Chinese President Xi Jinping has recently emphasised the importance of China seizing the opportunity presented by blockchain technology speaking about how:
the application of blockchain technology has extended to digital finance, Internet of Things, intelligent manufacturing, supply chain management, digital asset trading
and how it is:
necessary to promote the deep integration of the blockchain and the real economy
This is a very significant step for a major global power to be endorsing blockchain in such strong terms. The price of bitcoin promptly shot up by 40%, only the third time that has ever occurred.
Hot on the heels of the President's speech, the National People’s Congress in China has passed a "Cryptography Law". Commencing on 1 January 2020 and based on a draft proposal released in July 2019, the new law provides that clear guidelines and regulations are needed to evaluate commercial cryptography technologies used in the major.
While the new law does not specifically regulate the use of cryptocurrency, it does take steps to legitimise and standardise the regulatory approach to the application and management of cryptographically secured passwords.
According to an official news agency, the new law is is aimed at:
Facilitating the development of the cryptography business and ensuring the security of cyberspace and information.
This latest development comes after a significant acceleration of China's efforts in blockchain and crypto, despite a persisting ban on cryptocurrency trading, including the imminent launch of a central bank digital currency issued by the People's Bank of China.
These moves in China show that politicians need to step up and recognize the faster a deep integration of blockchain occurs into the real economy, the better our society will be equipped to reap the benefits of this new technology. A good first step would be clearer guidance and safe boundaries for ventures using this exciting technology to grow and enhance our lives and economy, and further government projects to deploy more tests and prototypes to show what can be done with Blockchain.