BoA Estimates Blockchain is a $7 Billion Market, Will Significantly Boost Corporate Giants

A new Bank of America report paints blockchain technology in a positive light, claiming that it could be worth $7 billion. The report also suggests that blockchain will provide a significant boost to corporate giants like Microsoft and Amazon.

The news was first reported by CNBC, which had the following to say after reading the report:

“Based on the analysis, the entire total addressable market for blockchain will eventually hit $7 billion, though the analysts did not “attempt to put a time stamp” on it, as the technology is not yet widely adopted.”

The report adds that certain corporations will particularly benefit from blockchain technology. Corporations with a strong presence in cloud computing and supply chain operations, for example, may be able to get a substantial boost from blockchain technology.

A Bank of America Research Analyst had this to say in a note to clients following the release of the report:

“Amazon will benefit from incremental cloud services demand from blockchain implementation, while improved supply chain tracking should make Amazon’s retail operations more efficient.”

Amazon made headlines earlier this year for introducing a framework for Ethereum and Hyperledger fabric allowing users to build and manage their own blockchain-powered decentralized apps (DApps).

Microsoft, meanwhile, is already using blockchain in its operations. Microsoft first launched its blockchain service publicly back in 2015 when it revealed its Ethereum-based Azure cloud computing platform – something that it continues to develop.

2% of Servers Worldwide Will Run Blockchain Technology

Bank of America’s estimates were based on the idea that 2% of servers will be used to run blockchain at a cost of $5,500 per server.

The report admitted that blockchain is not being used in very many consumer environments at this point. Today, most corporate blockchain implementations involve database management, supply chain, or blockchain as a service (BaaS) setups.

Walmart was one of the surprising corporations to jump on the blockchain bandwagon. Last week, Walmart became one of the world’s first major retailers to provide a near-term use case for blockchain. The American retail giant announced that it would require lettuce suppliers to upload data about their foods to the blockchain with a year.

Other companies that could benefit from blockchain technology, according to the report, include Oracle, IBM, Salesforce, and VMWare.

IBM’s blockchain plans were revealed in August, when news broke online that IBM was vying with Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba for the top spot on a new list ranking global entities by the number of blockchain-related patents they have filed to date. IBM also recently announced a 5-year, $740 million partnership with the Australian government to determine how blockchain can be used to improve data security and automation across federal departments.

The report also specifically identified real estate and mortgage companies like Redfin, Zillow, and LendingTree as those who could benefit from blockchain implementation.

Overall, the report is positive about the future of blockchain technology. Bank of America indisputably sees blockchain having a future among American corporate giants. However, it’s not totally clear how large blockchain could be, or how many use cases it will have.

“Many blockchain use cases have been identified, but full products/services have not yet been built out and are not used in production,” explains Bank of American in its report.

In other words, the future looks bright for blockchain use among corporate entities – we’re just not sure how bright it will be.