New research from Thomson Reuters indicates that China has assumed a dominant position when it comes to applications for blockchain patents.
The research shows that China accounted for 56% of all 406 blockchain patents filed internationally last year, as compared to 22% by the United States.
Online giant Alibaba Group alone accounted for over10% of blockchain patent applications in 2017.
Tech giants are far from the only Chinese groups charging into the blockchain sector, with the Chinese central bank and its subsidiaries topping the global blockchain patent ranking for 2017 compiled by IPRdaily and incoPat.
The People’s Bank of China and its subsidiaries filed for 68 blockchain-related patents, as compared to just 33 from Bank of America, the third-place holder on the list and highest-ranking non-Chinese group.
Seven out of the top ten entrants on the 2017 global blockchain patent ranking hailed from China, including Alibaba (2nd), Beijing Rui Josie Technology Development (5th), Jiangsu Tongfudun Information technology (7th), CloudMinds (Shenzhen) Technologies (8th), China United Network Communications Group (9th) and Hangzhou Qulian Technology (10th).
