WTO report: blockchains could add USD 1 tln to world trade by 2030

The report, Blockchain and International Trade: Opportunities, Challenges, and Implications for International Trade Cooperation, looks at the effects of the technology on industries such as custom clearance, logistics, trade finance, and transportation.

The WTO found that blockchain has the potential to increase transparency and simplify process automation, clearing away some common trade hurdles. The removal of barriers due to blockchain could result in more than USD 1 trillion of new trade in the next decade, the report reads.

Despite this, the report recognizes blockchain as a technology in its infancy, with challenges that must be addressed before widespread adoption. Among the identified issues are limited scalability due to predetermined block sizes, energy consumption, and security issues.