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What is Blockchain Technology in Singapore?

Singapore is one of the countries that have been open aboutembracing Blockchain technology, and it has particularly been keen on takingadvantage of what this particular technology has to offer. This is evident inthe collaboration between the Monetary Authority of Singapore, the country’scentral bank as well as a group of banks in the country and also some ofSingapore’s major firms. The tie-up between these entities is aimed at leveragingblockchain to facilitate payments as well as securities clearing andsettlement.

By now most people know what blockchain technology is butfor those who do not know, it is a digital ledger that has built-in trust andcannot be corrupted. It is designed to hold financial or economic records, andit is also the underlying technology that supports cryptocurrencies. Singaporehas particularly been keen on using this technology beyond the scope of digitalcurrencies.

Supporting newblockchain-powered innovations

One of the country’s government agencies known as EnterpriseSingapore which was developed as a backbone for the startup ecosystem announcedsupport for a blockchain accelerator program dubbed Tribe Accelerator. Thelatter is an early-stage capital firm that is based in Singapore, but it hasits operations target South East Asia.

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The Singapore government seems to have similar plans withTribe Accelerator which involve fostering widespread blockchain adoption inAsia. Tribe Accelerator hopes to encourage startups to target real-world impactand applicability of blockchain-based solutions. It also offers a platform wheregovernment agencies can collaborate with blockchain startups on blockchainprojects.

Singapore’sblockchain community

So far there has been phenomenal growth in the country’sblockchain community, particularly due to the changing perspective of the financialcommunity which was initially opposed to cryptocurrencies and blockchain ingeneral. This is mainly because key financial players in the financial industryhave been carrying out research on the technology and identified thatblockchain could offer potentially huge improvements to the financial sector.

For example, a company called LALA World has been working ona blockchain-based solution called LALA ID. The latter is designed tofacilitate the safety of personal information as connectivity in the digitaldomain continues to grow. Such technology could be of great benefit especiallyin critical areas such as the banking sector.

Improving thefinancial system

Blockchain technology could play a big role in facilitatingtransparency, efficacy, and accountability in various industries. For example,Singapore wants to use blockchain technology to lower settlement and clearingcosts which get as high as $20 billion annually. This new age technology candeliver lower clearing and transaction fees.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has alreadyidentified blockchain’s potential impact on the financial industry. It hastherefore been proactively encouraging the adoption of blockchain technology inthe financial and technology industry to facilitate better systems. MASrecently launched a project called Ubin which is a joint partnership betweentechnology firms and banks. The Ubin project will work towards creating solutionsfor payments, settlement and securities clearing.

MAS has also been fostering partnerships with central banksfrom neighboring countries to facilitate cross-border payments using digitalledger technology. The project will leverage blockchain technology so that theycan reconcile invoices in trade finance. The technology will also be used toverify contract performance.

Blockchainimplementation in major sectors

Insurance companies in Singapore are also leveragingblockchain technology, particularly using smart contracts to achievetransparency in insurance. This technology might help to eliminate duplicateclaims and fraud from the insurance sector. The country is also working towardsbuilding a more secure healthcare data system. This is because its currentlyexisting system has suffered numerous data breaches where patient data has beencompromised. Blockchain’s highly secure nature and ease of data management makeit an attractive solution that can help the government of Singapore to build ahighly efficient and more secure healthcare data system.

Singapore is determinedto be a blockchain technology hub in Asia

Few countries all over the world have identified blockchainas a revolutionary technology that could spearhead the next stage of majortechnological advancements. Its promising nature has thus encouraged thesecountries to embrace it and also to adopt it rapidly. Singapore is one of thosecountries, and it is determined to become a blockchain hub and leader in SouthEast Asia. This also aligns with the country’s development plan as one of thefastest growing Asian countries.

Singapore aims to achieve interconnectivity throughblockchain. For example, the Singapore Power Group (SPG) rolled ablockchain-based market that handles renewable energy certificates (RECs). Theproject will allow Singapore-based commercial entities to acquire RECs and thiswill encourage the production of renewable energies. The SPG platform willautomatically match buyers with sellers.

Singapore Power CEO Samuel Tan stated that blockchaintechnology would allow companies to efficiently, securely and seamlessly traderenewable energy certificates. This will help those companies to achieve theirsustainability targets in their pursuit of going green.

Efficiently keytrends together

Blockchain as the technology itself is also expected to helpstitch together other technologies in an efficient manner. A Singapore-basedblockchain startup called Quadrant Protocol wants to make artificialintelligence more appealing and usable in Singapore.

Mike Davie, the founder of Quadrant Protocol, stated thatartificial intelligence relies heavily on the quality of data. Blockchain canmaintain high data quality especially if fed with good quality data. And justas is the case with other blockchain projects, Quadrant Protocol is also inpursuit of a high level of efficiency which it believes will be provided byBlockchain.

Conclusion

Singapore is strategically positioning itself to lead theblockchain movement in the Asian region. The country has an advantage of rivalcountries that are also adopting blockchain because its government has beenhighly supportive of blockchain endeavors. This means that Singapore is one ofthe most attractive countries for aspiring blockchain startups looking for anenvironment that will facilitate their projects. Additionally, the technologyhas been gaining traction globally, and Singapore has already placed itself totake advantage of that rapid growth.

(By Neha Gupta)

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