The United States' largest cryptocurrency platform by trading volume, Coinbase, has released their Q2 2024 State of Crypto report. This edition highlights the moves by the Fortune 500 (the 500 largest companies by revenue in the US) towards onchain activity.
More than half of the Fortune 500 corporations are actively exploring or implementing crypto and web3 initiatives, signaling a potential transformative shift towards onchain solutions for their customers and adoption at the institutional level. This movement is driven by the promises of increased efficiency, transparency, and security that blockchain technology offers (but which has been slower to arrive than many would like).
A survey of Fortune 500 executives reveals a 39% year-over-year increase in these initiatives, reaching a peak in Q1 2024. Additionally, over 50% of Fortune 500 executives report that their companies are engaged in onchain projects, including applications for consumer payments.
For example, Visa remains steadfast in its blockchain strategy after recently piloting its Web3 loyalty program. The payments giant is focused on web3 infrastructure and evaluating blockchain protocols that could redefine future payment systems. This commitment underscores the broader trend of traditional financial institutions integrating blockchain technology.
The report also highlights trends in stablecoin adoption, with onchain stablecoin settlement volumes hitting record highs in Q1 2024, with annual volumes reaching USD$10 trillion in 2023. Circle and Tether, the leading stablecoin issuers, now hold nearly USD$150 billion in US Treasuries, comparable to major foreign investors like Norway, Saudi Arabia, and South Korea.
Real world asset tokenisation, the flavour of the month in blockchain right now, is a market projected to reach USD$16 trillion by 2030. Tokenisation of off-chain assets (i.e. "real world assets") has more than doubled since early 2023 and has plenty of room to grow. Government securities, particularly US Treasury bills, have seen over 1,000% growth in tokenisation since January 2023, with firms like BlackRock, Franklin Templeton, and Ondo Finance leading this expansion.
The report shows that, despite well documented turmoil in the US relating to digital assets, including high profile legal cases, innovation continues to spread within major corporations and that investment into blockchain and web3 has plenty of room to keep grow.
By Michael Bacina and Luke Misthos
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