Chinese Retailer JD.com Sets up Research Lab For Blockchain Innovation

The Chinese retail firm JD.com is gaining ground in blockchain technology by setting up a research laboratory for blockchain technology in cooperation with two popular technology institutes.

The Jingdong Group, shortly referred as JD.com, is a top e-commerce firm that, according to the Financial Times, owns about 30% of the business-to consumers in China with roughly 314 million regular clients. The company concentrates on new innovations for e-commerce, delivery solutions and finance.

JD has joined hands with the Institute of Software at the Chinese Academy of Sciences (ISCAS) and the Ying Wu College of Computing at the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) to setup a technology lab for blockchain. The laboratory will address efficiency issues and examine new technology applications.

Among other goals of the research facility, JD points to long- term joint research endeavors on basic consensus protocols, data privacy protection and security in decentralized applications (DApps).

Deputy Director of the Software Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Zhong Hua, explained that “through this partnership we will bring about blockchain innovation and promote industrial applications of blockchain technology.”

JD opened the Smart City Research Institute a month ago at its Nanjing headquarters to facilitate the building of “smart city” through the use of artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain technology and large data. According to reports, the Institute will have an impact on the “entire East China region” and intends to reduce industrial costs and improve efficiency.

JD revealed its latest Blockchain-as-a-Service (BaaS) platform called the JD Blockchain Open Platform in August. The recent software is structured to assist business customers create, host and deploy blockchain solutions without the technology having to create from scratch.

In addition, the company disclosed interest to distribute asset – backed securities (ABSs) on a blockchain with Xingye Bank and Huatai Securities in August. The associates would supposedly evaluate the potential of blockchain to enhance asset safety.