World’s biggest firms backing blockchain

“Blockchain is moving quickly from proof of concept to ‘proof of practical’ with real world, actionable solutions,” says Linda Pawczuk, head of Deloitte’s US financial services blockchain group.

In fact, open ledger technology has made its way into the 10 largest companies in the world.

1. The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), with $165 billion in sales and $4.2 trillion in assets is currently at the top of the list. ICBC is reportedly exploring the use of blockchain to verify digital certificates rather than the traditional trusted central authority.

2. With $143 in sales and $2.61 trillion in assets, China Construction Bank Corporation (CCB) comes in second. In September, CCB revealed it was using IBM’s blockchain platform to provide a way for banks and insurance firms to jointly offer some of their products.

3. JPMorgan follows with $118 billion in sales and assets worth $2.7 trillion. It is currently the most involved in the use of open ledger technology. It has developed blockchain platform Quorum, attracting the attention of Pfizer pharmaceutical and information giant IHS Markit.

4. Boasting $235 billion in sales and $702 billion in assets, Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway has been exploring blockchain technology as a way to trace the provenance of diamonds and even freight delivered on the multi-billionaire’s railroads.

5. The Agricultural Banik of China Limited has $129 billion in sales and $3.4 trillion in assets. The government-owned bank recently said it was developing a blockchain-based network to provide unsecured loans to e-commerce merchants.

6. Bank of America has $103 billion in sales and nearly $2.3 trillion in assets. It is developing ways to implement blockchain to streamline a diverse set of financial workflows.

7. Wells Fargo reports $88.4 billion in sales and nearly $2 trillion in assets. The international bank has implemented blockchain for cross-border payments and has also tested the technology to make mortgage securities easier to track.

8. Apple. Posted sales totalling $229 billion in 2017 and $375.3 billion in assets. The US tech giant is investing in blockchain R&D. Late last year, Apple revealed details of a programme able to certify timestamps combining blockchain and Public Key Infrastructure (PKI).

9. The state-owned Bank of China. With $75 billion in sales and $2.4 trillion in assets, the FI has recently received State Council instructions to speed up blockchain development and implementation.

10. China-based Ping An Insurance has $141 billion in sales and $1.06 trillion in assets. The firm’s blockchain research has been hermetic, but it has been reported that it partnered with distributed ledger consortium R3 in 2016. And it is currently helping the government with R&D.