China launches Web3 plan: Blockchain is listed as a core foundational technology, and the development of encryption asset applications is not ruled out!

As the global digital wave surges and the Web3 concept continues to gain momentum, the Chinese government has once again demonstrated its ambitions and plans in the field of Blockchain technology. Recently, several core government departments in Beijing jointly released an important policy document titled "Beijing Blockchain Innovation Application Development Action Plan (2025–2027)", which clearly outlines the grand blueprint for the capital and even the whole country in the research and development of Blockchain technology, infrastructure construction, and industrial integration applications over the next three years. This plan not only positions Blockchain as the "core technology of industrial digitalization" but also, against the backdrop of strict Crypto Assets bans, releases subtle signals about the possible exploration of "digital asset" applications, attracting significant market attention. Top-level design: Three-year action plan

The action plan released in Beijing this time is of significance far beyond a local industrial policy. It clearly indicates that Blockchain technology has been elevated to the strategic core of national digital transformation and industrial upgrading. The plan explicitly states that Blockchain is an "important foundation for the digital development of industries," and it holds unparalleled potential in "enhancing data trustworthiness and optimizing process efficiency." This positioning marks that Blockchain is no longer merely viewed as an emerging technology, but has been included as a key component of the national digital infrastructure construction. The implementation period of the plan is set from 2025 to 2027, aiming to make Beijing a benchmark city for global Blockchain technology innovation and a leader in digital economy development. This is not only an expectation of Beijing's own technological strength but also intends to leverage the capital's demonstration and leading role to drive a wave of research and application of Blockchain technology nationwide. The plan is jointly launched by multiple heavyweight departments including the Beijing Municipal Science and Technology Commission, the Management Committee of Zhongguancun, the Cyberspace Administration, the Government Data Bureau, the Economic and Information Commission, and the Commerce Bureau, reflecting the government's cross-departmental cooperation determination and high emphasis on promoting this work. In 2023, China has released the "Web3 Innovation and Development White Paper", which clearly states that "Web3 is an irreversible trend in the future development of the internet" and commits to investing at least 100 million yuan each year to support Web3 technology innovation from 2023 to 2024. Beijing's action plan is a concrete implementation and deepening of the national Web3 strategy, demonstrating the continuity and execution of the policy. Core framework: one chain, one network, one platform The core concept of the action plan revolves around the overall planning of "one chain, one network, one platform," aiming to build a self-controllable and highly collaborative Blockchain infrastructure system: One Chain (One Chain): Emphasizing the construction of a "next-generation blockchain system" with advanced technology, high security, excellent performance, and independent control by China, which requires breakthroughs in basic theories and key technologies such as cryptography, consensus mechanisms, smart contracts, confidential computing, and decentralized systems. One network (One Network): Focusing on the needs of massive applications and data interaction in the future, it is planned to build a network infrastructure that supports large-scale node access, has a hierarchical architecture, and can integrate multiple blockchains. This network must have strong privacy protection capabilities, efficient and reliable cross-chain interoperability, and flexible dynamic networking capabilities. The plan even puts forward specific technical indicators, hoping to achieve "petabyte-level (Petabyte) trusted node storage" and "10,000-level chain network trusted interconnection". 1. Platform (One Platform): Establish a general blockchain technology service platform, integrating basic functions including trusted digital identity management, cross-chain data directory services, and standardized evidence preservation services. The platform aims to lower the threshold for the application of blockchain technology in all walks of life, promote cross-departmental, cross-industry, and cross-regional data security, trusted sharing, and efficient collaboration, with the goal of supporting "100 million-level digital identity mutual recognition". Application Implementation: Five Key Areas Leading the Way Unlike some countries that focus on financial innovation in crypto assets, China's blockchain strategy has always emphasized "devirtualizing to serve the real economy," placing the focus of technology application on serving the real economy and enhancing social governance capabilities. The action plan from Beijing outlines five key application areas and plans to create at least 20 nationally influential "benchmark application" cases by 2027, using these examples to promote the large-scale implementation of blockchain technology. Healthcare: Blockchain technology is used to ensure the authenticity, tamper-inability and secure sharing of electronic medical records, genetic data, medical traceability and other data, so as to improve the efficiency of trusted flow of medical data and the level of patient privacy protection. Education: Data such as academic certificates, credit records, and learning outcomes are stored on the chain to achieve credible verification of educational qualifications, crack down on academic fraud, and promote the fair distribution of educational resources and the establishment of a lifelong learning system. Financial services: Apply blockchain in supply chain finance, trade finance, asset digitization, cross-border payment, insurance claims, digital contracts, etc., to improve the efficiency, transparency, and security of financial services. Transportation: Blockchain technology is applied to realize the secure sharing and trusted interaction of traffic data (such as vehicle information, road condition data, and transportation records), support smart traffic management, optimize logistics efficiency, and improve the level of urban traffic governance. Artificial intelligence (AI): Use blockchain to provide trusted traceability and copyright protection for the training data, algorithm version, and decision-making process of AI models, enhance the transparency, explainability, and security of AI systems, combat data bias and algorithm abuse, and promote the development of "trusted AI". To support the grand application blueprint mentioned above, the plan emphasizes the need to vigorously promote the construction of Blockchain infrastructure: Hardware Level: Encourage the research and development of "Blockchain chips" with independent intellectual property rights, including dedicated chips for accelerating encryption calculations and consensus processes, as well as hardware security modules (HSM) that ensure node and data security. Software and Network Level: Accelerate the construction and interconnection of national-level blockchain backbone nodes to form a widely covered and reliable basic network; vigorously develop and apply privacy computing technologies (such as zero-knowledge proofs, secure multi-party computation) to realize data value utilization while ensuring data privacy; improve cross-chain technology standards and protocols to promote interconnectivity between different blockchain systems. Subtle Signals: Conversion of Digital Asset Value It is worth mentioning that against the backdrop of China's strict ban on cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, a statement in the action plan saying "enhance the value conversion capability of digital assets through blockchain technology" has attracted special attention from industry insiders. This wording has been interpreted by some observers as suggesting that although the official stance on "coin" remains resolute, there may be room for exploration and application of compliant, non-speculative "digital assets" (such as blockchain-based data assets, intellectual property, digital certificates, etc.) at the application level of "chain." Does this mean that in the future, it may be possible to explore applications such as asset on-chain, asset tokenization (in non-crypto asset forms) in specific fields and under specific regulatory frameworks? There is currently no conclusion, but this statement undoubtedly adds a touch of imagination for the future and reflects the official's pragmatic consideration when embracing the potential of Blockchain technology. The blockchain path with Chinese characteristics The blockchain action plan released by Beijing this time clearly reaffirms China's current dual-track policy approach of "embracing blockchain technology while eliminating speculation in crypto assets." The government highly recognizes the tremendous potential of blockchain technology in enhancing data trust, optimizing business processes, promoting cross-institution collaboration, and empowering the real economy, and has elevated it to a strategic level of national digital infrastructure and core technology, making relentless efforts to invest resources in research, development, and promotion. However, for the Crypto Assets associated with Blockchain technology, the authorities have always maintained a high-pressure stance, strictly preventing the financial risks, money laundering risks, and challenges to monetary sovereignty that may arise. The development path of Blockchain in China shows distinct characteristics of "top-down", "state-led", "strong application orientation", and "heavy regulatory compliance", which stands in sharp contrast to the relatively "bottom-up", "market-driven", "active financial innovation", and "gradual exploration of regulation" model in Western countries. In summary, the release of the "Beijing Blockchain Innovation Application Development Action Plan" is not only a regional plan for the capital but also a reflection of China's national will to regard Blockchain/Web3 as an "irreversible trend in future network development." It signifies that China's Blockchain development is accelerating from the early exploratory pilot phase to a new stage of systematic and large-scale institutional development led by the government. Although the space for crypto assets in China remains limited, the blockchain technology itself serves as an underlying infrastructure that empowers various industries, with broad prospects for development. In the coming years, we expect to see more innovative applications taking root and blossoming, with blockchain integrating more deeply into the operations of the economic society. The exploration of "digital asset value conversion," whether it will open up new possibilities under compliance, will be a focal point worthy of continued follow-up. Regardless, China is steadfastly advancing on the blockchain path to building a digital strong country in its unique way.