The Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) has issued official service names and corresponding filing registration numbers to its first batch of 197 blockchain companies.

In its published notice (Mar 30), CAC said the filing is only the registration of relevant blockchain information of blockchain companies, and does not represent recognition of their institutions, products or services. Registered companies are to display their registration numbers in a prominent position on products or in places that they provide services.

Amongst the registered companies are high-profile local technology firms such as Baidu Blockchain Engine, Alibaba Cloud Blockchain-as-a-Service (BaaS), Tencent BaaS, and JD.com’s BaaS platform. China Zheshang Bank and Ping An Insurance also made the list. Several less familiar names featured as well, including blockchain-enabled supply chain management service VeChain, and parcel delivery service ParcelX.

CAC urged companies that have yet to register themselves to fulfill their obligation “as soon as possible”. It did not list any registration deadline.

Interestingly, CAC’s notice also said that blockchain technology should not be used for any commercial purpose.

Liu Xingliang, director of the DCCI Internet research institute, told local daily Global Times that this move is a response to the earlier unfettered spate of initial coin offerings (ICOs), and seeks to impose more controlled environment within which blockchain technology can be explored in China.

“In the past, when the market was barely regulated, the technology was abused by some unruly companies, some of which were scammers, to lure small investors. Now with the participation of big companies, legitimate research and development of the technology are now possible, and chances are now much higher for a safe future with blockchain technology,” Liu added.

China has recently claimed that it holds the record for having the most number of current blockchain projects in the world. TheCryptoSight reported (Apr 4) the state’s authorized portal, the China Internet Information Center, as saying that as of November last year, the country has 263 blockchain projects underway, supposedly making up 25% of the global total.