The blockchain and Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) landscape in the UK is evolving rapidly and we are in a particularly advantageous position to thrive globally.
CONTENTS
3 Executive Summary
5 Introduction
9 Potential Applications
11 The DLT Landscape
15 Market Research
33 Conclusions and Future Inquiry
36 Introducing Field Labs
Technology leaders in Silicon Valley have observed recently that the UK is the world leader in innovative blockchain companies. This report is the first of its kind to survey that community and to reach into a significant proportion of blockchain companies operating in the UK. Many of these companies are working on solutions that solve age-old problems such as how to match disparate data from multiple sources. They are developing new mechanisms for securing irrefutable audit trails across complex supply chain networks, increasing certainty of provenance, validity and interoperability, all of which have the potential to completely revolutionise how we interact with data.
The report finds that DLT companies are still struggling to engage clients in sectors beyond the financial services industry. Perhaps unsurprisingly, we are yet to see significant use-cases outside of FinTech, which is of course the sector that spawned blockchain in the first place. There also remains a degree of confusion in the market around two recent phenomena, GDPR and Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs). These uncertainties will need to be resolved quickly if the UK is to maintain its early lead in this rapidly developing global market.
In his UK budget statement of 2018, the Chancellor of the Exchequer mentioned that we will be conducting a number of trials exploring the potential of DLT beyond the financial services sector. We are hopeful that these Digital Catapult DLT Field Labs, will help further de-risk experimentation with blockchain in new markets. The next phase of development is dependent on corporates, innovators, government and the wider UK economy joining the early adopters on this journey to propel these exciting, game-changing technologies to new heights, going beyond the nascent phase and helping UK businesses lead the world in developing their full potential.
You can download the report here.
[su_spoiler title=”About Digital Catapult” style=”fancy” icon=”plus-circle”]Digital Catapult is the UK’s leading advanced digital technology innovation centre, driving early adoption of technologies to make UK businesses more competitive and productive to grow the country’s economy.
We connect large established companies, startup and scaleup businesses and researchers to discover new ways to solve big challenges in the manufacturing and creative industries. Through this collaboration businesses are supported to develop the right technologies to solve problems, increase productivity and open up new markets faster.
Digital Catapult provides physical and digital facilities for experimentation and testing that would otherwise not be accessible for smaller companies.
As well as breaking down barriers to technology adoption for startups and scaleups, our work de-risks innovation for large enterprises and uncovers new commercial applications in immersive, future networks, and artificial intelligence technologies.
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