The Rise of Enterprise Blockchain: Accelerating Adoption and Market Transformation by 2026
Editor
As of January 2026, blockchain technology has finally entered a phase where it creates tangible value in the corporate sector. According to Gartner’s latest report, the global enterprise blockchain market surged by 47% from $60.5 billion in 2025 to reach $89 billion, indicating that the fundamental value of blockchain is being recognized even as the cryptocurrency speculation frenzy has subsided. Notably, 73% of the total market growth stemmed from practical applications such as supply chain management, digital identity verification, and smart contract automation.
This growth is driven by genuine business needs rather than mere technological curiosity. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, companies have heightened their focus on the transparency and traceability of global supply chains, with blockchain’s immutability and decentralized verification mechanisms gaining attention as solutions. Walmart, headquartered in Arkansas, USA, announced that by the end of 2025, it was operating a blockchain-based food tracking system in over 4,200 stores worldwide, reducing the time to trace food safety incidents from seven days to 2.2 seconds, resulting in an annual cost saving of approximately $230 million.
The most fiercely competitive area in the enterprise blockchain market is platform services. IBM’s Hyperledger Fabric-based IBM Blockchain Platform, headquartered in Armonk, New York, is utilized by over 1,400 companies globally, with related revenue increasing by 62% year-over-year to $1.8 billion by the fourth quarter of 2025, accounting for 8.7% of IBM’s total cloud revenue. Meanwhile, Microsoft, headquartered in Redmond, Washington, is taking a more developer-friendly approach with its Azure Blockchain Service, boasting over 340,000 monthly active developers by the end of 2025.
In the Korean market, Samsung SDS, headquartered in Seoul, has established a unique position. Its blockchain platform ‘Nexledger’ was adopted by 67% of domestic large enterprise affiliates by 2025, showing particular strength in the manufacturing sector. Major manufacturers such as Samsung Electronics, Hyundai Motor, and LG Electronics are utilizing Nexledger for parts supply chain management and quality tracking, leading to a 89% surge in Samsung SDS’s blockchain-related revenue to 320 billion won in 2025, accounting for 22% of the company’s total revenue.
Supply Chain Innovation and Digital Transformation
Blockchain technology is creating the most dramatic changes in global supply chain management. According to McKinsey’s January 2026 report, companies that adopted blockchain improved supply chain visibility by an average of 73% and reduced losses from counterfeit products by an average of $120 million annually. The impact of blockchain is particularly pronounced in industries where authenticity verification is crucial, such as luxury goods, pharmaceuticals, and food.
A representative case is the French luxury group LVMH, headquartered in Paris. Since 2024, the company has been applying the blockchain-based authenticity verification system ‘AURA’ to major brand products like Louis Vuitton and Christian Dior, surpassing 23 million cumulative authenticated products by the end of 2025. This led to a 41% reduction in legal disputes related to counterfeit goods compared to the previous year, and a consumer trust index of 8.7 out of 10, the highest in the industry. LVMH invests approximately 400 million euros annually in operating this system, but it is estimated to create an economic value of 1.2 billion euros annually solely from brand value protection.
The pharmaceutical industry is also accelerating blockchain adoption. The ‘MediLedger’ consortium, involving global pharmaceutical companies like Pfizer (New York, USA), Novartis (Basel, Switzerland), and Roche (Basel, Switzerland), tracked 23% of North America’s prescription drug distribution via blockchain by 2025. This blocked the distribution of counterfeit drugs by an average of 67% annually and reduced FDA compliance costs by an average of $2.8 million per company.
In Korea, SK Telecom is actively developing blockchain-based supply chain solutions. Since the second half of 2025, the company has been collaborating with Hyundai Motor Group to apply blockchain technology across the entire automotive parts supply chain, achieving a parts tracking accuracy of 98.7% in initial tests. Once this project is fully commercialized, it is expected to reduce Hyundai Motor Group’s annual quality management costs by approximately 120 billion won.
Oracle, headquartered in Austin, California, is differentiating itself with an integrated solution combining cloud infrastructure and blockchain. By 2025, Oracle Blockchain Platform Cloud Service was utilized by over 780 companies worldwide, with high adoption rates particularly in the retail and manufacturing sectors. Nestlé, headquartered in Vevey, Switzerland, is using Oracle’s solution to track the sustainability of its palm oil supply chain, reducing the proportion sourced from deforestation-risk areas from 12% in 2023 to 3.2% in 2025.
A New Paradigm for Digital Identity and Smart Contracts
The digital identity verification and smart contract market, another core application area of blockchain technology, is rapidly growing. According to Deloitte’s January 2026 survey, the market share of blockchain-based solutions in the global digital identity management market is expected to expand from 18% in 2025 to 31% in 2026. This is due to increasing concerns over security vulnerabilities and personal data misuse in existing centralized identity management systems, highlighting the concept of self-sovereign identity, where users have direct control.
Estonia’s e-Residency program is considered a successful case of blockchain-based digital identity. By the end of 2025, 120,000 people from 98 countries worldwide had acquired Estonian digital residency, establishing around 18,000 digital companies. Through this program, the Estonian government significantly enhanced its brand value as a digital innovation nation, with an annual tax revenue increase of approximately 130 million euros. Notably, the blockchain-based identity verification system’s security was proven, with no identity theft incidents reported in the past three years.
The use of smart contracts in business transactions is also rapidly expanding. The JPM Coin platform operated by JPMorgan Chase, headquartered in New York, USA, surpassed $5 billion in daily transaction volume by 2025, playing a crucial role in global corporate payments. Companies using this platform reduced international remittance times from the previous 3-5 days to within 2 hours on average, achieving an 85% reduction in fees. Particularly in commodity trading, automated payment systems using smart contracts are gaining popularity, with 42% of JPM Coin transactions in 2025 related to commodities.
The insurance industry is also accelerating the adoption of smart contracts. AXA, headquartered in Paris, France, began applying smart contracts to flight delay insurance in 2024, with cumulative automatic payouts exceeding 340,000 cases by the end of 2025. This system automatically disburses insurance payments by collecting real-time flight delay information, achieving a customer satisfaction score of 9.2 out of 10 and reducing insurance claim processing costs from an average of $47 per case to $2.3.
In Korea, Hyundai Marine & Fire Insurance is focusing on developing blockchain-based insurance services. Since the second half of 2025, the company has been piloting an accident processing automation system using blockchain in the auto insurance sector, reducing the average time from accident reporting to insurance payout from 14 days to 3 days in initial tests. Hyundai Marine plans to fully implement this system by the first half of 2026, expecting to save approximately 30 billion won in annual operating costs.
However, several challenges are emerging in the corporate adoption of blockchain technology. The most significant issue is the complexity of integration with existing legacy systems. According to Deloitte, 68% of companies attempting to adopt blockchain faced compatibility issues with existing IT infrastructure, with 23% of them halting or delaying projects. Additionally, the shortage of blockchain professionals is becoming a serious problem. LinkedIn data shows that blockchain-related job postings increased by 127% in 2025 compared to the previous year, but the number of actual applicants only rose by 34%, exacerbating the supply shortage.
Concerns about energy consumption and environmental impact also persist. The high power consumption of proof-of-work (PoW) based blockchains like Bitcoin is problematic, prompting companies to seek more eco-friendly alternatives. Following Ethereum’s transition to proof-of-stake (PoS), which reduced energy consumption by 99.95%, many enterprise blockchain platforms are adopting PoS or other low-power consensus algorithms. IBM’s Hyperledger Fabric was designed with energy efficiency in mind from the start, consuming 99.99% less power compared to Bitcoin.
Regulatory uncertainty is another crucial factor for companies to consider. Although the United States released comprehensive guidelines for blockchain technology use in the second half of 2025, a concrete regulatory framework is still incomplete. The European Union established a relatively clear regulatory system through the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation, effective in 2024, but detailed regulations for enterprise blockchain applications are still under development. In December 2025, South Korea enacted the ‘Blockchain Promotion and User Protection Act,’ outlining a policy direction that actively supports corporate blockchain utilization.
Despite these challenges, the outlook for corporate adoption of blockchain technology is very bright. According to PwC’s latest forecast, the impact of blockchain technology on the global economy is expected to reach $1.7 trillion by 2030. Specifically, it is projected to create economic value of $524 billion through improved supply chain traceability, $433 billion through digital identity and credentialing, and $433 billion through payments and financial services. This suggests that blockchain is becoming a fundamental force driving a transformation in business models beyond mere technological innovation.
In conclusion, as of 2026, blockchain technology stands at a turning point, transitioning from its initial killer application in cryptocurrencies to becoming a core infrastructure in corporate operations. As blockchain’s unique value propositions of transparency, security, and automation prove effective in solving real business problems, explosive growth in the enterprise blockchain market is expected in the coming years. However, continuous efforts to address technical complexity, workforce shortages, and regulatory uncertainty are necessary, with close collaboration between technology providers and adopting companies being a key factor for success.
*This content 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.*
