Restructuring of the Blockchain Industry in 2025: Market Shift Towards Practicality and Accelerated Corporate Adoption
Editor
Blockchain Market Restructuring Towards Practicality
As of the end of 2025, the global blockchain market is undergoing a fundamental paradigm shift. According to the latest report from Gartner, global spending on blockchain technology is expected to reach $67.2 billion in 2025, an increase of 11.1% from the previous year. Notably, this growth is no longer driven by speculative areas like cryptocurrencies or NFTs but by the adoption of enterprise solutions aimed at solving real business problems.
The Korean blockchain market is also aligning with these global trends. According to the ‘2025 Blockchain Industry Trends Report’ published by the Korea Information and Communication Technology Association (TTA), the domestic blockchain market size is estimated to reach 1.24 trillion KRW in 2025, with B2B enterprise solutions accounting for 68% of the total. This is a significant increase from the 42% B2B share in 2022, indicating that companies are beginning to view blockchain not just as a technical curiosity but as a practical tool for improving business efficiency.
Samsung SDS, headquartered in Seoul, is one of the leading companies driving this market change. The company announced that by the first half of 2025, it had implemented supply chain management systems for a total of 47 companies through its self-developed blockchain platform ‘Nexledger’. Notably, the automotive parts tracking system developed in collaboration with Hyundai Motor Group reportedly improved counterfeit prevention rates by 89%. Samsung SDS’s blockchain division recorded a 34% increase in revenue in the third quarter of 2025 compared to the same period the previous year, totaling 89.2 billion KRW.
Competitor LG CNS is also expanding its market share with its blockchain-based logistics management solution ‘MonaChain’. The company established partnerships with major retailers like Lotte Group and CJ Group in the second half of 2025 to build a food safety tracking system. Companies that adopted LG CNS’s blockchain solutions reported an average improvement of 73% in supply chain transparency and a 21% reduction in inventory management costs.
Rapid Growth of Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) and Digital Identity Authentication
In 2025, the most notable areas in the blockchain industry are Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) and digital identity authentication systems. According to the latest survey by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), 64% of 134 countries worldwide, or 86 countries, are conducting CBDC development or pilot programs, with 18 countries planning full commercialization by the first half of 2026.
The Bank of Korea announced the successful completion of the second pilot test of the digital won in October 2025. This test involved six major commercial banks, including Shinhan Bank, KB Kookmin Bank, and Woori Bank, as well as four fintech companies like KakaoPay and NaverPay, with a total of 100,000 general users conducting real transactions. The test results showed that the digital won could process 2,847 transactions per second, with an average transaction completion time of 1.3 seconds. Based on these results, the Bank of Korea plans to pursue limited commercialization of the digital won in the second half of 2026.
SK Telecom is securing new growth momentum through its blockchain-based digital identity authentication service ‘SK ID’. The company was selected as a key partner for the government’s digital ID standardization project in September 2025, securing a total of 120 billion KRW in business opportunities over the next three years. SK ID is currently used in various areas such as online financial transactions, medical information access, and public service utilization, with the cumulative number of users surpassing 3.4 million as of December 2025. Notably, SK ID users have an average of 12.7 authentication attempts per month, 2.3 times higher than traditional public certification users.
Internationally, Microsoft’s blockchain-based digital identity solution ‘Microsoft Entra Verified ID’ is leading the market. Based in Redmond, Washington, Microsoft announced that as of November 2025, 127 companies and 23 government agencies worldwide had adopted its digital identity solutions. The company is a key technology partner in the European Union’s Digital Identity Wallet project, contributing to the digital identity management system for 450 million European citizens.
IBM also demonstrates strong competitiveness in the blockchain-based digital identity authentication sector. Headquartered in New York, IBM has secured 21 million users across 89 countries worldwide with its self-developed ‘IBM Verify’ solution as of the third quarter of 2025. IBM’s blockchain identity authentication solution is highly regarded in the medical field, with the medical staff credentialing system developed in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services reportedly improving false medical staff identification accuracy to 96.8%.
In the supply chain management sector, Oracle holds a dominant position. Headquartered in Austin, California, Oracle supports the supply chain management of 1,847 companies worldwide as of 2025 through its blockchain-based supply chain solution ‘Oracle Blockchain Platform’. The company leads the market by establishing partnerships with global corporations like Walmart, Nestle, and Unilever in the food safety tracking sector. Companies that adopted Oracle’s blockchain solutions reported an average improvement of 67% in supply chain transparency and an 84% reduction in product recall processing time.
In the cryptocurrency trading platform sector, Coinbase continues to lead the market. Headquartered in San Francisco, California, Coinbase recorded 9.5 million monthly active users (MAU) in the third quarter of 2025, processing 8.7% of global cryptocurrency trading volume. The company’s third-quarter revenue was $1.62 billion, an 18% increase from the same period the previous year, with a net profit of $280 million. Coinbase is focusing on strengthening services for institutional investors, with revenue from institutional clients accounting for 34% of the total in the second half of 2025, stabilizing its business structure.
However, alongside the growth of the blockchain industry, new challenges are emerging. The biggest issue is energy consumption and environmental impact. According to research by the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance, the annual power consumption of the global Bitcoin network is expected to reach 141 TWh (terawatt-hours) in 2025, similar to Argentina’s total annual power consumption. In response to these environmental issues, many blockchain projects are transitioning from proof-of-work (PoW) to proof-of-stake (PoS) methods, with Ethereum reportedly reducing energy consumption by 99.95% since its PoS transition in 2022.
Regulatory uncertainty is also cited as a major obstacle to industry development. In the United States, conflicts continue between the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) over cryptocurrency regulatory authority, while the European Union is set to fully implement the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation by December 2025. In Korea, the implementation of the Virtual Asset User Protection Act in July 2025 has significantly increased compliance costs for exchanges.
Future Outlook and Investment Opportunities
The outlook for the blockchain industry towards 2026 is generally positive. According to Deloitte’s ‘2026 Global Blockchain Survey’ report, 76% of global companies plan to integrate blockchain technology into their core business processes within the next two years. Adoption intentions are particularly high in the financial services (89%), supply chain management (82%), and healthcare (74%) sectors.
The convergence of Web 3.0 and the metaverse is also being highlighted as a new growth engine. Meta’s ‘Horizon Worlds’ and Microsoft’s ‘Mesh’ platforms, which focus on blockchain-based digital asset trading and ownership authentication, are expected to drive the virtual economy ecosystem’s market size to $800 billion by 2030.
The Korean government is also actively pursuing policies to foster the blockchain industry. As part of the ‘Digital New Deal 2.0′ plan, the Ministry of Science and ICT announced plans to invest a total of 2.3 trillion KRW in the blockchain sector by 2026. Of this, 40% will be used for CBDC and digital identity authentication infrastructure, 35% for the blockchainization of public services, and the remaining 25% for supporting private companies’ blockchain technology development.
From an investment perspective, the stock prices of blockchain-related companies have shown significant volatility in the second half of 2025. For instance, Coinbase’s stock price rose by 67% compared to January 2025 but fell by 15% in the last three months, reacting sensitively to market conditions. In contrast, traditional IT companies like IBM, Microsoft, and Oracle have shown relatively stable growth in their blockchain divisions, reflecting the stable demand increase for enterprise blockchain solutions.
In conclusion, as of the end of 2025, the blockchain industry is moving away from speculative frenzy and entering a mature stage that emphasizes practicality and sustainability. The adoption of blockchain for solving real business problems is accelerating, and new growth drivers like CBDCs and digital identity authentication are emerging. However, challenges such as energy consumption, regulatory uncertainty, and technical scalability need to be addressed, and companies that successfully overcome these issues are expected to lead the market in the future.
This analysis is provided for informational purposes only and is not intended as investment solicitation or advice. Investment decisions should be made based on individual judgment and responsibility.
