China Makes Blockhchain Research Centers, Involve Experts And Related Companies For Domestic Digitalization Agenda

China has created a blockchain research center. (Photo; Doc. Unsplash)

JAKARTA - The Chinese government has big plans to advance the country's digitization. They are arranging the establishment of a national blockchain research center called the National Blockchain Technology Innovation Center in the capital Beijing. The purpose of this facility is to establish a network of research with a number of industry players, including blockchain companies, local universities, and research institutes.

The Blockchain Academy and Beijing's Edge Computing (BABEC) will be the leaders of this new institution with pro-crypto themes. BABEC is popular due to the development of Chang'an Chain or ChainMaker, a blockchain initiative backed by a wide ecosystem of companies, including state-owned enterprises such as China Construction Bank and China Unicom.

The achievement of polling stations (transactions per second) that can be executed by Chain Maker's initiative currently reaches 240 million, a far-increasing compared to 100,000 polling stations in 2021. The country positions itself as one of the countries with the largest blockchain potential in the world. In recent years, Beijing has reported that 84 percent of all blockchain applications proposed worldwide come from China. However, despite the government's push to use blockchain technology, the level of approval is still low. Only 19 percent of the total apps submitted have been approved.

According to cryptograph Gao Chengsh, blockchain co-founder partner Shanghai Hashvalue Information Technology, many blockchain patents filed are not only valid for blockchain, but also for traditional internet technology such as privacy computing and cryptography. Therefore, better efforts and understanding of blockchain technology are still needed before the country can take full advantage of it.

"Many blockchain patents do not only apply to blockchain, but also traditional internet technology, such as privacy computing and cryptography," said cryptograph Gao Chengsh.

Digital Yuan

China has started promotions from their central bank digital currency, digital yuan or e-CNY, as part of improving blockchain technology. China's Central Bank, People's Bank of China (PBoC), has distributed millions of dollars in digital yuan throughout China. However, China's CBDC is still less popular and the use of e-CNY has not been satisfactory.

Last December, a former PBoC official expressed his disappointment with the low use of digital yuan. Former Director General of Research for People's Bank of China, Xie Ping, stated that the use of e-CNY is still very low and less active.

In February, PBoC tried to promote digital yuan by providing it for transactions at the Beijing Olympics. The central bank provided digital currencies for local residents and foreign athletes and guests who attended the sporting event. Reports show that more than $315,761 (equivalent to Rp4.8 billion) payments are made daily using the digital yuan during the Olympics. Although this figure shows a positive trend in the proposed currency trial, it was not proven after tracing it.