Forkast.News

The US is gold standard for global financial regulations. But if US does not get its act together over crypto, other nations will emerge as leaders in this growing space.

The former International Space Station commander also discusses how blockchain can lower space exploration costs, and more. Bonus: advice on enduring Covid and social isolation with grace.

Other top news: US still dominates blockchain patents globally. First court case in China litigated with blockchain. VC in Indonesia and Singapore.

Will India ban crypto? Regulatory uncertainty is causing nation to miss out on economic benefits. Smart regulations, says Ripple, may provide a way forward.

The Digital Dollar Project offers a path forward for the US to create a central bank digital currency. But will the government accept private sector help?

Other top news: Chainlink embraced by China’s blockchain network. Could Justin Sun’s infamy outshine TRON 4.0? Fintech in Thailand and Singapore.

AI’s ‘black box’ is inherently dangerous, and the technology is still a long way from being a solve-all solution, says Oxford researcher David Toman.

Other top news: China’s new blockchain cross-border payment platform for Hong Kong, Macau and Guangdong. 5G for all in Shenzhen. Fintech VC in India.

Other top news: Chinese high schoolers cram-studying bitcoin mining. Blockchain-powered lotteries in Cambodia. Startups in India, Singapore and UAE.

Other top blockchain news: China sounds new warning against crypto. Brave browser brouhaha. Startups in Japan and Malaysia.

Game of Thrones at the world’s largest bitcoin mining rig maker culminates, in this week’s episode, with a once-exiled company founder storming and seizing back the corporate castle.

Covid stimulus needs and China’s new CBDC have heightened interest in digital assets, but US lawmakers are still trying to make sense of new technologies. In an interview with Forkast.News, Perianne Boring of Chamber of Digital Commerce also discusses prospects for a U.S. digital dollar, and more.

More top news: China exploring blockchain to cure gaming addiction. LG joins Hedera Hashgraph. Startups in Japan, Singapore and the Philippines.

Money is part of a nation’s financial infrastructure, and the dollar needs a digital upgrade for this changing world, says Giancarlo, former CFTC chair who now heads the Digital Dollar Project, in an exclusive interview with Forkast.News.

Adam Traidman of BRD discusses CBDCs in an age of intensifying US-China rivalries, and bitcoin halving’s surprising impact on crypto mining and profits.

More top news: China pours billions into blockchain and other infrastructure. Ant Financial’s new smart contracts. VC in Singapore and India.

Digital currencies will become increasingly common in the economy, with CBDCs as an ‘organic gateway.’ Should we worry about user privacy?

Two titans of blockchain discuss China’s DCEP, Covid-inspired technology and more with Forkast.News Editor-in-Chief Angie Lau, in video highlights from Ethereal Summit 2020.

China’s new DCEP — the world’s first major central bank digital currency — just piloted in 4 cities. When it is ready for mass use, could it challenge the US dollar’s hegemony in global trade and finance?

Other top news: Fintech-friendly policies for Hong Kong-Shenzhen bay area. China makes blockchain jobs more respectable. VC in Singapore and S. Korea.

Other top news: TRON snags Covid aid. Free Telegram Open Network. China builds tech talent database. Bitmain’s civil war. Another win for Ripple.

In an interview with Forkast.News, the billionaire venture capitalist also discusses globalism, regulatory arbitrage, the future of healthcare and why he thinks bitcoin is king.

Other top news: IBM’s Covid medical supply network. China now has over 1,000 blockchain firms. Startups in Japan, India and Singapore.

Other top news: Courier giant YTO forms blockchain logistics lab. 224 more blockchain firms get official thumbs up. VC in Singapore, UK and US.

Asia’s first regulator-approved digital asset manager opens the door for wider cryptocurrency adoption.

Venture capital slowed as the coronavirus economy contracted. But out of the turmoil are still investment and fundraising opportunities.

Other top news: Bitcoin halving frenzy. New Huawei tech zone. Blockchain company busted for defective face masks. VC in Hong Kong and Canada.

Also: Dozens of crypto firms sued in 11 class-action lawsuits. Bitcoin mining company Canaan bleeds red ink. Fintech funding in India, and more.

Bitcoin’s tumbling prices during the coronavirus pandemic may be an opportunity to buy the dip.

The U.S. backed away from a digital dollar in its coronavirus relief package. But a tokenized dollar would be better for America — and bring us closer to a true central bank digital currency, says a director of the Digital Dollar Project.

Other top news: Blockchain in TV and film. Going Dutch on Covid. Nodle’s new network. BMW tracking auto parts. House rentals in new intelligent city

Other top headlines from around the world: Microsoft wants to power mining with brain waves. Crypto exchanges Huobi and OKEx under fire. China shifts to digitally sweep ancestral graves.

In this newsletter and podcast, we bring you top headlines around the world, including: A new proposal to create a digital dollar. Coinbase’s legal chief heading U.S. Treasury. A Bitcoin-Red Cross coronavirus fundraiser in Italy. Universal basic income’s revival. Steem’s hard fork into Hive, and more.

Coronavirus fears spread panic as well as infection. Face masks, hand washing and social isolation are best practices.

FATF is setting international standards, shifting the crypto world from a “wild west” mentality to a more compliant space, says CoolBitX CEO Michael Ou.

Also: Blockchain voting after the Voatz debacle, IOTA limps back after cyber attack, smart cities in China, and Forkast.News insights to help you make sense of the top headlines.

Asia’s blockchain and cryptocurrency projects have more vitality than other regions, says the chairman of the Cardano Foundation. But he also notes the variations within the region. How does Hong Kong differ from Vietnam and Singapore?

What’s up with South Korea’s new blockchain regulations? And where is bitcoin now legal tender? (Mai oui!) Other headlines around the world: a storm over STEEM, the new Baseline protocol for privacy, HTC’s Exodus 5G Hub, and how the coronavirus has affected blockchain firms in China.

India’s crypto sector saw a major boost after its Supreme Court ruled to lift a ban on crypto trading, paving the way for more blockchain development.

Coronavirus fears are sending markets tumbling. Could tokenized gold, or gold-backed crypto, be the next-generation investment in times of economic trouble?

In this episode: Lightning Loop as the Visa of bitcoin, SEC’s crypto safe harbor, and Zcash voting to give 20% of funds to developers

Public health coins could motivate more people to interact honestly with the health care system during crises like the coronavirus epidemic.

Smart-contract platform Ethereum’s new version is set to operate on a Proof of Stake system that may be released in 2020 according to Andrew Keys, co-founder of ConsenSys Capital. Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum explained that Ethereum 2.0 will provide added capacity for users through sharding and scaling, privacy features and more alongside the new Proof of Stake system.

In a 2019 speech, the visionary creator and co-founder of Ethereum describes Eth2’s launch in phases, including proof of stake, data sharding and scaling.

The Swiss Bankers Association (SBA) is seeking ways to bridge the traditional financial sector to new blockchain-related industries, including ways to open bank accounts, says said SBA deputy CEO August Benz.

The Swiss Bankers Association (SBA) is seeking ways to bridge the traditional financial sector to new blockchain-related industries, including ways to open bank accounts, says said SBA deputy CEO August Benz.

Welcome to The Current Forkast series with Forkast.News Editor-in-Chief Angie Lau and Brian Lio, CEO of blockchain research group Smith + Crown. In this episode we talk about: NBA player Spencer Dinwiddie’s token release, SEC’s warning on Initial Exchange Offerings (IEOs), Bitwise investor bulletin

Distributed ledger technology could be used by front-line health care responders dealing with the coronavirus epidemic to submit information in real-time around the world regardless of censorship. HashLog, a dashboard designed to publicly track coronavirus developments via distributed public ledger Hedera Hashgraph, could mitigate political influence involved in spreading information, according to Hedera Hashgraph cofounder and CEO Mance Harmon.

The Chamber of Digital Commerce is “gravely concerned” about how the U.S. Government is addressing technological challenges and opportunities posed by blockchain according to founder and president Perianne Boring. The U.S. could be ceding technological leadership as well as the dollar’s reserve currency status to other nations including China if it does not revamp policies toward emerging blockchain innovation.

As China, Singapore, Canada and other countries develop digital currencies in part to facilitate cross-border transactions, Ripple’s managing director of South Asia and EMEA Navin Gupta said these currencies would primarily only be used domestically.

The modern convenience of Alibaba enables rapid, on-demand consumerism that’s worth tens of billions of dollars. So what if Alibaba — and its competitors — turned the technological might that it used to develop modern Chinese consumerism over to developing modern Chinese charity?

Not enough startups and young talent are as gung ho about blockchain as they are about hotter categories such as such as AI, media or the sharing economy.

China hopes to provide affordable basic health care to all its citizens by 2020. Now that the private sector has joined public initiatives, the country is starting to see medical care efficiencies thanks to blockchain implementation.

Telecom operators are using blockchain technology for digital identity management, more efficient roaming and combating fraud.

China has received the largest number of patent applications globally. Intellectual property applications themselves are a revenue source for the government, which generated $35 billion in fees paid for using IP rights.

China’s blockchain policy for enterprises is similar to that of the public sector: provide more efficiency and disintermediation. What’s different about enterprise policy is the added element of competitiveness.

Around the world, the used-car industry is notorious for being one of low trust and high incidences of fraud. That also makes it an industry ripe for innovation as it has not adopted effective enough technology to prevent fraud and contain costs.

Having a high standard in food safety and security demands that the food is of good quality, free from disease or infection, and safe for consumption. Keeping up with this standard is a matter of international concern and the responsibility of food producers and governments.

After their panel on how blockchain technology is changing the world of finance and enterprise at Hong Kong FinTech Week 2019, Digital Asset cofounder and CEO Yuval Rooz and R3 CEO David Rutter answered follow-up questions.

As China’s digital currency is said to be “progressing smoothly,” Indonesia is also working on releasing their own white paper this year, according to Indonesian Blockchain Association cofounder Pandu Sastrowardoyo.

Universities simply haven’t caught on to the need for blockchain education as they grapple with teaching other emerging technologies, such as big data or AI.

As protests continue to rock Hong Kong and China’s economy slows, concerns are rising about the Special Administrative Region’s future as Asia’s premier financial hub.

The Chinese government has identified blockchain technology development as an issue of national importance, along with other emerging technologies such as AI, deep learning and IoT. President Xi Jinping has outlined the importance of blockchain technology to China’s industrial maturity, urging continued development so China can lead the way in defining international standards.

SIX Digital Exchange’s blockchain-based digital assets platform and distributed central securities depository are designed to democratize investment. The digital exchange platform is a subsidiary of leading Swiss stock exchange SIX.

Although Switzerland’s Crypto Valley may seek to become a global blockchain hub, its government is too slow to adopt the technology even as Facebook’s Libra incorporates in the country, according to Trust Square cofounder Daniel Gasteiger.

Getting blockchain right is hard enough – not to mention building consortium, says Steve Cerveny, founder and CEO of Kaleido, a Consensys Enterprise Business that offers blockchain as a service.

The central bank’s digital currency efforts, ironically, would give it more control over the economy.

Identification on a protocol level could help blockchain become mainstream for blue-chip companies like MasterCard, Volvo and Geely if international regulations are met. Anonymity is “exactly what is hindering wider use of blockchain,” said Concordium CEO Lone Fonss Schroder.

Using blockchain and encrypted computing in smart cities can protect user privacy as China builds out a new data infrastructure, says Vincent Wang, chief innovation officer at Wanxiang Group.

China’s enormous market of 1.4 billion people means there is a large pool of human resources that can drive blockchain development and adoption, especially in the wake of endorsement from President Xi Jinping. Blockshine founder and CEO Layla Dong explains how China’s burgeoning market can boost blockchain development.

And that’s a good thing for legitimizing blockchain and paving the way to tokenize real assets across industries, the enterprise blockchain creator said at Hong Kong FinTech Week 2019.

The Fintech Advisory Services monthly report details the main crypto-metrics and indicators for the past month: News, Market Performance, Networks, Mining Activity, Public Sentiment, and Academic Publications. The report also covers the latest “Hot Topics” in the crypto space. This month: Facebook’s Libra, Telegram’s TON, China’s CBDC, and quantum computing.