The value derived from successful blockchain projects is expected to increase from $2.5 billion in 2018 to $2.0 trillion by 2030, releasing cost savings and efficiencies across many industries according to an IHS Markit report.

This also echoes findings in a recent report by KPMG where they found that blockchain investments in software startups continued to show strong growth as a sub-sector, and included more than $100 million investment in R3 and Circle Internet Finance in the US, and $77 million to Ledger in France.

Don Tait, senior blockchain analyst, IHS Markit said “Early adopters of blockchain have mostly been companies in the financial services industry, which use it mainly in payments-related solutions.

“However, the technology is poised to ripple through virtually every industry, affecting almost all organisations in the coming years.”

Transforming Many Industries with Blockchain

Although blockchain is still an emerging technology, it is expected to be widely transformative across a large number of industries.

Stewart Pavitt, chief product officer at wallet.services, commented, “Scotland’s knowledge and expertise is well placed to help develop and implement blockchain solutions needed across these industries.  Blockchain offers a new tool for solutions that up till now have been impossible to digitally implement due to the requirements placed on organisations to share infrastructure, technology and administration.”

Of the industries cited in the IHS report, Financial Services was identified as the vertical with the largest market to reap benefits from blockchain.

Forward thinking financial institutions will primarily use blockchain for a large number of business processes, for example to conduct cross-border payments, share trading, claims management, currency, collateral management and corporate actions processing. Because the global market capitalisation of all the world’s stock markets is equal to $73 trillion, even small cost savings and efficiency gains can lead to significant business value for companies and industries that decide to take advantage of blockchain.

The supply chain and logistics industry is also projected to improve significantly with the introduction of blockchain technology. The World Trade Organization (WTO) estimates that the reduction of barriers throughout the supply chain could potentially increase global gross domestic product by 5 percent, and escalate total trade volume by 15 percent.

The initial uptake of blockchain in retail and e-commerce is projected to be led by trade promotions, decentralized marketplaces, payments, smart contracts, supply chain and other applications. With the increase in the number of blockchain projects that are launched and become commercially deployed within this vertical sector, the business value through efficiency gains and cost savings is projected to reach $164 billion by 2030.

In the United States alone, counterfeit drugs cost pharmaceutical companies more than $200 billion annually in lost revenues. Blockchain could potentially help to minimise these losses. For this and other reasons, the business value from blockchain in the healthcare sector is projected to reach $134 billion by 2030. The initial uptake of blockchain within the healthcare sector is happening in the application areas of medical data management, drug development, claim and billing management, and medical research.