UK Government urged to re-think its blockchain strategy to prevent Chinese dominance

Tech firm Finboot has called on the UK Government to urgently re-think its blockchain strategy in the wake of China’s National Blockchain Research Centre, coming online and an answer to a written Parliamentary Question revealing worrying timidity. 

Launched in May in Beijing, China’s National Blockchain Centre is focusing on the industrialisation of blockchain technology.  This is a game changer.  China understands, what the tech industry has known for some time,...

13 July 2023 | Blockchain

China to improve national blockchain standards by 2025

China National Flag

China plans to improve its standards for blockchain technology development by 2025, according to the country’s fintech watchdog, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

The update comes from guidelines published in a draft post on the ministry’s website that also asks for public opinion on blockchain development.

Chinese state departments have been actively developing blockchain technologies and solutions for the fintech industry for several years, in...

29 March 2023 | Legislation & Government

Moscow Credit Bank issues on-chain guarantee in Chinese yuan

Chinese Yuan

Moscow Credit Bank, a commercial Russian bank, has issued the country’s first blockchain-based guarantee to use Chinese yuan as currency.

The transaction was made using Russia’s national blockchain network, Masterchain, which is built to transfer digital assets between the country’s institutions. The guarantee was for more than 100 million yuan (£12m).

In a statement from Moscow Credit Bank (MCB), it said: The advantage of a digital bank guarantee is that the...

3 March 2023 | Banking

China’s digital yuan breaks £12.4bn in transaction volume

Shanghai, China

China’s CBDC project - the digital yuan - has seen more than 360 million transactions completed with a total value of 100 billion yuan (£12.4bn).

Although still in its pilot phase, such stats make the digital yuan, or e-CNY, the most widely adopted CBDC in the world.

The latest figures come from an official WeChat post by the Bank of China on October 10. Almost six million merchants are now supporting the digital yuan as legal tender across 15 provinces participating...

13 October 2022 | CBDC

2.6 million Shenzhen residents sign up for digital yuan airdrop

Shenzhen, China

More than 2.6 million of Shenzhen’s 18 million residents signed up for the Chinese city’s upcoming airdrop of 30 million digital yuan, or e-CNY.

City officials announced the airdrop two months ago as part of a recovery plan to stimulate consumer spending after the country’s most stringent coronavirus lockdown to date.

Digital yuan is the Chinese government’s take on a central bank digital currency and, although still in its pilot stage, has seen millions of...

15 July 2022 | CBDC

China pilots national blockchain development initiative

Central Bank of China

The Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) has launched a national initiative to encourage blockchain development and innovation across a number of regions and industries, according to Cointelegraph.

In a notice, the CAC and other government agencies called for the regulatory authorities to “promote the intensive and balanced layout of blockchain technology infrastructure in the region, form a large-scale production-level cross-chain data exchange support capability, and...

31 January 2022 | Blockchain Applications

Macau expected to become testbed for China’s digital yuan

Macau, China

Macau, known as the Las Vegas of China, is likely to become a testing ground for China’s digital yuan (e-CNY) in 2022.

With casino owners preparing to bid for new licences for the first time in two decades, Reuters expects Chinese regulators to use the opportunity to force digital yuan implementation.

Major companies like Sands China and Wynn Macau have shown eagerness to cooperate.

The Government has already begun pitching ideas like appointing regulatory...

4 January 2022 | CBDC

China declares all crypto-related activity illegal

Shanghai, China

China has renewed its crackdown on cryptocurrencies by declaring that all crypto-related activities are now illegal.

In a Q&A posted to its website, the People’s Bank of China said services offering trading, order matching, token issuance and derivatives for virtual currencies are all strictly prohibited. Overseas exchanges providing services in mainland China are also illegal.

The move comes to close a legal loophole that has existed since May, when China’s...

24 September 2021 | Cryptocurrency

Yunnan companies use blockchain for $580m of international payments

China National Flag

Local Yunnan businesses have transferred $580 million (£417m) across international borders using a blockchain platform developed by the Chinese Government.

Across a total of 638 transactions, some 208 of the southern Chinese province’s small to medium sized businesses took advantage of the platform.

The system, launched in December last year, allows export-focused firms in Yunnan to reduce the time needed for international money transfers from as long as two days to...

2 August 2021 | Payments

China unveils blockchain committee with Huawei, Baidu execs and industry CEOs aboard

The central government of China has announced the membership of its national blockchain committee to help bring about standards in distributed ledger technologies.

The 71-strong group, according to a release published on April 13, includes various government staff, academics from technological institutes, as well as business. Senior executives from Huawei, Baidu and Tencent are on the list, as well as CEOs of blockchain and DLT startups in China, including Li Wei, CEO of Hangzhou...

14 April 2020 | TECHEX