One of the significant takeaways from blockchain-related market surveys is that blockchain is still a relatively young concept in the mainstream market, and its implementation is not yet widespread. However, blockchain technology has lately been adopted at multiple levels of the business environment.
Blockchain solutions have been showing up in the fields of utilities, healthcare, supply-chain management, payments, agriculture, government, and has been proven to be the best-proven technology for e-governance services. The global blockchain market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 91% from the year 2019 to 2025. According to the recent Blockchain Government Market Research Report Forecast, the global blockchain government trade is foretold to reach +USD 7500 Mn by 2025.
Blockchain, in India, has witnessed an increased awareness among various states and banks. While states like Kerala, Maharashtra, Telangana, and Karnataka have been exploring blockchain for e-governance, banks, through numerous consortia like Bankchain and others have wholeheartedly explored and adopted blockchain for multiple applications.
With that here are the recent blockchain-related developments this week:
Fintech firm, Signzy partners with Primechain
Bengaluru based fintech firm, Signzy has joined hands with the Pune based blockchain startup Primecahin technologies to collaborate on developing AI-led smart banking solutions for banks & financial institutions.
The company expects its first pre-integrated solution to be launched by December 2019 that will help fast-track the digital transformation of financial institutions and banks, in India and abroad.
The company’s smart banking solutions would integrate AI and blockchain technologies to automate and fully-digitize back-office operations. The firm also stated that digitizing back-office operations were amongst the most complex processes for banks. The solution would allow the banks to work with higher efficiency and to their full potential in operations and simultaneously deliver a better customer experience across their range of products.
Mastercard, R3 partners to develop blockchain cross-border payments platform
Payment giant Mastercard partners with blockchain firm R3 to co-develop a blockchain-powered cross-border payments platform. It will be initially focussed on connecting global faster payments infrastructures, schemes, and banks supported by a clearing and settlement network operated by Mastercard.
By combining the expertise of R3 in blockchain with Mastercard’s existing payment system assets, brand and distribution, the partnership aims to provide an increasingly innovative, value-added services for its customers. The partnership is the most advanced step in Mastercard’s multi-rail strategy in providing customers with an unrivaled choice in how they move money.
Blockchain to raise VC fund worth $50 million
London based startup Blockchain is reportedly in talks with its existing and new investors to raise another virtual capital fund worth $50 million. The company is backed by reputed investors which include Lightspeed, Google, and Richard Branson.
According to sources, Sam Harrison, who joined Blockchain from Naspers Ventures in the July of 2018, has been heading up the effort. Harrison’s Linkedin profile states that he “co-founded Blockchain.com Ventures – $50m Venture Capital Fund.” Further, it mentions that the fund has already invested in crypto startups like Origin Protocol, Sliver.tv, Coindirect, and Nodle.
Some similar VC funds include Google Ventures, Salesforce Ventures, and M12, Microsoft’s venture fund.
KR1 unveils 3 new investments in blockchain-based firms
Europe’s digital investment firm, KKR1 has unveiled new investments in three blockchain-based technology firms. Founded in 2016, the investment firm supports early-stage decentralized and open-source blockchain projects.
The firm has invested $154.6 thousand in the Nym Protocol project, an open-source & decentralized network that permits developers to build applications that protect against leakage of metadata & information which can include things such as contact information, the origin, and destination of messages.
The business has also made additional investments in Nexus Mutual, a firm attempting to create a blockchain-based mutual insurance platform, and Alice Si, a social funding platform venturing to use blockchain to improve scale and allocate funds to social projects.
