Everybody’s talking about blockchain.
But if you listen closely, you may begin to suspect that some of the speakers aren’t quite sure what blockchain technology is, why it’s important, or what it can do.
Yes, blockchain technology is the foundation of Bitcoin and other hipster cryptocurrencies. And that’s a lot. But computer scientists and business leaders think it has the potential to transform global commerce, law, politics, and more.
Consider elections. With blockchain technology, each vote could be recorded anonymously in an unalterable public ledger. Final results would be beyond question, with no possibility of human tampering.
A blockchain-equipped car could pay for its own fuel with cryptocurrency. In face of an accident, it could automatically contact the insurance company and send precise information about the damage.
These are just two of thousands or millions of ways blockchain technology can transform the way we live by making data open, anonymous, and unalterable.
This page is more than a compendium of stunning blockchain, crypto, and Bitcoin statistics. We hope it is also a source of reliable answers to burning questions about blockchain adoption and its potential in diverse fields. Even if you’re familiar with the topic, we think you’ll find a few mind-blowing blockchain network stats.
(Investopedia, Bitcoin.org, The Economist)
Blockchain serves as the public transaction ledger for the first and best-known cryptocurrency, Bitcoin. Satoshi conceived a peer-verified electronic cash that would allow monetary transactions to be performed directly between two parties without the need for intermediaries such as banks
The blockchain itself is actually a list of records, or blocks, which are connected in series cryptographically. Each block contains transaction data (like date, time, and amount) as well as the cryptographically secured unique electronic address of the parties to each transaction. Every block also stores a code called a “hash” that uniquely identifies it. Every user of Bitcoin’s blockchain has a copy of an entire transaction history. The fact of the transaction is public and unalterable due to hashes that link each block in the chain to the previous and next blocks. The nature of the transaction and the parties to it are private.
When two people engage in a transaction, every computer belonging to the blockchain network has to verify it by solving a complex mathematical problem. Only once the verification is complete is the transaction block added to the chain. This is one reason blockchain eliminates the need for an intermediary when performing monetary transactions.
Serving as the foundation for an electronic currency is just one application of blockchain technology. Blockchains can also store medical records, contracts, or even voting results, all of which are automatically verified by the network.
According to early Bitcoin developers, the term blockchain was not used initially. Satoshi Nakamoto, the inventor(s) of Bitcoin, referred to the technology as a “proof-of-work” chain.
BitcoinTalk forum users came up with the word during a discussion about how much time it takes to download Bitcoin’s “blockchain,” referring to the entire history of Bitcoin transactions.
The technology has spread to other sectors as well: manufacturing (17.6% of the market share), distribution and services (14.6%), public sector (4.2%), and infrastructure (3.1%). Nearly every industry has adopted blockchain tech to some extent.
(Law Technology Today, BlockTelegraph)
The financial sector leads the way in terms of investments in blockchain technology. During 2018, financial institutions spent about $552 million on blockchain-powered projects.
For example, the transaction fee for transferring 849,999.99939168 Ether (which is equal to $1,129,879,499.19) is only $0.19.
According to a survey of eight banks by Accenture Consulting, the potential savings on a cost base of $30 billion are more than $8 billion.
(Grand View Research, Transparency Market Research)
And when it comes to blockchain technology market size, a recent report suggests that it will reach $7.59 billion by 2024. That’s a compound annual growth rate of 37.4%. Such rapid market growth is explained by an increasing demand for this technology across all industries, from financial services, through consumer and industrial goods, all the way to media, telecom, transport, healthcare, and public services.
An even higher number (88%) of business leaders responded that this technology is scalable and that it will eventually become mainstream. Survey author Linda Pawczuk argues that Blockchain is “a versatile technology that can record financial transactions, store medical records, or even track the flow of goods, information, and payments through a supply chain.”
Another 24% of the 1,000 surveyed companies reported that they plan to invest from $500,000 to less than $1 million, while 12% plan to spend $10 million or more.
Bitmain was valued at $40-50 billion in early 2021. Other entries on the list of the biggest blockchain companies are the digital currency exchange Coinbase (valued at $8 billion), stock trading organization Robinhood ($5.6 billion), crypto network Ripple ($5 billion), EOS coin creator Block. One ($4 billion), cryptocurrency trade platform Circle ($2.9 billion), and major crypto exchange Binance (over $2 billion).
(Wall Street Journal, Reuters)
Walmart has partnered with Nestle, Dole, Unilever, and Tyson Foods to implement blockchain in the food industry. Statistics show that blockchain implementation could generate $700 million in increased productivity. In one pilot project, blockchain made it possible to trace individual mangoes back to the farm in 2.2 seconds. Walmart says that without blockchain it would take more than six days to identify the original farm.
A European retailer, Carrefour, is the first company on the continent to introduce blockchain for food products. The company believes that the technology will revolutionize its supply chains, helping raise $5 billion in organic food sales by 2022.
According to projections of blockchain trends, the early adoption phase (research & development) will end in 2022. The regulatory and commercialization phase will last from 2023 to 2025. Beyond 2025, it’s expected that blockchain will become a mainstream technology in these industries.
(Medici, Cryptopolitan, Blockchain.com, PwC)
As of February 2021, about 612,000,000 blockchain-based transactions have been made. What’s also interesting is the emergence of fiat money-transfer companies that operate on blockchain, such as San Francisco-based Veem. Following this trend, Western Union has partnered with a Stellar (XLM) blockchain platform with the goal of speeding up transactions between different locations around the world.
Life sciences industries (including biotech, medical devices, and pharma) take second place, with 23% of companies already using blockchain.
One of the best known is Steemit, a blogging network that rewards users for posting or curating content. The network’s base token is called Steem coin. Every time a user uploads articles or posts comments, he or she is rewarded with the network’s native token. At the time of writing, the Steem value is $0.1818, and it’s ranked 164th on CoinMarketCap.
A blockchain wallet is a digital wallet that allows users to receive, store, and spend digital currencies. A typical blockchain wallet interface shows the current balance for stored cryptocurrencies and displays the history of transactions. Blockchain wallet users can send a request to other parties for a specific amount of BTC, ETH, XRP, Litecoin, Tether, or other digital currencies.
A unique address is generated for each request. Users can send funds to other unique addresses using their e-wallets too. E-wallets can be stored online or offline; the latter method is much safer.
When a user initiates a first-ever crypto-transaction, a digital wallet generates the private key, which then generates the public key. Both are represented as strings of alphanumeric characters. The unique address to which the transactions are sent is actually a hashed version of the public key. The private key is known only by the wallet’s owner, and it allows access to cryptocurrency. Users are not able to access and withdraw the funds deposited at their addresses – that is, in their e-wallets – until they provide a unique private key.
Students, the unemployed, and retirees also constitute a significant portion of crypto investors. More than 80% of cryptocurrency investors are novices; only 7.38% say they had previous experience in investing.
According to one report, blockchain and crypto startups raised $3.9 billion through venture capital investments before the beginning of Q4 2018. The average size of blockchain investments has increased by more than $1 million during 2018.
Pierce, the co-founder of the EOS cryptocurrency platform, says that significant decentralized apps will hit millions of users in the near future. Another significant aspect of further blockchain growth will be security token offerings, which work in a more regulated manner than ICOs. The former EOS blockchain chief strategy officer predicts the tokenization of fiat money, the debt market, real estate, equities, and even art is just around the corner. The gaming industry will be a major driver of blockchain adoption as well since gamers were among the earliest crypto adopters.
(Asia Times, CNBC, Statista)
It seems that mobile blockchain is on its way. Statistics show that the number of mobile phone users will hit 7 billion in 2021, which is a huge, attractive market for blockchain innovators.
(CNBC, Deloitte, ICOService)
Issue #1: In numerous blockchain usage scenarios, performance issues must be addressed before widespread application deployment. While traditional systems are able to process thousands of transactions per second, the BTC blockchain can handle up to seven transactions per second. The Ethereum network is able to process 15 per second.
Issue #2: The blockchain industry is expanding rapidly, but still there is no standard that will allow different networks to cooperate with each other.
Issue #3: Reducing costs are one of the challenges of blockchain. Statistics from Elite Fixtures suggest that it costs more than $26,000 to mine just one bitcoin in South Korea.
Issue #4: Existing regulations around the world do not cover some of the main components of blockchain technology, such as smart contracts and international transactions. This uncertainty can slow down investments in technology and adoption of solutions.
Issue #5: Deloitte’s report about the state of blockchain in 2020 suggests that blockchain companies need to collaborate so technology can promote further development of applications, education, and standardization.
The industries in which IBM implements the technology are shipping, banking, healthcare, and food safety.
For example, IBM’s intelligent logistics platform RoadLaunch integrates Internet of Things technology, Linux Foundation’s Hyperledger blockchain, and AI. Statistics and other data sets, automation, finance transactions, freight and fleet visibility, and all other logistics aspects will be covered by a single platform and revolutionize the way logistics and transportation companies operate.
Blockchain spending in the United States increased by 110% during 2018. The compound annual growth rate for blockchain spending is forecast to be slowing down by the end of fiscal 2020.
Gartner predicts that the projects’ value will surge to over $3.1 trillion by 2030 when blockchain has become a mainstream technology.
The blockchain-powered gaming marketplace has some serious advantages over traditional solutions.
|Blockchain marketplaces||Traditional marketplaces|
|Games which support virtual items trading||Indefinite||3 games|
|Virtual item's unique history||Yes||No|
|Third party involvement||No||Yes|
|Virtual items creation||Yes||No|
Thanks to decentralized ledger technology, users around the world can buy, exchange, and even create and sell gaming items, which will surely change the gaming industry as we know it.
According to a Reuters report, the banks include UBS, Banco Santander, Bank of New York Mellon Corp, State Street Corp, Credit Suisse Group AG, Barclays PLC, HSBC Holdings Plc, and Deutsche Bank AG.
The system is called Fnality, and it aims to improve the efficiency of clearing and settlement in the financial market. Fnality could launch in Q1 2021.
When it comes to data breach-related costs, IT costs, operations, personnel, and reductions in fraud or counterfeit products, the adoption of blockchain could save the healthcare industry up to $150 billion.
Blockchain has the potential to make the drug supply chain more efficient, improve data accuracy and management, find the most appropriate professionals more quickly, and help providers stay on top of compliance and government regulations.
Researchers agree that the technology will not reach mainstream adoption for at least five years. However, investing in blockchain represents a smart step in the long term.
The attack occurred in 2014 when Mt. Gox was handling about 70% of the world’s Bitcoin exchanges. Soon after that, Mt. Gox ceased operations and filed for bankruptcy. More than 750,000 BTCs (around $350 million) were stolen from the exchange.
Bitcoin miners generate annual emissions of carbon dioxide of between 22 and 22.9 megatons, according to a Technical University of Munich study published in the journal Joule. The study suggests that carbon dioxide emissions would be twice as high if other cryptocurrencies were taken into account.
BTC prices reached an all-time high on January 8, 2021. The world’s best-known cryptocurrency gained value for the first time in October 2009, when 5,050 BTC were sold for a little more than $5. The current Bitcoin price is about $33,529.
If you’re doing your own Bitcoin research, you may have come across the term sats crypto. Sats is short for Satoshis, the smallest unit of BTC. One Satoshi equals 0.00000001 BTC or one hundred millionth of a Bitcoin. Remember, Bitcoin current value readings are transient. The currency’s value can change in a matter of hours.
(Blockchain.com, Bitcoin.org, Techopedia)
A hash rate is defined as the number of hash operations in a given time period. It’s a useful measure for the processing power of blockchain networks. For example, when the blockchain network reaches a hash rate of 10 TH/s, it means that it makes 10 trillion calculations per second.
The Bitcoin blockchain expands to hold all blocks and transactions. The average transaction size in February 2021 was 343 bytes.
(CoinSutra, Blockchain.com, IT Pro)
According to Bitcoin.com blockchain predictions, the last BTC will be mined in the year 2140. Almost 18 million Bitcoins have been mined so far.
What is cryptocurrency mining? We’re glad you asked.
Every time new BTC blockchain or other crypto transactions are made, they must be added to the blockchain. A miner is rewarded with a small amount of cryptocurrency for carrying out two tasks: validating transactions and guessing a unique 64-digit hexadecimal code (hash). For this purpose, powerful graphic cards manufactured by Nvidia or AMD are used. This time-consuming method may cost you more on your electric bill than you earn in cryptocurrency.
However, there are easier ways to get your share of digital currencies. Crypto enthusiasts use digital currency exchanges to buy crypto coins for fiat money or to trade them for another altcoin. Since cryptocurrency values are highly volatile, using forecast and prognosis tools (such as Wallet Investor predictions, for example) is a good approach.
(University of Cambridge, Statista)
A mining pool is created when cryptocurrency miners combine their computer resources over a network. Each member of the mining pool receives a reward – a share of the mined cryptocurrency – according to their contribution in finding another block.
The Asia-Pacific region has the largest percentage of Litecoin mining pools (52%). You can find the latest news and useful information about the Litecoin market on Reddit.
7% of BTC mining pools are located in the United States. When it comes to mining statistics for other cryptocurrencies, 21% of Ethereum, 37% of ZCash, 34% of Monero, and 28% of LTC mining pools are located in North America. Most Ethereum mining pools are located in Europe (49%).
On May 17, 2010, Laszlo Hanyecz bought two Papa John’s pizzas for 10,000 BTC. If we take into account how much bitcoin is worth today, it would mean that Laszlo (aka Bitcoin Pizza Guy) paid about $332,000,000 for the meal. Plus tip, presumably.
The day of the transaction is known as Bitcoin Pizza Day among blockchain and crypto enthusiasts.
Alt Coin or Altcoin – A common term for cryptocurrencies other than Bitcoin. (WhatIs.com)
ETH is the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization. In terms of crypto, market capitalization (crypto market cap) is defined as the circulating supply of tokens or coins multiplied by the current price. Ethereum’s creator is Vitalik Buterin, a Canadian programmer of Russian origin who entered the cryptocurrency world by writing blogs about Bitcoin.
What makes the Ethereum blockchain different from Bitcoin’s is that it allows developers to create decentralized applications (DApps) and smart contracts. Smart contracts are computer programs that facilitate the exchange of money, property, shares, content, or anything of value between two parties without the need for an authority (a lawyer, for example).
Cryptojacking is the use of a computer’s processing power to mine cryptocurrencies without the consent or knowledge of the owner. It typically happens when a user unknowingly installs software that secretly mines crypto.
BitShares and its native cryptocurrency were designed by American programmer Dan Larimar.
What makes the exchange different from the New York, Shenzhen, and London stock exchanges is that it is focused on cryptocurrencies, without the need for a central authority to handle all the funds. The Bitshares Reddit community has about 7,000 members; this subreddit is a useful resource for all existing and future users of the platform.
Vechain allows manufacturers to assign RFID (radio-frequency identification) identifiers to products which then record information onto the blockchain. Its native digital currency, VET, currently occupies 26th place on CoinMarketCap’s cryptocurrency ranking list. It’s supported by a huge Vechain Reddit community.
(CoinMarketCap, New York Times)
Ripple has created a $300 million fund to motivate companies to start using its platform for money transfers across international borders. The company currently owns $30 billion worth of XRP. The fund is intended for getting those coins into the hands of new users.
Fun fact: The company organized a private concert by the rapper Snoop Dogg for XRP enthusiasts.
Tunisia was the first country in the world to issue a blockchain-backed national currency, back in 2015. In December of the following year, Senegal issued its own blockchain-based digital currency called eCFA, named after its regular currency, the CFA Franc. The Marshall Islands adopted another legal tender next to the U.S. dollar in March 2018, a cryptocurrency called Sovereign or SOV.
Among the countries that have considered but dismissed the idea of a central bank digital currency are Ecuador, Estonia, Switzerland, Hong Kong, and Germany. Japan says it won’t issue its own cryptocurrency but it has recognized Bitcoin as an official means of payment.
Uruguay, Dubai, Singapore, and Iran are reportedly involved in ongoing experiments with central bank-issued digital currencies. Developed economies such as Canada, the United Kingdom, Norway, Sweden, China, and Israel are in the research phase.
In Australia, all taxes for transactions using cryptocurrencies have been removed. The Australian Securities Exchange plans to fully adopt blockchain technology after a two-year testing period.
The Chinese government is actively supporting crypto and smart contract platforms that were developed on its territory, namely TRON, NEO, VeChain, and many others. China is the home of thousands of blockchain-based startup companies, and the largest banking institutions in the country are implementing the technology as well.
Dubai’s government has set 2020 as a deadline for adding all government-related data and documentation onto the blockchain.
In accord with its ongoing efforts to position itself as a global cryptocurrency leader, Malta has introduced a regulatory framework for crypto service providers.
The Swiss town of Zug became the first city in the world to accept crypto payments for tax purposes. Known as CryptoValley, Zug is home to some of the world’s leading blockchain companies. The first test of a blockchain-based voting system was successfully completed here in 2018. Zug authorities have announced the launch of a decentralized digital ID system that will work on the Ethereum platform. Zug-based non-profit Crypto Valley Association is working to create the world’s leading blockchain ecosystem.
Japan is a global leader in Bitcoin adoption. Many retail stores in this country are accepting cryptocurrencies as a regular payment method.
The Estonian government has used blockchain technology to digitize all its services, including the health records of around 1.3 million citizens. The country’s business environment is extremely favorable for crypto companies, featuring tax-free undistributed profits and 100% online cross-border management. Thus, top blockchain companies have chosen to do business in this country.
The UK’s National Archives has partnered with the University of Surrey in a project called ARCHANGEL, which allows archiving documents on the blockchain (and thereby eliminating the possibility of tampering with the information). The government of the United Kingdom plans to implement blockchain in healthcare and voting systems.
In Singapore, efforts are being made toward implementing blockchain in the financial and healthcare sectors. For example, cross-border payments using distributed ledger technology are already possible in this country. Singaporean insurance companies are operating using smart contracts.
In the United States, the IRS has issued official guidelines for the taxation of cryptocurrencies. The Securities and Exchange Commission monitors all activities related to ICOs. In America, cryptocurrency profits are subject to taxation.
(Bridging & Commercial, eToro)
This percentage was obtained from a survey conducted by the online crypto investment platform eToro. The survey also suggests that when women do invest, they generally choose the most profitable cryptocurrencies.
Other characteristics: 61% don’t consider themselves to be religious. Almost 30% have a yearly household income between $50,000 and $100,000 per year, 56% are either married or in a relationship, 43% have full-time employment, and 37% consider themselves libertarian or anarchy-capitalist.