Chinese E-commerce Firm JD.com To Venture Into Blockchain Through New Blockchain-as-a-Service Platform
JD.com, one of the leading e-commerce companies in China has announced that it plans to launch Blockchain-as-a-Service platform, making it one of the latest companies to adopt blockchain technology.
The Chinese firm revealed the news through a white paper which details its plans to dip its feet into blockchain technology. The white paper also reveals the target market which JD.com plans to focus on with the upcoming blockchain-as-a-service (BaaS) platform. The latter will be used to provide tools that are based on the decentralized digital ledger technology. Those tools will, in turn, be used in app development in various areas including Big data security; fraud prevention in insurance; financial settlement and securities remittance; public services, such as government taxation and authenticating charity donations; and supply chain data tracking.
One of the statements in the white paper had pointed out that: "JD is actively building and opening up its own BaaS platform in bid to let the government, logistics industry, financial institutions and other enterprises to launch blockchain applications."
The logistics company made the announcement about the blockchain-as-a-service platform just a few days after it revealed that it is working on a blockchain-based system that will be used to track beef products from Australia. This is courtesy of their new partnership with the Australian firm, InterAgri to facilitate the importation of beef to the Chinese market. According to the announcement, the system will make it possible for Chinese consumers to trace the beef to the Australian farm where it was produced.
Another previous announcement made by JD.com revealed the company’s plans to invest $3.11 billion, which is equivalent to 20 billion yuan, into northeastern “rustbelt” region of China. The investment is aimed at facilitating industry upgrades as well as job creation within the Heilongjiang, Jilin, and Liaoning provinces. The Chinese firm also wants to build a commerce settlement facility in the region and this will lead to the creation of 9,000 new jobs. JD.com also recently announced plans to kick off a blockchain accelerator program through which blockchain startups will receive assistance in the integration of their applications with the company’s business lines.
The announcement by JD.com highlights the ongoing trend of Chinese companies venturing into blockchain technology. Tencent and Baidu which are both internet-based Chinese firms made their entry into the world of blockchain by unveiling their own BaaS platforms. Although China has instituted a ban on cryptocurrency trading, exchanges, and mining, that has not stopped companies from exploring the other uses of the digital ledger technology.