Chinese City Launches USD 1.5bn Blockchain Fund

Nanjing, the capital of Jiangsu Province and a major city in China, appears to be taking a leading role in the country when it comes to the development of real-world use cases for Blockchain technology.

The city has now launched a 10 billion yuan (USD 1.47 billion) Blockchain investment fund in partnership with Zhongguancun Blockchain Industry Alliance, an alliance made up of companies in the Blockchain industry and Chinese government research institutes, IT industry news site ZDNet reported.

Aimed at fostering the so-called token economy and develop public Blockchain projects in China, the billion-dollar investment fund was announced at the recent Industrial Public Chain Summit in Nanjing, attended by the deputy secretary of the Communist Party in the city, Luo Qun.

Further, the aim of the new initiative is to see new innovations in cross-border platforms, content distribution, healthcare, energy, intellectual property, and environmental protection, according to ZDNet.

The move marks yet another turn in China’s ambivalent approach to Blockchain technology, where it seems afraid of falling behind on the development of a potentially revolutionary technology, while expressing skepticism towards the role cryptocurrencies play.

Despite the government’s crackdowns, both Blockchain development and crypto trading continues to flourish in China. According to one researcher from Beijing’s Renmin University, the country is still home to an estimated 3 million bitcoin holders.