Foreign experts: China has far surpassed the United States in the development of blockchain technology
Editor’s note: This article was published on MarketWatch.com on July 1. The author is Dr. Omer Ozde, CEO of RockTree Capital. RockTree is a commercial bank and fund focusing on mobile Internet and blockchain projects. Compiled by the administrative research team, the content only represents the author’s views and has nothing to do with other organizations and individuals.
Some casual observers will think that the Chinese government is hostile to the blockchain project (which will suppress its development), and for such people, we should perhaps be tolerant.
The reason is that the layman’s view (although wrong) is understandable. Because just last month, China has completely banned Bitcoin mining, and the People’s Bank of China has put pressure on major payment platforms to stop providing cryptocurrency-related services. Nevertheless, the view that China will crack down on blockchain (projects) is still wrong. I think the Chinese government is adopting a unique method to promote the entire country to become a hot spot for the implementation and rapid development of the world’s top (blockchain) projects. From this point of view (development model), China has completely surpassed the United States.
(The reason why I hold this view is that) From a policy perspective, the Chinese government is a staunch supporter of blockchain technology and the largest and most influential advocate of the industry on a global scale. The Chinese leadership believes that blockchain is one of the most strategically influential emerging technologies in the world today. Based on this recognition, they have formulated a development plan for the next few decades.
The reason for China’s suppression of specific segments of the domestic blockchain is that the technology or business activities in these areas have entered the blind zone of government supervision or crossed the “red line” of regulatory policies. For example, fraud or token sales activities based on blockchain technology or fake blockchains (especially fraud against individual “investors”), and illegal and criminal activities including money laundering that evade capital supervision. The reason for the Chinese government’s ban on Bitcoin mining activities is that such activities have touched the Chinese government’s “red line” in terms of energy consumption.
Chinese-style supervision: creating the world’s largest technology sandbox
As a blockchain fan, the Chinese government is cracking down on the production and marketing of tokens. This may be difficult for most observers in Western society to understand. Because, the development of the blockchain so far and its industrial trajectory may make most experts in the field agree with this view: without tokens, blockchain technology will be “destroyed.”
After China has delineated the regulatory red line, some subdivisions of China’s domestic blockchain may indeed be “hit”, but conversely, this also means that as long as it is within the “outer wall” of the sandbox, You can develop and apply new technologies with confidence and boldness without going beyond the thunder pool (red line). Furthermore, after the red line is drawn, resources in this field will gather in the sandbox to a certain extent, and the government can use this to realize the guided development of blockchain technology.
It is this “wise and practical” strategy that makes China one of the current global Internet technology and platform leaders-especially in mobile Internet. Another name for this strategy is “do not hurt nurturing”. It can be traced back to the United States in the 1990s. During the Clinton administration, it also adopted a “do not hurt” attitude towards the development of early Internet technology. The “barbaric growth” without excessive supervision and government intervention has resulted in the following: The most common Internet technologies and the most influential Internet platforms in the early Internet era originated from the United States. And the current influence of China on Internet technology and platforms, to a certain extent, also comes from 20 years ago when the Chinese government adopted a “no harm nurturing” policy equivalent to that of the United States as long as it doesn’t jump out of the “sandbox” to get over. With the “red line”, the budding entrepreneurs can develop freely without excessive supervision.
American-style regulation: an unbearable burden for entrepreneurs
Contrary to the development of Web 3.0 and the blockchain technology itself, the complexity and regulatory contradictions of the blockchain and one of its components have always plagued blockchain entrepreneurs in the United States. This complexity and contradiction often discourage experienced lawyers-some of them opted out of this field because of this.
Those entrepreneurs who are optimistic about this field-although based on their rich experience or social experience, believe in the law and believe that their lawyers can bring them the best results-are hit hard in the blockchain field.
The students of the University of Maryland were conducting research and development of blockchain technology outside the university, and thus became the target of federal law enforcement actions, which eventually led to the closure of their startup company. These students also cannot make a comeback — because they cannot open their bank accounts because of their illegal behavior.
Such cases will undoubtedly deal a heavy blow to the core of the “American spirit”-”change and innovation.” Some of the most famous blockchain entrepreneurs in the United States have also left the country to start their businesses in “blockchain-friendly regions” such as Hong Kong, Singapore, Switzerland, and Europe.
The Chinese model of blockchain development
In contrast, in October 2019, the Chinese government put the development of blockchain technology in a “priority position”. This means that China’s blockchain technology will develop in a “top-down” model. Because of this, China has occupied the world’s leading position in the “National Blockchain Service Network” (BSN), digital legal currency (which will be combined with blockchain technology), and blockchain intellectual property protection. Status-China is currently the country with the largest number of blockchain patent applications in the world.
In contrast, in the development of blockchain technology, the United States does not have the guidance and support of national policies, and its core leadership is also very secretive about this. In Biden’s 100-day speech, although he mentioned the importance of innovation, did not mention a word about the blockchain. And his predecessor Trump made it clear through Twitter in 2019: “I don’t like Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.” Of course, on the other hand, federal government officials, including Gary Gensler, the newly appointed head of the US Securities and Exchange Commission, have a relatively enlightened attitude towards blockchain technology and are working with congressional representatives in this field. Carrying out further research and discussion, I believe that in the end “time will stand on the side of the blockchain”.
On the whole, under the premise of clarifying the red line, as the Chinese government continues to increase its support for the industry from top to bottom, the development and application of blockchain technology in China will further accelerate. I have The reason is that for a long time, China will be ahead of most countries in the world in this field.
