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When many investors and members of the public think of blockchain, they think of Bitcoin. However, although blockchain has practical uses in the cryptocurrency space, most experts think of the technology as much more than a cryptocurrency transaction solution, often referring to it as “internet 2.0” or “web 3.0”. As a result, some of India’s start-ups have begun to harness this potential and build blockchain solutions.
Why is Blockchain so Important?
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The rise of new tech has coincided with the rise of blockchain, with companies such as AirBnb and Uber transforming the economy, disrupting the current financial model and empowering peer-to-peer networks and transactions.
This is because blockchain brings trust and security to peer-to-peer networks, making individuals less reliant on large corporations such as banks. Blockchain technology provides individuals with an objective and trusted third party to monitor transactions. As it can be used to record any type of information, it isn’t limited to transforming banks and businesses, and it can make tremendous change in multiple sectors, from the housing market to supply chains.
Blockchain also has the ability to transform financial markets, especially the forex trading market where traders buy and sell foreign currencies at any time from throughout the week. With trillions of dollars in trades taking place on the largest financial market in the world daily, the use of blockchain technology could catapult the forex market to the next level. It would give the industry a unique opportunity to decentralise record-keeping and increase the availability of stored information.
While doing this, blockchain could also improve security through the use of ledgers, which will make sensitive data harder to collect. By providing this level of security in a world where online data is increasingly coming under threat, blockchain technology could be a real game-changer.
What Indian Start-Ups are Embracing Blockchain?
A number of Indian start-ups are now focussing on harnessing blockchain technology. Here we’ll focus on three: Somish, Elemential Labs and Sofocle Technologies.
Somish
A technology-led development company, Somish pivoted to blockchain in 2016. Since then, the company has worked for governments, Nexus Mutual, aviation maintenance companies and auditing firms, aiming to bring transparency around subsidy distribution.
Elemential Labs
Elemential Labs are currently working with the National Stock Exchange (NSE) in order to try and utilise blockchain technology in e-voting for limited companies. Here, the blockchain is utilised to connect the regulator with the company and the Register and Transfer Agent. Alongside this pilot scheme with NSE, Elemential Labs are currently also working with a number of other large companies, such as banks and regulators.
Sofocle Technologies
Sofocle Technologies is a global blockchain development company which works across the finance and healthcare industries, offering numerous blockchain enterprise solutions. A subsidiary company of Prolitus – they have already developed a number of blockchain solutions for supply chain financing (sofoSupply) and product supply chains (sofoChain).
With these three companies on the cutting edge of product development, we may soon see India become a world leader in the provision of blockchain solutions.
