The blockchain is a disruptive innovation. These companies could dramatically alter the financial services, healthcare, compliance, and crowdfunding industries.
[This gallery was originally published on TechRepublic.]
Bitcoin is dead. Long live the blockchain!
Bitcoin's underlying technology is far more interesting than the cryptocurrency itself, said Brooklyn-based mobile application and blockchain developer Charles Hope.
Blockchain tech refers to an encrypted database log of timestamped transactions. Metadata about the transaction is publicly accessible through APIs. "The blockchain is a global financial ledger without any central authority," Hope explained. "An eternal record of every Bitcoin transaction, its own algorithms pay people to host it. It supports operations that are difficult to do with regular money, such as a completely secure escrow state, which permits safe contracts between strangers."
SEE: Three ways encryption can safeguard your cloud files (Tech Pro Research report)
Because Bitcoin transactions generate millions of secure data points, the Bitcoin blockchain has evolved to become the backbone of a platform for a number of innovative startups. These are some of the most vital, and interesting, blockchain-based startups.
Caption by: Dan Patterson
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