Chinese internet conglomerate Tencent

is building a suite of blockchain services, detailing the plans in a new white paper. The firm – the maker of popular social services such as QQ and WeChat – is planning to use the technology to offer digital asset management, authentication and "shared economies", among others services. The new platform, dubbed "TrustSQL", is envisioned as a three-part system, incorporating the core chain layer, a product and service layer, and an application layer.

In statements, Tencent said that it would leverage its technological resources to push the platform and that it sees the project as an open-ended one that encourages collaboration with other firms. (TrustSQL is envisioned as a way "to promote the development of [a] trusted internet", according to a rough translation of the paper.) The white paper further included a call for the government to play a more active role in the development of blockchain within China.

"The involvement of government in the development and regulation of block chains is necessary and should encourage in-depth research on blockchain technology and blockchain applications," the authors wrote. Though the exact timing of the launch isn’t yet known – statements indicate that the platform is still in development – the unveiling nonetheless represents Tencent's most direct move in the blockchain space to date. Last summer, a subsidiary of Tencent was among 31 companies in China to back a Shenzhen-based blockchain consortium. Tencent-backed Webank also took part in a blockchain event in September of last year.

Chuck Reynolds
Contributor