Scotland's blockchain roadmap: building trust and unlocking potential
02 Oct 2026 • 5 minute read
Scotland's Blockchain and Digital Trust Taskforce is expanding blockchain uses across industries.
Scotland’s Blockchain and Digital Trust Taskforce is expanding blockchain uses across industries, which could dramatically improve data privacy and transparency.
The blockchain software and services market is projected to reach $291 billion globally by 2030, according to GlobalData. In Scotland, the market opportunity is estimated at £4 billion, highlighting the potential for growth and innovation if adoption barriers can be overcome.
The benefits of blockchain technology
Blockchain technology is a method of digitally validating and storing information. What sets it apart is that data is distributed across a peer-to-peer, consensus-based network of devices (nodes). For any new data to be added, a majority of nodes must agree it is valid through a consensus mechanism.
Once recorded, each data entry is cryptographically linked to the previous one, forming a secure chain. This structure makes it extremely difficult to alter past records without redoing the entire chain and gaining consensus, creating an immutable, trustworthy, and transparent ledger.
Although blockchain is best known for powering cryptocurrencies, its benefits in security, transparency, and decentralised storage make it valuable across many industries.
However, public perception of blockchain as complex or untrustworthy has been a barrier to broader adoption. Scotland is addressing this through a roadmap developed by the Digital Trust Taskforce to build awareness and trust in the technology.
The Scottish industries set to benefit from blockchain technology
While finance is the top global industry for blockchain use (at 42% in 2023, according to GlobalData) it’s benefits can be applied to a variety of industries – and these are already adopting it. The same data showed that the next best-performing sectors were transport and logistics at 17%, retail at 8%, healthcare at 6%, and government at 5%.
Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) is an area where blockchain can significantly enhance data transparency and accessibility. For example, greenhouse gas emissions data can be verified through a blockchain ledger, as it is an unalterable record.
Scottish company Siccar provides a blockchain-based platform to reduce fraud or error by 95% when reporting emissions. Software of this kind with visible data will be essential to make businesses accountable for setting ESG targets. But the potential for blockchain technology in the energy sector doesn’t end there.
Blockchain platforms can also improve transparency across Scotland’s thriving manufacturing supply chains.
“Platforms built on blockchain technologies have the ability not only to audit, but to do so in an automated way to build up a confident record of provenance, documenting how products have been built, and where they’ve been manufactured and assembled,” says Peter Ferry, chair of Scotland's Blockchain and Digital Trust Taskforce.
Blockchain technology for digital identities and product passports
The advanced security of blockchain platforms make them particularly suitable for the storage of critical data. For example, authorities in Estonia have secured the medical data of 1.3 million people through their blockchain-based e-Health Record.
Scotland has taken steps to introduce digital identity in the public sector with the development of the ScotAccount in 2018. But developments in Europe with the EU Digital Identity Wallet are moving even more quickly. The result could be streamlined public services and business contracts.
“Digital identity is the new tool that can help us fight this wave of identity theft and all the crime that’s connected to it,” says Ferry.
“It will help people own the value of their data rather than handing it to some faceless corporation.”
Replacing paper documents with blockchain-based credentials can also improve trade efficiencies. In 2023, the UK’s Electronic Trade Documents Act stated that certain digital documents are as valid as their paper counterparts. This is a critical step to shift from paper-based methods.
The support available for blockchain in Scotland
The Scottish Centre of Excellence for Digital Trust and Distributed Ledger Technology aims to accelerate blockchain adoption across Scotland.
The centre aims to help blockchain scale-up faster and foster greater trust in the technology. Alongside this, the centre plans to advance the adoption of digital payments, assets, and identities. Working in collaboration with academia, government, and the private sector, the centre aims to support startups and spin-outs, as well as established companies.
Scotland’s links to national and global financial services institutions and its world-class universities provide many advantages in blockchain development. Alongside pioneering academic research, Scotland’s universities attract global talent to create a significant skills base.
Monthly meetups between Blockchain Scotland members and the annual Block Start conference in Glasgow demonstrate the appetite for industry progress. Through the Blockchain and Digital Trust Taskforce, Scotland has all the tools to expand its capabilities and realise the potential.
Scottish Enterprise is holding an open innovation call to fund companies offering blockchain-based solutions within energy and manufacturing.
“We’re up and running with a lot of initiatives,” adds Ferry.
“We are all incredibly excited about what the open calls are going to bring and their ability to provide real, informative case studies around the use of blockchain in industry.”
If you'd like to find out more about the Blockchain landscape in Scotland, head to the Scottish Enterprise website.
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