China orders creation of national blockchain network

Beijing's new 19-measure directive builds a state-run blockchain and computing grid, with no room for crypto tokens

Market tone: Neutral

Estefano Gomez · Crypto Briefing · 2026-10-10T13:06:11.000Z

Beijing's new 19-measure directive builds a state-run blockchain and computing grid, with no room for crypto tokens

China’s top leadership has ordered the construction of a national blockchain network. It is one of the most explicit endorsements of the technology Beijing has issued to date.

This is blockchain as state infrastructure: data pipes, computing grids and regulated markets, with crypto tokens left firmly outside the building.

What Beijing actually ordered

On October 9, 2026, the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the State Council issued a policy document titled “Opinions on Developing New Quality Productive Forces.” State news agency Xinhua published it the following day, October 10.

The document lays out 19 measures. Two of the headline goals are a national blockchain network and a nationwide integrated computing power network.

The stated purpose is to tighten the link between the real economy and the digital one. The directive targets several fronts at once:

Optimizing national data infrastructure

Pushing manufacturing toward digitalization

Supporting the “East Data, West Computing” project

Building systems for data property rights, market transactions and interest protection

Piloting markets that treat data as a regulated asset

The initiative directly involves 16 central government departments and 27 centrally administered state-owned enterprises.

Built on a network that already exists

China is not starting from scratch. The new directive builds on the Blockchain-based Service Network, or BSN, which has operated since April 2020.

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BSN is a state-governed network designed for compliant enterprises. It explicitly prohibits tokens and crypto assets.

The new policy is designed to consolidate and monetize infrastructure that is already in place. It maintains a clear stance against cryptocurrencies and public blockchain protocols.

The program also extends existing blockchain and digital yuan capabilities. The digital yuan is China’s central bank digital currency. The initiative is meant to support its integration and help facilitate cross-border trade.

The “East Data, West Computing” project fits into the same picture. The basic idea is to route data generated in China’s economically dense eastern regions to computing centers in the west. The new directive leans on resources from that project as part of its broader push into intelligent manufacturing and industrial innovation.

What this means for crypto, companies and data

For the crypto market, the message is consistent with what Beijing has signaled for years. Blockchain technology gets a seat at the table. Cryptocurrencies do not.

The research suggests this could mean consolidation of existing assets under state frameworks rather than openings for new tokenized ventures.

The data-as-an-asset angle deserves attention beyond China’s borders. If Beijing successfully pilots regulated markets for data, it creates a template in which information is owned and traded under tight state oversight.

Key things to track from here: how the 16 departments translate the 19 measures into concrete projects, which state-owned enterprises move first, and how the data trading pilots are structured.

Originally published by Crypto Briefing.