Billionaire Jack Ma (馬雲) has declared bitcoin a potential bubble, reiterating his caution over the cryptocurrency as his Ant Financial Services Group (螞蟻金服) yesterday launched blockchain-based money transfers between Hong Kong and the Philippines.
The founder and chairman of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (阿里巴巴) extolled the possibilities of the decentralized ledger on which bitcoin is based, but said that the digital currency itself might be driven by torrid speculation.
Ma made his comments after officially launching a blockchain-based remittance service with Standard Chartered PLC and GCash, Ant Financial’s venture with Philippine firm Globe Telecom Inc.
Bitcoin set an annual low on Sunday before bouncing back a tad, underscoring the volatility that stems from increased scrutiny by regulators even as global central bankers and business chiefs raise questions about its viability.
“Blockchain technology could change our world more than people imagine,” Ma told reporters in Hong Kong, home to a large population of Philippine workers and domestic helpers who send money home regularly. “Bitcoin however could be a bubble.”
Ant Financial, an affiliate of Alibaba’s backed by some of the biggest names in global finance and investment, has explored blockchain technology for years, including to clean up China’s murky charities, but the remittance service marks one of the first instances of the Internet giant using the technology in mainstream finance.
Ma yesterday also took potshots at the traditional banking industry, saying financial institutions were overcharging for overseas payments.
Ant Financial, blocked from buying Moneygram International Inc, now wants to build something better and take blockchain-based remittances beyond just Hong Kong to the Philippines, Ma said without elaborating.
“Traditional financial institutions serve 20 percent of people and make 80 percent of profits. New financial institutions should service 80 percent of people and make 20 percent of profit,” Ma said.
The Eurovision Song Contest has seen a surge in punter interest at the bookmakers, becoming a major betting event, experts said ahead of last night’s giant glamfest in Basel. “Eurovision has quietly become one of the biggest betting events of the year,” said Tomi Huttunen, senior manager of the Online Computer Finland (OCS) betting and casino platform. Betting sites have long been used to gauge which way voters might be leaning ahead of the world’s biggest televised live music event. However, bookmakers highlight a huge increase in engagement in recent years — and this year in particular. “We’ve already passed 2023’s total activity and
Nvidia Corp CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) today announced that his company has selected "Beitou Shilin" in Taipei for its new Taiwan office, called Nvidia Constellation, putting an end to months of speculation. Industry sources have said that the tech giant has been eyeing the Beitou Shilin Science Park as the site of its new overseas headquarters, and speculated that the new headquarters would be built on two plots of land designated as "T17" and "T18," which span 3.89 hectares in the park. "I think it's time for us to reveal one of the largest products we've ever built," Huang said near the
BIG BUCKS: Chairman Wei is expected to receive NT$34.12 million on a proposed NT$5 cash dividend plan, while the National Development Fund would get NT$8.27 billion Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday announced that its board of directors approved US$15.25 billion in capital appropriations for long-term expansion to meet growing demand. The funds are to be used for installing advanced technology and packaging capacity, expanding mature and specialty technology, and constructing fabs with facility systems, TSMC said in a statement. The board also approved a proposal to distribute a NT$5 cash dividend per share, based on first-quarter earnings per share of NT$13.94, it said. That surpasses the NT$4.50 dividend for the fourth quarter of last year. TSMC has said that while it is eager
China yesterday announced anti-dumping duties as high as 74.9 percent on imports of polyoxymethylene (POM) copolymers, a type of engineering plastic, from Taiwan, the US, the EU and Japan. The Chinese Ministry of Commerce’s findings conclude a probe launched in May last year, shortly after the US sharply increased tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, computer chips and other imports. POM copolymers can partially replace metals such as copper and zinc, and have various applications, including in auto parts, electronics and medical equipment, the Chinese ministry has said. In January, it said initial investigations had determined that dumping was taking place, and implemented preliminary
RSS