Coinbase: On-chain projects of the top 100 wealth companies in the U.S. surged nearly 40%

Original Title: The State of Crypto: The Fortune 500 Moving Onchain

Original Author: Coinbase

Original Compiler: Deep Tide TechFlow

The on-chain activities of America's top publicly traded companies are busier than ever. The number of on-chain projects announced by Fortune 100 companies has increased by 39% year-over-year, reaching a historic high in the first quarter of 2024. A survey of executives from Fortune 500 companies found that 56% of them reported that their companies are engaged in on-chain projects. From the largest traditional brands to small businesses, from stablecoins to tokenized treasury bonds, well-known companies and products in the financial sector are embracing blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies, driving innovation and providing entry points for widespread adoption. The increase in activity underscores the urgency of establishing clear rules for cryptocurrencies, which would help retain 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 has increased by 39% year-over-year, reaching a historic high in the first quarter of 2024. A survey of executives from Fortune 500 companies revealed that 56% of companies are engaged in on-chain projects, including consumer-facing payment applications. The increased activity highlights the urgency of establishing clear cryptocurrency regulations to help retain crypto developers and other talent in the U.S., fulfill the promise of better access to cryptocurrencies, and maintain the U.S.'s leadership in the cryptocurrency space globally.

Many trusted brands and products in the financial sector are embracing blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies, driving innovation and providing entry points for widespread adoption:

• The launch of Bitcoin spot ETFs meets huge potential demand. As of today, the total assets under management for Bitcoin spot ETFs exceed $63 billion. On May 23, 2024, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved exchange applications 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 the tokenization of real-world assets. Recent high interest rates have increased demand for secure, high-yield treasury bonds on-chain, with the value of U.S. treasury tokenization products growing by over 1000% since the beginning of 2023, reaching $1.29 billion. BlackRock's tokenized U.S. treasury fund BUIDL has reached $382 million, recently surpassing Franklin Templeton's $368 million fund to become the largest fund; crypto hedge funds and market makers are using BUIDL as collateral for trading tokens. By 2030, the tokenized asset market is expected to reach $16 trillion, equivalent to today's EU GDP.

• Besides Coinbase, global payment giants PayPal and Stripe are also making stablecoins easier to use. Through Circle, merchants on Stripe can now accept USDC payments via Ethereum, Solana, and Polygon, automatically converting them to fiat currency. PayPal supports cross-border transfers, covering stablecoin users in about 160 countries—without transaction fees, while the average fee for global remittances ranges from 4.45% to 6.39%. In 2023, the annual settlement volume of stablecoins reached $10 trillion, over ten times the total volume of global remittances.

• This progress is not only top-down but also bottom-up: the most trusted institutions in the U.S., small businesses, are also getting involved in cryptocurrency. About 68% of small businesses believe that cryptocurrencies can help address at least one financial pain point, with the biggest pain point being transaction fees and processing times.

At Coinbase, we appreciate the progress traditional finance is making in updating systems and draw some calls from the data:

• The U.S. must cultivate the increasingly needed talent rather than continue to lose it overseas. Over the past five years, the share of developers in the U.S. has decreased by 14 percentage points; now only 26% of crypto developers are in the U.S. Among Fortune 500 executives, concerns about the availability of trustworthy talent are now the main barrier to adoption, surpassing concerns about regulation. Half of small businesses indicated that they might look for candidates familiar with cryptocurrencies when hiring for financial, legal, or IT/technical positions next time. Clear cryptocurrency regulations are key to retaining developers—also crucial for the U.S. to continue leading the world in cutting-edge technological innovation.

• Equally important is ensuring that the technology fulfills its promise of better serving crypto-using companies that need financial services, and more importantly, ensuring that it serves those who are underserved in terms of financial services. For the underbanked and unbanked populations, about half (48%) of Fortune 500 executives stated that cryptocurrencies have the potential to increase access to the financial system and create opportunities for Fortune. For companies using cryptocurrencies, one Fortune 500 executive pointed out that banks could encourage innovation by finding more ways to collaborate with them.

• The U.S. needs to take a leadership role in this field. Fortune 500 executives show strong interest here: 79% wish to collaborate with partners in the U.S. (up from 73% last year), and 72% agree that a dollar-backed digital currency (compared to the yen) could maintain the global competitiveness of the U.S. economy.

Cryptocurrency is the future of money.

This research report is the fourth research report published by Coinbase since June 2023 and is a year-over-year research report on corporate adoption, which is a comprehensive research report recently released by Coinbase aimed at raising public awareness of 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 come from the following sources:

• Fortune 100 projects: An analysis by The Block Pro Research of Web3 project activity among Fortune 100 companies from Q1 2020 to early June 2024. "Activity" is broadly defined to include any internal projects, investments, partnerships, product/service launches, and other similar initiatives related to digital assets/blockchain. The Block uses keywords such as "cryptocurrency," "blockchain," "tokenization," "NFTs," "metaverse," and "digital assets" to conduct public information searches in news sites, company documents, press releases, and announcements. The search results are manually filtered, aggregated, and deduplicated. For each project in the database, The Block assesses the project stage, industry, and Web3 use cases (e.g., tokenization, process automation, payments/settlements, etc.).

• Fortune 100, stablecoin, and tokenization case studies: Research by The Block.

• Web3 adoption survey: A survey conducted by third-party research firm GLG for Coinbase of 104 Fortune 500 executives (director level and above) who are knowledgeable about cryptocurrencies and blockchain, conducted from April 17 to 25, 2024.

• Small business survey: A survey conducted by research firm NRG for Coinbase of 250 financial decision-makers from U.S. small businesses (fewer than 500 employees) who are knowledgeable about cryptocurrencies, conducted from April 24 to 29, 2024.