China’s State-Backed Open-Source Blockchain Enlists Hong Kong's HSBC, Emperor Group

The project is encouraging the use of blockchain technology without the use of cryptocurrencies.

By Oliver Knight

Sep 6, 2022 at 1:40 p.m. UTC

Updated Sep 6, 2022 at 2:35 p.m. UTC

Hong Kong (Chester Ho/Unsplash) — More than 10 Hong Kong conglomerates have joined China's blockchain-based Spartan Network. (Chester Ho/Unsplash)

Oliver Knight

Oliver Knight is a CoinDesk reporter based between London and Lisbon. He does not own any crypto.

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China's state-backed Blockchain Service Network (BSN) has brought on more than 10 Hong Kong-based conglomerates to its new Spartan Network, an open-source blockchain infrastructure project, according to a press release shared with CoinDesk.

The service's first users include Hong Kong-based HSBC, Emperor Group, Lan Kwai Fong Group and Maxim Group. The network is BSN's first major push to gain users outside mainland China.

Spartan Network aims to encourage the use of blockchain technology among businesses without the use of cryptocurrencies. It started on non-crypto versions of Ethereum, Cosmos and Polygon Edge.

China banned the use of cryptocurrency for transactions, mining and trading purposes in 2021.

"Ninety-nine percent of the world's IT systems do not use cryptocurrency-based public chains to avoid being involved in unregulated and volatile cryptocurrencies," Yifan He, CEO of Red Date Technology, the technical architect of the BSN, said.

"The BSN Spartan Network provides an infrastructure that integrates non-cryptocurrency public blockchains that can be used by any traditional IT system," he said.

BSN also released infrastructure to support non-fungible tokens (NFTs) in January.

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