China dominates blockchain patent applications as regulations are streamlined

Government support combined with updated patent examination guidelines has helped cement China’s world leadership status in blockchain, as Xiaofan Chen of AWA explains.

China continues to top the leader boards every year when it comes to blockchain patent applications. Domestic companies are moving quickly to protect ideas and innovations, at a speed that far outpaces that of counterparts in the US.

According to Tokyo-based research firm Astamuse, the US, China, Japan, South Korea and Germany together submitted around 12,000 blockchain-related patent applications through 2018, with China accounting for over 60% of the five-country total. That is around 7,600 applications in China, three times as many as US-based companies.

Chinese companies Alibaba, Tencent and Baidu are among some of the top patent owners and filers in the blockchain arena.