Blockchain for business: the story so far

New research looks at the first generation of enterprise blockchain initiatives and finds success and lessons on which second-generation projects can build

It’s been over a decade since the idea for blockchain was shared with the world by its anonymous creator. Since then, blockchain applications such as Bitcoin have experienced wild swings in value and public sentiment. On any given day, Bitcoin was hailed as the future of finance or a scam that would not be around a decade later. The latter opinion comes close to expressing how many corporate leaders initially reacted to blockchain technologies. 

The skepticism from corporate leaders about blockchain was not hard to understand. This was a new, unregulated, and staggeringly complex concept to understand to anyone not familiar with the underlying principles and technologies. Add to those facets the cost, risk, and lack of blockchain skills within most big companies, and it’s easy to see why even experimental adoption has been slow. This attitude, however, is finally changing, and more and more companies are experimenting with blockchain applications and technology platforms. This increase in blockchain adoption means it’s a good time to pause and consider the state of blockchain initiatives in enterprise settings. Fortunately, a new paper from Mary Lacity and Remko Van Hoek (Sam M. Walton College of Business at the University of Arkansas) provides a solid analysis of where corporate blockchain efforts stand in 2021.