While most are unfamiliar with the formerly small fishing village of

Shenzhen, I have witnessed its economic growth and development first-

hand over past two years. The now booming city of Shenzhen’s recent

venture raise for blockchain projects illustrates its ongoing commitment

to furthering technological innovation.

Shenzhen was not always as tech-forward as it is today – in May of 1980,

Shenzhen was singled out to become the first of the five Special

Economic Zones (SEZ). The SEZ was created as an experimental ground

for the practice of market capitalism within a community guided by the

ideals of “Socialism with Chinese characteristics”. In the 30 years since

the creation of the SEZ, Shenzhen was rated as one of the fastest-

growing cities in the world during the 1990s and the 2000s. Shenzhen

has become the Silicon Valley of China and is currently China’s 4th

largest city. It is home to many large technology manufacturers, as well

as tech giants like Tencent and Huawei; and, it continues its stance as a

major player in technological innovation.

While China’s ban on ICOs in 2017 signaled the closing of exchanges, the

Chinese government has been clear that “We like Blockchain tech, but

we do not like Cryptocurrencies.” Shenzhen is mirroring this sentiment

toward blockchain and doubling down on its commitment to tech

innovation and blockchain growth, announcing on Monday a $79 million

venture raise to support the city’s blockchain startups. This is another

successful step toward China becoming a global player in blockchain,

especially given Hangzhou’s recent announcement of its blockchain park

and $1 billion investment fund. With these recent, substantial moves to

publicly fund blockchain projects from the Chinese government, it is

clear that although China may be regulating cryptocurrency and ICOs, it

does not want to be left behind in the battle for blockchain dominance.

Also published on Medium.