China has formally placed blockchain at the center of its long-term digital infrastructure planning. In a policy document issued on October 9 by the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the State Council, authorities called for the construction of “a nationally integrated computing network and a national blockchain network.” The 19-measure plan, titled Opinions on Developing New Quality Productive Forces, ties distributed ledger infrastructure to data-property rules, data trading, national data infrastructure and manufacturing digitization.
Although the objective is public, the operational blueprint remains open. The document does not name a chain, operator, governance body, node operator, budget, technical standard or deployment timeline. It also does not authorize a tradable token or merge the network with China’s digital yuan, which continues to develop separately through banks and payment providers.
Shanghai’s existing hub offers a practical reference point. Under the city’s digital-economy plan, the National Blockchain Network’s Shanghai Hub is expected to support distributed digital identity, privacy computing and cross-chain services. Customs, tax, maritime and foreign-exchange authorities could verify records across institutions through on-chain data-service centres, with access controls around sensitive information.
The new directive should not be read as an expansion or replacement of the existing Blockchain-based Service Network, commonly known as BSN. The guidelines do not identify BSN as the operator or explain how the initiatives would interact. Future implementation documents will determine whether China connects regional platforms, introduces new technical standards or builds additional infrastructure.
The blockchain push sits alongside broader computing expansion. By June 2026, China had established more than 70 computing transmission corridors and approved 17 regional interconnection nodes, with intelligent computing capacity reaching 2,185 exaflops, up 177% year over year.
For cryptocurrency markets, the policy continues Beijing’s distinction between approved blockchain applications and decentralized crypto markets. It does not lift restrictions on trading, create a national cryptocurrency or provide permissionless access. The more immediate implications are likely to affect enterprise software, industrial data services and technology providers operating within China’s regulatory framework.
