12/11/20

FINTECH: Blockchain and Digital Assets Adoption Continue to Grow Despite COVID-19 Pandemic, According to Report.

As published on thefintechtimes.com, Wednesday 11 November, 2020.

Ripple has released its annual ‘Blockchain in Payments report’ for the third consecutive year, offering a comprehensive look into the fintech industry and blockchain’s growing role in payments.

The report has revealed that not only is growth possible for blockchain and digital assets initiatives, but that familiarity with them has increased as well. Across five global regions (North America, Europe, Middle East and Africa, Latin America and Asia Pacific) familiarity with blockchain and cryptocurrency ranges from 82% to 94%

The report has also found the blockchain adoption and positive sentiment is growing, with 67% of respondents claiming that cryptocurrency is net reliable, and over one-third using blockchain payments. IT was also found that nearly 4 in 5 (79%) of industry innovators reported growth in 2020 despite the economic pressures of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Other key findings include:

• Adopters view blockchain as the fuel to business growth: 44% of respondents in production have recorded strong business growth in the past 12 months—while 45% of respondents that reported processing mostly digital transactions, recorded a large amount of growth.
• Interest in using digital assets has dramatically increased: 99% of respondents state that their business would consider using a digital asset, either as a currency itself or as a means to instantly process cross-border payments. This is up from 94% in 2018.
• Industry innovators are realising significant growth, even amid Covid-19: this is attributed to an expansion of products, services and target customers within companies, as well as innovation in payment technology- a key growth driver for 44% of businesses.