In a recent survey, PwC has found trust and regulatory uncertainty as the biggest obstacles to blockchain adoption.

The new research, “Blockchain is here. What’s your next move?” surveyed 600 executives in 15 countries and territories, on blockchain development and views on the technology’s potential.

Here are some of the key takeaways from the report:

• 84% of respondents said that blockchain initiatives underway. A quarter of executives said that a blockchain implementation pilot is in progress (10%) or fully live (15%). 32% respondents said that blockchain projects are currently in development at their organizations, while a fifth said it is in research mode.
• 14% had no activity in place and 7% have paused their development. One in three of those respondents who reported little or no involvement with blockchain cited the reason for a lack of progress as cost (31%), uncertainty over where to start (24%) and governance issues (14%).
• Of the 15% of survey respondents who already have live applications, 88% were either leaders or active members of a blockchain consortium.
• Respondents believe the US (29%), China (18%), Australia (7%) to be leading in developing blockchain projects. However, they expect China to overtake the US in this area within three to five years.
• 46% identify financial services are the leading sector in blockchain developments. Other sectors with emerging potential within 3-5 years include energy and utilities (14%), healthcare (14%) and industrial manufacturing (12%).
• 45% identified trust as blocker to blockchain adoption, while 48% believe it is regulatory uncertainty.

“Blockchain by its very definition should engender trust. But in reality, companies confront trust issue at nearly every turn. Failing to state a clear business case from the outset leads to projects stalling,” Steve Davies, Blockchain Leader, PwC, said. “Businesses need to put more effort into building into their design how they can tackle trust and regulatory concerns.”