Regional

In the last installment of a 3-part series on blockchain in China, Forkast.News examines: Everyone knows money has value. But does it also have ‘values’?

Prototype launches in Hong Kong, with children able to collect digital currency and NFTs instead of arcade coupons.

How China’s deployment of the digital yuan intertwines economics with geopolitics and concrete with virtual infrastructure, from Cambodia to the Caribbean.

Long before most governments, the Asian superpower saw the potential in Bitcoin’s technology to spawn the next internet and a new form of money.

Privacy-centric coins like Monero, ZCash and Dash are seeing big price rises as the IRS and ATO issue warnings on taxable crypto transactions.

The financial watchdog’s ruling would prevent cash from being loaned out for bitcoin and other cryptocurrency. Forkast.News analyzes its likely impact on the sector.

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.

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.

Indonesia is a country of 17,508 islands and 260 million people, including 171 million internet users. It’s a huge market, dominated by the digital economy that’s ripe for blockchain disruption.

Blockchain technology and digital assets have the potential to change the entire finance industry. These blockchain-powered payments networks enable cross-border payments to be hassle-free by having a standard set of technical specifications and standards – reducing confusion and ensuring that all members of the network have access to the same technology, says Ripple’s Navin Gupta.

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

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.

Despite prolonged social and political turmoil a slowing economy and record cash outflows, Hong Kong continues to serve as an important technology and financial hub, says Hong Kong Stock Exchange CEO Charles Li.

Executive Summary It has been 40 years since Deng Xiaoping launched China’s Open Door Policy. By several metrics, China’s economic miracle has been extraordinary, with some 800 million people lifted out of poverty in just a few decades and the country playing a critical role in the global economy. But this growth was neither stable […]

Public support in India is strong for cryptocurrency ownership. But regulators’ blanket ban may lead to a gray market, increasing the chances of fraud.

“We want to keep at the forefront of the regulatory framework to make sure that what we’ve got is fit for purpose and works well for our stakeholders.”

President Xi Jinping emphasized the development of blockchain technology and called for more research, investment, and regulations for it on October 24. “Blockchain plays a core role in the next round of technological innovation and industrial transformation,” said Xi according to comments recorded by news agency Xinhua during a meeting with members of the Communist […]

Switzerland is positioning itself to become a crucial hub for the global blockchain industry as investment group Crypto Valley Venture Capital (CVVC) reports that the top 50 blockchain-related companies in the country are valued over US$40 billion in 2019. CVVC Founder and CEO Mathias Ruch told Forkast.News’ Editor-in-Chief Angie Lau that the country’s regulation and […]

Forkast.Insights, the research vertical of Forkast.News, will be releasing the “China Blockchain Report” in its new report series about blockchain technology in countries around the world. The report, which has been months-in-the-making, will be released off the heels of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s recent endorsement of the need to accelerate the development of this technology […]

Startups are aiming to apply blockchain technology to help everyday consumers track the meat they buy at supermarkets back to the source.

What is the world of cryptocurrency like in the Middle East? How does it differ from other markets, and what challenges and opportunities arise from dealing with the industry in that region? Forkast.News Editor-in-Chief Angie Lau sits down with Joseph Dallago, Co-Founder and CEO of Rain, the first Bahrain-based digital currency exchange, in order to […]

Key Highlights “[A central bank’s digital currency is] a huge database using the hash function, chain technology. There’s no distributed ledger portal.” “[The People’s Bank of China] have been working on CBDC for about four years now.” “One of the areas where I really think blockchain could help is on trade finance. When I say […]

Facebook just did the unthinkable in the Donald Trump era: give America’s Republicans and Democrats something on which to agree. Same with the Group of Seven nations taking a dim view of the social media giant minting its own money. US President Trump declared that Libra, Facebook’s proposed virtual currency, “will have little standing or […]

Is Asia gaining ground in the technology race? Edith Yeung, advisor at 500 Startups, partner at Proof of Capital, and author of “China Internet Report” (link to new 2019 report below) shares why Asia is the place to be for blockchain adoption. For a VC who spends half her time in Silicon Valley, she recognizes […]

Is Asia gaining ground in the technology race? Edith Yeung, advisor at 500 Startups, partner at Proof of Capital, and author of “China Internet Report” (link to new 2019 report below) shares why Asia is the place to be for blockchain adoption. For a VC who spends half her time in Silicon Valley, she recognizes […]

LONDON — Aon, one of the world’s largest insurance companies, has teamed up with respected charity Oxfam and blockchain start-up Etherisc to deliver blockchain crop insurance policies to small farmers in Sri Lanka. “Farmers in Sri Lanka represent a third of the workforce and account for almost 20 percent of the economy. Yet, very few […]

Risk-averse, regulation-crazy, deflationary Japan was never an obvious epicenter for Bitcoin trading. And yet the government has openly welcomed the crypto industry, betting that blockchain innovation would catalyze a startup boom and create new wealth and jobs. So should the Bank of Japan (BOJ) go one step further and issue its own cryptocurrency? “This will […]

Key Highlights Introducing digital currencies would allow countries like Japan to incentivize economic behavior, such as putting greater spending power in peoples’ hands Japan’s demographics make it an interesting test case: given its shrinking population and risk-averse culture, what is the balance between harnessing innovative technology like blockchain? Japan currently taxes cryptocurrency gains at 55% […]