USD vs. Digital Yuan, Voting on Blockchain in Russia, Flight Delay Compensation in BTC, Colombia Recommends Blockchain and Crypto
In this edition:
- The Battle Between Digital Yuan and USD
- Russians to Vote on Blockchain
- Delayed Flight? Compensation in BTC!
- Colombia Officially Embraces Crypto and Blockchain
Not even this August has been less challenging than other months of 2020, my fellow Anchorians. After the Lebanon explosion and those ‘’quiet’’ USA-China tensions, the world just wants a break. Nonetheless, this year keeps on testing our patience and sanity but we’re somehow managing to prevail, aren’t we?
People are very resilient and clever, and our crypto industry seems stronger than ever. This year will also be remembered as the year of many crypto and blockchain collaborations, and as a time when many traditional systems and sovereign countries decided to give crypto a chance.
Therefore, this 54th edition of our Weekly Crypto Roundup will once again have a global character with great news coming from China, Russia, Bulgaria, and Colombia. Buckle up, guys, we’re going for a ride!
The Battle Between Digital Yuan and USD
We all know how strong China’s economy is and how it has risen during the last few decades. Ambitions, however, don’t stop there and China has great plans for taking over that #1 place in the global landscape. In the meantime, using the American national currency, USD, as a means of settlement isn’t exactly the best way to achieve it.
That’s precisely why the Chinese took digital yuan seriously and are working on its development every day. The dollar may be the world’s most used fiat currency but China wants digital yuan to become the most important currency of the new generation. Whether they’ll succeed in this endeavor can only be answered by years to come.
Demand for digital yuan is rising – Chinese iron ore importers are very keen on adopting this CBDC to avoid the usage of dollars, and so are their exporting partners. Efficiency and cost reduction are the main reasons. If digital yuan comes to life soon, these huge transactions will become fully independent of the American currency. This would be a big win for the Chinese economy for sure.
Blockchain itself, of course, is the new sexy when it comes to financial settlements between multinational companies, and the traditional financial system now seems unattractive compared to the alternative.
Whilst we don’t know every detail concerning digital yuan, news regarding its progress keeps coming. Naturally, this is the place where you will get all the information needed, as it has been for the past 53 weeks!
Russians to Vote on Blockchain
Okay, okay, we’ve heard this one before. The last attempt, though, was pretty unsuccessful. Nevertheless, the Russians aren’t giving up on e-voting yet.
This time, the partners are Rostelecom, Russia’s largest integrated provider, and Waves Enterprise. The idea is to set a blockchain-based e-voting system and to have a successful pilot in September this year.
‘’The first run of the new system will happen for the State Duma, which is the lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia, elections on 13 September 2020 on United Voting Day in the Kurskaya and Yaroslavskaya areas. Approximately 600,000 voters can participate in this e-voting’’, said Artem Kalikhov, Waves’ CPO.
Russia’s often criticized for the lack of transparency during the elections and alleged tampering with votes. Blockchain-based voting could solve this issue but it could also generate new ones. Mr. Kalikhov, however, assures of Waves’ and Rostelcom’s desire ‘’to make everything transparent and verifiable’’.
In the previous Roundup, we talked about a similar e-voting initiative in India. In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, this idea may generate more followers around the globe. While unconventional for many, it can still be very effective. Critics point out that this manner of voting could lead to irregularities but, if we’re being honest, many elections worldwide were irregular before blockchain.
Be that as it may, blockchain again proves to have many interesting and applicable use cases. These ideas are maybe still young but in a few years, we might consider all this just a normal part of our everyday lives. Only time will tell!
Delayed Flight? Compensation in BTC!
A startup from Bulgaria came up with an interesting idea – in case your flight gets delayed or canceled, you are eligible to receive compensation in Bitcoin. The app called Colibra had previously offered compensation in fiat for the same issue but has now added a BTC option as well.
Due to the BTC’s price volatility, the app enables you to choose between the day you registered for flight and the day of travel to calculate the compensation. Colibra also guarantees you will receive a payout if your flight is delayed for one hour or more, regardless of the cause by simply scanning your boarding pass.
Since the COVID-19 has gravely affected the airline industry, cancelations and delays are now more common than before. In this manner, passengers are protected from occurrences they can’t control. The usual policy in the EU is to compensate delays of three hours or more, while Colibra covers the 60-minutes delays, too.
If you’re still not a BTC hodler, you can easily become one if your flight is delayed or canceled. Perhaps that’s not a bad idea considering the recent bullish trend of Bitcoin’s price.
‘’If you strongly believe that today’s Bitcoin price will continue to rise as time goes by and love stacking satoshis like we do, getting compensated in Bitcoin at a fixed rate will be the perfect fit for you!’’
So, crypto enthusiasts, if you are traveling via airplane any time soon and your flight gets delayed – you know what to do!
Colombia Officially Embraces Crypto and Blockchain
The Colombian Ministry of Information Technology and Communications is endorsing blockchain and crypto! The Ministry (MinTIC) has recently released a guide for the implementation of blockchain technology in the public sector.
The government created this document in order to educate the public on the benefits of implementing blockchain, and also to gain bigger ‘’social and economical value’’ with its usage. Colombia didn’t want to feel left out since many countries around the world are now embracing blockchain and its use cases. In this guide, the MinTIC tackles cryptocurrencies as means of payment as well by explaining BTC and quoting Satoshi’s Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System.
‘’Essentially, this guide desires to bring the public entities closer to the technology marked as revolutionary by the World Economic Forum (WEF)’’, it was stated in the document.
And where should blockchain be implemented? Proposed areas are payments in crypto, land registration, voting, identity data management, supply chains, health records, business records, filing of academic degrees, and management of taxes and public tenders.
It’s always encouraging to see a new country recognizing the potential of blockchain and crypto instead of bashing it. We wish success to the Colombians and will keep you posted on the updates!
Final Thoughts
Once again, you made it! This was a very innovative and global 54th edition, don’t you think? As I said in the beginning, this 2020 may be repugnant in many ways, but it’s surely bringing crypto and blockchain closer to the spotlight. What are your thoughts? Share them with us in the Anchor Telegram Community.
While we impatiently wait for the next week’s edition of our Crypto Roundup, I can only wish you fair winds and the following seas, my fellow Anchorians!
Disclaimer: The information provided in this post is not legal, accounting, or financial advice. I am not a lawyer, accountant, or financial advisor. I am not registered as an investment adviser with any federal or state regulatory agency. The Information should not be construed as investment or trading advice and is not meant to be a solicitation or recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any cryptocurrencies.
