Analysis of innovation in Blockchain and its areas of application: a patent data study

The first reference to Blockchain technology dates back from 2008 when an anonymous paper published online set forth the Bitcoin cryptocurrency. However, innovation in the field did not pick up until 2014, when the first patent related to Blockchain was filed in the United States. This technology has become attractive to many businesses and society because of the many benefits it can offer in terms of data decentralization and auditability. Regardless of it being popularly related to the Payments sector, Blockchain has more to offer in other fields. It promises to reshape the business landscape with disruptive technology paradigms such as Artificial Intelligence, Big Data, Internet of Things, and Cybersecurity. Furthermore, the study of patent data in Blockchain can provide statistics that offer insights into current trends within this technological field. Under this context, this study aims to obtain a general picture of the Blockchain innovation landscape by employing data found in patent fields. A search strategy was designed to query and extract patent data from a patent database. Consequently, several data analytics reports were generated via statistical tools in MS Excel. This study is focused on evaluating general trends in the field to then provide more detailed analytics in terms of a break-down by main players and most utilized patent categories for patent filing. Results reveal that while there has been significant progress with Blockchain technology since 2014, opportunity remains for advancement across multiple sectors. Ongoing research is fueling global competition, particularly between China and the United States.