By CCN.com: The widespread adoption of blockchain is taking longer than expected. The slow recovery pace of the cryptocurrency industry is forcing blockchain investors to look for alternative sources of revenue to keep their business afloat. Some blockchain investors are now turning to cannabis to diversify their revenue stream.
Hong-Kong listed blockchain investor, Grandshores Technology, is diversifying its investment portfolio to include cannabis with a 40 percent investment in Hangzhou Yupu Trading. The demand for cannabis is likely to increase shortly as more countries legalize the medicinal and recreational use of cannabis. Among its crypto ventures, the firm recently raised $12.5 million to back a Chinese yen-pegged stablecoin.
Industrial hemp is currently the only type of cannabis being grown in China, and it is restricted to two provinces- Heilongjiang and Yunnan.
For industrial and medicinal use, Industrial hemp has the right components that meet these demands. Cannabidiol, the active pharmaceutical ingredient in cannabis, can be extracted from Industrial hemp while the rest of the plant is used for industrial purposes.
Grandshores Technology has partnered with Heilongjiang hemp research institute which has given them access to high-quality hemp seeds which contain a high percentage of cannabidiols compared to other strains.
With high-quality raw material, Grandshores Technology may control the supply of cannabis right from the source. The cannabis market goes beyond recreational and medicinal; the industrial use of cannabis may be its ‘Holy Grail.’
China is in fierce competition with the US to control a more significant portion of worldwide economic trade- as currently witnessed in the increasingly fractious trade wars. The growth in the cannabis industry could very well become another aspect of the trade, in which both countries would like to dominate.
China is conservative with the government controlling the moral conduct of its citizens. The use of marijuana is highly prohibited in China with prison detainment guaranteed for possession or use of the recreational drug.
The dilemma for the Chinese government may come in the form of the economic impact cannabis may have. Using the US as a case study, the cultivation and sale of cannabis have led to the creation of permanent jobs in the industry, generating billions in US dollars in the process.
With recorded incidences of Chinese tourists traveling to Amsterdam for recreational use of cannabis, China may find itself in a difficult spot.
The market for recreational use of cannabis is enormous in the Asian region. Creating a legalized system will likely result in positive results as it has done in states that have legalized recreational use of cannabis in the US. If China takes the lead to legalize cannabis in Asia, it will give them an economic advantage in the region.
China may be forced to compromise on their strict laws to keep up with the cannabis wave that is rising from the West. With the influence pop culture has over millennials and generation Z, the recreational use of cannabis is only going to increase.
The younger generation is redefining investment and business. The popularity of blockchain and cannabis signifies the change of guard taking place in the world. Though not entirely accepted, these two products and their related services are the future of business in the world.