Observation | In the blockchain era, can Shanghai create "BAT"?

Writer Italo Calvino wrote in The Invisible City,

“The city is a whole of many things: the whole of memory, the whole of desire, the whole of a symbol of speech… The city is like a sponge, sucking the tide of these constant memories, and then Inflated."

In the context of the state's advocacy of “scientific and technological innovation and efficient service of the real economy”, the blockchain is becoming a symbol of memory, desire and speech in Chinese cities.

Shanghai is one of the most representative cities.

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The picture shows a place in Shanghai Wujiaochang, taken on September 6, 2019.

Since the beginning of this year, due to his position, Babbitt reporters have participated in many large-scale conferences related to the blockchain in Shanghai, and have had simple exchanges with local entrepreneurs and department leaders.

Just after reporting the "2019 China (Shanghai) Blockchain Technology Innovation Summit" on Friday (September 6th), the Babbit reporter felt that Shanghai's blockchain industry is providing for the Yangtze River Delta region and even the whole country. A template for a city development blockchain.

1

The first is the government level.

Shanghai is the country's largest economic center and the core city of the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration. While promoting the construction of the “five centers” (international economic centers, financial centers, trade centers, shipping centers, and science and technology centers), Shanghai has worked hard to promote the construction of the “Belt and Road” and accelerate the integration of the Yangtze River Delta.

As a booster for the economic development of the enabling entity, the popularization and application of blockchain technology is bound to inject new kinetic energy into the integrated economic development of the Yangtze River Delta.

In terms of policies and recommendations , the Shanghai government first mentioned that the blockchain was the “2016 Shanghai Second Batch of Informatization Development Special Funds (Big Data Development) Project Guide” released on June 6, 2016. Platform and carrier construction includes “blockchain technology innovation project”.

The most recent is in May 2019, the Shanghai Municipal Science and Technology Commission proposed in the 2019 "Science and Technology Innovation Action Plan" to break through the key technologies of the blockchain and promote the demonstration application of blockchain technology. Up to now, various government departments in Shanghai have issued nearly 16 related policies and recommendations.

In the picture is Wu Zhijun, taken on September 6, 2019.

In terms of industrial parks and bases , Shanghai has built a blockchain technology innovation and industrialization base in Yangpu District, a blockchain center in the Asia-Pacific region of Hongkou District, a blockchain cluster in the blue sky economic city of Jiading District, and a sky blockchain in the intellectual property zone in Baoshan District. Incubation base, new chain space in Hongkou District.

The construction of industrial parks and bases is conducive to incubating blockchain enterprises in the initial stage and accelerating the blockchain enterprises in the long-term. There is a basic principle that is firmly opposed to the “currency” of enterprises . Wang Zhijun, director of the Yangpu District Science and Technology Commission in Shanghai, said in a roundtable forum last week.

“The blockchain is a livingly emerging technology, but some start-ups can’t grow up, on the one hand because financing is not integrated, and on the other hand because traditional industries have not realized that they can be transformed with blockchains. What the government is going to do now is to build a good blockchain industry ecology, so that more traditional industries are aware of blockchain technology, while supporting the development of underlying technologies and the introduction of funds.

Yangpu District does not allow currency companies to settle in the Yangpu District blockchain technology innovation and industrialization base. what is the reason? risk! In the process of this drumming, some people must be trapped, and the wealth of these people may shrink hugely overnight. This is what the government does not want to see. We do not want to let everyone misinterpret the blockchain technology due to the behavior of the currency, thus affecting the development of the blockchain industry. ” In terms of alliance organizations and service organizations , Shanghai has Shanghai Blockchain Technology Association, China Blockchain Application Research Center, Shanghai Blockchain Engineering Technology Research Center, Shanghai Blockchain Technology Research Center, and the Yangtze River Delta Block Chain Traceability Alliance. Baoshan District Blockchain Industry Alliance.

The photo shows the inauguration ceremony of the Shanghai Blockchain Technology Association, taken on November 23, 2018.

In November last year, the Babbitt reporter witnessed the establishment of the Shanghai Blockchain Technology Association, which was in a hotel with a dark blue light and a breathtaking atmosphere.

Unexpectedly, in the past year, the Shanghai Blockchain Technology Association has been active, and has hosted the Shanghai Blockchain Information Service Record Exchange Conference, the Shanghai Blockchain Association Member Conference, the first Yangtze River Delta Blockchain Application Innovation Competition, etc. The Nanjing Block Chain Industry Application Association and the Zhejiang Blockchain Technology Application Association have established a strategic relationship of the Yangtze River Delta integrated blockchain industry.

For the "issuing currency", Wang Hao, executive director of the Shanghai Blockchain Technology Association, is also a clear-cut, "We serve technology innovation, application practice, and industry-enabled enterprises, not currency speculative companies!"

The picture shows Wang Wei, taken on September 6, 2019.

In fact, Shanghai’s opposition to “issuing currency” does not mean opposing the study of digital currency . In response to the August CPC Central Committee and the State Council’s proposal to support the development of digital currency research and mobile payment in Shenzhen, Wang Hao said in an interview with Babbitt reporters.

“Everything related to finance is sensitive, especially after P2P thunderstorms last year. Shanghai is a financial highland, and technology for blockchain technology is the first to help small and medium-sized start-ups to empower the real economy. But to a certain extent, Shanghai) No, no, it is already doing research, and it has not been made public yet."

The technology of the blockchain is decentralized, but its commercial application must be centralized, and must be regulated by law and government. The promotion of applications cannot be separated from the encouragement of cities and countries .

Therefore, to a certain extent, the attitude of the Shanghai government determines the development space of China's blockchain industry, and the attitude of the Chinese government determines the development space of the world blockchain industry.

2

Then there is the enterprise level.

The city is a tree, the enterprise is the root, the prosperity of the city is inseparable from the development of the enterprise, and the enterprise is the carrier for creating all social wealth.

According to the 2019 Shanghai Blockchain Technology and Application White Paper, as of August 2019, the number of blockchain R&D companies in Shanghai has exceeded 300. And this data was 95 at the end of March 2018. 2019 Shanghai blockchain innovation enterprise TOP20 includes:

Wanxiang blockchain, distribution technology, Jinqiu technology, chain vechain, core chain HPB, Zhonghui information, Zhongan Insurance, point technology, pigeon information, energy chain technology, CES information development, Dan Meng technology, domain , chain technology, AKTC, original blockchain, SOUNDLINKS, Kyushutong blockchain, Wanglink technology, chain technology

The business of these enterprises is mainly concentrated in the fields of R&D, financial insurance, supply chain, digital copyright and e-government. These areas also represent the direction and trend of the development and application of blockchain technology at this stage.

The Babbitt reporters do not intend to introduce these companies specifically here, but to talk about two points.

(1) Ant Financial Service set up a blockchain innovation business main company in Shanghai

On December 6, 2018, Ant Ant Jinfu's wholly-owned subsidiary Hangzhou Ant Future Technology Co., Ltd. established a new blockchain innovation business main body – Ant Double Chain Technology (Shanghai) Co., Ltd., Ant Block Chain Technology (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. Shanghai is incorporated and covers wealth management and financial technology.

Huang Yun District Party Committee Secretary Yan Yun said that Ant Financial is committed to tackling key core technologies and has many innovative practices in the technology-enabled industry. This is highly compatible with the needs of Huangpu's industrial upgrading and nurturing new kinetic energy. The cooperation space is broad and the cooperation prospect is very high. bright.

The picture shows the corner of the ant blockchain company, taken on July 5, 2019.

(2) Zhongxiang Bit established a branch office in Shanghai

On July 19, 2019, Shanghai Yi Technology Co., Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Zhongxiang Bit, was inaugurated in Shanghai. On June 20th, Zhongxiangbit officially announced that it had obtained tens of millions of yuan of C-round financing led by the Shanghai Navy's Fusion Industry Investment Fund.

Interestingly, the founder and CEO of the shareholder Yan Ting is a Shanghai native, but his entrepreneurship started in Beijing. In his words, "Shanghai's entrepreneurial atmosphere is not good enough to come." This time, the establishment of a branch office in Shanghai is due to the investment of the upper naval and civilized industrial investment fund. On the other hand, “the blockchain technology is going to enter the industry. The key point is that there must be truly large institutions to cooperate. Shanghai's IT and Internet industries are all places where 'application is king' , which is related to the character of the city. Many good technologies are used in large-scale applications in Shanghai or Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai."

The picture shows strict, taken on July 19, 2019.

It is foreseeable that in today's domestic alliance chain application, in addition to technology, compliance, application and resources will be the most important three factors that determine the development prospects of a blockchain enterprise.

In terms of compliance, from the recent “convergence” of the big data risk control industry, with the tightening of regulatory policies, any business that touches the gray area or the legal edge will face risks. In addition to regulating their own ethical behavior, blockchain practitioners also assess the potential risks of blockchain technology in a variety of complex application scenarios.

In terms of application, as the technical bottleneck gradually breaks through, the effect of blockchain application is emerging. At this stage, scenarios that are not suitable for applying blockchains will be abandoned by the market. In fact, whether it is blockchain startups or BAT blockchain departments, they are not worried. In the case that the commercialization of blockchain is not yet clear, “live” is always the most important thing. Blockchain startups seek financing or acquisition, and BAT’s blockchain division needs to complete KPIs, seek partners and build ecology. .

In terms of resources, blockchain entrepreneurship is not a process from 0 to 1, but from 1 to N. We have seen that in recent years, Internet giants, listed companies, state-owned enterprises/central enterprises have entered the blockchain industry, and their own traffic and ecology are unmatched by grassroots blockchain startups. The future blockchain giant company must be a company that has been cultivating resources for many years and has the ability to incite resources for government, industry, and research.

In terms of the above three points, Shanghai's blockchain enterprises have absolute advantages.

3

Second is the college level.

Since February 2016, Shanghai universities have begun to promote blockchain technology research and personnel training. Fudan University, Tongji University, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai Lixin Accounting and Finance College, Shanghai University, East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai University of Finance and Economics and other universities have successively Established research institutes, joint laboratories, etc.

Including the "blockchain technology joint innovation center" jointly established by Fudan University and IBM; Tongji University is the first university to participate in the early digital currency research of the People's Bank of China, and has built an intelligent laboratory of artificial intelligence and blockchain; Shanghai Jiaotong University block Chain Technology Joint Innovation Center; Fudan University and Zhongan Technology jointly established the Fudan-Zhongan Technology Blockchain and Information Security Joint Laboratory.

The picture shows a Shanghai Jiaotong University, taken on December 8, 2018.

Shanghai Library (Shanghai Institute of Science and Technology Information) and Corey Wei'an released the "2018 International Metropolis Science and Technology Innovation Capability Evaluation" pointed out that among the top ten emerging technology academic research rankings, Shanghai blockchain technology ranks 20 globally. Fourth place in the international metropolis.

Whether it is basic theoretical research, talent cultivation, or application, colleges and universities have become an indispensable force in the blockchain industry. Take Tongji University as an example. In the 2018 Shanghai blockchain application demonstration project,

(1) Under the guidance of the Shanghai Municipal Government and the Digital Money Research Institute of the People's Bank of China, in October 2018, Baowu Group, Tongji University and Shanghai Bank will jointly build a supply chain financial platform based on blockchain technology. In July 2019, it has provided financing services for more than 1,000 small and medium-sized enterprises.

(2) Using Tongtong University, Haihang Science and Technology, Baowu Ouye Finance, Shanghai Bank and other enterprises to jointly develop the Wutong chain, build a COSCO shipping supply chain deposit certificate platform, and deposit and publicize shipping tally reports and shipping insurance data. And traceability.

Babbitt reporters have heard that the income of a school-enterprise joint project is now higher than the blockchain company's annual income.

4

Finally, talk about entrepreneurship.

In the Internet era, Shanghai did not have a "BAT" level of business. Some people even said that when Shanghai's Internet companies and others hit the end, they basically gave up and realized.

Dutch historian Goyer said: "History is a play without ending. Every ending is the beginning of a new plot of the play."

The emergence of blockchain entrepreneurs, or the rewriting of Shanghai's history.

After the summit last Friday, the Babbitt reporter and Wu Peng made a brief exchange. Wu Peng is the CEO of the original blockchain. He has more than ten years of experience in developing Internet products. The original blockchain he created is a startup company in Shanghai that uses the alliance chain to provide information services.

The picture shows Wu Peng, taken on September 6, 2019.

The Babbitt reporter was chatting with him and didn't want to put any pressure on him. But when the Babbit reporter asked " what is the difference between the blockchain entrepreneurs in Shanghai and Hangzhou ," he sighed and felt that the problem was difficult.

“I don’t think there’s much difference. It’s the early development of the blockchain, and it’s also a natural screening period. Those who have ideas, are creative, and dare to accept new things will be screened out. These people are all the same. , regardless of which city.

When others are highly suspicious, you are willing to accept new things, accept outside questions, accept everyone's incomprehension of you, and then work quietly in this industry. These people are praiseworthy. Even if we become martyrs, it is worthy of respect. ”

His words are touching, and people also see the light and shadow of entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship is such a spirit of courage to innovate and dare to take risks and uncertainties.

Although there is no “BAT” in Shanghai at a certain historical node. However, Shanghai is not lacking in sensitivity to business and new things. As long as there is entrepreneurship, Shanghai will certainly open up new horizons in the blockchain era.

(The cover of the article was taken on September 13th, 2019, Mid-Autumn Festival, Shanghai, from WeChat friends circle:)

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