Forbes has published its latest Blockchain 50 list; ahalf-century of the largest companies with significant blockchain technologyinitiatives, in a year the publisher has described as one where enterpriseshave ‘embraced’ the technology.
The list, for which qualification sits upon on either generatingrevenues or having a valuation in seven figures, can be seen as something of animportant milestone. Forbes’Cloud 100 for instance, a yearly evaluation of the most successfulprivately held cloud computing companies, is often seen as a yardstick for whomay be acquired and who to watch for.
While the companies in the blockchain equivalent aresomewhat beyond that stage, the list makes for interesting reading in terms ofthe ‘who’s who’. The usual suspects are there: the major financial firms, inthe shape of Citigroup, HSBC, Nasdaq et al. The biggest tech firms are alsothere, be they IBM, Microsoft, or Google.
Leading brands feature. Royal Dutch Shell, a founding memberof blockchain platform Vakt, which processes post-trade transactions of Brentcrude oil, makes the list, as does General Electric, through its $30 billion-ratedaviation subsidiary, and the United Nations. The latter is a new entry, runningprojects on Bitcoin and Ethereum, noted for its project to disburse funds toSyrian refugees in Jordan through blockchain-verified iris scans to counterstolen ID cards.
Alongside this, there are a smattering of blockchainstartups in the list; Bitfury, COINBASE and Ripple all make the cut. The reportnotes that these cryptocurrency-native firms have already met the acceptancecriteria and ‘are on their way to becoming the blue chips of the digital age.’
One of the interesting focus points is in terms of thedifferent blockchain providers used by the 50. More than half (27) of thecompanies analysed use multiple blockchain providers, with 26 using a Hyperledgersolution in some capacity, with 22 using an Ethereum offering, including Quorum.Aside from the big tech vendors, Ant and Mastercard, along with VMware, werethe only companies who had built their own proprietary platform.
“This year’s members have largely moved beyond thetheoretical benefits of blockchain, to generating very real revenues and costsavings,” the report notes.
You can read the full list here.
