Red Date Technology

Red Date Technology, founded in 2014, is a Hong Kong-based company that initially focused on building technical infrastructure for smart city projects in China. The company pivoted its focus to blockchain technology in 2019 after its founder and CEO, Yifan He, recognized its transformative potential. He, a serial entrepreneur and investor with degrees in Computer Science from SUNY at Stony Brook and an MBA from MIT Sloan School of Management, has over two decades of experience in IT and corporate management. His journey includes founding his first internet company in 1998 and spending over ten years in private equity in China.

Red Date Technology is the primary architect behind the Blockchain-based Service Network (BSN), a global public infrastructure designed to make blockchain technology more accessible and affordable for developers and enterprises. The BSN was jointly initiated by China's State Information Center (SIC), China Mobile, China UnionPay, and Red Date Technology. The network functions as an interoperability layer, connecting various permissioned and permissionless blockchain frameworks, thereby reducing the high costs and complexity associated with developing and deploying decentralized applications (dApps). The BSN provides a unified environment where developers can build and manage applications across multiple blockchain protocols, aiming to create an "Internet of Blockchains".

The company's business model revolves around providing this foundational infrastructure, which significantly lowers the barrier to entry for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and individual developers. It operates through a network of Public City Nodes (PCNs), which are data centers that run BSN protocols, allowing developers to purchase shared cloud resources like computing power and storage. Red Date Technology generates revenue by providing these blockchain-as-a-service (BaaS) solutions. The BSN has distinct domestic and international networks; BSN China exclusively supports permissioned blockchains to comply with local regulations, while BSN International, governed by a Singapore-based foundation, supports both public and private blockchains. In June 2021, Red Date Technology secured $30 million in a Series A funding round led by Prosperity7 Ventures (an affiliate of Saudi Aramco) and Kenetic, with participation from Bangkok Bank and others.

The company's product suite extends beyond the core BSN infrastructure. It includes the RDCloud Suite for delivering BaaS, RD Bridge for interoperability between public and permissioned chains, and solutions for digital currencies and digital identity. Its digital currency offerings feature a management system for CBDCs and stablecoins, and the UDPN Kissen Network, a cross-border payment and settlement network. For governments, Red Date provides a decentralized digital identity (DID) platform to enhance identity and credential verification. These products serve a wide range of clients, from government agencies and large enterprises to SMEs and individual developers, aiming to drive the global adoption of blockchain technology.

Keywords: Blockchain-based Service Network, BSN, He Yifan, decentralized infrastructure, blockchain interoperability, smart cities, Blockchain-as-a-Service, BaaS, public IT systems, digital economy, cross-chain technology, dApp development, permissioned blockchain, public blockchain, digital currency infrastructure, Central Bank Digital Currencies, CBDC, decentralized digital identity, DID, Red Date Technology, BSN International, BSN China