Opinion

Many blockchain protocols claim to be decentralized, but industry practices show the opposite. Even Bitcoin is largely controlled by a few.

Global fintech funding is growing in some surprising areas and signals potential for disruption. Which countries top the list?

Could blockchain technology and decentralized ID verification have prevented all those VIP Twitter accounts from being commandeered for a bitcoin scam?

As Ethereum moves toward its 2.0 upgrade, here is a reflection on the open-source platform’s transformational impact on the blockchain ecosystem.

China’s CBDC — the world’s first major government-issued digital currency — could launch this year. Are we ready for its financial and geopolitical impact?

Australians can buy bitcoin from post offices and use cryptocurrency in soda vending machines. But are confusing tax policies discouraging wider adoption?

Covid is accelerating telemedicine and patient data protection needs. Here’s how digital ledger applications can take healthcare to the next level.

Cryptocurrencies are enabling illiquid assets — like real estate, art and even pro athlete contracts — to be tokenized. What does this mean for investors?

Ripple recently laid out a framework for India to legalize crypto through regulations. But does the Indian government have the incentives and will to do so?

The UN, which now has a CryptoFund, wants to incubate new technology that would benefit children around the world. Apply now, or help get the word out!

Management guru Don Tapscott and his son Alex Tapscott — co-authors of the best seller, “Blockchain Revolution” — explain how blockchain’s “internet of value” can transform healthcare, the economy and more.

While Asia is united in masking up, US and Europe remain fractured over face mask use. A viral immunologist and face mask expert explains the deadly consequences.

India’s cryptocurrency market has vast potential — what’s holding it back? A continued lack of regulatory clarity as well as crypto education, says CoinDCX co-founder Neeraj Khandelwal.

While China is pushing more artificial intelligence surveillance technologies into law enforcement and everyday life, the US is having a rethink.

What lies ahead for the global economy, US-China geopolitics, emerging markets and sectors like real estate in the next 5 years? GreaterX’s unique focus group — ‘from farmers to a billionaire’ — offers a crystal ball.

How Visa, M-Pesa and Binance became wildly successful — and why even the greatest technology still requires thinking through how to get your product into the hands of your customers.

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.

Short-term speculators are unimpressed by BTC’s recent performance. But Covid and geopolitical disruptions have not yet played out. What does it mean for investors?

Working from home heightens computer security risks and the need for good data governance. What are the best practices for safeguarding critical data?

The central bank’s cash-like DCEP sets the stage for China’s next-gen financial infrastructure. Will it threaten the US dollar’s global supremacy? A University of Chicago Booth professor explains.

AI and big data can crunch more information than ever before. Can technology crush humans in finance the way it already has in the games of chess and Go?

What can the blockchain industry do to adapt its work to the current crisis? Acknowledging the widening socio-economic divide would be a good start.

Companies are holding off investing in emerging technology not only because of economic turmoil, but also structural biases against meaningful change.

A co-founder of the original Earth Day urges world leaders to not be complacent about the temporary dip in emissions and lose sight of urgent climate goals.

Central bank digital currencies could change government, the economy, and even society, writes Digivault CEO.

This week has been one where big changes came fast and furious on the opposite sides of the central bank digital currency world.  First, alleged screenshots of a mockup of the People’s Bank of China central bank digital currency’s mobile app were published, giving the public a taste of the apparent functionality of the platform […]

Companies are decentralizing into purely digital workplaces to survive the pandemic. What are the long-term implications on the structure of employment and the technologies required for working from home?

As Covid-19 roils markets and currencies, next-generation algorithmic stablecoins may offer a smoother ride.

BTC’s recent tumbles and movements with the rest of market may be an anomaly and opportunity for investors.

Coronavirus’ impact on the U.S. economy might hasten the creation of a digital dollar.

Robotics and blockchain will unleash massive job losses as workers struggle to adjust. Should society offer UBI to ease the economic pain?

Gold bars are unwieldy. Gold futures and ETFs carry risks. Can gold-backed crypto, or tokenized gold, be a safer hedge during the current market tumult?

CEO of Hedera Hashgraph explains how distributed ledgers can help front-line doctors and scientists in the battle against Covid-19, and how the emerging techology may be the future of international disaster relief.

Blockchain technology now offers hope to radically transform the African remittances industry in favor of migrant workers and their families.

The uncertain legal status of cryptocurrencies is under the microscope in India.

As increasingly useful and potentially destructive data migrates onto the internet, more and more countries will deploy cyber weapons. Could blockchain provide a defense against future incursions?

What are the best face masks to wear to protect against Covid-19, and how to wear them? Which masks are the worst and could increase your risk of illness? A medical doctor and face mask researcher explains all.

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.

Innovations in privacy-enhancing technology can address the challenges confronting enterprises from a regulatory, security and competitive perspective, writes Jonathan Rouach, CEO and cofounder of QEDIT.

Smith + Crown focuses its attention on headlines and projects it considers as key developments likely to prove influential in determining the course of blockchain events in 2020.

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 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.

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.

There has been a resurgence of AI during the last five to six years.  I use the word resurgence because we have had previous eras when AI was seen as being imminent. Alan Turing devised the eponymous Turing Test in 1950 and brought mainstream attention to the possibility of machines that could think. The Dartmouth […]

“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.”

Over the past few decades, the internet boom has been helping fill the information gap in our society. Online businesses such as those in e-commerce and social media emerged to help the world share information more efficiently, allowing for the digital transformation of traditionally “offline” industries. Despite the many years of effort, however, this digital […]

Speaking from the main stage of Hong Kong FinTech Week, Securities Futures Commission (“SFC”) CEO Ashley Alder said the SFC will publish a new regulatory framework that would allow it to regulate virtual asset trading platforms. In a highly anticipated keynote speech at Asia’s largest global financial technology conference, Alder noted the new regulations will […]

The imminent economic collapse in Lebanon which the Lebanese Central Bank Governor has warned of may be averted as Prime Minister Saad Hariri announced his resignation amid the country’s largest protests in 15 years. These protests were in response to Hariri’s government announcing austerity measures which included a tax on WhatsApp calls. Protesters demanding Hariri’s […]

While many other countries have been taking a back seat and waiting to decide how exactly they should approach blockchain technology, China has been proactively exploring its application in decentralized finance. This week China announced a certification system to regulate a broad range of fintech products. China is clearly priming itself to become a leader […]

If I buy a token in an asset-based security token offering, will I own a piece of the property? Am I tokenizing the asset? No. Let’s take real estate as an example. Tokenising the underlying real estate would require tokenization of the Land Registry. This is not what happens. You will most likely own an […]

An estimated 40.3 million people in the world are being forced to work against their will, trapped in modern slavery. But instead of locks and chains holding these people captive, today they are being held by debts that are impossible to pay off, threats of violence and withholding of documents such as passports, visas and […]

Facing mounting uncertainty surrounding Britain’s looming departure from the European Union, the British pound has experienced a period of considerable turbulence. As is commonplace with fiat currencies, political events often have a substantial impact on the value of the pound sterling (GBP). Recent developments in British politics are no exception. Recently on Sept. 24, the […]

There are a multitude of factors that influence the value of currencies –- from rising political tensions, wars, major economic policy announcements, civil upheaval, and foreign trade to confidence in government. One consideration which is often overlooked is the potential effect of natural disasters. Floods, tornados, wildfires, earthquakes, and hurricanes not only put a country’s […]

As institutional interest in crypto grows, most investors are entering the digital asset space through OTC trading or investing in digital asset index funds. However, many institutional investors are seeking new ways of exposure to this nascent asset class that secure predictable returns without the extra steps and volatility that traditional digital assets investments involve. […]

On Sept. 13, French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire gave a rousing speech about innovation and technology at the OECD Global Blockchain Policy Forum in Paris.  It was a robust defense of the role of government not only in regulating and taxing technology, but having a strong say in how it is developed. Among the […]

For many people, cryptocurrencies remain an abstract idea removed from everyday life. Most people aren’t even aware of the technology. But one application that can push cryptocurrencies into the mainstream is payments. Making it easy and safe for consumers and businesses to pay bills, buy and sell stuff, and deposit and withdraw funds offer significant […]

Bank of England Governor Mark Carney recently called for a global digital currency, expressing a desire to move beyond the US dollar hegemony as the world’s reserve currency, but also avoid having another national currency, such as China’s renminbi (or their newly announced digital currency), replace it. While some might point to private sector initiatives such as Libra […]

Why would tokenization of real estate be attractive? Fractional ownership will allow part of an asset to be made available by tokenization. This provides the asset owner with different choices on how to approach the market. For instance, an anchor investor could hold a 40% interest, 30% could be released to other key investors, and […]

Blockchain applications have been a highly debatable topic since the rise of Bitcoin and later Ethereum. Opinions vary from “blockchain will solve most of humanity’s problems” to “this technology works only for money” and even “it is useless”. I’ve been working in the industry since 2017 and have seen and analyzed many blockchain use cases. […]

Facebook executives announced not long ago that they would launch their own cryptocurrency, Libra, next year. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has likened his vision for the ease of peer-to-peer cash transfers to sending photos, and now it seems as if the company may be able to bring that vision to life with cryptocurrency. And beyond […]

Initial coin offerings (ICOs), initial exchange offerings (IEOs), and security token offerings (STOs) are a worldwide phenomenon. After all, a coin or token that has no physical existence apart from some computer code can be easily sent around the world to anyone with an internet connection with a few clicks of a keyboard.   While the […]

2019 is proving to be a challenging year for central banks and financial institutions across the globe. Global economic growth is slowing and a whirlwind of macroeconomic factors like the US-China trade war, diminishing demand for commodities and global monetary easing are casting a shadow over the economic health of the global financial sector.  To […]

Key Highlights There is a huge demand [for stablecoins] out there. When we look at the global economy, we’re suffering as a result of the US-China trade wars. The trade fluctuations this year have been defined by this growing tension between the US and China. Stablecoins are something that people inevitably will look at. We’ve […]

The question is not “Public OR private?”: Enterprise reality requires a flexible public AND private context. Old habits die hard. The enterprise sector has been traditionally used to closing themselves off, shielding every bit of information and focusing solely on achieving the organizational optimum. Some companies went to the extreme: Confectionery giant Mars Inc., for […]

In the midst of rising U.S.-China trade war tensions over sanctions against Iranian oil, investors are likely to look to bitcoin and other cryptos as alternative options to traditional stocks and other fiat-driven investments. While uncertainty in traditional markets has benefited the crypto market, volatility remains a substantive issue for investors seeking long-term price stability. […]

Trade wars. Slowing global growth. Weak inflation. $14 trillion of negative-yielding debt. Unprecedented monetary policies. It’s easy to get lost in the mayhem of markets when these are just some of the notable trends investors face today. Amid the chaos, the narrative surrounding Bitcoin has shifted quite dramatically since the beginning of the year as […]

As the saying goes, “ignorance of the law excuses no one.” It is a legal principle that holds even in the murky space of cryptocurrency trading. With securities and commodities regulators almost unanimously asserting jurisdiction over cryptocurrencies under the theory that such products are securities or commodities, it follows that insider trading abuses in the […]

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 […]

Trustless payment methods were the first disruption blockchain brought to the financial industry. The second wave of disruption came about when the ICO boomed in 2017 as a way to reach a larger market of investors through crowdfunding smart contracts on Ethereum. In 2017 alone, ICOs raised around $7 billion. More recently, we’re seeing the […]