Mumbai: Anand Swaminathan , the head of McKinsey Digital in Asia, told ET that it would be a mistake to think that cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology are “so intertwined you can't have one without the other”. The Indian government’s reported plan to ban all cryptocurrencies has drawn sharp reactions from members of the crypto community, who say banning cryptocurrencies while simultaneously encouraging the use of blockchain technology, on which these virtual currencies are built, would be like permitting the use of electric vehicles but not funding them. But Swaminathan said, “ Cryptocurrency is a use case for blockchain technology. While cryptocurrency cannot exist without blockchain, the reverse does not apply.” Other uses for blockchain technology include improving companies’ resiliency, efficiency and security, and helping them track the development of products in their supply chains, he added. Swaminathan said blockchain technology can help Asian ... » Learn More about Blockchain doesn’t need cryptocurrency: McKinsey Digital’s Asia head
Muscle onset soreness
Strong exports suggest higher growth
China's economy ended 2020 on a stronger note than we expected, with growth in industry being especially rapid. In the fourth quarter of 2020, China's GDP growth increased to 6.5 percent year-on-year, or 2.9 percent quarter-on-quarter in seasonally adjusted terms in our (Oxford Economics') estimation, comfortably beating our forecast of 2.2 percent and the consensus, underpinned by an acceleration in industrial value added, investment and exports. The strong fourth quarter lifted China's GDP growth to 2.3 percent last year and will have a substantial carry-over impact on this year's economic growth. We have revised up our outlook for exports, and, relatedly, manufacturing investment, mainly because of the strong recent export and export order data for the Chinese mainland, Taiwan and the Republic of Korea, plus an upward revision of the forecast for the United States' economic growth following increased likelihood of substantial additional fiscal stimulus there. We downgraded our ... » Learn More about Strong exports suggest higher growth