Blockchain
technology has been around for quite a while now. It is only now that the
technology is starting to take a firm hold. By 2021, the blockchain market will
approximately be worth $2.3 trillion. Many governments are now starting to
realize the value of the technology and some are adopting the technology for a
variety of tasks including health care, voting and land administration
services.
A legislator in
Taiwan, Jason Hsu intends to find ways to integrate the blockchain technology
on a grand scale and steer his country towards the adoption of blockchain for uses
other than cryptocurrencies. Hsu has been lauded as the “crypto congressman” by
Vitalik Buterin from Ethereum. He is a tech entrepreneur who successfully ran
for Congress and now wants to turn Taiwan into a haven for innovators working
on different application technologies.
Change
of legislation
In September 2017
when China slapped a ban on ICOs, Hsu saw this as an opportunity to propose
some changes to legislation that would help Taiwan capitalise on China’s move.
His intention was to introduce more friendly laws that would not only nurture
the blockchain technology but entice more startups to set up base in the Island
nation.
As Hsu reflects
the today, a number of technological disruptions are making an impact on how
our lives manifest. The country ought to recognize this fact and update its
policies to incorporate new ideas into the current system.
Subsequently Jason
helped to launch the regulatory sandbox in the finance department to explore future
opportunities for financial technology start-ups. The sandbox also helps to
ensure that start-ups are able to create workable solutions and technologies
that are usable by all and sundry.
Sandbox
Hsu believes that
today’s environment is moving very fast and sandboxes in such areas as a
medical technology are vital in order to test new devices that can incorporate
digital health. In Dec 2017, parliament passed into law Taiwan’s regulatory
sandbox, which allowed certain selections of startups to unveil new products or
services while enjoying immunity from the existing laws.
The Taiwan
Financial Technology Experimentation and Innovation Act (Regulatory Sandbox
Bill) is supposed to help bridge the fintech gap in Taiwan. Hsu was a major
player in the drafting of the bill as well as the entire legislative process.
The sandbox was unveiled to create opportunities for upcoming fintechs on the
island and help build innovations that would create solutions globally.
Applications
Jason Hsu, the congressman who is turning dreams
into reality is also
exploring different initiatives along with a few other industry enthusiasts and
these include:
●
Digital content
proof of ownership
●
Decentralized
internet for every citizen
●
prediction
platform for politics, or share markets
and many more
Parliamentary
support
Taiwan is modeled
in such a way that the Executive Yuan can propose their own legislation. Legislators are also allowed to propose and
draft laws and the norm is the different versions can be debated on. The
Executive branch is still very conservative, but they do share a common goal
with the legislature, it is the pace in which the two are moving at that is different.
Hsu intends to
create opportunities for the youth, and he is not worried much about convincing
his parliamentary colleagues but makes it a point that start-ups do support his
proposals. Support from the startup puts a lot of pressure on officials and congressional
representatives to give a response.
The Financial
Supervisory Committee and the Ministry of Finance are well on the way towards
passing cryptocurrency and blockchain legislation. They have formed a
parliamentary level commission for blockchain that is working towards building
the necessary framework.
Skepticism over Blockchain
Hsu says that people will always be
skeptical about any new innovation. When the internet was new, people said it
was a scam but today many acknowledge its utility. As a legislator, Hsu’s
intention is to create a fair environment that cultivates innovation while safeguarding
consumer rights.
Development and adoption of blockchain
Many countries are still struggling to
understand the blockchain technology as well as how to develop and implement
it. In Taiwan’s case however, the country has been a computer
and electronics integrator since the 1970s
and is endowed with a pool of talented and experienced engineers. With this in
mind, Hsu has set out to build up Taiwan as a blockchain haven where innovators
can pioneer new projects that will churn out applications for blockchain.
Blockchain
implementation
Blockchain has
been underrated for as long as it has been around. As with any new technology,
once a useful application comes up, people start to take notice. Blockchain
gave birth to Bitcoin, but now the technology is growing and integrating other
applications.
Hsu has plans to
ensure the government recognizes and uses blockchain on a larger scale. It has
already moved to the Departments of Justice, Education, and Health onto the
blockchain. The average person needs to recognize the improvement of life is
via blockchain’s efficiency. As part of his many objectives, Hsu has introduced
25 pilot projects in various departments to look into the potential use of
Blockchain in areas such as court records, supply chain, and drug tests.
Blockchain’s
future
Blockchain is not
going anywhere. The world’s governments are slowly accepting the technology and
in no time, these hurdles and scaling issues will be a thing of the past. Jason
also believes that Cryptocurrencies and fiat currencies can co-exist.
Cryptocurrencies are a financial alternative that can create solutions for poor
countries like Zimbabwe and Venezuela.
Taiwan is a haven
for technological start-ups that focus on blockchain, IoT and AI. An escalation
in the creation of major start-ups and incubators are thrusting Taiwan into the
blockchain limelight. Taiwan Tech Arena is one such startup incubator that will
initiate at least 100 start-ups every year, and accelerate the expansion
overseas of 300 more in a span of the next three years.
Conclusion
The only way to grow
blockchain technology lies in its demystification. This can only be done by
changing blockchain’s narrative from the complex tech talk to a language understandable
and that an average person can relate to. This means showing people what the blockchain
technology can really do, the real-life problems it can solve as well as laying
out its many advantages.
A lot is happening behind the scenes, not just in Taiwan, but globally
as the race to integrate blockchain with everyday life gathers momentum. It is
only when people realize the real benefits of the technology and how they stand
to benefit will a greater adoption of the technology be realized.
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