To begin with, it is important to note that financial services, healthcare and energy are the main industries for the development of Blockchain technology in Europe.
On the other hand, Ethereum, is the base layer for almost a third of the new decentralized accounting technology (DLT) companies, which leave Europe.
But, if European corporations are increasingly adopting Blockchain technology, the region’s funding figures are still significantly below those seen in places like the United States.
France wants to improve on Blockchain
Ethereum dominates Blockchain’s start in Europe
Enterprise Blockchain 2020, the European venture capital firm LeadBlock, revealed in its report that Ethereum is the leading network for new DLT companies in the region. In addition, the report’s figures show that 27% of Blockchain startups in Europe build their solutions on Ethereum.
Also, according to the LeadBlock report, competition between the networks, Hyperledger and Corda, is helping to create a stronger DLT technology ecosystem in Europe.
In addition to building solutions based on Blockchain technology, LeadBlock reported that 70% of these crypto startups also combine DLT with at least one complementary technology. For example, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT) and Machine Learning.
A compendium of the report states:
“We see Blockchain technology as an enabler that becomes particularly powerful when combined with other technologies.”
Similarly, they add: “Emerging companies that take advantage of convergence are more likely to create value in the long term because of technological complementarity.
Europeans and Americans in DLT investment
At the same time, Bitcoin Era indicates that European startups are lagging behind their American counterparts. In fact, the United States accounts for half of all global investments in Blockchain technology.
According to the report, Blockchain’s European ecosystem requires more investment participation from venture capital firms.
The Netherlands at the forefront of technological innovation with its national Blockchain research agenda.
Use in the financial services sector
Given that early DLT implementations focused on payments, it is not surprising that novel technology is finding greater use in the financial services sector.
As a result, finance accounts for 28% of European start-ups. Moreover, healthcare, energy and agriculture are the other main areas for the development of Blockchain technology in Europe. Therefore, the four industries together represent almost two thirds of the collective DLT adoption of European companies.