Cryptocurrency in China is closer than expected

The People's Bank of China (PBC) appears closer to the start of its official digital currency, despite this setback. The central bank has finished the implementation process and is working together with several major private companies on the right regulations before the CBDC is released.

The Digital Currency (CBDC) was postponed indefinitely following the COVID-19 outbreak. However, as the country shows initial recovery phases following this deadly virus, a new report indicates that the launch of the CBDC is closer than anticipated.
In partnership with a variety of local companies including Huawei, China Merchants Bank, Tencent and the tech giant Alibaba, the Chinese central bank has completed the development process.

Five patents linked to the potential digital currency have reportedly emerged between 21 January and 17 March. The patents cover various areas of potential use of the digital currency. These include issuance, digital wallets, the recording of transactions, confidential commercial assistance and assistance for the tracking and handling of illegal accounts.
Besides all trademarks, state laws must also be followed in the digital currency. This could raise problems, according to the study, because the currency has to deal with supervisory banks and insurance authorities. This could be a lengthy process. The exact date of launch of CBDC is therefore not yet known.

Since there is a long-awaited recession in the world, most central banks implement drastic measures to curb the economy. For starters, the US Fed has cut interest rates without precedent and has even declared unrestricted quantitative easing.
With the digital currency launch, China's strategy to stabilize its economy may differ greatly. The CBDC is believed to accelerate growth of Cao Yan, managing director of the Digital Renaissance Project.
The first was to build China's leadership position in this digitally oriented world. The first was to establish its leadership in China. Second, in times of uncertainty a CBDC could be more effective than simply reducing rates.

Why everyone should care about blockchain—even if you don’t understand it

This article is for everyone who tries to will themselves invisible at the mention of blockchain.

Imagine you’re admitted to the hospital for an emergency surgery following a freak selfie accident while on vacation on the other side of the world. Right now, there’s no way for doctors to know your full medical history, allergies, or current medications: All that information is stored in silos that you can’t access from the outside. But what if your medical records were all connected and immediately accessible—while still being totally private?

Or imagine you’re an architect in Syria and need to flee because of civil war. Your life savings might not be accessible. Your certifications and licenses are sitting in a desk back home, and may not transfer to the country you resettle in. What if you could immutably prove your identity and qualifications? What if you could send money for free all over the world?

If you like those ideas, you should care about blockchain.

Blockchain is a technology that has the potential to disrupt many of the legacy systems and centralized industries of today. Hold off on letting your eyes gloss over: Even though you’re not a hack-happy crypto-bro, this next tech revolution needs all of us to take part at the start.

The first step to caring is understanding that blockchain is just behind-the-scenes code. That’s all. You don’t need to be the person who knows how to code for it, but you do need to know the type of systemic changes it can affect. You do need to know the industries it can disrupt. If you want the systems of the future to work for you, include yourself in blockchain.

There are many blockchain-powered systems in the works that might already be a helpful addition to your life: Credit scores that aren’t controlled by a handful of high-risk, data-breach-prone companies; credible news systems that resist censorship; efficient power grids that could lower your power bills. This isn’t incomprehensible hype: These companies are relevant, understandable, and being built by people who are not historically associated with tech.

With such great potential, we need to be more inclusive in how we talk about it, design with it, and create uses for it.

If people can’t understand, they can’t participate: As of now, much of the language about blockchain is jargon-heavy and intimidating: cryptocurrencies, ICOs, smart contracts, token sales, and mining. The more people who can understand what blockchain is at a high level, the more people who can make it better, dream up applications to new systems, and accelerate its implementation. It needs to invite broad, diverse participation and be accessible enough that non-experts can dream up potential applications—otherwise, our products and systems will continue to work well mostly for able-bodied white men.

The people who set the rules for a system have the power: It’s estimated that 93-95% of cryptocurrency assets are held by men. Why? Because technology and finance are traditionally male-dominated fields, and cryptocurrency is a mix of both domains. The current rules and methods for acquiring and using cryptocurrencies, no matter how well-intentioned the larger motivation is for their existence, are baked with the biases of their creators, and favor people like them. Part of the hype of blockchain is its decentralization and democratization potential. However, without a diverse set of people designing with it and developing it, exclusion will be built into the base of many blockchain applications.

Systems design depends on more than technology: We live in an era where humanity, technology, and large-scale systems are inextricably linked. Designers, community organizers, and organizational-behavior experts are all versed in understanding the dynamics of people and systems. What are the norms of a community? Who are all the stakeholders? What do they need? What do they value? These human-behavior questions are central to systems design and maintenance, and because blockchain is potentially a massive disrupter to our current systems, the most successful applications will incorporate insights about human behavior. In order to avoid an explosion of trashy apps, let’s get beyond the novelty of the medium, and begin to use it as a tool with a purpose. Like a camera for a photo, a hammer for a nail, or a tweezer for an eyebrow, blockchain is a tool for a system.

SOURCE: https://qz.com/1260694/why-gaining-a-basic-understanding-of-blockchain-is-absolutely-worth-your-time/?utm_source=qzfb