Nils Denter published a new paper in the World Patent Information journal titled “Blockchain breeding grounds: Asia's advance over the USA and Europe”.

Abstract:

Blockchain is argued to disrupt almost every industry and research field. Among other technologies, it contributes to the next fourth industrial revolution. While prominent technologies, such as AI and IoT, have already proven their potential and value in many applications, Blockchain applications have gathered only limited appeal. We ask, which countries drive inventive activity in Blockchain and to which magnitude and type. Using worldwide Blockchain patent applications from 2009 to 2020 as inventive outcome indicators the National Breeding Ground (NBG) index and the International Breeding Ground (IBG) index are calculated. The NBG index is related to the interest of a country to file Blockchain patents in its domestic market. The IBG index is related to the interest of a country to file and exploit Blockchain patents in foreign markets. We observe China and the USA as strong national and international breeding grounds. In particular, Asian countries drive Blockchain inventions. European countries contribute marginally to the Blockchain patent landscape and, together with the USA, are losing ground to Asia. Comparisons to prior work on Blockchain patenting and research patterns partially reflect our results. However, comparisons to AI suggest different patenting and exploitation strategies for Blockchain and AI in China.

Denter, N. M. (2021). Blockchain breeding grounds: Asia's advance over the USA and Europe. World Patent Information. doi:10.1016/j.wpi.2021.102082.