Branch survey shows: Start-ups are increasingly recognizing blockchain benefits

The numbers of two current Bitkom polls can be seen as confirmation by both skeptics and optimistic blockchain fans. Relatively few start-ups in Germany are still using this forward-looking technology. But the number of users and, above all, the number of interested parties continues to rise consistently. The success seems to be programmed.

Startups and established companies have different opinions

The industry association Bitkom has commissioned a survey on the opinions of German start-ups on the subject of blockchain. A total of 302 newly founded companies were surveyed as part of this evaluation. Do you already use the Blockchain? What do you think of this approach and will you also consider it in the future for your own business model? These and similar questions were put to those responsible at companies in the IT and Internet industries. At the same time, the experts from Bitkom Research conducted a telephone survey among the board members and management of 604 companies with more than 20 employees.

Increasing insight into the importance of blockchain

The bottom line is that the results are promising, at least to a limited extent. Questions about currencies such as Ethereum or Litecoin were not asked. So it was not about the use of crypto currencies, the focus was on the blockchain alone. So far, only six percent of German start-ups have made use of the technology. In comparison, the blockchain is hardly used at all in established companies with 20 or more employees, as the second survey showed. 27 percent of the survey participants from start-up industries talk internally about a possible entry or are already in the planning phase.

New companies recognize opportunities even more strongly

With the other companies, however, 53 percent of the company bosses and board members involved are of the opinion that the blockchain will become an important competitive criterion for German companies in the future. The figure for start-ups is as high as 63 percent. Given these perspectives of the blockchain for digital contracting and creating secure supply chains via smart contracts and other technology features, it remains surprising that, for example, the number of start-ups that either already use the blockchain or take it into account in their planning only plays a role in about one third of all start-ups.