Catalonia, Spain sees a 400 job increase in its blockchain sector

The blockchain ecosystem in Catalonia currently has 76 companies - 117% more than at the end of 2018 - generating nearly 400 jobs and 9.5 million euros in turnover.

According to the study 'Distributed Registration Technologies (DLT): The Blockchain in Catalonia', prepared by the agency for the competitiveness of the company (ACCIÓ) and the Department of Digital Policies and Public Administration of the Catalan Government - according to which this tech sector is mainly made up of microenterprises where 68% are startups.

These technologies, which allow transactions to be carried out in a secure and decentralized manner, are also developed in several technology centers, such as Eurecat, Easy, I2cat or the InLabFib of the UPC. In addition, the Generalitat has launched a project that plans to apply them in several areas, such as digital identity, waste traceability or consent registration.

The report has been presented in the framework of the international European Blockchain Convention (EBC) forum which was held on 20-21 Jan. 2020 in Barcelona.

The ecosystem around Blockchain technology has doubled in Catalonia in a single year. According to the report, at least a total of 76 companies are currently working on developments related to Blockchain in Catalonia, 117% more than in 2018.

The Government considers that it is a strategic market niche because of its great potential and route:

"They are disruptive technologies that will have a great impact on society, the productive fabric and the generation of business and employment on an international scale."

It is estimated that global investment in Blockchain technologies amount to almost 2.9 billion dollars this year, an increase of 88% over the previous year. By regions, the United States leads the ranking with 1.1 billion dollars of expenditure, Europe occupies the second position with 674 million dollars and Asia is third with 319 million dollars. With respect to the global patent market, between 2014 and 2019 it has gone from 11 patents published to 11,670 currently.