China launching its government-owned blockchain service
- China is approaching the launch of its Blockchain-based Service Network (BSN).
- The project is likely to roll out in April, despite the coronavirus outbreak.
- While it promises to cut the cost and time for companies interested in blockchain, many worry about its centralization.
China’s long-awaited Blockchain-based Service Network (BSN) is seemingly approaching its launch. The upcoming service should see launch at some point in April 2020. It comes as a product of the country’s banks, tech firms, and the government itself.
China to introduce centralized permissioned blockchain network
This will be one of the first platforms of this kind that a centralized government will maintain. Once it is up and running, it will allow participants to use it and operate without having to design their own network.
As mentioned, China announced BSN a long time ago, in October last year. This was just after China’s president, Xi Jinping, publicly praised blockchain technology. Back then, he stated that the country should invest in it more.
The announcement of the platform came quickly after that. Its developers also promised some highly useful functionalities. It will allow developers to create their own apps, develop entire smart cities, and even run a digital economy. The project states that it will also save a large amount of money and time for businesses. It underlined that a single firm would need to spend a year and $14,000 to develop its own blockchain network.
BSN offers one that is ready for use, and the amount could, in the future, be only $300.
Experts and the community concerns about the platform
Of course, the platform would not be like a typical blockchain platform. It will not be public, but permissioned, meaning that only its members will have access to information on it. However, operators will have the ability to share transaction data with anyone they choose.
Now, the platform is approaching its April launch, which was not postponed despite the coronavirus outbreak in China. China previously had to postpone the launch of its CBDC, digital yuan, due to the virus. The blockchain project, however, remains on schedule.
Even so, the project saw criticism from skeptics around the world, such as the North Carolina State University’s Hong Wan. Wan does not think that allied entities that created the BSN system will be able to manage the workload. She also pointed out that BSN never released details about the network’s technical specifications.
Experts are not the only ones who worry. The crypto community also expressed concern and reservations about the project’s centralization. The concern lies in the fact that the government controls the blockchain, which could defeat its entire purpose.
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