Blockchain is penetrating deeper and deeper into the real sector and government processes, although financial institutions remain the key driver. Last year alone, the number of pilot projects and implementation cases in companies increased by 45%.
Trend 1: Blockchain is being adopted by the state
If over the past couple of years we have been able to observe the experience of relatively small countries, then at the turn of the decade new large players are joining the race.
The growing role of China is an independent and important geopolitical and geo-economic blockchain trend of 2021. In the context of the rapid penetration of technology into business and everyday life, blockchain and knowledge about digital transformation is becoming an instrument of the "soft power" of international diplomacy.
Trend 2: Banks Drive Financial Evolution
Competition in the public blockchain market will only grow, so in the coming 2020, success will be achieved by those projects that will not only be able to overcome internal contradictions but will also be able to find themselves in new areas of technology application, such as ecosystems of decentralized finance and interoperability protocols. Different blockchains. While the struggle of regulators with private financial initiatives is only heating up, traditional financial institutions are massively launching pilot projects and joining existing platforms. In addition to their own experiments, banks continue to buy promising fintech companies.
Trend 3: blockchain penetrates the real sector
It seems that the results of the pilot projects of the past years have been recognized as satisfactory, and the time is coming for massive implementations of blockchain supply chain and accounting. Major power grid companies and industry associations are also launching projects. Probably, 2021 will be the year of experiments, and the pilot and industrial operation of the blockchain in the power industry should be expected no earlier than 2022.
Trend 4: Technology Goes Mainstream, Ecosystems Are Forming
The willingness of a business to invest and buy stimulates the creation of technological solutions, and the blockchain from a complex technology for geeks is reaching a sufficient level of maturity to turn into an understandable constructor with clear instructions. It looks like we are witnessing the beginning of the blockchain commoditization process, which will lead to a more intense transformation of business processes in companies. In addition, in 2020, specialized industry blockchain associations, as well as ecosystems, including various professional organizations, actively developed.
Trend 5: Investments: Less Money, But Optimism Remains
The volume of venture capital investments in blockchain companies at the end of 2019 decreased by more than half compared to 2018, but it is too early to predict a further drop - blockchain companies are becoming unicorns, new specialized funds are emerging. Even though ICOs continue to be the main method of attracting funding, the volume of funds attracted as a result of their implementation has decreased by almost six times.
Main conclusions
Supply chain and accounting implementations will allow real sector businesses to test the technology, which in turn will open up new opportunities to expand the technology's potential to other company processes. The technology:
- is reaching the level of maturity and relevance when specialized solutions are required;
- not only traditional IT players but also international consulting and audit firms are trying to take their place in the new market.
Successful cases of blockchain application by states from among the economic leaders can bring the blockchain to a new level and significantly affect the formats of interaction with business and the speed of provision of public services.
2021 may become the milestone when, in the mass consciousness, blockchain technology and nft marketplace development will become, first of all, a technology with proven efficiency and understandable scope of use and will no longer be associated with its most replicated field of application - cryptocurrencies.