blockchain adoption

Blockchain Technology Implemented into Indonesia's Digital Economy

Indonesia’s digital economy market projected at US$100 billion by 2025
Indonesian e-commerce transactions have surged by 151% since 2017
Internet penetration in Indonesia stood at 64.8% of Indonesia’s total 264.7 million population

Bank Central Asia (BCA) is campaigning for Indonesian financial businesses to innovate and adopt blockchain technology to support its digital economy amidst rapid technological revolution.

Indonesia is currently the third-largest digital market in Asia behind China and India and is projected to be a very lucrative prospect in terms of the digital economy market which has driven BCA’s initiative to encourage the adoption of blockchain technology.

Google projected Indonesia’s digital economy to reach US$27 billion in 2018 in the Southeast Asia Economy report. Bank Indonesia’s data revealed that Indonesia’s e-commerce transaction stood at Rp77.766 trillion in 2018, which is a 151% increase compared to 2017’s Rp30.942 trillion. In 2025, Indonesia’s digital economy market has been forecasted to rise to US$100 billion.

Indonesia’s digital economy potential is further confirmed with a significant number of active internet users. According to a report by the Indonesian Internet Service Providers Association (APJII), at least 171.17 million of the total 264.7 million Indonesian population are connected to the internet, with 90% using their smartphones to access the internet.

To drive the adoption of blockchain technology innovation, BCA will hold its annual IT competition the Financial Hackathon (Finhacks) 2019. The competition is entering its fourth year in Indonesia and will focus on the application of blockchain technology to support the financial industry.

Image via Wikimedia Commons

PreScouter Research: Blockchain Adoption in Life Sciences Wanting

According to a report by PreScouter, a research company that assists business leaders in making better corporate and product development decisions, the mindset of leadership in the life sciences sector is hindering blockchain adoption.

This is despite the fact that widespread blockchain adoption could propel $3 billion-worth of value to life sciences companies by 2025.

Explicitly, blockchain has the potential for transforming the delivery of healthcare to patients, clinical trials management, supply chain, and drug development in this industry.

What are Life Sciences?

Life Sciences are a collection of disciplines that investigate the function and structure of living things from molecules to entire ecosystems. They are, therefore, involved in the study of living organisms, such as human beings, in various subjects like biochemistry, botany, biology, microbiology, zoology, and physiology.

Blockchain Application in Life Sciences

The research notes that even though 70% of life science leaders plan to implement a blockchain system in 2020, there are still a couple of challenges when it comes to adoption.

These are sentiments echoed by Dr Charles Wright, Prescouter’s technical director for the healthcare and life sciences industry and co-author of the report.

He acknowledged: “The consensus opinion is that changing the mindset of private, public and political leadership for adopting blockchain technology and the requisite change in management is the single greatest hurdle facing blockchain deployment.”

Blockchain application in supply chain and manufacturing areas of life sciences could help in waste reduction. For instance, the tracking of a temperature-sensitive drug could be propelled by checking whether it has been stored or transported with appropriate refrigeration.

On the part of the clinical trials arena, blockchain records could enable real-time monitoring of a whole trial ecosystem, including any protocol deviations, milestones met, and patient health status.

Blockchain also promises to offer patients considerable flexibility and security for sensitive data. For instance, it will enable them to only disclose the required information through blockchain-enabled smart contracts.

Additionally, blockchain is touted to help in the delivery of personalized therapies to patients.

Despite the slow adoption in life sciences, PreScouter speculates that the value pumped by blockchains will increase to $176 billion by 2025. This will include non-financial usages in life sciences representing approximately 5% of the total value.

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Asian Investors Have a Better Disposition to Crypto than Europeans and Americans, Fidelity Survey finds

A recently published survey backed by Fidelity Digital Assets Investments has showcased that Asian investors have a more positive disposition when compared to their European and American counterparts.

The survey involved 1100 respondents bordering on Financial Advisors, High Networth Individuals, and Crypto Hedge Funds or Venture Capital Funds. The respondents were profiled across each of the regions.

Per the survey result, there was a growth in the adoption rate of digital assets across the United States and Europe for two consecutive years, beginning in 2019. The adoption rate in the US grew from 22% in 2019 to 27% in 2020. Meanwhile, the European adoption rate in the past year came in at 45 Percent and has increased to 56% this year. Per the data published, Asian investors were profiled for the first time this year, and the results showed that the adoption rate this year, which was pegged at 71%, was greater than both the US and Europe.

“We were not surprised to learn that Asia has the most institutional investors with allocations to digital assets of those surveyed. Historically, Asian investors have had a more positive view of digital assets and were early adopters of more traditional digital payments. For example, in China, a projected 32.7% of point-of-sale payments are made via mobile, double the UK (15.3%) and US (15.0%), according to OMFIF,” the Survey report reads.

The survey also showcased that about 44% of the investors said that the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic stirred the interest to bet on digital assets. This became necessitated as the pandemic fueled the increased inflation of the economy as trillions of Dollars were injected as palliative funds into the economy. In general, the survey highlighted that about 70% of all the survey participants say that they are currently invested in digital assets.

Vietnam to Propel Blockchain Training for Enhanced Competitiveness

To gain an upper hand in the blockchain sector, Vietnam is in high gear to boost human resources in this sector, according to the local media outlet Viet Nam News.

Phạm Văn Huy, CEO of blockchain company MoonLab, pointed out:

“The scarcity of human resources in this field is completely inevitable in both Việt Nam and internationally.”

He added:

“It is extremely difficult to recruit human resources specializing in this field as Blockchain is still quite new and there are no training programs at universities, colleges, or even information technology centers in the country.”

Therefore, Vietnamese engineers and programmers are being encouraged to venture into the blockchain field because they can flexibly switch to internet learning and self exploration.

For instance, by having adequate personnel trained to create blockchain-based smart contracts, Vietnam will be in a position to meet market needs.

Huy Nguyen, co-founder of KardiaChain, Blockchain, stated:

“We need to pay more attention to the deep development rather than just the surface one. If it can solve the problems from the root, Việt Nam can easily meet the needs of the market in the next five to 10 years and help Blockchain become a technology widely used here.”

Nguyen added that for Vietnam to be a blockchain hub then personnel training should be undertaken from the bottom level up.

Businesses, universities, and research centers should also come up with plans to train personnel from the root level. Nguyen stated:

“There should also be good quality short-term blockchain courses for those who intend to change industries, grasp it in a short time, making the peer-to-peer transition more flexible.”

Meanwhile, experts in Vietnam recently highlighted that raising awareness about blockchain technology through regulatory frameworks, successful applications, and education would heighten adoption.