China wants to release hard-and-fast standards rules for blockchain by the end of 2019, a government source told local media May 10th.
Staying Competitive
Speaking to Sina.com, Li Ming, director of the Blockchain Research Office at the Electronic Industry Standards Research Institute of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, said the government had already announced the plans.
These take the form of “basic, business and application standards” which will be “safety and interoperability.”
A dedicated working group, dubbed the Blockchain and Distributed Ledger Technology Standardization Committee, will handle development of the project.
Yu Kequn, director of the National Center for Information Technology Security Research, told Sina the move reflected a desire to keep up with the international pace of change. He stated:
The development of blockchain technology may become an important step for China to grasp global technological competition.
No Overnight Revolution
China has already sought to experiment with private blockchains in various forms, continuing its narrative that the technology holds promise for the economy while cryptocurrencies themselves remain outlawed.
March saw the launch of the government Blockchain Registry Open Platform (BROP), designed to streamline government processes under the directorship of a string of entities under the ultimate control of the People’s Bank of China (PBOC).
Going forward, however, the new standards are not designed to transform the Chinese blockchain space overnight, Li says.
Continuing to Sina, Li added their formulation “does not mean the sudden quick advancement of industry development, but it will give the industry some guidance.”
Meanwhile, domestic businesses whose activities make them persona non grata at home continue to find ways of circumventing Beijing’s crypto ban.
This week, Bitcoinist reported on how mining company Canaan Creative was planning on delivering a $1 billion IPO using Hong Kong as a base.
What do you think about China’s blockchain standards plans? Let us know in the comments below!
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