China’s Largest Online Video Firm to Implement Blockchain
Leshi, the largest online video company in China with over US$1.6 billion annual revenue, has announced its plans to implement the blockchain technology at the Ministry of Electronics Standards Institute (MESI).
The company has established two subsidiary organizations under its brand called LeFinance Blockchain Labs and LeEco Blockchain Alliance to create a White Paper for the blockchain-based application the Leshi development team envisions to integrate into their newly launched LeFinShare platform.
LeFinShare is a music and digital content distribution platform with which artists and content providers can monetize their creations using the Leshi blockchain tokens, which will be distributed upon the launch of the LeFinShare blockchain platform.
Essentially, the Chinese media giant is exploiting the blockchain technology to build an entirely new mechanism of sharing music on the internet. Leveraging the decentralized and transparent nature of a blockchain network, the Leshi development team is attempting to create a shared protocol for artists and for label companies to distribute their music and monetize it in a more efficient and open network.
Gao Lin, the Senior Director of Operations and Finance at Leshi specifically emphasized at the MESI that the financial and media industries have monopoly over the operations in the market. He further stated that a blockchain-based platform will provide greater transparency and a more established digital infrastructure for content providers to securely and efficiently distribute their content.
“The blockchain technology accelerates the circulation of digital content, improves productivity and settlement of commodities and assets,” Lin said.
Over the course of the development of the blockchain-based platform, Lin explained that the Leshi development team will integrate core applications and other alternative solutions for content providers. One of the core applications of the platform will be a digital wallet in which users will be able to circulate the network’s local tokens.
To successfully process token-mediated digital transactions and maintain the network, Leshi announced that the LeFinance Blockchain Labs and LeEco Blockchain Alliance will collaborate together to explore methods of integrating financial applications into the network while maintaining the core services of the blockchain-based platform, which are the circulation and mediation of digital content.
The Importance of Local Tokens
Gao Lin believes that the Leshi blockchain platform’s local token will play a vital role in the network for both the artists and other parties involved.
Leshi believes that while the Bitcoin network provides unprecedented security measures, it is specific in what the network was built to do. Lin described the Ethereum network as an example. The Ethereum network, which prioritizes the settlement of smart contracts, is fundamentally different from the Bitcoin network technically and economically.
The Ethereum network can handle and process operations that can’t be settled on the Bitcoin network. For instance, users of the Ethereum network can easily send smart contracts and larger sets of data that are difficult to settle in the Bitcoin network.
Similar to Ethereum and other alternative blockchains, Lin states that the Leshi blockchain platform will have its specific operations that must be supported by a local token. The presence of a local cryptocurrency will optimize the settlement of assets and circulation of digital content.
Although the company hasn’t specified the exact date of launch, Leshi is expected to complete the development of the platform by the end of 2016. The company envisions to restructure the music industry by altering the distribution and monetization mechanisms handled by centralized entities in the industry.
