Blockchain is a new technology developed in recent years that has seen exponential growth in terms of volume, price, and interest in various sectors. Since the emergence of Bitcoin and Ethereum, the Blockchain ecosystem has grown exponentially and reached a market capitalisation of $3 trillion in 2021. This exponential growth has attracted the attention of both financial institutions and regulators in 2022, who are seeking to understand the potential benefits that this technology could bring to the financial sector.
Following the high prices recorded in late November 2021 the ecosystem experienced significant downturns and bankruptcies, undermining the large public's confidence in the crypto industry. While these events are threatening investor confidence in the crypto space, the broader world of Digital Assets is experiencing a flourishing period of growth in terms of both the relevance of products developed and the birth of new projects.
Looking at the Italian ecosystem, we can see a thriving environment in which companies are experimenting and building long-term infrastructure to support the sector's future expansion.
With this report, PwC intends to provide a market overview of the Blockchain market, with a focus on the Italian startup ecosystem. The objective is to highlight emerging trends in industries where Blockchain technologies can be applied, as well as relevant and concrete examples of applications and startups in the Italian landscape. The joint research activity of the PwC Blockchain Competence Center and the Politecnico di Milano's Blockchain & DLT Observatory emphasises the importance and urgency of staying up to date on the evolution of the Blockchain industry.
The study aims to determine which sectors are most advanced among those affected by the Blockchain revolution and which are still in the early stages of growth and internalisation of potential. In addition, the study aspires to provide a clear picture of the Italian Blockchain startup market to identify emerging use cases and compare the level of maturity of the Italian market to other European ecosystems.
