Tang Ning of CreditEase: CreditEase is taking multiple initiatives to study blockchain and explore its success model

"Blockchain technology has great prospects and is highly anticipated by financial practitioners, including banks, many Internet finance and financial technology companies, and regulators in various countries. Another thing they recognize is that it is still in its very early stages, and such commercial application practices are just beginning internationally," said Ning Tang, CEO of CreditEase, in an interview with Shared Finance.

During the interview, Tang Ning expressed his views on blockchain technology and Circle, an American blockchain company in which he had previously invested.

Circle is the first company in the world to obtain a digital currency license (BitLicense) from the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS). Its goal is to use blockchain technology to allow users from all countries to use their legal currencies for free value transfers around the world. Shared Finance previously reported that Circle announced on June 23 that it had received $60 million in Series D funding, with CreditEase being one of the participating companies.

When asked whether CreditEase will join the R3 blockchain alliance after Ping An Group, Tang Ning said that we are currently studying various initiatives, because some companies have joined the alliance, some have done basic research, some have made investments, and so on. I think everyone should let a hundred flowers bloom and have different ways.

Tang Ning believes that the current blockchain startups may need a long way to go, and resources and talent reserves have become a major test for these blockchain startups. CreditEase has a research department for blockchain, but has not yet established a blockchain laboratory.

The following is part of the interview:

Reporter: Mr. Tang, I have a question for you. We also know that CreditEase has previously participated in the investment of the American blockchain company Circle. I would like to ask what do you personally think about the development of blockchain, and whether CreditEase regards it as a key strategic layout?

Tang Ning: Whether it is financial practitioners, including banks, many Internet finance and financial technology companies, or regulators in various countries, blockchain technology has high hopes and is considered to have great prospects. Another understanding is that it is still in its very early stages, and such commercial application practices have just begun internationally. Therefore, it has not yet reached a stage where there is a successful model that can be replicated globally and is being circled and pointed out by everyone. The New Financial Industry Investment Fund has made an investment, which is also from the perspective of investing in innovation and investing in the future. Of course, we carefully select teams and models, and we agree with them very much. It is not a gambling approach. However, from the perspective of the development stage of such technology, I think it is still in its very early stages, but the relevant institutions are doing a lot of preparatory work. In particular, many financial technology companies are also making every effort to innovate.

And I was at the Davos forum a few weeks ago. We originally had a fintech forum covering all aspects of the fintech field, but in the second half it became a special session on blockchain, so everyone can see how much interest there is in blockchain.

Reporter: Some time ago, Ping An Group announced that it had joined the R3 blockchain alliance. Does CreditEase Group have any plans to join the R3 blockchain alliance?

Tang Ning: We are studying various initiatives, some of which involve joining alliances, some doing basic research, some making investments, and so on. I think there is room for growth and there are many different approaches.

Reporter: Do you think now is a good time window for blockchain entrepreneurship? What do you think about the better integration and development of blockchain and finance?

Tang Ning: I think that in terms of business practice, people are still thinking about it, especially in China. I have not seen any cases that have shown any signs of success. Internationally, there are mainly digital currencies, such as Bitcoin, which are supported by blockchain technology.

In addition, banks and financial institutions are trying to improve efficiency, reduce costs and facilitate transactions based on blockchain technology. Under such circumstances, my advice to entrepreneurs is how to view this kind of persistence in the future. It may take a long time to go, so do you have enough resources?

In addition, I have noticed that many blockchain practices are too idealistic, that is, they are talking about such technical solutions to large institutions. So whether small enterprises and start-ups have such talents and resource reserves is also an important consideration. At present, we have such research and related departments, but we have not yet established a blockchain laboratory.