Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com has launched JD Blockchain Open Platform, a computing platform for enterprise customers, in one of the first offerings of blockchain technology by a large domestic company.
The platform will host an app store where blockchain apps will be offered to users from different industries.
Liu Dingding, a veteran internet analyst, told the Global Times on Tuesday that blockchain applications will be useful to strengthen safety controls in many industries.
"Finance, health, food production... any industrial chain can improve its safety procedures using blockchain technology," said Liu. "E-commerce companies such as JD.com or Alibaba can make use of their large customer and provider bases and the data they control to introduce this technology," he said.
China has been at the forefront of blockchain technology since the beginning, and it is also leading in its extension to practical business applications. Atlas Platform (ATP), a blockchain-based advertising and marketing platform founded by former Google employees, announced on Tuesday it had obtained seed funding from the investment arms of Softbank and Baidu, among others.
Liu noted that China has led in applying blockchain technology, but doubts about its practicality remain.
"The application of blockchain technology has been faster in China than anywhere else. Many claim that most of it is hype, but the technology is just starting, and we'll have to be cautious and see how it develops," he said.
