While some countries like El Salvador have adopted Bitcoin as their legal tender, some countries like China have continued to give it the suspicious side-eye like the one African mothers send your way when your neighbour offers you food. But then, when it comes to blockchain technology, they have widened their arms and accepted it like that shiny lace for that Saturday owambe.
Despite the crypto ban in 2017, blockchain has continued to be a topic of interest in China and even the Chinese government.
While some countries still need to catch up in their blockchain adoption, China is ahead of them with their various implementations and plans for the future. So, how exactly had China adopted blockchain? Keep reading to find out what we know so far.
But first, let’s discuss the basics.
What Is Blockchain?
Blockchain is a digital ledger and records linked together, which cannot be changed or manipulated.
They are also referred to as distributed ledger technology. This is because they cannot be altered or removed. They are highly secure, and it is basically impossible for the system to be changed, hacked, or manipulated, as the data in the blocks are guarded by complex algorithms.
The traditional banking industry has experienced many issues surrounding it, including hacking, technical matters, exceeded transfer limits, and transaction fees. Cryptocurrency was introduced to combat these problems. There are more than 12 thousand cryptocurrencies in existence and built on blockchains.
When crypto transactions are made, the record of it is stored on a block. This block contains details of the transaction, such as the amount of crypto sent and how much both parties, i.e. sender and receiver, have in total. These blocks form a chain when a crypto asset is sent from one wallet to another.
Each block confirms the time and arrangement of transactions, and the blocks link securely together so no block can be changed or put between two blocks.
A Blockchain system runs online on a P2P network of computers that all operate the protocol and have the exact same copy of the transaction ledger. This allows for P2P value transactions without using an intermediary through the use of machine consensus.
Types Of Blockchain Technology
There are four types of blockchain technology in existence.
1. Public Blockchain:
This type of blockchain is a distributed ledger system with no restrictions and can be accessed without requesting permission. All you need is an internet connection to register on a blockchain platform to become an authorised node and join the network.
The public blockchain’s primary uses are crypto mining and exchange. This makes Bitcoin and Litecoin blockchains the most common.
This type of blockchain is usually very secure, but users may need to correctly adhere to the security protocols.
2. Private Blockchain:
On the other hand, this type of blockchain has restrictions and requires permission to access. A private blockchain is used in an organisation where only some particular members can use a blockchain network. Accessibility, authorisations, approvals, and security are determined by the organisation controlling the data.
3. Consortium Blockchain:
A consortium blockchain is a semi-decentralised type of blockchain in which several organisations manage a single blockchain network.
Multiple organisations can act as nodes in a consortium blockchain and exchange information or mine cryptocurrencies. Examples of organisations that use consortium blockchains are banks, government organisations, etc.
4. Hybrid Blockchain:
A hybrid blockchain comprises features of private and public blockchains. That means that in a hybrid blockchain, its users have the authority to control who gets access to information kept in the blockchain. Blockchain records or data can only be made public if a selected section is made public, while the rest remains private.
How China Has Adopted Blockchain Technology
According to the Blockchain Council, China is recorded as one of the countries leading blockchain technology in the world. So, how have they done this?
Although there is a form of restriction against crypto mining and crypto generally, as they banned cryptocurrency in 2017, China is still one of those countries in which its government has acknowledged the wonders of blockchain technology. They have constantly promoted blockchain over the years, and it has been interesting to see.
Chinese President Xi Jinping declared their support of blockchain in a speech back in 2019, when he said blockchain was an “important breakthrough in independent innovation of core technologies.”
Because of that speech, blockchain became a priority on a national level for China.
China has adopted blockchain technology in different areas, such as education and law. In order to advance blockchain-based advances, the country has attempted some forward-thinking moves.
Furthermore, China has been building a platform that facilitates blockchain technology deployment for organisations called Blockchain-based Service Networks (BSN).
What Is BSN and What Does It Do?
The BSN (Blockchain-based Service Network) is a worldwide framework for deploying and operating a wide range of blockchain applications.
It was launched in April 2020 by its four founding members- State Information Center of China, China Mobile, China UnionPay, and Red Date Technology.
According to the BSN medium page, it is a cross-cloud, cross-portal, and cross-framework global infrastructure network used to deploy and operate all types of blockchain applications.
Under one uniform environment, developers and companies can construct next-generation decentralised applications (DApps) more efficiently and interoperably.
BSN would allow companies which wish to use multiple blockchain applications to do so through the cloud vendor they use instead of installing multiple new servers to develop a blockchain product. With the BSN platform, businesses and governments can seamlessly deploy blockchain applications at a low cost.
Conclusion
Blockchain technology has proven itself that it can be used in various real-world cases, and it is not just about confusing computer jargon.
Day by day, organisations, enterprises and even countries are finding new ways new incorporate it into their operations.
Although China has yet to entirely accept cryptocurrency, and they might be far from adopting It as their legal tender, they have proven their support for blockchain technology. We look forward to more plans for blockchain incorporation in the future.
