Research on a central bank digital currency (CBDC) in China has been delayed as the coronavirus epidemic continues. Global Times reported on Feb. 25 that the epidemic’s impact on staff has resulted in significant setbacks. A source familiar with the matter reportedly said: “The coronavirus outbreak has led to postponed work resumption in government institutions, including the People's Bank of China. Policymakers and research staff involved in the DCEP [Digital Currency Electronic Payment] project are no exception, which weighs on the development process.” Shentu Qingchun, the CEO of Shenzhen-based blockchain company BankLedger — which is involved in the project — …

Every day there are new stories of travel disruptions and public gatherings in Asia being cancelled due to the threat of the COVID-19 virus, AKA the coronavirus. Cryptocurrency and traditional markets have also been affected, with Bitcoin dropping 3% in value due to the virus being detected in Italy. When it comes to crypto exchanges handling the spread of the virus, Coinbase is preparing for the worst case scenario. According to a document shared publicly by CEO Brian Armstrong, Coinbase is preparing a four-tier escalation response to COVID-19. Each phase of the plan will be triggered by an increase in …

On Monday morning equities markets in the United States and Europe dropped sharply as investors fear over the continued spread of COVID-19, also known as the Coronavirus, intensified. Earlier in the day, the Italian government instituted a quarantine on 10 towns as the number of people infected by the highly infectious virus rose to 152 and to date 7 people have died. The initial threat COVID-19 posed to global markets seemed to have subsided as China’s swift intervention and strict nationwide quarantines painted the picture that a global pandemic had been avoided. The contagion spreads to traditional markets DJI and …

The government of Hubei, the Chinese province at the epicenter of the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) outbreak, issued a report on Feb. 18 detailing measures taken against the disease. The officials revealed that they tracked both offline and online purchases of fever medicine to organize relief efforts. As the emergency situation shows no signs of slowing down, provincial officials have taken a set of measures to better control the outbreak. Pharmacies and medical institutions are now required to ask for valid ID from anyone purchasing fever medicine, presumably to treat the virus. In addition to newly enacted measures, the government began an …

Amid the ongoing coronavirus epidemic, China has turned to blockchain technology to manage medical data, track supply of virus prevention materials and consult the public. For the first two weeks of February, China saw the launch of as much as 20 blockchain-based applications designed to help fight the coronavirus outbreak, domestic news outlet People’s Daily Online reported on Feb. 17. Most of the apps are used to manage citizens’ personal data as many people are returning to work this month. Blockchain is on guard for medical data security Local authorities noted that blockchain lets them effectively track and secure collected …

It has been reported that China has started a quarantine of its used bank notes to try to stop the spread of the coronavirus. Meanwhile, the crypto community began to pick up on the news commenting that the use of Bitcoin as a means of payment should fix the issue. More confirmed cases of the epidemic outbreak Hubei province, where Wuhan is located, recorded a dramatic spike of almost 15,000 new cases and 242 new deaths in just 24 hours after provincial authorities changed their method for diagnosing cases on Feb 13. Dovey Wan, founding partner of Primitive Crypto claimed …

Surging crypto rallies and the coronavirus scare — the two phenomena seem to be closely related, according to many. But this particular correlation is not necessarily translating to causation, at least according to some experts. Mati Greenspan, the founder of Quantum Economics, offered his insights regarding the apparent connections between the two events. “So far, I don’t see any direct correlation between the coronavirus and crypto prices.” Instead, Greenspan pointed to the current altcoin rally as an indicator of a growing appetite for higher-risk investments: “In my estimation at the moment, we’re in an alt season and that generally tells …

Insurance firms in China use blockchain to manage coronavirus-related claims amid the outbreak. English-language local news outlet South China Morning Post reported on Feb. 9 that this month Chinese online mutual aid platform Xiang Hu Bao added the coronavirus to the illnesses eligible for the maximum one-time payout of around $14,300 (100,000 yuan). Blockchain used for insurance claim processing Xiang Hu Bao is not an insurance policy, but a blockchain-based collective claim-sharing platform that counts 104 million users. Per the report, blockchain technology is employed by the system to prevent fraud and allow for faster claim processing. Xiang Hu Bao …

Chinese startup FUZAMEI has rolled out a philanthropy-focused blockchain-based platform for tracking and managing data. Dubbed “33 Charity,” the platform is designed to boost the transparency and efficiency of businesses’ internal processes, including charitable organizations, according to a press release published on Feb. 7. The platform appears to be a shared network where organizations can register, store and manage information about individuals. Improving the social trust system Donors and recipients are able to make requests under their own names, while medical institutions can apply for certificates of authority through identity authentication agencies to obtain signatures. CA certificates contain information about …

A number of cryptocurrency-related conferences across Asia are being delayed in response to the regional coronavirus outbreak. TOKEN2049, a major crypto event held annually in Hong Kong, is the latest one to postpone its conference. Originally scheduled for mid-March 2020, TOKEN2049 will now instead be taking place on October 7-8, 2020. The TOKEN2049 team announced: “Over the past weeks, we have been monitoring the global developments around the coronavirus closely. Whilst Hong Kong is managing the situation well and has taken strict precautions to contain any potential impact, uncertainty prevails.” Crypto firms in Hong Kong cease operations amid coronavirus and …

Due to the Coronavirus outbreak in China, the government has taken a series of measurements to keep the situation under control. Businesses are being affected across the nation. With the existing quarantine control, people are staying right at where they are and not be able to return to their work. A mining farm, in particular, is being forced to shut down during the epidemic. According to BTC.top CEO Jiang Zhuoer’s Weibo moment post on Feb. 4, all the mining machines have been forced to shut down in one of the mining farms he owns in a remote region in China. …

Blockchain-enabled applications developer Acoer has created a data visualization tool to track the deadly coronavirus. The tool, known as the HashLog data visualization engine, interacts in real-time with Hedera Hashgraph’s distributed ledger technology. This allows researchers, scientists and journalists to understand the spread of the coronavirus and its trends over time through visuals presented on Acoer’s HashLog dashboard. Acoer’s CEO, Jim Nasr, told Cointelegraph that the HashLog tool pulls data from the Center for Disease Control and the World Health Organization to capture useful information regarding the virus. He said: “HashLog allows for the real-time visualization of coronavirus data and …