Soochow Sets up Research Center for Digital Currency and Finance with Forum

As transaction currencies, banking, insurance, security industry, and healthcare services are under the influence of digital technology, Soochow University established Research Center for Digital Currency and Finance on August 1^st, 2020, which would integrate the resources and teachers of the Schools of Business, Law, and Big Data Management, to facilitate interdisciplinary cooperation and exchange.

To provide a platform for cross-field dialogues, the Center launched its first season of forum in September 2020, under a theme of industry transformations brought about by token economy. The first session on September 25^th focused on the future trends and adapting strategies for electronic payment and digital currency.

The participating scholars, including the official of Central Bank Feng-Ying Hsieh, professor of the finance department in National Chengchi University Tung-Hao Lee and the founder of Kyber Capital Thomas Hu, discussed the development of the digital currencies issued by the Central Bank and by private institutions.

The second session of the forum on October 30^th highlighted Security Token Offerings (STO) applications and its related regulations. The debate about the launch of STO was joined by senior industry analyst Cheng-Hwa Lee, CEO and Co-Founder of STAR BIT Innovation Sway Teng, and Product Supervisor of LeadBest Consulting Group Ching-Chun Cheng.

The third session on November 27^th addressed the topic of the innovative applications of blockchain and the construction of new trading systems. Vice-Chairman of Fin Tech Research Center at Chengchi University Ming-Hua Hsieh, the researcher of Ethereum Foundation Chih-Cheng Liang, and the leader of the blockchain group in Institute for Information Industry Lee-Chi Wu participated as panelists to discuss the way of creatively applying blockchain in the industry. The keynote speaker encouraged young people in particular to communicate with the experts in the global blockchain industry directly by using English and program languages.

SCU President Wei-Ta Pan pointed out that not only the textbook of money and banking should be overhauled but also more systemic research should be conducted on financial digitization in response to the influence of digital technology on the financial industry.

According to former Grand Justice of Constitutional Court In-Jaw Lai, Taiwan didn’t consider STO when the Securities and Exchange Act was implemented in 1968. Plus, the law drafted in 2020 has controversial legitimacy owing to the lack of legal authorization. He indicated that it is important to help those in charge have a deeper understanding of the industry in order to formulate regulations more appropriate for the industry.