Abstract: Developed countries and technology companies have taken the lead in researching and applying blockchain technology. Judging from the application of patented technology, there may be a gap of about one and a half years between China and the United States in blockchain technology. Based on the above situation, how can China achieve "asymmetric" catch-up? The first is to recognize the situation, seize the opportunity and meet the challenge. Secondly, after understanding the necessity of blockchain infrastructure construction for the existing business and future development of the financial industry, financial enterprises have reached a consensus on establishing "China Financial Blockchain Alliance". Finally, we must work together to meet the changes.
How to understand the blockchain?
Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System. In 2009, after the publication of the paper, Bitcoin was born as a virtual currency in the digital world of the Internet. At present, the total market value of Bitcoin is about 6.5 billion US dollars. Although the market value is constantly changing, it is still the largest virtual currency in the world.
Another important concept is blockchain. Blockchain is the underlying technology of Bitcoin, and Bitcoin is only an application of blockchain. As we all know, Bitcoin can realize point-to-point value transfer. In addition to the bitcoin blockchain, there are many other blockchains, such as the blockchain of Ethereum. Therefore, we should distinguish the concepts of bitcoin, bitcoin blockchain, blockchain and blockchain technology.
At present, people have several misunderstandings about blockchain. Blockchain can be described as "decentralized blockchain" in English, in which decentralization is translated as "decentralized". However, I believe that the blockchain has achieved value transfer without intermediary, that is, point-to-point value transfer. This is not to say that after entering the blockchain era, there is no need for centers, but it should develop from single centralization to parallelization between centers. Then, the existing center is likely to become a sub-center or a weak center. At present, all banks have their own data centers. If the financial blockchain alliance is established in the future, they can become nodes in the blockchain alliance, so the blockchain does not need a center.
Blockchain does not need credit.
We often see some articles saying that the blockchain should be "de-creditized". In fact, the blockchain builds trust through the * * * knowledge algorithm, and ensures the correctness of the transaction through the * * * knowledge between nodes. Establish trust at low cost through mathematics and algorithms, rather than "de-crediting". The digital asset transaction between people does not require two people to know each other, or to have a relationship of mutual trust, nor does it require a third-party credit institution. It only needs everyone to trust the trust network of blockchain.
Why is it credible? Because it is a distributed database, there is a mechanism based on * * * knowledge: a set of encryption algorithm, which makes it tamper-proof. On the one hand, the information is transparent and traceable through the public key; On the other hand, private keys can protect privacy.
Blockchain is not a mature technology, nor is it a panacea. At present, blockchain technology is still in the early stage of development. At the beginning of this year, we sent a delegation to study in the blockchain laboratory of Barclays Bank in South Africa. At the seminar, Barclays African blockchain experts believe that it will take at least five to ten years for blockchain technology to become a truly mature technology. At present, blockchain has the defects of relatively slow calculation speed and small storage space, and not all data processing needs to use blockchain.
Research and application of blockchain in foreign countries
We find that countries with developed finance are ahead in the research of blockchain technology. The British government believes that it is very important for the government to participate in the legislation of digital currency and blockchain networks, and the government encourages in-depth research on blockchain technology. The British government is actively evaluating the potential of blockchain technology and considering using it to reduce financial fraud and reduce costs. In addition, the British government plans to develop an application system that can be used between the government and public institutions.
In February this year, the European Commission placed encryption digital currency at the top of the rapidly developing target field, which promoted the policy research of various institutions on digital currency. Technology companies are also in a leading position in the research of blockchain technology.
IBM launched the "Open Ledger Project", aiming at developing enterprise-level blockchain software structure, promoting the commercialization of blockchain technology, and supporting external data docking through the Bluemix and API infrastructure of IBM cloud computing platform. IBM has many practices in blockchain technology. Recently, IBM and a Korean company conducted creative experiments using blockchain technology and Internet of Things, and achieved some results.
Microsoft uses the Azure platform to provide users with "blockchain as a service", which can make R3 and its bank members speed up the trial and learning process and accelerate the development, testing and deployment of distributed accounts.
Intel also released SawtoothLake, an efficient modular platform for building, deploying and running distributed account books. At the same time, Intel also studies the creation of a trusted execution environment for hardware chips of blockchain applications, providing higher security and privacy.
At the same time, Wall Street is also active. Although it was established late, the core function of R3 is to set industry standards for the development of blockchain technology in the banking industry, explore practical uses, and establish a bank blockchain alliance.
As far as we know, in addition to these two new companies catering to the arrival of the digital finance era, large financial institutions are also studying blockchain technology and establishing their own blockchain concepts and technical teams.
At present, blockchain technology has been applied in practical cases.
In Canada, the blockchain startup "Blockchain Technology Co., Ltd." has been successfully listed on the Growth Enterprise Market of Toronto Stock Exchange; The Estonian government will launch the government's blockchain medical insurance record.
Domestic attention and research on blockchain technology
Blockchain is an optional technology. Previously, the People's Bank of China also held a seminar on digital currency. In addition to the central bank, Zhejiang, Beijing and other relevant departments also expressed their support for blockchain application research last year.
From the perspective of enterprises, Bubi blockchain has been applied in the fields of equity, supply chain and points. , and is conducting experiments and application tests with exchanges and banks. Bubi blockchain focuses on the innovation of blockchain technology and products. It has a number of core technologies and developed its own blockchain service platform. In addition, many blockchain innovations and start-ups are constantly emerging.
In addition, some industry alliances are being established. In terms of financial institutions, the application of blockchain by large banks and financial institutions in China remains to be solved.
By the end of 20 15, Bank of America had obtained 15 blockchain patents. There may be a gap of about one and a half years between China and the United States in blockchain technology.
The application of blockchain finance is entering a new stage in an all-round way, and various applications will be deeper and deeper, and related changes will receive more and more attention, which will also form a great new trend.