China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) has published a white paper on the country’s blockchain industry, a local news outlet reported.

According to the whitepaper, the number of blockchain technology companies stood at 456 by the end of March 2018. It said that a blockchain industrial chain has been formed spanning various sectors including hardware manufacturing, platform services, security services, industrial technology application services, investment and financing, media, and human resources services.

“Our blockchain industry is currently at a high-speed development phase – entrepreneurs and capital are pouring in, and the number of enterprises is rapidly increasing” said the white paper (as translated by China Banking News).

Authored by Yu Jianing, head of the MIIT Information Center Industrial Economy Research Institute and chair of the editorial committee for the white paper, the whitepaper touts 2017 as the peak period of blockchain business in the country which saw the establishment of 178 new companies with the rapid popularization of blockchain concepts and the gradual maturity of technologies.

Regarding investments in this emerging technology, the whitepaper noted that nearly 100 equity investment deals were made in 2017, while the number of equity investment deals has already reached 68 in the first quarter of 2018 alone.

Jianing said that the blockchain industry is still in a nascent stage, but expects it to reach a new peak this year.

Last week, the MIIT released its first cryptocurrency rankings, which placed Ethereum as the world’s best blockchain network, followed by Steem, Lisk, NEO and Komodo.