Blockchain investment goes green: Court says bitcoin legally protected

Transcript

Welcome to The Daily Forkast, August 19th, 2021. I’m Angie Lau. Editor-in-Chief of Forkast.News.

Coming up, Hong Kong based Sonic Capital launches a green investment initiative.

In China, a Shanghai court rules that bitcoin is a legally protected virtual property;
and Australia and Singapore team up on a cross-border trade blockchain trial.

Let’s get you up to speed from Asia to the world.

First up, Hong Kong based venture capital fund Sonic Capital has launched an environmentally conscious, actively managed certificate. What’s that exactly?

Well, blockchain technology has had its share of bad press with regard to its environmental impact of late. But this new investment option aims to change that.

Sonic Capital says its Sphere certificate will invest in blockchain companies that are tackling climate change.

Forkast.News Lucas Cacioli has more from Hong Kong.

Sonic Capital has launched Sphere in collaboration with Zurich based Travis Digital.

The investment product uses the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals, or SDGs, as its guiding framework while applying environmental, social and governance investment criteria.

The UN SDGs address the world’s most pressing challenges, including climate action.

It requires a strict reduction in greenhouse gas emissions as well as climate adaptation action.

Blockchain based technology and business solutions show significant potential to deliver a positive impact on the environment, with “Sphere” investing in areas such as carbon markets, renewable energy and supply chain traceability.

Sonic Capital told Forkast.News that such credentials are essential.

“When investors come in, they’re looking for an ESG compliant company investment opportunity before they allocate funds into a specific proposition, project and opportunity or company or business.”

Rust says he’s also seeing a large number of corporates entering the space with endless potential for growth.

For Forkast.News, I’m Lucas Cacioli in Hong Kong.

Meanwhile, in China, in the eyes of the law, bitcoin ownership is legit.

The Minhang District Court in Shanghai says that bitcoin is a virtual property protected by Chinese law.

But the court did reiterate the People’s Bank of China’s stance that crypto is a virtual property, not a currency that is allowed to circulate.

Forkast.News Timmy Shen has more from Taipei, Taiwan.

The plaintiff in the case claimed the deal they made to buy bitcoin mining machines was invalid, given the People’s Bank of China’s 2017 guidance prohibiting initial coin offerings.

They had demanded a refund, after canceling the order. The courts ruled the deal was valid, saying bitcoin’s exchangeability, excludeability and availability mean it has the attributes of a virtual commodity.

According to a report by Decrypt, the ruling comes in line with a similar decision made by Hangzhou Internet Court in 2019, saying bitcoin should be considered legal virtual internet property.

But there are nuances to ruling on crypto related cases in China. In July, a court in Jinan said buying cryptocurrency is not protected by law, and neither are contracts related to such deals.

Meanwhile, the PBOC has pledged to continue its crackdown on cryptocurrency trading and speculation, as part of its work plan for the second half of the year.

For Forkast.News I am Timmy Shen, Taipei, Taiwan.

Finally, Australia and Singapore have joined forces to carry out a cross-border trade blockchain trial.

Australia’s border force says it has now concluded a trial with Singapore Customs that issued and verified trade documents between the two.

It showed that trade documents issued in Australia, offering instant authentication on the provenance of goods, could be embedded in QR codes on digital certificates of origin, or COOs, which were then accepted by Singapore Customs.

Now, the trial was designed to make cross-border trade more efficient by reducing both time and cost.

Well just last month, the Global Shipping Business Network said it was trialing the use of blockchain in a similar way, to speed up cargo release at ports.

This trial offers yet another step towards getting goods on shelves and onto your doorstep faster and by cutting out the need for printing and delivery of paper based documents, it also offers a great environmental benefit too.

All in all, a pretty green blockchain tech day today.

And that’s The Daily Forkast from our vantage point right here in Asia. For more, visit Forkast.News. I’m Editor-in-Chief Angie Lau. Until the next time.