Chinese State-owned Banks Issue Flurry of Blockchain Patents

Two of China’s biggest state-owned banks have registered a number of blockchain patents as both continue to expand the central People’s Bank of China (PBoC)’s fast-expanding, much-vaunted digital yuan pilot.

Per media outlet NBD, the banks in question are the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) and the Bank of China, two of the four biggest state-owned banks in China. Along with fellow “big-four” members the China Construction Bank and the Agricultural Bank of China, the state-owned banks are now issuing digital yuan tokens in digital wallets hosted on their apps.

However, all four banks, and the ICBC and the Bank of China in particular, have all been pursuing a range of blockchain-powered business avenues – particularly in the area of cross-border trade financing for small- and medium-sized exporting companies.

Among the banks’ newest patents are the following: ICBC has registered patents for a blockchain consensus system, a blockchain-based document editing platform, a blockchain-powered terminal upgrade protection system and a blockchain-based distributed database storage platform.

Meanwhile, the media outlet adds, the Bank of China has also recently filed patents applications for a blockchain-powered information management system, a blockchain donations platform and a personal information network that makes use of blockchain technology.

Chinese firms have been particularly active in the blockchain patents game of late, with big e-commerce platforms like Alibaba and its fintech affiliates, as well as fellow e-commerce platform JD.com, smartphone maker Huawei and entertainment giant Tencent all leading the way.