Thailand hosts World Blockchain Summit

Global blockchain developers and enthusiasts gathered in Bangkok last week to debate the future of this transformative technology, with organizers and panelists highlighting the innovative ways in which Thailand is using blockchain.

The Bangkok conference was the latest in a series of World Blockchain Summits launched in 2017. Its organizers say it “connects global blockchain gurus and technology players in this space including emerging startups – with regional businesses, government authorities, IT leaders, tech entrepreneurs, investors, and blockchain developers.”

Mohammed Saleem, Chief Executive of Trescon, the company organizing the summits, said he chose Bangkok because of the Thai government’s emphasis on digital development, regulation of crypto-currencies, and its Thailand 4.0 national strategy.

Several panelists praised Thai creativity in employing blockchain. Thai banks recently became the first banks in the world to issue blockchain letters of guarantee, and BCPG, a renewable energy firm, is testing blockchain as a means of trading solar energy.

“Lots of energy from rooftop solar is wasted because people have to go to work or leave the home and the energy is not used,” said Bundit Sapianchai, President of BCPG. “During summertime, an empty school with rooftop solar panels can sell surplus power to other buildings through smart contracts on the blockchain.”

Felix Mago, Co-Founder of Dash Thailand, a crypto-currency company, compared blockchain to email in the 1980s, saying that at this early stage, many of its uses have yet to be discovered.

“But in the last three years there have been solutions that allow businesses to run operations better, cheaper and faster,” by using blockchain, Mago said.

Photo courtesy of https://bangkok.worldblockchainsummit.com/