Chinese Search Engine Baidu Releases Whitepaper of Massive Blockchain-Based Platform

Baidu, the company behind the most important search engine in China, announced to the public the release of the final version of a whitepaper with all the details behind a project of services based on the use of blockchain technologies.

With this decision the Asian giant bets on innovating technologies to boost its business model. Baidu’s vision is consonant with that of the Chinese government, which is sure that the use of blockchain technologies can be instrumental in the development of many industries, especially those that have some kind of relationship with technological services.

Previously, Baidu had announced its intention to experiment with the development of blockchain technologies; however, the public had to wait until this week to know in more detail what are the ideas that the Asian giant intends to implement.

Baidu: Not Just a Blockchain but a XUPER-Chain

According to information from the White Paper,  Baidu plans to develop a “super chain” which will optimize the company’s performance while providing services related to supply chains, intellectual property, commerce, tourism, and social networks.

Baidu Blockchain Lab released Baidu #Blockchain Whitepaper v1.0 today, introducing the Lab’s independently-researched XuperChain network system. Integrating XuperChain w/ AI+Big Data, we have released 6 applications, incl. #Totem, in the fields of copyright, info security & more! pic.twitter.com/0DGrMUaPqD

— Baidu Inc. (@Baidu_Inc) September 26, 2018

In turn, this super chain will serve as an aggregator for several sidechains, which will function independently with different applications.

The white paper explains that there will be at least six applications running on this blockchain: Totem, Degree Universe, Baidu Association, Treasure Chest, Encyclopedia Online (which has been working with distributed accounting technology since May) and Hubert. Also, the services offered by the so-called super chain will have to do with digital rights, certification scenarios, clearing and settlement, digital assets and game development.

Baidu assures that its architecture is much more efficient than a traditional blockchain since the hardware resources needed to guarantee its operation are minimal. To achieve this, Baidu’s team developed a “multi-core parallel computing technology to maximize CPU utilization and increase performance.”

In early 2018, Baidu launched a BaaS (Blockchain as a Service) solution focused on processing and tracking transactions and payments. According to the company, this technology could be used in billing applications, bank credits, and insurance.