Nvidia Stock Rises as SemiAnalysis Sees AI Data Center Revenue Beating Wall Street Forecasts 
Crypto Markets Surge: Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana Lead Gains Amid Economic Optimism 
Anthropic Restores Claude Fable 5 and Mythos 5 After U.S. Lifts AI Export Controls 
Momenta Launches Hong Kong IPO to Raise Up to $751 Million for AI and Robotaxi Expansion 
SoftBank Shares Slide as OpenAI IPO Delay Concerns Weigh on AI Investment Outlook 
Europe Heatwave Creates Growth Opportunity for Carrier, Trane, and Johnson Controls, Citi Says 
Robinhood Announces Plans to Expand Stock-Exchange Application to U.K. 
CFTC Asserts Authority Over Prediction Markets Amid Insider Trading Concerns 
Greece’s Bad Loan Crisis Continues to Limit Credit Access Despite Economic Recovery 
Robinhood Launches Credit Card for Gold Customers 
US Egg Producers Settle Price Manipulation Probe, Agree to Pay $3.3 Million and Donate 53 Million Eggs 
Oil Prices Slip as U.S.-Iran Peace Talks and Strait of Hormuz Risks Keep Markets on Edge 
Kraken's Jesse Powell Criticizes SEC Over Legal Action 
Elon Musk’s X Money Launch Set to Revolutionize Digital Payments and Dominate 2025’s Fintech World 
Kakaku.com Shares Rise as Bain Capital and LY Corp Prepare Higher Takeover Bid Than EQT 
UK House Prices Hold Steady in June as Annual Growth Misses Forecasts 
WeBank, China's leading digital-only bank, aims to transition from its permissioned consortium blockchains toward more public-oriented ones, highlighting the potential of "Open Consortium Chain 2.0." As it seeks greater openness, the move signifies WeBank's intent to harness the burgeoning opportunities presented by the web3 era.
With its permissioned WeBank blockchain having processed over 400 million transactions, averaging 300,000 daily, the bank currently boasts around 30 blockchain applications. WeBank's CIO and EVP, Henry Ma, initially proposed a "Public Alliance Chain" in 2018, envisioning an open ecosystem that encourages participation for all. However, he acknowledged the resistance to supervision among enthusiasts of public blockchains.
Ma's vision aligns with Hedera and Korean Klaytn blockchains offering open access. However, the governing Council, comprising large corporations, retains control over node permissions and writing data. Unlike Klaytn and Hedera, WeBank's goal does not involve the use of cryptocurrency.
To foster greater openness, WeBank plans to enable light nodes for read-only access to its blockchain. The bank's blockchain currently operates on the FISCO BCOS platform—an open-source blockchain founded by WeBank, Tencent, Huawei, ZTE, and numerous other Chinese organizations. Positioned as a challenger to enterprise blockchain Hyperledger Fabric, FISCO BCOS is coinless and accessible to the public.
With around 4,000 organizations utilizing FISCO BCOS across 300 applications, WeBank remains committed to the platform's ongoing development. As WeBank charts its course toward greater openness, the integration of Open Consortium Chain 2.0 marks a significant step in unlocking the potential of web3.
WeBank, China's prominent digital-only bank, was established by Tencent, responsible for the widely-used WeChat app. Tencent holds a significant stake, approximately 30%, in WeBank.
Renowned for its fintech innovation capabilities and inclusive financial services, WeBank was named the "2023 Best Global Digital-Only Bank" by the Asian Banker. The bank also earned recognition for being the "Best Digital-Only Bank in Asia Pacific" and for its "Best Chatbot/Voice Banking Service."
Photo: Donald Wu/Unsplash
