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Rohingya in Malaysia turn to tech to fight erasure, ‘have an identity’

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Blockchain

Blockchain ambitions

Business

Blockchain ambitions: will China get the first-mover advantage with the wide adoption of the digital yuan?

Illustration: Joe Lo/SCMP

Signage for the digital yuan, also referred to as E-CNY, at a self check-out counter inside a supermarket in Shenzhen, China, on Friday, Nov. 20, 2020. The People's Bank of China is testing its digital money -- dubbed Digital Currency Electronic Payment, or DCEP -- in select cities, catapulting the world's No. 2 economy to the forefront of a race to develop virtual money. Photographer: Yan Cong/Bloomberg

Assorted mobile payment platforms such as Octopus, Alipay and WeChat Pay are available to customers at a supermarket in Tai Koo. 11APR21 SCMP / Nora Tam

Photo taken on Dec. 14, 2020, in Suzhou, China, shows a smartphone app that allows its user to buy things with digital yuan. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Blockchains are most commonly used over peer-to-peer networks to verify decentralized data, typically for managing cryptocurrencies. But China is now focuses on other uses such as verifying contracts, health data and more. Graphic: SCMP What is a blockchain --0 and how does it work? A new transaction iS entered The transaction is complete Cryptocurrency The network of nodes validates the transaction and the user's status using known algorithms The requested transaction is then sent to a P2P network consisting of nodes The new is then added to the existing blockchain, in a way that is permanent and unalterable Has intrinsic value as it iS a trustworthy, and fast way to transfer value for little to no cost Source: PwC Has no physical form as it exists only on the immutable blockchain A verified transaction can involve cryptocurrency, tokens, records, or other information Once verified, the transaction is combined with other transactions to create a new block of data for the ledger Its su

China is rolling out its central bank-issued digital currency, known as the e-CNY. SCMP Graphics

graphic for online CANADA 18 megawatts US 27 megawatts VENEZUELA ICELAND 5 megawatts SWEDEN 10 megawatts ESTONIA 2 megawatts CHINA 111 megawatts CHINA GEORGIA THAILAND 60 megawatts Hong Kong POLAND 1,000km Xinjiang Liaoning Anhui Tibet Sichuan Jiangsu Yunnan Guizhou Heilongjiang Inner Mongolia Global cryptocurrency mining sites Reported mining facilities Estimates not available Source: University of Cambridge SCMP 10 megawatts or less 11-50 megawatts >50 megawatts Low-cost electricity Fast internet connection Low-temperature zones Low-cost electricity/ Low-temperature zones Low-cost electricity/ Fast internet connection Low-temperature zones/ Fast internet connection Low-cost electricity/ Low-temperature zones/ Fast internet connection

QR codes of the digital payment services WeChat Pay and its competitor Alipay are seen at a meat stall at a fresh market in Beijing, China August 8, 2020. REUTERS/Thomas Peter

A visitor applying to access the digital Chinese yuan (e-CNY) at the first China International Consumer Products Expo in the Hainan provincial capital of Haikou on May 8, 2021. Photo: Xinhua

When it comes to blockchain, China appears to have built a formidable lead in a technology of consequence.


Blockchain ambitions: China’s e-yuan kick starts a rush to mint digital currencies all along the new Silk Road

Illustration by Lau Ka-kuen/SCMP

epa09078530 Chinese laborers work at a construction site in the central business district of the new administrative capital, 45 kilometers east of Cairo, Egypt, 16 March 2021. Egypt started the construction of the new administrative and financial capital of Egypt, partnering with the China State Construction Engineering Company (CSCEC) as part of China's larger Belt and Road Initiative which was announced during the economic development conference in March 2015. The new city is located 45 kilometers east of Cairo, in an area halfway to the seaport city of Suez. According to the plans, main government departments and ministries will be relocated in the new city. EPA-EFE/KHALED ELFIQI

graphic for online ports in a storm operational ports industrial zones, under construction under construction piraeus port greece lebanon port of tripoli haifa israel ashdod (in 2021) strait of hormuz khalifa port uae oman duqm doraleh djibouti eyl somalia horn of africa indian ocean strait of malacca gwadar pakistan china-pakistan economic corridor kashgar china beijing tianjin shanghai hong kong scmp

Haruhiko Kuroda, governor of the Bank of Japan (BOJ), attends the Paris Europlace International Financial Forum in Tokyo, Japan, on Monday, Nov. 19, 2018. Kuroda said banks need to adjust business model for aging challenges and policy makers need to be mindful of possible consequences from any weakening of the financial system as demographics put downward pressure on banking sector profits. Photographer: Kiyoshi Ota/Bloomberg

Globalising the digital yuan. SCMP Graphics

(161130) -- NEW DELHI, Nov. 30, 2016 (Xinhua) -- People queue up in front of an ATM booth to withdraw cash in downtown New Delhi, India, Nov. 30, 2016. Indian government suddenly announced the demonetization of currency notes of 500 Indian rupees and 1,000 Indian rupees over three weeks ago. (Xinhua/Bi Xiaoyang) ****Authorized by ytfs****

A currency dealer in the Balochistan provincial capital of Quetta in Pakistan on January 3, 2018. Pakistan adopted the use of the Chinese renminbi for imports, exports and financing transactions for bilateral trade and investment activities. Photo: AFP

Now it’s clear that just as threads spun from the pupae of silkworms drove the growth of a global trade network, China’s digital yuan may weave an enduring international system of finance.


Blockchain ambitions: geopolitical implications of China’s pioneering digital currency spread far and wide

illustration by Henry Wong/SCMP

[Shutterstock] Wechat concept photos Photo: shutterstock Royalty-free stock photo ID: 1349496617 Chengdu, Sichuan / China - March 24 2019: digital payment code seen in the small street food stands in Chengdu. Ali Pay and Wechat Wallet has become the popular payment method for Chinese.

--FILE--View of QR codes of WeChat Payment of the messaging app Weixin, or WeChat, of Tencent and mobile payment service Alipay of Alibaba Group at a free market in Nantong city, east China's Jiangsu province, 11 April 2018.

(180301) -- BEIJING, March 1, 2018 (Xinhua) -- File photo taken on Aug. 16, 2016 shows a citizen using Alipay for payment on bus No. 506 in Hangzhou, east China's Zhejiang Province. With a fortune of 295 billion yuan (about 46.6 billion U.S. dollars), Ma Huateng, founder and CEO of internet giant Tencent, is now the wealthiest person in China. The business leader, also known as Pony Ma, has jumped 23 places to be ranked 15th globally, according to the Hurun Global Rich List 2018 released on Wednesday. Behind the rise of Ma and his company is China's flourishing digital economy, which has been a story of commercial success. The digital economy is not only reshaping the Chinese economy and changing people's day-to-day life, but also creating enormous business opportunities for foreign companies. (Xinhua/Xu Kangping)(mcg/wyo)

(210401) -- XIONGAN, April 1, 2021 (Xinhua) -- Aerial photo taken on April 1, 2021 shows the Xiongan Railway Station of the Beijing-Xiongan intercity railway in Xiongan New Area, north China's Hebei Province. The Xiongan New Area has begun its large-scale development and construction, with more than 100,000 constructors working on over 120 major projects in the area. The "city of the future" is greeting a brand new look day by day. (Xinhua/Xing Guangli)

Financial Secretary, Paul Chan, said that the preparations for the issuance of electronic consumer vouchers to eligible citizens have entered the final stage, and the authorities are conducting system tests with four operators. Details of the plan will be announced later this month, including registration procedures and distribution arrangements, and registration is expected to start in July. Picture showing a shop using different electronic payments in Tsim Sha Tsui. 07Jun 21 SCMP / Felix Wong

SCMP Graphics

(210317) -- XIONGAN, March 17, 2021 (Xinhua) -- Aerial photo taken on March 17, 2021 shows the construction site of a relocation area in Xiongan New Area, north China's Hebei Province. (Xinhua/Mu Yu)

Tim Clancy (left) of Australia, a resident for six years in the Zhejiang provincial capital of Hangzhou, takes his American friend (centre) to a vegetable market where he pays for vegetables through mobile payment on April 14, 2017. Photo: Xinhua

China’s controversial social credit system has raised concerns over how the state might use the e-CNY to monitor people, control dissent and incentivise or dissuade certain behaviours.


A three-part series by Forkast.News with support from the Judith Neilson Institute for Journalism and Ideas on how China is taking the global lead in blockchain technology.


Blockchain ambitions

Does the digital yuan’s roll-out give China the edge in the internet’s future?

When it comes to blockchain, China appears to have built a formidable lead in a technology of consequence.

China’s e-yuan kick starts a rush to mint digital currencies in Asia

Now it’s clear that just as threads spun from the pupae of silkworms drove the growth of a global trade network, China’s digital yuan may weave an enduring international system of finance.

The geopolitical ripples of China’s blockchain spread far and wide

China’s controversial social credit system has raised concerns over how the state might use the e-CNY to monitor people, control dissent and incentivise or dissuade certain behaviours.