Yesterday, Coinbase published a report on the corporate adoption of crypto. It found that 52% of the Fortune 100 have pursued crypto, blockchain, or web3 initiatives since 2020. A separate survey found that 83% have initiatives or are planning them. However, that number is based on executives who are already experts in crypto or blockchain, so there is an element of self-selection. Coinbase is candid about it.

A light analysis reveals a more nuanced view of the 52%. Our quick review indicated that 80% of the top 20 in the Fortune 100 have adopted blockchain. The division was 65% enterprise blockchain, 15% web3 and crypto. That 15% are active in both.

The title of Coinbase’s report is “The State of Cryptocurrency: Corporate Adoption,” even though it covers cryptocurrency, web3, and blockchain. More precisely, it is “The State of Blockchain Corporate Adoption”.

It highlights five use cases, one of which mentions Goldman Sachs, Microsoft, and Deloitte at the Canton Network, which is a permissioned blockchain solution. When Ledger Insights asked Digital Asset if Canton Network planned to integrate with permissionless blockchains, the answer was “no.”

Underestimates Blockchain Corporate Activity

With a wide time frame, we’re pretty sure the 52% figure is an underestimate when it comes to blockchain, but the use cases are primarily enterprise rather than crypto.

Certainly, there are several large companies that are actively involved in crypto initiatives, such as Visa, Mastercard, and PayPal. In the last week alone, BlackRock filed a Bitcoin ETF application and Citadel Securities, Charles Schwab and Fidelity have partnered for the launch of cryptocurrency exchange EDX Markets.

None of the companies mentioned above are part of the Fortune 100.

We spent five minutes taking a quick look at the Fortune 100. Of the top 20, only three have any sort of involvement in crypto: Amazon, Alphabet, and Microsoft. In all cases, participation relates to hosting, although Alphabet has been getting more deeply involved of late. Microsoft has long been cryptocurrency friendly as one of the first companies to launch NFTs long before it was all the rage. And Amazon is rumored to have an NFT initiative in the works.

As far as we know, four other companies in the top 20 are not involved: Apple, Berkshire Hathaway, Valero Energy and Costco, although the latter has flirted with the technology.

The other 13 companies are involved in enterprise blockchain applications. Most of them target inter-company workflows and sometimes sensitive data.

What is our point? We are interested in how companies use blockchain. Sometimes permissionless blockchains fit the bill, other times permissioned makes sense. If there is more focus on providing business utility rather than framing a narrative to drive up crypto prices, the future of both blockchain and crypto will be brighter.

Top 20 in Fortune 100: