2020 Blockchain Milestones

UAE Ministry of Health and Prevention (MoHAP) adopts blockchain

To streamline the search for health facilities and its licensed medical and technical personnel, as well as inquire about medicine supply chains.

IBM considers blockchain to tackle the pain point of resolving discrepancies across casual work contracts

NITI Aayog publishes part one of its two-part blockchain strategy for adopting the technology in India

Telegram reveals Catchain - a Byzantine Fault Tolerant consensus mechanism that is currently implemented in the testnet

IBM cements its patent leadership in the U.S with over 9,000 patents, including in AI and blockchain (in 2019)

US Navy offers Simba Chain, a blockchain software startup $9.5M to install a secure messaging platform

Blockchain app developer Acoer creates a data visualization tool to track the deadly coronavirus

Chinese insurance firms use blockchain to process coronavirus claims

Leading stablecoin operator Tether launches USDT on the Algorand proof-of-stake (PoS) blockchain

Google joins the Hedera Hashgraph Governing Council as a member and node maintainer

6 blockchain and bitcoin companies featured in Forbes top 50 fintech companies for 2020

Bangladesh-based Bank Asia joins Ripple’s RippleNet blockchain-based financial services network

Steemit -a major blockchain-based blogging and social networking website moves to Tron’s network

The International Data Corporation estimates that the Middle East and Africa’s blockchain spending would surge to $105 million by 2023

Coinbase becomes a direct Visa Card issuer, this enables the crypto-exchange firm to expand the Coinbase Card outside of the European Union

Indian IT giant Tech Mahindra to launch a blockchain accelerator together with the government of Telangana.

After Vodafone walks out, e-commerce giant Shopify joins the Libra Association

CULedger’s blockchain-based identity verification solution MemberPass is now commercially available after a successful pilot in late 2019

Dubai launches a blockchain based KYC platform to support faster business registration in the UAE

Walmart joins Hyperledger during the opening day of the Hyperledger Global Forum 2020

From the farm to the table - Ecuador’s dairy producer joins IBM’s blockchain to track the entire journey of dairy products

Facebook course corrects Libra blockchain to appeal regulators

Read more: Facebook course corrects Libra blockchain to appeal regulators

Samsung SDSmoves into the European market with a blockchain-based payments solution for merchants

The cryptocurrency-powered internet browser Brave gains popularity, surpasses 4 Million daily users

The global blockchain IoT market size may reach $5,802.7 million in 2026 - Research Dive

The increasing adoption of the IoT blockchain and the increase in operational efficiency among organizations are among the reasons for future market growth.

Figure Technologies- A US blockchain lending firm witnesses value of total loans funded surge to $1 billion as the U.S. Federal Reserve announces its emergency stimulus interest rate cut

Alibaba registers a patent in Brazil that aims to build a blockchain-based transaction system

More than 20 banks in Chongqing, China successfully uses a trade finance blockchain platform to process over $56 million in international trade payments

Bank of England (BoE) weighs the pros and cons of issuing a central bank digital currency (CBDC), releases paper

Standard Chartered becomes the first bank to join TradeLens, the global blockchain shipping platform created by IBM and Maersk

Sita, an air transport communications and information tech company explores possibilities to save $400M per year with innovative blockchain tech

Rapper and entrepreneur, Akon, shares the whitepaper for his upcoming ‘Akoin’ - a cryptocurrency “designed for entrepreneurs in the rising economies of Africa and beyond

Blockchain technology would save the United States pharmaceutical industry over $180 million each year - UCLA Health and LedgerDomain

Alibaba’s import e-commerce platform embraces Ant Financial’s blockchain traceability system to make consumer goods transparent and trackable

China Ever­bright Bank, one of the world’s largest public firms, debuted a blockchain-based supply chain finance solution by Ant Financial

Ernst & Young Japan announces plans to launch a blockchain system for tracking Japanese sake and fruit; prevents the sale of fraudulent or counterfeit products

Alibaba’s import e-commerce platform embraces Ant Financial’s blockchain traceability system to make consumer goods transparent and trackable

Cardano’s ‘Hydra’ that scales more than visa’s payment network; claims to handle around 1,000 transactions per second

Tech Mahindra Ltd, first Indian corporate to leverage the Marco Polo Network and Platform for international trade finance

Power Ledger and French green energy retailer ekWateur offers 220,000 French households a blockchain tool to customize their energy mix

Global investment in blockchain in the energy market will reach $35 billion by 2025 - Premium Market Insights

General Motors files patent for a blockchain-based navigation map, potentially for semi-autonomous driving systems

Blockchain technology is key to mitigating the impact of disruptions like the COVID-19 pandemic - World Economic Forum

Nestlé to use IBM Food Trust Blockchain Tool for its coffee brand ‘Zoégas’

VitalHub Corp announces blockchain-based coronavirus screening tool

35 multinationals including Microsoft, Walmart, Mastercard, Sony and Intel applied for a total of 212 blockchain patents by the end of March 2020 in China

Cardano Foundation endorses South African blockchain alliance establishment; looks forward to strengthening blockchain awareness

Azimo partners with a Thai bank to launch an instant cross-border payments service from Europe to Thailand through Ripple’s global payments network

$12Million wheat trade between U.S. and Indonesia settled on blockchain

Alibaba subsidiary Ant Financial launches new consortium blockchain platform for SMEs

AirAsia, launches blockchain-based cargo booking system ‘Freightchain’

AVA Labs launches framework for 'Internet of Blockchains'

ICBC unveils banking sector’s first blockchain white paper, the first of its kind in the sector

Blockchain startup Orbs launches app to encourage people stay at home during pandemic

The "Stay at Home Challenge” app is designed to assure that the user does not leave the nearby radius once they enter their location in the app

Power Ledger rolls out blockchain-based solar energy trading in Western Australia; blockchain devs focuses on greener, sustainable energy projects

Dole to integrate IBM’s Food Trust Blockchain into all divisions by 2025

New York’s largest healthcare group joins IBM Blockchain’s new network for COVID-19 relief provisions

Fast-fashion brand H&M partners with blockchain platform, VeChain to provide detailed supply chain tracing data to customers

KFC launches blockchain pilot for digital advertising and media buying in the Middle East

Nasdaq partners with R3 to help build Institutional-grade digital assets

250M pieces of digital content to be copyrighted on Ontology blockchain

UK blockchain companies are turning to traditional capital raising strategies”- Venture capital firm, MMC Ventures; ICO models are no longer working

Block.one patents monetizing every post on a social media network using tokenized bidding

Polish insurance company Link4 in collaboration with Coinfirm aims to use DLT-powered tool ‘Trudatum’ for document management

Utilizing blockchain Aglive, an Australian-based world-first livestock traceability platform tracks beef exports from Australia to China

Mastercard and R3 joins Linux Foundation’s new data privacy project as data privacy issue rises amidst the pandemic

Data privacy issues have been escalating in 2020 as personal data is increasingly being used to fight COVID-19. Called the ToIP Foundation, this new cross-industry coalition aims to provide a trusted exchange of data over the internet.

U.K.’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to launch a digital sandbox to foster innovative firms developing solutions to the coronavirus outbreak

Celo, Libra blockchain’s rival announces addition of more than 20 new members to its "Alliance for Prosperity”

Read more: Libra v/s Celo — permissioned and permissionless blockchain targeting financial inclusion

Hainan’s province in China launches a program that aims to strengthen cross-border payments via blockchain technology

South Korea’s city Sejong to establish a blockchain-based identity verification platform for self-driving vehicles

Blockchain jobs are the highest paying tech roles, according to Capital on Cap- a UK based firm; the average annual salary amounting to around $93041 USD

Singapore-based DBS Bank joins the blockchain trade-finance network Contour built over R3’s Corda to digitize trade settlement

Watch Now What is Corda blockchain? Simply explained

Hyperledger unveils a new Greenhouse project, Hyperledger Cactus, an open source blockchain integration project by Accenture and Fujitsu

Read more: Hyperledger Cactus — The open-source blockchain integration project

Enterprise blockchain market will hit $21.07 billion by 2025 - Fortune Business Insights

Read more: Why Hyperledger Fabric will Win Against R3 Corda and Quorum?

To combat counterfeit goods, the Italian government allocates €15M to develop and implement blockchain and other tech-based solutions

Digital Euro sees first successful test at the bank of France

Blockchain firms Algorand and Attestiv collaborate to fight insurance fraud using DLT

Ontology partners with German digital identity and cloud wallet provider, Spherity, to collaborate on expediting development on digital identity solutions for products and enterprises

Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin suggested that stablecoins could serve as instant cross-blockchain bridges

Visa offers new DeFi-enabled crypto card in EU and UK

Libra renames its crypto wallet ‘Calibra’ as Novi

Read more: From Calibra to Novi — Facebook’s Libra blockchain story

India’s largest port operator APSEZ partners with IBM’s TradeLens platform to digitize its supply chain process

Vodafone uses the IoT and blockchain technology to link billions of distributed energy generating assets to grids

Blockchain battery grids are powering up at lightning speed in the European Union

A U.S. Think Tank working towards a digitized dollar releases a white paper detailing inaugural aims and use cases for a central bank digital currency

South Korea's largest public blockchain, ICON, has releases its Blockchain Transmission Protocol, allowing individual blockchains to interact and communicate with each other

Alibaba and its affiliate Ant Financial signs deal with China Merchants Port to strengthen blockchain’s adoption across the port industry

Amazon files a patent for a blockchain system that tracks goods as they move on the supply chain

Tether integrates OMG Network Plasma sidechain; promises cheaper transactions as Ethereum’s fees skyrocket

Accenture, Microsoft, IBM, Hyperledger forms an alliance to develop global standards for tokenized ecosystems

Decentralized identity could replace all login functions – LG

Blockchain platform to track $2.5b worth of tea products in the Chinese province of Yunnan

VeChain partners with a Walmart China subsidiary to increase supply chain transparency for its food products

Norwegian salmon exporter joins the IBM Food Trust to increase transparency and help prevent fraud in the seafood industry

Mexico’s Blockchain Sector Grows 90% in 2 Years Despite COVID-19

Mexico’s blockchain sector is producing robust growth, with the sector having nearly doubled in size since 2018

40% of new fintech firms in Hong Kong over the past year are operating in the blockchain sector

1st blockchain-based trade finance transaction conducted between Turkey and Germany; Turkish İşbank and German Commerzbank secured payments by digitally processing the related data transfer

China Zhe­shang Bank uses blockchain technology to issue an asset-backed commercial paper worth $16.9 Billion

Baseline integrates Microsoft and Google Spreadsheets using Ethereum mainnet

South Korea’s city, Busan will let its citizens access government services using a blockchain-based identification app

The Indian Port Community System integrates blockchain platform CargoX to digitize its cargo documentation

South Korean insurance giant KB Insurance plans to implement a blockchain-enabled mobile message delivery system for its clients

DeFi hits new heights; more than 1,000 new assets added and total user numbers reaches 550,000

Unilever unveiled a $1 billion initiative aimed at fighting climate change in which blockchain technology will play an integral role

Ubisoft Launches Blockchain-Based Collectables to Support UNICEF

P2P solar trading using blockchain is popular and technically feasible - Australian government-backed trial claims

More than 40 companies including Ripple, Brave and Huobi join forces to form the Open Payments Coalition and launch universal payments system PayID

PayID will allow users to send or receive money anywhere in the world across any payment network in real time.

Peer-to-peer crypto-powered wireless network Helium announced its expansion to Europe

Helium Tabs are devices that leverage the decentralized network for tracking purposes. According to the official website, they have a battery duration of over 6 months.

Singapore to explore Central Bank Digital Currency With China

Ethereum 2.0 is set to launch in the second half of 2020

Read more: Ethereum 2.0 — The major changes

China completes the backend architecture development of Digital Yuan - People's Bank of China

Read more: The Digital Currency War — United States of America against China

WhatsApp’s payment features suspended in Brazil, less than one month after the Facebook-owned app them rolled out

Iota enters the first phase to become a “fully decentralized network” by Q1 2021

Sri Lanka Central Bank shortlists 3 firms to develop a proof-of-concept for a shared Know Your Customer facility using blockchain

$300B worth of food will be traced using blockchain and IoT by 2027

Blockchain technology and the Internet of Things (IoT) can solve some of the food industry’s most pressing challenges and save it $100 billion a year, according to a recent report by Cointelegraph Consulting and VeChain. The report forecasts that $300 billion worth of food items will be traced along the supply chain annually within seven years.

Cosmos, Polkadot, and Terra announces “Anchor” - a DeFi product that pays passive income

Afghan government to use blockchain to combat counterfeit drugs

Volvo’s venture arm invests in blockchain traceability startup ‘Circulor’ to track the origins of raw materials

Tech Mahindra employs IBM Blockchain to combat digital piracy

Indian IT giant Tech Mahindra has launched a new blockchain-based digital contracts and rights platform for the media and entertainment industry.

Mercedes-Benz Manufacturer Daimler to use blockchain for data collection

Mercedes-Benz’ parent company has partnered with Ocean Protocol to use blockchain technology to privately collect and package data for monetization.

Court in China Implementing Blockchain for Court Reform

Chinese courts are implementing blockchain storage technology to record court hearings.

Big four firms to become 'crucial part' of DeFi ecosystem by 2030

Big Four accounting firms like KPMG and Deloitte will become an important part of the decentralized finance — or DeFi — in the coming decade, according to Berlin-based non-profit think tank dGen.

Port of Rotterdam with global shipping giants launches blockchain pilot to improve efficiency

The Port of Rotterdam in the Netherlands has launched a blockchain-based pilot with some of the world's leading shipping companies to improve the safety and efficiency of millions of containers that are unloaded in the port every year.

Blockchain Tech to help Spanish cider makers fight counterfeits

Spanish cider companies are integrating blockchain to fight against counterfeit cider products and over-production.

J.M. Smucker uses IBM blockchain to trace coffee beans for 1850 Brand

Smucker will use a blockchain to trace Colombian coffee beans while letting consumers make donations to coffee farmers in Colombia.

Beijing government releases its first blockchain application blueprint for government services, claims 140 applications already use the technology

Jamaica’s central bank has invited technology solution providers to develop and test a potential CBDC

Alibaba’s payments arm Ant Group has launched a new blockchain solution, AntChain, for increased trust and transparency in industrial processes

R3’s widely-used open source blockchain platform Corda now supports the DAML smart contract language

Australian Securities Exchange switch to blockchain delayed to 2022

After stakeholders raised concerns about the Australian Securities Exchange’s blockchain infrastructure plan, it has been postponed until 2022.

Israel will have its first central securities lending platform this November, built on blockchain technology

Huobi Japan is now part of the local self-regulatory body supporting the development of STOs

VeChain Foundation announced a blockchain-based food safety solution based on its Blockchain-as-a-Service platform, ToolChain

South Korea Bank partners with the Korea Expressway Corporation for a blockchain-based toll system

More than 10,000 new blockchain companies established in China in 2020

China’s first government-backed blockchain initiative has just launched an official international website

The State Government of Telangana may develop a blockchain e-voting platform for state and national-level use

China’s Blockchain-based Service Network (BSN), the country’s nationwide blockchain project launches an official international website

One Million South Koreans now have blockchain driver’s licenses

Salesforce blockchain certified first-ever artwork painted Lamborghini

VeChain launches blockchain-enabled sustainability solution

Hashgraph sets to scale a Mental Health Platform to billion users

A new report from Mexico says banks are used to launder money more than crypto

China plans to use its digital yuan at the 2022 Winter Olympic Games

Read more: ConsenSys Quorum – An Improved Ethereum Blockchain?

ConsenSys acquires JPMorgan’s Quorum Blockchain