“There’s a race going on to extend the block chain’s capabilities,” said Adam Ludwin, a co-founder of Chain.com, a start-up that seeks to help developers build Bitcoin applications. On web forums and at Bitcoin conferences, talk is shifting to the next generation of applications built on block-chain technology. So-called Bitcoin 2.0 projects dominated the conversation at the Satoshi Roundtable, a retreat for Bitcoin enthusiasts at a resort in the Dominican Republic in February, according to accounts from some participants. About 20 percent of Chain’s roughly 5,000 users are developing nonfinancial block-chain applications, compared with less than 10 percent a year ago, Mr. Ludwin said. Banks and multinational telecommunications companies are quietly expressing interest in ways to take advantage of the block chain.

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