19 Best Blockchain Startups you Should Keep an Eye on in 2019

Blockchain is big business at the moment, and it doesn’t look as though it’ll be going anywhere anytime soon. In fact, the global blockchain market is expected to be worth $20 billion in 2024, and the growing number of new startups is a testament to just how lucrative the market currently is.

Part of the reason for the success of blockchain is that it has so many different potential applications, from the healthcare industry to insurance, real estate and, of course, finance. Better still, there are plenty of different blockchain platforms out there, most notably Hyperledger and NEM, which means that blockchain developers have choice when it comes to the infrastructure they use for their applications.

While it might not be easy to wrap our heads round how blockchain works and what it’s going to do to change the world around us, we have to at least try, especially if we want to stay ahead of our competition. And so with that in mind, let’s dive on in and take a look at just 19 of the best blockchain startups that you’ll want to keep your eyes on in 2019 and beyond.

BurstIQ, Inc

Like many of today’s top blockchain startups, BurstIQ, Inc. is focussed on the struggling healthcare industry. The goal is to create an end-to-end blockchain that brings together health applications and services while complying fully with HIPAA, GDPR and NIST regulations. The goal is to give patients and healthcare practitioners greater control over and access to health data.

Nexus Mutual

Nexus Mutual provides a blockchain-based alternative to traditional insurance because it allows blockchain users to own the surplus that comes from cover purchases. This means that there’s a good incentive for people to both take out policies and to help to propagate the blockchain. It’s a great example of a clever use of blockchain in which the switch to blockchain itself is inherently advantageous.

SafeChain

SafeChain is the perfect example of a blockchain company that's made a name for itself by enhancing the speed and security of property and real estate transactions. It can make it easier to prove identities and to verify ownership of bank and checking accounts, ultimately providing a safer, faster way for people to play the property market.

BlockVerify

As the name might suggest, Block Verify is designed to cut down on counterfeiting by bringing greater transparency to supply chains. This makes it the perfect tool for a bunch of different industries, but the company specialises in serving the pharmaceutical, luxury item, diamond and electronics industries in particular.

Filament

Founded nearly ten years ago, way back at the start of the blockchain revolution, Filament is living proof that a blockchain company can weather the storm and stay in business for a prolonged period of time. The company provides a range of solutions including hardware, firmware and pre-made interfaces that are designed to help you to get your distributed ledger off the ground.  

CargoX

CargoX is a blockchain company that aims to revolutionise the shipping industry with "the world's first blockchain bill of lading". Based on Ethereum, their blockchain provides a much more reliable way of tracking goods while they’re in transit, reducing the number of shipments that go missing and ultimately providing an infinitely more reliable service.

Stellar

Stellar is a blockchain-based finance platform that's designed to be a decentralised mid-point to connect banks, payment providers and more. As with cryptocurrencies, the goal is to make it easier than ever to move money between platforms, countries and providers while keeping costs down to a bare minimum.

Debitum Network

The clue's in the name again! Debitum Network is a small business financing platform that's already provided close to 5 million EUR from nearly 2,000 investors. By acting as a facilitator and as a midpoint between investors and entrepreneurs, it acts as an attractive alternative to traditional venture capital and could be a huge disruptor in the months and years to come.

Rate3

Rate 3 aims to create an interoperable tokenisation protocol, essentially to bridge the gap between different blockchains built on Ethereum and Stellar. It’s already taken on heavy investment and is well on the way towards achieving the company’s mission statement of "creating a connected tokenized world". Definitely one to watch!

Nuggets

Nuggets is a mid-point for payment processing that allows users to create a digital ID and a payment processor without sharing any of their personal information. It allows you to use Touch ID and other systems but builds upon them to provide a more robust system with more security and greater flexibility. Instead of allowing hundreds of different services to store your passwords and personal data, you can use Nuggets to have one secure account for everything that you use.

Greeneum

Greeneum is an impressive use of blockchain because it's all about saving the planet. The goal is to change the way that we incentivise the reduction of carbon footprints by creating a peer-to-peer energy trading system. This will make it easier for people to share surplus green and renewable energy in smaller communities.

Lolli

Lolli is mostly known for its browser plugin which runs in the background of your web browser and which allows you to earn free Bitcoin when you're making purchases online. Similar systems already exist for points rewards schemes and existing real world currencies, but this is the most popular example of a Bitcoin-based alternative and so earns itself a place on this list because of it.

Zilliga

Zilliqa is another facilitator, and the company makes it its mission to provide a range of decentralised solutions to existing challenges across multiple different industries. The company was founded after founding members of the team wrote a paper on how sharding technology can help to scale public blockchains, and they've gone from strength to strength ever since.

Consensys

ConsenSys is built on Ethereum and is responsible for a range of products including Infura, Pegasys, Kaleido, Truffle, Metamasik, Gitcoin, Alethio and MythX. As one of the bigger blockchain companies, they’re in the perfect position to ride the wave into the fourth industrial revolution. And business must be booming because it’s hiring all over the world.

Choon

Choon is like Spotify but based on blockchain. It uses a system called Notes to allow artists to sign up, share their music and earn royalties based on how often their music is streamed, and while it’s still in its relative infancy, at the very least it proves that the use case is valid.

Ripe.io

Ripe.io is building a blockchain of food, aiming to revolutionise the food supply chain to create a more open and transparent world. With allergies and food intolerances as well as dietary requirements becoming increasingly important to suppliers, restaurants and consumers, Ripe.io could be the solution we need to create a much more open system.

Edgecoin

Edgecoin's smart solutions are aimed at disrupting the education industry by providing tailored solutions for decentralised credentials and communication. Essentially, educators can use their tools to provide better data protection and more robust educational certificates. People can’t lie about their college results if they’re stored through Edgecoin.

meVu

MeVu uses blockchain to rethink betting by allowing people to place wagers with the security of the blockchain. The idea is to take betting back to its origins, when it was between two people instead of between one person and a large, multinational company.

Dock

Dock uses blockchain to hand out digital certificates providing identities to create a sort of decentralised credentials system. For brands, it can make them seem more trustworthy while helping them to protect personal data, and for users it gives them more confidence when they’re interacting and carrying out transactions online.

The bottom line

Blockchain startups are rising in popularity for a reason: the technology has the potential to totally revolutionise the way we live our lives. In fact, if you learn anything from the blockchain startups on our list, it should be that every industry is a potential market for blockchain developers. The real question is whether you’ll be the first on the market to reap the rewards.

Looking to create your own blockchain startup? Here at Zfort Group, our team of dedicated developers is used to harnessing blockchain and other technologies on projects of all shapes and sizes, from small microsites to enterprise cloud software and international web apps. So if you’re planning a blockchain startup of your own, be sure to get in touch. We’ll be more than happy to help.