In many cases, blockchain technology can modernize virtually any industry: insurance, healthcare, logistics, and others. In particular, one of the most suitable areas for blockchain use is undoubtedly finance.
The introduction of blockchain technology allows us to take a fresh look at the existing structure of banking. Blockchain solutions speed up transactions, reduce their cost, and increase the transparency of all processes.
In this article, we will discuss the most active and successful projects in the financial sector that are contributing to the widespread adoption of blockchain and cryptocurrencies:
We.Trade
The we.trade platform was developed by IBM in collaboration with 12 major European banks: CaixaBank, Deutsche Bank, Erste Group, HSBC, KBC, Natixis, Nordea, Rabobank, Santander, Société Générale, UBS, and UniCredit. The platform aims to create a transparent, secure, and simplified trading environment for businesses and banks.
We.trade enables companies of all sizes to trade easily and securely on an international level, helping to stimulate global economic growth.
We.trade enables companies of all sizes to trade internationally in a simple and secure manner, helping to stimulate global economic growth.
Companies access the platform through their bank, eliminating the risks associated with involving third parties. Blockchain technology serves as a unified database that is not controlled by any specific authority. All records in the database are protected, giving users an extra level of security.
The two main advantages of we.trade are its distributed ledger and smart contracts. The distributed ledger ensures that all relevant parties have access to the same information regarding trade transactions and that no single party can control this data. The use of smart contracts avoids the risks of delays in the fulfillment of obligations by the parties, such as late payments. They ensure that if one party to the transaction fulfills the necessary requirements, as previously agreed and recorded in the blockchain, the payment process will be executed automatically. The fact that contracts are integrated into the platform code eliminates the need for any supporting legal system or enforcement mechanism.
Circle
Circle develops P2P payment technology. One of the company’s main products is the Circle Pay platform, which allows users to store, send, and receive traditional funds.
Previously, Circle Pay users had access to Bitcoin transfers, but now cryptocurrency transactions are only available in Circle Invest.
With Circle Invest, users can easily invest in cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum Classic, Litecoin, Zcash, Monero, Stellar, 0x, Qtum, EOS, and BAT.
Robinhood
Robinhood has been operating since 2013. The company has developed a mobile app that allows users to invest in stocks, exchange-traded funds, options, and cryptocurrencies without commissions.
The company earns money from interest on cash balances and margin lending to customers, as well as by selling order flow to high-frequency trading firms.
The Robinhood Crypto platform, launched in early 2018, allows users to buy and sell digital currencies such as Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ethereum, Ethereum Classic, Bitcoin Cash, and Dogecoin. Immediately after the app’s launch, more than 1 million users joined it. Currently, the app only works in 37 US states, but it is used by about 4 million investors.
Veem
Along with Circle and Robinhood, Veem has become one of the most successful fintech companies of 2019. Veem uses blockchain technology to make payments.
Veem is a peer-to-peer payment platform designed for small businesses. The company’s goal is to simplify cross-border electronic transfers and payments to suppliers and contractors. Transfers are made in three ways: using a so-called treasury account (moving money between bank accounts controlled by Veem), the Swift system, and blockchain.
Companies typically use Veem to avoid the complex processes involved in dealing with banks. Customers can quickly make payments through the Veem website, and the system decides which transfer method to use — the customer never knows whether they are using blockchain or another method.
Currently, Veem’s solution allows funds to be sent to 98 countries. The platform is already used by more than 100,000 entrepreneurs.
Ripple
Ripple is a cryptocurrency platform for payment systems. This global system allows you to instantly transfer almost any currency to anywhere in the world.
The system uses the platform’s internal currency, XRP, which allows you to quickly convert any other currencies on the platform. The platform is based on the Proof of Correctness algorithm and uses the RPCA (Ripple Protocol consensus algorithm) consensus protocol in a P2P network of independent nodes. One of the main advantages of the network is that transaction processing time is only 4 seconds. The system is also highly scalable and can process about 1,500 transactions per second.
RippleNet customers can use XRP to provide liquidity on demand, with all payments sent and received in local currency.
The platform was primarily developed for the banking sector to simplify and accelerate payments worldwide.
To carry out transactions, Ripple uses its own blockchain network — RippleNet. Currently, more than 200 banks and financial institutions have joined the network, including Union Credit, UBS, Merrill Lynch, Santander, SED, and others.
Blockchain has every chance of changing the banking sector beyond recognition, making transfers and payment transactions faster, cheaper, and more reliable.
