Ant Group, financial technology affiliate of e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE: BABA) maintained its place as the largest blockchain patent holder in 2020, according to a report by International Asset Management that cited data from Clarivate’s Derwent World Patents Index or DWPI.
What happened: Research published by IAM showed that Ant Group maintained its first place in the index, which aggregates patents registered for both quantity and quality, CoinDesk initially reported. The rankings are dominated by Chinese companies, which lead in terms of volume of patent applications in blockchain.
The Ant Group registered 586 patents in 2020, which represents a 33% reduction from the 880 patents it registered the previous year. The company has 2,298 blockchain patents.
Shenzen-based conglomerate Ping An Insurance (Group) China Ltd. Company (OTC: PNGAY) filed 1,215 patents in 2020 to take second place in Tencent Holdings Limited (OTC: TCEHY).
International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE: IBM) was the only non-Chinese company in the top ten, ranking fourth in the number of blockchain patents last year, with 647 registrations. However, DWPI scoring metrics pushed IBM into second place, behind Ant Group.
Why does it matter: Chinese companies continue to expand their research into blockchain technology, which is used in financial technology, supply chain management and the Internet of Things or IoT, among other applications.
Chinese President Xi Jinping called for more research and innovation in blockchain technology in 2019. Some of China’s largest technology companies, including Ant Group, Tencent and Baidu Inc. (NASDAQ: BIDU) are represented on the country’s national blockchain committee.
See also: Jack Ma’s Ant promises to become carbon neutral by 2030
Since 2015, Ant Group has invested significantly in research and development of blockchain technologies. In July last year, Ant Group revealed AntChain, a new technology brand for the company’s blockchain-based solutions.
Price action: Alibaba Group shares closed nearly 0.7% lower on Monday at $ 230.28 and fell 0.2% in the after-hours session.
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