The new update to the IDC (International Data Corporation) Worldwide Blockchain Spending Guide sees that worldwide spending on blockchain solutions may reach $4.1 billion this year, up by 50% compared to the same period in 2019.
The IDC forecast that as the disruptions brought by the COVID-19 pandemic cut across all industries, 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%, reaching a total of nearly $17.9 billion in 2024.”
The industry analyst firm said that the banking industry will contribute significantly to blockchain spending attributing this development to the adoption of top-up use cases which include cross-border payments and settlements, trade finance and post-trade or transaction settlements, and transaction agreements.”
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The banking industry is expected to maintain a strong pace of investment in blockchain with a five-year CAGR of 45.3%, the IDC said.
The IDC Guide also sees an increase in blockchain spending the process manufacturing and discrete manufacturing industries, which is seen to comprise nearly a quarter of all spending worldwide. The leading use case in both industries is lot lineage or provenance with asset or goods management a close second for process manufacturing. Both industries will continue to invest in blockchain at rates faster than the overall market with a 50.3% CAGR for process manufacturing and a 46.5% CAGR for discrete manufacturing.
IT perspective
However, IDC said it sees that the fastest spending growth over the forecast period will come from the fourth largest industry overall, professional services, which will see a five-year CAGR of 54.0%. Other industries showing strong blockchain spending growth include healthcare (49.3% CAGR) and state/local government (48.2% CAGR).
From a technology perspective, IT services and business services (combined) will account for roughly 70% of all blockchain spending throughout the forecast with IT services receiving slightly more investment over the forecast period. IT services spending will also see the fastest growth with a five-year CAGR of 51.4%. 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%,