OK Group, the conglomerate formerly behind cryptocurrency exchange OKEx, is investing approximately 10 million RMB ($1.4 million) into Yun Qu Technologies, a blockchain startup based in Wuhan.

The announcement was made on April 8 on China’s state news network, Xinhuanet. Yun Qu is headquartered in Wuhan, the epicenter of the novel coronavirus outbreak.

The investment was being discussed since late 2019, according to OK Group spokesmen. As the city begins to return to normal life, OK Group’s investment will help Wuhan’s local businesses recover from the pandemic and the associated quarantine.

Yun Qu Technologies provides a variety of information services related to blockchain. In addition to curating a Chinese language crypto news website, it is also developing a big data tool to extract and refine analytical information from blockchains.

This technology is said to have piqued the interest of OK Group, which is optimistic about its application in fields like Anti-Money Laundering compliance. Yun Qu appears to be providing a competing offering to western companies such as Chainalysis, Elliptic and CipherTrace.

News from China

The country began its active pursuit of blockchain technology in October 2019, as announced by president Xi Jinping.

This opened the door for many blockchain startups to try to get a place in the spotlight, though a recent report alleges that most of them were either scams or poorly planned.

The OK Group is following a similar path to its competitor Binance, which recently established a physical research branch in Shanghai.

In the meantime, the Chinese government is continuing to develop its proposed digital yuan, a central bank-issued digital currency that would ostensibly use blockchain on an unprecedented scale.