Alibaba Cloud, the digital technology and intelligence backbone of Alibaba Group, today announced a roadmap for the launch of its first Blockchain Node Service. Scheduled for the first quarter of 2023, the Blockchain Node Service will support the growth of the evolving Web3.0 ecosystem and better serve developers with Alibaba Cloud’s scalable, efficient and secure infrastructure for a more user-friendly and immersive experience.

The new PaaS platform aims to aid developers by reducing operational and maintenance time while they are building and deploying new products. Leveraging Alibaba Cloud’s scalable, high performance and stable infrastructure, the node-hosting service actively monitors the nodes and automatically switches in case of an outage. As it doesn’t require hands-on monitoring or problem mitigation, developers are free to concentrate on product development and thus speed up the pace of the product roll-out process.

With Alibaba Cloud’s world-class security and global compliance capabilities, the Blockchain Node Service is backed with security configurations that can help prevent unauthorized access to the nodes. The nodes are placed behind the cloud firewall and only verified users and machines are allowed to communicate with client endpoints. Moreover, Alibaba Cloud security solutions can further protect nodes from DDoS attacks.  

“Driven by enterprises’ increasing demand for simplifying the complex inter-silo dependencies, we can see the popularity of nodes has grown significantly in recent years in Asia,” said Raymond Xiao, Head of International Industry Solutions and Architect, Alibaba Cloud Intelligence. “On top of its flexibility and efficiency, Alibaba Cloud’s stable and reliable enterprise-class node service backed with comprehensive security features, offers developers an extra layer of confidence as they navigate seamlessly across different frameworks.”

To prepare for the launch early next year, Alibaba Cloud has already started offering partners a scalable, highly efficient and secure infrastructure to help build the Web3.0 ecosystem and community with developers from across the world.

For example, Alibaba Cloud has recently expanded its line of infrastructure technology and intelligence tools to the Avalanche public blockchain (AVAX). This enables users to launch validator nodes through the service and access computing, storage, and distribution resources through Alibaba Cloud’s suite of products in Asia. The two sides will also work together to support innovative Web3.0 projects, including hackathons, developer education and mentorship programs, to help Web2.0 developers transition to Web3.0. 

It has also created an infrastructure and technology platform for Web3.0 developers in partnership with HashKey Group, a Hong Kong-based end-to-end digital asset financial services group and Web3.0 infrastructure provider, and PlatON, a next-generation internet infrastructure protocol based on the fundamental properties of blockchain and supported by the privacy-preserving computation network.

“Web 3.0 is currently at an early stage, and with it being the next generation of the Internet, it is already being embraced by users, especially in Southeast Asia,” said Dr Derek Wang, General Manager of Singapore, South Asia and Thailand, Alibaba Cloud Intelligence, “Alibaba Cloud’s strong infrastructure across APAC and global leading security and compliance capabilities put us in a strong position to support the growth of the Web 3.0 ecosystem. We are committed to better serving customers to help explore new business opportunities, while supporting consumers to ensure a more user-friendly and immersive experience.”

As part of the evolution of the Web 3.0 ecosystem, initially 100 users will be recruited in an open beta test for the launch of the Node Service, while a series of Web 3.0 Hackathon Campaigns will be held in Singapore, Japan, Thailand and Hong Kong, early next year.

New Web 3.0 industry offerings in E-sports and the metaverse

As a global leading IaaS and PaaS provider, Alibaba Cloud aims to provide robust, secure and high-performance technology platforms and intelligence tools for worldwide Web3.0 developers to build their own applications, in the metaverse, gaming environments and across social media platforms for example.

Alibaba Cloud launched the “Cloud ME” hologram powered by its real-time communication (RTC) solution at the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022. The technology facilitates social interactions for people keen to explore bona fide meeting experiences during the Olympic Winter Games, enabling them to meet and enjoy real-time conversations via life-sized, true-to-life projection.

Alibaba Cloud and Japan’s leading development studio, JP Games, have also jointly launched a series of new services developed to create realistic virtual spaces and avatars for global customers who venture into space. The service includes the automatic creation of visually stunning 3D virtual spaces, high-quality graphics from 2D landscape photos as well as the automatic creation of user avatars, simply by taking selfie photos.