The adoption of blockchain-based solutions is growing across the business world, with TMT, financial services, and non-food manufacturing industries recognized as leading the trend. Moreover, increased investment in blockchain and digital assets is now a top-five strategic priority for organizations, with 66% of executives anticipating investments of US$1 million or more in the next 12 months.

The insights were issued in Deloitte’s 2020 Global Blockchain Survey, which questioned 1,488 senior leaders in 14 countries and concluded that blockchain is “solidly entrenched in the strategic thinking of organizations”. “While blockchain was once classified as a technology experiment, it now represents a true agent of change that is affecting the entire organization,” said Linda Pawczuk in a statement, principal, global and US consulting leader for blockchain and digital assets, Deloitte Consulting LLP.

“Like many disruptive technologies, it has evolved from a merely promising and potentially ground-breaking approach to a now integral solution to organizational innovation. This year’s survey suggests that blockchain is solidly entrenched in the strategic thinking of organizations across industries, sectors, and applications.” When it occurred to preparations for a blockchain-based future, 82% of respondents stated they are hiring staff with blockchain expertise or intend to do so within the next 12 months, related to 73% in the 2019 report. 83% of respondents stated their companies would lose competitive advantage if they did not utilize blockchain.

Approximately 40% of respondents stated blockchain solutions and products are in production, declaring its maturity as a business priority. In 2019, the number reached 23% of respondents. In terms of applications, developed advances of large-scale blockchain initiatives occur, like blockchain-based financial infrastructure to analyze global money movement and commerce, as well as DLT for trade finance and blockchain-enabled track-and-trace platforms, among others.

“Our survey confirms what we see in the marketplace — a proliferation of digital assets used as a means of exchange, a store of value, digital representations of specific assets, or equity in a company,” said Rob Massey in a statement, partner, global and US tax leader for blockchain and digital assets, Deloitte Tax LLP. “Digital assets are now enabling enhanced commercialization models across industries and geographies.”