Blockchain spending to reach $11.7bn in 2022

Worldwide spending on blockchain solutions will hit $11.7 billion in 2022, according to International Data Corporation (IDC). And this year it will clock in at $1.5 billion, double the amount spent in 2017.

“Enthusiasm for blockchain continues to be universally shared across regions as businesses and organisations alike continue to explore the technology’s potential business application,” says Stacey Soohoo, Research Manager with IDC’s Customer Insights & Analysis team.

“Regulatory concerns and industry standards continue to hinder widespread adoption as governments around the globe work with enterprises to formulate policies and governance. As such, cross-business collaboration and blockchain interoperability are emerging as key aspects in the growth of the distributed ledger technology.”

USA leads the way

The United States will see the largest investments and deliver more than 36% of worldwide spending throughout the forecast. Western Europe will be the next largest region, followed by China and Asia/Pacific. In terms of industries, the financial sector ($552 million in 2018) is leading the way, driven by rapid adoption in the banking industry. The distribution and services sector ($379 million in 2018) will see strong investments from the retail and professional services industries, and the manufacturing and resources sector ($334 million in 2018) from the discrete and process manufacturing industries.

Within the financial sector, blockchain lends itself to a number of common use cases including regulatory compliance, cross-border payments and settlements, custody and asset tracking, and trade finance and post-trade/transaction settlements. In the distribution and services sector and the manufacturing and resources sectors, the leading use cases include asset/goods management and lot lineage/provenance.

Cross-border payments and settlements will see the largest spending in 2018 ($193 million), followed by lot/lineage provenance ($160 million) and trade finance and post-trade/transaction settlements ($148 million). These three will remain the largest in terms of overall spending in 2022 as well.

“We continue to see the greatest spending and growth for blockchain around lot lineage and asset and goods management. Highly visible scandals combined with complex supply chains and incomplete information set the stage for investments and projects in these areas,” says Jessica Goepfert, Program Vice President, IDC’s Customer Insights and Analysis.

“End to end, the stakeholders have a vested interest in solving these issues. Manufacturers want to ensure products arrive where they are supposed to arrive. Retailers and wholesalers seek assurance around the validity and quality of the products they are selling. And consumers are demanding greater transparency from providers.”