Chinese Bitcoin Mining Machine Manufacturer Canaan Acquires Proof of Existence Service

Golden Finance News - Bitcoin mining ASIC hardware manufacturer Canaan has acquired the first project to provide a file timestamping service on the Bitcoin blockchain. This timestamping service can provide a proof of existence for files. The company has also invited the founder of Proof of Existence, Manuel Aráoz, as an advisor for future product development.

(Bitcoin mining ASIC hardware manufacturer Canaan acquired the Proof of Existence service. Image source: Golden Finance)

Canaan acquires proof-of-existence service

Founded in 2013 and headquartered in Beijing, Canaan Creative Co., Ltd. (Canaan) manufactures bitcoin mining machines, designs ASIC microprocessors, and operates data centers.

On Sunday, May 21, the Hong Kong-based subsidiary of Bitcoin Mining Company, Canaan.io, announced that it had received a proof of existence from Timestamp founder Manuel Aráoz. “This blockchain space provides us with opportunities in both hardware and services,” said Canaan co-founder Xiangfu Liu.

“We use hardware to secure blockchains; now with the ‘proof of existence’ we will also build services on top of the blockchain’s tamper-proof capabilities.”

(Sketch of the chip developed by Bitcoin mining company Canaan. Image source: Golden Finance)

Earlier this month, bitcoin mining machine company Canaan also announced that it had raised 300 million yuan (about $43 million) in a Series A round of funding. Its investors include Chinese hotel operator Jin Jiang International Group Co., Ltd., Chinese investment company Baopu Asset Management Co., Ltd. and Tunlan Investment.

The company revealed on Sunday that the funding will support Canaan's upcoming 7nm design and its entry into the artificial intelligence market with its first knowledge processing unit (KPU). The bitcoin mining company's product can be applied to AI fields such as smart home appliances, autonomous driving, voice interaction and image recognition.

Proof of Existence

Proof of Existence is another historic debut for Bitcoin. Launched on May 21, 2013, it is the first blockchain-based service that allows users to "publicly prove that you have certain information, without revealing the data or yourself, through decentralized authentication based on the Bitcoin network."

According to the website’s announcement on Sunday:

“The Proof of Existence service has processed thousands of documents to provide clients with proof of their assets that cannot be converted into cash.”

(Manuel Aráoz was hired as a future product development consultant for Bitcoin mining company Canaan. Image source: Golden Finance)

The service provides proof of documents stored in Bitcoin blocks, without storing the documents themselves. What makes it a step ahead of many other similar services and protocols is that Manuel Aráoz's website is the first to use a special Bitcoin transaction that contains a hash in Bitcoin's OP_RETURN script, embedding it in Bitcoin blocks. It also lets users come back later to verify their documents.

Other projects by Manuel Aráoz

As part of the acquisition agreement, Canaan has hired Manuel Aráoz as a consultant for future product development and other blockchain-related services. The company wrote: “Manuel Aráoz has agreed to continue and provide advice to the company on the improvement of the product and other software services.” Aráoz said of the acquisition:

“I am really pleased to have reached this agreement with Canaan. [...] I look forward to enhancing the product and exploring other blockchain services.”