There is a company that stands out from the rest when it comes to blockchain technology and patents in particular. It’s China’s and Jack Ma’s Alibaba (BABA). It’s the industry leader on blockchain patents, and they are proud of it. “We are the most patented company in the world of blockchain technology,” said Jing Xiandong, CEO of Alibaba ’s financial arm called Ant Financial.
Alibaba’s abundant blockchain patents
406 new patents were granted to blockchain technologies last year. Alibaba had forty-three and was second only to the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) who had sixty-eight. Alibaba’s new blockchain patents included advances in utility, design, and invention.
This is an indication of the significant effort being made by global internet giants in moving blockchain technology forward through innovation. Among the most interesting Alibaba project is The Ant Financial blockchain 2.0 created and released by Ant, Alibaba’s financial subsidiary. It’s evolved from the initial 1.0 platform to become open, self-operated and decentralized.
Alibaba is seriously involved with the blockchain in other ways too. The Chinese giant e-commerce firm has also been able to score some serious points for blockchain adoption, blockchain innovation, and its blockchain partnerships.
Blockchain tech: guaranteeing a transparent supply chain
Firms and organizations around the world are trying to find out what the blockchain technology can do for them. Recently, Facebook announced a new team of essential executives would be exploring the benefits the blockchain could report to them.
The most obvious advantage is the transparency it brings to supply chain. The blockchain has many useful real-world applications from fighting lousy labor conditions along the supply chain to recording transactions and combatting counterfeiting.
Alibaba is at the forefront, using the blockchain to secure medical data, fight food fraud and track cross-border shipments which are their bread and butter.
Alibaba’s subsidiary, Lynx international, has integrated blockchain tech to track their logistic services across borders. This allows them to keep a solid record of all shipments. Third-party verification, customs, transportation, production, it’s all there.
“Although the concept of blockchain has only recently started to emerge, it has an extensive range of applications,” said Lynx technical director, Mr. Tan Ren.
Regarding transparency, security, and logistics the advantages of the blockchain for a company such as Lynx can’t be overemphasized.
So it’s a natural move for Alibaba to go for the blockchain. Another of Alibaba’s firms, T-Mall, partnered with Cainiao to adopt the same blockchain technology to ensure the functionality of their cross-border supply chains in the same way Linx is using it to track shipment information across more than fifty countries.
Alibabacoin, the token and the ICO
The coin has a name similar to Alibaba’s, but it has nothing to do with it. Actually, the only way you could link the currency and the company is through a lawsuit which only proves it’s an entirely different thing.
The currency, which is supported by the ABBC Foundation is having an ICO crowdsale to promote their token and they are facing questions about their coin’s name. They’ve been forced to admit they have nothing to do with Alibaba.
Alibaba’s lawyers don’t think so. They are going against the Alibabacoin Foundation and four other parties because they believe they’ve been cheating the public by using Alibaba’s trademark.
