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Ahead of the revamped blockchain platform’s July 7 launch, TRON’s flamboyant founder woos fans with gifts. But some netizens find him hard to love.

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.

Could robot nurses, drones, facial recognition and other AI artillery help us win the war against Covid-19?

Hong Kong, Macau and Guangdong have three legal and monetary systems. A new blockchain banking platform would unify the area into an economic hub.

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

India and DeFi could be headed for a symbiotic relationship — unless the government cracks down on crypto again and forces a breakup.

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

Crypto and compliance is a hot topic these days, with Ethereum co-founder Joseph Lubin’s incubator joining the fray with a new toolset.

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.

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?

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.

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?

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.

Cinemas are closed, Netflix is here, but torrent providers renew their careers!

The Covid-battered economy and Magic Leap’s woes are blowing headwinds at the nascent industry. But AR software, ads and mobile platforms offer hope.

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.

Online teaching and presenting are not just for these Covid times, but part of a revolution in how we work and learn. Master these skills for career success.

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

David Jevans, CEO of CipherTrace, explains FATF’s global influence and recent enforcement actions that have proven to be expensive for those caught.

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.

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.

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

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.

Aside from concerns about mismanagement, what else is causing Canaan to flounder? Forkast.News analyzes Canaan and the many storms — including the Covid economy and the next Bitcoin halving — now rocking the world of crypto mining.

Distributed ledger technology can help flatten the curve of Covid-19 through telemedicine, supply-chain security, rapid payments and more.

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

Investment totals are down, but deals are still being inked and alternative fundraising methods are flourishing. What kind of investments will thrive? And which ones will likely flop?

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

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.

How are crypto companies complying with the travel rule, and what does it mean for decentralization and privacy? In a Forkast.News exclusive, industry experts analyze FATF’s impact on regulations around the world and what to expect next.

Covid-19 has made online video meetings a career necessity. What are the do’s and don’ts for your next Zoom call? “We’re all television anchors and presenters now,” says Forkast.News editor-in-chief Angie Lau.

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.

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

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.

A decentralized, digitized and secure voting system could make elections more transparent, honest and trusted. But can blockchain voting also stem violence against voters — and overcome stains from the Voatz debacle?

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?

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?

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

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

Specific identification, hard forks and mainstream use: U.S. crypto investors are scrambling to figure out how new guidelines will affect their tax returns.

Blockchain has had an interesting, albeit slightly paradoxical journey in India. On one hand, the technology itself has seen great support from the startup ecosystem as well as the Government. On the other hand, cryptocurrencies have faced huge regulatory hurdles in India, such as the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) issuing a directive to ring-fence regulated entities like banks from the risk of trading virtual assets.

As bold-face names in entertainment and sports like PewDiePie, Manny Pacquiao and Spencer Dinwiddie dabble in blockchain technology, their use of cryptocurrency signal a growing shift toward grassroots financing and cutting out traditional middlemen. But some celebrities are finding a legal minefield.

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.

IowaReporterApp developed by Shadow Inc. failed to deliver timely results of the Iowa Democratic caucus. Blockchain-enabled voting systems could mitigate similar mistakes.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Building artificial intelligence is a game of “surveillance machine learning” that exploits common users’ data. But blockchain technology systems promise to help compensate users for it.

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 […]

Digital Asset aims to provide a uniform developer experience, regardless of the technology you’re using.

Ethereum has amassed a nearly unbeatable network effect, but regulatory compliance is still a major hurdle.