Top 10 Blockchain Companies & Startups: UK Edition

Blockchain Technology: Global Outlook

First, let us outline the global blockchain market. How much do businesses invest into innovative blockchain solutions?

According to Statista, global spending on blockchain solutions reached $6.6 billion in 2021. The previous year also marked a significant increase in cross-border payments and settlements — 16% of all blockchain technology use cases were applied for international transactions. No wonder banking was the leading industry interested in close integration into the blockchain system.

But what are the estimates of the global blockchain market? Well, it is projected that investments in blockchain technology worldwide will reach $19 billion by 2024. Additionally, the mainstream adoption of crypto has all the potential to boost this growth further, with over 6,000 cryptocurrencies currently available.

In Europe, the blockchain market showed a revenue of $2 billion in 2021. And the banking industry of the continent has also proved its high position among the leading institutional investors. Its latest top demands are cross-border payments and settlements, transaction agreements, smart contracts powered by blockchain, and others.

Blockchain UK — Detailed Attention

As we have already mentioned, the drive of the UK’s economic infrastructure to blockchain technology is rushing forward. According to TheCityUK, around 9.8 million British citizens, which is 19% of the country’s population, owned crypto assets in 2021. 

At the time of this article's release, there were 579 blockchain companies and startups in the Crunchbase UK hub.

So, we have selected top blockchain companies and startups from the UK. We should note that they take various approaches to modernize the industry. Some focus on innovative products and ideas, while others demonstrate exceptional growth strategies and new management conceptions. However, all these blockchain startups and companies are well worth a follow.

Blockchain.com

Blockchain-com is on the global leader board of top blockchain companies and one of the most prolific startups in the UK. The company was founded in 2011 and became one of the pioneers of the blockchain revolution.

The Blockchain-com payment network is made of four integral parts:

• Wallet for digital assets;
• Exchange for digital currency trading;
• Institutional Markets for large traders;
• Explorer for providing public access to any cryptocurrency transactions.

So, it is a full-stack blockchain platform for transacting in crypto. Here you can trade, earn interest, lend crypto, and use all the advanced features of Blockchain-com from anywhere in the world. Currently, tens of millions of users in around 200 countries invest in digital currency on the platform.

In March 2021, Blockchain-com reached a post-money valuation of $5.2 billion. You can find huge players from London, Wall Street, and Silicon Valley in its investors' list.

Elliptic

Elliptic, founded in 2013, was among the pioneers in implementing blockchain analytics for safe data management and financial crime compliance. The company has a trusted, and accurate crypto identity dataset that enjoys global acknowledgment.

Speaking of the current achievements, Elliptic is the true leader of compliance in the blockchain. More than 65% of the global crypto volume is transacted on exchanges with Elliptic solutions.

Blockchain traders entirely rely on the company's blockchain projects for risk management. Elliptic provides investigations of Bitcoin transactions through the chain entities and can prove their legality. 

The company maintains a database of Bitcoin identifiers and detects any suspicious crypto activity. Elliptic software can also help identify ransomware attacks and trace their sources.

In October 2021, Elliptic raised $60 million in a Series C funding round.

Circle

Circle Internet Financial was founded in 2013. As seen by the company, its global mission is to make digital assets more accessible.

Blockchain transactions on the Circle platform are completed in a secure payment environment and are faster than its competitors' services. Individuals, entrepreneurs, and businesses can invest, trade, and raise capital on this P2P platform designed by Circle.

The blockchain startup implements artificial intelligence, fast APIs, and open blockchain technologies to secure its customers' crypto assets. Moreover, the company provides insurance coverage for digital assets on the platform.

Circle has raised $250 million in investments from the titans of Silicon Valley, New York, and China.

BC Bitcoin

BC Bitcoin is a proficient cryptocurrency brokerage company, launched in 2017 and headquartered in England. You can buy, sell, and deposit over 100 different kinds of crypto. Its blockchain platform also offers exchange and fast withdrawals in pounds, dollars, and euros.

On the BC Bitcoin platform, you can use:

• functionality for buying and selling crypto;
• a coin swap feature;
• updated wallet guides;
• secure asset management and storage;
• an OTC desk;
• free phone, email, and live chat customer support.

The unique feature of BC Bitcoin is its focus on comprehensive and careful customer service and consulting. So, it is popular among professional crypto-traders and users who are new to digital currencies.

Adhara

Adhara is a UK-based blockchain startup that aims high. This new company is mainly targeted at corporations and large financial institutions.

Adhara develops real-time solutions for international payments, multi-currency liquidity management, and FX. These products implement tokenized money over a decentralized ledger and are empowered by smart contracts.

Adhara's platform provides:

• LiquidityHub T.0 for visibility and control of tokenized liquidity in real-time;
• PayHub T.0 for settlement and clearing of international transfers within bank groups;
• Treasury T.0 for Corporates for liquidity management and adjusted internal payments platform implementation (the solution can be applied to various businesses — from giant corporations to SMEs);
• Interbank Payments T.0 — a revolutionary platform of end-to-end payments for network operators and bank consortiums;
• CBDC Suite — access to the Central Bank tokenization of assets.

In October 2021, Adhara startup raised $7.5 million in Series A funding round.

Everledger

Everledger was established in 2015 in London. The company broke into the market as one of the most promising startups. Its first blockchain application Rare Carat was built to track the origin of diamonds and prove their compliance with regulations and ethical sourcing. This solution revolutionized the global approach to supply chain management.

Nowadays, Everledger utilizes blockchain technology, artificial intelligence, and the capabilities of IoT devices for the transparent movement of goods. Manufacturers and providers sign up for the Everledger Platform and trace all the products' origin, characteristics, and ownership details. Also, this blockchain system provides provenance records added to the blockchain.

Blockchain startup Everledger demonstrates intense development, and it was recognized among the leading scale-ups of the UK in 2020 and a UK FinTech Finalist in 2021.

Travala

Travala was established in 2017 in Lancashire. In the early days, it was a small blockchain startup. Now it evolved into the leading travel booking platform powered by blockchain technology. Customers from all over the world choose the company as their first-rate travel provider.

On the Travala Platform, you can choose from over 2,200,000 properties — from hostels and cheap apartments to exclusive 5-star resorts. The blockchain platform allows booking at up to 40% lower prices than mainstream travel platforms. The company introduces an innovative user experience and supports payments in several cryptocurrencies, including proprietary AVA crypto, alongside traditional payment options. 

In January 2022, Travala announced a strategic partnership with NFTb Marketplace. So, the audience of crypto-friendly travelers will be enlargened by NFTb token holders.

Fetch

Fetch.ai, founded in 2017, is an artificial intelligence lab based in Cambridge. It provides a decentralized machine learning platform on the blockchain. The platform enables secure connection, transaction, and sharing services.

The Fetch ecosystem is built on open-source technology so that any user can connect to the network. The blockchain startup's architecture can develop and deploy AI-powered models for redistributed problem-solving.

Therefore the Fetch platform has vast potential in different areas. The company's portfolio has numerous successful travel, delivery, transport, mobility, smart homes projects, and many others.

Fetch blockchain applications are powered by FET — its proprietary Ethereum-based token. Currently, it is actively partnering with providers in various industries: e-sports, supply chains, market traders, and others. The company has already raised $26 million over three funding rounds.

Zamna

Blockchain startup Zamna was launched in 2016 in London. The company specializes in delivering innovative tech solutions for airline companies to verify identity and health data.

Zamna implements blockchain technology to provide the GDPR-compliant Persistent Identity platform. It empowers airlines with a secure flow of identification data to provide a better passenger experience and eliminate queues at airports. In simple words, you do not have to go through several passport controls during your long-distance journey. With Zamna, your data travels securely following you.

In our pandemic world, identity-centric enterprise solutions by Zamna are precious. They are lifesaving for health data approval, especially COVID-19 test results. Its blockchain-based tech utilizes cryptographical approaches. Currently, the company is building solutions for other industries.

In December 2021, Zamna signed deals with three significant health and test providers: Qured in the UK and the USA, Unilabs in Spain, and Safecheck-in in Portugal. The company has already raised $8.4 million over five funding rounds.

iov42

iov42 was founded in 2016 in London. It develops blockchain technology solutions for the fast exchange of data and value. The company aims at building a new type of internet — the internet of value. In the portfolio of its custom software development achievements, you can find solutions for sustainable supply chains, solutions for fighting counterfeiting and financial crime, and other projects.

The iov42 platform provides an abstraction layer of its core technology principles and lets companies and government agencies access the next level of trusted interactions.

In August 2021, iov42 was chosen by the European Commission over Deloitte, EY, and Vodafone to help design European blockchain capabilities.

Wrapping Up

So, the UK keeps proving its leading position in the innovative cryptocurrency and blockchain markets. UK-based companies and startups were among the industry's pioneers. Now they are steadily introducing new ideas and projects.

We believe that the services and products, delivered by the hub "blockchain UK", will substantially impact the national and global economy and our everyday lives.

If you are interested in blockchain technology or have any questions regarding custom software development, don't hesitate to contact our support team.