The Asean Blockchain Summit, notably lacking participation from citizens of Asean, was held yesterday at the Sokha Hotel in Phnom Penh, where hundreds of Chinese attendees gathered to hear speeches on cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology delivered in Mandarin.
News of the summit reached the international media this past week after a press release from Entapay, the firm hosting the event, hinted that Cambodia would soon be launching a national cryptocurrency.
Though Entapay did launch a cryptocurrency at the summit, officials from the National Bank of Cambodia and the Securities and Exchange Commission of Cambodia told The Post earlier this week that the government had not lent its support to any digital currency.
Deputy Prime Minister Men Sam An, who delivered the keynote at the summit and was the only Cambodian speaker at the event, spoke for approximately five minutes before exiting the conference hall.
Every speaker following Sam An presented in Mandarin, and no Khmer or English translations were available.
The Post spoke to six attendees at the summit, all of whom were from China and said they had been invited to the summit by friends via social media applications. None of the attendees said they had an interest in blockchain or cryptocurrencies, nor did they know any details about Entapay.
