China debuts first electronic seal application platform on Blockchain

The first blockchain-based electronic seal (e-seal) application platform has been launched in China via a collaborative effort aimed at boosting security for several organizations in the country. The People’s Republic of China has actively embraced Blockchain, exploring many potentials with the technology, especially after the endorsement of the president.

Chinese blockchain electronic seal application platform

According to the report on Tuesday by a Chinese news outlet, the blockchain electronic seal platform is a collaborative effort between Ant Financial’s Blockchain-as-a-Service (BaaS) and the authorities in Hangzhou city. The local authorities include Hangzhou’s data resource administration, public security bureau, as well as the market supervision bureau. 

The launch of the blockchain e-seal platform is purported to enhance the security of organizations and enterprises in the country. E-seals are in high demand across the country to authenticate transactions and documents, which is a result of the rapidly increasing presence of e-commerce and digital government services.

However, the challenge with the regular electronic seals is standardization. According to the report, many enterprises utilize many e-seals from different organizations, which results in various standards for e-seals. More so, these e-seals can not be traced. All of these limitations with the regular electronic seals reportedly prompted the launch of the e-seals platform on Blockchain. 

Blockchain e-seals

In a 1:1 correspondence, the blockchain platform will match the electronic seals with the physical seals, and “each enterprise will have one and only need to have one e-seal,” the report notes. The application of Blockchain means that all the processes of the e-seals can now be tracked and monitored by the enterprises. 

Meanwhile, several Chinese courts have already begun using blockchain e-seals to secure properties under their custody. Early in July, Global Times reported that the courts are using e-seals equipped with an in-built camera, which is meant to start recording whenever the seal is damaged or disturbed.