The largest chunk of worldwide spending on new blockchain networks – nearly $2.9 billion this year – will come from the financial sector, where banking, securities and investment services, and insurance industries will invest more than $1.1 billion, according to a new IDC report.

The research firm also noted that blockchain implementations are moving quickly beyond the pilot and proof-of-concept phase to real-world production systems.

[ Further reading: What is blockchain? The complete guide ]

"The use cases that comprise the blockchain opportunity are developing as swiftly as the technologies enabling it," said Jessica Goepfert, IDC's program vice president for customer insights and analysis. "While spending for more developed use cases in the financial sector like trade finance and cross-border payments is still healthy and growing strong, relative to six months ago we've seen an acceleration in spending across a variety of other areas, such as energy settlements and warranty claims."

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