On December 2, The Chinese branch of Huobi Group announced its membership in the Blockchain-Based Services Network (BSN) Development Alliance at its launch event in Hangzhou of Southern China.
Huobi, one of leading branches of cryptocurrency exchange in China, is one of the first members of the BSN, an industry alliance initiated by the State Information Center (SIC), according to several Chinese news sites.
Based on a report by Xinhua News, BSN intends to provide a blockchain infrastructure services platform that bridges different blockchain networks, regions, and institutions. The platform, developed by China UnionPay and China Mobile, has been "successfully deployed," wrote the report.
Led by State Information Center (SIC), a think tank affiliated with the National Development and Research Commission, China's highest central planning agency, BSN is also planning to offer infrastructure services for any Chinese or international entity that uses blockchain.
BSN was originally created by six institutions, including SIC and state-owned tech giants China Mobile and China UnionPay, the Chinese versions of VISA
The BSN would be tested in 54 cities across the country as well as Hong Kong and Singapore for projects such as smart city management, Wenchao Shi, president of China UnionPay said in October at the test announcement.
Meanwhile, Huobi China has been trying to steer away from crypto trading in the country and establish itself as a blockchain services provider since the 2017 crackdown on crypto exchanges.
In the same year, the company kicked off its global expansion and transferred its trading businesses to Singapore, Japan and South Korea with local operations in each country, according to a timeline provided on its website.
Headquartered in Hainan province, one of the southernmost parts of China, Huobi China firmed up its relationship with the Chinese government by establishing a Communist Party of China branch in its local blockchain subsidiary Beijing Lianhuo Information Services LLC in November 2018.
According to a Dec. 1 report, Hainan's Financial Supervisory Authority president Yang Chen said the region is adopting a sandbox model to test fintech and blockchain technology.
