Aside from being the backbone of the digital asset community, blockchain
technology goes beyond servicing monetary coins and presents unique opportunities
for multifaceted utility. Since the end of 2019, the Chinese government has been
working in partnership with a host of private companies on a blockchain-based
service network (BSN)—similar to a blockchain-run internet. The founding members
of the network are the State Information Center (SIC), a policy think-tank under the
National Development and Reform Commission and the Chinese government, the
state-owned China Mobile Communications Corporation, China UnionPay, and start-
up company, Beijing Red Date Technology.
Red Date Technology serves as the overall technical architect, but many foreign and
domestic partners consult or aid in the development. Companies like Amazon and
Google have signed on to partner, while South Korea’s Klatyn Foundation is tasked
with the build of the BSN blockchain, the Chongqing Chain. The primary objective of
the BSN is to achieve the link between blockchains while combating the high costs
that application development and on-chain deployment incur.
Connecting the BSN network remotely will involve the use of public city nodes (PCN).
The beginnings of the BSN have been installed throughout the provinces of China,
with eight in international cities. The target for the near future is to have PCN in 50
cities throughout all the major developed nations.
The interest of governments to incorporate blockchain technology to streamline
services and innovation is becoming increasingly common and offers one direction
the future for blockchain technology may develop. Despite the current misgivings on
the cryptocurrency ecosystem, there remains a high valuation and use for blockchain
technology. Moreover, the outlook is positive if countries like China, which have
banned mining and trading of cryptocurrencies, can separate the transactional use of
coins from blockchain technology itself and employ the technology for everyday use.