10 Public Companies Investing in Blockchain

The development of blockchain technology started in the fringes just like how the internet began.

In the beginning, the blockchain was merely the technology that supported Bitcoin, now many of the world’s largest companies are investing in, developing and utilizing blockchain technology.

Here’s a list of the top 10 companies exploring blockchain.

1. Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC)

• Revenues: $165 billion
• Total Assets: $4.2 trillion
• Use Case: Verify digital certificates using a blockchain, instead of a trusted central authority

2. China Construction Bank Corporation (CCB)

• Revenues: $143 billion
• Total Assets: $3.6 trillion
• Use Case: Using the IBM Blockchain platform to streamline the way banks and insurance companies jointly sell their products.

3. JP Morgan

• Revenues: $118 billion
• Total Assets: $2.7 trillion
• Use Case: Using blockchain technology to create a cross-border payment platform for global financial institutions. As of September 2018, more than 75 different multinational banks use JPMorgan’s platform known as Interbank Information Network (IIN).

4. Berkshire Hathaway

• Revenues: $235 billion
• Total Assets: $702 billion
• Use Case: Using blockchain technology to trace the provenance of diamonds and even freight delivered on Warren Buffett’s railroads.

5. Agricultural Bank of China Limited

• Revenues: $129 billion
• Total Assets: $3.4 trillion
• Use Case: Offering unsecured agricultural loans to e-commerce merchants using blockchain technology.

6. Bank of America

• Revenues: $88 billion
• Total Assets: $2.4 trillion
• Use Case: Using blockchain technology to create a secure data storage system that encrypts data for maximum security.

7. Wells Fargo

• Revenues: $88 billion
• Total Assets: $1.9 trillion
• Use Case: Using blockchain technology to create a tokenized representation of any sort of value. For example, tokens could be used in place of a bank account number.

8. Apple

• Revenues: $247 billion
• Total Assets: $367 billion
• Use Case: Apple filed a patent for using blockchain technology to timestamp data. Co-founder Steve Wozniak is an increasingly vocal proponent of cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology.

9. Bank of China

• Revenues: $118 billion
• Total Assets: $2.4 trillion
• Use Case: The Bank of China has partnered with tech giant Tencent to test blockchain-powered financial applications and has filed a number of related patents.

10. Royal Dutch Shell

• Revenues: $321 billion
• Total Assets: $2.4 trillion
• Use Case: This oil giant is working with BP to create an energy commodities platform.

Experts say that the blockchain industry today is probably where the internet industry was in the 1980s, when e-commerce first made its appearance via ATMs and telephone banking portals. In other words, we are still at the relatively early stages of blockchain’s life cycle.

However, with all these big players and deep pockets entering the scene, it won’t be long before we see blockchain reaching into all of our lives.