FinTech Talk Series

Speaker: Dr. Haiyang Xue, Research Assistant Professor at Department of Computer Science, Faculty of Engineering, HKU
Abstract: Cryptocurrency and other blockchain-based digital assets rely on digital signatures to authorise transactions. An account owner could use his/her private signing key to sign a transaction and transfer the money. Thus, the theft of a private signing key immediately means financial loss.
In this talk, Dr. Xue will introduce a cryptographic tool, called threshold cryptography, to provide a high level of private key protection and reduce the risk of financial loss. Threshold cryptography follows the philosophy of “Do not put all your eggs in one basket”. It achieves security by sharing the private key in multiple devices and conducting the signing operation via a secure protocol that reveals nothing but the final signature. Dr. Xue will talk about its development, state-of-the-art, and applications in the area of FinTech.

Speaker: Dr. Evan C. Gibson, Research Assistant Professor at Faculty of Law, HKU
Abstract: Blockchain is typically associated with cryptocurrencies and in particular Bitcoin. However, blockchain can function quite differently to the mainstream perception. For example, in recent years divergent blockchain designs have been adopted by financial regulators in the area of financial market infrastructure. In this presentation, Dr. Gibson examines various design considerations and types of blockchain to elucidate the cryptogram between this emerging technology and financial regulation.

Speaker: Dr. Jiafu An, Research Assistant Professor at HKU Business School
Abstract: Mobile money brings substantial benefits to people’s wellbeing. It facilitates risk management through enabling transactions across space, increases capital accumulation by providing safe storage of savings, and helps structural transformation of society by lowering the cost of rural migration. However, despite these benefits, there is a substantial variation in mobile money adoption rates across countries and regions with a country. In this study, we examine whether and how kinship ties affect the adoption of this particular type of financial technology. We find that strong kinship ties improve people’s adoption of mobile money and this result holds across countries, sub-national regions, and people within ethnic homelands. Exploring the channels, we discover that the result is mainly driven by demand for geographically disparate transactions (e.g., remittances).

Speaker: Dr. Yujing Sun, Research Assistant Professor at Department of Computer Science, Faculty of Engineering, HKU
Abstract: Cryptocurrency is sparking an economic revolution. Both Industry and academia urge to understand different types of cryptocurrency data. In this talk, I will talk about two kinds of analytical methods, one is human-centered visual analytics which focuses on how to demonstrate data in a more understandable way. Another is data-driven mining techniques that can find anomalies, patterns, and correlations within cryptocurrency transaction data. Both of the methods are popular and useful but enable users to interpret cryptocurrency data from different perspectives. Collectively, they provide an integrated solution for cryptocurrency data understanding from the data-backend as well as from the visualization frontend.