A research team headed up by the Chinese government has developed a blockchain-as-a-service (BaaS) platform which will allow identity and supply-chain tracking.

The system, nicknamed the Blockchain Registry Open Platform (BROP), was developed by China Banknote Blockchain Technology Research Institute and was launched at a financial technology conference in Hangzhou.

This is not the first time a BaaS platform has been developed, and the Chinese internet companies, Tencent, Baidu, and JD.com have all launched their own. This, however, is a remarkable case because of the company’s official connections and because of the government backing.

The research institute declares to be “one of the first teams to study blockchain technology in China” and aims to “promote the innovative application and market promotion of blockchain technology in the financial and other fields” in its research. It also claims to operate as a national subordinate of the China Banknote Printing and Mining Corporation and is supervised by China’s banking authority, the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) – giving it further credibility for its projections.

BROP claims on their website to fulfill a three-tiered approach in order to build a trustworthy collaboration. This includes the establishment of digital identities, storing trusted data and offering easy-to-use digital vouchers which would verify blockchain agreement rights.

The most vital purpose for the new BaaS platform is two-fold, that is, storing static data and updating the records to show changes made to the data. The project also outlines other intentions, including its aim to streamline verification flow for the public services through a blockchain, whereby users’ information will be shared via governmental sharing agencies.

In order to stay relevant and able to compete on a technological front, the Chinese government has been pushing for speedy development and this new platform is the result of this. It might be a well-timed endeavor as, just last week, the country’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology announced that development standards in blockchain technology as a high priority for 2018.