Conflux Network: Chinese Government Unveils Public Blockchain Infrastructure Platform

Conflux Network has taken the lead in the creation of a new public blockchain infrastructure platform by the Chinese government. This platform, known as the “Ultra-Large Scale Blockchain Infrastructure Platform for the Belt and Road Initiative,” is designed to provide a foundational public blockchain for cross-border applications. The news was shared in a post by Conflux Network on April 1.
Conflux Network, a multichain blockchain ecosystem, is run by the Conflux Foundation, also referred to as the Shanghai Tree-Graph Blockchain Research Institute.
Despite the Chinese government’s harsh stance on cryptocurrencies, this new governmental blockchain initiative has been established. China began tightening its control over the crypto industry in 2017 when it instructed Chinese Bitcoin exchanges to cease operations. However, as of December 2023, despite the ban on crypto trading, 33.3% of Chinese investors still hold a significant amount of stablecoins, ranking second only to Vietnam with 58.6%, as reported by Vietnamese venture capital firm Kyros Ventures.
Although Beijing has banned crypto trading and mining, traders in mainland China have been able to find ways to work around these restrictions. The majority of investors in the country opt to trade on centralized crypto exchanges, according to the Kyros Ventures report.
In 2021, China’s crackdown on crypto intensified, leading to the prohibition of offshore exchanges from offering their services in the country. Prior to this, China had control over two-thirds of the total Bitcoin mining hashing power.
In response to growing demands for greater oversight of the industry, China is planning to make a significant amendment to its Anti-Money Laundering (AML) regulations. This will be the first major change to China’s AML regulations since 2007 and is aimed at imposing stricter guidelines to combat cryptocurrency-related money laundering. A report from Dec. 24, 2023 suggests that so-called “virtual currency trading platforms” have been involved in facilitating a $2.2 billion underground banking operation to circumvent the country’s foreign exchange restrictions.
A related report indicates that after the ban on cryptocurrencies in China, the Bitcoin network’s carbon emissions increased by 17%.