Tokenization has given rise to the “Internet of Value,” an era in which financial assets — or any assets with underlying value — can be easily transferred peer-to-peer over the internet. While revolutionary, has largely remained a concept embedded strictly within the cryptocurrency space. Yet as the need for digitized processes continues to impact multiple sectors, tokenization could become a game changer for global digitalization. In order to drive mainstream adoption, the InterWork Alliance — — has announced the formation of two new member-led business working groups. The Distributed Ledger Technology Security and the Global Trade and Supply Chain, both …

The U.S. acting comptroller of the currency, Brian Brooks, predicts that decentralized finance will render many of the financial services offered by banks obsolete, just as email disrupted the postal service. In an interview during DC Fintech Week on Oct. 19, Brooks predicted a not-too-distant future in which distributed ledger technologies mediate financial services, making the legacy banking sector’s historic role as “central ledger-keeper” redundant. “We [...] see a future where decentralization is very likely an unstoppable force out there. Decentralized networks, by definition, are cheaper, faster, and more resilient than any kind of centralized structure.” Formerly the chief legal …

Switzerland’s Federal Department of Finance has initiated a consultation process for a blanket ordinance in the blockchain and distributed ledger technology space. The consultation will happen among cantons, parties and other interested groups in this space. It is scheduled to continue for more than three months, ending on Feb. 2, 2021. This is a part of the Swiss government's active interest in promoting blockchain and cryptocurrency. The consultation to create better laws for the blockchain industry comes only a month after the government amended several existing finance and corporate laws to incorporate provisions for blockchain technology and DLT. According to …

Alexander Lebedev, the owner of U.K. newspapers Evening Standard and The Independent, along with Russian publication Novaya Gazeta, has spoken glowingly of the potential for cryptocurrency and smart contracts to revolutionize finance. In an extensive 1800 word opinion piece published in The Independent on October 13, the billionaire predicted blockchain tech will disrupt what he described as a parasitic global banking oligopoly, asserting that “blockchain technologies and smart contracts will make it unnecessary to employ the vast majority of people in the financial sector.” Although he thinks the current “explosive growth of DeFi platforms is driven by a rapid influx …

The Singapore-based multinational banking entity DBS and Standard Chartered have completed the proof-of-concept of their blockchain trade finance platform called the Trade Finance Registry. The two entities developed the PoC in collaboration with 12 other banks on top of the blockchain platform of Singapore-headquartered company Dltledgers. Dltledgers told Cointelegraph that the banks involved in the project now intend to launch the platform for commercial use by central banks around the globe. While the platform will first be used by the Monetary Authority of Singapore, the entities involved in the project also plan to propose it to central banks from the …

The Australian Securities Exchange will delay its blockchain-based CHESS replacement after huge trading volumes due to the pandemic required a massive expansion of capacity. The DLT- based system had been scheduled for official trials in December, with a planned launch window of early 2022. At its annual meeting this year, ASX chief executive Dominic Stevens told shareholders they were looking to triple the capacity of its planned DLT system based on the surge in trade volumes seen earlier in March. He also said that the firm was looking into how much further the timeline needed to be extended to accommodate …

Despite being, perhaps, the biggest tech buzzword of the last decade, blockchain technology has largely remained just that: a buzzword. While its best-known implementation, Bitcoin (BTC), has become a household name, the technology that underpins it remains little more than a mystery for most. By and large, this can be attributed to slow progress in the adoption of the technology for consumers and businesses, caused by divided attention. Rather than a collective push to build advancements only on the Bitcoin blockchain, we’ve instead seen a clamor to build too many alternate blockchain platforms. Resources that could have been used to …

Recently, European central bank executives — Thomas Moser from Swiss National Bank and Martin Diehl from Deutsche Bundesbank — stated that central bank digital currencies don’t need a blockchain. They expressed their opinions by saying that blockchains — especially public, or permissionless — make no sense for central bank digital currencies. The reason is that central banks are central parties; therefore, a blockchain, being a decentralized ledger, is not applicable. It is a pity, but the clerks seem to be unknowingly (or intentionally, who knows?) wrong in their conclusions to why and how blockchain technology can be used, especially with …

Repeatedly, proponents of disruptive technologies have proven that regulation and innovation have an immense potential to actualize a mutually beneficial existence. The often delicate relationship between innovators and regulators — which may be mired by antagonism — is fundamental to the functioning of the global economy, especially at times as challenging as we are facing now. The fuel that keeps the fire of the important relationship between regulators and businesses alight — like any — is communication and collaboration. This could not be more apt when it comes to the innovators behind distributed ledger technology and the regulators in overseeing …

This July, Luxembourg — the world’s second-largest domicile for investment funds behind the United States — submitted a draft law updating a law from March 1, 2019 that allowed for the registration and transfer of securities by custodians. With this draft law, issuance itself can be based on distributed ledger technology, thereby introducing truly dematerialized DLT or blockchain-based securities. Furthermore, a central “issuance account” keeper (transfer agent) is required to assume responsibility, and the account keeper has to be authorized by any member state of the European Economic Area, which means that non-Luxembourg credit institutions and investment firms can be …

Beijing has been named as China’s top blockchain city in the 2020 Chinese Blockchain Innovation Rankings ahead of the blockchain hub of Shenzhen. The rankings were revealed in a special session at the China International Fair for Trade in Services Summit. According to Finance China, Beijing had a score of 99.82 while Shenzhen — a city with more than 5,000 blockchain firms — lagged behind with a score of 91.2. The nation’s second largest city Shanghai has a score of 88. One of the biggest business capitals in East Asia nowadays, the ranking puts it in third place. Beijing Fair, …

Singapore-based blockchain data firm CyberVein has become one of 12 firms participating in the construction of China’s Hainan Wenchang International Aerospace City. Construction commenced last month, with the site previously hosting a satellite launch center. Described as “China’s first aerospace cultural and tourism city,” it will be a hub for the development of aerospace products and support services intended for use in Chinese spacecraft and satellite launch missions. The 12-million-square-meter facility will host the country’s first aerospace super-computing center, and will focus on developing 40 technological areas including big data, satellite remote sensing and high precision positioning technology. CyberVein will …