Almost 75,000 Chinese blockchain startups exploded onto the scene in 2025, bringing the national total of registered ventures to just under 290,000, Chinese media outlet Hexun Finance reported.
That represents the highest growth rate since 2021, when Beijing officially incorporated blockchain development into its economic strategy as part of its 14th five-year plan.
Since then, cities across the country have created special blockchain zones where local governments fund and support startups. While most of these firms work with private blockchain networks, Beijing is finding a myriad of uses for the technology, focusing mainly on finance and public sector projects.
The 2021 plan included a range of blockchain sector development initiatives for 29 cities and provinces, many in South China.
This has manifested itself in a flurry of activity. Almost a third of the blockchain startups registered last year are based in South China had the most newly registered companies, accounting for 32.5%.
The number of blockchain-related firms in China has steadily increased year by year over the past decade, Hexun Finance wrote.
The growth rate has accelerated since 2019, the year when Chinese President Xi Jinping called on the government and business leaders to prioritise blockchain technology development.
Chinese investment chiefs say the blockchain industry could almost double in size by 2027, reaching a total value of $1.4 billion.
Many of China’s leading blockchain companies were founded between 2017 and 2019, several years before their overseas competitors, Wu Hai, CEO of the China Internet Investment Fund, said last year.
Chinese firms have begun using blockchain technology in the food industry, supply chain financing, and the legal sphere. Wu claimed blockchain will also play a role in China’s AI expansion.
China’s banks are also using blockchain in the world of traditional finance and central bank digital currencies. In December, the state-owned Huaxia Bank issued over $637 million worth of bonds to digital yuan-paying investors.
