The global nature of digital currencies makes following international news beneficial for investors and interested parties participating in the market. However, due to how fast news travels through the landscape, it can be easy to miss the occasional story now and again. This week, we look at Chinese President Xi Jinping’s bullish statements on blockchain, India deciding not to use digital currency to trade with Venezuela, and more.As part of a regular weekly roundup, Coinsquare News compiled the week’s significant international news headlines.
Chinese President Xi Jinping made headlines this week when he openly spoke about several positive features about blockchain technology. According to CNBC, he further emphasized that China should focus on technological developments in order to become a global center for innovation.
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The news is amplified by China’s current status in the global landscape, as the country continues to build itself up as a world leader in several aspects. He delivered his statements at the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ annual conference, calling blockchain a significant form of emerging technology. "A new generation of technology represented by artificial intelligence, quantum information, mobile communications, internet of things and blockchain is accelerating breakthrough applications," he said, according to a translation(note: the link is to a Chinese-language website).
According to Venezuela-sponsored news source Telesur, India will continue to trade with both Venezuela and Iran despite U.S. sanctions. Recently, reports stated that India was offered a 30% discount on crude oil payments if paid in petro, Venezuela’s state-backed digital currency.https://youtu.be/Ap_Pk7goZyMHowever, Indian foreign minister Sushma Swaraj said this week that the country would not purchase crude oil through the use of petro, reportedly citing a ban on trading in cryptocurrency from India’s central bank. Petro remains a controversial digital currency, with many critics calling it unlawful and an attempt to dodge international sanctions.
According to a report from Bloomberg, Bank of England Governor Mark Carney once again discussed the possibility of launching a state-backed digital currency. Carney is famous for his less-than-optimistic view of the digital currency industry, but seems to support the underlying technology. “Is our role going to be changing the payment systems and helping private providers of digital money, or will we go all the way to a central bank issued digital currency?” he said, in a recent interview published by Riksbank, Sweden’s central bank. “This is one of the most exciting and important areas. And certainly the most important area to get right.”Currently, several countries across the world share a similar sentiment, and are actively investigating the potential consequences and benefits of launching government-backed digital currencies of their own.
The London Metropolitan police discovered evidence of cyberattacks on 17 major firms, according to a report this week from Bloomberg.The discovery led to the arrest of 26-year-old Grant West, who was purportedly found with a device containing approximately 78 million usernames and passwords. West was sentenced to over 10 years in prison and is said to have primarily used phishing attacks to obtain financial data from international companies. Police seized half a million pounds (over $860,000 CAD) worth of bitcoin from the hacker.
A new system unveiled on Tuesday by the Australian branch of multinational professional services network PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) looks to revolutionize international trade through blockchain technology. According to a press release, the initiative involves a collaboration between PwC Australia, the Port of Brisbane, and the the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the latter being the country’s largest business association.“To drive new efficiency gains, industry leaders need to develop mechanisms which facilitate the integration and interoperability of commercial operators across the supply chain and logistics sector,” said Port of Brisbane CEO, Roy Cummins, at the launch of a proof of concept Trade Community System in Brisbane, Queensland.The so-called Trade Community System looks to build an innovative end-to-end supply chain that will “digitise” supply chain information. The hope is to revolutionize international trade through removing complexity and using blockchain to allow for better connectivity between participants.
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