• China is launching a National Blockchain Technology Innovation Center in Beijing to speed up the country’s industry through blockchain technology.
• The center is backed by the Beijing Academy of Blockchain and Edge Computing, which developed Chang’an Chain or ChainMaker blockchain that can execute 240 million transactions per second.
• China has been actively marketing itself as a blockchain nation, with 84% of all blockchain applications worldwide being filed from within the nation.
China Launches National Blockchain Research Center
China has announced plans to launch a National Blockchain Technology Innovation Center in its capital city of Beijing. The center aims to accelerate digitalization and growth within the country’s blockchain industry.
Beijing Academy of Blockchain and Edge Computing
The new institution will be supported by the Beijing Academy of Blockchain and Edge Computing, best known for its development of Chang’an Chain or ChainMaker blockchain. It currently has an ecosystem of 50 business corporations, many owned by state entities such as China Construction Bank or China Unicom. This chain is capable of executing up to 240 million transactions per second (TPS).
Marketing as a Blockchain Nation
In recent years, China has made efforts towards marketing itself as a “blockchain nation” — claiming that 84% of all global blockchain applications were filed from within its borders according to reports from September 2022. However, only 19% of these applications have been approved so far.
Central Bank Digital Currency
Research into core blockchain technologies isn’t the only focus for this initiative – developing a central bank digital currency (CBDC) is also on the agenda. With such currency in place, Chinese citizens would be able to make payments directly through their digital wallets without needing physical cash or even credit cards.
Conclusion
The launch of this research center marks yet another step forward towards modernizing and digitizing China’s economy – both through research into core technologies and developing its own CBDC system for citizens to use when making payments online or offline.