Are the cryptocurrency-related moves by China’s largest company, Tencent, a sign that the Chinese government has changed its stance on crypto?

Tencent Investment Group and Matrix Partners China have spearheaded a $15 million Series A funding round for Chainbase, an omnichain data network developer. Other participants included Folius Ventures, Hash Global, JSquare, Mask Network, and Bodl Ventures. This round, finalised in the fourth quarter of last year, brings Chainbase's total funding to $18 million, including $3 million from previous seed and angel rounds.

Investment Details and Board Seats

As part of the deal, both Tencent Investment Group and Matrix Partners China secured board seats at Chainbase. Despite the significant investment, Chainbase's co-founder and COO, Chris Feng, did not disclose the company's valuation.

Chainbase's Vision and Innovations

Chainbase aims to streamline access to blockchain data by consolidating it into a single platform, thus simplifying application development and maintenance for developers. Feng highlighted some key innovations, such as a real-time data lake for blockchain-generated data streaming and "manuscripts," a leading data format standard in the cryptocurrency industry. These technologies are designed to transform static on-chain data into dynamic, intelligent models, unlocking new value and expanding market potential.

The Chainbase network mainnet and its governance token, CBT, are set to launch in the fourth quarter of this year. This move is anticipated to further enhance the functionality and reach of the Chainbase platform.

The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China extends an olive branch to Bitcoin and Ethereum

In a recent report, ICBC detailed the distinct development paths of various digital currencies, each meeting specific needs within the financial ecosystem. Historian Yuval Noah Harari noted that human imagination is the driving force behind the rapid growth of cryptocurrency types and applications. ICBC's report reflects a positive outlook on the future of cryptocurrencies.

Digital Yuan May Be Linked to Cryptocurrencies

Last month, Hong Kong announced that residents can now set up personal digital yuan wallets for cross-border payments. This initiative aims to facilitate smoother financial transactions between Hong Kong and mainland China and promote the cross-border use of the digital yuan.

Recently, Bybit removed China from the list of countries restricting its citizens from using its services. This change may attract millions of Chinese users to the platform, which was already ranked fourth on CoinMarketCap's exchange ranking before opening the Chinese market.

Although the Chinese government's stance on this matter remains unclear, actions taken by the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China suggest a possible softening of China's position on cryptocurrencies compared to earlier. In the future, we may see a scenario where the digital yuan is linked to cryptocurrencies.