Blockstack.io

Finovate Alums and the History of Bitcoin Innovation

Finovate Alums and the History of Bitcoin Innovation
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: AlphaPoint, Alumni profile, Amber Labs, ArcBit, Bitbond, BlockCypher, Blockstack.io, Coinalytics, Coinbase, CoinJar, Gem, itBit, KlickEx, Ledger, OpenCoin, Plutus Software, Ripple, Stratumn

With bitcoin and cryptocurrencies enjoying renewed interest, it’s worth noting that many fintech fans encountered their first bitcoin-related businesses through Finovate conferences.

Here’s a look at some of the companies that have brought their bitcoin and crypto-powered innovations to the Finovate stage.

OpenCoin – FinovateSpring 2013 – The company now well-known as Ripple was introduced to Finovate audiences back in 2013. At FinovateSpring that year, Chris Larsen – CEO of a startup called OpenCoin – introduced its virtual currency and distributed open source payment network. Founded in 2012 and headquartered in San Francisco, California, Ripple currently has more than 300 financial institutions who leverage its RippleNet blockchain network to power real-time payments.

KlickEx – FinovateAsia 2013 – New Zealand-based KlickEx unveiled its asset-backed and algorithmic cryptocurrency for institutional and retail users at FinovateAsia in 2013. The company, founded in 2009, recently announced a partnership with the National Reserve Bank of Tonga to launch a new national payment system.

Coinbase – FinovateSpring 2014 – Among the bigger names in bitcoin and cryptocurrency to have demonstrated their technology at Finovate conferences is San Francisco, California-based Coinbase. Debuting at Finovate with its Instant Exchange in 2014, Coinbase has grown into one of the biggest players in the cryptocurrency market with more than 35 million verified users and more than $320 billion in total volume traded on its platform.

AlphaPoint – FinovateEurope 2015 – With more than $350 million in monthly trading volume and 20 digital currency exchanges operating in 15 countries, AlphaPoint is a leading fintech exchange platform provider for digital currencies. The company demoed version two of its digital currency exchange platform at FinovateEurope in 2015.

CoinJar – FinovateEurope 2015 – Australia’s largest and longest-operating bitcoin company, CoinJar demonstrated its platform at FinovateEurope 2015. The Best of Show-winning firm was the first in its market to offer a bitcoin debit card that enabled cardholders to use the cryptocurrency for everyday purchases.

Bitbond – FinovateEurope 2015 – Berlin, Germany’s Bitbond offers a global P2P bitcoin lending platform that enables anyone with an Internet connection to both get loans as well as invest their savings for interest. The company demonstrated its AutoInvest functionality, which facilitates and automates fund allocation in a portfolio, at FinovateEurope 2015.

itBit – FinovateSpring 2015 – New York-based itBit demonstrated its bitcoin trading platform at FinovateSpring in 2015. The company’s technology enables both institutional and retail investors to buy and sell bitcoin. Rebranded as Paxos in the fall of 2016, the company has since highlighted its work in private blockchains and distributed ledger technology.

Blockstack.io – FinovateFall 2015 – Best of Show winning Blockstack.io offers a hosted and licensed enterprise blockchain platform that enables financial services companies and others to build applications on their own private blockchain. The San Francisco, California-based company, founded in 2015, was acquired by Digital Asset Holdings for an undisclosed sum before the end of the year.

ArcBit – FinovateFall 2015 – With a pledge to leverage bitcoin and blockchain technology to bring banking to the underbanked, ArcBit, which made its Finovate debut at FinovateFall in 2015, offers a mobile wallet specifically designed to give bitcoin owners full control over their cryptoholdings.

Coinalytics – FinDEVr San Francisco 2015 – Our developers conference, FinDEVr is one way that many bitcoin and crytocurrency innovators were able to bring their innovations to the public. Coinanalytics, which offers an end-to-end intelligence platform for the bitcoin industry, is an example of the kind of company developing solutions to make bitcoin a better opportunity for payments, financial services, and IoT.

BlockCypher – FinDEVr Silicon Valley 2015 – Another alum of our developer’s conference, BlockCypher offers companies a cloud-optimized, enterprise-grade blockchain platform that enables them to build reliable blockchain apps. Headquartered in Redwood City, California, the company was founded in 2014.

Gem – FinDEVr Silicon Valley 2015 – Founded in 2014 and based in Venice, California, Gem demonstrated its API which provides a comprehensive security solution for bitcoin apps – without taking control over funds. With a few lines of code, Gem enables developers to provide an interface to their bitcoin apps that gives users better funding options.

Ledger – FinovateEurope 2016 – Headquartered in Paris, France and founded in 2015, Ledger designs trusted hardware solutions for bitcoin and blockchain apps. The company’s solutions, including the Nano X and Nano S, provide cryptocurrency owners with a secure, portable way to take and manage their digital assets wherever they are.

Stratumn – FinDEVr New York 2016 – Enterprise blockchain technology company Stratumn provides firms with the infrastructure and tools they need to to build, deploy, and run blockchain. The company presented the high performance, proof-of-existence engine of its development platform at our developer’s conference in 2016. Jerome Lefebvre took over as CEO of the company from co-founder Richard Caetano in the fall of 2019.

Plutus.it – FinovateEurope 2018 – London-based Plutus demonstrated its Tap & Pay and Debit Card solutions that enable consumers to pay with bitcoin or Ethereum at any contactless point of sale. Founded in 2016, the company currently supports more than 26,000 Plutus accounts and credits its users for acquiring more than $100,000 in rewards via its Pluton Rewards program.

Amber Labs – Finovate MiddleEast 2019 – Best of Show winner Amber Labs is a bitcoin exchange, wallet, and micro-investment app in one. Headquartered in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, and founded in 2017, Amber Labs offers a mobile first, automated investment platform for retail customers looking to buy and sell bitcoin.

Photo by Thought Catalog from Pexels

Share this:

Send Post Twitter LinkedIn Facebook

Finovate’s 2015 Best of Show Winners Give Something to Tweet About

Finovate’s 2015 Best of Show Winners Give Something to Tweet About
By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Alpha Payments Cloud, Avoka, Blockstack.io, CoinJar, Dyme, Dynamics, ebankIT, eToro, Finanteq, Hedgeable, HelloWallet, Jumio, mBank & i3D, Meniga, Money Amigo, Moven, NAMU Systems, SaleMove, Shoeboxed, Soundpays, Stratos

BestofShowIMG

2015 was quite a year for the 800+ Finovate alumni. From acquisitions to IPOs, and everything in between, there was plenty to tweet about. Here are the highlights from the 2015 Best of Show winners:

FinovateEurope 2015

Avoka demoed a three-minute loan application that delivers a fast onboarding experience.

CoinJar showed a technology that enables consumers to buy, sell, and use digital and traditional forms of currency any way they choose, from dollars to bitcoins.

ebankIT demoed its omnichannel and social banking solution that maximizes interaction between FIs and clients.

eToro showed its innovations in social trading and investing for generation Y.

Jumio demoed credentials-management technology Netverify that turns mobile devices into ID document-scanning terminals.

mBank & i3D demoed their interactive, digital retail-branch concept.

Meniga showed off Market Match, its transaction-data analytics and enrichment engine.

FinovateSpring 2015

Alpha Payments Cloud demoed AlphaHub, its omnichannel access platform that helps banks, merchants, MSPs, and ISOs gain access to any solution provider in the world.

Avoka (see above)

Money Amigo showed technology that brings financial services to the underbanked and underserved, delivering traditional banking products in an innovative way.

Moven launched Moven Financial Health Platform that provides real-time contextualized notifications and interactions that create “gamified money moments.”

NAMU Systems demoed “Joyful Banking” which uses new and intelligent behavior modeling to focus on customer behavior and digital experiences to create a new standard in mobile banking.

Shoeboxed.com showcased its Receipt Capture for Banks, a solution that boosts functionality of online and mobile banking apps while providing fraud protection.

Stratos demonstrated its dynamic Stratos Bluetooth-connected card and digital card issuance platform that analyzes card-usage trends and interactively engages card members.


FinovateFall 2015

Blockstack.io launched technology that enables financial services and other enterprises to set up and build applications on a private, hosted blockchain.

Dyme showcased its innovative method for helping people start a savings habit and fund their lifestyle using text messaging.

Dynamics demoed fully programmable interfaces (stripe, EMV, NFC) for use in next-generation payment cards.

Finanteq launched its SuperWallet that helps banks take full advantage of their potential by integrating m-commerce and remote services with mobile banking.

Hedgeable: demoed its private banking platform for millennials.

HelloWallet showed its Retirement Explorer solution, an approachable and actionable online planning tool that helps employees model and work toward specific retirement outcomes.

SaleMove demoed its Engagement Platform and Omnicall technologies that enable online consumers to engage live with businesses as if they were face-to-face.

Soundpays showed its app that recognizes ultrasonic and sonic waveforms even in extremely noisy environments.

Want to see more award-winning demos of the newest fintech ideas? Pick up your ticket FinovateEurope 2016 and we’ll see you in London.

Share this:

Send Post Twitter LinkedIn Facebook

2015: A Year in Finovate Alumni Mergers and Acquisitions

2015: A Year in Finovate Alumni Mergers and Acquisitions
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Akimbo Financial, Aurora Financial Systems, Authentify, Blockstack.io, eMoney Advisor, Finicity, FIS, Funding, Fundings, FutureAdvisor, GoNow, Guide Financial, Kofax, Kontomatik, Kreditech, LearnVest, Mergers & Acquisitions, Q2, ReadyForZero, Red Zebra, Social Money, Stratos, Toopher, Urban FT, Wipit, Yodlee

Handshake_graphic

2015 was another big year for mergers and acquisitions in the fintech industry. And whether they were the acquirer or the acquired, Finovate alums were very much a part of the M&A action.

Because terms of many deals were undisclosed, it is difficult to get a precise number on how much money was spent acquiring some of fintech’s most promising startups this year. But looking just at those acquisitions for which figures were available, we can see that 2015 was a banner year in M&A (more than $7 billion) — and that’s just counting alums.

So from the $5 billion deal between FIS and Sungard to the “alum-acquires-alum” mergers of September 2015, let’s take a closer look at some of the major unions of the year that featured Finovate alums.

December

October

September

August

July

May

April

March

February

January

If you’re a Finovate alum whose merger we’ve missed or acquisition we’ve overlooked, let us know. Send us an email at research@finovate.com.

Share this:

Send Post Twitter LinkedIn Facebook

FinDEVr APIntelligence

By Julie Muhn (@julieschicktanz) Posted on
Categories: Arxan Technologies, Avoka, BehavioSec, Blockstack.io, Entersekt, FinDEVr APIntelligence, Praesidio, SimplyTapp, Tradier, Trulioo, Twilio, VISA, Xignite

FinDEVr2016-NY-(Stacked)V2Are you building new financial technology? Be sure to check out coverage from our recent developers conference in San Francisco. We’re taking the fintech developer tool showcase to New York on 29/30 March 2016. Stay tuned for details.

Developer news

  • “The Next Web: How to Design with Developers”

The latest from FinDEVr San Francisco 2015 presenters

  • Think Big Data mentions Praesidio as a startup using machine learning in its cyber-security solution.
  • “Xignite Surpasses 50 Billion API Calls in a Single Month”
  • VentureBeat: Twilio rolls out new feature set designed to help developers build messaging apps using its platform.
  • Arxan Technologies extends its app-security protection to Apple TV.
  • “Digital Asset Holdings Acquires Blockchain-as-a-Service Innovator, Blockstack.io“
  • Security solutions from Arxan Technologies now running on more than 500 million devices.

Alumni updates

  • Tradier teams up with Equities Lab to bring real-world trading experience to college students.
  • Google appoints Entersekt CTO Christiaan Brand as product manager for security and identity teams.
  • Pymnts looks at how SimplyTapp is addressing host card emulation.
  • Visa Inc. to Acquire Visa Europe.
  • Fierce Finance IT features BehavioSec.
  • Avoka partners with Trulioo to provide digital identification authentication to international banks.

Stay up-to-date on daily developments by following FinDEVr on Twitter.

Share this:

Send Post Twitter LinkedIn Facebook

Digital Asset Holdings Acquires Blockchain-as-a-Service Innovator, Blockstack.io

Digital Asset Holdings Acquires Blockchain-as-a-Service Innovator, Blockstack.io
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Blockstack.io

Blockstack_homepage_Oct2015

Best of Show winner Blockstack.io today announced an agreement to be acquired by Digital Asset Holdings. Terms of the deal were not immediately available.

Miron Cuperman, Blockstack CTO, called Digital Asset “the best platform” to deliver Blockstack’s blockchain-application-development tools as part of a comprehensive solution for customers. Digital Asset Holdings’ CEO Blythe Masters praised both Blockstack’s technology as well as its talent, calling Cuperman “a renowned pioneer in the blockchain world.”

“(Cuperman) adds tremendous technical expertise to our development team,” Masters said.

Blockstack_stage_FF2015

From left: Blockstack CEO Peter Shiau and CPO Lior Saar demonstrated Blockstack.io at FinovateFall 2015 in New York.

Blockstack provides financial institutions with a hosted platform to build blockchain-based applications using APIs and SDKs. Currently available in beta, Blockstack’s platform combines open source and proprietary technologies in a private blockchain for known participants to develop apps.

As part of the acquisition, Digital Asset Holdings and Blockstack will integrate their product offerings, giving clients a seamless integration experience. Peter Shiau, Blockstack CEO, added that Digital Asset Holding’s approach to technology is “very complementary” and that the leadership of the combined entity will have the necessary resources to scale the platform.

Founded in May 2015 and headquartered in San Francisco, Blockstack made its Finovate debut at FinovateFall 2015 in New York, and its FinDEVr debut at FinDEVr San Francisco 2015.

Share this:

Send Post Twitter LinkedIn Facebook

Finovate Alumni News

By David Penn Posted on
Categories: AlphaClone, AlphaPoint, Arxan Technologies, Blockstack, Blockstack.io, BrightScope, CurrencyFair, EyeVerify, Fastacash, IDology, Mint

On Finovate.com

  • “Digital Asset Holdings Acquires Blockchain-as-a-Service Innovator, Blockstack.io“

Around the web

  • Let’s Talk Payments interviews John Dancu, IDology CEO.
  • AlphaPoint unveils StreamCore to help banks take advantage of blockchain data.
  • Fastacash partners with Xpress Money to launch XOPO, enabling cross-border money-transfers via social networks and messaging channels.
  • Security solutions from Arxan Technologies now running on more than 500 million devices.
  • RIA Biz highlights MaxMyInterest in feature on the NAPFA Fall Conference.
  • ETFdb interviews CEO Maz Jadallah of AlphaClone.
  • Martin Beaulieu, former BlackRock managing director, joins BrightScope as adviser.
  • CurrencyFair expansion to bring 50 new jobs to Dublin, Ireland, over the next year.
  • Porch.com acquires Fountain, a startup launched by Mint founder, Aaron Patzer.
  • Chinese smartphone maker Nubia unveils phone with EyeVerify authentication technology.

This post will be updated throughout the day as news and developments emerge. You can also follow all the alumni news headlines on the Finovate Twitter account.

Share this:

Send Post Twitter LinkedIn Facebook

FinDEVr Live: Build Blockchain 2.0 Apps with Technology from Blockstack.io

FinDEVr Live: Build Blockchain 2.0 Apps with Technology from Blockstack.io
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Blockstack, Blockstack.io, FinDEVr 2015, FinDEVr 2015 San Francisco

Blockstack_homepage_FinDEVr2015

Blockstack.io | @blockstackio

Blockstack_FinDEVr215_logoBlockstack.io is an enterprise software company that sells infrastructure for financial services and other enterprises to create blockchain 2.0 applications quickly and easily. The San Francisco-based company has taken the underlying technology of Bitcoin and sells a hosted, private sandbox to accelerate application development and prototyping. Here is the company’s perspective on blockchain technology for financial services:

Our company’s perspective on blockchain technology for financial services

Blockchain technology for financial services is at the bleeding edge. The enormous potential has increased interest in the technology and created many questions, as well. There are many factors to consider: the technical foundation, the application, the participants, the legal and regulatory frameworks, etc. Blockstack.io shares some thoughts on which areas are important to understand this new and exciting field of blockchain infrastructure.

Key takeaways:

  • Blockchain is infrastructure technology.
  • Infrastructure must be flexible and rigid in the right places.
  • Ecosystems win, not technology alone.

blockstackio_findevr

Presenters:

Peter Shiau, CEO, Co-founder
LinkedIn | @petershiau | peter@blockstack.io

Lior Saar, CPO, Co-founder
LinkedIn

Share this:

Send Post Twitter LinkedIn Facebook

FinovateFall 2015 Best of Show Winners Announced

FinovateFall 2015 Best of Show Winners Announced
By David Penn Posted on
Categories: Best of Show, Blockstack.io, Dyme, Dynamics, Finanteq, FinovateFall 2015, Hedgeable, HelloWallet, SaleMove, Soundpays

BoS_TrophiesShot_FF2015

The Best of Show votes for FinovateFall 2015 have been cast and counted! After two days and 70 live demos of the latest in fintech innovation, our attendees made their opinions known as to which companies earned “Best of Show” (see footnotes for voting methodology).

This year at FinovateFall, it was the debuting companies that made some of the biggest impressions on our record-setting Finovate audience. Of the eight companies to take home “Best of Show” honors, five of them were making their very first appearance on the Finovate stage.

So with a hearty “Congratulations!” let’s meet the Best of Show winners of FinovateFall 2015 (in alphabetic order):

BlockstackioLogoBlockstack.io for its technology that enables financial services and other enterprises to set up and build applications on a private, hosted blockchain.

 

dymeDyme for its innovative method for helping people start a savings habit and fund their life using text messaging.

DynamicsLogoDynamics for its fully programmable interfaces—stripe, EMV, NFC—for use in next-generation payment cards.

 

FINANTEQLogoFinanteq for its SuperWallet that helps banks take full advantage of their potential by integrating m-commerce and remote services with mobile banking.

HedgeableLogoHedgeable for its private banking platform for millennials.

 

HelloWalletLogoHelloWallet for its Retirement Explorer solution, an approachable and actionable online planning tool that helps employees model and work toward specific retirement outcomes.

SaleMoveSaleMove for its Engagement Platform and OmniCall technologies that enable online consumers to engage live with businesses as if they were face-to-face.

Soundpays_logo_FF2015Soundpays for its patent-pending technology that allows the app to recognize ultrasonic and sonic waveforms even in extremely noisy environments.

We had a great time at FinovateFall 2015 and hope you enjoyed the show, as well. Thanks, as always, to everyone who attended, sponsored, partnered with and demonstrated their latest technologies at FinovateFall 2015. We’ll see you next year!

Notes on methodology:
1. Only audience members NOT associated with demoing companies were eligible to vote. Finovate employees did not vote.
2. Attendees were encouraged to note their favorites during each day. At the end of the last demo, they chose their three favorites.
3. The exact written instructions given to attendees: “Please rate the companies on the basis of demo quality and potential impact of the innovation demoed.”
4. The eight companies appearing on the highest percentage of submitted ballot were named “Best of Show.”
5. Go here for a list of previous Best of Show winners through 2014. Best of Show winners from FinovateEurope 2015 are here. Best of Show winners from FinovateSpring 2015 are here.

Share this:

Send Post Twitter LinkedIn Facebook