Technology giants Alibaba and IBM are competing for first place in a new list that ranks global entities by the number of blockchain-related patents filed to date, published on August 31st by iPR Daily. iPR Daily, a specialized intellectual property medium, says it has consolidated data from China, the European Union, the United States, Japan, and South Korea, in addition to consulting the World Intellectual Property Organization’s (WIPO) International Patent System.
Alibaba of China has just sealed first place, having filed a total of 90 patent applications related to blockchain technology, while IBM has so far registered a total of 89. In third place is Mastercard, with 80 claims, followed by Bank of America, with 53.
IBM, for its part, has consistently expanded its participation in blockchain technology in various fields of this industry. It recently signed a $740 million, five-year agreement with the Australian government to use blockchain and other new technologies to improve data security and automation in federal departments, including defense and home affairs.
China, despite its negative stance on cryptocurrencies, remains the world’s leader regarding the blockchain technology patents
The fifth on the new list is the Central Bank of China, the People’s Bank of China (PBoC), which has filed a total of 44 patent applications dedicated to blockchain technology projects, including its centralized digital currency.
As reported earlier this year, WIPO data previously indicated that the most significant number of patent applications for blockchain technology in 2017 came from China, which filed 225 patents that year, compared to 91 in the Americas, and 13 in Australia.
China’s adoption of the new blockchain technology is counterbalanced by an increasingly harsh stance against decentralized cryptocurrencies, which has intensified further in recent weeks. This divided position is reflected by Alibaba’s founder, Jack Ma, who has expressed his support for the blockchain technology, although he views crypto coins with skepticism.
