Blockchain to generate $3.1 trillion new business value by 2030: Gartner

Blockchain technology is estimated to generate $3.1 trillion in new business value worldwide by 2030, according to technology research firm Gartner. 

The research organisation expects the value to be worth $1.5 trillion by 2025, with several applications designed for operational improvement expected to be developed by blockchain.

Despite the potential, it is likely that enterprises could make mistakes that will leave them out of position to fully capitalise on blockchain. The study added that a few companies could employ a wrong strategy under competitive threat giving them a false sense of progress and capability.

“Beyond operational improvements and increased efficiency, fully mature blockchain complete solutions will allow organizations to re-engineer business relationships, monetise illiquid assets and redistribute data and value flows to engage better with the digital world,” said David Furlonger, distinguished research vice-president and Gartner Fellow. 

According to Gartner, CIOs should use a framework to help their organisations to understand the timing of investments and the value proposition for blockchain usage better depending on the solution required.

The research firm has also created a 'blockchain spectrum' to examine the phased evolution of blockchain solutions and how this path aligns to the anticipated value businesses can derive from the technology. The spectrum uses several analytics models to reveal how blockchain will evolve from what it is today to what it will be by 2030, the organisation said.

The spectrum is made up of four evolutionary phases that segment solution offerings and characteristics, some of which won’t fully develop for years, but will have critical implications for the future of business and society, Gartner said.

The four phases are the development of blockchain-enabling technologies, blockchain-inspired technologies, blockchain-complete technologies and enhanced blockchain technologies.

Furlonger said that blockchain-complete solutions will begin to gain traction in about three years. "Only slightly further out lies a future business and societal environment that includes IoT and AI in which autonomous and intelligent things own assets and trade value," he added.