China Unveils 96-Core RISC-V Blockchain Chip Powering Chang'An Chain Infrastructure

On 10 March 2026, China introduced a 96-core blockchain acceleration chip built on RISC-V architecture to support the national Chang'An Chain, also known as ChainMaker. The hardware is designed to deliver 50x faster smart contract processing and 20x faster digital signature verification, and is already used by central ministries, major state enterprises, and hundreds of thousands of cross-border trade firms. Analysts suggest the system is aimed at migrating real-world institutional processes onto a high-throughput, domestically controlled blockchain network that could serve as alternative financial infrastructure.