Tiger Research Says Blockchain Is at Commercialization Turning Point, Like Cloud Computing

"It has been more than 14 years since blockchain emerged as a technology. It has now evolved to the point where it can offer practical solutions in areas such as finance and payments."

"Now is the time for blockchain to move beyond being just a concept and into commercialization."

Tiger Research, a Web3 consulting and research firm, made the remarks at "The Frontier: Global Business Strategy in the Stablecoin Era" summit held on Aug. 15 at IFC The Forum in Seoul's Yeouido district.

In welcoming remarks, Tiger Research Chief Executive Officer Kim Kyu-jin said blockchain is now going through a phase similar to the early adoption of cloud computing. Cloud computing was still unfamiliar in 2018, but has since grown into an industry generating trillions of won in revenue in South Korea, he said. Blockchain has also moved beyond simple coin investing and matured to the point where it can offer practical solutions in finance and payments. Kim added that the industry has reached a critical threshold as blockchain begins spreading as infrastructure.

Yoon Seung-sik, a director at Tiger Research, said blockchain is beginning to see real-world use. In 2021, the market drew attention largely for speculative assets such as NFTs. By 2026, the industry is being reorganized around sectors with clearer utility, including real-world assets, tokenized securities and stablecoins, or crypto tokens pegged to fiat currencies.

Major financial institutions including BlackRock, JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs have moved beyond pilot programs and are already operating live products, Yoon said. Payment giants such as Stripe and PayPal are also accelerating the build-out of stablecoin infrastructure. Based on Tiger Research's internal analysis, the total stablecoin market capitalization will grow to $1.62 trillion, he added.

Yoon also laid out a five-step framework for companies seeking to succeed in digital assets: validating the business model, assessing internal capabilities, choosing the right blockchain, implementing gradually and expanding the ecosystem. He singled out blockchain selection as especially important. A single choice of blockchain platform will determine future business costs and returns, he said, making it critical to choose infrastructure with proven completeness and security.

Tiger Research also said it will actively support institutions seeking to enter South Korea's digital-asset business. With global companies already moving into commercialization, Korean firms also need to move beyond deliberation and take their first step, Kim said. He added that Tiger Research aims to serve as a partner in helping South Korea's digital-asset industry achieve mature growth.