As China tries to recover from the recent cyber attacks that saw many people lose their money and trust in the cryptocurrency systems, the Chinese government is considering the use of blockchain technology as one of the measures to protect its citizens from such attacks in the future. However, there is a growing concern about the probable effect of this technology on the entire online media and publishing industry.

There’s a possibility that blockchain can transform the online media and publishing sector by eliminating all the intermediary controls, simplifying data distributions, cutting down costs, and enabling artists and authors to have a direct control over their own creations. Also, it’s quite likely that blockchain will be applied widely by the Chinese netizens, but the involvement of the government in the process could pose a challenge for the technology’s adoption in the country.

China is extensively prominent for its ability to control the cyberspace. Recently, however, China experienced a huge number of scams and as a result, came up with several measures including the prohibition of ICOs and Bitcoin exchanges. The government is currently supporting a blockchain research lab and has also launched the Belt and Road Blockchain Consortium in Hong Kong to enlighten people on the benefits of using blockchain technology.

In 2016, the Chinese government released various Administrative Regulations to be used for Online Publishing services. The measures restrict both the domestic and foreign firms from publishing a wide range of content in any form including text, maps, games, pictures, video, animation, and much more without the authorization from the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film, and Television. Blockchain technology could offer the government a higher degree of control of the industry hence leaving the future of the publishing industry totally undefined.

The Chinese internet users could benefit more from the online blockchain publishing since its decentralized nature could allow them to publish quickly and securely various types of content online directly with each other without any third party control. The monetary transaction between publishers and consumers will be easier and faster too.