China-based tech conglomerate Tencent recently managed to obtain a novel patent for a blockchain-powered missing person’s poster. 

Specifically, the patent finally arrived following a near three-year pending period, since the date of its first submission in December 2019.

The patent reportedly includes information for a generation request regarding user submission that a person has gone missing. The proposal is then disclosed to the public audience on the blockchain for verification. 

As soon as a consensus has been reached for the request, it will then be kept in the public ledger and forwarded to nodes for broadcasting to a larger audience. Tencent revealed in the patent application that the design works towards a goal of enhancing the efficiency of looking for missing persons.

Tencent has been a pioneering entity to test blockchain among big tech enterprises, particularly when it comes to the study of possibilities for integration with payment technology, regardless of its attempts have been impeded to an extent due to China’s tough regulation associated with crypto. 

Regardless, its “FISCO BCOS” coinless blockchain built via a collaborative effort with Chinese telecom heavyweight Huawei in 2018 for developing decentralized applications remains active until this day. 

In early July, Tencent reportedly halted operations of one of its nonfungible tokens platforms following the clarification from the Chinese authority regarding its barring of users to carry out private transactions post-purchase, along with declining sales.

At the moment, China is adopting a centralized approach to blockchain, with policy majorly leaning towards its digital-yuan (e-CNY) central bank digital currency, rather than the digital tokens built by private entities. Last week, the country released its first-ever e-CNY-enabled Social Security card, which allows welfare to be deposited directly into the recipient’s account in the digital yuan and used for spending.