The price of Bitcoin spiked to a record high of over US$40,394 last week, which helped push the overall value of the cryptocurrency market topped above US$1 trillion for the first time ever. However, taking the previous price changes as a reference, the cryptocurrency’s surge has always been accompanied by its trademark volatility.

Bitcoin climbed above US$34,000 for the first time on Sunday (Jan. 3), extending a record-breaking rally in the volatile cryptocurrency that delivered a more than 300% gain in 2020. Blockchain, as the foundation technology of cryptocurrency, has long been under the spotlight. While the financial market is embracing this unpredictable trend brought by blockchain, general public are remaining cautious and skeptical about it.

Recent years have seen a growth of the subtle tension between local and mainland Chinese students in Hong Kong, which was further heightened after the social unrest last year. It has always been a pity that people who share similar origins and cultural roots have fallen into rival groups due to political divergence and stereotypical images. In this episode, DotDotNews invites Keybros, two HK-born Gen Z influencers and Tom, a fresh HKU graduate from Guangdong Province to talk about identity issues in HK.

The issue of industrial imbalance in Hong Kong has long been existed and has been widely discussed, with finance and trading taking much of its shares.

The Hong Kong government has been working on promoting health code and travel bubbles in order to facilitate people's cross-border traveling in the COVID-19 era. But some citizens in HK have expressed concerns over privacy issues. This time, DotDotNews invites Prof. Witman Hung, a serial entrepreneur, angel investor and Principal Liaison Officer for HK of the Shenzhen Qianhai Authority, together with Kachin Wong, founder of a startup called SPES Tech, to join this discussion.

Many people from all walks of life in Hong Kong show warm welcome to the enactment of National Security Law because it has the potential to restore peace, stability and prosperity to the city.

There has been a heated debate recently over the topic whether Hong Kong has separation of powers, and some people have raised questions about judicial independence and justice of sentencing.

Ever since the social unrest in 2019, discussions on politics have deeply infiltrated into Hong Kong’s daily life and campus has become a "battleground of propaganda".

During the past year, there have been many rumors and misunderstandings towards Hong Kong Police Force. In this episode, DotDotNews invites Tang King-shing, former Commissioner of HK Police, and Dominic Lee, a young politician and influencer in HK.

In recent years, Hong Kong has witnessed a booming trend: From police officers to political figures, many Hongkongers are trying so hard to become influencers. In this episode, DotDotNews invites Tang King-shing, former Commissioner of HK Police, and Dominic Lee, a young politician and influencer in HK.

China ranks the first in the world for mobile payment penetration, with more than 790 million users and a total transaction volume of US$41.51 trillion. Accelerated by cashless payment methods such as Alipay and WeChat, China plans to launch its own digital currency, digital Yuan, into the market.

As the United States announced its banning of TikTok, there is a rising concern that more US sanctions against Chinese companies are underway. Relations between the two countries have deteriorated sharply in recent months. But just as the saying goes, "A single flower does not make a spring," cooperation is always a better solution than confrontation.

Balzac once said, "One who can think deeply is really a person with boundless power." In today's volatile Hong Kong, it is important and precious to have independent critical thinking that does not succumb to social uniformity. In the first episode of Smart Talk, DotDotNews host Stefano invited Keybros, two HK-born Gen Z YouTubers specialized in law, and Geoffrey Handley, a global entrepreneur and tech investor.