Who’s who of China’s blockchain, NFT, and metaverse space

China has banned crypto but the country is on a drive to adopt blockchain technology. While this pickle of a policy may be difficult to swallow, the conditions it has created are guiding the evolution of an alternative Web3.

China’s non-fungible tokens (NFTs) have been rebranded into digital collectibles and decentralized digital certificates (DDCs), which have been loosely described as B2C and B2B uses, respectively.

Photo credit: Shutterstock / Gui Jun Peng

And as the government strongly discourages speculative activity, businesses are focusing on solving more serious problems. These include deploying blockchains for more effective e-government services, supply chain optimization, and better data infrastructure for smart cities.

What we know as the China metaverse is also developing squarely within the confines of augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR). These virtual worlds, such as Baidu’s XiRang, are being created without any blockchain technology.

Some say that what’s emerging out of China cannot be considered Web3 at all, and should instead be classified as a set of enterprise blockchain solutions. Others say Web3 is going to emerge as a space populated by highways, islands, and enclaves – each adapted to meet market requirements unique to a jurisdiction. (Check out our deep dive into the topic here.)

One thing’s for sure: Interesting use cases will emerge from the China blockchain space. Here are the key players to watch out for.

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Key players

Red Date Technology

Hong Kong-based startup Red Date is the technical architect behind Blockchain-based Service Network (BSN), an ambitious project that aims to integrate the various blockchains operating in China into a single, interoperable network.

BSN’s domestic network within China is called BSN-DDC and is managed together with the Chinese government. Red Date is launching an international version of the blockchain network called the BSN Spartan in August 2022.

Check out our deep dive on Red Date Technology here.

Baidu

Touted as China’s answer to Google, Baidu has been working on its virtual-world platform called XiRang since 2020. The tech giant has also launched digital collectibles on its own blockchain, XuperChain, which is integrated with BSN-DDC.