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<br /> Your <keyword id="6354427" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Apple">Apple</keyword> Watch must be one of your prized possessions. Make it the most envious possession too with these new accessories launched at the <keyword id="2599271" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="IFA-2015">IFA 2015</keyword>. From the cheapest steel band to a charger and mobile stand carved out of a single piece of aluminum, these are some of the best ever. <br /><br />

	1.<span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span><keyword id="3056599" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="PanzerGlass">PanzerGlass</keyword>- Even a single scratch on Apple glass can be expensive and you so don’t want to ruin its chic look with a thin scratch proof plastic. Here’s PanzerGlass to the rescue. With its shiny texture this glass screen protector protects your watch like the most elegant armour it can ever have. <br />
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	2.<span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>Lunatic Epik- This aluminium shell would be the best choice for your time churner if you want to complete the look with a quirky band and the perfect case, which you will. 

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	3.<span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span><keyword id="2802158" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Milanese-loop">Milanese Loop</keyword>- Finding it difficult to buy a stylish steel band for your prized possession? Milanese Loop gives best fit for your watch with one third the price of the others. <br />
	<br />
	 

	4.<span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>Just Mobile TimeStand- This simple industry styled charger and stand is carved out of a single piece of aluminium, giving the best solution to a place for that tiny little charger that makes your desk look messy when your phone is charging.

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	5.<span class="Apple-tab-span"> </span>Ozaki O! Coat- Bored of the elegant niche look of your Apple watch? Try these quirky bands that come in neon bright colours and style like rugged to suit your taste the best. 

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	(Image credits: apple.com, youtube, pinterest, ozakiverse, panzerglass, lifehacker)

Top 5 Apple Watch accessories to get excited about!

New Delhi, Dec 12 () Agritech startup Ecozen on Thursday said it has raised USD 6 million (around Rs 42 crore) from investors to fund its expansion plan.
<p>Based in Pune, Ecozen was founded by three IIT Kharagpur alumni, Devendra Gupta, Prateek Singhal and Vivek Pandey. It develops technology-enabled products to strengthen farm-to-fork value chain of perishables.
</p><p>Ecozen said in a statement it has completed its USD 6 million Series A fund raise, after receiving investment from Sathguru Catalyser's Innovation in Food &amp; Agriculture Fund (IFA Fund). This funding is on top of the investment received in July 2019 from Caspian and the Hivos-Triodos Fund".
</p><p>Omnivore, which originally invested in Ecozen in 2015, also participated in this round.
</p><p>The company had raised USD 3 million in seed funding.
</p><p>Ecozen's irrigation and cold chain products (Ecotron and Ecofrost) help farmers who grow perishables to increase their yields, store their produce longer, and realise higher prices. The company said that about 25,000 farmers in India use its products.
</p><p>A Krishna Kumar, ex-MD of State Bank of India, will be joining Ecozen's board as the company embarks on its next phase of growth, the statement said.
</p><p>Ecozen Co-Founder &amp; CEO Devendra Gupta said: "The funding raised will enable us to expand our product range, production capacity, and enter new geographies".
</p><p>Vijayaraghavan Kannan, Senior Partner at IFA Fund said: "Ecozen has focused on using technology as a differentiator and has pioneered innovative products addressing market imperfections and catering to underserved segments of agriculture &amp; food value chain".
</p>Ravi Narasimham, Investment Director at Caspian, said, "...we believe this round of funding will help Ecozen realize its potential by furthering its business strategy across new geographies by launching its innovative product range".  MJH  BAL

Agri-tech startup Ecozen raises USD 6mn in Series A funding

<p><span><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Hollis Johnson</span></p><p class="caption">The LG Watch Style, a smartwatch that runs Google's Android Wear operating system.</p></div><p></p></div></div></span></p><ul><li><strong>Wearable technology still isn't being adopted by consumers at a fast rate.</strong></li><li><strong><span>Research firm eMarketer predicts usage will grow only 11.9% in the next year - and that growth rate will slow down to single digits in 2019. </span></strong></li><li><strong><span>"Other than early adopters, consumers have yet to find a reason to justify the cost of a smartwatch, which can sometimes cost as much as a smartphone," eMarketer forecasting analyst Cindy Liu wrote in the firm's annual report.</span></strong></li></ul><p><span><br />Wearable technology still isn't catching up. </span></p><p><span>Despite a year full of exciting new smartwatches, tech-enabled clothing or jewelry, and fitness activity trackers galore, the growth of the wearables market is still on the decline, according to a new report from research firm <a href="https://www.emarketer.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">eMarketer</a>. </span></p><p><span>In fact, the entire category is being overtaken by smart speakers, at least during the 2017 holiday season.</span></p><p><span>"Other than early adopters, consumers have yet to find a reason to justify the cost of a smartwatch, which can sometimes cost as much as a smartphone," eMarketer forecasting analyst Cindy Liu wrote in the report. "Instead, for this holiday season, we expect smart speakers to be the gift of choice for many tech enthusiasts, because of their lower price points."</span></p><p><span><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Thomson Reuters</span></p><p class="caption">A visitor uses a Fitbit Ionic watch at the IFA Electronics Show in Berlin.</p></div><p></p></div></div></span></p><p><span>It was this time last year that eMarketer first <a href="https://www.emarketer.com/Article/eMarketer-Slashes-Growth-Outlook-Wearables/1014896">slashed its estimates of people using wearable technology</a>. When eMarketer made its wearables predictions in October 2015, it estimated that device usage would grow more than 60% among US adults in 2016. But it only grew 24.7%.</span></p><p>The coming year looks even more dismal for wearables. Now, <span>eMarketer predicts usage will grow only 11.9% in 2018 - and that growth rate will end up slowing down to single digits in 2019 and beyond. </span></p><p><span>"Any growth that we will see in wearable users will primarily come from new users of smartwatches," Liu wrote. "However, the wearables market overall is still dominated by health and fitness trackers. We really haven't seen a wearable device become the next 'must-have' item. Until then, growth will remain conservative."</span></p><p><span>While the category is growing only minimally, there is still a solid subset of people who currently use smartwatches. According to eMarketer, </span><span>early 50 million US adults use some sort of wearable device each month, which translates to about 20% of the population. For comparison, <a href="http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/01/12/evolution-of-technology/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">77% of US adults</a> use a smartphone.</span><span></span></p><p class="tagline">Get the latest Fitbit stock price<a href="http://markets.businessinsider.com/stock/FIT-Quote"> here.</a></p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/area-51-american-conspiracy-theories-aliens-history-animation-video-2017-7">How Area 51 became the center of alien conspiracy theories</a></h3>        <div>                    </div>    </div>

People still aren't buying smartwatches - and it's only going to get worse

<p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div>Sixty-six percent of women working at Hardee's or&#xa0;Carl's Jr. have encountered unwanted sexual behavior on the job, according to a new report that has been released following Donald Trump's nomination of the chains' CEO Andy Puzder to Secretary of Labor.&#xa0;<p>Women working at CKE Restaurants were 50% more likely than the average fast-food worker to encounter sexual harassment at work, according to a report released Tuesday from workers' rights nonprofit&#xa0;<span>Restaurant Opportunities Centers (ROC) United.&#xa0;</span></p><p><span>Sexual harassment is a common problem in the restaurant industry, with roughly <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/fast-food-workers-face-rampant-sexual-harassment-2016-10">40% of female fast-food workers facing harassment </a>such as sexual teasing, unwanted touching, and invasive questions on the job, according&#xa0;to a survey by Hart Research.</span></p><p><span>ROC's report&#xa0;was collected through 564 surveys completed by Carl's Jr. and Hardee's members who&#xa0;the nonprofit reached out to via social media. </span></p><p><span>In addition to sexual harassment, the report found that 28% of respondents said they had worked off-the-clock and roughly 33% reported wage theft violations, such as&#xa0;not receiving or&#xa0;overtime pay - figures that actual beat&#xa0;<a href="http://big.assets.huffingtonpost.com/NationalWageTheftPollMemo.pdf">fast-food industry averages.&#xa0;</a></span></p><p><span><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div></span></p><p><span>The Economic Policy Institute, a nonprofit&#xa0;managed by the International Franchise Association (IFA), called the report's conclusions into question. On Tuesday, the&#xa0;EPI released the results of its own survey,&#xa0;in which 93% of female CKE employees reported tha they "feel safe and respected in this working environment."&#xa0;</span></p><p><span>The EPI's data was&#xa0;collected&#xa0;via&#xa0;242 telephone interviews with Carl's Jr. and Hardee's employees in early January.</span></p><p>ROC&#xa0;argues that the reports&#xa0;provides evidence that Puzder, as CEO of CKE, is unfit to serve as the Secretary of Labor.&#xa0;</p><p><span></span><span>"The job of the Secretary of Labor is to protect our nation's most vulnerable workers, including tipped workers," Saru Jayaraman, ROC United co-founder and co-director, said in a statement. "Like the NRA, Puzder's stated positions include total opposition to raising the minimum wage and earned sick time, and threats to replace restaurant workers with machines. Quite simply, Puzder is the last person that should fill this role."&#xa0;</span></p><p><span><span>Democrats plan to use the ROC report to highlight potential issues with Puzder's confirmation as Secretary of Labor, with members of Congress, including Sen. Elizabeth Warren, hosting a forum on Tuesday to discuss&#xa0;the results of the report.</span>&#xa0;Warren and other members of Congress have called for&#xa0;Puzder's employees to&#xa0;be allowed to speak at Puzder's confirmation hearing.</span></p><p>Many progressives <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/trump-labor-secretary-is-controversial-2016-12">spoke out against Puzder's nomination</a> following its announcement in early December. While restaurant industry groups such as the IFA have supported Puzder, critics&#xa0;have taken issue with Puzder's history of opposition to regulation that would&#xa0;increase overtime pay and raise the minimum wage, his interest in investing in automation, and support of sexualized marketing.&#xa0;</p><p><span>Carl's Jr. and Hardee's have come under fire for its sexual <keyword id="35666" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="advertising">advertising</keyword> in the past, with commercials starring scantily-clad women drawing protest from the conservative group <a href="http://onemillionmoms.com/current-campaigns/carls-jr-super-bowl-ad">One Million Moms </a>and<a href="http://jezebel.com/5990397/put-it-in-my-mouth-a-history-of-disgusting-carls-jr-ads"> feminist website&#xa0;Jezebel. </a>Puzder has long welcomed the protest.&#xa0;</span></p><p><span><span>"I like our ads. I like beautiful women eating burgers in bikinis. I think it's very American," Puzder </span><a href="https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/246487">told Entrepreneur in 2015.</a><span> </span>&#xa0;</span></p><div></div>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/carls-jr-all-natural-super-bowl-ad-sexy-viral-2015-1">This super sexy Carl's Jr Super Bowl ad has gone totally viral</a></h3>        <div>            <div>        <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="FxdG4zczoGv-32414RhKcFyXb2BHHFpz" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>        </div>        </div>            </div>

Trump's pick for labor secretary runs a fast-food chain where 2 in 3 women report being sexually harassed on the job

<p><span class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><span><span data-post-image="" class="image on-image"></span><p></p></span></span>The head of LG's home appliance division may be forced to miss the International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in 2015 because of a bizarre incident in which he was accused of sabotaging a rival's washing machine.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.cnet.com/news/lg-boss-may-miss-ces-due-to-washing-machine-fiasco/">CNET reports that LG executive&#xa0;Jo Seong-jin</a> has been banned by Korean prosecutors from travelling to Las Vegas to attend the important CES trade show.&#xa0;</p>
<p>It's all down to<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/r-samsung-accuses-rival-lg-exec-of-vandalizing-washing-machines-2014-9"> an incident that occurred in Berlin back in September</a>.&#xa0;Jo Seong-jin was attending the IFA trade show, where tech companies go to show off their latest gadgets. Employees at an electronics store in central Berlin allegedly discovered the LG executive damaging the door hinges of a Samsung washing machine. Samsung is LG's biggest rival, and the two companies have accused each other of spying on each other in the past.&#xa0;</p>
<p>Samsung filed a lawsuit and a complaint with the police against&#xa0;Jo, accusing him of property damage and defamation. LG denied the claims, countersuing Samsung for defamation and tampering with evidence. LG claims that the machine was already damaged when Jo touched it, and that a Samsung employee did it on purpose.&#xa0;</p>
<p>LG has asked prosecutors - who are conducting a criminal investigation, according to CNET - for a temporary lift on the travel ban so that Jo can travel to CES. But so far, its request hasn't been met.</p>

An LG Exec Could Miss CES Because He Allegedly Sabotaged A Washing Machine

<p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div>Lenovo, the owner of Motorola, has&#xa0;set the date for the unveiling of the next generation Moto 360 smartwatch: September 8. This date sits squarely between IFA, the <a href="http://b2b.ifa-berlin.com/">giant consumer electronics show</a> in Berlin, and Apple's event, held <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/apple-event-iphone-siri-september-9-2015-8">on September 9</a>.&#xa0;<p>In a post on&#xa0;the company's <a href="http://t.co/zUxXt60kPr">Weibo account</a>&#xa0;(via <a href="https://twitter.com/michaeldwm/status/638631186550534144">Twitter</a>), Leonovo announced&#xa0;the September 8 date and teased a new, gold-looking Moto 360.&#xa0;</p><p><div></div></p><p class="embed-spacer">The new Moto 360 is expected to come in at least two models: a new larger edition, called the 360L, and a smaller model, the 360S, which could stand for "Sport." Images of <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/moto-360l-and-360s-leaked-pictures-2015-8">both models</a> have leaked showing similar ideas to the Moto 360 with a "flat tire" display cutting the bottom off an otherwise round design.&#xa0;</p><p class="embed-spacer">There has been much speculation about which models - out of the 360L, 360S and potential 360 Sport - will be unveiled at the September 8 event&#xa0;with a suggestion that we <a href="http://www.androidheadlines.com/2015/09/official-motorola-moto-360-will-launch-september-8th.html">may not see</a>&#xa0;the 360 Sport until November.&#xa0;&#xa0;</p><p class="embed-spacer"><em>Business Insider has reached out to Lenovo to confirm the authenticity of the image and will update the article when we hear back.&#xa0;</em></p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/new-disney-wearable-magicband-tech-money-2015-4">Forget Apple and Google, Disney has already mastered wearable tech</a></h3>        <div>            <div>        <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="B5OGhidDrKhSNwFxMvFrrninPNiFNEKX" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>        </div>        </div>            </div>

Motorola is going to announce the new Moto 360 smartwatch a day before Apple's big event

<p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div>Russia's government said Wednesday that the toxic gas that killed 83 people and wounded at least 150 in northern Syria the day before was released accidentally when a&#xa0;<span>Syrian air strike hit a "terrorist warehouse" containing "toxic substances."</span><p>"According to the objective data of the Russian airspace control, Syrian aviation struck a large terrorist warehouse near Khan Sheikhun that housed a&#xa0;<span>warehouse making bombs, with toxic substances,</span>" the Russian <keyword id="6354810" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Defense">defense</keyword> ministry said in a statement.</p><p>"The arsenal of chemical weapons" was destined for fighters in Iraq, the ministry added.</p><p>Experts have cast&#xa0;doubt on&#xa0;Russia's explanation for Syria's worst chemical weapons attack since 2013, when Syrian President Bashar al-Assad - an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin - is believed to have used sarin gas to kill as many as 1,400 people in the outskirts of Syria's capital, Damascus. Assad still denies responsibility for that&#xa0;attack.</p><p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div><p><span>Colonel Hamish de Bretton-Gordon, a chemical weapons expert, <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-39500319" target="_blank">told the BBC</a> on Wednesday that Russia's claim is "fanciful" and that it would be "unsustainable" for&#xa0;<span>a nerve agent like Sarin gas to spread as far as it did as the result of a bombing.</span></span></p><p><span><span>Instead, the US has determined that Syrian warplanes dropped the chemical weapons, which caused injuries and deaths that the <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-syria-idlib-who-idUSKBN17715Z?il=0" target="_blank">World Health Organization said</a> were "<span>consistent with exposure to organophosphorus chemicals, a category of chemicals that includes nerve agents."</span></span></span></p><p><span><span><span><span>British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, meanwhile,&#xa0;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/boris-johnson-says-syria-government-likely-behind-chemical-attack-2017-4" target="_blank">said that</a>&#xa0;"all the evidence I have seen suggests this was the Assad regime ... using illegal weapons on their own people."</span></span></span></span></p><p><span><span><span><span><span>The commander of the Free Idlib Army rebel brigade, Hasan Haj Ali, told Reuters that "everyone saw the plane while it was bombing with gas."</span></span></span></span></span></p><p>Bellingcat founder Eliot Higgins, an expert who has extensively covered the Syrian civil war, poured more cold water on the Russian claim early Wednesday morning.</p><p>Higgins <a href="https://twitter.com/EliotHiggins/status/849569832546836480">added</a> that other images from the chemical&#xa0;<span>attack <a href="https://www.facebook.com/edlibEmc12/posts/1889429761270584" target="_blank">were posted online</a> at 2:28 a.m. EST, which is two hours before the airstrike allegedly hit the chemical warehouse, which Russia said occurred at 4:30 a.m. EST.</span></p><p><span>The Conflict Intelligence Team,&#xa0;<span>a non-profit organization founded by Russian blogger and activist Ruslan Leviev to monitor the events in eastern Ukraine, added that while "<span>Russian media did </span><a href="https://www.rt.com/news/366799-aleppo-chemical-weapons-attack/" target="_blank" onclick="LinkshimAsyncLink.referrer_log(this, &quot;https:\/\/www.rt.com\/news\/366799-aleppo-chemical-weapons-attack\/&quot;, &quot;\/si\/ajax\/l\/render_linkshim_log\/?u=https\u00253A\u00252F\u00252Fwww.rt.com\u00252Fnews\u00252F366799-aleppo-chemical-weapons-attack\u00252F&amp;h=ATNx3k7AkEvIB8H926c1c7vIu59GIOCUsCAnFvbejE1Ogh3jMS5lUCIkoYdC_Kh0MX7JAChZQ4kXl7IelAAFTQWrUMfg59vGYl6277RP3Grt1ylNThchKbXk0qEBxoOqhHLx4l0-rQ&amp;enc&amp;d&quot;);" rel="nofollow noopener">report</a><span> repeated use of chemical weapons by rebels in Aleppo" in late 2016, "each time the weapon allegedly used was chlorine" - not sarin. The Assad regime, moreover, <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/08/25/un-proves-assad-regime-dropped-chemical-bombs-on-civilians/" target="_blank">has been accused</a>&#xa0;of dropping chlorine bombs on civilians in Idlib province at least twice between 2014 and 2015.</span></span></span></p><h2><span><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div></span></h2><h2><span>'It is an infantile argument'</span></h2><p><span><span>Dan Kaszeta, a veteran of the&#xa0;US Army Reserve's Chemical Corps - the branch of the US Army responsible for protection against chemical, biological, and nuclear threats -&#xa0;further debunked Russia's claim.</span></span></p><p><span><span><span>"To date, all of the nerve agents used in the Syrian conflict have been binary chemical warfare agents," <a href="https://www.bellingcat.com/news/mena/2017/04/05/chemical-realities-russias-khan-sheikhoun-chemical-warehouse-attack-claims/" target="_blank">Kaszeta wrote on&#xa0;Bellingcat</a>, adding that the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) inspections after&#xa0;</span></span></span><span><span><span><span><span>Syria's accession to the Chemical Weapons Convention in 2013 "revealed a variety of fixed and mobile mixing apparatus for making binary nerve agents."</span></span></span></span></span></p><p><span><span><span><span><span>The Assad regime began mixing the chemicals to create sarin in 2012, <a href="http://security.blogs.cnn.com/2012/12/03/source-syria-preparing-chemical-weapons/?hpt=hp_t3" target="_blank">CNN reported</a> at the time.</span></span></span></span></span></p><p>"Even assuming that large quantities of both sarin&#xa0;precursors were located in the same part of the same warehouse (a practice that seems odd), an airstrike is not going to cause the production of large quantities of sarin," Kaszeta added. "Dropping a bomb on the binary components does not actually provide the correct mechanism for making the nerve agent. It is an infantile argument."</p><p><span>Brian Palmer, a reporter for Slate covering science and medicine, <a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/explainer/2012/12/syria_s_chemical_weapons_why_doesn_t_assad_premix_his_sarin.html" target="_blank">wrote in 2012</a> that "the technical challenge for users of sarin is the dispersal." The nerve agent, he wrote, is&#xa0;exponentially more deadly when it is "<span>aerosolized," or converted into a fine spray.&#xa0;</span></span></p><p>Because one of the "precursors" for sarin is&#xa0;<span>isopropyl alcohol, if&#xa0;a warehouse with sarin in it had been&#xa0;bombed, then it would have gone up "in a ball of flame," Kaszeta wrote. "</span>A very large one. Which has not been in evidence."</p><p>Additionally,&#xa0;he said, the sheer volume of materials, many of them "exotic," necessary to produce sarin makes it extremely&#xa0;unlikely that the rebels could have stockpiled it in&#xa0;a large enough quantity to kill dozens of people.</p><p><span>"Having a quantity of any of the nerve agents relies on a sophisticated supply chain of exotic precursors and an industrial base," Kazeta wrote. "Are we to seriously believe that one of the rebel factions has expended the vast sums of money and developed this industrial base, somehow not noticed to date and not molested by attack?"</span></p><div></div>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/watch-trump-walk-executive-order-signing-ceremony-without-signing-orders-2017-3">Watch Trump walk out of an executive-order signing ceremony without signing any orders</a></h3>        <div>            <div>        <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="BlanlsYTE6qS4cVOgTU728alnk6du42l" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>        </div>        </div>            </div>

'An infantile argument': Experts pour cold water on Russia's 'fanciful' explanation for Syrian gas attack

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>.</span></p></div><p></p></div></div>It's a technology conceived by the mysterious creator of <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-bitcoin-2013-4?op=1/#at-is-bitcoin-1">bitcoin</a> - the digital currency championed by a motley crew of privacy-obsessed libertarians, social activists, and some criminals.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>AP Photo</span></p></div><p></p></div></div>Now the idea of blockchain has gripped Wall Street's biggest institutions.</p><p>Its enthusiasts think it could change the world. Sure, it would make contracts more enforceable and speed up the settlement of stock trades - hence the interest from big banks. But some see it going much further, cracking down on <a href="http://www.ibtimes.com/microsoft-building-blockchain-identity-system-fight-human-trafficking-prostitution-2376580">sex trafficking</a>, music piracy, and child labor.</p><p>And the key to all that - what attracts these different factions - is something that, on the surface at least, sounds rather banal: a digital ledger, like the one in your checkbook.</p><p>"Blockchain is a truly extraordinary technology that does really mundane things," said Paul Brody, Ernst &amp; Young's global blockchain leader.</p><p>But for all the promise, these big questions remain: Who will foot the bill, and is it really as secure as supporters say?</p><h2>What is blockchain?</h2><p>In the non-blockchain world, we keep separate records of transactions. If you write your friend a check, you balance your own checkbook and your friend does the same when they deposit it. But things can go wrong. They might forget to update their checkbook ledger. And each bank has no way to know immediately if the person has enough in their bank account to cover it.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_left"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/oblivion/2474368767/in/photostream/">Flickr / oblivion9999</a></span></p></div><p></p></div></div>With a blockchain, instead of two separate checkbooks with two records of debits and credits, you'd both look at the same ledger of transactions. It's private (encrypted, in computer-speak), and decentralized, so neither of you controls the ledger.</p><p>This "distributed ledger" operates on consensus. Both of you can look at the ledger. Each transaction gets put into a block. If you both say that block is valid and correct, it's added to a chain. And that chain is protected by sophisticated cryptography: No one can change the chain after the fact.</p><p>Now imagine this in a more complex form. This is what gets people in finance and technology excited.</p><p>Say you want to buy a stock. Right now, your bank, brokerage, the stock exchange, and the company you're buying all have separate, private records of transactions. They can't see each other's ledgers. Nor can they verify that everything is accurate among all involved.</p><p>With blockchain, they can all be on the same page - literally.</p><p>Your bank can verify that you have enough money to transfer to your brokerage. That transfer is added to the ledger of transactions that everyone involved can see. Then your broker executes a trade for 100 shares. That gets added to the blockchain, too. Everyone involved verifies it's legitimate.</p><p>The exchange receives the order - also added and verified. And then the company's shares end up in your account. You could see the record of all the shares you buy and sell in the permanent record. If you decide to sell the shares later, that transaction gets added to the blockchain.</p><p>And because it's a consensus model in which every party confirms a transaction, "it gets more secure the more people you add" to the blockchain, Brody said. "When a transaction is completed, everyone has to get a copy of the transaction."</p><p>That's blockchain in its purest form. In reality, however, different companies are experimenting with different forms. A blockchain used in financial services could be private, or a hybrid model between the decentralized vision and a more traditional centralized model that bankers are used to. A regulator, for instance, could hold the key to a blockchain, and some companies are thinking about how to maintain a middleman.</p><h2>Mysterious beginnings</h2><p>No one knows who invented blockchain. The idea for it came from a <a href="https://bitcoin.org/bitcoin.pdf">paper published online eight years ago</a> that unveiled bitcoin, the digital currency. The author, Satoshi Nakamoto, is thought to be using a pseudonym. The true identity remains a mystery, and there's debate over whether it was created by an individual or group.</p><p>At first, bitcoin got all the attention. The idea of a secure, private currency, divorced from a specific government, captured the imaginations of technologists, libertarians, and people concerned about the power of big banks and government regulation. Bitcoin transactions occur peer-to-peer, meaning no government or third party is involved.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ltjEihyUiaY">YouTube/Goldman Sachs</a></span></p><p class="caption">Goldman Sachs</p></div><p></p></div></div>Today, bitcoin and blockchain still attract privacy-minded and antigovernment types. But it also increasingly appeals to people like Grainne McNamara. She spent years building out technology at banks like Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs. Now she's a leader of PricewaterhouseCooper's blockchain for financial services. And that means she spends a lot of time attending and hosting blockchain conferences.</p><p>At one, a speaker showed a picture of a shed in his presentation. McNamara remembers him jokingly saying, "Take the bankers behind the shed and kill them." He didn't know his audience.</p><p>McNamara was sitting next to former bankers, who found the whole thing humorous, she said.</p><p>Despite the shed metaphor, "it's a peaceful cohabitation," McNamara told Business Insider. "People genuinely appreciate the disruptive element to spawn innovation."</p><h2>A contract with a brain</h2><p>One area blockchain proponents get excited about is the idea of a "smart contract." While most bank agreements are still paper documents - banks are awash in paper, even in 2016 - a smart contract is a computer program that helps keeps everyone accountable.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_left"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Reuters/Axel Schmidt</span></p><p class="caption">People play a video game on the stand of Acer at the IFA Electronics show in Berlin, Germany, Sept. 2, 2015.</p></div><p></p></div></div>Let's say you're a company that designs and sells video game consoles. You work with suppliers and shipping companies, and have a number of serious concerns. You want to make sure they're manufactured well and on time. You want to make sure there are no labor violations, such as children working on the assembly line. And you want to make sure everyone gets paid on time.</p><p>In the old way of doing things, numerous contracts might be involved to manufacture one video game console. And each side may have its own paper copies.</p><p>Smart contracts provide automated accountability.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Samantha Lee / Business Insider</span></p></div><p></p></div></div>Because this is blockchain, everyone involved looks at the same contract; no one can change it without the permission of most others.</p><p>Here's an example: When a truck picks up finished video game consoles from a factory in, say, China, the shipping company scans each box. Those are added to the blockchain, triggering a release of funds from the video game company's bank account. No one has to invoice and chase a payment.</p><p>"You can marry up the delivery and payment of services," Brody said.</p><p>It can go beyond getting paid, too. Each worker on the assembly line could scan their identification card, which is then verified by multiple sources such as government agencies and third-party auditors, ensuring the workers are not underage or overworked. And because it's a blockchain, no one can alter the record later.</p><p>Some have discussed blockchain as a possible tool to help prevent sex trafficking and other scourges. And there are other uses for it that may become big parts of our lives.</p><h3>Healthcare</h3><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Samantha Lee / Business Insider</span></p></div><p></p></div></div>Smart contracts in healthcare could do things such as trigger an insurance payment to a doctor when a patient undergoes a CT scan.</p><p>A blockchain could also be a secure place to store electronic medical records.</p><p>It would detail all patient-doctor communication, illness and treatment information, vaccination records, medical bills etc. Every subsequent doctor visit or treatment would be added to the blockchain, including those in different cities and countries, creating a complete, historical record of the patient's health.</p><p>In this case, the blockchain is private, and only certain participants would have the encryption keys to see the record.</p><h3>Music and media</h3><p>Musicians may wish there had been blockchain when Napster undermined music sales around the turn of the century through file-sharing.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/kelseyweaverphotography/15190479811/in/photolist-2QHjpf-We7bj-2QHnB3-4GcBjB-p9kbqk-oS6ZeJ-p7zdtC-4sQsb3-4sLj8x-7DDyFw-4sLjhR-4sLoHn-4sQsBY-p9kbQi-4sQt21-4sQfD5-4sLquz-p9kcNR-4sQpK1-9EQQo1-9EvxZZ-gJyRLx-gJyS7J-gJyJYd-gJyJUL-gJzEG4-gJyS2T-gJyRKv-gJzECr-4sQgTh-4sLiXa-4sQmDo-4sQh6j-oRXkDY-oRXnKv-3WvwZj-3xWL12-3hSPJ1-3hNr7B-3hSQNd-3hNrzF-9aiodW-fwq3p2-4sKn3c-f3yhiu-apL8TM-bqgxi2-dsrHmr-c79c7m-7ydKdn">Flickr/Kelsey</a></span></p><p class="caption">Blockchain could prevent music piracy</p></div><p></p></div></div>Now some are thinking blockchain could prevent piracy and help boost sales. Artists could provide their music directly off a ledger, and smart contracts might ensure the right people are paid and only those with rights play the tracks.</p><p>A similar model could help fund news outlets and other media organizations.</p><h3>Property records</h3><p>Some companies' whole job is tracking down property records. Blockchain could change that.</p><p>If property deeds were on a blockchain, the other participants (known as "network nodes") that validate the transaction could be real-estate agents, financing banks, and a land registry authority.</p><p>Once the transaction is validated, it is added to the blockchain, and the updated state of the blockchain is broadcast to the participants in real time. As the blockchain maintains the history of all transactions, the entire history of the property and its owners is on the blockchain.</p><h3>Trading and banking</h3><p>The Australian Securities Exchange - ASX - plans to decide by mid-2017 if it will replace its post-trade clearing and settlement system <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/asx-pioneers-blockchain-technology-2016-6">with a blockchain version</a>. This could be a turning point for blockchain and potentially a catalyst for widespread adoption.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_left"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Jim Edwards</span></p><p class="caption">Bank of England</p></div><p></p></div></div>Central bankers are also getting in on the action. The Bank of England and the People's Bank of China are discussing issuing their national currencies - the pound and the renminbi, respectively - on blockchain. If successful, the technology would make the currencies more traceable, allowing the banks to track them through the financial system in real time.</p><p>Right now, this use of blockchain is limited to discussion and research papers, but if implemented, other central banks are likely to follow suit. The US Federal Reserve is closely following developments as well, with Fed Gov. Lael Brainard in charge of keeping an eye on the new technology.</p><p>It's also rumored that other items such as diamonds, art, and food could be put on blockchain so the entire history of the items could be traced.</p><h2>Buzz vs. reality</h2><p>There are over <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/moodys-releases-definitive-list-of-every-blockchain-project-out-there-2016-7">120 blockchain projects</a> spanning a variety of industries, and the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blockchain-technology-is-already-a-1-billion-dollar-industry-and-its-just-the-beginning-2016-6">annual budget for blockchain initiatives</a> in 2016 is estimated to be $1 billion.</p><p>In financial services, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, and Bank of America are among the big names that have partnered with <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/jpmorgan-barclays-and-others-join-r3-on-blockchain-project-2015-9?r=UK&amp;IR=T">R3, a startup</a> trying to bring blockchain technology to the finance world.</p><p>But if blockchain is going to work, it needs an industrywide standard. For the first bank to adopt this digital system and overhaul existing infrastructure, it could mean a risky and expensive investment, and that bank would have to hope others follow suit. No one wants to be the first to test that theory.</p><p>That's why this is one of the few cutting-edge technologies that is generating a lot of talk but not a lot of action among banks. While they are dabbling in the technology, attending conferences and partnering with R3, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/why-banks-are-slow-to-invest-in-blockchain-2016-9">no bank is taking the lead</a> and going from proofs of concept to using it in the real world.</p><p>"To get the true value, you need the network effect," said Graham Warner, head of global transaction banking product development in the Americas at Deutsche Bank. The more people and companies use blockchain, the more valuable the technology becomes.</p><h2>Other challenges</h2><p>For all its promise, some major impediments could prevent blockchain's widespread deployment, including regulation, cost, and security issues.</p><p>Implementing and standardizing blockchain could cost in the billions of dollars, and it would mean an overhaul of legacy systems that people are used to and understand. Today's technology works, and replacing it with something unproven is seen as an expensive risk.</p><p>Blockchain technology would also potentially mean a huge number of job losses, especially in middle- and back-office functions. Banks would have to get the remaining employees up to speed on the new technology, and using it would initially be a trial-and-error process.</p><h2>Security and privacy issues</h2><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_left float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Ethereum</span></p></div><p></p></div></div>In August, hackers stole $72 million worth of bitcoin from accounts at the Hong Kong cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex. And in June, hackers stole $55 million worth of ether, a bitcoin rival. The nonprofit that runs ether, Ethereum Foundation, just rolled back the chain. It's as if the hack never took place, and business returned to normal. But that worries purists.</p><p>The Ethereum hack - and the response to it - led Accenture to <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/accenture-patents-editable-blockchain-2016-9">create</a> an "editable blockchain model," to "resolve human errors, accommodate legal and regulatory requirements, and address mischief and other issues," according to a <a href="https://newsroom.accenture.com/news/accenture-debuts-prototype-of-editable-blockchain-for-enterprise-and-permissioned-systems.htm">news release</a>. </p><p>Blockchain enthusiasts say this threatens the very nature of the blockchain itself. One of the fundamental benefits of blockchain technology is its immutability - the blockchain represents a "golden record" of transactions, a complete, historical record that technically cannot be interfered with or undone.</p><p>But there "isn't one blockchain to rule them all," Warner said. "It will be an evolutionary, Darwinian process" to figure out which version of the blockchain applies to which use case.</p><h2>What's next</h2><p>When McNamara learned about blockchain, she said she was "a little bit of a skeptic. But I've been proven wrong."</p><p>The ecosystem is evolving, she said, and people involved, whether they're activists or bankers, are getting together and talking about "shared values and pain points."</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_left"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>AP</span></p><p class="caption">ASX</p></div><p></p></div></div>While some big players like the ASX may be using some form of blockchain as early as next year, some issues are holding blockchain back.</p><p>Different versions of blockchain are in development, and there's little agreement on what's the best or purest version to deploy. And dozens of startups are working on their own takes on blockchain. Innovation is happening, but all the competing ideas makes big companies cautious to commit to any one type.</p><p>But most proponents think everything will be worked out in due time, and that in the next few years, blockchain and its smart contracts would improve our lives, even if it operates quietly in the background, invisible to most people.</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/ken-rogoff-harvard-economist-explains-advocating-eliminate-100-bill-2016-10">Ken Rogoff explains why he's been advocating to eliminate the $100 bill</a></h3>        <div>            <div>        <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="1xamphNjE6j9cijVVdXjJy0AC1Y81I8o" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>        </div>        </div>            </div>

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