Shanghai expands scope of virtual asset trading to become a ‘data industry innovation highland’ worth US$69 billion by 2025

Shanghai plans to expand the scope of virtual asset trading in the metropolis over the next few years, according to the municipal government’s 2023-2025 digital economy master plan published on Tuesday.

Under that plan, the existing Shanghai Data Exchange, which started trading various data products in November 2021, will be transformed into a larger “national-level data exchange” capable of covering transactions across the country by 2025 amid efforts to set up a new “digital asset board”.

Some 5,000 data products are expected to be listed on the exchange by 2025, with a focus on major industries that include finance, logistics, technology and manufacturing. By 2025, the exchange is also expected to serve about 100,000 entities involved in the supply and purchase of data products.