Dive Brief:

• As blockchain technology develops, consortia such as Hyperledger and R3 are undergoing membership and funding shifts, losing some members and downgrading others from premier to general membership, reports Reuters.

• But weakening support may not be a bad sign, as the growth in investment and technology maturation comes alongside big companies' ability to be more selective in blockchain investments and efforts, according to the report.

• Although CME Group, R3 and Deutsche Boerse will downgrade their membership in Hyperledger in the new year, overall the consortium has experienced "tremendous growth in membership" this year, according Brian Behlendorf, executive director, Reuters reports. Hyperledger still has 19 premier members and more than 180 overall members.

Dive Insight:

Blockchain may be far from its full form, but its business potential is irrefutable and every company should be looking at the technology today, according to an Accenture report on blockchain's potential for business operations.

Some of these benefits include reinventing processes, bettering productivity and quality and increasing transparency, according to the report. Additionally, the technology goes beyond automation and offers sourcing and category management tools to screen vendors and reduce risk.

With large cuts to the tax rate, companies could focus new investment on technologies such as blockchain, especially in the supply chain sphere.

Industry giants such as Microsoft, Accenture, PwC, Samsung, Cisco, Huawei and Deutsche Telekom are just a few of the big names jumping on board recent blockchain initiatives such as an secure data marketplace.

Headlines of big consortiums undergoing small fluxes should not detract from the continued investment and hope for the technology.