Author: Coinbase
Compiled by: TechFlow
On-chain activity at the top U.S. public companies is busier than ever. On-chain projects announced by Fortune 100 companies increased 39% year-over-year and hit an all-time high in the first quarter of 2024. A survey of Fortune 500 executives found that 56% said their companies are working on on-chain projects. From the largest traditional brands to small businesses, from stablecoins to tokenized treasuries, well-known companies and products in the financial sector are embracing blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies, driving innovation and providing an onramp for widespread adoption. The increase in activity highlights the urgency of establishing clear rules for cryptocurrencies that can help keep cryptocurrency developers and other talent in the United States.
According to research conducted by The Block for Coinbase, the number of cryptocurrency, blockchain or Web3 projects announced by Fortune 100 companies increased 39% year-on-year and hit an all-time high in the first quarter of 2024. A survey of Fortune 500 executives showed that 56% of companies are working on blockchain projects, including consumer-facing payment applications. The increased activity highlights the urgency of developing clear cryptocurrency rules to help retain crypto developers and other talent in the United States, fulfill the promise of better access to cryptocurrency, and maintain the United States' leadership in the cryptocurrency field globally.
Many trusted brands and products in the financial sector are embracing blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies, driving innovation and providing an onramp to widespread adoption:
The launch of Bitcoin spot ETFs meets huge potential demand. As of today, the total assets under management of Bitcoin spot ETFs exceed $63 billion. On May 23, 2024, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved the exchange application to list and trade Ethereum spot ETFs (pending S-1 approval), further expanding access to spot cryptocurrencies and driving adoption.
In addition to ETFs, on-chain government securities are driving new interest in tokenizing real-world assets. Recent high interest rates have increased demand for safe, high-yield Treasury bonds on-chain, and the value of U.S. Treasury tokenized products has increased by more than 1,000% to $1.29 billion since the beginning of 2023. BlackRock's tokenized U.S. Treasury fund BUIDL, at $382 million, recently surpassed Franklin Templeton's $368 million fund to become the largest fund; crypto hedge funds and market makers are using BUIDL as collateral to trade tokens. By 2030, the tokenized asset market is expected to reach $16 trillion, equivalent to today's EU GDP.
In addition to Coinbase, global payment giants PayPal and Stripe are also making stablecoins easier to use. Through Circle, merchants on Stripe can now accept USDC payments through Ethereum, Solana, and Polygon, and automatically convert to fiat currency. PayPal supports cross-border transfers, covering stablecoin users in about 160 countries-with no transaction fees, while the average fee in the global remittance market is 4.45% to 6.39%. In 2023, the annual settlement volume of stablecoins reached 10 trillion US dollars, more than 10 times the total global remittance volume.
This progress is not just from the top down, but also from the bottom up: small businesses, the most trusted institutions in the United States, are also getting involved in cryptocurrencies. About seven in ten (68%) small businesses believe that cryptocurrency can help solve at least one financial pain point, the biggest of which is transaction fees and processing time.
At Coinbase, we applaud the progress of traditional finance in updating its systems and make a few calls from the data:
The United States must develop increasingly needed talent, rather than continue to lose it overseas. The U.S. developer share has fallen 14 percentage points over the past five years; today only 26% of crypto developers are in the U.S. Among Fortune 500 executives, concerns about available, trusted talent are now the main barrier to adoption, surpassing concerns about regulation. Among small businesses, half say they are likely to look for candidates familiar with cryptocurrency the next time they hire for a finance, legal, or IT/tech position. Clear cryptocurrency rules are key to retaining developers—and key to America continuing to lead the world in cutting-edge technological innovation.
It is also critical to ensure that the technology lives up to its promise to better serve crypto-using companies that need financial services and, more importantly, underserved people who need them. For the underbanked and unbanked, about half (48%) of Fortune 500 executives said cryptocurrencies have the potential to increase access to the financial system and the ability to create wealth. For companies using cryptocurrencies, one Fortune 500 executive noted that banks can encourage innovation by finding more ways to work with them.
The U.S. needs to take the lead in this space. Fortune 500 executives show strong interest here: 79% want to work with U.S. partners (up from 73% last year), and 72% agree that having a U.S. dollar-backed digital currency (versus the yen) would keep the U.S. economy globally competitive.
Cryptocurrency is the future of money.
The research report, the fourth published by Coinbase since June 2023 and a year-over-year study on enterprise adoption, is the latest in a comprehensive series of research from Coinbase aimed at educating the public on the role that cryptocurrencies, blockchain, and other network technologies can play in updating the global financial system for the benefit of businesses and consumers.
Methodology
Unless otherwise noted, the data and insights cited in this report are derived from the following sources:
Fortune 100 Projects: The Block Pro Research’s analysis of Web3 project activity at Fortune 100 companies between Q1 2020 and early June 2024. “Activity” is broadly defined to include any digital asset/blockchain-related internal company projects, investments, partnerships, product/service launches, and other similar projects. The Block conducted a public information search across news sites, company filings, press releases, and announcements using keywords such as “cryptocurrency,” “blockchain,” “tokenization,” “NFTs,” “metaverse,” and “digital assets.” Search results were manually screened, aggregated, and deduplicated. For each project in the database, The Block evaluated the project stage, industry, and Web3 use case (e.g., tokenization, process automation, payments/settlement, etc.).
Fortune 100, Stablecoins, and Tokenization Case Studies: Research from The Block.
Web3 Adoption Survey: A survey of 104 Fortune 500 executives (director level and above) who are knowledgeable about cryptocurrency and blockchain, conducted for Coinbase by third-party research firm GLG, April 17-25, 2024.
Small Business Survey: A survey of 250 financial decision-makers at U.S. small businesses (with fewer than 500 employees) who are aware of cryptocurrency, conducted by research firm NRG for Coinbase from April 24-29, 2024.