China's Army Considering a Blockchain Rewards System, Report

China's military could implement a blockchain rewards system to manage personnel data and incentivize its workforce, the Global Times reported on Nov. 18.

Citing a People's Liberation Army Daily report, the Global Times underscores that the blockchain system would likely not involve financial incentives, but would be used as an innovation strategy for the military's management.

The PLA is reportedly interested in using an immutable and secure blockchain-based system to manage personnel data; spanning records such as military training, career path, missions undertaken and performance reports.

The system could be tokenized to offer soldiers non-financial incentives, which could be recuperated for rewards within the scheme.

"It sounds similar to a KPI system that will give feedback to the troops very frequently," he noted.

Those watching China's advance in the fields of data, behaviour analytics and surveillance will likely recall its notorious social credit system, which has been in development since 2007.China's blockchain strategy.

Last week, the official Chinese state-run Xinhua News Agency has published a broadly positive and detailed report recognizing Bitcoin as "The first successful application of blockchain technology."

President Xi's recent high-profile endorsement of blockchain innovation in recent weeks was accompanied by the signing of the first national law regulating cryptography, governing various aspects of blockchain, due to come into effect this January.

The People's Bank of China is expected to establish China as the first major global economy to launch a central bank digital currency.

Whether or not the PBoC's digital currency will be blockchain-based and interoperable with other blockchains or not has been a matter of debate and speculation among industry figures in recent weeks.