A Turning Point in the Blockchain Ecosystem: New Growth Drivers Led by Practicality and Regulatory Clarity in 2025
Editor
As of December 2025, blockchain technology has finally established itself as a key driver of genuine industrial innovation, moving beyond speculative hype. According to Deloitte’s latest report, the global blockchain market size surged from $24 billion in 2024 to $87 billion in 2025, with the adoption rate of enterprise blockchain solutions showing a remarkable 340% increase compared to the previous year. This rapid growth is largely attributed to the establishment of clear regulatory frameworks by major governments and the commercialization of blockchain applications specialized in solving real business problems.
In South Korea, the implementation of the ‘Digital Asset Basic Act’ in the first half of 2025 and the incorporation of blockchain-based digital asset exchanges into the institutional framework have rapidly matured the domestic blockchain ecosystem. According to statistics from the Financial Supervisory Service, domestic digital asset trading volume increased by 580% compared to 2024, reaching 1,200 trillion won, with institutional investors accounting for 45%, significantly improving market stability. Samsung SDS (headquartered in Seoul) successfully completed a project to enhance supply chain transparency for major domestic manufacturers through its ‘Nexledger’ platform, generating blockchain-related revenue of 240 billion won, equivalent to 12% of its annual sales.
Globally, the enterprise blockchain solution market has emerged as the most noteworthy area. According to Gartner Research, as of 2025, 73% of Fortune 500 companies are operating at least one blockchain project, a more than threefold increase from 23% in 2022. Microsoft’s (headquartered in Redmond, Washington) ‘Azure Blockchain Service’ is currently utilized by over 8,500 companies worldwide, particularly generating $1.5 billion in annual cost savings in the financial services and supply chain management sectors. IBM (headquartered in Armonk, New York) has also established food safety tracking systems for global food distributors like Walmart and Nestlé using its Hyperledger Fabric-based solutions, capturing a market worth $3.2 billion annually.
A particularly noteworthy change is the dramatic improvement in the scalability and energy efficiency of blockchain technology. With the full implementation of Ethereum 2.0, transaction processing speed has increased to 100,000 transactions per second, while power consumption has decreased by 99.95% compared to the past. Next-generation blockchain platforms like Solana, Polkadot, and Cardano have also achieved transaction processing capabilities of 65,000, 1,000, and 257 transactions per second, respectively, meeting the requirements of enterprise applications. These technological advancements are a decisive factor in encouraging participation from large corporations that were previously hesitant to adopt blockchain.
## Innovative Achievements in Supply Chain Management and Digital Assets
The area where blockchain technology is showing the most significant achievements is undoubtedly supply chain management. According to McKinsey Consulting’s 2025 research report, companies that have adopted blockchain-based supply chain solutions have achieved an average of 28% reduction in operating costs and a 94% improvement in supply chain transparency. The importance of supply chain risk management has been highlighted following the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to a surge in demand for blockchain solutions capable of real-time tracking and verification. Currently, 42% of global manufacturers are operating blockchain-based supply chain management systems, more than doubling from 18% in 2023.
Among Korean companies, SK Hynix (headquartered in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province) is gaining attention for securing semiconductor supply chain transparency through its self-developed blockchain platform. The company tracks the entire process from raw material procurement to finished product shipment via blockchain, preventing the distribution of counterfeit semiconductors and reducing the supplier certification process from 45 days to 7 days. This has resulted in an annual cost-saving effect of approximately 85 billion won, and the company is currently forming a consortium to expand this system as a global standard in the semiconductor industry.
In the digital asset sector, the acceleration of Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) development is providing new growth drivers. According to the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), as of 2025, 134 countries worldwide are participating in CBDC research and development, with 19 countries conducting pilot tests. China’s digital yuan has surpassed a cumulative transaction volume of 1.8 trillion yuan (approximately 350 trillion won), and the European Central Bank’s digital euro project has entered the final testing phase, aiming for commercialization in 2026. The Bank of Korea also announced the successful completion of the first phase pilot test of the digital won and plans to start limited commercialization in the second half of 2025.
This boom in CBDC development is providing new opportunities for blockchain infrastructure companies. Coinbase (headquartered in San Francisco, California) recorded $4.5 billion in annual revenue by supporting CBDC development for central banks worldwide through its institutional investor services. Notably, its ‘Coinbase Cloud’ service is currently utilized by central banks in 23 countries, and CBDC-related revenue has grown into a core business, accounting for 31% of total revenue. Nvidia (headquartered in Santa Clara, California) also recorded a 420% year-on-year increase in blockchain-related revenue, reaching $7.8 billion, due to the growing demand for high-performance GPU chipsets needed for blockchain network operations.
The NFT (Non-Fungible Token) market has also overcome the downturn of 2023 and is showing healthy growth as it reorients towards practicality. According to NonFungible.com statistics, global NFT trading volume recovered to $28 billion in 2025, with NFTs that have high practical utility in gaming, metaverse, and digital identity sectors leading the market. Kakao (headquartered in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province) achieved annual sales of 120 billion won by developing an NFT business based on K-content IP through its ‘Klip Drops’ platform and is currently expanding into Southeast Asian and North American markets.
## The Virtuous Cycle of Improved Regulatory Environment and Institutional Investor Influx
One of the most significant changes in the blockchain industry in 2025 is the global improvement in the regulatory environment. In the United States, the SEC is reviewing additional altcoin ETF approvals following the approval of Bitcoin and Ethereum spot ETFs, with the cumulative asset size of Bitcoin ETFs reaching $95 billion. The European Union is providing legal certainty for digital asset trading through the full implementation of the ‘Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA),’ leading to a 680% year-on-year increase in the digital asset investment size of institutional investors within Europe, reaching 120 billion euros. Japan is also actively supporting the adoption of blockchain technology by companies through tax reforms related to digital assets, with 54% of Japanese companies currently engaged in blockchain-related projects.
This regulatory clarity is leading to a massive influx of institutional investor funds. According to CoinShares Research, the digital asset investment size of institutional investors in 2025 reached $240 billion, an 890% increase compared to the previous year, with traditional institutional investors such as pension funds and insurance companies accounting for 38%. Global asset management firms like BlackRock, Fidelity, and Vanguard are expanding their digital asset portfolios, significantly reducing market volatility and establishing a culture of value investing from a long-term perspective. Interest in environmentally friendly blockchain projects that meet ESG investment criteria is surging, with Proof of Stake (PoS) blockchain networks attracting a total of $34 billion in investments from institutional investors.
In South Korea, the National Pension Service’s approval of digital asset investment for the first time in September 2025 marked a significant turning point in the domestic institutional investment ecosystem. The National Pension Service decided to invest 4 trillion won, equivalent to 0.5% of its total assets under management, in blockchain technology companies and digital assets, significantly influencing investment decisions by other domestic institutional investors. Major life insurance companies such as Samsung Life, LG Life, and Hanwha Life also announced digital asset investment plans of 100 billion won each, resulting in the domestic digital asset market size increasing by 450% year-on-year to 180 trillion won.
The adoption patterns of blockchain technology by companies are also changing significantly. Projects that previously remained at the proof of concept (PoC) level are now being integrated into actual business operations, producing visible results. According to Deloitte, the commercialization success rate of blockchain projects improved significantly from 34% in 2023 to 67% in 2025, and the average investment recovery period shortened from 3.2 years to 1.8 years. In the financial services sector, there are increasing cases where blockchain-based solutions are completely replacing existing systems in areas such as cross-border payments, trade finance, and identity verification.
However, challenges remain to be addressed. The lack of interoperability between blockchain networks continues to cause data silo issues, and the development of cross-chain bridge technology to resolve this is urgently needed. The shortage of blockchain professionals is also severe, with LinkedIn data indicating a 68% gap between supply and demand for blockchain developers worldwide. As a result, the average salary for blockchain developers increased by 34% year-on-year to $128,000, intensifying competition among companies to secure talent. From a cybersecurity perspective, hacking incidents targeting DeFi protocols and cross-chain bridges continue to occur, resulting in total damages of $1.8 billion as of 2025, highlighting the need to strengthen security standards across the industry.
Looking ahead to 2026, the blockchain industry is expected to enter a more mature phase based on the current growth trend. Gartner forecasts that the global blockchain market size will reach $142 billion in 2026, with enterprise blockchain solutions accounting for 78% of the total market. With the advancement of Web 3.0 and metaverse technologies, blockchain is likely to establish itself as the core infrastructure of the digital economy, providing continuous growth opportunities for related companies. From an investor’s perspective, long-term investment strategies focusing on blockchain companies that create tangible business value, rather than mere digital asset price fluctuations, are expected to become increasingly important.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice or recommendations. All investment decisions should be made at the individual’s discretion and responsibility.
