By
Tolu Ajiboye
May 23rd, 2022
The testing of China’s national blockchain service network has already begun with over 400 enterprises.
Sources indicate that it has taken six months to test China’s national blockchain service network. It will launch in April 2020. The blockchain service network is an initiative of the State Information Center (SIC). The SIC is responsible for formulating information policies for the Chinese government. The SIC is also in charge of sponsoring the Chinese Economic Information Network. The network is the primary organ for information on the Chinese economy. The BSN is aimed at giving new blockchain projects a solid backbone. This will also aid further incubation of blockchain projects in China. Sources report that the BSN is jointly run between the SIC and other state-run entities.
The BSN functions very much like the Public Sector Telephone Network (PSTN) of two decades ago. In essence, there is a PSTN for blockchain projects within China. Various state-run partners are involved. They include China Mobile, China UnionPay alongside other entities.
The emergence of China’s national blockchain service network shows resilience. The Chinese government in less than six months has taken the issue in stride. This will allow the evolution of the blockchain space. Projects will take-off based on innovation. This gives China the edge in blockchain technology as well.
China’s National Blockchain Service Network Undergoes Testing
The internal testing period is set to involve over 400 enterprises. Reports indicate that it will take off between October 2019 and March 2020. The pilot took off in the city of Hangzhou. Hangzhou is the capital of the Zhejiang province. It has been reported also that the SIC’s deputy director Zhang Xueying has said that the BSN will reduce costs of the implementation of blockchain projects. This comes after it emerged that the Chinese also want to introduce a national digital currency.
The emergence of a Chinese public sector network for blockchain shows impressive volumes. It already puts the Chinese in a league of their own. The Chinese may be lukewarm to cryptocurrencies but not to Decentralized Ledger Technologies (DLTs). This means then that the blockchain race might have just been won before it started.
The West already has its issues with cryptocurrencies and DLTs. Acts such as the keep-big-tech-out-of-finance are gaining traction in the United States. This has brought the DLT space in the West two steps backward. In Asia though, DLTs have been given a warm embrace. The rest of the world is trying to figure out what DLTs are and the Chinese seem to know what to do with them.
It also shows that the next decade and maybe this century can be ruled by the Chinese if the BSN is anything to go by. The Chinese have seen the future and have gone there first.
