On December 29, the state-owned China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT) released a document titled “2022 Blockchain White Paper”. According to the paper, there are currently over 1,400 blockchain companies based in mainland China. Together with the US, these two countries account for her 52% market share in terms of global blockchain companies.
CAICT also revealed that around 48 higher education institutions across China have introduced “blockchain engineering” related degrees and certifications. In the report, the agency details four types of blockchain technology with high potential applications.
First, the “payment chain” will allow companies such as China Mobile and China Unicom to transparently disclose their telecom charges. Second, Zhejiang Cold Chain will allow consumers to verify the source of their food by scanning her QR code on the product. Third, the Trusple cross-border payment platform helps buyers and sellers obtain due diligence information about their counterparties.
Finally, blockchain monitoring platforms help financial regulators spot irregularities in orders across different exchanges. Chinese tech giants such as Tencent, Ant Financial, Huawei and Alibaba have created “Blockchain Alliances” for their respective businesses over the past few years.
China now allows ownership of cryptocurrencies and non-fungible tokens (NFTs), the legality of which is protected by the courts. However, the country has banned the issuance of initial coin offerings, along with digital exchanges and cryptocurrency mining.
Despite setbacks, the Chinese government has included blockchain development on its official national agenda. In October, China’s State Council said it would prioritize “cloud computing, blockchain and AI” as means to improve data management and government services. On December 28th, Chinese authorities announced that a national exchange for trading NFTs and digital asset copyrights would launch on his January 1st.
