Over the course of this very eventful year, many blockchain projects have launched, partnered with other companies, absorbed projects, acquired other companies, made changes to adhere to regulations, and further developed their blockchain solutions.
Analyzing the crypto market from Q1 to Q2 of the year reveals that the rate of overall development in the industry is progressive, albeit quite slow. Even though regulations are a necessity moving forward, they have admittedly slowed the pace of ICOs. The cause of this slowdown is that institutional funds cannot flow into the crypto industry until it is truly and fully regulated.
Partnerships play a vital role in the success of any blockchain project. This is because a solution that does not have a place of application is useless and the underlying goal behind a partnership is to create a use case for the solution. While solutions are formed by blockchain projects to seal a platform of application for the blockchain solution, the specific purpose can vary from future applications to present experimental applications.
We’ve compiled a list of 10 of the top partnerships made this year by blockchain and cryptocurrency entities in no particular order, given below.
Binance and Malta Stock Exchange
Binance is speculated to launch the world’s first security token trading platform in Malta. Binance signed an MOU on September 11, 2018, with the Malta Stock Exchange (MSX) to launch a new security token digital exchange.
Malta is a haven for all things crypto in recent years because it is very pro-crypto and Binance has enjoyed a good relationship with the government after moving its operations to the island earlier in the year.
Dow Jones Media Group and Brave Browser
The Brave browser along with its cryptocurrency BAT has had a very successful year. The browser had 1 million active users in December of 2017, while it now has over 4 million active users and more than 10 million downloads with months to spare in 2018.
The Dow Jones Media Group announced a partnership with Brave in April 2018, aimed at bringing premium content to users and testing the blockchain payment technology The available publications include Barrons.com (full access) and MarketWatch (premium access). According to the partnership agreement, both publications are verified publishers on the BAT platform.
Wanchain and MakerDAO
On May 15, 2018, ICON – a blockchain project that focuses on the interoperability of blockchains, announced that they will be collaborating with Line – a social media platform with over 200 million monthly active users to develop their own blockchain network. This joint venture, Unchain, will be the developer organization of the blockchain ecosystem for Line.
The the Icon network is expected to receive a significant influx of users as the joint venture between Line and Icon is expected to connect more dapps and users to the ecosystem, as Icon will look to leverage on the over 200 million users of Line.
Blockchain.com and Ledger
Blockchain.com, one of the earliest cryptocurrency web wallet providers partnered with Ledger to develop Lockbox, a hardware wallet compatible with the Blockchain.com wallet.
This device will give Blockchain.com users the flexibility of keeping at least a portion of their funds in a cold wallet while the rest of their funds are stashed away in the option of the web wallet for ease of accessibility.
The device, valued at $99.99 is compatible with Windows 7 or higher, MacOS version 10.9 or higher, Linux, and Chrome OS. Lockbox is not compatible with other Ledger products, as it runs on the custom Blockchain.com firmware. Shipping is expected to commence in mid-November.
Binance and Tron
On October 4, 2018, Binance – the largest Cryptocurrency exchange in the world announced the Binance Blockchain Charity Foundation and their charge to facilitate Sustainable Development Goals, supporting the UNDP. The Blockchain Charity Foundation was created by Binance to focus on finding ways to use blockchain technology for social good.
Tron joined the initiative with a donation and a commitment to the development of the nonprofit sector along with Binance.
Coinbase and Circle
Coinbase, the renowned cryptocurrency wallet and exchange, and Circle, the Goldman Sachs-backed tech company joined forces to develop USDC, a new stablecoin that was recently listed on the Coinbase platform.
The partnership created the establishment of the Centre consortium, which is the initiative that developed the USDC. Centre plans to produce stablecoins for British Pounds, Japanese Yen, and the Euro, to be listed on Coinbase when available.
Wanchain and MakerDAO
Wanchain – a blockchain project that focuses on the interoperability (or interaction and communication) of blockchains, on October 11, 2018, announced the Dai – a stablecoin developed by MakerDAO, as the first ever cross-chain ERC-20 token. Dai can be exchanged for Bitcoin in a decentralized way owing to its cross functionality. On the other hand, this makes it a possible for Bitcoin to be added to Dai’s collateralized debt position alongside Ether.
Litecoin and TokenPay
TokenPay – the decentralized payment platform acquired 9.9% of WEG Bank in Germany, along with the option to purchase the remaining 90% (approximately), subject to the customary regulatory approval on July 10, 2018.
The Litecoin foundation has already been announced as the beneficiary of this 9.9% stake in the bank. Litecoin will aid TokenPay in the development of its own blockchain, ensuring its stability and future success. Litecoin will inturn be integrated into the WEG Bank and into their merchant services platform.
AWS and Qtum
Qtum and the China division of Amazon Web Services (AWS) announced a partnership on October 17, 2018, in a bid to develop Blockchain-as-a-Service solutions for enterprises and developers. Qtum will be providing a smart contract development platform on AWS.
Developers and users can create and launch smart contracts efficiently using Amazon Machine Image (AMI) that contains Qtum Core, Solidity, and Qmix web IDE. Miguel Palencia, CIO of the Qtum Foundation, stated: “Qtum’s launch on the AWS marketplace provides an easy-to-use and powerful cloud-based solution for end users and enterprise. Anyone who wants to develop and build dapps on the Qtum platform or use it as a staking node will benefit from this.”
IBM and Stellar
IBM runs a distributed ledger solution for institutions who outsource their technological integrations. While they implement Hyperledger for private networks, Stellar is their choice for public networks. IBM currently operates 9 validators on the Stellar network.
IBM’s Universal Payment Solution currently uses Stellar Lumen (XLM) as a bridge asset for cross-border transactions. IBM is currently considering a stablecoin to edge through the volatility of the cryptomarket. IBM recently revealed the Blockchain World Wire that uses the Stellar protocol to facilitate cross-border payments in seconds rather than days. IBM also revealed a partnership with Veridium Labs aimed at tokenizing Carbon credits on the Stellar blockchain.
Verdict
2018 saw the emergence of crypto as a viable alternative to fiat currency, especially with the louder cries of a looming recession. Even though the market took a turn for the worst, development in the field hasn’t slowed a bit, showcasing the belief that the industry enjoys. With impending market conditions and rise of the crypto sector, major legacy players too have been getting in in the bandwagon. These partnerships are proof that the best is yet to come.
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