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Blockchain
TechTech Trends

China’s state-backed architect of non-crypto blockchain makes first major push outside mainland

  • The first adopters of BSN’s Spartan Network include Hong Kong’s Emperor Group, HSBC, Lan Kwai Fong Group and Maxim’s Group
  • BSN builds adapted versions of public blockchains, including forks of Ethereum, Cosmos and Polygon Edge, without involving cryptocurrencies

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Pedestrians walk past a branch of the HSBC bank in Central, Hong Kong. Photo: Yik Yeung -man
Xinmei Shen

China’s state-backed Blockchain Service Network (BSN) has officially launched Spartan Network, a blockchain infrastructure project aimed at getting businesses outside mainland China to adopt the distributed ledger technology without the involvement of cryptocurrencies.

More than 10 companies in Hong Kong have become the service’s first batch of users, including traditional conglomerates such as Emperor Group, HSBC, Lan Kwai Fong Group and Maxim’s Group, BSN said at an event in Hong Kong on Tuesday.

BSN was officially launched in 2020 by state-owned telecommunications giant China Mobile, bank-card clearing service UnionPay, Red Date and the State Information Centre, a government think tank under the National Development and Reform Commission.

The initiative has been operating a blockchain infrastructure service since January this year, called BSN-Distributed Digital Certificate (BSN-DDC), which lets companies mint non-fungible tokens (NFTs) on adapted versions of public blockchains without relying on cryptocurrencies, which are banned in China.

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To date, 1,300 businesses and organisations have registered on the platform, performing roughly a million transactions a day, according to Tim Bailey, vice-president of global sales, speaking at Tuesday’s event.

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