A New Turning Point for the Blockchain Industry in 2025: Growth Driven by Practicality and Regulatory Clarity
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In 2025, the blockchain industry is transitioning from its past speculative nature centered around cryptocurrencies to a paradigm shift towards practical enterprise solutions and government-led digital infrastructure development. IDC forecasts that the global blockchain market size will grow by 22.4% from $67 billion in 2024 to $82 billion by the end of 2025, driven by the full-scale adoption of enterprise blockchain platforms and Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs). The Asia-Pacific region is leading this growth, accounting for 38% of the total market, with South Korea, China, and Japan actively promoting blockchain policies at the government level, contributing to market expansion.
The rapid growth of the enterprise blockchain solution market is intensifying competition among established IT giants. IBM, based in New York, announced that its blockchain-related revenue for the third quarter of 2025 increased by 47% year-on-year to $1.8 billion through its Hyperledger Fabric-based IBM Blockchain Platform. Over 1,200 global companies, including Walmart, Nestlé, and Unilever, have adopted IBM’s supply chain tracking solutions to ensure food safety and transparency. In South Korea, Samsung SDS, based in Seoul, is expanding its blockchain business in insurance, logistics, and authentication sectors using the Nexledger platform, with blockchain-related orders surpassing 120 billion won in the first half of 2025, marking a 65% growth year-on-year.
The development and adoption of Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) are acting as key drivers for blockchain technology advancement. According to the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), as of the end of 2025, 130 countries are participating in CBDC research and development, with 19 countries entering pilot testing or actual operation stages. China’s digital yuan (e-CNY) has surpassed a cumulative transaction amount of 700 billion yuan (approximately $100 billion), with 260 million digital wallets opened, establishing the world’s largest CBDC ecosystem. The Bank of Korea is also launching a full-scale digital won pilot program in the second half of 2025, conducting tests in retail payments and cross-border remittances. These government-led CBDC projects are directly contributing to revenue growth for related companies by promoting blockchain infrastructure investments.
Emerging as a Key Tool for Supply Chain Management and ESG Transparency
As blockchain technology is recognized as an essential tool for ensuring supply chain transparency and strengthening ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) management, its adoption by manufacturers and distributors is accelerating. According to Deloitte’s 2025 Global Blockchain Survey, 76% of respondent companies evaluated blockchain as a core technology for supply chain management, with actual adoption rates surging from 32% in 2024 to 48% in 2025. The use of blockchain is particularly increasing in carbon emission tracking and sustainability certification, driven by regulatory enhancements such as the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM).
Walmart, based in Arkansas, announced that it has nearly achieved its goal of connecting 85% of its food suppliers to a blockchain-based tracking system by 2025. Currently, 23,000 suppliers are participating in the IBM Food Trust Network, tracking the entire distribution process from farm to store in real-time, reducing the time to identify causes of food safety incidents from seven days to 2.2 seconds. This efficiency improvement has resulted in an annual operational cost saving of $120 million for Walmart. In South Korea, Lotte Mart and E-Mart are expanding their origin tracking services for domestic agricultural and marine products using Kakao’s Klaytn blockchain platform, based in Jeju, leading to a 34% increase in premium agricultural product sales year-on-year due to improved consumer trust.
In the manufacturing sector, the use of blockchain for carbon footprint tracking and circular economy implementation is spreading. BMW, based in Munich, reported a 15% reduction in Scope 3 emissions year-on-year by the first half of 2025 through its ‘PartChain’ system, which tracks carbon emissions across the entire supply chain using blockchain. South Korea’s Hyundai Motor Group is also managing the entire process of electric vehicle battery raw material extraction to recycling transparently through a blockchain-based Battery Passport system. This system ensures the ethical sourcing of key raw materials like cobalt and lithium and is used to comply with CBAM when exporting to Europe.
In the financial services industry, blockchain-based trade finance and cross-border payment solutions have entered the commercialization stage. According to SWIFT’s 2025 report, blockchain-based cross-border payment transaction volume increased by 156% year-on-year to $2.3 trillion, with average settlement times drastically reduced from 3-5 days to within 10 minutes. JPMorgan Chase’s JPM Coin, based in New York, surpassed a daily transaction volume of $10 billion in corporate payments, with over 400 corporate clients utilizing it. In South Korea, Shinhan Bank and Woori Bank have formed a consortium to build a blockchain-based trade finance platform, reducing the letter of credit issuance time from 5-7 days to one day, significantly improving trade efficiency for small and medium-sized enterprises.
The Evolution of Blockchain as Web3 and Metaverse Infrastructure
As blockchain evolves into the core infrastructure of the Web3 ecosystem, the development of decentralized applications (DApps) and metaverse platforms is becoming active. The Web3 market size in 2025 is expected to grow by 73% year-on-year to $81 billion, with blockchain infrastructure accounting for the largest portion at 42%. In particular, new business models combining NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens) and token economy models in the gaming and entertainment sectors are gaining attention. The South Korean gaming industry is playing a leading role globally in this field, with Kakao Games’ ‘Odin: Valhalla Rising’ generating an additional monthly revenue of 1.5 billion won through NFT item trading based on the Klaytn blockchain.
In metaverse platforms, blockchain technology plays a crucial role in proving ownership of virtual assets and ensuring interoperability between platforms. Meta, based in California, has officially introduced an NFT-based avatar accessory and virtual real estate trading system in Horizon Worlds, with virtual asset transaction volume reaching $4.5 billion in the third quarter of 2025. In South Korea, Naver Z, based in Seongnam, has established a blockchain-based creator economy system in the Zepeto metaverse, allowing item creators to generate direct revenue. Currently, 25,000 creators are participating, with a monthly average item transaction volume of 2.8 billion won.
The decentralized finance (DeFi) market also secured new growth momentum in 2025 with the increased participation of institutional investors. The DeFi market size, based on Total Value Locked (TVL), exceeded $120 billion, an 89% increase from 2024. The Real World Assets (RWA) sector, which involves tokenizing real estate, bonds, and commodities, is experiencing rapid growth, with a market size of $34 billion. BlackRock, based in New York, has tokenized a $5 billion money market fund through BUIDL tokens, offering an annual yield of 5.2% and acting as a bridge between traditional finance and DeFi. In South Korea, Shinhan Financial Investment is piloting a tokenization service for Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) to enhance accessibility for small investors.
A notable change in corporate blockchain adoption is the spread of hybrid models combining public and private blockchains. Microsoft, based in Washington, provides solutions through its Azure Blockchain Service, allowing companies to selectively utilize public and private networks as needed, with the number of customers exceeding 8,500 in the first half of 2025. Oracle, based in California, also offers enterprise-grade blockchain solutions through its Oracle Blockchain Platform, showing strength particularly in supply chain management and financial services. In South Korea, LG CNS is expanding its blockchain consulting and implementation services for public institutions and large enterprises using its self-developed Monachain platform, setting a revenue target of 80 billion won for 2025.
Improvements in the regulatory environment are also positively impacting the growth of the blockchain industry. The United States announced a comprehensive regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology in the first half of 2025, significantly reducing legal uncertainties for companies. The European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulations also fully came into effect at the end of 2024, providing clear operational guidelines for blockchain companies. The South Korean government is improving the business environment for blockchain companies by enacting the ‘Digital Asset Basic Act’ in the second half of 2025 and expanding regulatory sandboxes, particularly in the enterprise blockchain and CBDC sectors.
Continuous improvements in blockchain technology’s performance and scalability are also being made. With the completion of Ethereum’s 2.0 upgrade, the number of transactions processed per second increased dramatically from 15 to 100,000, while energy consumption decreased by 99.95%. The Solana network has implemented the capability to process 65,000 transactions per second, with an average transaction fee of just $0.00025. South Korea’s Klaytn also achieved a transaction processing performance of 4,000 transactions per second through a mainnet upgrade, significantly improving user accessibility through integration with KakaoTalk. These technological advancements enhance the practicality of blockchain and enable the implementation of large-scale commercial services.
The outlook for the blockchain industry in 2025 is very positive. Gartner predicts that by 2026, 30% of global companies will adopt blockchain-based solutions, with rapid growth expected particularly in supply chain management, digital identity verification, and smart contract sectors. From an investment perspective, interest in blockchain companies is increasing, with global blockchain startup investments reaching $8.9 billion in the first half of 2025, a 127% increase year-on-year. In South Korea, the government’s K-Digital New Deal policy plans to invest 2 trillion won in the blockchain sector over the next three years, further enhancing the growth potential of related companies. As blockchain technology evolves from a speculative tool to a practical business solution, a new era is opening where companies focusing on technological innovation and practical value creation lead the market.
Disclaimer: This analysis is for informational purposes only and is not intended as investment advice or recommendations. Investment decisions should be made based on individual judgment and responsibility.
