What is Blockchain Technology?
In the book “Blockchain Revolution” published in 2016, authors Don and Alex Tapscott mention blockchain as “an incorruptible digital book of economic transactions that can be programmed to record not only financial transactions but virtually everything that has a value”. Blockchain Implementation Asia
That is, blockchain is the new way to store and distribute digital information without being copied or stolen.
However, from the beginning, it was developed as a way to make possible bitcoin and all its alternative cryptocurrencies or altcoins.
In this article, we will see the many uses of blockchain technology and how it is becoming much more interesting than originally intended. Blockchain Implementation Asia.
Uses & Benefits of Blockchain Technology
I will not deny that initially many people believed that the blockchain could only be used to trade cryptocurrencies.
However, blockchain can be used in other ways, for example, some governments and companies are realizing the true potential of blockchain technology and plan to use it to improve their daily operations.
Among some cases of uses is: change the way we vote, sign contracts, locate stores, store property records, make transactions or increase investments (initial offer of ICO currency in English), the myriad of uses returns to this revolutionary technology for the way the world works.
Not only does it give the various organizations the opportunity to handle a variety of operations in many ways, but it also gives internal or external clients greater security, this thanks to the fact that it offers transparency and autonomy.
The Rise of Blockchain
From 2016 until 2018, the blockchain technology market has grown exponentially, increasing 338 million dollars in just 2 years. Some analysts believe that at this rate the world market will reach USD 2,300 million by the year 2021 (as seen below).
In the following graph, we can see the massive implementation that blockchain technology has had on the financial sector.
It can be seen that the number of users around the world with blockchain-based wallets from the 1st quarter of 2015 to the 4th quarter of 2017.
That is, in 2 years the number of users with portfolios had increased from 3 million to 13 million approximately 400% more.
This evidence is further accentuated from Deloitte’s analysis of GH Torrent data and GitHub API data (graph below), showing a growing increase (particularly in 2016) in the number of projects produced to develop blockchain technologies. In regards to organizations creating these projects, the report stated: “By 2017, their blockchain projects accounted for 11 percent (organizations currently account for 7 percent of the total—not just blockchain—software development on GitHub)”
Japan
Thanks to Japan the cryptocurrency received more confidence, its participation in the world of cryptocurrencies has been very important.
Japan is one of the nations with the highest acceptance of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology.
He made his announcement evident since May of 2016 the government approved a law that recognizes cryptocurrency as money.
Who is implementing and how?
Many organizations are interested in blockchain technology even more in their financial application, a clear example is the SBI Group, financial services, and asset group.
SBI Group has raised 30 trillion yen for fintech funds in December 2015 (one of the largest in Japan), according to the same means in January 2018 it raised another venture capital fund of approximately $ 450 million in AI investment and blockchain technologies.
The reason for this is that they believe that many sectors have much to gain from implementing emerging technologies, be they finance, real estate, medicine or public sectors.
SBI Group continues to be the main active company in Japan in relation to blockchain and cryptocurrency, collaborating with Huobi of China in the creation of two cryptocurrency exchanges, as well as with Wirex, a cryptocurrency payment company based in the United Kingdom. , to build a cryptographic card for Japanese consumers.
On the other hand, in June of 2017, it was announced that the government of Japan had been experimenting with the data storage technologies behind Bitcoin to integrate it into their systems.
In addition, in March 2018 the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications of Japan experimented with a blockchain-based system to improve processes in government tenders, changing the way electronic documentation is sent to the government.
Singapore
Singapore is another of the giants in the development of cryptocurrencies, ICO, and blockchain-based projects.
This is thanks to the fact that the Government of Singapore has given good laws and a very open attitude towards cryptocurrencies. Over time, the development community in Singapore is making more projects known by using blockchain-based emerging technologies in such a way that they can improve the way of work of many industries.
Who is implementing and how?
One of the main entities that have openly supported the implementation of blockchain technology has been the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Association of Banks of Singapore (ABS).
In this way, since October 2017, both entities have announced that they are exploring the use of blockchain technology in the settlement and settlement of securities and payments.
The result of this work is a software prototype of a consortium led by MAS and ABS, which consists in establishing a more efficient interbank payment system. This project was called ‘Project Ubi’ was a collaborative work with 11 different financial institutions (Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Citi, Credit Suisse, DBS Bank Ltd, HSBC Limited, JP Morgan, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, OCBC Bank, Singapore Exchange, Standard Chartered Bank and United Overseas Bank) and five other software companies.
The reason why these entities were so interested was due to an incident in which Standard Chartered lost $ 200 million in 2014, the intention of the government of Singapore to adopt blockchain to help prevent similar incidents in which merchants defraud the banks and avoid millionaire losses. Thanks to the help of local banks, this would be done by creating a unique fingerprint (called cryptographic hash) of each invoice.
Hong Kong
As reported in the article on Asian Regulations on ICO, Hong Kong has been very open to accepting everything related to the innovations in the development of ICO, digital currencies, and blockchain. This is because around 80% of financial services administrations related to money in Hong Kong are convinced that the use of blockchain advances will positively affect the financial sector in the not too distant future. With that it is observed, more than half of the financial directors with the monetary administration companies have communicated their plans and, in addition, want to put resources and financing in Blockchain technology.
Who is implementing and how?
An organization that has largely observed the advantage of implementing blockchain in their organizations for a more remarkable effectiveness have been Chong Sing Possessions Fintech Gathering, an organization based in HK that offers to finance to SMEs in China. Using blockchain, they have detailed to have created different blockchain stages that should “help save 30% on resources in back office processes“. In addition, the fintech organization has also been using Blockchain Smart Contracts for its loan business, where a man can designate resources specifically for the financial specialist’s record.
As a sign that Hong Kong is interested in the Blockchain ecosystem, in April 2017, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority related to money (HKMA) generated alliances with the best five banks in Asia to develop a blockchain commercial financing platform . This cooperative project would show all the uses of blockchain that would help achieve extraordinary advantages for the financial industry, mitigating fraudulent activities, increasing efficiency and improving transparency in transactions.
China
Even though communist mainland China has remained one of the more influential economies in the financial market, surprising many with their absolute ban on cryptocurrency, this has not taken away from their sentiments toward the Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC). Since as far back as February 2016, the president of the People’s Bank of China had expressed his interest in adopting CBDC.
Who is implementing and how?
There are many organizations interested in running the innovative blockchain technology in their systems. A remarkable case is the way in which the Chinese car industry VeChain Establishment works. The organization plans to achieve a center of harmony between decentralization and totalitarian administration, building a Blockchain that works in the same way as Ethereum, where different applications are based. A quick case is the use of the Blockchain to help improve the simplicity of coordination, solving the problems of false merchandise in both luxury items and food. This is carried out through its alliance with the Chinese government.
In addition, a petrochemical organization called Sinochem Vitality Innovation is presented as another case of effective use of blockchain innovation in its business, using it to export and manage traceability. Through this, they could reduce the expenses of oil exchanges by 20-30%.
On spring 12, 2018, the finest leaders of China’s fintech organizations directed Australia to find more applications or use cases on Blockchain, in order to devise ways of how they could be applied in the design of Chinese organizations.
Korea
Despite the fact that Korea has disqualified the ICO, since the end of October 2017, the Korea Blockchain Industry Advancement Affiliation has allegedly been working in cooperation with a group of Korean startups to handle the issue banned by the ICO.
Who is implementing and how?
Since December 29, 2016, it seems that the nation’s vision of blockchain innovation has been positive. For example, organizations related to money, for example, the Bank of Korea has published reports on the use of the innovative Blockchain technology and its impact on cost reduction. For example, through quantitative research, the Bank of Korea noted that the blockchain application would only allow the bank to save 16% of its total costs.
Blocko, another Fintech startup in the country, has joined as another successful case of the implementation of the Blockchain in advertising agencies, since its middleware platform, Coinstack, had received an End of the Line Gold Programming Endorsement (GS) , an accreditation approved by the State of Korea – for the innovative blockchain application within the country, the first of its kind. With such recognition, Korea Trade (KRX) implemented this software. In this way allowing new companies and private organizations to exchange shares in the open market (detailed in December 2016).
Malaysia
In March 2018, it was announced that nine private banks in Malaysia would be creating an association to adopt and develop blockchain applications that would greatly improve commercial transactions and advanced financial services. In addition, at the beginning of the same period, the government created the National Working Group to investigate the Blockchain applications.
The Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI) has as its goal to develop a plan so that governmental and non-governmental sectors can integrate blockchain in their current systems and thus improve the efficiency of the country’s industries.
Who is implementing and how?
By late March 2018, it was reported that nine Malaysian commercial banks would be partnering up to adopt and develop blockchain applications that would greatly improve trade finance, as well as advanced financial services. Furthermore, at the start of the same period, the government created the National Task Force for learning more about how to better adapt the technologies.
The Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation (MOSTI) aims to plan and strategize on ways that government and non-governmental sectors could integrate blockchain into existing systems to vastly improve the country. Blockchain Implementation Asia
Thailand
While Thailand has accepted Blockchain as the technology of the future remains strong in its position to carefully monitor and regulate the ICO, most banks in the country have considered that the technologies derived from Blockchain are very useful to optimize the infrastructure of their industry financial
Based on the development of the Blockchain Initiative project, Malaysia gave its approval to the technology, which consists of a partnership between the commercial banks of Thailand, seven private companies and the government.
Who is implementing and how?
Thailand encourages its banks to explore the opportunities that blockchain technology has in the financial market. The largest commercial financial institutions in the country, Kasikorn Bank, announced in August 2017, that it would create a partnership with IBM to digitize Letters of Guarantee, which would generate a faster workflow. Kasikorn Bank plans to become a leader in the market when it comes to guaranteeing the delivery of certain types of securities.
On the other hand, the Bank of Thailand (BoT) has also recently expressed (March 2018) that it plans to integrate Blockchain to shorten the period of subscription of central bank bonds from weeks to days. In addition, the Bank of Thailand seeks to improve the management of inter-bank baht agreements through the development of a digital currency cryptocurrency for wholesalers which will call Inthanon. Blockchain Implementation Asia
Vietnam
Vietnam is growing and looking to be one of the emerging markets of Southeast Asia, with special interest in the area of electronic commerce and financial technologies, has attracted the attention of many investors to establish itself as a Fintech development leader. In addition to having an extremely young population (40% less than 25 years old or less) and technological adept (26% smartphone penetration), Vietnam aims to position itself as an industry leader in Blockchain.
Who is implementing and how?
The largest initiative carried out in the country was carried out by the National Agency for Technological, Business and Marketing Development (NATECD), which is a program created by the Ministry of Science and Technology that offers training and financial assistance to Startups. In addition, the National Fund for Technological Innovation created by the government is aimed at scientific and technological research.
When it comes to companies, Infinity Blockchain Labs serves as an R & D company that applies blockchain technology. Its main objective is “to form alliances with established companies and regulatory institutions in various industries, as well as provide collaborative incubation for blockchain projects at an early stage”. Blockchain Implementation Asia
Indonesia
Indonesia has expressed its prohibitive position of the ICO in December 2017, since then the government has been showing interest in the technology that supports it.
Who is implementing and how?
At first the Bank of Indonesia (BI) banned Bitcoin, the CEO of the Bank for the Department of Payment System Policies has expressed support for the development of blockchain technology in Indonesia. The Indonesian government has remained in the same position as BI on crypto-pundits, for this it will encourage the main banks of the country to implement the technology in their systems for the further development and efficiency of blockchain.
PT Pos Indonesia is considered an important leader in the implementation of blockchain technologies. In addition, the system called Digiro.in, another company seeks to transform the transaction process of the account and the allocation of multi-currency files, making the payments more unlimited. Also, regarding adoption of the Blockchain technology, it seeks to improve its management of funds and assets, as well as to save costs for migrant workers.
Another Startup to highlight is Blockchain Zoo, they are one of the few companies that focuses entirely on blockchain and its implementation. Startup is focused on the blockchain consultancy, providing information and materials related to blockchain applications, anti-fraud and supply chain management. Blockchain Implementation Asia
Cambodia
Thanks to a joint work with China, Cambodia intends to be one of the most important economies of the East, it was even to be called the “New Tiger of the Asian Economy” by the Asian Development Bank. In March 2018, the ASEAN 2018 Blockchain World Summit was held in Phnom Penh, with Entapay (national cryptocurrency of the country of Cambodia) being recognized by the Cambodian government
Who is implementing and how?
Although the arrival of Blockchain is recent in Cambodia, the National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) created a partnership with Soramitsu Co. of Japan to adopt technology to improve their systems. In June 2017, it was reported that NBC would launch a test phase of a closed-loop blockchain technology that “would optimize the level of central bank processing to facilitate and monitor interbank lending and transactions,” the NBC CEO said. “
Final Thoughts
Through the presented report we can observe how the Asian continent is working hard to encourage, promote and disseminate the technical and administrative knowledge of Blockchain and Bitcoin. It has been almost 10 years since the creation of Bitcoin, thanks to this now many more people know the term Blockchain: however, it is still early to sing victory. But let’s face it, the different Asian governments are not supporting the blockchain for a humanitarian reason; but because not doing so will be left behind, far from development and this only translates into one word: survival. This is a technological race, and this race is far from over. Blockchain Implementation Asia
First appeared in Cyberius