As part of a European Union-funded project, we investigate why SMEs choose to adopt or not adopt blockchain in their operations. The study used the technological-organisational-environmental (TOE) framework to understand the challenges, enablers and barriers faced by small and mid-sized enterprises (SMEs) and their intention to adopt or to not adopt blockchain technology. A qualitative study involved interviews with SMEs and triad consultations session between blockchain technical experts, SMEs and researchers. Our findings suggest that SMEs find blockchain confusing and complex. Consequently, SMEs in our sample adopt the technology only where well-defined use cases can be used to attract larger clients or as a central function of the business model, rather than in addition to existing operations and supply chain uses. We believe this to be important because it means that SMEs will be less able to use blockchain as a disruptive source of competitive advantage against larger players.