The report by Digital Catapult, the UK's leading digital innovation center, underlines the potential impact of Distributed Ledger Technologies (DLP) on UK companies and has uncovered what it describes as a "vibrant ecosystem" active in a wide range of sectors, with British companies in different stages of development and numerous industrial applications to reduce costs, make public services more efficient and improve the traceability of the supply chain.
After a difficult start – the first Bitcoin associations with the dark web and very few examples of DLT in use outside the cryptocurrency – the United Kingdom became a recognized global leader in the DLT in 2015. Over the past three years, however, rapid changes have seen the UK take a first step behind China, Singapore, Malta and the United States, countries that have been more agile in their approach to supporting DLT pioneers.
Today it might seem that Bitcoin has entered what some describe as a "spiral of death", with prices falling from the beginning of November, but this relationship, "Blockchain in action: state of the UK market & # 39;, having reviewed over 260 DLT companies in the UK, highlights the opportunities arising from the adoption of blockchains and other DLTs.
The report shows how to re-capture the initial promises and pave the way to success, it could help bring the UK back to a leading position.
According to Jeremy Silver, CEO of Digital Catapult, active steps are needed to improve the understanding of DLT across multiple sectors for the broader benefit of the UK economy. "To do this, and encourage further adoption of this technology, we need to dispel the myths, cut the hype, and educate organizations outside the financial services sector to the various applications of the DLT and how we can help them reduce risks of innovation ".
To support the development of DLT, a new Digital Catapult – DLT Field Labs initiative has been launched, bringing together technology companies, industrial partners and researchers to implement and test the latest distributed LED technology in the real world.
Companies that look to the DLT have to deal with an unclear and fragmented regulatory landscape, in addition to prejudicial biases on the feasibility of their sector and a lack of authoritative legal opinion.
This initiative should be welcomed as an opportunity to explore the practical applications and benefits of blockchain use.
