IBM Touts $3.1 Trillion Blockchain Future

At IBMs Think 2018 conference in Las Vegas, Nevada, the computing giant pushed for businesses to break out and adopt blockchain technologies.

Company leaders say the emerging technology is triggering a global movement effecting ?supply chains, financial services, government and healthcare as leaders experiment on active blockchain networks to redefine the fundamentals of business transactions.

IBM also highlighted its development of the worlds smallest computer, which was designed to help companies integrate the blockchain by verifying the authenticity of goods as they are shipped around the world. The chip is smaller than a grain of rock salt and costs less than 10 cents to make.

Blockchain: The $3.1 Trillion Industry

IBMs general manager of blockchain, Marie Wieck, also detailed how the widespread use of the technology would have a $3.1 trillion-impact on the global economy. Speaking with The Australian Financial Review, she highlighted research from Gartner which estimates the value-add of the blockchain economy at just over $176 billion by 2025, with a run-up to over $3.1 trillion by 2030.

Some of those gains are already being realized in the United Arab Emirates. Wieck pointed to Dubai as a world leader in blockchain adoption. Their Smart Dubai initiative, supported by the government, aims to eliminate paper-based systems that consistently underpin inefficiency. They plan to tackle visa applications, bill payments, real estate records and transactions, license renewals and carbon emissions by managing it all on the blockchain.