OK Group to invest $140M in blockchain development in China

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Cryptocurrency and blockchain firm OK Group has announced that it intends to invest $140 million in blockchain research and development in China. The company partnered with the local government of Hainan, a southern province in China, on the initiative. The project will seek to facilitate the application of blockchain technology to power real-life systems.

In a press release shared with CoinGeek, OK Group said it plans to set up the Asia Pacific Innovation Center. The center will have a blockchain data research institution, a blockchain innovation center and an entrepreneurship program.

Star Xu, the founder of OK Group, announced the project during the Hainan Free Trade Zone Digital Economy and Blockchain Forum. The forum was organized by the local government of Hainan and seeks to promote the use of cryptos and blockchain technology.

Xu lauded the efforts that the Hainan government has made to promote blockchain, stating, “Hainan has established the solid foundation for innovation industries, and with the accelerated development of blockchain technology, OK Group is really glad to achieve this cooperation. The newly built Innovation Center will further exert the advantage of OK Group and build a substantial blockchain ecosystem.”

Xu further revealed that the Innovation Center will facilitate the research of blockchain use in education, healthcare, food safety, charity and more. OK Group will invest $140 million in the project, he pledged.

Xu, who is also the Founding Chairman of the China Blockchain Business Research Institute, added, “OK Group will make full use of the Asia Pacific Innovation Center to support the innovation and entrepreneurship in the blockchain industry via selecting the potential projects, cultivating industry talents, and incubating the blockchain start-ups.“

OKCoin, which is one of the subsidiaries of OK Group, has continued to reinvent itself in recent times to stay ahead of its peers. As CoinGeek reported, the crypto exchange recently opened a new Single Euro Payments Area channel, allowing its European users to easily withdraw and deposit euros.