Many Chinese companies that were betting big on blockchain technology prior to the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic have lost none of their fervor for the technology – and some could even be keen to spend more on adoption in the post-COVID-19 world.
Per Xinhua, a survey of some 350 Chinese companies found that 70% of them say they will not cut back on proposed blockchain spending because of the coronavirus. And 20% stated that they will spend even more on blockchain to offset the effects of the virus on trade and the economy.
The findings were compiled in a report on “Blockchain in the Post-epidemic Age,” co-compiled by the China Federation of Logistics & Purchasing’s Blockchain Unit and researchers at Beijing’s Tsinghua University.
The report’s authors claimed that the pandemic had “not affected the long-term impact of enterprises’ blockchain plans,” with companies remaining “bullish” about the industrial adoption of blockchain technology.
The authors of the report said the survey respondents included companies from “10 types of industries,” including blockchain technology specialist firms, as well as manufacturing, finance, commerce, logistics, and supply chain management companies.
The report concluded that at worst, industries had pressed the “pause button,” on some of their plans, but collectively realized that technology – particularly blockchain advances – was the most effective tool for fighting natural disasters.
The same media outlet quotes a prominent Chinese business and policy chief as stating that blockchain technology will soon be as ubiquitous as “water or electricity,” with widespread adoption on its way.