Tencent Cloud launches industrial blockchain alliance

Tencent takes another step forward in the development of a blockchain for industrial strategy with the IBA

Chinese tech giant, Tencent — through their cloud service named the Tencent Cloud — has launched an alliance with the goal of promoting the development of the blockchain industry.

This was announced on June 1, when Tencent Cloud held an “Industry Blockchain Alliance and Conference.”

The Industrial Blockchain Alliance aims to attract 100 members this year from various industries, with emphasis on tech companies, universities, think tanks and other industry associations. The goal of members is to establish blockchain industry standards and research potential blockchain applications.

For this, the alliance will form three committees: the standards, technical and business ecosystem committees.

The standards committee is in charge of collaborating with government agencies and other relevant entities in the development of national blockchain standards. It is responsible for establishing a “standard foundation for the scale, industrialisation, and professional development of the blockchain.”

The technical committee is responsible for planning and building blockchain applications; as the news report goes, it will be collaborating with industry think tank experts, corporate tech executives, universities, entrepreneurs and other relevant entities to “jointly develop national standards, industry standards and team standards, and guide blockchain technology.”

Finally, the business ecosystem committee will drive the sales of any products developed by the alliance members. It will connect industry media, investment institutions, and other key industries (such as finance, government affairs, and entertainment) to promote business opportunities within the alliance. Tencent estimates that this will help members increase their business conversion rates by 30%.

Senior Executive Vice President of Tencent, and President of the Cloud and Smart Industry Group, Tang Daosheng, expressed his vision of creating blockchain technology that can support new production factors and be used in more advanced stages of industrial application.

“I look forward to taking the opportunity of the Industrial Blockchain Alliance to promote the discussion of industry norms and lay a solid foundation for the healthy development of the blockchain industry,” he said.

The first batch of members in the alliance includes the Beijing Zhulong Information Technology. This company has previously partnered with Tencent Cloud in the development of a blockchain product using the TBaaS, its blockchain as a service platform.

Tencent has made several significant investments into blockchain technology and research in recent times. Last month, the company announced that it had set aside $70 billion for the next five years in technology infrastructure, which includes the development of a blockchain. Tencent also recently launched a blockchain accelerator, which currently mentors 30 firms in the space.

The national blockchain committee of China includes executives from Tencent. The tech giant is also one of the country’s top blockchain patent application filers, having filed over 700 applications in the past year.