Chinese search engine and web services company Baidu has released the Baidu Blockchain White Paper V1.0 on Wednesday, September 26, which describes the development of a “Super Chain” network system. Baidu Blockchain Lab released the blockchain white paper focused on “the independent development of the ‘Super Chain’ network system.” The paper introduces the idea of commercializing the Baidu cloud blockchain blockchain-as-a-service (BaaS) platform in addition to six applications based on the Super Chain; Totem, Degree Universe, Baidu Association, Treasure Chest, Encyclopedia Online, and Hubert. According to the white paper, Baidu’s Super Chain is more efficient than a traditional blockchain in …

WeChat, the 1 billion-user Chinese social media platform developed by Tencent, has blocked the official sales channel of Bitcoin (BTC) mining giant Bitmain, according to an announcement posted to its channel yesterday, September 10. As of press time, Bitmain’s other Wechat accounts, including after-sales services and its official account, remain active. The official sales channel, which operates under the WeChat ID “antminersale,” no longer shows any content but instead displays a rules violation notice, stating: "Following users' complaints, [WeChat] has reviewed and discovered that this account — without having acquired authorized credentials or licenses — has been publishing and distributing …

Chinese tech giant Baidu has joined Tencent and Alibaba in imposing new anti-crypto measures in line with Beijing’s toughened stance, South China Morning Post (SCMP) reports Monday, August 27. China’s ‘Google,’ Baidu, has closed at least two popular crypto-related chat forums, according to SCMP, with a notice reportedly informing users that the move comes “in accordance with relevant laws, regulations and policies.” Meanwhile, Tencent — the operator of the 1-billion-user social media platform WeChat, has reportedly issued a statement announcing its own ban on crypto trading. The platform has said it will monitor daily transactions in real time and block …

This week, the government of China has cracked down on crypto-related WeChat accounts, blockchain events and digital asset exchanges, solidifying its negative stance on cryptocurrency trading and the Initial Coin Offering (ICO) market. WeChat ban and PBoC’s warning against ICOs On Aug. 22, Cointelegraph reported that WeChat, China’s biggest messaging app that has over 1 billion active monthly users, banned the accounts of cryptocurrency investors, users and businesses. At the time, Lanjinger, a local financial media outlet, reported that the accounts of Deepchain, Huobi News, Node Capital-backed Jinse and Coindaily were suspended or taken down permanently, as they violated its …

Blockchain marketing platform Atlas Protocol (ATP) has concluded a seed investment round of several million dollars led by SoftBank China Venture Capital (SBCVC), according to an August 20 press release. The multi-million dollar investment round, whose final amount was not disclosed, also included participation by Baidu Ventures (BV), Danhua Capital, and Fenbushi Digital. Atlas Protocol was formed by Nebulas Labs and the xGoogler Blockchain Alliance (xGBA), with co-founder of Jide Technology and the “first engineer” of Google Adwords Jeremy Zhao, as well as Professor Ronghui Gu of Columbia University, acting as technical advisors for Atlas Protocol, according to the press …

The Ex-COO of ‘Chinese Google’ Baidu and blockchain bull Qi Lu has joined Y Combinator (YC) to run the company’s new China-based division, according to a blog post August 14. Y Combinator –– the major Silicon Valley-based entrepreneurial accelerator that funded such startups as Dropbox, Airbnb, Coinbase, Reddit, among others –– announced that is has officially entered the Chinese market, launching a new division of the company there. The company also announced that the new division will be launched and run by ex-Baidu exec Qi. In the announcement, YC president Sam Altman said he expected Qi to “build a long-term …

Chinese search engine Baidu has created a blockchain-based game called “Du Yuzhou” (The Universe) where users will receive “elements” to build their own planets while using blockchain features, Coindesk reports Friday, June 8. The website announces an “open blockchain interplanetary journey,” describing the game as “a magical world made up of all kinds of rare elements” with each user having a “unique planet” that can be explored. The site notes that each user will receive 100 random elements in an air drop when the game launches -- the more elements a user has, the larger the planet grows, thus increasing …

Chinese internet giant Baidu has announced the next step in its blockchain integration in the form of a protocol aimed at reducing mining energy consumption, according to a report by China News Weekly today, June 3. Dubbed ‘Super Chain,’ chief scientist at Baidu’s blockchain division Xiao Wei revealed the protocol at a local conference over the weekend. The move forms the latest in a series of increasingly direct experiments with cryptocurrency for Baidu, which launched its Blockchain-as-a-Service (BaaS) solution in January this year. Super Chain can “insert and remove consensus mechanisms to solve the current energy consumption problem,” Wei explained, …