Australia and Hong Kong Universities Open Joint Blockchain Cryptocurrency Research Lab
Australia’s Monash University has teamed with asset management company Collinstar Capital and the Hong Kong Polytechnic University to open a blockchain cryptocurrency research and development lab at Monash’s Clayton campus. A node of the R&D lab is at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University.
The Monash-HKPU-Collinstar Joint Laboratory will build practical blockchain-based solutions with rigorous security. Any research advancement made in the lab will be first applied to the Hcash project. Hcash is the first public blockchain established in Australia, also known as HyperCash. The main mechanism behind Hcash is a distributed ledger that connects block-based and blockless-based Directed Acyclic Graph (DAG) systems, allowing ledger assets and information to be transferred between multiple cryptocurrencies.
Dr Joseph Liu from Monash University’s Faculty of Information Technology and Dr Allen Au, from Hong Kong Polytechnic and the Collinstar Lab, said Hcash will be a connecting point for all existing blockchain systems.
“The blockchain technology used to develop Hcash is superior to that of the bitcoin technology,” said Liu. “We aim to make Hcash a connecting point for all existing blockchain systems, potentially allowing Hcash to function as a virtual cryptocurrency exchange. Up until now, existing cryptocurrencies could only be exchanged within their own systems.”
Monash University Associate Professor Carsten Rudolph said the new lab will enable them to build practical blockchain-based solutions with rigorous security that can, in addition to digital currencies, be also applied in other application domains, such as digital health.
Dr Liu and Dr Au have worked together for more than ten years in the area of cryptography. They will continue their partnership with the establishment of this blockchain cryptocurrency lab.
