JD.com and Alibaba slug it out in blockchain space

Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com has applied for over 200 blockchain patents, according to a report by Securities Daily News.

Its rival Alibaba Group has, meanwhile, applied for 262 patents in this space, as recorded by the Intellectual Property Center of China Information and Communication.

Pushing boundaries

Last month, we reported that JD.com had launched JD Chain, a blockchain framework for businesses.

This followed on from a blockchain technology open platform, enabling businesses to leverage pre-built APIs. The new addition means that companies can now build their own solutions, starting from the underlying architecture and without relying on pre-built APIs. This will be complemented by the JD Chain Open Source Community, which aims to promote greater discussions and pooling of resources among blockchain developers and enterprise users.

“JD has long been a trailblazer in pushing the boundaries of blockchain’s potential to transform global commerce,” said Xinlei Zhai, Head of Blockchain at JD.com. “Through JD Chain and the JD Chain Open Source Community, we are empowering enterprises to leverage the vast technological resources at our disposal to develop their own blockchain solutions, creating greater security, efficiency and transparency across all of their operations.”

Meanwhile, it recently emerged that Alibaba Group was considering blockchain implementation for cross-border supply chains.

In an article published by China’s largest state-owned newspaper, People’s Daily, Alibaba Group VP, Liu Song, said that the company was looking at using the technology in complex supply chains to create a closed loop ecological system that could be linked with local governments.