Global Automotive Blockchain Revving Up?

Blockchain beyond bitcoin. The refrain is familiar and gaining traction.

You might say that here, the rubber meets the road. Literally.

One estimate that debuted this week via Business Intelligence and Strategy Research (aka BIS Research) states that the global automotive blockchain market will reach $1.6 billion by 2026. That represents a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 65.8 percent, as measured from 2018. According to the report, distributed ledger technology (DLT) will continue to rise, along with what BIS touted as “the myriad” number of benefits that accrue with that technology.

The advantages extend from transparency to security and, of course, immutability. Stated the research firm: “By augmenting distributed ledger technology with automation, a plethora of application cases can be realized whose impact spans over the whole supply chain. The immense application potential of this technology opens up plenty of opportunities, which can transform products, services and processes across the automotive industry.”

In patent news, Capital One has filed an application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office that would leverage blockchain to secure user authentication efforts and boost security initiatives. The patent would receive and store encrypted user data, and allows users to authenticate themselves across a variety of platforms.

Securities Offerings, Too

Within the financial services realm, use cases for blockchain also showed how DLT might be used in actual offerings. As reported, the China Zheshang Bank, which is one of the larger commercial banks in the country and is privately held, issued $66 million worth of securities across a blockchain platform. The bank had filed documentation at mid-month with the Shanghai Clearing House, in turn stating that the securities would be backed with portfolios of corporate account receivables. Outlets including the China Securities Journal noted that the issuance was completed last week on Aug. 17.

According to reports, the blockchain platform, which was known as Lianrong, had been designed by the bank, and the receivables had been offered to a pool of investors. The settlement was done peer-to-peer and focused on invoices, which had been paid for at a discount, as is commonly seen in transactions involving accounts receivables.

Blockchain an Apple of Apple Founder’s Eye?

Apple Co-founder Steve Wozniak has stated that he plans to “get involved” in a blockchain project, which cointelegraph noted would be a “first” for him. At the ChainXchange blockchain conference held last week in Las Vegas, Wozniak stated that a project may be in the works. The site quoted him as saying that “I’m involved with, very soon, my first time being involved in a blockchain company,” with an explanation that “our approach is not like a new currency, or something phony where an event will make it go up in value. It’s a share of stock, in a company. This company is doing investment by investors with huge track records in things like apartment buildings in Dubai.”

Keeping Blockchain Down on the Farm

Cointelegraph also reported that blockchain is helping to improve supply chain dynamics in agriculture, with an eye on helping boost transparency in the food supply chain, and with the ability to help stakeholders and consumers track the sourcing of what they eat. The actual retailer and manufacturers are also able to prevent tainted products from reaching the consumer.  The publication noted that Carrefour has brought blockchain to bear on info tied to free-range chickens, for example.

In terms of individual company funding news, and where platforms have gotten funding (rather than cryptocurrencies), the blockchain marketing  platform Atlas Protocol said Monday that it has wrapped up a seed investment round of “several million dollars.” The exact amount was not disclosed. The platform was formed through the efforts of Nebulas Labs and xGoogler Blockchain Alliance, among others, said cointelegraph.