Asia-Pacific

Also: Japan’s deputy PM Taro Aso urges greater blockchain cooperation. Inner Mongolia raises bitcoin mining costs. Fintech investments in S. Korea.

Other top news: $50 billion in cryptocurrency leaves China. Severe flooding in Sichuan destroys bitcoin mining farms. DeFi in India.

Conflux wins rare endorsements from Shanghai and Hunan provincial governments as other blockchain firms struggle for a toehold on the mainland.

Can blockchain stop the paid trolls, bot armies and floods of fake news that are subverting democracy through sites like Facebook?

Other top news: USPS explores blockchain for voting. Coinbase offers crypto loans. Huobi launches Global DeFi Alliance.

As China’s digital currency begins large-scale testing, business giants like Didi and Meituan appear to be signing on. What does China’s central bank say?

Other top news: Teen accused of masterminding Twitter VIP hack heads to court. Huobi launches DeFi lab. Fintech VC in Singapore and Indonesia.

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?

Other top news: China imposes standards for blockchain companies. Huobi launches digital asset custody business. Blockchain VC in the Middle East.

Other top news: China’s BSN blockchain network expands global reach. US lets major banks act as crypto custodians. VC in India and Singapore.

Regulatory uncertainties over crypto — coupled with Indians’ tendency not to rebel — have prevented decentralized finance from taking off in India despite the unbanked’s tremendous needs, says Siddharth Verma of Nuo Network.

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?

Other top news: InterContinental uses blockchain to prove hotel cleanliness. Beijing plans for blockchain in city services. VC in India and Israel.

Brian Behlendorf, a longtime open-source evangelist, discusses China’s adoption of Hyperledger Fabric for its Blockchain Service Network (BSN), blockchain trends to watch, and more.

Other top news: Alibaba to help Cosco deploy blockchain technology for Chinese shipping industry. Fintech investment in Saudi Arabia.

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.

In this chapter in the saga of the troubled mining company, ousted co-founder Micree Zhan establishes new online presence

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

SCMP’s China Internet Report 2020 shows healthy fundraising and investment activity in tech sector despite ravages of Covid and US-China trade war.

Mike Cagney, co-founder of Figure Technologies, explains how blockchain and digital assets are transforming consumer loans, banking, and more.

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

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

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

India could reap greater economic growth, cut down on corruption and more if it adopts a more progressive stance on cryptocurrency. A leading role in Asia is New Delhi’s for the taking.

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.

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.

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

White paper by global blockchain payment platform urges Indian lawmakers to make cryptocurrency legal while providing mechanisms to root out bad actors.

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.

10 million Chinese high schoolers will soon take the equivalent of the SAT or A-Levels, and it looks like they better study up on how crypto gets made.

Is it because Huobi has an in-house Communist Party relations office, while rival exchange Binance does not? Gather ’round for a Tale of the Two Cryptos.

The rest of the world may worry over the new e-RMB and what it could do to the US dollar. But inside China, will yet another digital payment system even matter? Forkast.News finds out what the laobaixing think.

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.

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.

Digital Dollar Project’s new white paper proposes a ‘third format of currency’ that would be interchangeable with paper money while preserving privacy. Is America ready for a government crypto dollar?

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?

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.

Covid-19’s disruption of global economies could speed up changes to financial systems around the world. Will cash become obsolete?

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

Blockchain education conundrum: China wants blockchain growth, but its tech labor supply “quality” falls short of high employer demands. A Forkast.News exclusive report on a new program in Chengdu and clues to what might be holding China back.

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.

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

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

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 […]

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

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.

China is trying to grow its blockchain industry, but are all these startups for real? Forkast.News dives into the data to find the truth behind the numbers.

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.

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.

Despite all signs that interest just isn’t there for STOs, and ICOs are too tarnished by scams to be a legitimate investment vehicle, this investor thinks there’s life left in both.

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.

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

In this first article of a three-part Forkast.News series, we will examine how blockchain can — and can’t — disrupt the world’s telecom industry, and take a closer look at where efforts are falling flat.

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.

Taiwan’s cryptocurrency evangelist and former congressman says the island is falling behind in STO guidelines, fintech regulations and forming a tech hub.

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.

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.