Blockchain has evolved from an experimental, disruptive technology to a strategic priority for organizations, according to a new global Deloitte survey that found nearly 40 percent of its respondents indicated strengthening commitment toward more investment and acquisition of strategic talent to pursue blockchain initiatives.

Leaders are increasingly investing in blockchain and digital assets as a top five strategic priority, with 66 percent forecasting investments of $1 million or more in the next 12 months. The Deloitte 2020 Global Blockchain Survey, now in its third year, surveyed 1,500 senior executives in 14 countries and territories.

Statista, a data research organization, forecasts that nearly $40 billion will be invested in blockchain technologies in 2025, compared with $1.2 billion during 2018, $2.2 billion during 2019 and a projected $3 billion this year. Spending on blockchain escalates dramatically starting next year, with forecasted expenditures over the next three years of $7 billion, $12.7 billion and $23.3 billion, respectively, finishing the survey period at $39.7 billion in 2025.of $7 billion That’s a staggering five-year growth rate of 642 percent per annum.

Among the key findings from the Deloitte survey:

• Thirty-nine percent of global respondents have already incorporated blockchain into production, a significant increase from 23 percent last year.
• Fifty-five percent of responding organizations view blockchain as a top strategic priority, an increase from 53 percent in 2019 and 43 percent in 2018.
• Nearly 89 percent believe digital assets will be “very” or “somewhat” important to their industries in the next three years.
• Eighty-two percent said that they are hiring staff with blockchain expertise or plan to do so within the next 12 months, compared to 73 percent in 2019.
• Eighty-three percent indicated their companies will lose competitive advantage if they don’t adopt blockchain (versus 77 percent in 2019).

Increased advances of large-scale blockchain initiatives are occurring, the report says, including blockchain-based financial infrastructure to simplify global money movement and commerce.

“While blockchain was once classified as a technology experiment, it now represents a true agent of change that is affecting the entire organization,” says Linda Pawczuk, a Deloitte executive who works in the blockchain and digital assets space. “Like many disruptive technologies, it has evolved from a merely promising and potentially groundbreaking approach to a now integral solution to organizational innovation.”

Rob Massey, a firm partner also working with blockchain, adds: “Digital assets are now enabling enhanced commercialization models across industries and geographies.”

Read the full Deloitte report by going to this link: https://bit.ly/30TostU

Mike Consol (m.consol@irei.com) is editor of Real Assets Adviser. Follow him on Twitter @mikeconsol to read his latest postings.