Spending on blockchain solutions is forecast to increase 50 percent to $4.1 billion this year, according to IDC.
The IDC report said 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 percent, reaching a total of nearly $17.9 billion in 2024.
Covid-19 has accelerated interest and investment in digital transformation, which includes blockchain and distributed ledger technology, said James Wester, research director, Worldwide Blockchain Strategies.
More than a quarter of blockchain spending 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.
Process manufacturing and discrete manufacturing are the next largest industries for blockchain spending, together accounting for nearly a quarter of all spending worldwide. The leading use case in both industries is lot lineage/provenance with asset/goods management a close second for process manufacturing.
The blockchain use cases that will see the most investment across all industries are: cross-border payments & settlements; lot lineage/provenance; and trade finance & post-trade/transaction settlements.
IT services and business services (combined) will account for roughly 70 percent of all blockchain spending with IT services receiving slightly more investment over the forecast period.
Blockchain platform software will be the largest category of spending outside of the services segment and the second fastest growing technology category with a five-year CAGR of 48.0 percent,
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).
