Our fair city of Nanjing has announced it is to invest ¥10 billion into blockchain funds, committing itself to fully investing in blockchain projects.
Nanjing revealed its plans to make the large investment at the first Industrial Public Chain Summit (IPCS). Deputy Chairman Wang Xiaohui of Tsinghua University’s Internet Industry Research Centre, said at the summit that, “merging blockchain technology with industries, among consensus, global cooperation, and autonomy, will be the pillars of a healthy and successful token economy”.
While there has been much hype surrounding the technology’s apparent ability to generate large wealth through the use of crypto currencies, less focus has been made about the other possibilities that come along with Blockchain technology.
Essentially cutting out the middle man, merchants, for instance, are able to return to their traditional roots of person to person trade. Yet, what is most exciting about the technology is its possibility to improve the lives of the poor and to better the use of energy, as but two examples.
So it comes as no surprise that China has quickly come around to the varied benefits and importance of the technology. Early in 2018, president Xi Jinping gave his public endorsement, while the deputy director of China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Xin Guobin, said “the country must now develop blockchain technology on an ‘industrial’ scale to accelerate its adoption across all areas of the economy and society”, reports Cointelegraph.
Beijing-based Zhongguancun Blockchain Industry Alliance has joined ranks in Nanjing city’s quest for Blockchain industry advancement. Not only will Nanjing inject the healthy sum of ¥10 billion into the industry, but it plans to bring the brightest of blockchain minds to its region and make it their base.
Designated Blockchain start-up and investment areas already exists in Nanjing and can be found in the city’s Xianlin and Jiangning Development Zones. No doubt these development zones are due to swell in population over the next few years.
It would be foolish for China’s number one bank not to be exploring Blockchain as well, which is exactly what the People’s Bank of China has been doing, by “filing a new patent for a digital currency wallet as well as for a blockchain-powered system designed to tokenize paper checks”, Cointelegraph goes on to point out.
Nanjing’s international community is also sitting up and taking notice; “The New Industrial Revolution” was the theme of a packed event organised by the American Chamber of Commerce held in June.
According to Crypto Coins News, “China is already the world leader in the number of blockchain-related patents filled; 225 last year, followed by the U.S. with 91”.
The country has wasted little time in getting on board with the technology and with Nanjing as the industry’s beating heart, we can expect great things to start pumping through our area’s veins in the near future.
