China’s Blockchain-Based Service Network (BSN) announced that it has integrated with the Casper Network, a layer-1 proof-of-stake (PoS) blockchain that forked from Ethereum. 

The integration means the Casper Network will be available to developers on BSN after its mainnet launch in the first quarter of 2021, according to the firm’s press statement, which was shared with CoinDesk. 

The partnership is part of BSN’s efforts to become a global blockchain infrastructure services provider. The state-backed project aims to offer cloud services and a standardized development environment, where decentralized applications (dapp) developers across various blockchain networks can build or run their dapps on the same platform. 

BSN was co-founded by Chinese state-owned telecom giant China Mobile, UnionPay and IT startup Red Date in April 2020. It has integrated some of the most popular blockchain networks, including Ethereum, Cosmos and Palkdot. BSN claimed its inclusive platform can help dapp developers reduce operational costs and improve flexibility with regulatory oversight. 

"Casper is the first fully decentralized, scalable and highly secure proof-of-stake blockchain,” Mrinal Manohar, CEO and co-founder of CasperLabs, said in the statement. “Via our close partnership with BSN, we look forward to helping promote the continued adoption of this important public technology across global markets."

As one of many possible Ethereum competitors, the Casper Network hopes to improve security without sacrificing the scalability as a PoS network. Advised by Ethereum Foundation’s researcher Vlad Zamfir, the Casper Network has raised $14.5 million via a Series A funding round in 2019 from investors such as Arrington XRP Capital and Hashkey Capital. 

CasperLabs partnered with Singapore-based exchange BitMax to launch a token sale for retail investors in March 2020. The exchange predominantly offers trading services to traders in China, Vietnam, South Korea, Russia and India.

“We are confident in both the Red Date and CasperLabs teams to spearhead the adoption of the Casper network and blockchain technology in China,” Omer Ozden, Chairman of RockTree Capital, which invested in CasperLabs’ Series A round, said in the statement.