China already has the largest number of Blockchain patents[1] in the world, beating global economies such as the US and Japan. Moreover, the Chinese government has just funded [2]another $1.6 bln Blockchain fund to finance more projects in the cryptocurrency space.
Chinese government funds $1.6 bln Blockchain Initiative
On April 9, Chinese publication Sohu reported[3] that the government of Hangzhou has decided to invest more than $400 mln in a Hangzhou-based venture capital firm known as Tunlan Investment, to facilitate the growth of Blockchain startups and projects.
Tunlan Investment, in cooperation with the Chinese government launched [4]the Blockchain Industrial Park in Hangzhou, in an effort to spend over $1.6 bln on Blockchain projects, 30 percent of which will be funded by the local government. The initiative has already attracted advisors[5] such as Zhenfund founder Xu Xiaoping[6], who has invested in projects like the Ethereum-based content distribution platform Steem and Lino[7].
The funding of the Blockchain Industrial Park in Hangzhou is the latest effort by the Chinese government to fund and grow Blockchain projects.
In Sept. 2017, the Chinese government imposed a complete ban[8] on cryptocurrency trading and investment, terminating the relationship between financial institutions and cryptocurrency exchanges, and requesting local exchanges to move out of the country after seizing their services.
Consequently, Huobi and OKCoin rebranded to Huobi Pro and OKEx[9], as they relocated to Hong Kong. In April the two exchanges, which were formerly the two largest cryptocurrency exchanges in China prior to the cryptocurrency trading ban, expanded[10] into South Korea[11], a market that has been rapidly growing over the past six months.
The
