Huddle several hundred bankers, regulators and geeks into a hotel and you’ll hear how the technology that underpins the internet currency bitcoin is on the brink of changing how the world tracks money, music, identities and even handbags -- as well as predictions that real-world applications might emerge fastest in China.

A series of packed events in Shanghai billed as International Blockchain Week focused on the technological backbone for the virtual currency bitcoin. Proponents say that whatever happens to the maligned currency,...