Central Asia is fast becoming the blockchain frontier—reshaping BRICS economics, challenging dollar dominance, and hosting the pivotal deBlock Summit in Tehran.
Once China, India and Russia perfect their block chain crypto transaction mechanisms the nations comprising SEATO will join BRICS as a matter of survival. Hopefully Japan, Phillipines and Taiwan will break their strangling ties to USA and will follow. That leaves Australia and New Zealand exposed to diminishing markets as their reliance on the SWIFT system reduces Asian trade opportunities. Hopefully Australia will be an independent republic before then.
When 4 paragraphs of comments disappear into the digital ether... Substack ought to do something about its comments UI...
Here we go again.
First of all, thank you so much for this article. I had no clue that Central Asia was emerging as a blockchain hub. This sounds very promising and inspiring!
As a French citizen with African ancestry, I've had an eye on the crypto space for several years, yet I exited the market a couple years ago when I realized that the world I could see seemed to view Blockchain only as an instrument for speculation. To me, it was missing the point. Besides, I saw too few interesting business use cases -besides smart contracts- and too much mistrust from people (at least in Western Europe), which really hindered adoption.
This article rekindles my hopes!
I do have questions though:
-Are there practical business use cases being developed under "local" Blockchain environments in Central Asia? It would be GREAT if we could have a deep dive article into some current projects that include business applications. Blockchain tech needs an effective storytelling to stimulate adoption. Right now, it's too obscure and complex for many people who'd rather stick with conventional frameworks, even if it's to their loss.
-How are countries part of this hub handling the governance aspects of Blockchain? Through the example of Ethereum I've seen that Blockchain isn't exempt from "politics" and that an entire environment can suffer because of the decisions of one guy (which sounds a bit paradoxical given the "decentralized" nature of the technology at hand ;D )
-Any thoughts on Telegram's Cocoon project? Was Pavel Durov or anyone else from the company present at the Teheran conference? I mention this because I think that a use case that connects a Blockchain to a widely used app like a messaging app is a great idea in terms of adoption potential, as it addresses accessibility issues and benefits from a network that's already global.
-Lastly: how can these alternative Blockchain ecosystems from Central Asia become accessible to anyone interested worldwide? Would such a thing even be possible? I may not "agree" with many things the Iranian government does, but 1) Who cares, and 2) It doesn't mean I can't see value in anything it does! Investing on human capital focused on Blockchain tech could be a potential competitive advantage down the line. These choices could give way to interesting use cases that other humans elsewhere could learn from. But how can I follow such developments without being targeted by local censorship ? How can I help spread awareness without raising suspicion ? I just want people around me to be a bit less ignorant and/or to develop a slightly more open mind toward the rest of the world...
Totally agree with your take, the potential is there, but it’s often clouded by hype and poor storytelling. Great questions, though too many for us to tackle in detail here. For practical info on blockchain adoption in Central Asia, we suggest checking out the official websites of Binance Academy in the region – they often have local insights or ways to reach out.
We do hope to follow up with more on this topic soon. Our brand ambassador Anastasia is currently in Iran for the deBlock Summit and might help us shed light on what’s really happening on the ground.
Quick note on the Tehran summit: it was actually planned for June, but the day before it began, Israel bombed Tehran – so the event was postponed. Some attendees also couldn’t make it later due to stricter visa procedures. As for Durov and Telegram’s Cocoon project, no clue if anyone from the company was there.
Appreciate your perspective, it's encouraging to see people thinking globally about blockchain's potential beyond speculation. Stay tuned!
Once China, India and Russia perfect their block chain crypto transaction mechanisms the nations comprising SEATO will join BRICS as a matter of survival. Hopefully Japan, Phillipines and Taiwan will break their strangling ties to USA and will follow. That leaves Australia and New Zealand exposed to diminishing markets as their reliance on the SWIFT system reduces Asian trade opportunities. Hopefully Australia will be an independent republic before then.
Nice article, very informative.
BRICS, has discarded the yoke of western dominance.
BRICS+ and it's partner countries are showing the world a new way forward.
When 4 paragraphs of comments disappear into the digital ether... Substack ought to do something about its comments UI...
Here we go again.
First of all, thank you so much for this article. I had no clue that Central Asia was emerging as a blockchain hub. This sounds very promising and inspiring!
As a French citizen with African ancestry, I've had an eye on the crypto space for several years, yet I exited the market a couple years ago when I realized that the world I could see seemed to view Blockchain only as an instrument for speculation. To me, it was missing the point. Besides, I saw too few interesting business use cases -besides smart contracts- and too much mistrust from people (at least in Western Europe), which really hindered adoption.
This article rekindles my hopes!
I do have questions though:
-Are there practical business use cases being developed under "local" Blockchain environments in Central Asia? It would be GREAT if we could have a deep dive article into some current projects that include business applications. Blockchain tech needs an effective storytelling to stimulate adoption. Right now, it's too obscure and complex for many people who'd rather stick with conventional frameworks, even if it's to their loss.
-How are countries part of this hub handling the governance aspects of Blockchain? Through the example of Ethereum I've seen that Blockchain isn't exempt from "politics" and that an entire environment can suffer because of the decisions of one guy (which sounds a bit paradoxical given the "decentralized" nature of the technology at hand ;D )
-Any thoughts on Telegram's Cocoon project? Was Pavel Durov or anyone else from the company present at the Teheran conference? I mention this because I think that a use case that connects a Blockchain to a widely used app like a messaging app is a great idea in terms of adoption potential, as it addresses accessibility issues and benefits from a network that's already global.
-Lastly: how can these alternative Blockchain ecosystems from Central Asia become accessible to anyone interested worldwide? Would such a thing even be possible? I may not "agree" with many things the Iranian government does, but 1) Who cares, and 2) It doesn't mean I can't see value in anything it does! Investing on human capital focused on Blockchain tech could be a potential competitive advantage down the line. These choices could give way to interesting use cases that other humans elsewhere could learn from. But how can I follow such developments without being targeted by local censorship ? How can I help spread awareness without raising suspicion ? I just want people around me to be a bit less ignorant and/or to develop a slightly more open mind toward the rest of the world...
Totally agree with your take, the potential is there, but it’s often clouded by hype and poor storytelling. Great questions, though too many for us to tackle in detail here. For practical info on blockchain adoption in Central Asia, we suggest checking out the official websites of Binance Academy in the region – they often have local insights or ways to reach out.
We do hope to follow up with more on this topic soon. Our brand ambassador Anastasia is currently in Iran for the deBlock Summit and might help us shed light on what’s really happening on the ground.
Quick note on the Tehran summit: it was actually planned for June, but the day before it began, Israel bombed Tehran – so the event was postponed. Some attendees also couldn’t make it later due to stricter visa procedures. As for Durov and Telegram’s Cocoon project, no clue if anyone from the company was there.
Appreciate your perspective, it's encouraging to see people thinking globally about blockchain's potential beyond speculation. Stay tuned!