Tencent Receives Patent for Blockchain-Based Missing Persons Poster

It took three years for the simple patent idea to gain regulatory clearance.

According to local news outlet 36kr.com, Chinese tech conglomerate Tencent recently received a new patent for a blockchain-based missing person poster. The patent took nearly three years to issue from the date of its first submission in December 2019.

The patent consists of a request to generate data when the user submits that a person has disappeared. The proposal is then unveiled publicly on the blockchain for verification. Once a consensus has been reached regarding the request, it is then stored in the public ledger and forwarded to the nodes for dissemination to a wider audience. Tencent said in the patent application that the design aims to improve the efficiency of searching for missing persons.

Tencent was an early adopter of blockchain technology among big tech companies, particularly when it came to exploring possibilities for integration with payment technology, although its efforts have been somewhat hampered by China's strict crypto regulations. Yet, its coinless “FISCO BCOS” blockchain jointly developed with Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei in 2018 for building decentralized applications remains active to this day.

In early July, Tencent shut down one of its non-fungible token platforms after the Chinese government clarified that it does not allow users to conduct private transactions after purchase, as well as a drop in sales.

China is currently embarking on a centralized approach to blockchain technology, with a policy significantly favoring its central bank digital currency in digital yuan (e-CNY) instead of digital tokens developed by private companies. Last...