Nanjing, the capital of Jiangsu Province in China, has launched an investment fund worth $1.48 billion (10 billion yuan) for the development of blockchain projects in the region.
The local government has began the fund together with the Zhongguancun Blockchain Industry Alliance, which will facilitate operations of blockchain companies and government research institutes. China has recently come to the conclusion that distributed ledger technology (DLT) must be used in various areas to achieve technological breakthroughs.
The fund will support the use of blockchain in such sectors as health, energy, intellectual property, environmental protection and others. The UDAP Foundation and TokenX Community will be the first to receive financial support from the new fund.
WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?
1. The People's Bank of China opposed the use of cryptocurrencies. The regulator believes that they are unreliable means of payment. Representatives of the bank believe that the use of cryptocurrency can damage the financial market.
2. Despite a tough stance on digital assets, China understands the importance of blockchain. For example, president Xi Jinping, in a meeting with local scientists and engineers in May, called the blockchain a breakthrough technology.
By Ekaterina Ulyanova