Are You Ready For The New World?
It’s no secret that we are moving into a global economic slowdown. The IMF’s analysis indicates the softening of economic activity in advanced economies like the US, Japan, and the eurozone, while the emerging markets are showing no better signs. The slow down in countries like India and Brazil are even more apparent this year. The IMF blamed trade wars and geopolitical tensions as a significant contributor to the slowdown.
In light of these developments, emerging countries are quickly moving into alternate technologies like blockchain as a solution to cut costs and automate processes, with southeast Asian countries showing the most promise. Countries like Singapore, Thailand, and Malaysia have governments that are confident in the value that blockchain can bring to the economies’ stability by promoting the integration of this technology into businesses and the public sector. As a result, the sheer number of companies trying to use blockchain to create disruptive solutions speak for themselves.
“The blockchain symbolises a shift in power from the centre to the edges of the networks.”
- William Mougayar
For a long time, technologists have suggested that blockchain has the potential to change virtually all aspects of digital transactions and interactions. And now, finally, thanks to the crypto fever dying down, the deployment of blockchain technology in other fields is taking center stage. “Your ultimate guide to Blockchain for the 21st century”, — shows the growth in application of blockchain across verticals globally.
There is a unique synergy at play in the South East Asian startup scene at the moment. The combination of an untapped market and a favorable regulatory climate has created space to use blockchain to replace legacy systems. Thailand is probably the most eager to adopt blockchain technology in the region. The country has laws governing cryptocurrencies and is even planning for a blockchain token for instant securities settlements. Recently, its central bank revealed that it is considering blockchain applications for cross-border payments, supply chain financing, and document authentication.
Singapore, the island nation, has become a top destination for ICOs, especially for Chinese companies, after the Chinese ban on ICOs. Singapore’s government and private sector have gone as far as to set up incubators and investment funds that focus on different uses of blockchain.
The most exciting is probably the ground-breaking use of blockchain technology in the energy sector. Singapore-based Electrify uses the technology to create a peer-to-peer energy market where electricity can be bought and sold at cheaper rates.
Just close by, Malaysia houses the New Economy Movement (NEM) Foundation blockchain center. Its purpose is to educate the masses on the technology as well as support blockchain-based startups via incubator and accelerator programs, which is, by the way, the largest of its kind in Asia. Malaysia’s central bank is highly proactive towards using blockchain within the banking sector. Among others, it has a fintech sandbox that allows fintech companies, even those based outside of Malaysia, to participate in it for a testing period of not more than 12 months. They are also taking necessary steps to police and regulate cryptocurrency use within its borders.
In Vietnam, companies like mobile network provider giant, Viettel, and intermediary payment services provider, Napas, have been freely experimenting with the technology and have rolled out several pilot projects with the governments blessing. They have created a fertile startup ecosystem to develop blockchain applications.
Even though blockchain technology is still in the early stages of integration in Brunei, Cambodia, and Myanmar, its uses range from providing financial services to e-government initiatives; such initiatives demonstrate an increasing awareness of blockchain as a fundamental technology for the future.
These countries are starting to understand that financial inclusion is about more than bank accounts and stores of value. Capital markets and the ability to easily incorporate and manage a company can ease barriers to entry for entrepreneurs and make it easier for them to build their businesses. Blockchain technology and tools like smart contracts, decentralized oracles, and tokens create the possibility to create a new kind of capital market system throughout emerging market countries.
There is no doubt that the global economy will emerge out of the economic slump as it has done before, but the question is, who will survive and thrive? Will blockchain prove to be a powerful tool to open up economies by creating new sources of value? We will have to wait and watch. Regardless of the outcome, the southeast Asian countries have already begun making their move.
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This is a post in our on Medium blog, ‘Blockchain for Everyone’.
Sign up here to discuss any use cases. Thanks to Rohit Taneja for reflections and feedback.
Helping you understand the fundamentals of blockchain and develop elegant blockchain solutions to empower your successful businesses into new technology spaces, BirthVenue.
Sabarish Nair
Blockchain Analyst
