SEC Shuts Down Two Crypto Startups For Illegal ICOs (FILEminimizer)

It seems like many tech giants including the names of Microsoft, IBM – as well as companies like Walmart – are ready to tap blockchain and use it in their everyday business operations. However, China’s potential for using the blockchain technology is best seen through one of the eCommerce leaders, Alibaba.

According to new research by Thomson Reuters, the Chinese eCommerce platform has filed more than 10% of the entire blockchain patents released in the world. More importantly, even 56% of all the (406) blockchain patents issued around the world in 2017 came from China, followed by the US with 22%.

The number of blockchain patent filings is also rising. According to the Nikkei Asian Review report, from the 134 in 2016 to the 406 in 2017, the data clearly shows that this battle is transforming into an intellectual property rights race that China seems to be winning.

Even though the US leads in terms of the overall number of blockchain patents filed, China is also closing this gap. While Alibaba is first on the list with 90 patents filed, IBM is at a close second position with 89 patents filed, followed by MasterCard and Bank of America, with 80 and 53 patents filed respectively.

What’s interesting is the fact that China has a total ban on all crypto trading and ICO fundraising which is active from earlier this year. However, this doesn’t stop the country from pursuing the blockchain technology through its best corporate giants.

Meanwhile, local Chinese media recently reported that the Wuchang municipal government in China’s Heilongjiang province has recently partnered with Alibaba in a blockchain partnership that supports the subsidiary companies Ant Financial and Alipay for the purpose of curbing food fraud and ensuring consumer trust.