Blockchain Solutions Will Continue to See Robust Investments

Worldwide spending on blockchain solutions is forecast to be $4.1 billion this year, an increase of more than 50% compared to 2019, according to IDC. Blockchain spending will continue to grow at a robust pace throughout the forecast period with a five-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 46.4%, reaching a total of nearly $17.9 billion in 2024.

"The issues facing the global economy due to COVID-19 and the efforts to contain it have caused nearly every industry, market, and sector to re-evaluate core processes. This has accelerated interest and investment in digital transformation, which includes blockchain and distributed ledger technology," said James Wester, research director, Worldwide Blockchain Strategies. "So many of the disruptions to industries during the pandemic were exacerbated by processes and procedures that were inefficient and outmoded. The pandemic simply exposed the vulnerabilities and weaknesses in supply chains, financial services, and many more industries. As enterprises look at ways to address those vulnerabilities and weaknesses, they are recognizing that blockchain and distributed ledger technology are the perfect tools to not only fix existing problems but build entirely new markets and services.

More than a quarter of all blockchain spending worldwide will come from the banking industry, where the top use cases include: cross-border payments & settlements; trade finance & post-trade/transaction settlements; and transaction agreements. The banking industry is expected to maintain a strong pace of investment in blockchain with a five-year CAGR of 45.3%.

Process manufacturing and discrete manufacturing are the next largest industries for blockchain spending, together accounting for nearly a quarter of all spending worldwide. Both industries will continue to invest in blockchain at rates faster than the overall market, a 50.3% CAGR for process manufacturing and a 46.5% CAGR for discrete manufacturing. The fastest spending growth over the forecast period will come from the fourth largest industry overall, professional services, which will see a five-year CAGR of 54.0%. Other industries showing strong blockchain spending growth include healthcare (49.3% CAGR) and state/local government (48.2% CAGR).

Spending on blockchain solutions in the United States will be more than $1.6 billion this year, making it the largest geographic market, followed by Western Europe ($1.0 billion) and China ($457 million). All nine regions covered in the Spending Guide will see exceptional spending growth over the forecast period led by China with five-year CAGR of 51.7% and Central and Eastern Europe (50.4% CAGR).