China's nationwide campaign to combat the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has put emerging technologies to the test. Big data is tracking infections, AI is screening temperatures, and robots are delivering supplies. In this critical moment, the spotlight has also turned to blockchain, a technology long expected to play a pivotal role.
Following renewed public trust issues surrounding charitable organizations, several blockchain-based initiatives have emerged, such as platforms for on-chain donation tracking and epidemic monitoring. However, their impact has been limited. Industry insiders note that blockchain is still in its early stages: large-scale, foundational applications are scarce, and a cohesive ecosystem strategy is lacking. In many ways, blockchain simply arrived late to the fight.
A Platform Built in 48 Hours
When the Hubei Provincial Department of Science and Technology called for tech solutions to aid epidemic control, Professor Cui Xiaohui of Wuhan University and his team answered. As a member of the CCF Blockchain Professional Committee, Cui led over 20 students to develop and launch the "National COVID-19 Prevention Supplies Information Exchange Platform" within just 48 hours on February 3. The platform aims to transparently connect donors with hospitals to streamline the delivery of critical protective gear.
The system was initially proposed to help organizations like the Red Cross Society manage donations with greater transparency using blockchain. However, before the proposal could advance, public trust in the Hubei Red Cross collapsed amid criticism over distribution delays and opaque operations.
"We worked nonstop for two days to get it live," said Cui. The team decided to launch a demo version independently, allowing direct donor-to-hospital connections. On its first day, traffic spiked to 300,000 visits, crashing the site. With support from Alibaba Cloud, stability was restored. Within three days, over 900 hospitals had listed their needs, facilitating more than 100 large-scale donations.
According to Chen Haoming of Shuqian Technology, putting donation data on a blockchain offers clear benefits: it creates an end-to-end, tamper-proof record of the entire supply chain—from logistics to delivery—initially on a consortium chain, with plans to interface with a public blockchain. This ensures full transparency and public verifiability.
In the wake of the charity trust crisis, many companies sought to put their entire donation process on-chain. Shuqian's team began proactively offering these blockchain tracking services for free, assisting around 30 enterprises so far.
Other initiatives followed. On February 7, Alipay launched an epidemic supplies platform powered by its AntChain technology, recording and verifying data across demand, supply, and transport. Earlier, on February 5, ChainFly Technology introduced China's first blockchain-based epidemic monitoring platform, providing real-time, immutable tracking of national and provincial outbreak data to ensure transparent information disclosure.
Promise vs. Reality: Blockchain's Growing Pains
Despite the progress, Professor Cui notes the current system hasn't reached its full potential. While built on a blockchain architecture, practical adoption requires all participants to use compatible systems. With hospitals and donors under immense pressure, the platform operates through a simpler web interface for now.
This creates a major bottleneck: verifying information. "At first, verifying a listing took nearly a day," Cui explained. "Now, with about 200 volunteers, we can do it in one to two hours." While blockchain verification is instantaneous, the current process relies on manual checks—volunteers calling hospitals and cross-referencing public data.
"The core blockchain infrastructure is ready," Cui added. "Once the situation stabilizes, we'll push for full implementation, which will require donors and hospitals to use dedicated apps." His long-term hope is to integrate the platform with organizations like the Red Cross, using blockchain to make charitable work fully transparent and traceable.
Cui emphasizes that blockchain is still a nascent technology without widespread, foundational adoption. The current challenges aren't technical but social—building public trust and familiarity takes time.
A senior industry insider echoed this view, noting that the pandemic's trust crisis highlights blockchain's natural fit for charity and emergency response. Unlike superficial "blockchain-washed" projects, these real-world demands could finally drive meaningful adoption.
"Compared to big data and AI, blockchain was simply late to the battle," the insider stated, attributing this to a lack of large-scale deployments and an ecosystem-level strategy. With limited prior preparation, public awareness, and implementation experience, blockchain couldn't deliver immediate results. The path forward requires deeper thought on where blockchain can offer unique, breakthrough value.