According to the latest release from Juniper Research – a UK-based fintech consulting agency with previous wide experiences from the cryptocurrency market, the total value of Venture Capital investment in startups, active in blockchain and Bitcoin industry, reached incredible $290 million in the first half of 2016.
This new research report, called The Future of Blockchain: Bitcoin, Remittance, ID Verification & Smart Contracts 2016-2021, shows that there were over 30 ventures, which raised VC funding in that period. Nevertheless, more than a third of all invested capital went to just 3 companies: Circle, Blockstream, Digital Asset holdings, what is showing that the industry still waits for a higher density of subjects to be achieved on it to guarantee a beneficial competition.
The release highlighted the permanently rising diversification of blockchain deployments, with applications ranging from identity to asset management. It shows, that the banking sector remains incredibly proactive and several banks have already adopted the Ripple protocol and others piloting competing solutions.
According to the report, in areas like a transaction settlement, the introduction of a blockchain-based system would significantly reduce both the risk of error and the time taken for error checking. Moreover, it argued that in cross-border remittance, the technology could allow new entrants to offer services at significantly lower costs to consumers.
Nevertheless, the research cautioned that if smart contracts use blockchain technology, then their contents, including bugs or flaws, are visible to all the users of that blockchain. It showed the cyber attack on the DAO as an example, which cost investors nearly $80 million in stolen cryptocurrency.
The author of the research, Dr Windsor Holden stated: “While blockchain technology offers the potential for increased speed, transparency and security across an array of verticals, there has to be rigorous and robust roadtesting in each unique use case before any decision is taken.”
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