Blockchain spending is on the rise as more companies embrace the technology, with a predicted growth forecast of USD 2.9 billion in 2019, according to International Data Corporation (IDC).

The figures come from IDC’s Worldwide Semiannual Blockchain Spending Guide and indicate that the technology has now moved beyond research and design, and is now increasingly being used by many companies in a practical way.

The largest portion of the predicted figure will be spent in the financial sector according to the research, with an estimated USD 1.1 billion coming from banking, securities and investment services, and insurers. Manufacturing and resources will also gain from increased spending on the blockchain according to the report. The prediction is that these areas could see the largest growth in spending over the entire five year period with a CAGR of 77.6% amounting to USD 653 million combined.

The diversity of industries and sectors now turning to blockchain solutions is rapidly expanding. IDC vice president of the Customer Insights and Analysis program, Jessica Goepfert, claims that the future beckons for blockchain as the technology is still young:

“THE USE CASES THAT COMPRISE THE BLOCKCHAIN OPPORTUNITY ARE DEVELOPING AS SWIFTLY AS THE TECHNOLOGIES ENABLING IT. WHILE SPENDING FOR MORE DEVELOPED USE CASES IN THE FINANCIAL SECTOR LIKE TRADE FINANCE AND CROSS-BORDER PAYMENTS IS STILL HEALTHY AND GROWING STRONG, RELATIVE TO SIX MONTHS.”

The report predicting figures based on a five year period between 2018 and 2022, indicates that the total spent on blockchain could reach USD 12.4 billion by the final year of the sample.