January 31, 2022
Despite the government’s ban on Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies including mining, China has chosen 15 pilot zones and named several areas of implementation for blockchain technology, according to a joint government statement on Sunday (January 30).
Here is what we know so far
- The pilot zones include areas of Beijing and Shanghai, as well as Guangzhou and Chengdu in the southern Guangdong and Sichuan provinces respectively, Reuters reported citing a statement on the Cyberspace Administration’s official Wechat social media account.
- Apart from the pilot zones, 164 entities, including hospitals, universities and companies such as SAIC-GM-Wuling Automobile Co., China National Offshore Oil Corp, Beijing Gas Group Co. and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd were implement blockchain pilot projects.
- The entities will conduct the projects in fields such as manufacturing, energy, government and tax services, law, education, health, trade and finance, and cross border finance.
- The latest announcement dovetails with a speech by President Xi Jinping in October 2019, in which he said the country should accelerate the development of blockchain technology as the core for innovation.
- China has banned bitcoin, which is based on blockchain technology. Regulators in September has also imposed a blanket ban on all crypto transactions and mining.
- The statement was jointly issued by 16 governmental bodies, including the ministry of education, ministry of industry and information technology, the central bank, the National Energy Administration and China Securities Regulatory Commission, according to the cyberspace administration statement.
About the author
Tsering Namgyal is the chief content officer of Blockchain Asset Review.
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