The International Data Corporation has published a new report regarding blockchain spending. Based off the report, the International Data Corporation expects spending on blockchain solutions to annually increase at a growth rate of nearly 75% through 2022. Analysts at the firm have expected the total spending on projects in the blockchain industry alone to hit 11.7 billion dollars in 2022 according to the “Worldwide Semiannual Blockchain Spending Guide.”
In comparison to the high amounts projected for 2022, in 2018 there was only $1.5 billion expected to be spent. The report also mentioned that “blockchain platform software will be the largest category of spending outside of the services category and one of the fastest growing categories overall, along with security software.”
The spending that these analysts have projected is mainly suspected to be led by the financial sector with banks being the early adopters of the technology. The reports provided an explanation of how a total of $552 million was spent on blockchain by the financial sector alone in 2018 while only $334 million was invested into the distribution and services sector. The United States has delivered more than 36 percent of the worldwide spending on blockchain technology. Cross-border payments and settlements have become the most popular use case for the technology with a total of $193 million which reportedly has been spent on this field.
While the United States currently has the world’s largest economy with 36% of the global spending throughout a period of five years, Western Europe is expected to be the next largest beneficiary with China following next. Countries in the Asia Pacific region are also expected to see a significant increase in investments in blockchain. The fastest compounded annual growth rate is expected to be seen in Japan where the forecast period shows a percentage of 108.7%.
The report produced by the International Data Corporation covers the development in the blockchain industry for eight different regions. There is the possibility of making it nine different regions and adding China into the future reports.
Jessica Goepfert, the program vice president for the International Data Corporation, has said particular use cases for blockchain technology will not be fading away in the near future. She continued by stating, “We continue to see the greatest spending and growth for blockchain around lot lineage and asset and goods management … 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.”
