China has released its blockchain rankings for August, rating public blockchain networks like Bitcoin and Ethereum based on their application and technology.

The rankings, created by China Electronic Information Industry Development Research Institute and the China Software Testing Center, featured the contributions of professors and researchers at the country’s most prestigious educational institutions including Tsinghua and Beijing University.

EOS #1 as Expected

Previous rankings ranked EOS above both Ethereum and Bitcoin as the best blockchain network in the global cryptocurrency sector. The newly created rankings by CCID and CSTC, two institutions funded by the Chinese government, had EOS ranked as the top blockchain network in the world once again, with Ethereum and Bitcoin falling behind.

This month, China ranked Ethereum at second and Bitcoin at tenth, placing tokens and other major cryptocurrencies like NEO and Stellar ahead of the dominant cryptocurrency.

Komodo, Nebulas, NEO, Stellar, Lisk, GXChain, and Steem all ranked higher than Bitcoin, with strong points in applicability and technology. Bitcoin recorded the highest points in the category of innovation, mostly likely due to its long track record and the status as the first blockchain network and cryptocurrency in the market.

In July, CCID ranked Bitcoin as the seventeenth best blockchain network in the market and in the past month, Bitcoin has risen through the ranks.

In the past 30 days, Bitcoin and the rest of the cryptocurrency sector have not experienced major technical developments or changes in the codebase of major digital assets. Hence, it is possible that the strong performance of BTC as a store of value in the crypto sector led the government to rank Bitcoin higher than it did before.

Smart contract protocols and blockchain networks designed to support decentralized applications (dApps) will always rank higher in the rankings of CCID, because the criteria used by the institution establishes technology and application as the two main categories.

Application in the context of the CCID rankings refers to the applicability of the blockchain in other systems. Technology, based on the previous rankings released by CCID, refers to the scalability and capacity of blockchains.

In the case of EOS, which received the highest points in the category of technology at 104.3 points, it is highly likely that its proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus algorithm, which is capable of processing a significantly large number of transactions in comparison to other blockchains like Ethereum and Bitcoin, led the government to rank it as the top blockchain.

But, if the PoS aspect of EOS allowed it to be ranked as the top blockchain, it remains unclear why Cardano was left behind at 15th, as it is the second biggest PoS blockchain network in market valuation behind EOS.

Track Record is Important

The logic behind CCID’s decision to rank EOS, Ethereum, and Stellar, which in essence are high performance blockchain networks, above Bitcoin is clear, given the criteria which prioritizes innovation and application.

Nebulas has been able to secure a sixth place in the rankings because it supports 6.800 dApps and 35,000 transactions per second on its network.

But, track record and security are also important to consider in a ranking which encompasses a wide range of blockchain networks, including bank-focused Ripple, store of value like Bitcoin, and PoS dApp networks like EOS.

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