The Turning Point of the Blockchain Market in 2025: Entering a Maturity Phase Driven by Accelerated Corporate Adoption and Regulatory Clarity
Editor
Breaking the Threshold of Corporate Blockchain Adoption
As of November 2025, the global blockchain market is experiencing a clear turning point. According to the latest report by PwC, 84% of companies worldwide are actively engaging with blockchain technology, a significant increase from 77% in 2024. Notably, 61% of these companies are utilizing blockchain beyond the proof of concept (PoC) stage in actual operational environments. This shift indicates that blockchain technology is no longer in an experimental phase but has established itself as a practical business solution.
The global blockchain market is projected to grow from $67.3 billion in 2025 to $163 billion by 2030, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 19.4%. While this is lower than artificial intelligence (26.1%) and the Internet of Things (25.2%), it surpasses cloud computing (15.7%) and big data (13.2%). Growth is particularly notable in supply chain management, digital identity verification, and smart contracts, with these sectors showing CAGRs of 22.3%, 24.7%, and 21.8%, respectively.
In South Korea, the blockchain industry is rapidly advancing alongside the government’s K-Digital New Deal policy. According to a survey by the Korea Internet & Security Agency (KISA) in the first half of 2025, the domestic blockchain market size increased by 34.2% year-on-year to 1.24 trillion won. Notably, Samsung SDS has provided blockchain solutions to over 200 companies domestically and internationally through its self-developed Nexledger platform, with blockchain-related revenue in the third quarter of 2025 increasing by 67% year-on-year to 48 billion won.
The primary drivers of accelerated corporate adoption are clear. First, there is the improvement in operational efficiency. Walmart’s food tracking system reduced the time to trace food origins to 2.2 seconds using blockchain, achieving a 99.9% time-saving effect compared to the previous system. Additionally, JP Morgan’s JPM Coin has reduced transaction times in interbank payments from 24-48 hours to within 10 minutes compared to the traditional SWIFT system, while also cutting transaction fees by an average of 40%. These concrete performance indicators are key factors encouraging other companies to adopt blockchain.
Maturation of the Regulatory Environment and Strengthening of Institutional Foundations
The year 2025 is also a pivotal point for the regulatory environment surrounding blockchain. With the full implementation of the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation, the regulatory framework for blockchain and cryptocurrencies is becoming clearer globally. Under MiCA, the market capitalization of approved stablecoins increased by 52.4% from $124 billion to $189 billion in the first half of 2025, demonstrating the positive impact of regulatory clarity on market growth.
In the United States, the Biden administration’s comprehensive framework for digital assets is providing stability to the market. Following the clear guidelines issued by the SEC, institutional investments in blockchain have surged. BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF (IBIT) has managed $32 billion in assets since its launch in 2024, marking the fastest growth in ETF history. Additionally, major asset management firms like Fidelity and Invesco have successively launched blockchain-based investment products, with total assets under management exceeding $85 billion.
South Korea is also accelerating the institutionalization of the virtual asset market. The Virtual Asset User Protection Act, implemented in July 2025, has significantly improved investor protection and market transparency. According to data from the Financial Supervisory Service, the segregation ratio of customer deposits in virtual asset exchanges reached 98.7% after the law’s implementation, leading to increased investor confidence. The average daily trading volume of major exchanges such as Upbit, Bithumb, and Coinone increased by 23% compared to before the law’s implementation, reaching 8.4 trillion won.
Improvements in the regulatory environment are directly influencing corporate blockchain investment decisions. According to Deloitte’s 2025 Global Blockchain Survey, the percentage of companies citing regulatory uncertainty as a major barrier to blockchain adoption dropped significantly from 74% in 2024 to 41% in 2025. However, technical complexity (67%) and talent shortage (58%) have emerged as new major challenges, indicating that the market is entering a mature phase.
Particularly, the acceleration of Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) development is further solidifying the institutional foundation of blockchain technology. The Bank of Korea’s digital won pilot program is set to officially begin in the second half of 2025, and China’s digital yuan (DCEP) has surpassed a cumulative transaction volume of 7.8 trillion yuan. This government-led adoption of blockchain technology is creating a virtuous cycle that further promotes related technology investments by private companies.
Global tech companies are also expanding their blockchain businesses in line with improvements in the regulatory environment. Microsoft recorded an 89% increase in revenue from the Azure Blockchain Service in the first half of 2025 compared to the same period last year, and IBM’s Hyperledger Fabric-based solutions are being utilized by over 1,200 companies worldwide. IBM announced that its blockchain-related revenue is expected to reach $2.8 billion in 2025, accounting for 4.2% of its total revenue.
Semiconductor companies like Nvidia and Intel are also directly benefiting from the increased demand for blockchain infrastructure. As of the third quarter of 2025, the proportion of blockchain-related revenue in Nvidia’s data center business reached 12.7%, a 3.4 percentage point increase from the same period last year. The surge in computing demand for enterprise blockchain solutions is continuously increasing the demand for high-performance GPUs and AI accelerators.
Going forward, the blockchain industry is expected to expand into more diverse fields based on technological maturity and regulatory stability. As sustainability and ESG requirements are strengthened, the use of blockchain in areas such as carbon emission tracking, supply chain transparency, and corporate social responsibility management is anticipated to rapidly expand. Additionally, with the advancement of Web3 and metaverse technologies, new business models are emerging, positioning blockchain technology as a key infrastructure of the digital economy. These changes provide new growth opportunities for related companies while indicating that technological innovation and market adaptability will be crucial elements of competitive advantage.
*This content is not intended as investment advice or stock recommendations, and investment decisions should be made at one’s own discretion and responsibility. The information provided is based on the analysis at the time and may change depending on market conditions.*
