PR86066

LONDON, Oct. 13, 2020 /PRNewswire=KYODO JBN/ --

- Tracking and tracing of products and services has the largest economic

potential (US$962bn)

- Public administration, education and healthcare sectors will benefit the

most.  

- Blockchain could have the highest potential net benefit in China (US$440bn)

and the USA (US $407bn).

New analysis by PwC shows Blockchain technology has the potential to boost

global gross domestic product (GDP) by US$1.76 trillion over the next decade.  

That is the key finding of a new PwC report Time for trust: The trillion-dollar

reason to rethink blockchain [http://www.pwc.com/timefortrust], assessing how

the technology is being currently used and exploring the impact blockchain

could have on the global economy. Through analysis of the top five uses of

blockchain, ranked by their potential to generate economic value, the report

gauges the technology's potential to create value across industry, from

healthcare, government and public services, to manufacturing, finance,

logistics and retail.

"Blockchain technology has long been associated with cryptocurrencies such as

Bitcoin, but there is so much more that it has to offer, particularly in how

public and private organisations secure, share and use data," comments Steve

Davies, Global Leader, Blockchain and Partner, PwC UK.

"As organisations grapple with the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, many

disruptive trends have been accelerated. The analysis shows the potential for

blockchain to support organisations in how they rebuild and reconfigure their

operations underpinned by improvements in trust, transparency and efficiency

across organisations and society."  

- The report identifies five key application areas of blockchain and assesses

their potential to generate economic value using economic analysis and industry

research. The analysis suggests a tipping point in 2025 as blockchain

technologies are expected to be adopted at scale across the global economy.

- Tracking and tracing of products and services - or provenance - which emerged

as a new priority for many companies' supply chains during the COVID-19

pandemic, has the largest economic potential (US$962bn). Blockchain's

application can be wide ranging and support companies ranging from heavy

industries, including mining through to fashion labels, responding to the rise

in public and investor scrutiny around sustainable and ethical sourcing.

- Payments and financial services, including use of digital currencies, or

supporting financial inclusion through cross border and remittance payments

(US$433bn).

- Identity management (US$224bn) including personal IDs, professional

credentials and certificates to help curb fraud and identity theft.

- Application of blockchain in contracts and dispute resolution (US$73bn), and

customer engagement (US$54bn) including blockchain's use in loyalty programmes

further extends blockchain's potential into a much wider range of public and

private industry sectors.

Blockchain's success will depend on a supportive policy environment, a business

ecosystem that is ready to exploit the new opportunities that technology opens,

and a suitable industry mix.

Across all continents, Asia will likely see the most economic benefits from

blockchain technology. In terms of individual countries, blockchain could have

the highest potential net benefit in China (US$440bn) and the USA (US$407bn).

Five other countries - Germany, Japan, the UK, India, and France – are also

estimated to have net benefits over US$50bn.

The benefits for each country differ however, with manufacturing focused

economies such as China and Germany benefiting more from provenance and

traceability, while the US would benefit most from its application in

securitisation and payments as well as identity and credentials.

At a sector level, the biggest beneficiaries look set to be the public

administration, education and healthcare sectors. PwC expects these sectors to

benefit approximately US$574bn by 2030, by capitalising on the efficiencies

blockchain will bring to the world of identity and credentials.

Meanwhile, there will be broader benefits for business services, communications

and media, while wholesalers, retailers, manufacturers and construction

services, will benefit from using blockchain to engage consumers and meet

demand for provenance and traceability.

The potential for blockchain to be considered as part of organisations' future

strategy is linked to research by PwC with business leaders

[https://www.pwc.com/gx/en/ceo-agenda/ceo-panel-survey.html] that showed almost

two thirds of CEOs (61%) said they were placing digital transformation of core

business operations and processes among their top three priorities, as they

rebuild from COVID-19.

"One of the biggest mistakes organisations can make with implementing emerging

technologies is to leave it in the realm of the enthusiast in the team. It

needs C-Suite support to work, identify the strategic opportunity and value,

and to facilitate the right level of collaboration within an industry,"

comments Steve Davies. "Given the scale of economic disruption organisations

are dealing with currently, establishing proof of concept uses which can be

extended and scaled if successful, will enable businesses to identify the

value, while building trust and transparency in the solution to deliver on

blockchain's potential."

The report warns that if blockchain's economic impact potential is to be

realised, its energy overhead must be managed. Growing business and government

action on climate change, including commitments to Net Zero transformation,

will mean that organisations need to consider new models for consolidating and

sharing infrastructure resources to reduce reliance on traditional data centres

and their overall technology related energy consumption.

Download the report here [http://www.pwc.com/timefortrust].

Notes:

1. Methodology: PwC's report looks at the GDP impact of blockchain, which is

the net additional value of goods and services within an economy as a result of

blockchain technology. This study provides a scenario of the impact blockchain

technology could have on the global economy by 2030 if uptake and the quality

of products and services available develop as expected. This report did not

model the impacts of COVID-19 separately. However, given how the pandemic has

encouraged remote working and technological solutions across sectors, the

analysis took a prudent approach in estimating Blockchain's economic impact.  

Further information on the methodology can be found in the report

[http://www.pwc.com/timefortrust].

2. This report forms part of a PwC series, examining the economic impact and

practical use cases for emerging technologies including Artificial Intelligence

(AI)

[https://www.pwc.com/gx/en/issues/data-and-analytics/publications/artificial-int

elligence-study.html], Augmented & Virtual Reality

[https://www.pwc.co.uk/issues/intelligent-digital/virtual-reality-vr-augmented-r

eality-ar.html], and Blockchain [http://www.pwc.com/timefortrust].

3. PwC refers to the PwC network and/or one or more of its member firms, each

of which is a separate legal entity. Please see www.pwc.com/structure for

further details.

About PwC

At PwC, our purpose is to build trust in society and solve important problems.

We're a network of firms in 157 countries with over 276,000 people who are

committed to delivering quality in assurance, advisory and tax services. Find

out more and tell us what matters to you by visiting us at www.pwc.com.

PwC refers to the PwC network and/or one or more of its member firms, each of

which is a separate legal entity. Please see www.pwc.com/structure for further

details.

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SOURCE: PwC