Written by: Frank, PANews
Stablecoins are becoming a strategic new track for major global economies, with places like the United States, European Union, and Hong Kong competing to introduce regulatory frameworks in an attempt to seize the initiative. However, the issuance of any stablecoin is reliant on a key underlying infrastructure—public chains.
In this context, the industry viewpoint that 'China currently lacks a globally influential public chain, and it should be led by central state-owned enterprises' has sparked heated discussions. This viewpoint is not unfounded but also easily overlooks a fact: since blockchain was elevated to a national strategy level in 2016, a blockchain infrastructure network led by a 'national team' with the goal of serving the real economy has already taken shape.
From the global connector BSN, the industrial foundation 'Spark Chain Network', to the technological cornerstone 'Chang'an Chain', and finally to the 'exception' of public chains, the Tree Graph Chain (Conflux), they collectively constitute China's unique blockchain landscape. As the demand for stablecoins becomes increasingly urgent, which of these networks is most likely to break through and become a trusted foundation for the vision of China's stablecoin, aimed at the global market?
To accurately understand China's strategic intentions, it is necessary to redefine the term 'public chain' in the Chinese context. Directly equating it with permissionless chains will lead to serious conceptual deviations. In China, the 'public chain' promoted at the national level is essentially closer to a 'public infrastructure' or 'trust infrastructure' guided by the state, allowing multiple parties to participate, but ultimately controllable.
Among them, the most influential currently in the industry include the Blockchain Service Network (BSN), Spark Chain Network, 'Chang'an Chain', and the recently discussed public chain Conflux. PANews conducted an analysis of these blockchain networks to see who is more likely to become the foundation for China's stablecoin.
Blockchain Service Network (BSN): Multi-framework adaptation, focusing on the non-token concept
In 2018, BSN was jointly initiated by the National Information Center, China Mobile, China UnionPay, Beijing Red Date Technology, among others, as a public blockchain infrastructure. It currently consists of BSN dedicated networks and BSN public networks, with the BSN dedicated network primarily serving enterprises, mainly the 'BSN Distributed Cloud Management Platform', supporting deployment in various physical IDC data centers, public clouds, and private clouds, establishing a blockchain-based distributed cloud system environment.
The BSN public network is more inclined towards the concepts of public chains and consortium chains that we are familiar with. In the BSN public network system, it is divided into the BSN-DDC basic network (for open consortium chains in China) and the BSN Spartan network (a public distributed cloud service network composed of non-token public chains), targeting overseas markets.
Currently, in the DDC network system, there are already several open consortium chains such as the Yan'an Chain, Wenchang Chain, Tai'an Chain, Wuhan Chain, and China Mobile Chain. These networks adopt frameworks like Ethereum, EOS, FISCO BCOS, Corda, etc., and the main application scenarios include NFTs (digital collectibles), distributed domain names, distributed identities (DID), and trusted data storage. The DDC network system is a consortium chain system without token design, and the usual on-chain service fees need to be recharged with fiat currency, directed at the domestic market.
The consensus mechanism of the BSN Spartan network is more akin to public chains like Ethereum, but the difference is that it is a non-token public chain. Currently, the BSN Spartan consists of three sub-chains based on Ethereum, Cosmos, and PolygonEdge. As of August 4, the daily transaction volumes of these three chains were 1,068, 844, and 938, respectively.
Overall, BSN's core innovation lies in multi-framework adaptation, unified adaptation and management capabilities for dozens of mainstream blockchain underlying frameworks globally (including consortium chains and public chains). Through a standardized adaptation mechanism, developers can choose different underlying chains in a 'plug-and-play' manner without worrying about the complex deployment and operation details, similar to a universal 'operating system' for the blockchain world. However, the increasing demand for stablecoins and the fact that BSN has not opened a token mechanism so far may become a limitation. He Yifan, Executive Director of the BSN Development Alliance and CEO of Red Date Technology, has repeatedly expressed strong aversion to virtual currencies, believing that virtual currencies are a huge Ponzi scheme.
The 'Spark Chain Network': Supported by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, focusing on the industrial sector
According to official introduction, the 'Spark Chain Network' is a national-level blockchain new fusion infrastructure system constructed under the leadership and special support of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, led by the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology, in collaboration with several large enterprises such as Beihang University, Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, and China Unicom.
From an architectural perspective, the 'Spark Chain Network' is divided into two layers. The first layer consists of the main chain formed by super nodes, used for managing identifiers, public data, or other legal assets and regulations that the state may provide in the future. The second layer is a sub-chain linked by backbone nodes, connecting various applications in industry or regional sectors.
It is noteworthy that the 'Spark Chain Network' is a permissioned public blockchain network, and from the current information, it also does not have a token design. Similarly, the 'Spark Chain Network' is divided into a domestic main network and an international version called the ASTRON network. As of now, 'Spark Chain Network' has established super nodes in Xiamen and Liuzhou; backbone nodes in Jiaozhou, Hengqin, Suzhou, etc.; and international nodes in Malaysia, Macau, etc. The node admission threshold for the 'Spark Chain Network' is relatively high and requires local government promotion for construction.
The application scenarios of the 'Spark Chain Network' are highly focused on the industrial sector, including: full lifecycle traceability of high-end manufacturing products, collaborative management of complex supply chains, digital identity authentication and predictive maintenance of industrial equipment, and trustworthy sharing and trading of industrial data.
Chang'an Chain (ChainMaker): Written into policy planning multiple times, with participation from state-owned enterprises and internet giants
The 'Chang'an Chain' is led by the Chang'an Chain Ecological Alliance, initiated by the Beijing Microchip Blockchain and Edge Computing Research Institute (referred to as 'Microchip Institute') under the guidance and support of the Beijing municipal government.
The Chang'an Chain Ecological Alliance covers key state-owned enterprises in fields such as the State Grid, China Construction Bank, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, China Unicom, COFCO Group, and internet giants like Tencent and Baidu. Currently, the alliance has more than 50 members.
In November 2021, the 'Chang'an Chain' was included in the Beijing '14th Five-Year' international science and technology innovation construction plan. In January 2022, the 'Chang'an Chain' was included in the Beijing municipal government work report. In 2025, it will be mentioned again in the 'Beijing Blockchain Innovation Application Development Action Plan (2025-2027)'.
In addition to its strong background, the technological advantages of the 'Chang'an Chain' are also quite evident. The official claim is that its transaction throughput (TPS) can reach 100,000 levels, capable of meeting the high concurrency demands of large-scale finance, government affairs, and other scenarios.
Tree Graph Chain (Conflux): Built by the Tsinghua 'Yao Class' team, the only public chain on the mainland that issues tokens
Unlike the above-mentioned blockchain networks with obvious consortium chain characteristics, the Tree Graph Chain can be considered the only public chain currently complying with regulatory requirements in Mainland China. Established in 2018 by a graduate of the 'Yao Class' and MIT PhD Long Fan, Academician Yao Qizhi serves as the chief scientist and participates in the theoretical design of core algorithms. In January 2020, the Conflux team officially established the Shanghai Tree Graph Blockchain Research Institute. In October of the same year, the Conflux Tree Graph blockchain mainnet was officially launched.
As a complete public chain, Tree Graph Chain also possesses a governance token CFX. Although Mainland China has strict regulatory policies on cryptocurrencies, Conflux successfully issued and operates its token CFX, making it a unique 'exception'.
CFX, as a global cryptocurrency, has been listed and traded on several mainstream cryptocurrency exchanges such as Binance, OKX, and Gate.io. Its market price and market capitalization are influenced by various factors such as technological progress, ecosystem development, and macro market conditions. For example, recent positive news about the Conflux 3.0 upgrade and support for offshore RMB stablecoin plans has significantly increased its token price in a short period.
Moreover, the endorsement situation of the Tree Graph Chain should not be underestimated. It has received coverage from mainstream official media such as the People's Daily multiple times and has deep cooperation with several central enterprises like China Telecom and China Mobile. Additionally, Tree Graph Chain is collaborating with the fintech company AnchorX to explore the issuance of a stablecoin pegged to offshore RMB (AxCNH) to support cross-border payment needs along the 'Belt and Road' countries.
Who is more likely to become the technical foundation for stablecoins?
In addition to the aforementioned blockchain networks with strong endorsements, there are also several consortium chains in the country, such as State Grid Chain (State Grid), Unicom Chain (China Unicom), China Mobile Chain (China Mobile), ICBC Chain (Industrial and Commercial Bank of China), Ant Chain (Ant Group), Zhixin Chain (Tencent), and Zhongxiang Chain Network. Most of these consortium chains are also initiated by state-owned enterprises or technology giants, each having unique advantages and influence in their respective fields.
But returning to the initial question, does China have a public chain that has influence internationally? As of now, the answer should be vacant. The main reason is that most of China's blockchain networks are mechanism-wise consortium chains, which significantly differ from overseas public chains like Ethereum and Solana in terms of consensus mechanisms and economic models.
Among the existing public chain infrastructures, the one most likely to grow into an internationally recognized domestic public chain is likely to be the 'Tree Graph Chain'. From a technological perspective, the 'Tree Graph Chain' possesses internationally accepted public chain characteristics and has originality and performance advantages in technology. Its official background and clear offshore RMB stablecoin exploration plan place it in a first-mover position in the stablecoin track.
In addition to the aforementioned blockchain networks with strong backing, there are also several consortium chains in the country such as State Grid Chain (State Grid), Unicom Chain (China Unicom), China Mobile Chain (China Mobile), ICBC Chain (Industrial and Commercial Bank of China), Ant Chain (Ant Group), Zhixin Chain (Tencent), and Zhongxiang Chain Network. Most of these consortium chains are also initiated by state-owned enterprises or technology giants, each having unique advantages and influence in their respective fields.
Of course, in addition to this, as listed companies in several European and American countries begin to regard cryptocurrencies as a treasury and participate in the governance of public chains, China's public chain journey may also have a third option: to participate in the governance of international mainstream public chains. After all, in a decentralized world, the distinction of national borders often comes down to a percentage of computing power.
