Baecsense and Tencent Cloud win bid to build blockchain projects for the Beijing municipal government. City of Suzhou sets up the country’s first national blockchain development pilot zone. Nayuki Tea and Bakery releases a virtual idol and 300 NFTs. Qihoo 360 builds a system to monitor crypto mining activities.
Blockchain
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The world of blockchain moves fast, and nowhere does it move faster than China. Here’s what you need to know about China’s block-world in the week of Nov. 30 to Dec. 7.
Chinese government’s blockchain push
- Baecsense, an edge computing chips and blockchain company, and Tencent Cloud jointly won a major project from Beijing’s blockchain computing platform, led by the Beijing municipal government’s Bureau of Economic and Information Technology. The project asks the two companies to provide cloud software for hash power platforms, servers and equipment, computer room and supporting network, and system development and integration. The bid amounts to RMB 238 million ($37.3 million). Tencent Cloud also owns 20% of Baecsense’s shares. (Beijing Government Procurement Center, in Chinese)
- China’s eastern city of Suzhou has won support from the Chinese government to set up the first national blockchain development pilot zone, according to a formal notice from The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. The city has 160 blockchain companies and nearly 300 companies focusing on related technology, 30 of which have been selected for the key blockchain company database by Jiangsu province, where Suzhou is located. (China Star Market, in Chinese)
Tea and NFT
On Tuesday, Chinese beverage chain Nayuki Tea and Bakery released a virtual idol named “Nayuki” and 300 NFTs to celebrate its sixth anniversary. The Nayuki idol was tasked to sell store cards through a livestream and achieved sales of RMB 200 million in three days. The chain also released 300 digital artworks in seven different styles, priced at RMB 59 apiece, which cannot be traded after purchase. Chinese brands are increasingly using NFTs as a marketing strategy. (Lanjinger, in Chinese)
Mining monitor
Qihoo 360, a Chinese cybersecurity company, said that it had built a system to monitor crypto mining operations to assist the government’s crackdown on the industry in a Nov. 30 WeChat post. The company said it had found that on average, 109,000 mining IP addresses were active daily throughout November, mainly in the provinces of Guangdong, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Shandong. (Coindesk)