While bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have lost their lustre, blockchain technology still has important applications to banking and finance, but trust must first be built, says Yahoo co-founder Jerry Yang.
We are at a critical juncture as the hype surrounding blockchain and cryptocurrencies is falling away, and while it remains to be seen if it survives this post-hype phase, blockchain technology has important applications to banking and finance, said Jerry Yang in the panel discussion «Rising Tides of Innovation in Asia» at the Nikkei Innovation Asia Forum in Singapore on Thursday.
«Blockchain is a natural technology for banks and trading. If you look at U.S. institutions and banks, the kind of infrastructure that is being developed has long-term implications. For the technology to succeed, the question is can there be trust built? That can open huge amounts of doors», the AME Cloud Ventures founding partner and Yahoo co-founder said.
Technology as U.S.-China Flashpoint
Earlier in the forum in a discussion with Techonomy Media founder David Kirkpatrick, Yang shared his views on the U.S.-China conflict, panting it as a conflict in three areas: geopolitical security, trade, and ideology, with technology being the flashpoint.
«It continues to be the accelerator, both for the greater good, and for greater division. There needs to be some sort of mutual assurance and trust, which seems to be deteriorating,» Yang said.
Taiwanese-American entrepreneur Yang co-founded Yahoo in 1994 with David Filo while studying at Stanford University. He left the company in 2012 to start AME Cloud Ventures, which provides seed funding to technology startups.
