China’s central bank has filed a patent application for a digital wallet that consumers can use to track all their cryptocurrency transactions, data showed. The patent application was sent to China’s State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) last week.
According to the document that was prepared by its Digital Currency Research Lab, the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) is seeking a digital wallet that is capable of providing multiple-signature security and can manage encrypted digital currencies using private keys. The wallet will be used to keep a record of all transaction data with the assistance of a “centralized digital currency issuance registration agency.”
“The transaction information and query instruction include a certificate and a transaction information query condition. The wallet service organization uses the certificate to verify the signature, adds a wallet service agency signature, and sends the signature to the digital currency distribution,” the document said.
It added that the digital currency issuance registration authority would perform the verification on the signed transaction information and the queries according to the transaction information. The wallet shall also contain information about the user’s cryptocurrency of choice, as well as the source of the digital assets, including identification of the source and destination wallets.
Many industry observers said that PBoC’s latest move is part of the government’s long-term thrust into blockchain integration. Ironically, China has been aggressively pursuing blockchain development and financial integration of the technology despite a supposed widespread crackdown on initial coin offerings (ICOs).
China wants to lead in blockchain space
In May, the country’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) released a white paper highlighting Beijing’s desire to take the front seat in blockchain adoption in the real economy.
The white paper spelled out the first national standard for blockchain integration into the country’s financial industry.
China’s official news agency, the Xinhua news agency, stated:
“By the end of March 2018, there were 456 blockchain technology companies in the country, forming a complete industrial chain, including hardware manufacturing, platform services, security services, industrial technology application services, investment and financing, media and human resources services.”
Previously, the city of Shenzhen announced its support for a blockchain-focused investment fund that will invest to blockchain startups in the city with an annual investment of $80 million (500 million yuan) during the initial phase of the program.
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