The payments subsidiary of the Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, Ant Group, today launched a new blockchain solution dubbed AntChain. According to a report issued on South China Morning Post, AntChain is created on top of Ant Group’s blockchain technology combining artificial intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), secure computation, and other technologies.

As part of the AntChain initiative, the Ant Group has developed a new workstation similar in size to a laptop. It appears with built-in software and hardware accelerator intended to smoothen the functioning of blockchain applications. AntChain’s workstation can reportedly decrease the set-up time to one-tenth of the usual and can enhance transaction speeds by 30%. 

Over 100 million digital records uploaded daily.

Ant Group stepped into the blockchain space in 2015 and commenced working on commercial applications on its blockchain last year. It now claims that it can help over one billion user accounts and process up to a billion transactions per day. The company stated that almost 100 million digital records, including transaction details, copyright, and property ownership certificates are uploaded onto AntChain every day. 

Ant Group has shown exceptional interest in the blockchain industry. In January this year, the company also declared the launch of an enterprise-focused blockchain platform named Ant Blockchain Open Alliance. In an official statement, Li Jieli, the general manager of blockchain solutions and innovations at Ant said, “The application of industry blockchain is still at an early stage and [it] will support digital transactions, reducing costs in various industries as the digital economy develops.”