Tencent, Alibaba and WeBank Lead Blockchain Patent Applications, Account for 25% of Global Total

Chinese tech giants emerged as the biggest filers of blockchain patent applications in 2019.

Data from The Block indicates that all five of the top spots for blockchain patent applicants in 2019 went to Chinese companies, led by Tencent, Alibaba and Tencent-backed online lender WeBank.

Tencent filed 718 patent applications, while Alipay submitted 470 and WeBank 269.

The three companies collectively accounted for around 25% of approximately 5,800 global blockchain patents filed in 2019.

Top Twenty Applicants for Blockchain Patents in 2019

1. Tencent (718),
2. Alibaba (470),
3. WeBank (269),
4. Ruize Technology (112),
5. Ant Financial (75),
6. Walmart (64),
7. IBM (52),
8. nChain (49),
9. Fuzamei Technology (41),
10. China United Technology (41),
11. Siemens (36),
12. OneThing (32),
13. OneConnect Technologies (31),
14. JD.com (29),
15. Bank of America (23),
16. Microsoft (23),
17. Baidu (23),
18. Hyperchain (22),
19. Mastercard (20),
20. American Express (20).

Chinese companies also accounted for around 63% of companies that filed more than 20 blockchain patent applications in 2020.

Other Chinese companies on the top twenty list included fintech giant Ant Financial (75 patent) Ping An fintech vehicle One Connect (31), e-commerce platform JD.com (23) and search engine Baidu (23).

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