Tencent, Chinese Officials Partner to Fight Blockchain Crime

Technology giant Tencent is teaming up with the Chinese government to fight blockchain-related security issues.

The firm's vice president, Bin Ma, announced the formation of the China Blockchain Security Alliance during the China Blockchain Security Forum in Beijing on Thursday, according to a report from ChinaNews, a state-owned media outlet.

The forum, hosted by the government-backed China Technology Market Association (CTMA), aimed to unite organizations to protect "the healthy development of blockchain industry," according to the news service.

The China Blockchain Security Alliance will be composed of Tencent affiliate Tencent Security, the China Blockchain Application Research Center, CTMA, and more than 20 public and private institutions, ChinaNews reported.

The conference comes as the number of blockchain-related crimes in China has increased.

In April, state-run media outlet Xinhua reported that the police of Xi'an, a city in central China, successfully cracked down a pyramid scheme associated with the blockchain concept.

The online marketing platform involved in this case lured more than 13,000 participants who invested as much as RMB86 million (about to $13 million) within 17 days after launch.