Could China’s sentiment around crypto be a turning tide? A move from Tencent Cloud this week could certainly suggest so. An unexpected investment in web3-related tools will hit the market from Tencent Cloud’s team, positioning the Chinese tech firm alongside the ranks of other global tech firms to make recent strides in web3, such as Google and Amazon.

The tech conglomerate’s new Web3 investment will include a new suite of crypto-native partnerships, too.

Renewed Crypto Optimism In The East

Long-time crypto spectators are no stranger to the ‘China narrative’ that has frequently impacted short-term price movement in years past. ‘China bans Bitcoin’ had effectively turned into a meme in the early years of crypto, but could the tide be turning? Just this week, our team has covered the potential change in sentiment from Chinese leaders, as well as efforts within Hong Kong to allow direct investment into digital assets – a move that Beijing officials have seemingly been in approval of thus far.

It’s been a relatively unexpected change of tides from the traditional perspective; in the west, the U.S. is signaling increased regulatory efforts surrounding crypto. As we covered in our report this week, “local digital currency business operators [in China]… suspect that Beijing intends to use Hong Kong as a channel to access crypto dealings.”

This narrative will be bolstered by the latest Tencent Cloud announcement this week. In a PR announcement released on Wednesday, Tencent Cloud shared a new suite of crypto-native partners, as well as a new slate of Web3-based initiatives. Those initiatives include the likes of a blockchain-based APIs, ‘metaverse-in-a-box’ offerings, and more. The announcement arrived on the heels of the firm’s first Web3 summit, the Tencent Cloud Web3 Build Day in Singapore.

Tencent Cloud’s New Crypto-Native Partnerships

Tencent Cloud will be teaming up with a select group of crypto characters to accomplish their goals, including Ankr, Avalanche, Scroll and Sui. Let’s take a quick bite-sized look at how each partner will add value to Tencent’s new suite of services:

• Ankr: As an infrastructure provider, Ankr will work with Tencent Cloud to “jointly develop a full suite of blockchain API services which provides a high-performing globally distributed and decentralized network of RPC nodes.”
• Avalanche: Builders be advised, Avalanche will be working with Tencent Cloud to build scalable solutions for developers. According to the release, a “fully synchronized Avalanche full node has been set up on Tencent Cloud, and it will enable efficient and quick node setup for developers.”
• Scroll: Scroll is working towards building an open-sourced fully EVM-compatible zk-Rollup, and the two collaboratively will work on scaling solutions.
• Sui: This lesser-known Layer-1 blockchain will focus on optimization of high-performance gaming, and bolster infrastructure needs for builders within Web3 gaming specifically.

In a statement included in the press release, SVP at Tencent Cloud International Poshu Yeung stated:

“At Tencent Cloud, we see a future with Web3, a new iteration of the internet that ushers in the concept of ‘Immersive Convergence’ where the physical and digital economies meet and integrate. With more businesses now keen to explore and adapt to an efficient, transparent digital future, we are ready to leverage our many years of technical experience in the fields of games, audio, and video to provide strong technical support for Web3, and work with industry partners to create a more immersive experience and nurture a better Web3 ecosystem.”