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China has released its blockchain rankings for August, rating public blockchain networks like Bitcoin and Ethereum based on their application and technology.

The rankings, created by China Electronic Information Industry Development Research Institute and the China Software Testing Center, featured the contributions of professors and researchers at the country’s most prestigious educational institutions including Tsinghua and Beijing University.

EOS #1 as Expected
Previous rankings ranked EOS above both Ethereum and Bitcoin as the best blockchain network in the global cryptocurrency sector. The newly created rankings by CCID and CSTC, two institutions funded by the Chinese government, had EOS ranked as the top blockchain network in the world once again, with Ethereum and Bitcoin falling behind.

This month, China ranked Ethereum at second and Bitcoin at tenth, placing tokens and other major cryptocurrencies like NEO and Stellar ahead of the dominant cryptocurrency.

Komodo, Nebulas, NEO, Stellar, Lisk, GXChain, and Steem all ranked higher than Bitcoin, with strong points in applicability and technology. Bitcoin recorded the highest points in the category of innovation, mostly likely due to its long track record and the status as the first blockchain network and cryptocurrency in the market.

In July, CCID ranked Bitcoin as the seventeenth best blockchain network in the market and in the past month, Bitcoin has risen through the ranks.

In the past 30 days, Bitcoin and the rest of the cryptocurrency sector have not experienced major technical developments or changes in the codebase of major digital assets. Hence, it is possible that the strong performance of BTC as a store of value in the crypto sector led the government to rank Bitcoin higher than it did before.

Smart contract protocols and blockchain networks designed to support decentralized applications (dApps) will always rank higher in the rankings of CCID, because the criteria used by the institution establishes technology and application as the two main categories.

Application in the context of the CCID rankings refers to the applicability of the blockchain in other systems. Technology, based on the previous rankings released by CCID, refers to the scalability and capacity of blockchains.

In the case of EOS, which received the highest points in the category of technology at 104.3 points, it is highly likely that its proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus algorithm, which is capable of processing a significantly large number of transactions in comparison to other blockchains like Ethereum and Bitcoin, led the government to rank it as the top blockchain.

But, if the PoS aspect of EOS allowed it to be ranked as the top blockchain, it remains unclear why Cardano was left behind at 15th, as it is the second biggest PoS blockchain network in market valuation behind EOS.

Track Record is Important
The logic behind CCID’s decision to rank EOS, Ethereum, and Stellar, which in essence are high performance blockchain networks, above Bitcoin is clear, given the criteria which prioritizes innovation and application.

Nebulas has been able to secure a sixth place in the rankings because it supports 6.800 dApps and 35,000 transactions per second on its network.

But, track record and security are also important to consider in a ranking which encompasses a wide range of blockchain networks, including bank-focused Ripple, store of value like Bitcoin, and PoS dApp networks like EOS.

New Partnership Enables Automatic Bill Payments Using Bitcoin in Australia
Bitcoin Bill
Australians wishing to pay their bills in cryptocurrencies do not have to be held back by the fact that their utility or service provider is stuck with traditional methods of payment.

This follows the formation of a partnership between two financial technology firms, cryptocurrency exchange Cointree and automated billing platform Gobbill, allowing the payment of bills using cryptocurrencies. Under the deal Gobbill will perform the functions of an intermediary under the agreement taking users’ funds and paying bills on their behalf.

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The deal will allow users of the two platforms to pay their bills using the digital assets stored in Cointree’s wallet. Currently, Cointree supports 40 cryptocurrencies and this includes the major ones such as bitcoin, ether, XRP, NEO and litecoin.

Households and Small Enterprises
Additionally, users of the Gobbill platform will be able to link their cryptocurrency wallet to their accounts and have their bills paid using a specified cryptocurrency. The service is mainly aimed at small businesses and households. According to the co-founder and CEO of Gobbill, Shendon Ewans, the initiative is aimed at meeting existing and anticipated demand.

“We anticipate a surge in the number of customers who would like to pay their bills in crypto in the coming years,” said Ewans in a statement. “Our partnership with Cointree will cater to this market and ensure Gobbill continues to remain ahead of the curve when it comes to allowing our users to pay their bills automatically, while knowing they’re protected from fraud and scams.”

Robust Cryptocurrency Usage
Prior to the partnership, Cointree, which boasts of approximately 100 million transactions since it was founded five years ago, already had a service which allows users to pay bills using cryptocurrencies. With the collaboration, it is hoped that the use of cryptocurrencies in paying bills will only grow. On Cointree’s bill-payment service the performance has been encouraging for the startup which is only a few years old.

“Last year alone we had about AU$100 million of bills paid and saw ten times growth in this payment feature,” the operations manager of Cointree, Jess Rendon, told The Australian Financial Review in an interview.

Australia has experienced a phenomenal rate of growth with regards to the paying of bills using cryptocurrencies. As CCN reported in May last year, bitcoin bill payments in the world’s only country-cum-continent rose by 3300% in a three-year period. At the time school fees took the largest portion of cryptocurrency-based bill payments followed by loans and superannuation expenses. Other bills which featured in the top ten included taxes, credit card repayments and rent.