WeBank, China's first private and digital-only bank, said it plans to build a world-class blockchain-based business ecosystem, as the world's leading financial institutions start to explore feasible applications for the cutting-edge technology.

The digital bank announced its Collaborative Business Infrastructure strategy, integrating its artificial intelligence, blockchain, cloud computing and big data technologies.

Worldwide blockchain spending is expected to hit $1.5 billion in 2018, double the expenditure in 2017, and is set to reach $11.7 billion in 2022, according to a report from global consultancy International Data Corp.

By the end of August, 2018, 15 million interbank reconciliations had taken place through blockchain networks with three banking partners since going live in August 2016.

WeBank's total profit surged 261 percent year-on-year to reach 1.4 billion yuan ($205 million) in 2017, with 80 percent coming from Weilidai.

The digital bank started to expand its blockchain implementation after initiating the Financial Blockchain Shenzhen Consortium in 2016, which has developed into one of China's largest. Dozens of applications, covering finance, supply chains, intellectual property and property management, have been carried out based on the consortium's open-source blockchain platform, FISCO Blockchain Open Source.

Source: China Daily