The Chinese State Council has issued new implementation guidelines aimed at accelerating the creation of a unified national electricity market, with a key focus on integrating blockchain technology to enable full-chain certification of green electricity production and consumption. This policy, outlined in an official State Council document, targets the establishment of a fully unified national electricity market by 2030, with approximately 70% of total power consumption conducted through market-based trading.
The plan proposes using blockchain to verify and record renewable energy generation and consumption across the entire value chain. Green certificates, which certify electricity was generated from renewable sources, would become digitally traceable through blockchain, helping to prevent fraud and double-counting. This integration is designed to strengthen traceability in renewable power usage and explore incorporating green certificates into carbon emission accounting systems.
By 2035, China aims for complete integration of inter-provincial and regional electricity trading, unified pricing mechanisms, and mature spot and capacity markets. The broader electricity reform also includes expanding flexible power resources, virtual power plants, and enhanced market oversight to strengthen grid reliability.
While the policy does not directly mention cryptocurrencies, it represents a significant government-level endorsement of blockchain for national infrastructure. This reinforces China's established distinction between speculative crypto trading, which remains restricted, and strategic blockchain deployment for enterprise and governmental use. The move could boost enterprise blockchain adoption, particularly in the energy, carbon markets, and supply chain traceability sectors.
For the broader crypto and blockchain sector, the initiative signals that distributed ledger technology is becoming embedded in critical national infrastructure beyond financial applications. If successfully implemented, China's model could influence how other nations integrate blockchain into energy certification and carbon accounting systems, expanding the technology's role in the real economy.
