Despite the crypto winter of recent months, collapse of the price of digital currencies and the bankruptcy of some exchange offices, dozens of companies around the world continue their ‘blockchain’ investments. Distributed database technology, which underpins the entire industry, reinforces its role as a useful tool for businesses with faster and cheaper payment and control solutions. Barcelona will host a new edition. European Blockchain Contract (EBC)Twice as much as last year, which will bring together 2,500 attendees. Investments in the sector continue. Bitcoin has gained 36% this year, but remains a more than 50% crash compared to March last year. In the opinion of co-founder Victoria Gago European Blockchain ContractThe depreciation of digital currencies and the crisis experienced by some companies further increased the interest of traditional banks in the sector. technology evolution on ‘blockchain’ and EBC. Banks like JP Morgan, Santander, BBVA or HSBC have sent their managers to test investment opportunities in Barcelona.” Start-ups, venture capital funds and banks They are keen on a technology that will allow them to launch new investment products based on blockchain in the future,” adds Gago. After the “crypto winter”, the “crypto spring” seems to be coming.
Despite the financial giddiness around digital currencies, no economic actor wants to be left out of open opportunities. Even Google’s cloud division has invested more than $1 billion in blockchain application development initiatives. Google accepts cryptocurrency as payment for cloud storage, even through Coinbase. Although Coinbase lost 85% of its market capitalization last year, experts see the firm as an industry giant with $100 billion in assets for over 100 million customers worldwide. Despite this, the firm announced the layoff of 950 workers to consolidate the company’s progress, which had 4,700 employees prior to workforce adjustment last January. The goal is to reduce operating expenses by 25% each quarter.
FTX’s bankruptcy in November 2022 caused a great deal of distrust among investors, especially micro-speculators. This is true. FTX It was the third largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world. Founded in 2019, the Bahamas-based company had over a million users, but the launch of its own cryptocurrency or ‘token’ (digital rights) undermined its accounts, prestige and led to bankruptcy. But bitcoin is different. Its price may rise or fall, but the cryptocurrency has shown its resilience against an adverse economic situation. It remains a haven, albeit not very stable, given the economic instability of certain regions.
This week’s meeting of experts in Barcelona shows the interest and confidence remaining around ‘blockchain’ against those who try to undermine the term. But the rise in interest rates and inflation has both reduced speculative investment and opened up profitable investment opportunities in innovative companies around the ‘blockchain’. The agenda scheduled for the Barcelona meeting with 200 speakers shows that one of the main focus areas is how to convey security to the sale of cryptocurrencies, providing an institutional air that has not yet been consolidated around the ‘blockchain’.
Monteverde ConceptThe director of the ‘blockchain’ and cryptocurrency center of Santander bank, and a speaker at this year’s Barcelona meeting, had already predicted that financial products will emerge in traditional banking in 2022 to invest in cryptocurrencies. However, these forecasts were cut short by a negative international context and the bankruptcy of companies like FTX. In his view, the issuance of certain financial products should be a general move internationally, but he acknowledged that for this, the price of bitcoin and ethereum must undergo a positive evolution. Even companies like Repsol are paying attention to the change required by ‘blockchain’ technology. Spain’s oil giant is building a platform called Veia Digitalis, which allows users to store private information such as driver’s licenses, security credentials and passports in a blockchain-based virtual wallet. The project began in 2019 with Repsol’s work with the global blockchain consortium Alastria, whose vice president is De Monteverde.
For consulting firm Deloitte, who was a participant at the Barcelona meeting, “The ‘blockchain’ ecosystem is evolving rapidly with the development of new platforms, applications, collaborations and alliances. Many organizations are exploring the potential value of blockchain and some of the larger world. ‘players’ are even developing their own solutions.” . A cake that no one wants to be left unfinished.
Applications
The main use that has made this technology particularly profitable is financial transactions. Companies can create applications that allow transactions to exchange currency, for example, via Ethereum. Tests reduce the settlement time from two days to seconds. Blockchain technology makes it possible to prove identities without having to disclose them. Central banks are piloting tests to create their own digital currencies. Bank of Spain has launched a limited test based on making ‘online’ payments of Ethereum and Polygon. However, as it contributes relatively little to the payments made with Bizum, there is still a long way to go.