If you have been following Mainstream media on Investing, Banking & Tech, you may be familiar with ‘’Blockchain’’, a term often tossed around to describe, what is essentially ‘’a digital database’’. It’s a technology that was first inspired by Bitcoin. Over the years, Bitcoin has managed to become the first application of Blockchain to capture the attention of not only the Government but also businesses from various industry sectors.
Now companies are giving the technology a run for its money, by either running test-pilots or by investing in upcoming startups. Despite all the hype, a majority of enterprises have been left tinkering with the technology as they ponder as to where & how to integrate Blockchain in their day-to-day operations.
With the introduction of new solutions set to cater to a broader audience, Blockchain as an overall industry is set to grow rapidly in the next decade. For now, projects catering to businesses are making great progress in solving a range of complex problems that often times involve the need for a digital asset for exchange, supply chain management to securing confidential data.
According to Deloitte’s 2018 global blockchain survey, it’s estimated that over 95% of companies across various industries were investing in Blockchain tech projects. Today, some of the largest private and public enterprises are looking to commercialize DLT in the coming years. In this article, we shall look at 50 big names that continue to make clear and admirable progress within their industry.
Before summarizing a list of companies, we ought to give credits to the handful of projects that are providing businesses with enterprise-ready solutions. Despite the criticism, Enterprise Blockchain is on the rise as large-scale organizations are starting to begin to see the real efficiencies and cost-saving use-cases of Blockchain.
Ethereum
In terms of development, Ethereum is leading the way when it comes to Enterprise blockchain adoption. Ethereum is a widely accepted form of payment and has become the preferred platform for developers interested in deploying their own decentralized dApps. It should come as no surprise that businesses are now considering deploying applications on top of Ethereum’s Network. The member-driven Enterprise Ethereum Alliance (EEA), a consortium that was formed back in 2017 with the goal of connecting Enterprises such as Deloitte, BNY Mellon, VO, Thomson Reuters and much more that interested in launching their own private blockchain solutions on top Ethereum’s decentralized Network. Despite EEA’s effort, there seems to be little development taking place, as there is no major corporate use case due to the sheer fact that Ethereum suffers from poor scalability that has hindered its chances of being a viable platform to build on top off, as it’s not capable of handling mass-scale & resource extensive commercialization of services
Hyperledger
Launched by the Linux Foundation, HyperLedger is providing businesses with enterprise-grade distributed ledger frameworks and code bases. Essentially an umbrella project, Hyperledger is a powerhouse of solutions, framework, and tools that can be used to build open source blockchains. The team spearheading Hyperledger are industry experts who have a clear goal of accelerating industry-wide collaboration. Hyperledger is not an organization or a cryptocurrency, but rather a collection of infrastructure and applications that allow businesses to develop a Blockchain-based system. By offering the widest variety of tools needed to build enterprise applications, Hyperleder specializes in deploying independent private chains that are personalized according to client’s specifications
Aergo
Samsung-backed Ventures, which offers an open source and Hybrid Blockchain solution that can be applied to a wide variety of use-cases. Businesses are now given the choice to deploy their on Architecture on a either a permissioned, permission-less, or a mixture of both Networks. Having Debuted in Q4, 2018, Aergo has managed to become a leading project in the Crypto space by securing several high-level partnerships, whereas Blocko has a proven track record of working alongside the South Korean government, the Central Bank and features an impressive clientele, who have gone beyond test-pilots & experimenting, to launching their own production-ready blockchain solution.
The project is spearheaded by the private firm, Blocko, a renowned Blockchain-as-a-Service (BaaS) in South Korea. Both Aergo & Blocko, are currently servicing over +20 client ranging from e-commerce giant Amazon, Micropayment Solution SatoshiPay to Automotive giant Hyundai. The founder Phil Zamani, Hun Young Park & Won Boem Kim, are looking to combine their cross-industry knowledge to help businesses from a wide-range of industries build their own customized blockchains that would answer their specific needs & requirements.
Aergo looks to bring better efficiency, less oversight, reduced intermediaries, enhanced interoperability and improved audibility. There exists a range of possible use cases for Hybrid blockchain, which combines the best of both public and private Blockchain
Corda
An open source solution that was brought to us by R3, a private Blockchain firm that specializes in Enterprise Blockchain Development. One of the unique features is that all network participants, who are invited to join network need to come to a consensus, thus a transaction is only approved once all involved parties have accepted the inputs and outputs. Transactions are made private, and only participants included within the transaction can view their transaction.
This is meant to remove the need for parties to constantly check the blockchain and also limits interaction amongst members. This characteristic is Corda main value proposition, however, the fact that Corda has created a trust-less environment has greatly impacted the platform scalability and is having a negative effect on the overall throughput capabilities that the network can handle.
Quorum
Developed by JPMorgan as the result of their partnership with EEA, the renowned investment bank is behind the project, Quorum. The Financial Firm decided to fork Ethereum, while also introducing a number of built-in features that would differentiate from othere ERC20 Tokens. Over the last couple of months, JPMorgan has been busy testing updates & making radical changes, to ensure that Quorum privacy architecture meets industry standards.
The Firm has also partnered with Microsoft, in a bid to reboot the original design and help Quorum gain more widespread adoption among enterprises. The anticipated JPM Coin will essentially be a tokenized cash on the Quorum Ledgers.
Now, let’s dive into the number of established businesses, enterprises, and institutions that are either testing, integrating or adopting Blockchain technology. To further understand the magnitude of Enterprises seeking to adopt tech, thus I’ve accounted for recent total sales and revenue reported ~ These are some of the biggest Companies around the world that have decided to jump on-board the DLT Bandwagon, willing to help accelerate and bring Blockchain to the masses
1.Industrial and Commercial Bank of China
Coming to the top of the list is the Industrial and Commercial bank of China, located in Beijing, China. From their last publications, the bank made sales amounting to $165 billion. The company is using DLT in the process of verifying its digital certificates. The Chairman of ICBC has in the past made statements that the Bank will continue to focus on Blockchain Technology Development over the years.
2.China Construction Bank Corporation
Another Chinese bank is located in Beijing, the heart of China. In their last financial year, the bank made the sale worth $143.2 billion and have now, announced that the Bank has led a Blockchain Trade Finance Network that has transacted more than $30 Billion, to date. Utilizing blockchain technology to domestic letters of credit, forfeiting and international factoring.
3.JPMorgan Chase & Co.
The Investment Bank giant JPMorgan Chase & Co, is figuring out the best possible use-cases for Blockchain. [JPM] is based in the US and In its latest financial report, the company made sales worth $118.8 billion. The company has forked Ethereum, to create their own tokens, dubbed ‘’Quorum’’ that is designed to provide greater privacy among Network Participants
Project Involvement: Quorum, Ethereum
4.Berkshire Hathaway Inc.
Berkshire is a United States company that managed to generate sales worth more than $235.16 billion in its last financial statement. One of Warren Buffett’s conglomerate, Richline Group Inc, is looking to use DLT to track the origin of jewelry. Berkshire and Richline Group are coming up with ways to improve on their supply-chain management to ensure that the mining of precision goods is done ethically.
5.Agricultural Bank of China
The Chinese Banking Giant is running several Blockchain test-pilots, but the bank has shown a keen interest in using tech for the issuance of land-backed loans. From the organization’s last sales record, the Bank has registered a total of $129.34 billion. The State-owned bank is using DLT to essentially issue out loans that are recorded on a distributed ledger & backed by a piece of agricultural land as collateral
6.Bank of America
The second largest US Bank is leading the race when it comes to holding the highest number of Blockchain patents. Despite the number of patents, the bank remains a vocal skeptic of the technology, however, it appears it was the first company to file a Blockchain application, back in 2014. The Bank of America headquartered in the US reported total sales of $102.98 billion in its last financial statement and is considering using Ethereum smart contracts to automate the process of creating a standby letter of credit.
7.Wells Fargo & Company
The US-Based Bank, Wells Fargo & company. The bank carried out a Blockchain pilot back in 2016 with the Commonwealth Bank in Australia. Up to this date, the Bank continues to experiment with DLT and has also partnered with R3, whilst also applying for several blockchain-related patents
8.Apple Inc.
A re-owned computer giant, which is based out of the US & has sales amounting to over $200 billion, each year. The company found that blockchain technology is effective in helping timestamp Apple’s data. Apple has also recently embraced Bitcoin, by introducing a ‘’฿’’ symbol to its Icon set and is set to be gearing up for more Cryptocurrency apps, with the firm likely to turn the iPhone into a Crypto Wallet in the coming years.
9.Bank of China Ltd.
In its latest financial statement, the bank recorded a total of $118.15 billion in sales. The organization operates from China and continues to partner with technology giants such as Tencent in testing Blockchain financial apps. The bank has announced that it will launch a Blockchain-based platform with New World Development and the Hong Kong Applied Science and Technology Research Institute (ASTRI) that connects property buyers/sellers via a Marketplace
10.Ping AN Insurance Company
Headquartered in China, the insurance company recorded a total of $18.63 billion in sales in its latest financial reports. The company is a formal member of the R3 Blockchain consortium and continues to work closely with other Chinese insurance giants to explore both public and private blockchain.
11.Royal Dutch Shell Plc.
The Global oil giant retailer that is based outside the Netherlands, The company is backing Vakt Global Blockchain platform, alongside BP, with the goal bring greater efficiencies to energy commodities trading. Using Blockchain to replace paper-based documentation through the use of Smart contracts. This venture was aimed to determine whether all forms of energy transaction data can be recorded on a distributed ledger, thus benefiting from improved management of data and settlement
12.Toyota Motor Corp.
The company has its headquarter office in Japan and reported a total of $265.17 billion in its latest financial updates. Toyota is a founder member of the blockchain mobility consortium. The giant continues to research on ways through which blockchain payments tech can help to enhance self-driving cars.
13.Samsung Electronics Co.
South Korean Tech Giants managed to report annual revenues of a total of $224.64 billion in 2018. In the past, Samsung has launched Nexledger, a blockchain solution catered to help businesses integrate Blockchain into their infrastructure. Samsung has also backed Blocko, a private Blockchain company, and invested in Aergo, a Hybrid Blockchain that lets. The IT subsidiary of the tech firm, Samsung SDS has also launched several solutions. Samsung’s latest flagship device, Samsung Galaxy S10 featured an integrated hardware wallet that stores a variety of Cryptocurrencies
Project: Aergo, Ethereum
14.BNP Paribas SA
The BNP Paribas SA operates from France, and its latest total sales amount to $117.77 billion. The bank formed a partnership with the “Big Four” accounting firm, with the aim of blockchain technology in its treasury duties. The firm is investing in a Blockchain-powered trade platform, TradeIX, in a bid to use DLT in processing trade transactions in a more transparent, faster and more efficient
15.Microsoft Corporation
US-based Microsoft Corporation, a tech giant that generates over 100 billion annually, was among the first few companies to consider monetizing its own in-house blockchain services. Microsoft has launched several services but has been busy forging several partnerships to further study DLT. Continuing its evolving blockchain service, by Azure
Project: Aergo, Ethereum, Hyperledger
16.Allianz SE
German-based and 3rd largest financial services firm globally by revenue ($140.3B) has begun embracing blockchain over the years. The firm pioneer’s blockchain prototype for the captive insurance market. In an effort to test whether DLT provides an efficient means of moving money.
17.Alphabet Inc.
Located in the US, the company previously made sales summing up to $117.88 billion. Google is continuously working on several blockchain-based projects to better its services. Collaborating with ChainLink, Google plans to branch out by developing its own hybrid cloud-blockchain applications.
18.Walmart
Walmart is an eCommerce giant based in the US, and its recent recording shows that the company made sales amounting to $500.34 billion. Its first blockchain project, was with the injunction with Hyperledger Fabric to track Meat product line via DLT, using it as a means to manage the supply chain. Today Walmart blockchain works linked to other supply chains.
Project: Ethereum
19.Daimler AG
The German Automotive company headquartered in Germany has recently announced a total of $193.22 billion in sales. The company has been using Ethereum’s blockchain to offer bond-based loans. To date, the firm is working to establish the use of DLT, to properly transparent mapping and understanding of this transmission across its Supply-chain
Project: Ethereum
20.Banco Santander
The Spain-based Bank reported an annual revenue of $56.07 billion, has announced that the financial firm is interested in further studying Blockchain technology. Leaving R3’s Consortium, to pursue its path in exploring its own Blockchain technology.
21.AXA Group
The AXA Group operates from France, and their last sales amounted to $149.9 billion. The company recently launched its Fizzy smart contract page using ethereum blockchain technology. The platform automates payments on flight insurance.
Project: Ethereum
22.Comcast Corporation
Located in the US, the telecommunications corporation made a total of $86.85 in its latest financial statement. The firm plans to make several series of investments in blockchain startups. Comcast has also made an endowement in Blockchange Ventures, a fund that invests in blockchain-as-a-service providers with a narrow focus on enterprise-ready solutions.
23.Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group
Japan’s biggest bank has announced that it will be launching a Blockchain Payments Network. Back in 2017, the bank had also joined Ripple’s partnered payment network.
Project: Ripple
24.Anheuser-Busch InBev
The company has its headquarters offices in Belgium, racking up a total of $56.36 billion in its latest report. Anheuser-Busch InBev looks to use a blockchain platform with the intention of simplifying the management of freight logistics.
25.Royal Bank of Canada
The Canadian bank, which has last generated annual revenue of $40.49 billion, has announced that the financial institution registered a blockchain patent that will use the technology to automate its credit scores. The bank plans to use Blockchain to overhaul its loyalty program, which would use DLT to track loyalty points and digital identity in real-time.
26.Pfizer
One of the largest premier biopharmaceutical company based in the US has recently reported earnings of $52.67 billion. Pfizer, alongside members such as Walmart, has decided to join forces in a bid to develop a Blockchain protocol that can be integrated to efficiently manage a cross-border supply chain. The idea behind the whole concept is to use a blockchain protocol to solve misalignment that occurs between charge-backs and contracting
27.Sberbank Russia
The Russian State-owned Bank, Sberbank has netted a revenue of $46.33 billion and an advocate for Blockchain Technology. The Bank has used smart contracts to settle a three-way repurchase agreement in 2018 and has launched a blockchain lab, to further test and experiment with DLT. Sberbank, NSD and MTS, closed a commercial bond that was issued on Russia’s central securities depository ledger
28.Nestle
Originally from Switzerland, this food giant company has last earned a total of $91.23 billion in its last financial year. Nestle has teamed up with Carrefour to use DLT to manage its supply chain but also giving consumers access to Blockchain platform to track one of its product; Mousline puree. This is the first time the company has decided to share data on its products via a public blockchain. The Food giant is also a member of Hyperledger consortium and is working with IBM aiming to eliminate unnecessary intermediaries in their supply chain.
Project: Hyperledger
29.Intel Corporation
Intel computer giant company located in the US have last racked up a profit of $64.03 billion in their financial year. The company is part of the Hyperledger consortium, utilizing two of its tools: Sawtooth and Fabric. Intel has launched a commercial Blockchain package based on Hyperledger Fabric and has since been an advocate for tech, making bold claims that blockchain will be ‘’bigger than the internet’’.
Project: Hyperledger
30.Morgan Stanley
Claiming that ‘’Crypto is now an Institutional Asset Class’’, Morgan Stanley is an outspoken supporter of Blockchain but remains on the fence with the intent of critically studying the technology. The US-based financial firm has generated a $45.99B in revenue and is an active member of several Blockchain consortiums. Investment bank giants Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs and six more members plan to launch CLSNet, a payment netting service.
31.Siemens AG
Siemens is an industrial giant company located in Germany. In its latest Financial update, the company made total sales of $94.47 billion. The company invested in LO3, a blockchain-drive energy platform that wants to provide a marketplace for selling or buying solar power.
32.Amazon.com Inc
Amazon is an ecommerce giant located in the US and was able to make sales of up to $193.19 in their last financial year. The company offers cloud integration to several blockchain and partners with Ethereum ConsenSys to develop new & improve existing services. AWS has begun providing businesses with a global infrastructure that help them build end-to-end Blockchains platforms, combining new tech with its cloud-based computing services.
Project: Ethereum
33.ING Group
The ING Group finds its roots in the Netherlands and its last financial year, the company sales summing up to $56.58. The company operates open-sourced software designs that aim to help network participants protect their user’s identity.
34.Goldman Sach Group Inc.
Operating from the US, the financial firm managed to generate a profit of $43.69 billion in its last financial year. The bank continues to publish reports surrounding blockchain insights and has made several million dollars investments in Blockchain Starupts via funding rounds. Goldman Sachs did address rumors in the past surrounding the launch of a bitcoin trading desk, however to this day remains proactive at the forefront, by closely studying the technology
35.Intesa Sanpaolo S.P.A.
An Italian bank that has last reported annual revenue of $42.52 billion and is using Blockchain to handle interbank processes to accelerate settlements. They use Bitcoin and Ethereum to timestamp records and for derivatives respectively. The bank has been running trials for years to test whether Blockchain can be used for record-keeping, using it as a tool to validate trading data.
36.Prudential
Based in the UK, the insurance Giant, Prudential has made a staggering $111.48 billion in its last financial year. In the past, Prudential has partnered up with StarHub, a Singaporean telecom firm, to launch a blockchain-based platform designed to connect SMEs.
37.Ford Motor Company
The US Automotive firm generated a total sale of $159.59 billion and is part of several blockchain initiatives. Ford has used IBM platforms to ensure the ethical sourcing of Cobalt, in an attempt to curtail abusive labor practices.
38.IBM
The US computer Giant, IBM has last recorded $80.06 billion and said to be the leading Tech company at the fore-front of the industry, due to the number of patents and deploying live Blochchain-based applications. The company is the driving force behind Hyperledger, an umbrella project of open source blockchain designed to deploy enterprise blockchain
Project: HyperLedger
39.Walt Disney Company
Multinational US-based company Disney has last recorded a profit of $56.83 billion. The entertainment company developed Dragonchain, a blockchain-as-a-service solution designed to help enterprises deploy private blockchain platforms
Project: DragonChain
40.Prudential Financial
A US insurance & investment management firm to register sales worth $61.13 in its last financial year. The organization is one of the key backers of the influential “Digital Currency Group,” a venture capital company investing in upcoming Startups & Cryptocurrencies.
41.Facebook, Inc.
World’s most popular social media site, Facebook has last generated a revenue of over worth $44.59B. Facebook has taken it one step further by planning to issue out a Global Cryptocurrency, dubbed Libra, with the goal of banking the unbanked. Facebook is intending to roll out a stable currency that is backed by a basket of assets, as each token will be backed by an equivalent basket of bank deposits and short-term government securities (from a variety of picked Fiat Currencies)
42.MetLife, Inc.
MetLife is an insurance company that plans to disrupt the $2.7 Trillion Life Insurance Industry through Ethereum’s Platform. The company is in collaboration with IBM and Majesco, in a bid to create a new Blockchain-based insurance platform. MetLife latest partnership involves two Singaporean firms that plan to develop a Blockchain to automate the life insurance claim process for deceased families.
Platform: Ethereum
43.Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.
The Chinese Ecommerce Giant has released Alibaba Cloud BaaS (Blockchain as a Service) an enterprise-level platform service that offers a variety of architecture and infrastructure needed for businesses to deploy Blockchain-based Ledgers
44.AIA Group
AIA has launched a new blockchain-enabled bancassurance solution in partnership with its bank partners — a first for the bancassurance channel. This platform is based on the Hyperledger Fabric, an open collaboration hosted and supported by the Linux Foundation.
45.Tencent Holding Ltd
Tencent the Chinese Internet and gaming mega-company has been an active player in the Blockchain space The firm back in 2017 announced that QQ and WeChat are to release project “TrustSQL”. Using Blockchain for digital asset management, authentication and “shared economies”, amongst other services.
46.Oracle Corporation
Generating more than $39B last year, Oracle Corporation has decided to roll out its own Blockchain-as-a-service solution, which is set to cater to companies interested in deploying an in-house Blockchain. Oracle Corporation has also joined HyperLedger Consortiums and has several dozen cloud blockchain applications that are now live
Project: Hyperledger
47.BHP Billiton Limited
Located in Australia, the company made an annual revenue of $41.23 in its 2018 financial year. The world’s biggest mining company is utilizing the blockchain to track and trace key commodities, including conflict minerals and diamonds
48.Mizuho Financial Group
Japan’s Mizuho Financial Group has announced plans to introduce a digital currency to be used for remittances and payments. The Bank is building a payment system designed especially for retail stores
49.Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A.
The Spanish bank, with annual revenue of over $29 billion records its latest financial statement. The company has closed € 75 million loans in 2018 through the use of Ethereum in conjunction with Hyperledger Fabric.
Project: Ethereum, Hyperledger
50.American Express Company
American Express has filed numerous patents over the year and remains one of the most active banks to set its eyes on Distributed Blockchain-payments systems. The Bank has filed numerous blockchain-based proof-of-payment technology, marking the latest in a string of blockchain investments for American Express. The financial firm is a member of the Ripple X-board Enterprise-focused payment network that looks to enable cross-border corporate payments
Project: Ripple