Chinese interest in blockchain is spiking, with President Xi Jinpeng’s suggestion that his country should seize the blockchain opportunity, but then again interest has never really gone anywhere.
Chinese Firms Float More Than 500 Blockchain Ideas Before Pro-Blockchain Government
Blockchain projects in China are monitored by the Cyberspace Administration of China, which requires them to register and reports favorable numbers.
A total of more than 500 blockchain-related projects have sought approval from the Chinese government since March.
Applications reportedly originated from banks to major tech companies like Tencent and Baidu.
All kind of blockchain projects are on the cards in China, which aims to push ahead of the US and other competitors in terms of blockchain acceptance.
This, in itself, is no small news for blockchain, including Bitcoin. The Chinese have repeatedly propped up internal industries, especially in technology, by applying the full weight of the communist state on the regulatory wings.
That being the case, a serious push for blockchain from the world’s #2 superpower means there’s simply no going back.
Whether or not China issues its own digital currency, and whether or not certain aspects of cryptocurrency remain unregulated or extra-legal, blockchain companies now know there is at least one massive part of the world they can go to safely do business.
The government itself uses blockchain in a number of projects, including tracking probationers. Its central bank has flirted with the idea of issuing a tokenized currency, secured by a blockchain.
World’s Largest Bank Asks Permission For Blockchain Projects
Major companies like Union Pay have also registered blockchain projects. Essentially everything that blockchain can do, Chinese companies are attempting to do legally.
This is a different situation from the rest of the world. Blockchain companies have often used an “ask forgiveness, not permission” approach.
Ping An Bank, who are already a member of R3 (a blockchain consortium devoted to bridging traditional and blockchain finance), has registered multiple blockchain projects since March.
Perhaps more importantly, the world’s largest bank by assets, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), has also registered a blockchain project with the Chinese government.
The importance of that cannot be understated. In the near future it could be truthfully said that the majority of the world’s money touches a blockchain one way or another.
Obviously that’s still only part of the long road to full blockchain acceptance at a societal level, but it’s progress nonetheless.
The irony of an outwardly communist country potentially being the biggest hotbed for blockchain technology shouldn’t go unnoticed. It may be that in a few years, various cities within China are the “go to” destinations for blockchain believers and companies.
In the meantime, the rest of the world’s leaders has an opportunity to join China’s president in singing the praises, and pledging support, for blockchain and cryptocurrency. Whether they will or not, time will tell.
