Alibaba Cloud debuts blockchain service

Alibaba Cloud provides a blockchain node service to make it easier for organizations to build blockchain applications by abstracting their underlying infrastructure.

Set to launch in the first quarter of 2023, the service, powered by Alibaba Cloud’s computing and storage capabilities, is expected to help developers reduce operational and maintenance workloads when deploying blockchain applications.

Speaking to Computer Weekly in Singapore, Raymond Xiao, head of international industry solutions and architect at Alibaba Cloud, said the new offering will also support multiple blockchain protocols.

“Every few months there will be a new protocol, and with our blockchain node APIs [application programming interfaces]developers don’t have to worry about installing the protocols, saving them the effort of maintaining these nodes,” Xiao said.

“We will also launch a developer toolkit and automation tools to help developers build their blockchain apps,” he added.

With blockchain security in the spotlight, Xiao noted that Alibaba Cloud’s blockchain node service was built with security in mind.

For example, by placing the blockchain nodes behind Alibaba Cloud’s firewall, only verified users and machines are allowed to communicate with client endpoints.

The nodes are also protected against distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks from Alibaba’s network of traffic scrubbing centers across Southeast Asia, Japan, Europe and the United States, Xiao said.

“Driven by enterprises’ growing demand to simplify the complex inter-silo dependencies, we can see the popularity of blockchain nodes has grown significantly in recent years in Asia,” Xiao said.

“In addition to its flexibility and efficiency, Alibaba Cloud’s stable and reliable enterprise-class node service, backed with comprehensive security features, offers developers an extra layer of confidence as they navigate seamlessly across different frameworks,” he added.

Ahead of the launch of its blockchain node service, Alibaba Cloud has teamed up with partners such as Avalanche, which offers an open, programmable smart contract platform for decentralized applications.

Alibaba Cloud said the partnership will enable users to launch validator nodes through the service and access computing, storage and distribution resources through Alibaba Cloud’s product line in Asia. The two sites will also work together to support Web3 projects through developer education and mentoring programs.

In Hong Kong, Xiao said Alibaba Cloud was working with HashKey Group, a virtual asset service provider, to incubate Asia’s blockchain ecosystem.

“We have launched some hackathons together with HashKey to raise awareness in the market and help participants use Alibaba Cloud services to build Web3 applications,” he said.

Derek Wang, Alibaba Cloud’s general manager for Singapore, South Asia and Thailand, noted that while it was still early days for Web3 technologies such as blockchain, it was already being embraced by organizations in Southeast Asia.

That includes food distributors using blockchain to facilitate the traceability of fresh produce, as well as pharmaceutical companies using blockchain to crack down on counterfeit drugs.

According to IDC, blockchain spending in the Asia-Pacific region is expected to reach $2.4 billion by 2022, representing a compound annual growth rate of 77.5%. Most of the demand for blockchain technology will come from the financial sector, which will account for about half of total blockchain spending.