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Coin Geek
3 days ago
- Business
- Coin Geek
How US-China-Russia rivalry is driving blockchain innovation
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... As the geopolitical fault line between the United States, China, and Russia deepens, it is no longer just a battle for dominance over trade routes, semiconductor supremacy, or artificial intelligence (AI). Beneath the surface of this strategic rivalry lies a quieter but equally disruptive contest. The race to dominate the architecture of tomorrow's digital economy. Blockchain, once a fringe innovation associated mostly with digital currency speculation, is quickly becoming a neutral ground and a battleground for systemic innovation, national resilience, and digital infrastructure autonomy. The friction between these three superpowers is creating pressure and a necessity for critical innovation. As global systems splinter, supply chains decouple, digital payment networks bifurcate, and data ecosystems fracture, blockchain emerges as a tool of self-reliance, accountability, and trustless coordination. For the U.S., blockchain offers a way to secure and verify essential systems in a world where traditional alliances and global flows of information can no longer be taken for granted. Whether in logistics, energy grids, defense contracting, or public record-keeping, decentralized ledgers can provide tamper-evident audit trails, transparent decision-making processes, and the kind of programmable control that rigid legacy databases lack. With increasing concern over cybersecurity threats and surveillance backdoors, especially from foreign-sourced hardware and software, blockchain's trust-minimization properties provide an alternative to simply hardening borders or banning adversarial technology. China, on the other hand, is building blockchain-based systems not only as a means of economic modernization but also as instruments of control, efficiency, and global influence. The digital yuan, supported by its state-backed blockchain infrastructure, is already changing how transactions can be monitored and executed at the national level and across borders. By promoting its Blockchain Service Network (BSN) as a low-cost, interoperable platform, China is quietly exporting the foundations of an alternative Internet architecture that may appeal to other authoritarian regimes or even economically desperate countries seeking low-cost digital public goods. Russia's strategy is distinct but equally calculated. Facing Western sanctions and an increasingly isolated economic position, Russia has turned to blockchain and digital assets as a means of bypassing traditional financial controls. Blockchain enables the Kremlin to conduct international transactions outside the purview of U.S.-dominated systems like SWIFT, providing an economic lifeline. At the same time, Russia is leveraging blockchain to enhance state control, with plans for a digital ruble that can be centrally managed and used in cross-border trade with allied nations outside the dollar's reach. This strategic divergence is driving all three nations to accelerate their blockchain agendas, albeit for different reasons. In the U.S., the private sector and decentralized communities lead the charge, seeking interoperability, openness, and resilience. In China, a centralized but fast-moving state mobilizes its institutions and companies toward efficiency and integration. In Russia, blockchain is a tool of survival and sovereignty, allowing it to sidestep economic isolation while maintaining domestic control. But the shared outcome is the same. Faster adoption, more serious applications, and the rethinking of trust at the infrastructure level. As traditional institutions like SWIFT, Visa (NASDAQ: V), and national identity systems begin to encounter pressure from politically driven fragmentation, blockchain offers a neutral protocol layer that can survive above the fray. Supply chain management, identity verification, cross-border settlements, and data provenance are all domains under scrutiny for their geopolitical vulnerability. Blockchain transforms these systems from black boxes into transparent, programmable networks of records, where verification does not require trust in any single party. Moreover, innovation is often born out of friction. With collaboration stalling between the East and West on technologies like AI regulation, semiconductor access, and cross-border data flows, developers, startups, and governments are increasingly turning to blockchain as a way to design systems that are more sovereign, interoperable, and accountable. Micropayments, decentralized cloud storage, secure voting, and tokenized assets are gaining momentum not as speculative experiments but as practical solutions in a multipolar, mistrustful world. The very fracture that threatens global unity is catalyzing the rise of technologies that may help rebuild trust, but this time through math and code instead of treaties and diplomacy. The blockchain revolution is no longer just about replacing money. It is about replacing the fragile trust models that once held the globalized world together. The deeper the divide between Washington, Beijing, and Moscow, the more urgently the rest of the world will look for infrastructure that does not force a choice between them. Blockchain could be that infrastructure—a neutral layer where neither the United States, China, or Russia can impose absolute control. It is a technological foundation that can rebuild trust in a world of suspicion and fragmentation. The rivalry between these superpowers may be destabilizing, but it is also an accelerant, driving humanity toward a new digital architecture. In this contest, blockchain may become not just a tool of economic strategy but a pillar of global stability. Watch: The most successful organizations are ones with best culture title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen="">
Yahoo
14-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Opinion - In the battle for blockchain leadership, American innovation is the answer
'We must take the blockchain as an important breakthrough for independent innovation of core technologies, clarify the main direction, increase investment, and accelerate the development of blockchain technology.' Those aren't my words. That's a quote from Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2019. And in the years since, China has certainly heeded his call. Promotion of blockchain innovation was officially incorporated into China's most recent Five-Year Plan. China has also developed a Blockchain Service Network — a 'one-stop shop' for companies and governments to deploy blockchain-based applications in the cloud. And equally critically, they are training the workforce they need to make these efforts succeed, having recently launched a national blockchain research center, which aims to train 500,000 blockchain professionals. This is sobering news for America, since blockchain has the potential to transform all aspects of our society. While most of us are familiar with blockchain because of its role in facilitating cryptocurrency transactions, this is simply a one-use case among many. The fundamental concept of a blockchain is the creation of an immutable, distributed ledger that can track and record transactions and data, all without external oversight. From self-executing 'smart contracts' to tracking physical shipments with unprecedented transparency, blockchain is about to revolutionize how the world conducts business. If China succeeds in dominating the underlying infrastructure behind these innovations, the Chinese Communist Party will be able to exert unprecedented influence over the global economy. When the Internet took off in the 1990s, nobody could imagine how much it would change our lives. But fortunately, American innovators were at the forefront of that revolution — a reality that continues to pay dividends for our country to this day. The good news is China's leadership is not preordained. To the contrary, it faces stiff competition from the U.S. For all of China's investments, American blockchain entrepreneurs still lead the world. One of the questions I get asked most often in my role as the top Democrat on the House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the U.S. and the Chinese Communist Party is whether we can outcompete it. My answer, for many reasons, is a resounding 'Yes!' The U.S. brings many advantages, but chief among them is our capacity to innovate, embrace disruptive technology and responsibly regulate those technologies in a way that protects society. This three-part formula is the recipe for American success, and blockchain itself fits neatly within this pattern. In fact, scientists Stuart Haber and Scott Stornetta discovered the foundational basis for blockchain right here in America, nearly 20 years before Satoshi Nakamoto turned it into the code for bitcoin. American companies are also among the most innovative users of blockchain technologies — creating tools that do everything from combating deepfakes to creating traceable supply chains. Our responsibility now is to continue to develop responsible regulations for blockchain, including most immediately with respect to cryptocurrency, so that the U.S. will remain home to the deepest, most transparent markets worldwide. Just as we have done in becoming pre-eminent in traditional equities, bonds and futures, we should build toward deep, liquid, fair and transparent markets for digital assets. That's why I supported the FIT21 Act last year. Our centrality to traditional financial markets is key to our national security, and we must recreate this winning model for cryptocurrency. The stakes could not be higher, both for our nation's prosperity and our values. While the beauty of blockchain rests in its power to decentralize, China wants to flip blockchain's purpose on its head and use it to centralize authority with the Chinese Communist Party. This explains why, even as China has embraced many uses of blockchain, it has tried to ban cryptocurrencies it doesn't control entirely. The party is eager to use blockchain as a tool for surveillance or as a potential means of weaponizing international payment systems against the dollar. It is less eager to embrace uses that could threaten its own authority. Let's use that fear of decentralization against them. The Chinese communists have no answer for America's tried-and-tested strategy of innovation, disruption and responsible regulation. If we embrace the opportunity to lead in blockchain innovation, and do so in a responsible manner, our prosperity and security can be safeguarded for the next generation. But if we don't, we will cede the field to our adversaries and be left behind. Blockchain can be the building block for something great. It's up to us whether we seize the opportunity or pass it up. Raja Krishnamoorthi serves as ranking member of the House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the U.S. and the Chinese Communist Party. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
