According to multiple sources, institutional money is finding its way into the Crypto Space. These influential enterprises, financial institutions, or government agencies are entering the digital currency market in hopes of not merely making a quick profit, but to acquire and adopt the nascent technology – Blockchain as primary movers.
Despite the ongoing bear market, many in the Cryptocurrency space have been waiting with baited breath for the “entry of institutional money” to trigger the next bull run as more HNWI’s (high-networth investors) are taking keen interest in the $126 billion valued cryptocurrency market. More so than many observers may realize, there’s a wealth of opportunity when key technologies and projects come into play. With that being said, here is a list of 5 Projects that have received & are currently backed by notable institutions, banks or government agencies.
#1 Bitcoin
Believe it or not, the world’s most popular Cryptocurrency is backed by institutions that are either directly investing in this asset, or in high-profile Bitcoin startups. A growing number of high networth individuals and institutional investors are accumulating Bitcoin or believe in it’s value proposition as it serves as a digital gold standard in the whole cryptocurrency-industry. Thus Bitcoin as cryptocurrency has received the most backing as majority of hedge funds, VC firms, and Brokerage platforms have been focusing on providing trading facilities for BTC. Believing that the digital currency will remain the most dominant one within the industry for the coming years.
# 2 Ethereum
While Ethereum was quick to gain is popularity over the coming years, the digital currency managed to attract large institutions who’re eager to develop applications on top its network. Due to its programmable smart contract functionality and the sheer popularity of the Cryptocurrency (highest number of active developers), enterprises were keen to join the Ethereum Enterprise Alliance; a group with over 385 members that consist of large institutions such as JPMorgan, Intel, Santander, CME Group & .
The goal of the EEA is to connect Fortune 500 enterprises, startups, academics, and technology vendors with Ethereum subject matter experts. Majority of the companies may be testing and deploying their own applications using the Ethereum decentralized network.
# 3 Ripple
Ripple Labs is a project founded in 2012 that has developed its own digital currency called XRP. XRP managed to gain traction over the years becoming the world’s second most popular cryptocurrency after bitcoin (as of December 2018). Ripple is trying to build a blockchain service designed specifically for Banks by essentially interconnecting a range of private & public banks that are keen on utilizing a distributed ledger to enhance a cross-border remittance service between partnered banks. The project managed to attract over 300 different financial institutions, including a large list of Banks in different regions from the World – Banco Santander, American Express, Kuwait Finance House, Mitsubishi Corporation,UBS, Standard Chartered Bank & CIMB Bank. Here is a complete list of Ripple partnerships and RippleNet Implementations – Ripple Labs has been busy at establishing partnerships with private and public banks, remittance services, tech companies & central banks.
# 4 Aergo
An upcoming 4th generation blockchain platform that wants to help enterprises utilize both public and private blockchain networks. Aergo is a hybrid public network that has received private funding from renowned VC firm Sequoia Capital, NEO Global Capital & Dekrypt Capital. The project has a strategic partnership with Blocko (a samsung backed commercial blockchain provider), South Korea’s no.1 Blockchain solution provider that is has managed to build up an impressive list of partnerships & collaborations over time – Samsung, Shinhan Bank, Hyundai, Lotte Card, The central bank of Korea, KRX and South Korean Government. Note that currently they have deployed over 20 blockchain solutions around South Korea and are competing against IBM.
# 5 OmiseGo
OmiseGo is an independent extension of the company Omise, a popular payment processor in South East Asia. The company ’’Omise’’ is a payment gateway for Thailand, Singapore and Japan that provide its merchants both online & offline payment solutions. As a leading online payment provider in Thailand, OmiseGo has a strong team that said to have strong ties with the central Bank of Thailand. The parent company has list of ongoing partnerships that OmiseGo the blockchain subsidiary will potential tap into once the payment gateway is fully deployed with the release of the anticipated integration of the upcoming Plasma protocol.
