China's Blockchain-based Service Network (BSN) is building a version of the popular distributed ledger technology that is designed for use in international markets and will not involve cryptocurrencies like bitcoin or ethereum.
A beta version of this new blockchain, called the BSN Spartan Network, is expected to be released on August 31, according to He Yifan, chief executive of Red Date Technology, at a BSN summit in Hong Kong on Tuesday. Start-up Red Date is BSN's technical architect.
Officially launched in 2020, BSN's mission is to develop a global public infrastructure to deploy and operate all types of blockchain-distributed applications. It aims to propel China into a leadership role in the industry this decade by making blockchain technologies easier and cheaper to use in businesses and institutions around the world.
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Assuaging potential trust issues over the technology behind the Chinese-owned BSN's infrastructure, He said everything is open source - denoting publicly accessible software that people can share and modify. "If you don't trust us, check the code," He said.
The Blockchain-based Service Network offices in Beijing. Photo: Handout alt=The Blockchain-based Service Network offices in Beijing. Photo: Handout>
Red Date has met a lot of resistance in its development of Spartan Network because most public blockchain operators prefer to operate with cryptocurrencies, according to He in an interview.
"I talked to probably 60 public chains, asking them to join and build a non-crypto chain with us," He told the South China Morning Post. "We only got two and half. They don't care about infrastructure. They only care about how many new people will come in and buy their tokens."
Plans for BSN were jointly initiated in 2018 by state-owned telecommunications giant China Mobile and bank card clearing service China UnionPay, Red Date and the State Information Centre, a government think tank under the National Development and Reform Commission.
Spartan Network marks BSN's first major international push, moving the firm another step closer to becoming a one-stop-platform for developers to deploy and manage any type of blockchain-distributed application.
That network is designed only for international markets because so-called open blockchains are not allowed in mainland China. Transaction charges, commonly known as gas fees, on this BSN infrastructure will be paid in fiat money such as US dollars, according to He of Red Date. He said there are also plans to support USD Coin, a stablecoin - a type of cryptocurrency pegged to the US dollar - which is managed by a consortium called Centre.