Baidu launches public beta for its 'Xuperchain' blockchain project
Baidu, the Chinese Internent giant, has launched the public beta for its "Xuperchain" open-network blockchain.
On Jan. 6, Baidu Xuperchain announced the launch of its public beta during an online press conference. Until March, users can pay as low as 1 Chinese yuan, or approximately $0.14, to deploy a blockchain application, according to the company’s website.
The Xuperchain network is run by a series of masternodes, the project's official white paper explains and makes use of parallel chain technology to simplify smart contract processing. Developers and enterprises can build applications, smart contract templates, and related functions based on their specific business needs.
According to the Monday announcement, the network was built upon Baidu’s previous blockchain-as-a- service (BaaS) offering. But the new platform does not require users to build the blockchain themselves and allow them to deploy applications at a lower cost. It also fully meets China’s regulatory requirements for blockchain enterprises, the team emphasized.
The underlying code for Xuperchain was open-sourced in May 2018. As of now, the network has seen over 3.5 million users and 450 million transactions, its website shows.
As it stands, many major Internet companies in China have gone public with details of their blockchain initiatives.
Alibaba’s Ant Financial, formerly known as Alipay, announced in Nov. 2019 that it was set to release its consortium blockchain network around Feb. 2020. Tencent and JD have also published white papers on their proposed blockchain-as-a-service (BaaS) platforms.
