China Might Introduce Blockchain Standards for Financial Firms

China could be on the verge of introducing nationwide blockchain standards to govern the nation’s financial organizations, per a new report.

According to media outlet Caixin, an unnamed “authoritative” source stated that the central People’s Bank of China (PBoC) has issued a set of “blockchain standards,” which is could soon go on to become nationwide “industry standards.”

The source stated that the PBoC was still going through legal processes, but added that the standards “should be confirmed by the China Financial Standardization Technical Committee (CFSTC) in the near future.”

The CFSTC polices standards within the greater Standardization Administration of China. The latter governs standardization in the Middle Kingdom – as well as representing China within the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).

Standardization has been a hot topic in Chinese blockchain policy this year, with a number of private companies thought to have worked behind the scenes with the PBoC on intensive drives. The central bank believes that it is imperative that standards be put in place before the door is opened to the widespread use of blockchain-powered tools in the finance sector.

An official statement on standardization from the CFSTC could thus open the floodgates to a slew of blockchain-powered fintech developments later this year.

The same media outlet reported that the new standards will help Beijing enforce risk prevention and control mechanisms for blockchain technology-based applications.

The government also plans to conduct regular security audits on blockchain-powered platforms, and promote the standardization for cross-chain technology in the financial sector.

Standardization will also allow the government to verify financial firms that are using blockchain technology-powered applications in accordance with prescribed guidelines.