Ant Group, which is currently pursuing a reorganization after authorities halted its initial public offering two year back, introduced a blockchain storage system on Thursday, signaling a turn towards hard technology by the financial titan.
Ant Group Digital Technologies introduced Letus, or Log-structured Efficient Trusted Universal Storage, at the Apsara Conference in Hangzhou on Thursday, characterizing it as a method for reducing the storage expenses of blockchain frameworks.
“Letus can increase storage performance by 15 times, cut lag by 90%, and save disk bandwidth and capacity by 95% and 60%, respectively,” stated Yan Ying, technical director of AntChain, in a press statement.
At the occasion, the business also unveiled upgraded versions of many “platform-as-a-service” solutions; nevertheless, Ant, which still operates the nation’s most widely used mobile payment application, provided minimal details about its financial services activities.
About two years ago, Ant’s planned IPO in Shanghai and Hong Kong was abruptly canceled due to a shift in the legislative climate. It is currently undertaking a state-directed reorganization, and there is no clear timeline for a relisting. Its financial services division, which encompasses the attractive consumer lending market, is now subject to the same laws as conventional banking institutions.
The South China Morning Post is owned by Alibaba Group Holding, which is affiliated with Ant Group.
This year, ties between Alibaba and Ant, both co-founded by Jack Ma and formerly extremely cordial, have weakened. Alibaba said in July that Ant’s senior officials, including chairman and CEO Eric Jing Xiandong, chief technology officer Ni Xingjun, and president of its international business division Angel Zhao Ying, had left the company’s partnership model.
In the last two years, Ant Group Digital Technologies has introduced a variety of blockchain-linked goods and products, such as the AntChain Station, an all-in-one workspace, and the Blockchain Transmission Network, a high-speed, long-distance blockchain communications technology.
Geoff Jiang, president of Ant Group’s Digital Technology Business Group, stated that the company “focuses primarily on technical advances that generate a trusted digital network to enhance industrial cooperation and enable us to utilize our groundbreaking products and services to further support the economic growth.”
