Our Asian journey part 1: What we learned in Singapore
Last week IOV went to Consensus Singapore, one of the world’s blue-ribbon cryptocurrency summits. There are myriad blockchain-related conferences throughout the year, but Consensus stands out for the quality of its speakers as well as the sheer number of companies that attend. In this blog post, we share some of the highlights from our trip.
The event kicked off with Damien Pang, head of the country’s Monetary Authority announcing Singapore’s regulatory stance on tokens, a topic that has caused huge debate in the crypto community lately.
While the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has said it considers all tokens as securities (and has just seized one of the country’s key crypto exchanges), Singapore offers a different view. Pang affirmed that “no tokens require regulation under security laws” — a bold statement which certainly caused a stir among those present. He also presented the audience with a guide to the Singaporean system for categorizing tokens into utility, payments and securities branches.
After the panel, IOV had a chance to meet with Mr. Pang in person and talk about interoperability issues in blockchain, a topic that is keenly discussed among regulators in Singapore. Developing technical solutions that promote interoperability and compatibility between existing systems is crucial for industry and policymakers alike, and it is the guiding focus of IOV.
We are building a universal wallet and protocol that will help solve the pressing challenges caused by the rapid multiplication of blockchain, and its inroads into various industries. If we want to find solutions that benefit everyone, it’s crucial to understand the perspectives on blockchain adoption among regulators around the world.
Another highlight for us was connecting with CZ, founder and CEO of Binance, one of the most influential people in the blockchain space. He was another of the event’s keynote speakers, sharing his inspiring story from startup journeyman to CEO of one of the world’s largest crypto exchanges and highlighting the challenges of his entrepreneurial quest.
Aside from the main conference, we also attended a number of fringe events and after-parties with great networking, food and drinks. We attended a meetup at BitTemple, which houses a network of Blockchain groups throughout Asia, and were able to connect with loads of inspiring groups such as ChainUP, NEM, and Node Capital. IOV received valuable feedback on our project, and we’re now busily exploring new partnership opportunities.
There is no doubt Singapore, which has historically been a financial hub in Southeast Asia, has become a crypto nucleus. The regulators in Singapore are well-informed and proactively transparent about their views on blockchain and cryptocurrency than other leading economic powers. It is a truly energizing environment for blockchain innovation and uptake.
Next stops on our Asian journey: we are spending a couple of days in South Korea, a country which has seen significant progress in regulation and adoption. September 28–29th, the IOV team we are at the Teamz summit in Tokyo, a large-scale blockchain conference in a city with one of the most vibrant crypto ecosystems. The next week, we will share the updates from our Asian journey with you.
To learn more about IOV, visit: www.iov.one.
Follow Us On Twitter for updates on the latest IOV news. Ask us any question on our Telegram chat.
