Photo: Thomas Hawk / Flickr
The recent price surge for Bitcoin is waking up investors around the globe, including Wallstreet. Aside from investors, publicly traded companies are also shifting their resources into Blockchain and cryptocurrency technologies.
Apollo Global Management, Stock Symbol: APO
Apollo Global Management (NYSE: APO) is an American public equity firm that specializes in leveraged buyout transactions. On March of 2017, Apollo (NYSE: APO) acquired Outerwall Inc, the parent company of Coinstar.
Coinstar operates kiosk machines which convert coins into cash, and the company is also experimenting with Bitcoin ATM services. On Wednesday Coinstar announced that they are expanding the Bitcoin (BTC) purchasing option into more than 2,000 Coinstar kiosk locations.
Social Detention Inc, Stock Symbol: SODE
Social Detention Inc (SODE) is a California based company engaged in infrastructure, security, and Blockchain technology. The company recently announced that they executed a memorandum of understanding to acquire Bitplaza Inc.
Bitplaza is a Bitcoin-dedicated shopping platform, available on the Apple App Store and Google Play. The app allows its users to spend Bitcoin for everyday items, and offers international shipping. The acquisition allows Social Detention Inc (SODE) to benefit immediately, as the mobile application is already launched and generating revenue.
Eastman Kodak Co, Stock Symbol: KODK
Eastman Kodak Company (NYSE: KODK) is a technology company focused in photography, widely known for their Kodak cameras before the age of smartphones. The company entered the cryptocurrency industry last year with its KODAKOne blockchain project, formerly known as KodakCoin.
Although the company received a lot of criticism at first, the project has made some progress during the past 12 months. Earlier this year, Cam Chell, the co-founder of KODAKOne revealed that the project generated over $1 million USD in licensing claims for photographic rights during the beta-testing phase. More information about the project can be found on the KODAKOne website.
Grayscale Bitcoin Trust, Stock Symbol: GBTC
Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) is a Bitcoin Investment Trust that is exclusively invested in Bitcoin and derives its value solely from the price of Bitcoin (BTC). The stock enables investors to gain exposure to the value appreciation of Bitcoin without having to own the underlying asset. GBTC can also be used a trading instrument by institutional investors, even financial institutions that are restricted to only investing in securities.
Square Inc, Stock Symbol: SQ
Square, Inc. (NYSE: SQ) Square, Inc. is a merchant service, and mobile payment company. The company generates revenue through its separate business divisions: Square, Caviar app, Cash app. The Cash app is a mobile payment service developed by Square, Inc, which allows its users to transfer money to anyone else who has the app.
Back in November or 2017, the Cash app enabled users to buy Bitcoin through the mobile application. According to the recent Shareholder Letter by Square Inc (NYSE: SQ), the Cash app sold $52 million worth of Bitcoin (BTC) in the fourth quarter Q4 of 2018, compared to $31 million worth of Bitcoin in Q1 of 2018.
While there are publicly traded companies active in the Cryptocurrency industry, it’s still relatively unknown of how many companies are positioning themselves for the future. Here is a list of publicly traded companies that recently filed for Blockchain related patents.
Blockchain Patent Filings by Public Companies
Private Equity
Even during the bear market in 2018, the private equity world has been very active for Cryptocurrency related start-ups. Venture capitalists and investment banks have shown serious interest in many Bitcoin/Blockchain related projects, especially the ones which aim to provide solutions to its users and the ecosystem.
According to Crunchbase, Coinbase has seen investments over $520 million, valuing the company at approximately $8 billion.
A few weeks ago, Serena Williams announced on Instagram that she launched Serena Ventures, which she kept as a secret many years prior. Slide “2” of the Instagram post reveals the companies that she invested in, one of them being Coinbase Inc.
