Will “Blockchain+” be included in the Prime Minister’s government report?

Blockchain, a new technology called the upgraded version of the Internet TCP/IP underlying protocol and the new highland of future cyberspace infrastructure, will have what important impact on the future information infrastructure?

Or will change the future business operation model

Many people do not know much about blockchain, but some people dismiss it and equate it with Bitcoin. Blockchain is indeed an important supporting technology for Bitcoin, but the application of blockchain technology is far more than just Bitcoin. It plays an important role in many fields such as finance, public services, smart cities, and the Internet of Things.

Blockchain is a string of data blocks generated by cryptographic methods. It provides a decentralized, trust-free credit establishment paradigm. In this paradigm, anyone who does not know each other can join an open and transparent database through peer-to-peer accounting, data transmission, authentication or contract without the need for any intermediary to reach a credit consensus. Blockchain technology reduces the cost of establishing global credit. Blockchain is the core key technology for building the future cyberspace and will play an important role in the network economy and sharing economy. The Internet of Things, finance, smart devices, medical care, teaching, archives, justice, copyright and even home entertainment will rely on the development of blockchain technology. If the Internet TCP/IP protocol has brought people into the era of free information transmission, then blockchain technology will bring people into the era of free notarization of information.

Satoshi Nakamoto, who is known as the father of Bitcoin, first mentioned the concept of "blockchain" in his works. Bitcoin is indeed very controversial at present, and financial institutions in my country are expressly prohibited from conducting Bitcoin business. Today, people have conducted more in-depth research on blockchain, the basic supporting technology for Bitcoin. Blockchain technology is actually a distributed ledger technology. Its emergence makes public accounting possible, and it can better support international payments and settlements, which may change the business operation model of the future world.

Although there is still a long way to go for large-scale commercial applications of blockchain technology, there are new developments around blockchain innovation every day, both in terms of speed and coverage. At present, there are more than 900 blockchain startups in 13 major application areas abroad, and there are about 20 to 30 startups in 7 areas in China. In terms of investment amount, electronic wallets, payments, foreign exchange, mining, application innovation, financial services, platform construction and other fields have attracted more investment, while big data, certification, investment, public services, consulting, gambling and other fields are also of concern to investors.

Factom is working hard to promote the implementation of blockchain technology in China. Recently, Factom and iSoftStone signed a memorandum of cooperation, and both parties are committed to integrating blockchain technology with smart city solutions. Wang Liren, vice president of Factom, began to apply and promote blockchain technology four years ago. Blockchain will not only bring about technological changes, but also a business opportunity with huge potential.

Blockchain is the “+”

Tang Wenjian, partner of Ernst & Young, combined the characteristics of blockchain and proposed a new viewpoint: "Electronic cryptocurrency is naturally based on blockchain technology, and blockchain technology naturally requires alliances." In addition, Tang Wenjian made very pertinent suggestions on the development of blockchain industry and alliances from seven aspects: blueprint, research, policy, governance, standards, cooperation, incubation and growth.

Internationally, blockchain technology has received widespread attention, especially in the financial sector. The blockchain alliance led by the startup R3 has absorbed dozens of internationally renowned financial institutions as members in just a few months. One of the core tasks of the alliance is to conduct proof of concept of blockchain technology and formulate relevant technical standards. Unfortunately, there is no member from China in the R3 alliance. It is not that Chinese banks are not active, but that the R3 alliance has announced that it will no longer accept bank members and will instead focus on attracting large corporate members.

When Internet technology was just emerging, due to various reasons, Chinese companies were unable to participate in the formulation of major standards and lost their voice. So when a new wave of Internet technology represented by blockchain technology hits, China cannot fall behind. This is also the significance of the establishment of the Zhongguancun Blockchain Industry Alliance.

Dr. Li Xiaodong, General Manager of Beijing Dongquan Law Firm and Beijing Dongfang Yisi Intellectual Property Agency Co., Ltd., also agrees to promote the development of the blockchain industry through alliances. He said: "From the perspective of technology, capital, and market promotion, it is difficult for a unit or organization to accelerate the development of blockchain applications, and the decentralized, democratic, and autonomous characteristics of blockchain itself are more suitable for promotion through alliances. The Zhongguancun Blockchain Industry Alliance is an open platform that allows member units to fully display their talents, jointly promote the formulation of blockchain technology standards, and promote the development of the industrial chain."

Although the Zhongguancun Blockchain Industry Alliance is a non-profit organization, promoting the development of the blockchain industry can benefit relevant participants and promoters, and one of the ways to benefit is intellectual property. Compared with various domestic alliances, the characteristics of the Zhongguancun Blockchain Industry Alliance are to promote the formulation of blockchain industry standards, realize resource sharing, and feed back to the alliance by establishing patent pools and copyright pools. At the same time, it also allows alliance members to obtain income through the sale of patent licenses.

"To promote the development of blockchain technology, we need both passion and economic benefits. The establishment of relevant technical standards is directly related to intellectual property rights." Li Xiaodong said, "The Zhongguancun Blockchain Industry Alliance will refer to existing international standards, and its working group will be responsible for the formulation of specific Chinese standards."

People are now talking about "Internet +", which is to make the Internet and industry applications react chemically. In fact, blockchain is the "+". Blockchain can add digital currency, finance, settlement, Internet of Things, real estate registration and even marriage registration. In addition to these specific applications, blockchain is more important to add innovative awareness, new ecosystems, relevant standards, etc.

The Zhongguancun Blockchain Industry Alliance focuses on the standardization and industrialization of blockchain technology, aiming to promote the rapid development of the future cyberspace infrastructure industry, improve my country's research, development and application level in the field of blockchain technology, promote economic growth through innovation, and provide strong guarantees for seizing the commanding heights and voice of standard patents in the new round of international competition in the era of the Internet of Everything.

Chen Sheng, founder and chairman of 21Vianet, said: "Blockchain technology uses a consensus mechanism to ensure the authenticity of information, which will promote the popularization of the sharing economy, form a global open credit system connected with assets, and help the investment, construction and operation of future information infrastructure. The alliance will integrate industry resources, build core and key infrastructure, and create a future-oriented ecosystem."

How to add “Blockchain+”?

From the earliest communication networks to information networks, and then to today's value networks, changes in the underlying technical protocols are crucial. Today, the changes we see in finance, payment, settlement, Internet of Things, public services and other fields due to blockchain technology are just the "tip of the iceberg". "In order to provide a neutral, secure, public and service-oriented infrastructure, we need new technologies like blockchain," said Chen Sheng.

In China, Microsoft and 21Vianet have comprehensive and in-depth cooperation in the construction of cloud data centers and the provision of cloud services. Microsoft has begun to provide "Blockchain as a Service" on the Azure cloud platform. Next, Microsoft plans to introduce this service to China, and its partners still choose 21Vianet. This is also a concrete manifestation of "cloud first, blockchain first".

"Although the Internet has solved the problem of secure and low-cost information transmission, it has not solved the problem of effective value transmission. Therefore, blockchain came into being. It does not replace the existing Internet, but adds a 'valuable' layer on it." Guo Feng, partner of Dianliang Investment Management (Shanghai) Co., Ltd., said, "Just like the network is divided into different levels, blockchain is also divided into three levels: the bottom layer is the P2P network based on TCP/IP; the middle layer includes cryptographic algorithms and distributed consensus algorithms, as well as platform routing, which is also the basis for realizing Internet value transmission; the top layer is various applications."

Blockchain is a combination of multiple technologies, involving different architectures and scenarios, and it changes very quickly. It requires reliable, cheap, and easily scalable infrastructure. In the future, many terminals and applications can be supported by blockchain, such as smart bracelets and mobile phones.

Citibank and Japan's Nomura Securities conducted a study: banks using blockchain technology can reduce operating costs to one-tenth of the original or even lower. "The application of blockchain technology can greatly save social resources," said Guo Feng.

Recently, senior executives from Ripple, a US financial technology company, visited China. The company, founded in 2012, provides cross-border payment services based on blockchain technology, and this visit to China is also to find opportunities to implement its services in China. In addition, IT giants such as IBM have also expressed strong interest in blockchain technology.

A spring breeze of blockchain technology is coming!

Author: Guo Tao