The shortest answer? Many companies want to secure their products, digital applications, ways to do business and methods of verifying cash flows. The longer version? The question of “who needs blockchain” should be replaced with “who already is using it and do you need it as well”. You can find arguments for blockchain in a series of our previous articles. This piece is about market confirmation and practical blockchain uses.
Table of contents
- Who is using blockchain technology?
- Who is using blockchain today – a never-ending list
- Who is using blockchain? Companies in all fields!
Who is using blockchain technology?
FinTech is not the only sector affected by blockchain. Potential and practical uses exceed far beyond serving the unbanked or people that want to insure their cars from the convenience of their smartphone. Multiple companies find that adopting ledgers is far more effective than any other classic solution. For us, it would be a mistake to focus solely on FinTech and narrow adoption.
To answer the question “should I use blockchain”, it’s best to widen the perspective and show potential uses for multiple sectors of the economy. It can give you answers and inspire you for the future. With that, a new FinTech product, a new set of functionalities, or even improvements of what is already there, will be easier and smoother.
Let’s set the sail for success. Swim and dive in deep!
Who is using blockchain today – a never-ending list
Naturally, the list below doesn’t exhaust the topic. We can’t update it even on a monthly basis, there’s so much going on in the field. We just want to present the most interesting cases to inform and inspire. With breaking it all down to sectors, for convenience.
FinTech
- Paysafe. This UK-based company is widely known for its fiat payment services. However, due to increased market demands, Paysafe developed many new and exciting initiatives. Now, the product covers cryptocurrencies, cross-border payments, e-commerce operations and more. Users can buy or sell over 40 cryptocurrencies, all with the convenience of their own phones.
- Nexo. With more than a decade on the market and $20 billion worth of processed transactions, the company gives users the opportunity to obtain fiat loans through a range of the most popular cryptocurrencies. Products like Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, and Ripple give customers handy tools, with individual rates to work with.
- Square. The latest company’s development comes from its Cash App, with gives novice investors a chance to buy and sell Bitcoin. Square is highly involved in cryptocurrencies even beyond Cash App. By working with Visa, the firm can offer a program similar to popular cashback – every transaction in Bitcoin generates rewards that can be spent with a Visa debit card.
- eToro. Being one of the largest social trading platforms online, eToro uses the very low feed to attract investors. Hugely popular among mainstream media and with exceptional coverage, eToro is a great example of a FinTech company that embraced blockchain.
- Gemini. An interesting case of a platform that is friendly to both beginners and professional users alike. Users can build their crypto portfolio through a very intuitive yet powerful application. The company highlights an interesting aspect of the business – the app has insurance coverage and is constantly monitored by the New York Department of Financial Services. Willingly.
Traditional banking and finance
- Barclays. It’s one of the biggest investment banks in the UK. The company partnered up with Coinbase but stopped in 2019. Since then, the interest in cryptocurrency has spiked even more and Barclays is supplying a demand. Customers can purchase cryptocurrencies through their debit and credit cards.
- Visa. It’s an interesting case of a credit card vendor that has its own and branded cryptocurrency card. As of today, the spending volume topped $1 billion and rising. Frankly, Visa has several crypto-linked debit cards to choose from, as well as crypto rewards credit cards. The company even announced plans to settle transactions with digital currency in the pursuit of reducing costs.
- ING Group. Although ING has several cryptocurrency projects in the works, the most advanced one is called Komgo. It’s a way to eliminate redundant paperwork needed for issue letters of credit used in the financing trade. Historically, when traders of commodities like oil or gas needed to borrow money to finance shipment, they had to issue stock of papers. That caused delays because trading vessels needed to wait for successful money processing. Now everything is done almost automatically and within minutes.
- BBVA. This Spanish giant bank launched its crypto trading service for Bitcoin. It’s useful but mainly for clients of private banking. Through integrated mechanisms, clients can use, for example, tax filing tips.
- Intesa Sanpaolo. This Italian bank invested in blockchain in 2014, so fairly early. Since then, the company had worked on regulations, venture capital investments, new technological platforms, startups, and the analysis of specific cases of use. Despite not having a dedicated team for blockchain use, Intensa Sanpaolo has been working with external experts on a matter, utilizing their knowledge and combining it with the banks’ operational resources.
Insurance
- Aegon. The company launched the Blockchain Industry Initiative, which operates under the name of B3i and is based in Zurich. Aegon aims to smooth insurance operations, mostly with the use of smart contracts, which is one of the fastest ways to sign various contracts online. Customers can sign deals and make claims fast and with reliable mechanisms that save time.
- Prudential. The company heavily invests in cryptocurrency. Back in 2017, in partnership with Starhub, Prudential launched cryptocurrency services in Singapore. In 2021, the firm (with its subsidiary Eastspring Investments and BNP Paribas launched a blockchain solution for exchange-traded derivatives (ETD).
- Anthem. In 2019, the company rolled out a blockchain-powered feature that allows patients to securely access and share their medical data. Made for convenience, the service is rapidly gaining traction. Anthem estimates that by the end of 2022 the service will be available to even 40 million users in America.
- Aon. This London-based insurance company is building a blockchain platform to fuel insurance operations. The intention behind the product is to hedge the risk of insurers and smooth operations for all users.
- Samsung. Probably the biggest surprise in this category. When you ask “who is using blockchain technology”, you don’t expect Samsung. At least not in the insurance field. The company’s platform called Nexledger helps involved parties to prove their identity online and easily form contracts. Samsung aims to speed up the time to process a health insurance claim. As of today, more than 235,000 individuals jumped at the occasion.
Internet of Things (IoT)
The last category is special. Companies like McKesson, Smart Electric Power Alliance, Van Dorp, Maersk and Commonwealth Banks utilize blockchain and cryptocurrencies to boost their respective businesses and gain new customers.
Blockchain transforms another market. IoT can benefit the Internet of Things in many ways. The main one being security. Operators want to protect the information about and in the entire IoT ecosystem. Security vulnerabilities coming from centralized systems don’t help. What blockchain does in this instance is wide-variety protection: from malicious attacks, denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks, data breaches and more. Because of its dispersed nature, blockchain is confusing criminals. They don’t know what to attack. And even if they succeed, it’s only the one nod. For taking over the system, one would have to succeed with all, and that’s virtually impossible.
Who is using blockchain? Companies in all fields!
It doesn’t necessarily mean you have to as well. It only means that there’s a serious option for it and if your business can benefit, it’s always good to draw from the experience of others and develop new solutions. You would need an experienced crew, maybe in the team augmentation model.
Either way, the roadmap for blockchain adoption is a little longer than in some projects and requires special skills. Both technical and analytical. It does, however, mean that hired experts will develop a project to the highest standards. And this is the only way blockchain can be done.