Joyce, and Black Girls CODE using blockchain to provide social solutions to the groups. Despite how useful blockchain technologies can be, many people still do not understand exactly what it is or does. “It’s a background technology,” Greenfield said. “One of the issues in the marketing in the blockchain ecosystem is that they make it seem like it’s a...