Data analyst GlobalData has poured cold water on the potential success of many new blockchain-based projects.
The company has claimed that many initiatives will be “quietly shelved in favour of more traditional approaches” or end up reducing their dependence on blockchain technology.
Blockchain has gained huge publicity in the past couple of years – primarily from its role as a digital ledger for transactions made through cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin. But many industries, including travel, have been looking at how it can be used in their sectors.
In travel, Australia-based OTA WebJet has created a new accounts reconciliation system using the technology, while the Canadian government is testing a blockchain-based project for traveller identification.
Lufthansa is also examining how the technology could be used through a partnership with Winding Tree, a specialist in blockchain-based B2B travel bookings; and Singapore Airlines plans to launch a digital wallet for its KrisFlyer loyalty programme using the technology later this year.
But in a new report, GlobalData says the “the market is awash with absurd claims about the benefits of blockchain technology”.
Despite this skepticism, GlobalData does admit:
"There are some key domains where the ability to execute distributed transactions without relying on a single central authority will bring significant value.
“While blockchain technology will have lost much of its gloss by 2025, it will have found its way into the heart of many key business processes; especially those involving multiple, disparate, participants.”
Gary Barnett, GlobalData’s chief analyst, technology thematic research, argues that blockchain is now entering “a new phase” with more focus on finding practical uses for the technology.
‘‘Over the next 24 months the more outlandish claims made by proponents of blockchain will be debunked and technology providers and users alike will begin looking with clearer eyes at the narrow but significant set of use-cases where blockchain and distributed ledger technology can add real value."
GlobalData says the technology would be seen as a “powerful antidote to the high fees” charged by intermediaries, as it allows individuals, corporations and devices to carry out transactions independently of these third parties.