From crypto to DeFi and countless applications we’ve never seen before, blockchain technology is set to continue its streak of bringing more innovation year over year. Many new startups are emerging, and some of the well-established players in the industry are branching out and exploring more options than ever before. These blockchain companies are expected to provide the industry with some game-changing developments in the near future.
BlockFi
BlockFi provides a comprehensive crypto finance platform that offers many of the services that consumers still rely on conventional institutions for. The current ecosystem already has over 1 million users and hosts a staggering $10 billion in total assets.
Among the many services available through their ecosystem are low-interest loans and credit cards linked to cryptocurrencies. They support 13 different currencies at this time, including mainstays like Bitcoin and Ethereum which you can find here. In fact, they offer a BlockFi Rewards Visa card that allows cardholders to receive cashback rewards in crypto.
The company has just recently rolled out two new major products. The first is a personalized yield account for clients with balances of $3 million or more, and the other is a user-friendly dedicated crypto wallet.
There are some services like the recent “Bitcoin Prime” which claims to offer legitimate financial services, however at closer inspection these types of services are controversial at best and most likely not to be trusted. This can be seen very clearly in this review.
Compound
Compound is another blockchain application that focuses on lending, but in a different way from BlockFi. It’s less consumer-focused – instead, it’s providing a variety of tools for developers. The Compound protocol provides autonomous interest and features its own token (COMP).
The company is quickly gaining ground, with a recent round of funding bringing in $25 million. Compound’s off-the-shelf tools allow various DeFi and blockchain developers to seamlessly interconnect with a much broader ecosystem. In doing so, they provide more accurate information and broader access to their end-users.
Aave
Aave is a lending and borrowing platform that is currently pioneering some of the most ambitious DeFi features available. They have recently orchestrated the first cross-chain governance proposal, a major step in establishing true cross-chain functionality. They successfully executed the proposal between Aave on the Ethereum blockchain and FxPortal on the Polygon blockchain.
The Aave development team is excited that they’ve been able to take this major step towards a viable multi-chain governance system. However, there’s still plenty of work on the road ahead to develop the practical applications that can come from this kind of advancement.
These latest developments come on top of Aave’s already well-established smart-contract lending protocols. These smart-contract loans are fully automated and remove the need for a trusted centralized institution to administrate lending.
Uniswap
Uniswap is a major decentralized cryptocurrency exchange that continues to pioneer new advancements in DeFi blockchain technology and applications. It’s believed to be the largest DeFi exchange in the world. These types of exchanges rely on decentralized network protocols to carry out exchanges rather than the centralized system that conventional cryptocurrency exchanges use.
New cryptocurrencies and tokens will almost always become available through Uniswap before reaching centralized exchanges, with some being available exclusively through Uniswap. The exchange’s own token (UNI) is currently the 24th largest cryptocurrency by market cap. The size of this operation compared to other DeFi startups gives them significant resources for new development, including the recent hire of a prominent former Federal Reserve economist.
Future Blockchain Trends
While these companies and their projects are playing an essential role in establishing a framework for the future of blockchain technology, there are some developers out there even closer to the cutting edge. Many future blockchain developments are expected to come from companies that aren’t structured the way that current startups are, applying the principles of decentralization to every layer of their organization.
Bonus: Benefits of Blockchain Technology for Businesses
All the mentioned companies will certainly change the blockchain world and improve it over time. However, why is blockchain technology becoming so popular? It is not a secret that a bunch of websites, as well as mainstream media, are constantly talking about it. It can be beneficial for different areas of life, but we will strictly focus only on the advantages any entrepreneur in the world can get. Let’s find them out together!
Business Structure Will Be Decentralized
Before the significant improvement of technology., every business structure was centralized. However, things are functioning a bit differently now. The different way of functioning is visible the most in the data sharing. All the data can now be easily shared within the same “ecosystem”. For example, all pieces of information can be easily exchanged between suppliers, buyers, customers, and transportation companies. As you can conclude on your own, that way of functioning is making things easier a lot!
Protection Becomes Stronger
All blockchain systems feature protection. We do not want to say businesses were not secure before blockchain technology appeared. However, things are much better in today’s world where hackers and scammers want to access different data and help companies to defeat their opponents that way.
We can use transactions as an example. Did you know that all money transfers made with this technology come with end-to-end transcription? That means all transactions are going to be fully secure and protected from any potentially unauthorized activity.
Apart from that, it is worth mentioning that data stored on the blockchain network is stored across different devices. So, what does that mean? It also confirms the previous statement – data will never manage to be hacked!
Costs of Functioning Will Be Reduced
While investments are part of every business improvement, it is legit to look for things that can reduce your costs. Blockchain technology cuts a bunch of costs that are harming the budget of the entrepreneur. For example, there are some tasks like aggregating and amending data that people need to work manually. However, with this technology, something like that will no longer be necessary.
Despite that, another way to save money with this type of technology is discluding middle-man from all the transactions. More precisely, with blockchain, you no longer have to collaborate with banks or any other type of third-party provider. When you know that these operations come with high level of safety, the question is – why wouldn’t you use it?
Prodictivity and Effectiveness
Manual processes can sometimes be time-consuming, can’t they? Despite that, human error is a normal thing. Even if it is solvable and not big, it will certainly reduce the effectiveness or entire business. As stated above, a big number of manual tasks will no longer exist which automatically boosts the productivity of the entire working collective.
Conclusion
After reading everything we just said, you will probably get the desire to research the world of blockchain a bit more. The companies mentioned in this article have certainly brought some innovations in the business world. You do not have to immediately switch to blockchain. More precisely, something like that is not recommendable. Research that innovation a bit better and see how exactly it can help you improve your business functioning!
