This year, blockchain has spread all over China, and taxi drivers know that this is a new way out for the Internet economy. The latest data shows its popularity in China. According to the statistics of the World Intellectual Property Organization, China applied for 225 patents on blockchain technology last year, accounting for more than half of the world (406 patents), followed by the United States (9 1) and Australia (13). These patents do not include the field of cryptocurrency.
It is reported that Internet companies and financial service providers in China are competing to apply for patents of this "distributed ledger" technology, hoping that it will bring revolution to finance and other supply chains. It has nothing to do with "speculation". In the eyes of the testers of the blockchain, new technologies can constitute a crucial link-credit.
The transaction volume is not large, but the financial giants dare not take it lightly.
Blockchain is a decentralized recording system, and the ledger of blockchain is recorded by all nodes involved in the transaction. Therefore, investors and cyber hackers are particularly interested in the unprecedented "unauthorized and tamper-proof" of blockchain.
Many "coin speculators" know that China has as many "mines" (computers involved in blockchain calculation) of Bitcoin and other blockchain currencies, ranking among the best in the world. Similarly, from 20 12 to 20 17, six of the nine companies that applied for the most patents on blockchain technology came from China.
However, the most active patent applicant in the past five years is MasterCard, a US-based payment giant, followed by N-chain Holdings in Liechtenstein.
Guangzhou Li Anrui Research Institute pointed out that famous companies applying for blockchain patents also include Bank of America and BT. Bank of America plans to develop a person-to-person payment system where all parties can trade under pseudonyms; Bt's technology can detect attacks against blockchain; MasterCard focuses on payment tracking and uploading sales data to the blockchain.
In fact, compared with the mainstream world financial trading system, the current trading volume of the blockchain system is still 9 Niu Yi cents. The giants actively carry out patent layout in order to guard against accidents and avoid being set up obstacles in the future.
The blockchain will make you believe that this hairy crab is from Yangcheng Lake.
In the view of Dr. Shen Jie, an Internet of Things expert and head of the overall team of the National Internet of Things Basic Standards Working Group, the distributed account books and credit system of the blockchain bring opportunities to solve some credit problems, so that financial value can be tapped.
"In the circulation of agricultural products, data are easily adulterated and lost." Shen Jie cited an example. For example, there are many hairy crabs in the market that claim to be produced in Yangcheng Lake, all of which have certificates or some "authoritative" data records, but it is impossible for so many hairy crabs to be produced in Yangcheng Lake. How do consumers know which ones are true?
"Now the traceability of agricultural products needs many links, from seedlings, chemicals to the environment. There should be all kinds of data, but now the lack of domestic credit is so serious that consumers can't confirm that it is a good agricultural product. Agricultural products cannot be sold at high prices, and farmers' profits are getting thinner and thinner. Shen Jie said, "Now the government and e-commerce as a single force to promote traceability, the cost is very high." . "
Internet of things technology, which uses a large number of devices to collect information of the physical world in order to better perceive and manage it, was originally a good traceability means; However, if there is only the Internet of Things, each subject transmits data to the platform, and the possibility of fraudulent tampering is not ruled out. Shen Jie said: "In order to ensure that the device side cannot be tampered with, the credit information mechanism at the bottom of the blockchain can be used."
It is reported that JD.COM and other enterprises are trying to introduce blockchain technology into agriculture, so that every step of a cow from birth to slaughter to store shelves can be uploaded to the blockchain, which is reliable.
A piece of land will be recorded as an asset by the blockchain.
"The value mining of physical world entities in circulation before was not sufficient." Shen Jie said, "For example, I have a field in the countryside, but no one has invested. It's just a field. If it is digital, it can be traded and shared. "
Shen Jie believes that the Internet of Things can map this field into digital assets. However, in the past, it was not so easy for financial institutions to use Internet of Things data, and the blockchain made the combination of sensor data and finance have a scene.
"The Internet of Things and blockchain can help banks and insurance companies obtain reliable data and solve the problem of information asymmetry. A credit information mechanism has been established between farmers and financial institutions. "
Shen Jie introduced an advanced case, that is, applying blockchain technology to fisheries. IOT sensors can monitor and manage the water quality of fish ponds, and can also help financial institutions collect farmers' data and provide loans. While farmers get more profits, improve the quality of products and make them traceable.
In addition, the blockchain data has cross-platform credibility. "Alibaba's sesame credit score is meaningless without Alibaba's system." Shen Jie said that blockchain technology relies on cooperation and data transmission among multiple agents, which will make the financial value of data as real as the physical world.
From medical insurance to game points, trust is no longer difficult.
Jiangsu Hengwei Information Technology Co., Ltd. is an early company involved in blockchain technology research and development. Xu Yuchun, the person in charge of the company, said: "You can generally understand the blockchain as a' distributed electronic account book technology open to the whole network', which realizes the establishment of a low-cost credit system and value transfer, and can solve the pain points and difficulties in many fields such as finance, public welfare, supervision and anti-counterfeiting."
Xu Yuxi said that using blockchain technology, it can be realized that in the "three-medical linkage" of medical care, medical insurance and medicine, health care data query and usage records cannot be tampered with; In finance, the use of blockchain technology can realize the authenticity and traceability of enterprise credit data, and realize the functions of supply chain traceability anti-counterfeiting, automatic intelligent signing, order fulfillment tracking, accounts receivable management, collateral authentication and so on.
Perhaps it is precisely because of the natural characteristics of blockchain's openness and transparency that it fits the application scenario of China's lack of trust, which leads to the enthusiasm of enterprises for R&D and patent application.
Shen Jie believes that in some areas that have been digitized, the credit advantage of blockchain will appear faster.
"One is digital copyright, such as the intellectual property rights of Internet music, and the development of blockchain applications may be faster; One is the gambling industry. In the past, online gambling was difficult to avoid the possibility of fraud. With the blockchain, credit can be established. " Shen Jie said, "Another possibility is the virtual income of the game, such as points. There were no games before, and these points were useless. Blockchain may promote the interoperability of various games. "
Shen Jie said that digital banking bills and other fields are also actively testing the blockchain. He believes that it is still the early stage of blockchain technology, and everyone is very enthusiastic about promoting development; However, after innovation enters the deep water area, a breakthrough of one point or one line is not enough, and it needs the cooperation of ecological and systematic concepts.