Over 1,400 Chinese firms operating in blockchain industry, national whitepaper shows

On Dec 29, the state-owned China Academy for Information and Communications Technology, or CAICT, published a document titled "2022 Blockchain Whitepaper." According to the paper, more than 1,400 blockchain firms are currently based in Mainland China. Together with the U.S., the two countries represent a 52% market share in terms of global blockchain enterprises. 

The CAICT also disclosed that around 48 post-secondary institutions across China have introduced "blockchain engineering" related degrees and certifications. In the report, the institution detailed four types of blockchain technologies with high application potential.

First, "settlement chains" would allow transparent publication of telecom fees for firms such as China Mobile and China Unicom. Second, the Zhejiang Cold Chains would enable consumers to verify the source of their food by scanning the products' QR codes. Third, the Trusple cross-border payments platform can help buyers and sellers obtain due diligence info on their counterparties.

Finally, blockchain monitoring platforms can help financial regulators spot order irregularities between different exchanges. Major Chinese tech giants such as Tencent, Ant Financial, Huawei, and Alibaba, have all created "blockchain alliances" in the past years for their respective operations.

China currently allows ownership of cryptocurrencies and nonfungible tokens, or NFTs, with their legality protected in courts of law. However, the country has banned the issuance of initial coin offerings along with digital exchanges and cryptocurrency mining. 

Despite setbacks, the Government of China has included blockchain developments on its official national agenda. In October, the State Council of the People's Republic of China, stated that it would prioritize "cloud computing, blockchain, and AI" as means of improving data management and government services. On Dec 28, Chinese officials announced that a national exchange for the trading of NFTs and digital asset copyrights would launch on Jan 1, 2023.