Breaking blockchain open
Deloitte’s 2018 global
blockchain survey

Table of contents
Momentum is shifting
Survey methodology
Blockchain today
Theoretical vs. practical
Current vs. future state
Real-world challenges			
A different view: Enterprises vs. “emerging disruptors”
Spotlight on emerging disruptors
The bottom line
Additional survey data and insights– Survey overview– By-country data and insights– By-industry data and insights

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Deloitte’s 2018 global blockchain survey | Findings and insights
Deloitte’s 2018 global blockchain survey | Findings and insights

Momentum is shifting
Deloitte’s 2018 survey of more than 1,000 blockchain-savvy executives
globally is a leading indicator of where blockchain is headed. While
blockchain is not quite ready for primetime, it is getting closer to its breakout
moment every day. The academic hypotheses of five years ago are steadily
becoming a reality. Momentum is shifting from a focus on learning andexploring the potential of the technology to identifying and building practicalbusiness applications.
The executives we surveyed hold pragmatic views and look poised tomake some major moves over the next year. As you’ll see below, those wesurveyed see great value in blockchain’s potential to reinvent processes
across the business value chain as more investment is made in identifying
and developing a wider range of use cases. Further, we see our clientsmaking meaningful investments in the present day, starting new businesses
based on the unique value proposition offered by blockchain and tokens.

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Deloitte’s 2018 global blockchain survey | Findings and insights
Deloitte’s 2018 global blockchain survey | Findings and insights

Overview and methodology

Methodology statement

The Deloitte US and global blockchain practices commissioned
this survey in March and April 2018, primarily as a research vehicle
to gain greater insights into the overall attitudes and investmentsin blockchain as a technology. The release of survey highlights
in this document reflect those opinions and perceptions aroundblockchain and potential impact of the technology in the future.

This survey was commissioned by Deloitte
Consulting LLP and conducted online
between March 26 and April 5, 2018. The
survey polled a sample of 1,053 senior
executives in seven countries (Canada,
China, France, Germany, Mexico, United
Kingdom, and the United States) atcompanies with $500 million or more inannual revenue. Respondents had at leasta broad understanding of blockchain andwere familiar with and able to commenton their organizations’ blockchain
investment plans.

The information shared in this report provides summaries of asubset of the overall data and insights collected. For questions ormore information about the survey and its findings, please contact
our US Blockchain Lab team (usblockchainlab@deloitte.com).

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Deloitte’s 2018 global blockchain survey | Findings and insights

Blockchain today
Blockchain is at an inflection point, with momentum
shifting from “blockchain tourism” and exploration to
the building of practical business applications. This isparticularly true among “digital enterprise” organizations[see enterprise vs. “emerging disruptors”], rather thanin more traditional enterprises that are still working on
how to incorporate digital into their existing operations
and protocols. While our survey shows that these“enterprise digital” organizations may be lagging their fully
digital brethren in this endeavor, the fact is, traditional
enterprises are putting more resources behind blockchain
than they had been in an effort to achieve greater
efficiency and to develop new business models andrevenue sources.
Despite enterprise digital respondents’ interest inblockchain’s capabilities, nearly 39 percent of the broad
global sample said they believe blockchain is “overhyped.”
In the United States, this number is higher: 44 percent
of respondents view blockchain as overhyped, up from
34 percent in a 2016 survey by Deloitte. This perception
may be driven by the steep increase in token values
over the last 18 months, and survey members conflating
blockchain with the incentive layer of public blockchains,
namely tokens.

5

On their own, these numbers seem to indicate thatblockchain is moving in the wrong direction. However,
we believe this change in attitude is more reflectiveof the shift toward the pragmatists in the blockchaincommunity.
Because we are still early in blockchain’s development,these fits and starts in its maturation are not surprising.
While executives in the financial services sector, forexample, are leading the way in using blockchain to
reexamine processes and functions that have remained
static for decades, their counterparts in other sectors
remain more reserved as they work to develop
appropriate use cases for blockchain. At the same time,
there are a growing number of emerging disruptors
across each sector, challenging traditional businessmodels with the use of blockchain.

Deloitte’s 2018 global blockchain survey | Findings and insights

Theoretical vs. practical
When stripped to its core, blockchain is really just asophisticated ledger system. It is a versatile technologythat can record financial transactions, store medical
records, or even track the flow of goods, information, andpayments through a supply chain. While it can provide
more security and, in some cases, anonymity, the truth isthat on its own, blockchain doesn’t actually do anything
unless it is paired with a solid use case where it canserve as a sort of Trust-as-a-Service (TaaS) to ecosystem
participants. Ultimately, it’s more of a business model
enabler than a technology.

platform view of “What is it? Let’s figure out how thetechnology works, and let’s find a use case” toward
development of more sensible, pragmatic businessecosystem disruption.

That understanding is key to discerning the differencein how enterprise digital (legacy) organizations view
blockchain in comparison to their digital enterprise(emerging disruptors) compatriots. For legacy
organizations like well-established financial institutions
and traditional brick-and-mortar retailers, we’re starting
to see a change in approach toward blockchain. Executives
in these organizations are moving away from the pure

What many enterprise digital executives are still
struggling to see, however, is that blockchain represents
a fundamental change to their business. In and of itself,
this helps explain that while a majority (74 percent) of oursurvey respondents report that their organizations see
a “compelling business case” for the use of blockchain
technology, only 34 percent say their company has initiatedsome sort of blockchain deployment.

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In short, this is a move toward the viewpoint held by digitalenterprise executives who have built their organizations
around blockchain from the ground up, and who don’t
have to function within the confines of a 100-year-old
business or cope with the same rules of consensus aroundtheir business.

Adding to the uncertain state of blockchain adoption is
the fact that while more than 41 percent of respondents
say they expect their organizations to bring blockchain
into production within the next year, 21 percent of global
respondents—and 30 percent of US respondents—
say they still lack a compelling application to justify its
implementation.
What remains important for these executives to recognize
is the first rule of blockchain adoption: This is a businessmodel change where companies need to focus on morethan just a solid proof of concept for implementation.
Because blockchain, when properly implemented,
should fundamentally change how a business operates,
it impacts the entire organization, creating new tax andcyber implications along with a variety of governance andregulatory issues that need to be addressed.

Deloitte’s 2018 global blockchain survey | Findings and insights

Current vs. future state
From the early days when steam- and gas-powered
automobiles began replacing the horse and carriage,
new technology breakthroughs have always captured the
public’s attention, even at times when it wasn’t yet readyfor mainstream consumption.
Blockchain is, in our opinion, at a similar point in its
development.
Among the general public, early adopters, such as
cryptocurrency traders, have helped to bring mainstream
notoriety to blockchain. For all this advocacy, however,there remain a significant number of skeptics who view
blockchain as the overhyped engine behind a volatile andunregulated financial market.
Stagnant perceptions about blockchain’s capabilities
appear to be more entrenched outside of the UnitedStates, according to our survey. When asked if they
believed that blockchain was just “a database for money”
with little application outside of financial services, just 18
percent of US respondents agreed with that statement
versus 61 percent of respondents in France and the United
Kingdom.
Like their counterparts leading the cryptocurrency
revolution, our survey data shows that a significant
percentage of early adopters in the business community(59 percent) believe in blockchain’s potential to disrupt andrevolutionize their industries—and the overall economy.
The problem, respondents say, is that for all the talk about

7

blockchain’s promise, there are very few active use cases
they can currently employ to advance their beliefs.
As a result, a certain “blockchain fatigue” is beginning to
set in among those who feel its potential has been overcommunicated, while its real-world benefits remain elusive.
While this viewpoint is understandable, we believe it isalso somewhat self-fulfilling and, ultimately, self-defeating.
Based on our view of where blockchain is today and, more
importantly, its likely adoption rate within the next three
years, we strongly believe that organizations need to
evolve their thinking around the technology.
Jason Bloomberg, the founder and president of Intellyx anda Forbes contributor, agrees with this perspective¹ pointing
out that the majority of attendees at the recent Consensus
conference in New York were focused on the hot-topic
issues of blockchain and cryptocurrency. In contrast
to the “carnival huckster atmosphere” promulgated bythese attendees who were seemingly only interested in
short-term gains, Bloomberg said the real innovation is in
the development of “essential business models that may
actually deliver real business value” thanks to blockchain
technologies. He points to the initiative spurred by FedEx,
which is using the technology to “gain early traction inenterprises for multi-party supply chain and logistics use
cases.”
Instead of concentrating on how to use blockchain to
support a specific product or idea, the time has cometo focus on evolving blockchain itself. While mostorganizations have “dipped a toe” into the blockchain
waters, we’re seeing the most dramatic progress being
made by those organizations that have willfully jumped
into the deep end of the pool.
Of course, we know that some organizations are moreconservative than others, and not everyone is ready to test
the waters just yet. That’s fine, and there’s no reason forthese organizations not to sit on the side waiting for others
to create effective business cases that justify the expenseand effort of implementing new blockchain solutions
so long as they are willing to take the plunge once theirconcerns have been addressed.
For those organizations that do jump into the blockchain
pool, it’s important to note that there’s no shame or harmby getting out again if they’re not seeing the results theywant. While 78 percent of our survey respondents believe
they stand to lose competitive advantage if they do not
eventually implement blockchain, they see a variety of
obstacles moving forward, with a full one-third saying they
believe their current return on investment in blockchain
technology remains “uncertain.”In short, the only real mistake we believe organizations canmake regarding blockchain right now is to do nothing. Even
without a completely solid business case to implement, we
believe that organizations should, at the very least, keep
an eye on blockchain so that they can take advantage ofopportunities when they present themselves.

Deloitte’s 2018 global blockchain survey | Findings and insights

Real-world challenges
Like the development of the Internet before it, blockchain
is still, in many ways, looking for solid footing outside ofearly adopters. In the mid-1990s, the Internet was still verymuch a curiosity, hampered by slow connection speeds
and disparate protocols that often made browsing the Web
more frustrating than beneficial for anyone but the mostdedicated users.
Just 10 years later, however, the Internet had not only
become a ubiquitous global business tool, but it had
actually changed how business was conducted, leading to
the rise of web-based companies like Amazon that allow
users to order anything they want—from anywhere theywant—with just a few simple clicks.
And while blockchain use cases may only be dribbling
into production at this point in time, there is an absolutegold rush of ideas out in the marketplace. Big thinkers arecontinually coming up with new ideas for how blockchain
can be leveraged across their organizations.
Businesses around the globe are spending significant
time and resources creating new use cases and patenting
their innovations—even in the face of high short-term
development costs and murky ROI. More than one-thirdof respondents to our survey say they’ve already broughta blockchain implementation to production; another 41
percent plan to bring blockchain to production in the nextyear.
Respondents tend to cite “greater speed” (32 percent) and“new business models” (28 percent) as major advantagesof blockchain technology more than “lower costs” (16percent). Indeed, companies looking to implement new
blockchain solutions may not see immediate savings fromtheir efforts, as they will likely continue to support existing
systems until they can be completely retired and replaced.
Similarly, companies may also face unexpected labor costs
8

if they want to compete for qualified personnel in a tightlabor market.
As with the production challenges, the burden is on theearly adopters to demonstrate the real-world ROI of
blockchain solutions.
In the near term, we also believe that blockchain consortia
will continue to gain traction. According to our survey,
approximately 29 percent of our respondents have alreadyjoined an existing consortium, with nearly 45 percent
saying they are likely to join one within the next year. And
more than 13 percent say they are interested in starting a
consortium of their own.
As blockchain gains traction and influence, we believe thebenefits of consortia, including their shared costs, ability
to create unified industry standards, and advantages ofscale, will make them even more attractive options forcompanies in finance, technology, and health care overthe next two to three years. At the same time, a successful
consortium is dependent upon a level of collaboration
and agreement across a myriad of complex business andtechnology architecture decisions, bringing a significant
challenge to these arrangements.

Deloitte’s 2018 global blockchain survey | Findings and insights

A different view: Enterprises vs. “emerging disruptors”
The problem with blockchain adoption in the UnitedStates today isn’t really a problem at all.
Some of our colleagues at Deloitte argue that our recent
blockchain survey results don’t necessarily tell thewhole story and might not adequately reflect the level ofinnovation infiltrating each industry sector. The reason:
The survey focused only on enterprise organizations
implementing legacy-constrained solutions, and not on
start-ups or emerging disruptors.
It is also important to understand what’s happening
in the digital space. Most of these companies could be
described as start-ups; however, we prefer to call them“emerging disruptors.” We define emerging disruptors as
those companies that entered their respective industry
segments as start-ups but have grown rapidly to the point
where they are currently—or will soon be—disrupting thelarger players in their markets.
We use the phrase emerging disruptor because of thepace at which these new business models go from day one
to explosive growth. They are typically well funded andmanaged by seasoned executives, well connected to key
stakeholders, and well versed in the potential value offeredby commerce reimagined by blockchain. They build teams
who think in a gravity-free environment, unconstrained bylegacy problems, but with a realistic view of the regulatory
atmosphere.
By focusing only on “mature state” enterprises, critics say,Deloitte’s survey is missing out on an important part ofthe blockchain story, and the “cool stuff” being done byemerging disruptors in the market.
Emerging companies aren’t facing the problems expressedby enterprise companies in the survey—a lack of use cases
for the technology and trouble justifying the ROI they
hope to achieve by adopting blockchain. Instead, these9companies are seeing explosive growth because they
truly understand blockchain’s potential and have devised
specific business cases to take advantage of its uniquevalue proposition.
In many cases, these companies are showing how
blockchain is changing the nature of what transactions
represent and eliminating many constraints of the past
while enabling new forms of commerce for every industry
and changing how consumers and enterprises perceive atransaction or a company’s value proposition.
The companies truly pushing the future of blockchain are
doing more than just disrupting legacy transactions andinventing new transaction types. These organizations arebuilding whole new theories of what commerce could—
and should—be like.
Established companies face several legacy concerns andare trying to make blockchain fit into an already existing
business paradigm that may or may not benefit from its
introduction. The emerging disruptors, on the other hand,
have business models inspired by blockchain. They areexperimenting and building without the constraints of alegacy business process, focusing on what is possible andthen dealing with any challenges as they arise.
Based on their experience working with emerging
disruptors, those most familiar with this new breed ofblockchain-native organizations believe that while broad
blockchain adoption may not be at an advanced level in the
United States, the level of innovation and efforts to build
scalable enterprise blockchain solutions is exploding.
NOTE: For a deeper dive into the impact that emerging
disruptors are having on blockchain adoption, look for asoon-to-be-published Deloitte follow-on article.

Deloitte’s 2018 global blockchain survey | Findings and insights

Pushing the future of blockchain:
Spotlight on emerging disruptors
Storj Labs

Rivetz Corp.

Filecoin

Storj Labs is a distributed cloud storage provider thatbrings the excess capacity of users’ hard disk drives
and bandwidth (Storj calls them “farmers”) into an
incentivized marketplace where developers can usethat infrastructure as a data layer in their applications
for object storage (i.e., static content that is written
once and read many times, like video, PDFs, andselfies) instead of utilizing traditional cloud providers.

Companies such as Rivetz Corp. are using blockchain
for an entirely new approach to transaction types.
Rivetz is providing a store of value for devices topay for, and control, cybersecurity services. StevenSprague, Rivetz’s cofounder and CEO, says theblockchain provides a new model to deploy andmanage global key management and device integrity.
Rivetz’s vision is to extend the software-defined
network to include the endpoint device and provide
provable cybersecurity controls. Proving a control wasin place may address a core compliance challenge inthe post-GDPR market.

Filecoin is a decentralized file storage network
and a native token powered by a blockchain.
Filecoin’s mission is to use cutting-edge advances incryptography and blockchain technologies to bring
together massive amounts of storage from “miners”
all over the world, and provide a superior service
with strong guarantees of availability, resilience,and great price. The value of the Filecoin token isdesigned to track the amount of value created by
the network, meaning that miners earning Filecoin
tokens for storing files are earning a stake in the
network itself. The more tokens any individual
participant earns and holds, the more incentive
they have to support the network and ensure its
success. This incentive alignment and feedback
loop causes creates an extremely strong network ofcollaborating participants who will all greatly benefit
from the success of the network.

“Storj now has farmers in more than 180 countries
around the world, storing up to 100PBs, while notowning or operating a single data center,” says
Storj Labs Founder and Chief Revenue Officer John
Quinn. By incentivizing farmers through the use of
Storj’s native token, STORJ, Quinn says, the company
offers end-to-end encryption (more secure), highavailability, and fast performance, at a 50 percent or
greater discount because it does not need to build
data centers to store the data. In this way, Storj is
redefining object storage.

10Deloitte’s 2018 global blockchain survey | Findings and insights

The bottom line
When looking at the insights developed from our 2016
survey, the data suggested that blockchain adoption—and
its move into production—would have happened at afaster pace than we have seen so far in 2018. Still, eventhough blockchain is rolling out in a more moderated
fashion than expected, its adoption remains promising.
One of the keys we see holding blockchain back is in thevery way that most people and organizations look at it—
and its potential to redefine their businesses. Specifically,organizations should stop looking at blockchain as a “new”
technology, because it’s really not.
Just as Uber achieved success by building a uniquebusiness case by combining three existing technologies
and protocols (automobiles, online reservations, andonline payments) into a new, disruptive model thatchanged public transportation, blockchain holds the samepromise for business across the various industries.
As Nolan Bauerle so eloquently explained in his CoinDesk
article, “What is blockchain technology?,”² blockchain
is “the particular orchestration of three technologies(the Internet, private key cryptography, and a protocol
governing incentivization)” that resulted in a secure systemfor digital interactions without the need for a trusted third
party to facilitate digital relationships.
When viewed in this light, organizations can stop wastingtime and effort focusing on the technology and, instead,focus on identifying areas of friction and outmoded
processes that can benefit from the democratization oftrust and the ability to more securely verify the authenticity
of both B2B and B2C digital transactions.
While early adopters—the digital enterprises and emerging
disruptors that have built their businesses aroundblockchain from the very beginning—are quickly moving
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their blockchain efforts from their corporate test beds to
production, enterprise digital (legacy) organizations are notmoving at the same pace.
Nor should they be.
While these organizations can’t afford to ignore blockchain,or its potential to disrupt the way they’ve done businessfor decades or even centuries, they also don’t need to feelpressured to “keep up with the Joneses” by adopting new
business solutions before they’re ready to do so. Having
a healthy fear of disruption is fine, but there’s no needfor legacy organizations to feel anxious and move toward
blockchain without first identifying and developing a solid
use case.
As more organizations put their human and financial
resources behind blockchain and come to better realize
how it can improve their business processes and theirbottom lines, we expect blockchain to gain significant
traction as its cost savings, competitive advantages, andROI benefits become more pronounced.
The view further down the road is an inspiring one.
We see blockchain enabling a completely new level of
information exchange both within and across industries.
As connections are made between blockchain andother emerging technologies, particularly the cloud
and automation, we see the potential for blockchain
to help organizations create and realize new value forbusinesses beyond anything we can imagine with existing
technologies.

Survey overview

Deloitte’s 2018 global blockchain survey | Findings and insights

To summarize, the survey was fielded across seven countries (Total number of respondents = 1,053):
United Kingdom

United States

284

Canada103

respondents

respondents

Mexico103
13

respondents

150

respondents

Germany132

respondents

France76

respondents

China

205

respondents

Deloitte’s 2018 global blockchain survey | Findings and insights

Company overall annual revenues in 2017
Respondents are senior-level executives at mostly large companies across a variety of industries.
Q: Which of the following best represents your company’s overall annual revenues in 2017?
100%
11%

7%

13%

12%

15%
22%

30%
80%

21%

21%

32%

18%
11%

27%
60%

21%
21%

31%

31%

30%

38%

29%
40%

16%

5%
13%

10%

18%

6%

4%

Canada

China

0%

11%

8%

1%

5%

7%

5%

5%

5%

6%

FranceGermany

Mexico

14%

17%

7%
5%

12%

4%
United Kingdom

United StatesLess than $50 million$250 million to less than $500 million$1 billion to less than $5 billion$50 million to less than $100 million$500 million to less than $750 million$5 billion to less than $10 billion$100 million to less than $250 million$750 million to less than $1 billion$10 billion or more

N= 1,053 (global)
14

17%

15%

20%

14%

15%

17%

Deloitte’s 2018 global blockchain survey | Findings and insights

Primary operations of organizations by industry
Survey respondents hail from 10 different industries—the majority from financial services, technology/media/telecommunications, andconsumer products and manufacturing.
Q: In which of the following industries does the organization you work for primarily operate?

Financial Services

23%
18%

Technology/Media/Telecommunications
14%

Consumer Products & Manufacturing
Health Care

11%

Other

10%
7%

Oil & Gas

6%

Automotive
Life Sciences (including Biotech,
Medical Devices, and Pharma)
Public Sector
Food

5%
4%
3%
Percent of respondents by industry

N= 1,053 (global)
15

Deloitte’s 2018 global blockchain survey | Findings and insights

Respondents by job level and role
The overwhelming majority of survey respondents hold C-level or equivalent positions. Forty-six percent are CIOs/CTOs or CEOs.
Q: Which of the following best describes your current job role/title?
Respondents by job level

Respondents by role
Chief Information Oﬃcer/
Chief Technology Oﬃcer

VP-level or equivalent

26%

Chief Executive Oﬃcer

14%

21%

Executive Vice President

13%

Chief Operation Oﬃcer

9%

President8%6%Chief Financial Oﬃcer
Other C-suite title

5%

Sr. Manager/
Manager/Other

5%

Director86%

N= 1,053 (global)
16

C-level or equivalent

3%

Chief Strategy Oﬃcer 2%
Business Unit Head/
2%
Business President

Deloitte’s 2018 global blockchain survey | Findings and insights

Respondents by functional area
Information technology is the largest functional area represented in the survey responses.
Q: In which functional area do you work?
Information Technology (IT)

42%

Sales

11%

Finance10%Administration

10%8%Strategy

7%

Innovation
Other

4%

Marketing4%

Procurement2%

Human Resources

2%
Percent of respondents by function

N= 1,053 (global)
17

Deloitte’s 2018 global blockchain survey | Findings and insights

Approximate blockchain investment that organizations
will make in the next calendar year
Blockchain is a priority investment for many companies. Thirty-nine percent of respondents reported that their organization will invest$5 million or more in blockchain technology in the coming year.
Q: Thinking specifically of blockchain technology, what is the approximate investment your organization will make in thenext calendar year in this area?
100%
16%

$10 million or more

From $5 million toless than $10 million

18%

23%

26%

20%

From $500,000 toless than $1 million

20%

12%

15%

21%

13%
12%

80%

24%
25%

From $1 million toless than $5 million

18%

32%

27%

22%

26%

16%

60%

40%

27%

31%

20%

31%

18%

30%

35%
Less than $500,000

23%

10%
20%

No investment is planned

10%
11%

5%
0%

6%
CanadaPercent of respondents byplanned investment amount
N= 1,053 (global)
18

15%

China

29%

24%

27%

7%

5%

FranceGermany

1%

17%
8%

7%
Mexico3%

16%

United United States
Kingdom

No investment$1 million to less than $5 million

Less than $500,000$5 million to less than $10 million$500,000 to less than $1 million$10 million or more

Deloitte’s 2018 global blockchain survey | Findings and insights

Survey respondents’ attitudes on blockchain and its adoption
Overall, respondents are extremely bullish on blockchain’s potential, namely its ability to broadly scale and reach mainstream adoption.
A majority also agreed that blockchain technology will disrupt their industry. Despite these high expectations, 39 percent of respondents
agreed that blockchain technology is overhyped, suggesting that even blockchain believers think some of the rhetoric on the technology’s
potential is overly optimistic.
Q: What is your level of agreement or disagreement with each of the following statements regarding blockchain technology?
Blockchain technology is broadly scalable andwill eventually achieve mainstream adoption

84%

Suppliers, customers, and/or competitors are
discussing or working on blockchain solutions
to address challenges in the value chain

77%

Executive team believes there is a compellingbusiness case for use of blockchain technology

74%

Planning to replace current systems of record(e.g., ﬁnancial ledgers, CRM and ERP modules,
inventory tracking systems, etc.) with blockchain

69%

Will lose a competitive advantage if we don't
adopt blockchain technology

68%

Blockchain technology will disrupt our industry

Blockchain is overhyped

59%

39%

Percent of respondents who somewhat/strongly agree with the statements
Percentages equal more than 100 percent because respondents were allowed to submit more than one answer.
N= 1,053 (global)
19

Deloitte’s 2018 global blockchain survey | Findings and insights

Perceived disruption of blockchain technology – by industry
Q: Blockchain technology will disrupt my organization’s industry – What is your level of agreement or disagreement withthis statement regarding blockchain technology?
Automotive73%

Oil & Gas

72%

Life Sciences (including Biotech,
Medical Devices and Pharma)

72%
64%

Financial Services
Consumer Products & Manufacturing

56%

Health Care

55%

Technology/Media/Telecommunications

53%

Food

50%

Other/Not identiﬁed

46%

Public Sector

46%

Percent of respondents who somewhat/strongly agree with the statements

N= 1,053 (global)
20

Deloitte’s 2018 global blockchain survey | Findings and insights

Most significant advantages of blockchain over existing systems
The most common answer when asked about blockchain’s advantages over existing systems was greater speed. This suggests companies
are interested in leveraging blockchain’s real-time information exchange capabilities to speed up business processes and gain operational
efficiencies. Additionally, 28 percent of respondents believe that blockchain can help them unlock new revenue sources and businessmodels, underscoring the technology’s disruptive potential.
Q: Which one of the following, if any, do you believe is the most significant advantage of blockchain over existing systems
when thinking of your specific industry?
Greater speed compared to existing systems

32%

28%

New business models and revenue sources

21%

Greater security/lower risk

Lower costs

None - no perceived advantages
over existing systems

16%

2%

Other/not sure 1%

Most signiﬁcant advantage of blockchain over existing systems
N= 1,053 (global)
21

Deloitte’s 2018 global blockchain survey | Findings and insights

Is a blockchain-based solution more or less secure thanconventional IT systems?
The overwhelming majority of respondents believe that blockchain is more secure than conventional IT systems.
Q: Do you believe that a blockchain-based solution is currently more secure or less secure than systems built from moreconventional information technologies?
8%

UnsureLess secure

8%

84%

N= 1,053 (global)
22

More secureDeloitte’s 2018 global blockchain survey | Findings and insights

Views of blockchain relevance within organizations
A significant majority of respondents consider blockchain technology to be very important to their organization, with more than 40
percent calling it one of their “top 5 strategic priorities.” This is in line with the investments in the technology many respondents’companies are making or planning to make.
Q: Which of the following best describes how your organization currently views the relevance of blockchain to
your organization?
4%

Unsure/no conclusion
Will not be relevant

Relevant, but not a
strategic priority

4%

21%

43%

Important, but not in
the top 5 strategic
priorities

29%

Note: Some totals may not add up to 100% due to rounding.

N= 1,053 (global)
23

Critical – in our top 5
strategic priorities

Deloitte’s 2018 global blockchain survey | Findings and insights

Organizational barriers to greater investment in blockchain technology
Companies face a wide variety of barriers to further investment in blockchain, with the most common being regulatory barriers, replacing
or integrating with legacy systems, potential security threats, and uncertain return on investment.
Q: What are your organization’s barriers, if any, to greater investment in blockchain technology?

39%

Regulatory issues
Implementation—replacing or
adapting to legacy system

37%
35%

Potential security threats
Uncertain ROI

33%
28%

Lack of in-house skills/understanding
Not a current business priority

22%

Lack of compelling applicationof the technology

22%Technology is unproven

20%

Concerns over sensitivity ofcompetitive information

20%
6%

No barriers
Other/Not assessed

2%
Percent of respondents who feel the issue is a barrier to blockchain investment
Percentages equal more than 100 percent because respondents were allowed to submit more than one answer.

N= 1,053 (global)
24

Deloitte’s 2018 global blockchain survey | Findings and insights

Organizations’ positions on participating in a blockchain consortiumwith competitors
The vast majority of respondents (74 percent) said that they either already participate in or will likely join a blockchain consortium.
Consortiums will remain highly relevant in the near future as a resource for companies to learn about and develop blockchain applications.
Q: Which of the following best describes your organization’s position on participating in a blockchain consortiumwith competitors?
6%

Other/unsure
7%

Planning to
go it alone

Consideringforming our own

13%

45%

Currently participate
in oneN= 1,053 (global)
25

29%

Likely to join one

Deloitte’s 2018 global blockchain survey | Findings and insights

Which department is making the key business decisions about
blockchain activities
For the majority of respondents, blockchain activities are being directed either by their IT functions (39 percent), or innovation/R&D functions(16 percent). This suggests that these companies still see blockchain as a technology-driven priority rather than a business one. Chinese
respondents stood out as an exception though, with 60 percent saying blockchain activities were being directed by the business as a whole,and only 24 percent reporting that IT is managing their blockchain activities.
Q: Which area of your company is making the key business decisions about its blockchain activities?
1%

Other/unsure
6%

FinanceInnovation/R&D

15%

39%

IT

N= 1,053 (global)
26

39%

The business as a whole(not one particular area)

Deloitte’s 2018 global blockchain survey | Findings and insights

Blockchain models
Q: Which blockchain model are you focusing your activities on?

Permissioned blockchain

52%

Private blockchain (internal to your company)

44%

Public blockchain like Bitcoin or Ethereum

44%

Consortium

36%

Other/unsure

3%

None

3%

Percent of respondents that are focusing on the select blockchain models
Percentages equal more than 100 percent because respondents were allowed to submit more than one answer.

N= 1,053 (global)
27

Deloitte’s 2018 global blockchain survey | Findings and insights

External stakeholders engaged in blockchain strategy
Q: Which stakeholders outside your company are asking or engaging with you about your blockchain strategy?

Suppliers

54%

51%

Customers

Market analysts

48%

Partners

47%

7%

None

Other/unsure

2%

Percentage of respondents engaging with the select external stakeholders around blockchain strategy
Percentages equal more than 100 percent because respondents were allowed to submit more than one answer.

N= 1,053 (global)
28

Deloitte’s 2018 global blockchain survey | Findings and insights

Blockchain use cases
Q: Which of the following blockchain use cases is your company working on?
Supply chain

53%

Internet of Things

51%

Digital identity

50%

Digital records

44%
40%

Digital currency

30%

Payments

12%

Voting

None

Other/unsure

4%2%Percentage of respondents that are working on the select use cases
Percentages equal more than 100 percent because respondents were allowed to submit more than one answer.

N= 1,053 (global)
29

By-country data and insights

Deloitte’s 2018 global blockchain survey | Findings and insights

Organizations with blockchain in production or plans to do so in
the future
US respondents say their company has deployed blockchain technology in production at a significantly lower rate than those in othersurveyed countries. Only 14 percent of US respondents said blockchain was already in production in their organization, compared tonearly 50 percent in some other countries, including China and Mexico.
Q: Has your organization either brought blockchain to production or plans to do so at some point in the future?
100%

2%

1%

10%

12%

1%
14%

5%

5%

1%

1%
11%

10%
12%

80%
46%

42%

60%

48%

48%

57%

49%

40%

40%

20%

36%

24%

48%

49%
36%

37%

40%

14%
0%
CanadaChina

Germany

Blockchain currently in production

Other

Plan for production within the next calendar year

None of the above

Plan for production at some other point in the future
N= 1,053 (global)
31

FranceMexicoUnited Kingdom

United States

Deloitte’s 2018 global blockchain survey | Findings and insights

The Asia/Pacific perspective
While the hype surrounding public blockchain has
captured the imaginations of many organizations, serious
use of the permissioned blockchain as a strategic weapon
in mainstream enterprise is happening fast, representing
more than 50 percent of all blockchain models.
These projects are usually sponsored by top management,with a significant paradigm shift from competition tocollaboration in the ecosystem. Huge productivity gains,
creation of cross-industry big data, and elimination of
fraud have created unprecedented synergy in many
blockchain platforms, facilitated by a faster, more secure,and highly power-efficient, underlying, distributed ledger
technology.
Initiatives, such as the “Belt-and-Road strategy,” willfurther fuel blockchain’s development on the regional and,potentially, global level.

China’s Belt and Road Initiative³
Launched in 2013 as “one belt, one road,” this initiative
involves China underwriting billions of dollars of
infrastructure investment in countries along theold Silk Road linking it with Europe. The ambition isimmense: China is spending roughly $150 billion a year
in the 68 countries that have signed up to the scheme.

32Deloitte’s 2018 global blockchain survey | Findings and insights

Hiring staff with blockchain experience
US respondents lagged well behind those in other countries in investing in new staff that possess blockchain knowledge and expertise.
Q: Is your organization investing in hiring staff with blockchain experience now and in the future?
100%

6%

1%

5%
80%

2%
12%

4%

8%

12%

1%

10%

15%

20%
60%

40%

23%

4%

6%
21%

1%

8%
20%

10%
15%

19%

27%
20%

21%
86%
40%
21%
56%

51%

44%

20%

49%

40%
24%

0%
CanadaFranceGermany

Currently investing

We will not be investingWill begin investing in next calendar year

We have not decided

Will begin investing at some other point in the future

UnsureN= 1,053 (global)
33

China

MexicoUnited Kingdom

United States

Deloitte’s 2018 global blockchain survey | Findings and insights

The Canadian perspective
Canada hosts a vibrant and growing community ofblockchain enthusiasts and entrepreneurs.
From the early days of Ethereum, Canadian organizations,both small and large, have been at the forefront ofblockchain and cryptocurrency innovation, and we see nosigns of slowdown, as there has been strong momentum
and a steady rise of Canadian crypto-ventures in the past
year.
Enterprises continue to experiment with, and test,
blockchain’s applicability across a variety of industries
and domains. For example, there are several initiatives
underway with several Canadian financial services firms
around wholesale payments, securities settlements,
and digital identification. Additionally, blockchain-based
business registrations, led by a collection of government
agencies, have seen global recognition and put Canada
firmly on the global map as a pioneer in the blockchain
space.
We are now seeing a clear shift from education toexperimentation, with several organizations working on
scaling experiments and taking them to production. As
the survey reflects, four in every five Canadian executives
have stated an excellent understanding of blockchain.
Canada’s position at the vanguard of the technology andits elevated level of education correlate well with the levelof investment the country is seeing.
By the time of the survey, 70 percent of the Canadianfirms had invested more than $1 million in blockchain,
and an even higher percentage (74 percent) plan to spend
more than $1 million in the next year. These investments
have had a material impact on the job market, as half ofthe firms surveyed state they have staff with blockchain
expertise. With the surge in educational blockchain
offerings (globally and in Canada), the local talent shortage
has slowly started to decline.
34

This may only be the beginning of Canadian companies’
foray into the blockchain space. The scope of proof-ofconcept has grown to include integration with traditional
systems to augment and transform a number of existing
business models. Nearly half of Canadian firms plan tobring blockchain to production in the next calendar year,
and the majority of Canadian respondents believe thatblockchain will reach mainstream adoption.
Regulatory bodies continue to evolve their role andposition to keep pace with the change that blockchain
introduces. Because of this, two-thirds of organizations
do not believe that regulatory issues will be a barrier forincreasing blockchain investments in Canada.
Based on the country’s successful history, and increasinglevels of public-private collaboration to develop its
blockchain landscape, Canada will continue to leadinnovation in the blockchain space across all industries
over the next year.

Deloitte’s 2018 global blockchain survey | Findings and insights

Investment in blockchain-based changes to existing systems
Many respondents indicate their companies are replacing parts or all of their existing systems with blockchain-based enhancements.
At some of these companies, blockchain will be integrated into core operations, while others are building new applications. This kind ofactivity is most prevalent in Mexico, China, and France—and least in the United States.
Q: I s your organization investing in replacing parts or all of your existing systems with blockchain-based enhancements
now or in the future?
100%

8%
6%

80%

4%
17%

3%

9%

1%
16%

3%

2%

2%
14%

9%
4%

23%

9%

17%

16%
12%

17%
42%

60%

1%

1%

40%

37%

35%

42%

32%

35%

40%

41%

20%

42%

40%
30%

27%

34%

16%

14%
0%
CanadaFranceGermany

MexicoCurrently investingWill begin investing in next calendar year

Will begin investing at some other point in the future

We will not be investing

We have not decided

UnsureN= 1,053 (global)
35

China

United Kingdom

United States

Deloitte’s 2018 global blockchain survey | Findings and insights

The EMEA perspective
Spotlight on the German market
Regulators in the United Kingdom are more advanced atpioneering sandbox environments to test product andsolution development.
At an industry level, there are emerging consortia being
formed to drive industry-specific uses cases. In the oiland gas sector, several large oil companies are teaming
up to build commodity trading solutions on blockchain. In
reinsurance, B3i—made up of 14 reinsurances—is building
solutions for its members.
The adoption of blockchain is still in its early stages across
EMEA, although at different speeds in different sectors andgeographies. Overall, however, there is strong belief in thelong-term impact of blockchain to help transform businessand government services.
Government organizations are coming to the forefront inspearheading the adoption of blockchain. The European
Commission has supported the signing of a 27-country
pact on blockchain, the European Blockchain Partnership,that will see EU-wide collaboration on regulatory andtechnical matters. The EU will allocate €300 million inblockchain investment over the next three years. It has
also established the European Blockchain Observatory toundertake research on how blockchain can be applied.
In the Middle East, the United Arab Emirates hasdeveloped a visionary strategy for blockchain with theintent of having 50 percent of government transactions
on blockchain by 2021. Elsewhere, individual countries areworking to advance their own specific initiatives, such as
Sweden’s blockchain-based land registry project.
At a regulatory level, many of the national and regional
regulators are adopting a wait-and-see approach,preferring to explore and understand blockchain’s
regulatory and policy implications before moving forward.
36

R3, the global financial services consortium, has a major
development platform in London, while a number of banks
have formed the Digital Trade Chain consortium to build
a trade finance solution. In Norway, DNV GL went live lastyear with a business certification solution on blockchain
and, in France, a consortium of asset managers haslaunched a blockchain fund distribution platform, Iznes.
Despite this significant activity, a number of factors are
impacting the pace of adoption:•• Reputational issues with cyptocurrencies arecontaminating blockchain investment decisions andcausing board-level concerns•• Slow progress on the development of the necessary
regulatory frameworks, legislation, and industry standards
that are required to move from pilots to production•• A lack of available talent with blockchain expertise•• Governance challenges around consortia
While progress is being made on preparing the groundfor further development in locations, such as the United
Kingdom, Sweden, United Arab Emirates, Ireland, andSwitzerland, it is also clear that there is more to accomplish
to accelerate blockchain adoption in this region over the
next two to three years.

Blockchain is a primary digital focus area for Germany.
In fact, blockchain was included in the coalition
agreement of the new government, and there isintense interest in blockchain throughout the German
corporate world.
Two large global financial institutions, which arefounding members of the highly visible B3i consortium(the Blockchain Insurance Industry Initiative), areheadquartered in Germany, and several firms froma variety of industries have gone public with theirblockchain use cases. Additionally, several key players
behind Ethereum and IOTA are located in Germany,and there is a strong desire not to miss out on this
digital transformation opportunity.
Blockchain cases in the area of “track and trace”
resonate particularly well with the supply chain–centric business model of the German Mittelstand—the medium-sized engineering companies thatare so typical for the German economy—andwith automotive OEMs. Moreover, there is intenseinterest in “track and trace” cases for proving theorigin of goods and raw materials in the context ofsustainability.
In addition, there is strong interest in reaping theefficiency benefits provided by blockchain (e.g., bycreating platforms between different banks andinvestors for issuing and trading bonded loans, or forsupporting the still highly manual processes in tradefinance), which is particularly relevant given the export
focus of the German economy.
Under the current regulatory setting, which is not very
open for cryptocurrencies, there is comparatively little
activity in the initial coin offering (ICO) space, withmost such business being executed out of Switzerland.

By-industry data and insights

Deloitte’s 2018 global blockchain survey | Findings and insights

Perception of blockchain solely as an application for financial services
Over half of all respondents in the Oil & Gas and Automotive industries believe that blockchain technology is primarily a database for moneyor an application for the financial services industry. This finding would potentially conflict/contradict with the overwhelmingly high number of
executives from those industries who claim to have excellent- to expert-level knowledge of blockchain technology. The vast majority of thosein Health Care, Financial Services, and Life Sciences do not believe that blockchain is simply a database for money or an application primarily
for financial services.
Q: At the end of the day, blockchain is a database for money. It doesn’t make sense to use it for applications outside of ﬁnancial
services or facilitating ﬁnancial transactions. – Do you agree or disagree with the statement?
Oil & Gas

61%

Automotive

53%

Food

49%

Technology/Media/Telecommunications

49%

Public sector

48%

Consumer products & Manufacturing

44%

Health care

40%

Financial services

38%

Life sciences (Including biotech,
medical devices, and pharma)

36%

Other

36%

Percentage of respondents who agree that blockchain is solely a database for money and an application for ﬁnancial services
N=1,053 (global)

38

Deloitte’s 2018 global blockchain survey | Findings and insights

Financial services
perspective

The financial services sector was one of the firstindustries to explore blockchain and is recognizedglobally as an industry with high potential to be truly
impacted by blockchain technology. For this reason,nearly one-quarter (23 percent) of respondents in the
Deloitte Blockchain Survey identified themselves asworking in financial services.
After years of looking at blockchain as something of acuriosity, the financial services sector has now begun
to expand its view of blockchain both as a threat and an
opportunity. At Deloitte, we are seeing a demonstrable
shift within financial services from efficiency and costsavings toward a broader portfolio of blockchain
applications designed to include new revenue streams.
At a practical level, decentralized and distributed ledger
technologies have the potential to fundamentally redesign
the ways in which financial institutions interact with eachother, regulators, and their customers. Historically, usecases for blockchain technology in financial services
include trade finance, customer onboarding, regulatory
reporting, and cross-border payments. Moving forward,
revenue-generation use cases for crypto-trading services,
loyalty programs, securities-lending services, and others
have started to come into focus.

39

While global institutions begin to spin up blockchainfocused teams, and internal investment increases, it isimportant to note the emerging disruptors in this space.
As discussed in our earlier examination of enterpriseorganizations vs. emerging disruptors, new blockchain
start-ups are not constricted with legacy technologies,
operating systems, or business models. Many incumbents
are taking note, and some of the biggest names in thefinancial services space are currently investing heavily inand acquiring blockchain capabilities. According to oursurvey, 39 percent of respondents plan to spend morethan $5 million, and 16 percent plan to spend more than
$10 million in 2018.

Still, blockchain is not without its challenges:•• Scalability is a key issue to address as organizations
look to explore the many potential blockchain solutions
available to them.
•• Security is an important consideration: 84 percent ofrespondents indicated they believe blockchain-enabled
solutions will be more secure but remain unclear as towhat new threat matrix may develop.
•• Consortia creation and collaboration is imperative toenable the financial services industry to unlock the true
potential of the technology. According to our global survey,
45 percent of respondents said they would look to join aconsortium and partner with others to develop and reap
the benefits of blockchain.
It is clear the financial services industry is at the tipping
point of critical change, and those who understand boththe opportunities and challenges will emerge as winners.

Deloitte’s 2018 global blockchain survey | Findings and insights“Excellent” to “Expert” level understanding of blockchain technology
by industry execs
Our survey focused on a select group of executives who self-identified as being blockchain knowledgeable—those with at least a
broad understanding of blockchain—who worked at companies with $500 million or more in annual revenues and were familiar
with and able to comment on their organizations’ blockchain investment plans. Of this group, the majority considered themselves topossess excellent or expert knowledge of the technology—particularly executives in Oil & Gas, Food, Tech/Media/Telecom, Consumer
Products & Manufacturing, and Automotive. At least 80 percent of respondents in these industries rated their knowledge of blockchain
technology as “excellent” or “expert.”
Q: How would you describe your level of understanding of blockchain?
Oil & Gas

87%

Food

86%

Technology/Media/Telecommunications

81%

Consumer products & Manufacturing80%

Automotive

80%

Health care

74%

Financial services

73%

Life sciences (Including biotech,
medical devices, and pharma)

70%

Other
Public sector

58%
52%

Percent of respondents by industry who responded “Excellent” to “Expert”
N=1,053 (global)
40

Deloitte’s 2018 global blockchain survey | Findings and insights

Life sciences andhealth care perspective

The life sciences and health care industry view onblockchain has rapidly evolved over the past 12 months,
moving from a point of curiosity and education to a pointof recognition that action must be taken to prepare for
imminent disruption.
As our survey results show, 55 percent of organizations inthis industry believe that blockchain will cause disruption,
while more than 60 percent believe that they will lose acompetitive advantage if they don’t adopt blockchain. Thisdisruption will bring new opportunities and new threatsthat must be addressed. In particular, these organizations
believe that blockchain can provide significant value acrossthe following dimensions:•• Disintermediation: Reducing reliance on costlyintermediaries that can be replaced by participants in a
blockchain or by smart contracts
Examples: Medical data aggregators, provider data-validation
servicers, patient outreach programs, claims clearinghouses•• Transparency and auditability: Improving transaction
visibility among ecosystem partners can improve
operational efficiencies
Examples: Value-based care payments; pharmaceutical,
commercial, and clinical supply chains; fraud, waste, and abuse•• Industry collaboration: Realizing efficiencies throughthe sharing of information
Examples: Provider credentials and directories, longitudinalview of the patient, clinical trial records•• New business models: Establishing new revenuegeneration opportunities founded on blockchain
Examples: Enabling patient data ownership and monetization,
artificial intelligence (AI) analysis of newly available data madepossible by blockchain

41

In recognition of these opportunities, 63 percent of healthcare organization respondents (providers and healthplans) say they are planning to invest more than $1 million
over the next calendar year. The figure is even higher
for life sciences organizations where 33 percent plan toinvest between $5 million and $10 million over the same
period. Furthermore, life sciences organizations are more
optimistic on blockchain’s potential than other groups inthe industry, as 60 percent of these organizations believethat blockchain will be a critical (top-5 priority) for theirorganization, compared to only 39 percent for other healthcare organizations.
This level of optimism is seen today through the numerous
proof-of-value projects being pursued by the biggest
names in the market and by the diversity of consortia
that have been formalized. Over the next 12 months,
the outcomes from these pursuits will provide tangible
evidence of blockchain’s value and provide experience that
can help rationalize the ecosystem of consortia to support
industry-wide solutions that can transform health care.

Deloitte’s 2018 global blockchain survey | Findings and insights

Respondents’ current adoption of blockchain compared to competitors
The vast majority of respondents feel that their companies are one of the leaders and potentially the leader in the adoption ofblockchain as compared to their competitors. Those in Consumer Products & Manufacturing, Oil & Gas, Life Sciences, Tech/Media/
Telecom, and Food industries appear to be most confident in their adoption of blockchain as compared to their competition.
Q: How does your organization's current adoption of blockchain compare to that of your direct competitors?
100%

3%
4%

90%
80%

2%

0%

3%

2%

10%

8%

21%

2%

1%

6%
25%

15%

32%

7%

25%

2%
20%

0%
8%

2%
6%

10%

24%

2%
3%
24%

35%

70%

27%

60%
50%

24%

37%

59%
43%

40%

53%
38%

45%

51%
38%

30%
20%

46%

37%

10%

19%

19%

Consumerproducts &Manufacturing

Financialservices

22%

26%

21%

25%

18%

26%
11%

0%
Automotive

We are the leader

We're one of the leaders

We are a laggard

Not sure

N=1,053 (global)
Note: Some totals may not add up to 100% due to rounding.

42

Food

Health care

Life sciences(Including biotech, medical
devices, and pharma)

We are a fast follower

Oil & Gas

Other

Public sector

Technology/
Media/
Telecommunications

Deloitte’s 2018 global blockchain survey | Findings and insights

Public sector
perspective (US)A common perception of the government’s adoptionof emerging technologies, like blockchain, tends tounderstate the levels of innovation that happen withinthese governmental organizations. Over the past
several years, we have witnessed an increase in activity,with blockchain beginning to form within the walls ofgovernment agencies.
For example, nearly half of the government respondents(46 percent) agree that blockchain technology would
disrupt their organization’s industry. At Deloitte, we areseeing government’s perspective shift from curiosity toexperimentation, to longer-term strategic thinking andincreased investments as organizations learn more about
how blockchain can tangibly impact their organizations.
When envisioning the future of blockchain in government,
the potential use cases are endless. Common use cases
for blockchain in the public sector include digital identity,inter- or intragovernmental transactions, data integration,and supply chain traceability. These use cases align withblockchain’s benefits as identified by survey respondents:
real-time transaction speed, new and improved businessmodels, and increased data security. As such, we are
excited to support leaders in the government space as
they identify how to integrate these broad blockchain use
cases into their strategic plans.

43

Blockchain innovation requires organizations to be nimble
and open to change. Within government, many of thebarriers to adoption lie outside of blockchain but focus
on regulation, security, and general resistance to change.
The challenges of interoperability with blockchain canalso loom large when agencies begin their blockchain
journey, as noted by the fact that 37 percent of our survey
respondents indicated adaption to legacy systems as a
key barrier to blockchain technology in their organization.
Data security, privacy, and lack of regulation also stand out
as paramount focal points in government, slowing agency
adoption because of the current levels of uncertainty.
With all the inhibitors that uniquely stand against
this technology, we still see organizations challenging
themselves to innovate. Blockchain has the potential todisrupt government in apparent and subtle ways, andagencies that identify and act on this potential will be at
the forefront of the paradigm shift.

Deloitte’s 2018 global blockchain survey | Findings and insights

Spend to date on blockchain technology by industry
Automotive, Life Sciences, Oil & Gas, and Tech/Media/Telecom appear to have invested the most in blockchain technology to date. Surprisingly,
Financial Services is slightly behind those leading industries. And Consumer Products & Manufacturing, Health Care, and Public Sector lag allindustries in terms of their investments. High percentage in Automotive could be related to blockchain initiatives for supply chain.
Q: Thinking speciﬁcally of blockchain technology, approximately how much has your organization invested cumulatively
to date in this area?
100%
15%

90%
80%

38%

13%

13%

6%

24%

10%

12%

3%

9%

12%

18%

14%

24%

30%

70%

12%

18%

11%

36%

23%
19%

60%

26%

33%
50%

25%

23%

32%
10%

42%

26%

28%
40%
30%

28%
20%
10%
0%

25%

20%
16%

13%
11%
10%

7%

3%

5%

8%

Automotive

Consumerproducts &Manufacturing

Financialservices

11%

7%

12%

3%
Food

3%
Health care

Life sciences(Including biotech, medical
devices, and pharma)< $500,000$500,000 - $1,000,000$1,000,000 - $5,000,000$5,000,000 - $10,000,000> $10,000,000

Note: Some totals may not add up to 100% due to rounding.

18%
11%

9%

24%

20%

No investment

N=1,053 (global)

44

36%

24%

13%

7%
Oil & Gas

20%

18%

10%
5%

1%
Other

Public sector

Technology/
Media/
Telecommunications

Deloitte’s 2018 global blockchain survey | Findings and insights

Technology, media, andtelecom (TMT) perspective

Amid the hype and confusion, TMT companies have been
approaching blockchain in different ways. Cloud providers
are adding blockchain development tools to their platform
service offerings, and chipmakers are creating specializedgraphics processing units (GPUs) and application-specificintegrated circuits (ASICs). Telecom has been active inexperimenting with blockchain capabilities, while media
and entertainment companies are moving more cautiously.
However, successes in financial services and logistics, aswell as a better understanding of blockchain’s capabilities
and the nuances of architecting them effectively, areincentivizing all TMT leaders to action.
According to the survey, 18 percent of respondents
identified as a TMT business. Of all survey respondents,
68 percent agree that their business will lose acompetitive advantage if blockchain technology isn’t
adopted, and 59 percent agree that blockchain will
disrupt their industry. Leaders in TMT are beginning to
see that blockchain has the power to create a greaterbalance in the value exchange between customers andthe businesses that serve them, while establishing more
rigorous trust and transparency between counterparties.
Increased trust and transparency may drive greater
competition and more value for customers.
The technology sector will continue to enable blockchain
adoption while steadily applying its capabilities totheir own IT systems. For media and entertainment
companies, blockchain can help track and monetize
content, address piracy, and manage digital assets fromcreator to consumer. Tracking content usage and returning

45

royalties to rights holders has become overburdened andunderperforming in the face of digital economies. Revenue
losses from piracy and unauthorized use hurt creators andmedia businesses. Blockchain has the potential to solvethese challenges with a twenty-first-century framework
for identifying, recording, and settling content interactions
wherever they happen.
For the telecom industry, blockchain can simplify billingsystems, decrease roaming fraud, create decentralized
and immutable records for accounting and audits, andenable more dynamic and flexible next-generation
network services. With blockchain, telecom operators
could ultimately sell Identity as a Service (IDaaS) for
customers and connected devices. Notably, 50 percent ofleaders surveyed are working on applying blockchain todigital identity.
Start-ups and independent consortia are also working todevelop blockchain solutions for identity, value exchange,and open models that anchor content rights to creators.
Such efforts could potentially disintermediate telecom andmedia and entertainment companies from playing a strongrole in identity and content management. For leaders in
TMT, the competitive pressures are heating up, but theopportunities are becoming clearer.

Deloitte’s 2018 global blockchain survey | Findings and insights

Company progress in the blockchain journey by industry
Not surprisingly, most respondents are in the awareness and experimenting phases in their blockchain journeys. But interestingly
enough, nearly 30% of the Consumer Products & Manufacturing respondents say they are in production phase with blockchain,followed by Life Sciences (23%) and Tech/Media/Telecom (20%).
Q: Where is your company in its blockchain journey?

90%

0%

0%

100%
12%

1%

3%
11%

17%

1%

3%
11%

29%

23%

1%
15%

5%

1%

0%

10%
20%

12%

80%
70%

31%
45%

49%

60%

50%

50%

35%

39%

44%
39%

49%

45%

40%
30%

57%

20%

38%
25%

10%

41%

43%

Health care

Life sciences(Including biotech, medical
devices, and pharma)

32%

44%

45%

Other

Public sector

35%

40%

0%
Automotive

Consumerproducts &Manufacturing

Financialservices

Awareness - Getting educatedExperimenting - Creating proofs of concept

Production - Deploying and using it in our businessNot sure

N=1,053 (global)
Note: Some totals may not add up to 100% due to rounding.

46

Food

Oil & Gas

Technology/
Media/
Telecommunications

Deloitte’s 2018 global blockchain survey | Findings and insights

Authors

Contributors

Linda Pawczuk
Principal, Americas Blockchain Leader for Consulting
Deloitte Consulting LLP
lpawczuk@deloitte.com

Soumak ChatterjeePartner, Canada Blockchain Leader for Consulting
Deloitte Canada
schatterjee@deloitte.ca

Rob Massey
Partner, Global Blockchain Leader for Tax
Deloitte Tax LLP
rmassey@deloitte.com

David Dalton
Partner, EMEA Blockchain Leader for Consulting
Deloitte Ireland
ddalton@deloitte.ie

David Schatsky
Managing Director
Deloitte Consulting LLP
dschatsky@deloitte.com

Wendy Henry
Specialist Leader, Federal Blockchain Lead
Deloitte Consulting LLP
wehenry@deloitte.com
Aditya Kudumala
Principal, Life Sciences & Health Care
Blockchain Lead
Deloitte Consulting LLP
akudumala@deloitte.com

Endnotes
1.

Jason Bloomberg, “Massive Consensus conference succumbs to blockchain ‘echo chamber’,” Forbes,
May 17, 2018, https://www.forbes.com/sites/jasonbloomberg/2018/05/17/massive-consensus-conferencesuccumbs-to-blockchain-echo-chamber/#7c9ec7a8a3d4.

2.

Nolan Bauerle, “What is blockchain technology?,” CoinDesk, https://www.coindesk.com/information/what-isblockchain-technology/.

3.

J. P., “What is China’s belt and road initiative? The many motivations behind Xi Jinping’s key foreign
policy,” The Economist explains series, May 15, 2017, https://www.economist.com/the-economistexplains/2017/05/14/what-is-chinas-belt-and-road-initiative.

47

Dirk Siegel
Partner, Germany Blockchain Leader for Consulting
Deloitte Consulting Germany GmbHdisiegel@deloitte.de
Dr. Paul Sin, PhD
Partner, Asia Pacific Blockchain Leader for Advisory
Deloitte Hong Kong
psin@deloitte.com.hk
Nakul Lele
Senior Manager, Technology, Media, and Telecom
Blockchain Lead
Deloitte Consulting LLP
nlele@deloitte.com

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