EU releases blockchain report, technology has “huge potential impact”

The European Union Science Hub published its ‘Blockchain Now and Tomorrow’ report on the state of distributed ledger technology (DLT). The document outlines various use cases and aims to provide an understanding of the technology beyond the hype, supporting the European policymaking process.

China leads in blockchain startups

The publication states that blockchain is “one of the technologies which is anticipated to have a profound impact over the next 10-15 years,” partly due to an increase of investment in blockchain startups. From €450 million in 2014 to €3.9 billion in 2017, it increased rapidly to €7.4 billion in 2018. The report finds that in 2018, China has taken an impressive lead in the global number of DLT startups. China was the only reported nation to accelerate the number of startups from 2017-18. In 2018 over 130 companies started in China, almost double the number that were setup in the U.S.. Europe lagged behind with less than 20 per country. However, in terms of cumulative ventures, the U.S. still leads China by a small margin. In terms of sector focus, across the U.S., EU and Rest of World, over 70% of startups are in financial services or software.

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