WeBank Technology Services has unveiled POTOS (Portal of the Orient Symposium for Web3), a new blockchain and real world asset (RWA) tokenization infrastructure targeting Hong Kong’s Web3 ecosystem. In its initial phase, POTOS provides a three layer ‘value exchange’ infrastructure solution for institutions: a high performance blockchain to connect different asset types, cross chain protocols enabling atomic swaps, and advanced security technologies including zero knowledge proofs.
“We hope that this value exchange evolution, driven by the trust machine, can truly solidify the foundation of trust for the advancement of Hong Kong’s Web3 ecosystem,” said Henry Ma, EVP and CIO of WeBank. As a wholly owned subsidiary of WeBank in Hong Kong, the company aims to leverage its blockchain expertise to help position Hong Kong as a hub for compliant and innovative Web3 practices. WeBank was founded by Tencent, the owner of WeChat Pay, and still retains a 30% interest in the company.
POTOS is built on the FISCO BCOS blockchain platform, a Chinese open source initiative spearheaded by WeBank. The system boasts financial grade performance with processing capacity of up to 200,000 TPS and horizontal scalability. Since becoming fully open source in 2017, the platform has been implemented in over 500 digital transformation projects and established a community of more than 5,000 institutions and 100,000 individuals.
This development aligns with broader trends in WeBank’s blockchain strategy. At a 2023 conference in China, a senior WeBank executive discussed the potential for an “Open Consortium Chain 2.0” to target Web3 opportunities. While China restricts cryptocurrency and public blockchains, WeBank is working to transition from permissioned consortium chains to blockchains “with a public spirit.” By 2023 the bank’s blockchain had processed over 400 million transactions with around 30 applications.
WeBank versus Ant
Meanwhile, in the competitive landscape, WeBank’s main rival Ant has focused its international blockchain efforts on cross border payments, including tokenized deposits and stablecoins. Ant recently announced partnerships with Standard Chartered and OCBC bank for its Whale platform, including for enabling 24/7 real time payments between Singapore and Malaysia.
