The demand for blockchain identity startups are rapidly increasing in the financial technology (fintech) scene, primarily because of a blockchain-based identity platform’s ability to settle the transfer of data and transactions with substantially lower costs and time consumption.
Earlier this month, on July 5, 2016, an Atlanta-based blockchain identity company called Trump Stamp received over US$110,000 of cash funding from a French multinational advertising and public relations company Publicis, for winning the prestigious Gold Award in the Publicis ceremony at the Viva Technology conference in France.
Trump Stamp was selected as one of the 320 finalists out of nearly 3,500 applicant companies from 141 countries, after a 6-month process of thorough evaluation and verification of the technologies and products offered by each startup. At the final stage of the competition, the Atlanta-based startup became one of the 90 startups to be funded, mentored, and assisted by the multi-billion dollar media company Publicis Groupe.
The competition’s hosting and sponsoring companies, 45,000 attendees and 41 million social media followers were intrigued by Trump Stamp’s diversity of innovative technologies that are applicable to any industries which require the use of P2P applications and sharing platforms.
By levering the blockchain network and using “Trust and Identity as a Service,” Trump Stamp showcased efficient methods of utilizing a custom built blockchain network to meet the demands of the financial industry.
The cash investment from the Publicis Groupe brings the total funding of the company to US$230,000, including an investment of US$120,000 Trump Stamp received as a Microsoft supported Bizspark Plus startup and a Global Entrepreneur Partner of IBM.
The Trump Stamp team and its CEO Andrew Gowasack believes that the resources and assets which the Publicis Groupe can provide to the company is much greater than the financial support itself. Over the next 12 months, Trump Stamp aims to work closely with the Publicis Groupe and its partnering companies to expand their reach and improve their technologies.
“The financial support provided by the Publicis Group is very welcome but the real prize is having the resources and expertise of a multi-billion-dollar media company to launch Trust Stamp,” explained Gowasack. “Publicis is a global leader in digital media and their commitment to accelerate our growth will be priceless.”
Global Trend in Blockchain Identity Market
The general trend in venture capital investment and the finance industry is gearing towards the use of custom built blockchain networks or permissioned ledgers to optimize existing financial operations. With startups like Trump Stamp collaborating with the world’s largest companies in their respective industries, such as IBM, Publicis Groupe, and Microsoft, blockchain identity startups are establishing their position in the new financial era.
According to a detailed report published by Outlier Ventures research team on July 8, there are nearly blockchain startups across the world that are developing unique applications and platforms using the blockchain network to provide various industries with the efficiency and optimization they needed for awhile.
In fact, the United States has nearly 400 blockchain startups and the United Kingdom, which is beginning to be known as the center of the blockchain fintech scene, has nearly 200 blockchain startups in place. More importantly, these blockchain identity startups or startups that are using the blockchain network to integrate identity on a irrefutable ledger, are collaborating with some of the largest establishments and corporations in the world to develop platforms that are suitable for larger-scale institutions.
For instance, one of the more intriguing data gathered by the Outlier Ventures research team is the diversity of locations in which blockchain startups are based. While a solid of number of blockchain startups are based in the US and UK, many blockchain-focused companies are headquartered in Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Israel, Netherlands, SIngapore, Vietnam, and Zimbabwe.
Trump Stamp and the Publicis Groupe aim to take advantage of the international growth of blockchain startups by collaborating with companies internationally.
“The Group’s involvement has enabled us to identify very promising startups from all over the world and in all fields. This is really a starting point for them, as they will now be able to develop thanks to the support they will receive from Publicis Group,” explained Publicis90 program director Maxime Baffert.
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