China's National Council for Social Security Funds has announced that it is adopting the blockchain technology, a type of secure distributed database propagated by online digital currency Bitcoin.

In a statement, National Council for Social Security Funds vice chairman Wang Zhongmin said, "Blockchain technology will be used in the social security system because of its valuable applications in the investment and management of social security funds."

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The decision to adopt blockchain technology is a strategic shift for the council to strengthen its data security. According to Tech Node, the National Council for Social Security Funds managed an estimated 1.9 trillion Yuan (or $285 billion) as of the end of 2015. With this massive amount of money under the council's trust, it is considered as a high-value target for scammers and hackers.

The decision to adopt blockchain was made just a couple of days after China's biggest state banks announced that they would be working on a new ledger-style technology, which can be applied on large-scale blockchain operations. China Merchants Bank said that they are working with technology solutions provider R3 to develop this technology.

Despite the massive international appeal of the blockchain technology, China, due to the country's strict censorship protocols regarding foreign technologies, has been critical of it. It is only recently that the country began to entertain the idea of integrating blockchain technology into state-run companies.

Back in 2013, the Chinese government issued a statement banning payment companies and financial institutions from dealing with Bitcoin. Despite this ban, private Bitcoin mining has continued to flourish in China.

Tagschina, bitcoin, Blockchain, national council for social security funds, blockchain news, online security