Blockchain Report — 8/28/2018
By: Christopher Durr
Tags: Investing, News, Blockchain, Cryptocurrency, Bitcoin

Summary: Baidu Joins Tencent And Alibaba In Blocking Cryptocurrency Content; 84% Of Companies Are Actively Involved In Blockchain; 84% Of Companies Are Actively Involved In Blockchain; South Korea Government Sponsors Blockchain Hackathon

Baidu Joins Tencent And Alibaba In Blocking Cryptocurrency Content

According to CCN, Chinese search company Baidu has taken action to block cryptocurrency related content on its online portals. Baidu plans to restrict or place a direct ban on cryptocurrency related topics on Baidu Tieba, which is a forum similar to Reddit.

Sub forums related to “digital currency” and “virtual currency” are now unavailable for users. When searching those keywords, a message states “This forum is temporarily closed due to relevant laws, regulations, and policies.” Interestingly enough, the sub-forums for “bitcoin” and “ethereum” are still active.

This is not the only Chinese company to make such a move. Tencent blocked cryptocurrency-related media on its WeChat platform, and Alibaba has vowed that it will monitor and suspend accounts using Alipay to sell cryptocurrencies over-the-counter. WeChat Pay released a statement regarding the company prohibiting users to send or receive funds related to cryptocurrency:

“We expect to firmly establish a risk prevention awareness, and actively cooperate with the government to maintain financial order and social stability,”

84% Of Companies Are Actively Involved In Blockchain

According to CNBC, a new report from PwC showed that 84% of executives surveyed said that their companies are “actively involved” in blockchain technology. The PwC report states, “Everyone is talking about blockchain, and no one wants to be left behind”

The PwC survey included 600 executives from 15 different territories. 45% of the PwC respondents said that “trust” might be the key issue as to why blockchain technology is not getting more widespread adoption. The PwC report writes, “companies confront trust issues at nearly every turn…As with any emerging technology, challenges and doubts exist around blockchain’s reliability, speed, security and scalability.”

Other reasons that respondents gave as to why blockchain might not get more widespread adoption included regulatory uncertainty, compliance concerns, and intellectual property concerns.

Research from Cowen shows that industry experts believe blockchain technology will take about 6 years to gain widespread adoption, and that its value will first be in supply-chain management.

South Korea Government Sponsors Blockchain Hackathon

According to Cointelegraph, South Korea has decided to promote blockchain technology by announcing a hackathon to bring new ideas from the public. The event is now accepting applications. It will run in late November as part of the state-sponsored “Blockchain Promotion Week.”

A report from a local news outlet in South Korea reported that the hackathon will focus on the following:

“Solving social problems and innovating public and private services through blockchain technology, and the development of distributed apps (DApps)…for improving the efficiency of the public and private sector, providing nationwide benefits.”

The winning team of the hackathon will win a prize worth 100 million won (approximately $90,000 USD). Applications are open for the hackathon until September 28.

The Korean Ministry of Science and ICT have decided to support the program, and they have started a blockchain awareness program that extends all the way until the end of 2019.

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