1) Hauck & Aufhäuser will launch its first Crypto fund on January 1, 2021.
Hauck & Aufhäuser, a German private bank disclosed that it will launch its first crypto fund named HAIC Digital Asset Fund I on January 1, 2021, in collaboration with Berlin fintech Kapilendo. The bank will deal with institutional and semi-institutional investors who want to invest in crypto assets with a minimum investment being 200,000 Euros. Bank will manage funds whereas Kapilendo will serve as the crypto depository. Holger Sepp, a Board member said:
We are seeing that digital assets and cryptocurrencies are becoming increasingly attractive with institutional investors. With the launch of our first crypto fund, together with Kapilendo, we have created an innovative investment vehicle that gives our customers inexpensive and secure access to the new crypto asset class while meeting the established quality standards and high demands of Hauck & Aufhäuser.
2) The Digital euro may enter an investigation phase.
Next year the Euro system can form an investigation plan for a digital euro as per one of the executives at the European Central Bank. During the online discussion at Singapore FinTech Festival 2020 Holger Neuhaus, head of market innovation and integration division at the ECB said:
In mid-2021, the Euro system will consider whether to launch a digital euro project. But just to highlight, it would be an investigation phase, not the decision yet to implement. It would basically allow us to come up […] with actually a plan, and what could be a digital euro, how could it look like, how could it be implemented, if and when a policy decision is taken.
3) Blockchain to be employed in tax collection operations in Thailand.
In 2021, the Revenue and Customs Departments of Thailand will employ blockchain technology to calculate tax liabilities, import duties, and prices. Then this data will make a single database that aims to make tax evasion more difficult. As mentioned in Bangkok Post Director-general Lavaron Sangsnit said:
Policy implementation should not affect the domestic economic recovery in order to continue the momentum. Raising taxes may stunt the economic recovery, leading the department to study tax collection of new goods rather than raising rates.
4) LayerX to develop a blockchain-based voting system with a digital identity application.
LayerX has partnered with a digital identity application called xID to develop a blockchain-based voting system for Kaga, the city in Japan. The firm talked about the challenges:
Voting over the Internet presents more challenges, such as preventing double voting, technical hurdles to keep ballots secret, and the cost of voting devices. LayerX researched and developed an electronic voting protocol that balances the transparency of the voting process and the confidentiality of voting records.
5) Bill Winters believes digital currencies are “inevitable”.
Bill Winters, the chief executive officer of Standard Charted at Singapore FinTech Festival 2020 expressed that his thoughts about the creation and adoption of digital assets. He further added that digital currencies are inevitable and will be led by both the private sector and government-backed entities. Winters said:
I think there is absolutely a role for central bank digital currencies as well as non-central bank-sponsored digital currencies