The group will develop the standards and create an industry “white paper” in advance of the Shanghai blockchain Summit in September.

An IT department of Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has set up a strategic alliance which two commercial blockchain consortiums: ChinaLedger and Shenzhen Consortium. Such companies as Wanxiang Blockchain Labs, Ant Financial, Webank, Universal Holdings, Ping An Insurance and Micro Focus Bank are among the participants. The Ministry’s Software Services Division Director Xie Shaofeng is quoted in an official press release as saying that the world is in the process of a new “technological revolution” and the blockchain technology and “its application has universal significance in promoting economic and social development.”

The working group will be responsible for the technology monitoring in China and overseas, provide analysis of key technologies that need to be implemented and keep an eye on possible security issues. They are also to consider possible ways to regulate the industry. An ad hoc committee within the working group that will be engaged in the creation of white paper that will include a detailed plan for the blockchain industry development in China. The research of the distributed ledger is delegated to the China Electronics Standardisation Institute of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. Creation of a blockchain working group will allow domestic companies to participate in the standardisation of the industry at an early stage.

The development plan is to be prepared by mid-September when the Shanghai blockchain summit will take place. The summit is organised by Wanxiang Blockchain Labs and DevCon Ethereum. According to the Ethereum Foundation executive director Ming Chang, the event promises to be “one of the most anticipated events of the industry to date.” Representatives of Microsoft, UBS, Santander and Ernst & Young, as well as experts from blockchain Ethereum, HyperLedger, R3, Ethcore, Circle, ConsenSys, OpenBazaar and Zcash are listed among the speakers.

Earlier today, newsbtc reported that Chinese authorities are conducting a massive purge of underground banking services offering money transfers abroad. Hundreds of people involved in illegal operations are allegedly arrested in Beijing. The authorities claim that these services have been used mostly by criminals for laundering stolen funds. According to official reports, nearly $30 billion passed through underground banks.

According to some experts, such raids may help to strengthen the position of cryptocurrency in the Chinese market. Over the past few years, bitcoin has become very popular investment tool for the purpose of day trading in China.

The Chinese government seems very keen about the distributed ledgers. It was reported earlier that the People’s Bank of China considers the launch of its own digital currency. In June 2016, financial blockchain Shenzhen Consortium was established to exchange information and test blockchain based financial applications.

Lena Gabdullina