Chen Weixing, founder of Chinese ride-hailing company Kuaidi Dache recently announced his plans to launch a new blockchain-based app. According to the China Money Network, this app will also be a ride-hailing business. He is partnering with Meituan’s Yang Jun to launch this new project. Though the details about the project are unclear, we know that the app could provide lifestyle services like deliveries and ride-hailing.
Speaking at the China International Big Data Industry Expo 2018, Jun talked about his blockchain ambitions. He said, “I’ve been asking myself what’s the value of the blockchain. My definition is to see whether and where people can actually use it. With the use of blockchain, we can build a set of economic systems different from the previous ones…We can direct traffic from the Internet and add on different services to meet users’ needs.”
Chen, who was also one of the speakers at the event said, “Ride hailing is the first time blockchain will be tested on a social application on a mass scale.”
Their company, Kuaidi Dache has now become a part of Didi Chuxing after merging with Didi Dache in 2016. The new company is valued at $60 billion but is reportedly seeking an IPO at a much higher valuation. On the other hand, Meituan is an on-demand local services firm that was merged with Dianping in 2016 and the new company- Meituan Dianping is now valued at over $30 billion.
Both the founders have all the necessary credential to pull off a feat like this. Their companies have done exceptionally well in the past but the blockchain industry is completely different than what they have done till date. Chen is currently a founder of Funcity Inc. while Yang is the founder of Skyline Invest. Both are active in blockchain investing but this is the first time
When the news broke on Twitter, users commented extensively on it. One user wrote, “it’s completely irrelevant for the end user what kind of database is behind the app like this.” A physicist and rationalist Avram Meitner tweeted, “…why? Why make life harder for yourself?”
We must also note that this is not the first time that a Chinese firm has thought about revolutionizing the ride-hailing business. In 2016, a company called La’Zooz was developing a platform that could bring the blockchain model to taxi apps like Lyft and Uber. Later, in 2017, Chasyr announced that they will be accepting cryptocurrency payments and help distribute a fair value between the riders, drivers, and the company.
China’s blockchain industry is growing at an unprecedented rate. Earlier, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology published a white paper suggesting that the industry has grown ‘exponentially’ n 2017. During the year, 178 new blockchain startups were launched in the country. There have been several hundred patents registered by these firms for blockchain based products. The number is higher than any other country. Though Chinese authorities are quite negative about the scope of cryptocurrencies and ICOs, they have welcomed the distributed ledger technology.
