Use of Corporate Disclosures to Identify the Stage of Blockchain Adoption
Theophanis C. Stratopoulos, Victor Xiaoqi Wang, Hua Ye
Abstract
SYNOPSIS Several studies have pointed to the transformative effects of blockchain on a wide spectrum of firms, industries, and professions. Despite the arguable consensus within the business community that blockchain will have a real impact on the way firms do business, views diverge when it comes to the timing of diffusion (i.e., when blockchain will achieve mass adoption). We propose that information gathering helps potential adopters form expectations regarding payoffs from blockchain adoption. Information-gathering activities and the resulting information sources, such as web searches, news articles, book titles, and corporate disclosures, can proxy the expectations of potential adopters. Corporate disclosures directly reflect firms' expectations and interests in the new technology. We leverage the corporate disclosure data from the SEC Edgar database to identify the current stage of blockchain adoption. Our analysis shows that while blockchain adoption is still nascent, the focus has been shifting from cryptocurrencies to business applications. Data Availability: Data are available from public sources cited in the text. JEL Classifications: M15.