Analysts from major research and development firms, including EY and DBS, expect China to lead the global fintech and Blockchain industries. Various consortiums and organizations have already been formed to support the development and growth of Blockchain and fintech startups.
Earlier this month, Cointelegraph reported the intensity of the Chinese fintech industry’s growth over the past few years. Hundreds of mlns of consumers have abandoned traditional banking systems for better and more efficient alternatives.
Several Chinese fintech companies, including Alibaba’s Ant Financial, amassed a market cap of $60 bln, a market cap five times larger than Bitcoin, the most widely utilized cryptocurrency in existence.
Collaborative ecosystem
The rapid growth rate of the Chinese fintech and Blockchain markets can be directly attributed to the general collaborative ecosystem of Chinese industries. Often, Chinese industry leaders form a consortium to ensure that investments and resources are rightfully allocated to help startups and innovative service providers to grow.
For instance, the US Blockchain and fintech markets are supplemented by individual consortiums attempting to commercialize Blockchain technology ahead of others. Instead of building a cooperative and collaborative ecosystem, it has turned out to be a competitive environment.
The Chinese Blockchain market, in contrast, has a consortium in existence called ChinaLedger, which aims to provide an industry-wide basis for Blockchain startups and industry leading companies to work with. With such efforts, the entire Blockchain market of China is in sync and is seeking to bring innovation into the traditional and inefficient financial market.
Practical investment methods, high profile investors
Another major factor behind the rapid growth of the Chinese fintech industry is the practical investment methods of large-scale corporations, high profile investors and conglomerates. Earlier this year, China launched a $1.5 bln fintech fund to grant capital to startups in each category in the vast market of fintech.
To ensure every field within the Chinese fintech industry receives sufficient capital and resources, Chinese state-owned companies formed a consortium called “Asia FinTech Merger and Acquisition Fund of Funds.”
If China continues down the path of cooperative and collaborative efforts, it is likely that it will lead the global fintech and Blockchain markets once again in 2017.