The Cyberspace Administration of China published its second list of registered blockchain service providers. This administration is the country’s central Internet regulator, censor, oversight, and control agency.

The new batch includes around 309 companies that represent diverse industries. Some of these sectors include cultural tourism, education, e-commerce, law, healthcare, and supply chains, 

Services that come under the registered entities include HiCloud and AliCloud — blockchain arms of tech corporations Huawei and Alibaba, respectively.

The traditional sector’s major companies like China Southern Airlines, which has a blockchain platform under development, was on the list. The financial services industry giants like the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China also made it to the list.

Reports mention that most of the registered blockchain startups included in the list are currently involved in public chains, crypto wallets, and mining pools.

But the list not just includes commercial enterprises but also various government agencies. These include the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, which is developing its cross-border business blockchain service platform and the Hangzhou Internet Notary Office, which is listed due to its blockchain-based electronic evidence repository.

Cyberspace watchdog’s “Regulation for Managing Blockchain Information Services” was first introduced in October 2018 and was not taken well by many crypto and blockchain enthusiasts because it almost seemed to have a censorship-like nature. This thus led to a debate among the crypto community.

The regulation insists that Chinese blockchain service providers must verify their users’ real names via a national ID or phone number. They should also store and provide their clients’ data to authorities for inspection. It should also be noted that the companies are prohibited from using blockchain to “produce, duplicate, publish, or disseminate” any information that would pose a threat to national security.