After a tumultuous end to 2022, the so-called crypto winter is showing signs of beginning to thaw. Since January 2023, the total cryptocurrency market cap has risen from $759 billion to over the $1 trillion mark, representing a 31% increase. While not yet back at all-time highs, the positive movement in the market is revitalizing companies in the sector.
In light of the slow return of the market, blockchain brands have begun to focus on innovation. Amongst inflation and other causes, one of the core reasons for the sudden implosion of the crypto market was the inability of many blockchain brands and coins to demonstrate real-world value.
As a direct response to this, 2023 has seen blockchain brands move away from flashy marketing and focus on their fundamentals. In this article, we’ll explore three businesses in the crypto space that are developing the real-world utility of their projects and platforms.
Tangem – Reimagining the Modern-Day Crypto Wallet
Founded in 2017, Tangem is actively redefining the crypto wallet experience. Their innovative self-custodial wallets allow users to store thousands of tokens, DeFi assets, NFTs, and more on one card. This high-tech solution simplifies the complex cryptocurrency ecosystem, giving users a streamlined, accessible, and comprehensive system to manage their cryptocurrency.
The new Tangem wallet, which will be released in October, adds several new features that help streamline the user experience and increase the wallet’s utility. These new features include viewing 24-hour token price changes, hiding balances, disabling the recovery of access mode, and much more. Beyond just acting as an effective cold wallet, what sets Tangem apart is its focus on innovation.
Tangem’s applet received VISA certification last year and will empower users to utilize Tangem Pay, which will be launched next year. Users will be able to pay at Visa terminals with their cryptocurrency, with live exchanges giving customers the best possible rates when paying with crypto.
Since 2018, Tangem has produced over 850,000 cards, with their innovative private key system ensuring that not a single one of them has been hacked. With access code protection and biometric security, Tangem offers a highly secure, effective, and, above all, convenient solution for digital asset management and payment.
BitGive – Using Blockchain to Increase Transparency in the Charity Sector
A 2021 report on the charity sector revealed it as one of the prime industries that were ready for innovation. One of the most common complaints in this sector is a lack of public trust, with obfuscation of where funds are going and what donations actually go causing the general public to shy away from charitable giving.
The blockchain, being a highly transparent and publicly available ledger system, is the perfect solution to this core issue. BitGive uses this central function of the blockchain to streamline charitable giving in the NGO and non-profit sectors. Some of their core partners are internationally renowned non-profits, like Save the Children and The Water Project.
BitGive aims to strengthen the global philanthropic initiative, allowing businesses and individuals alike to fund their favorite charities using digital currencies. By using the GiveTrack platform, donors have full transparency into where their funds are going, and how the donor-partner is going to spend their capital.
While providing insight for donors, charities and NGOs are also held accountable by the GiveTrack blockchain platform, ensuring public health and environmental charitable causes use their donations effectively. BitGive streamlines the charity sector, using the core transparency of the blockchain to radically increase interaction and donation in the industry.
Banking the Unbanked with Digital Currencies
Across the globe, nearly 1.5 billion adults remain unbanked – without access to a banking institution or the ability to create an account for themselves. Whether the barrier is a lack of access to a centralized banking system or the inability to enter into these systems due to not having a fixed address, the unbanked population is a global humanitarian issue.
The ETN-Network pinpointed the use of blockchain, as a decentralized and digitized medium, as a pertinent solution to this core issue. The ETN-Network uses a global cryptocurrency, named ETN, to allow people anywhere to create digital wallets for themselves and store currency. Unbanked individuals can download the ETN app, create an account in minutes, and begin to use ETN.
Over the past few years, The ETN-Network has focused on expanding their utility by bringing the ability to pay by ETN to more businesses around the globe. The network currently has over 3,000,000 active users across 190 countries, demonstrating the extreme utility of this new payment format.
To further empower unbanked communities, The ETN-Network released the AnyTask Platform. This platform constructs a global marketplace of job opportunities, matching individuals and businesses that require digital labor. Not only does this system empower individuals to earn in a currency that they can then spend in their local area, but it also helps to expand the business workforce globally by matching freelancers with corporations.
The ETN-Network is a win-win for businesses and people, creating a system where unbanked individuals can bring themselves on the chain, earn money, and spend it all within one innovative application.
Final Thoughts
As to not repeat the past, the blockchain industry must move away from prices being inflated by solely hype and must demonstrate core utility. While blockchain as a technology has myriad applications, the businesses that utilize it must be able to infuse their public offering with a high degree of this functionality.
The three brands we’ve explored on this list, Tangem, BitGive, and The ETN-Network, are able to solve user problems and overcome issues through the use of blockchain technology. As functional, useful, and tactile platforms, each offers a unique solution or improvement to the wider world.
By following the example set by these blockchain businesses, others in the industry can prioritize research, development, and innovation to set themselves apart from the negative perception of pre-crypto-winter blockchain brands.