(Yicai Global) March. 27 -- A unit of China's central bank has set up the country's first blockchain service platform allowing users to prove their identities, as well as search, share, and verify records more efficiently compared to traditional methods.

China Banknote Blockchain Technology Research Institute, a subsidiary of the People's Bank of China launched the Blockchain Registry Open Platform at the Global Blockchain Summit held in Hangzhou, capital of eastern Zhejiang province.

Blockchain, a digital ledger which holds public records of transactions, is best known for its role in cryptocurrencies but has a wide array of uses. Despite shutting down local virtual currency exchanges, China is keen to press on with blockchain development and included the sector in a national strategy document as part of its 13th five-year plan in 2016.

BROP aims to nurture cross-institutional collaboration with partners able to not just use the information themselves, but also verify it and circulate it across different institutions. Government regulators, judicial expertise centers and charities are among the initial main users of the platform.

Taking bankruptcy cases as an example, BROP will allow administrators to expedite the process by convening creditor meetings online thereby saving resources. Other possible uses include storing information to prevent fraud related to food supply chain and forensic science.