It is hard to imagine that just two years ago, the general discourse around central bank digital currencies, or CBDCs, was mainly focused on the potential and possibility of issuing them. Even in 2019, the question was about whether we need state-owned cryptocurrencies, with only 70% of central banks worldwide studying the potential of issuing a CBDC, according to a survey published by the Bank for International Settlements at the beginning of 2019. But this year, everything is indeed different. 2020 started with a major event within the financial world: the World Economic Forum in Davos, where the WEF released …
The ongoing coronavirus pandemic is transforming blockchain companies, and its impact is not always negative for the blockchain industry. Amid the latest coronavirus crisis-fueled changes, China is taking another step toward blockchain adoption to officially recognize industry jobs. China’s Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, or MOHRSS, is the ministry responsible for national labor policies and regulations. Recently, they have added blockchain-related jobs to a list of officially recognized jobs. New occupation types are officially introduced to promote employment amid COVID-19 According to a May 11 statement by the MOHRSS, blockchain-focused professions, like tech developers, engineers, and analysts, are …
As the first vaccines against COVID-19 roll out, governments and institutions across the world are scrambling to figure out how to provide proof that someone has been vaccinated. Paper certificates, PDFs, wristbands and mobile apps have all been suggested — and the former director of the Centers for Disease Control, Tom Frieden, and international human rights attorney Aaron Schwid urged the adoption of digital “immunity passports” as a way to reopen the world. In theory, their idea is great. In practice, it’s terrible. Or, as the Daily Beast put it: “Vaccine Passports Are Big Tech’s Latest Dystopian Nightmare.” As a …
This weekly roundup of news from Mainland China, Taiwan and Hong Kong attempts to curate the industry’s most important news, including influential projects, changes in the regulatory landscape, and enterprise blockchain integrations. Huobi Asset Management is looking to be the Grayscale of Asia with the launch of four cryptocurrency-related tracker funds. The funds include a Bitcoin Fund, an Ethereum fund, a multi-asset basket of digital currencies, and a private equity fund for mining businesses. The aim is clearly to entice major institutional investors into the space with a product that feels familiar. The fund and asset management company is set …
Fabio Canesin, co-founder of blockchain fintech firm Nash, believes that as the world comes out of the COVID-19 pandemic, blockchain technology offers a “unique” opportunity to the public due to its “borderless” nature. During an interview with Cointelegraph, Canesin states that he sees the “greatest” emerging use case in blockchain for three core industries in a post-pandemic era: government, nonprofit, and small-to-mid-size businesses. Blockchain helping to distribute Coronavirus-related stimulus checks For the government entities, Nash’s co-founder explained: “This could mean using blockchain for stimulus checks instead of sending payments via traditional systems, which take much longer and are prone to …