China’s blockchain ecosystem is enjoying the spotlight due to the Digital Yuan project; however, the digital currency, electronic payment (DCEP) network, is only the tip of China’s blockchain push.
China is aiming to be the worlds’ leader in blockchain and distributed ledger technology (DLT), as evident from its actively growing blockchain ecosystem. Since President Xi Jinping’s call to enhance blockchain efforts, numerous steps have been taken in that direction.
China’s blockchain push: blockchain patents and companies
According to data by LongHash, 10,000 companies were established in the first seven months of 2020. This shows that the ecosystem grew significantly despite the COVID-19 pandemic. According to LongHash’s research, the growth in 2020 would significantly surpass 2019’s record and might even challenge 2018.
China’s blockchain push also extends to the blockchain sector. Statistics showed that China is leading the world with blockchain patent applications. The nation has applied for 4,435 blockchain patents so far that account for nearly 50 percent of the world’s blockchain patent applications.
Furthermore, Chinese tech giant Alibaba overtook IBM as the world’s largest holder of blockchain patent applications this year. The company applied for over 200 patents, while IBM applied for a little over 100. Furthermore, Alibaba’s subsidiaries operating in the Cayman Islands also filed for the majority of the 350 patent applications held by the country.
China’s blockchain push: Bitcoin mining and Digital Yuan
Research by the University of Cambridge showed that China dominates the global Bitcoin hash rate accounting for 65 percent of the network’s hash power. The research further showed that more than one-third (35.76%) of the world’s hash power is concentrated in the Xinjiang region. These figures are significantly higher than the US (6.9%) and Russia (6.2) that are ranked second and third, respectively.
Meanwhile, the Digital Yuan is set to be the world’s first major central bank digital currency and is already being used by banks within the country. The project also conducted a lottery recently and saw the participation of nearly 2 million citizens. You can read more about the airdrop here.
