China Introduces Blockchain-Based Data Exchange
The platform will facilitate the buying and selling of Web3 data between companies, including Alibaba Cloud and Huawei.
During the 2023 Hangzhou Summit in Hangzhou, China, government officials unveiled a new data exchange based on blockchain technology. Over 300 companies including Alibaba Cloud and Huawei attended the premiere of the exchange.
According to local news reports on Aug. 23, the new Hangzhou Data Exchange will facilitate trading of enterprise information technology data using distributed ledger technology. Officials said the platform would ensure exchange trades were immutable and traceable. Chen Chun, director of the National Laboratory of Blockchain and Data Security, commented:
“[The Hangzhou Data Exchange] leverages research blockchain, privacy computing, and other technologies to enable trusted sharing and effective use of data across departments and regions within the framework of data security and privacy protection.”
In 2022, Hangzhou’s digital economy sector exceeded 500 billion Chinese yuan (69 billion U.S. dollars), accounting for nearly 27% of the city’s gross domestic product.
Although China spends much of the year cracking down on private blockchain companies, it is a staunch supporter of state-controlled blockchain efforts.* At the inaugural opening of the 2023 Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) conference, Chinese President Xi Jinping said that central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) are a played an important role in “expanding the share of local currency settlements of SCO countries”. Recently, over 100 million yuan (US$13.8 million) worth of digital yuan CBDC was airdropped to Chinese residents to spur domestic spending.
However, not all initiatives have gone well. On December 28, 2022, it was reported that the country was reportedly in the final stages of launching its national non-fungible token exchange CDEX. The platform is still under development at the time of publication.
