Visas to Thailand, diamonds for WeChat users and other blockchain initiatives

Distributed ledger technology remains one of the hottest trends among financial,government and commercial organizations worldwide. ForkLog Magazine offers an overview of the most interesting initiatives of the past week.

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Indian tech giant unveils blockchain SDK

Technology Corporation Tata ConsultancyServices (TCS), valued at more than $ 100 billion, has introduced a set of development tools Quartz DevKit for deploying enterprise blockchain applications faster than using Ethereum, Hyperledger Fabric or Corda.

TCS claims that ready-made templates reduce the time for writing smart contracts by 40%.

The solution also involves a gateway for the integration of ready-made blockchain applications based on other protocols.

Diamond giant Alrosa and Chinese Tencent use blockchain in e-commerce

Russian group of diamond mining companiesAlrosa, the Chinese conglomerate Tencent and the blockchain startup Everledger will launch a blockchain-based retail mini-program that will allow users of the WeChat messenger to purchase diamonds whose mining and ownership history is stored in a distributed registry.

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Alrosa is a member of the Tracr blockchain platform from diamond giant De Beers.

Thailand uses blockchain to issue electronic visas

Thai authorities and Australian companyShareRing uses OneID technology, combining blockchain and optical character recognition, to issue electronic visas, which are currently issued at the airport upon arrival, reports Cointelegraph.

Initially, the eVOA service will be focused on tourists from China and India.

Operator TikTok enters the blockchain market

ByteDance, TikTok service operator, and Chinesestate-owned company Shanghai Dongfang Newspaper Co. established Pengpai Audiovisual Technology Co., an enterprise focused on providing blockchain development services and AI services.

This week we also reported:

• Russian Railways used blockchain to prevent freight car accidents;
• Ernst &amp; Young has improved the solution to improve Ethereum privacy and performance;
• Korean telecom giant KT will release digital currency on the blockchain.