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Thursday, July 19, 2018, 21:36
Blockchain technologies ‘more than just cryptocurrencies’
By Edith Lu
Thursday, July 19, 2018, 21:36 By Edith Lu

A speaker shares the latest developments in the blockchain industry at the 2018 Global Media Blockchain Summit on July 19, 2018.  (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)

Blockchain technologies have many uses beyond cryptocurrencies – they could serve in the real economy, company management and even communication channels, technology and media experts said at the 2018 Global Media Blockchain Summit on Thursday.

The market has been wary over the blockchain industry since the People’s Bank of China banned initial coin offerings – where blockchain-based platforms raise funds by selling digital coins – last year because of potential financial risks.  

However, professionals still believe certain industries need this advanced technology, and the blockchain environment will become healthier in future. 

Professionals still believe certain industries need this advanced technology, and the blockchain environment will become healthier in future. 

“It is normal to see some disorder and regulation during the development of new things. But they will help form a better and more robust business environment,” said Yu Guoming, executive dean of Beijing Normal University’s School of Journalism and Communication. 

READ MORE: Blockchain hailed as next innovation frontier

Many technology companies are working on blockchain applications. Internet business information service provider ITjuzi said about 38 percent of companies in the information industry are blockchain-application related. 

“Many companies in the real economy ask us to assist with blockchain technology, such as in harbor management, logistics management and account-reconciliation systems in banks,” said Bill Pang Yinming, president and chief executive of Shanghai-based Linkeychain Intelligent Technology. 

Account-reconciliation takes up 70 percent of the business of banks, he said. In the event of an error,staff need to rework accounts, a pain point in thereal economy. But Pang notes that applying the distributed ledger technology of blockchain to account reconciliation could save banks a great deal of financial cost. 

Besides financial-sector applications, the blockchain-powered media market has also expanded rapidly in the past four years. 

Forbes China Chief Executive Sherman Lee said the market had become stable, entering a zero-sum game stage. 

Too many new players had thrown their hats into the ring, and their business as well as content seemed similar, leading to serious homogenization, he said.

ALSO READ: BOCHK rolls out blockchain trade finance service

Nearly half of all blockchain related companieswere established last year, among which blockchain media accounted for about 14 percent, ITjuzi data reveals. More than half of all blockchain media have yet to acquire any investment capital. 

Investors appear to have little interest in blockchain media but experts believe the media need to learn about the technology and integrate it. 

Yu saw blockchain as a brand-new communication model. Mainstream media could play an important role in blockchain’s development, as these traditional media lie at the foundation of social civilization.  

“Blockchain is not just a technology, but also a new form of organization and social evolution,” said Yu. 

Should certain information go missing in the current communications field, blockchain media could locate it and express it, giving balance and a healthy public-opinion environment, he added.

 

edithlu@chinadailhk.com


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