The startups surrounding the blockchain market is still exponentially growing. This shouldn’t come as a surprise since the application of the technology is expansive, from the use of blockchain-based government election to creating a worldwide cattle blockchain framework.

China is among the leading countries in terms of the number of startups created. In a recent report released by China’s Information Center on Monday, the country currently has 456 startups that are centered on developing various applications of the technology in a wide range of sectors.

The paper also highlights that the country saw a 40 percent growth of blockchain startups in 2017 alone, bringing in 178 newcomers into the fold. Moreover, the financial sector currently has 249 startups with initiatives directly linking to blockchain cultivation.

Of the 249, 100 of them took off last year, marking 2017 as the year where exponential blockchain startup growth was seen in the country. This is despite the fact that in 2016, the number of startups has tripled compared to 2015. As of 2018, the country has already spawned 68 blockchain equity financing initiatives in just the first quarter.

The recently released 157-page comprehensive report is China’s attempt to disseminate information about this budding technology, as well as to pave the way moving forward. It’s also a way to shed light on how the groundwork for regulation of the technology should look like.

Due to blockchain being relatively new to the mainstream market, experts caution that governments should tread likely when imposing restrictions around it. And the ones that are put in place may already need updating in order to protect intellectual properties for blockchain tech.

As the paper cited, China’s current patent law surrounding blockchain only blankets applicants specifically covered by the restrictions. But since the technology can encompass a whole range of applications, it’s difficult for patent applicants to specifically list potential uses of their work for the future protection of their intellectual property.

In the meantime, blockchain development is still growing. And with the numbers we’re seeing above, it seems the momentum will only speed up from here.