Blockchain Technology in Use or Planned at 6.9% of Companies in Germany
Among German companies, 6.9% are currently using or are planning to use blockchain technology for their business processes. This is the finding of a recent survey conducted by the ifo Institute on behalf of the Hanseatic Blockchain Institute. Introducing the technology is a subject of discussion at 18.7% of all companies surveyed. “Obviously, there are already numerous pilot projects based on blockchain in a wide variety of industries. Over the long term, blockchain has the potential to significantly increase economic output,” says industry expert Anna Wolf of the ifo Institute. A technology that emerged from cryptocurrencies, blockchain can manage data in a distributed infrastructure without a central instance. This creates transparency, security, and trust in transactions.
“If you look more closely at the individual sectors of the economy, you can see that manufacturing is comparatively far along when it comes to using blockchain,” Wolf says. In that sector, 12% of companies are using or planning to use the technology, and nearly one in four (24%) are discussing it. The chemical industry is out in front, with 14% of companies using the technology for their business processes. In the automotive industry, 13% of companies use blockchain technology and about one in five have plans to use it. Among manufacturers of food and animal feed, printed matter, data processing equipment, electrical equipment, furniture, and machinery and equipment, at least one in ten companies use or plan to use blockchain technology. This figure is far lower in trade, construction, and the service sector.
The question about attitudes toward blockchain technology was posed by the ifo Institute on behalf of the Hanseatic Blockchain Institute e.V. as part of the ifo Business Survey for June 2023. The ifo Business Survey is based on approx. 9,000 monthly responses from businesses in manufacturing, the service sector, trade, and construction. Its findings here are calculated based on the weighted fractions of companies that fall into the answer options “in use,” “planned,” “under discussion,” and “not a topic” of a corresponding question in the ifo Business Survey.
The survey was conducted as part of the W3NOW study funded the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWK) and conducted by the Hanseatic Blockchain Institute to investigate the penetration of blockchain technology in the German economy.
