China's Central Bank Issues the First Financial Industry Blockchain Standard (JR/T 0184‑2020)

Recently, the People's Bank of China released the "Financial Distributed Ledger Technology Security Specification" (JR/T 0184‑2020), recognized as the first blockchain‑related standard in the domestic financial industry.

JD Digital Technology Co., Ltd. was one of the main drafting units; its vice‑president Cao Peng, a principal author, gave interviews to Sina Finance and Securities Daily discussing the standard's significance.

Cao Peng believes the timely launch of the standard will serve as a "blueprint" for reliable blockchain technology and applications, helping the industry move beyond unchecked expansion.

The standard, managed by the National Financial Standardization Technical Committee and drafted by the Digital Currency Research Institute of the PBOC together with major banks and financial institutions, underwent extensive public consultation before approval.

Although China has previously issued blockchain‑related documents (e.g., the 2016 "China Blockchain Technology and Application Development Whitepaper" and the 2017 "Blockchain Reference Architecture"), this is the first formal standard explicitly targeting the financial sector.

Some industry voices question equating blockchain with distributed ledger technology, noting the standard does not mention "blockchain" directly; Cao Peng clarifies that, in technical terms, the two can be considered equivalent.

According to ISO 22739, blockchain is a cryptographic, consensus‑driven distributed ledger, and the PBOC’s adoption of this technology in finance is seen as a milestone for guiding industry development.

Cao Peng predicts the standard will foster deeper integration of blockchain with AI and other intelligent technologies, creating a bridge between the digital and physical economies.

JD Digital Technology has been active in blockchain since 2016, contributing to supply‑chain traceability, digital evidence, digital finance, and regulatory technology, and has participated in multiple national and industry standards and research reports.

Future technical challenges highlighted include large‑scale consensus protocols, regulatory‑compliant signatures, cross‑chain interoperability, quantum‑resistant cryptography, and multi‑language smart‑contract engines.

In application, JD Digital cites examples such as blockchain‑plus‑AI for tea‑leaf identification, digital asset property rights platforms, and integration with internet courts for evidence preservation.

The overarching goal is to use robust standards as the foundation for stable, scalable blockchain products that connect the digital world with existing industry processes, reduce costs, improve efficiency, and support regulatory compliance.