Shanghai Insurance Exchange Completes Blockchain Data Test for Financial Transactions

(Yicai Global) March 29 — Shanghai Insurance Exchange (SHIE) announced it has successfully completed a blockchain data test for financial transactions in collaboration with nine insurers, proving the feasibility of applying the technology to insurance credit management.

The test was conducted yesterday. The blockchain system used by the exchange was developed based on the practical byzantine fault tolerance (PBFT) algorithm to meet data processing requirements for low-frequency business transactions, an SHIE manager said. The next step is to test out the system with mid- to high-frequency transactions, he said.

Nine insurance companies took part in the test, and a small 10-node alliance chain was built, with each company functioning as a transaction and verification node, and the exchange as the management node, SHIE said.

Node monitoring is achieved in the system through cloud computing, enabling fully integrated and visual configuration of all nodes and accessibility to smart contracts throughout the alliance chain, the SHIE manager said.

The success of the test marks an important breakthrough in the application of blockchain technology in the insurance industry, a market insider opined. It will significantly lower the costs of insurance transactions, and improve transaction efficiency, the insider said.

Blockchain was conceptualized based on innovations of the digital currency bitcoin. It ensures information traceability and is resistant to modification of data by linking otherwise separate records together, and every participant retains a ledger.

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