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Top themes in #Davos this year.. 1. Trust / Fake News 2. Globalization 3. AI 4. Blockchain This is just what I have seen so far at #WEF18, so is biased. Can anyone else add other big topics?
âââ@Bill_Gross
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Blockchain and Bitocin at Davos
Do world leaders and CEOs need to pay more attention to blockchain and cryptocurrencies?
Blockchain is a foundational technology that we see as having really great promise to create a lot more efficiencies in global trade,â said Nasdaq CEO Adena Friedman when asked by Maria Bartiromo of CNBC if she believes in blockchain in a special interview on the sidelines of the 48th Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
Friedman, who made the distinction between blockchain and Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, added that the exchange is in an âexploratory phaseâ of launching a Bitcoin futures contract.
PayPal COO Bill Ready also agrees and sees better long-term potential in the blockchain technology, as he explained to Bartiromo.
âAs an engineer by background, the blockchain technology that Bitcoin sits on top of is a fundamental breakthrough in computer science and so thereâs tremendous long-term opportunity,â he said.
Blockchain is under scrutiny in Davos, with at least two events focusing on the blockchain technology and cryptocurrenciesâââfrom one titled âThe Crypto-Asset Bubbleâ to a few others on the digital economy and emerging technologies.
The distinction that Friedman made is key to better undestand how Davos is approaching blockchain, as much of the attention is towards Bitcoin and other crypotocurrencies.
âThe worldâs big financial institutions are wrestling with a cryptocurrency dilemma: whether to stand by and denounce a technology many distrust but also fearâââor join those investing in it,â writes The Financial Times in an article titled âBlockchain can no longer be ignoredâ.
The paper cites Richard Crook, head of emerging technology at Royal Bank of Scotland: âBecause blockchainâs benefits come from decentralisation there is little point replacing one technology with another without changing the business model.â
Part of the discussion is also about regulations.
âWe canât deny that things are changing,â Benoit Legrand, chief innovation officer at ING told FT. âThe world will include cryptocurrencies in the way we work in the next 10 years. But it needs to be regulated. This is absolutely key.â
According to Finance Magnates, however, thereâs still a great deal of reticence.
âAxel Weber, chairman of UBS, a Zurich-based financial services company for high net worth individuals, said at the event that his firm advises clients not to invest in the assets,â the paper reported.
Nobel Prize-winning economist Josef Stiglitz seems also not a big fan and warned Switzerland and other countries not to embrace cryptocurrencies too warmly, fearing they will be used for illicit purposes.
Pressed about it during a Bloomberg Television interview from Davos, Stiglitz explained that Bitcoin is attempting to solve a problem that never existed.
âWe have a good medium of exchange called the dollar: we can trade in that,â he said emphasizing that the global banking system is already moving toward secure digital payments. âWhy do people want Bitcoin? For secrecy.â
He added: âMy feeling is that when you regulate it so that you couldnât engage in money laundering and all these other things, there would be no demand for Bitcoin. So by regulating the abuses you are going to regulate it out of existence.â
World leaders gathered in Davos are expressing interest in blockchain.
French President Emmanuel Macron while not mentioning blockchain explicitly said in his speech in Davos that âbig technological changesâ are among the global challenges that scare the international community and thus impose a better international coordination and debate.
On a une stratĂ©gie aujourdâhui mondiale totalement non coopĂ©rative sur ces sujets! [On this subject, the global strategy today is completely non cooperative!]
Addressing the challenges created by the surge of Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies, Macrom said that the current international financial system is not equipped to face those issues.
âWe have to launch this discussion in the framework of the G20,â he said mentioning the important leadership of Argentina President Mauricio Macri, rotating chair of the G20 for 2018.
UK Prime Minister Theresa May, in a speech very focused on the future of technological advances and the many opportunities they create, said that technology continues âto revolutionize the possibilities for humanity and we must have the international frameworks in place to ensure everyone can benefit from them.â
While never mentioning excplicity blockchain, Bitcoin, or cryptocurrencies, she acknowledge that âmany leaders this week are setting out defenses of globalization, open economies, free trade and technological progressâââwhile grappling with how to ensure these operate fairly for all our countries and all our people.â
The test of leadership, however, is what action we take.
US President Donald Trump, who also attended the World Economic Forum in Davos, and the White House âdonât have a formal position on blockchain currencies and cryptocurrencies,â as explained back in December 2017 by Homeland Security Advisor Tom Bossert during a press briefing, adding that they show âgreat hope and promiseâ but also They also âsecurity risks and concern.â
In Davos, Trump met with May and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and, according to readouts, they did not discuss technology issues.
Netanyahu, in particular, is a big proponent of blockchain and Bitcoin, and even warned that banks will eventually disappear, potentially because of the emergence of this technology and cryptocurrencies.
Back in December he said: âIs the fate of banks that they will eventually disappear? Yes. The answer is yes. Does it need to happen tomorrow? And do we need to do it through Bitcoin? Thatâs a question mark.â
Blockchain and Bitocin at Davos was originally published in Hacker Noon on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
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