It seems a lot of people associate cryptocurrency and blockchain adoption with owning a digital currency. But we like to see it from a grander perspective which is making life easier for 1.2 billion people by bringing the future of money to their mobile phones.
Countries like China and the British Virgin Islands appear to be thinking in the same direction and are exploring ways to bring the disruptive features of blockchain and crypto to various sectors of their countries including healthcare, education and finance.
China Tests Digital Currency
A new report from Caijing, a local news outlet in China, claims that China is now set to carry out its first real-world test for its Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC).
According to the report, the first CBDC test would be carried out in the city of Shenzen (and possibly Suzhou) before the end of 2019.
China’s cryptocurrency release would be a game-changer in the way the world perceives crypto and money in general. While it seems the US will not issue a digital currency in the next 5 years.
Jack Dorsey Plans to Bring Bitcoin to 1.2 Billion People
Remember the visit of Twitter CEO, Jack Dorsey, to Africa in November? Looks like it was part of a bigger plan.
Dorsey strongly believes that cryptocurrency will define the future of money and remittance in general because of some of its unique features including making payments easy and providing more transparency and accountability.
Jack’s eyes appear to be set on Africa’s over 1.2 billion population to work towards increased adoption of cryptocurrency. He recently made trips to some African countries including Ethiopia, Ghana, South Africa and Nigeria. Shortly after his visit, he tweeted that he’d be spending 3-6 months in Africa in 2020.
Softbank’s Debit Card Blockchain Wallet: A prank or a toe in water.
Picture a crypto card that can be used as both a traditional debit card and a blockchain wallet. That’s what the “SBC Wallet Card” is or was until Softbank confirmed that the press release was forged.
The debit card was supposedly released by Softbank in partnership with US-based wallet card developer Dynamics. The debit was meant to enable you to carry out normal transactions at your local store or anywhere around the world and have your cryptocurrency stored in it if you choose to. Isn’t that brilliant?
It seemed like a brilliant idea to us, only for our bubble to be burst when we found out it was fake news. Well, to whoever forged the press release, if you were using it to test the waters, now you know there’s interest in the debit card. But don’t only make it available in Japan.
The British Virgin Islands Announces Digital Currency
The British Virgin Islands (BVI) is poised to release a stable digital currency that’s pegged at a ration of 1:1 with the US dollar. The announcement was made by LifeLabs, the blockchain startup developing the digital currency for the British Virgin Islands.
The digital cryptocurrency has been named BVI~LIFE since its in partnership between BVI and Lifelabs.
According to the press release from LifeLabs, the coin will be presented in the BVI Digital Economy symposium. The release of this coin is expected to lower fees in transactions and improve speed. In addition to these, it’ll be available to outsiders.
South China’s Blockchain Boost
It appears China is aiming to be at the forefront of blockchain innovation.
The South Hainan province in China is making deliberate efforts to speed up the development of blockchain technology. Their aim is to apply blockchain technology to diverse sectors like healthcare, housing, tourism and trade. In light of this, they’ve set aside the sum of 1 billion yuan ($140 million) to ensure that blockchain companies grow rapidly and successfully.
That’s our weekly round up. How’s crypto changing your world this week?
