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Bitcoin and the technology behind it are no longer just the realm of tech nerds, traders and idealists. Blockchain and cryptocurrencies are being embraced by hundreds of large institutions and companies. So far this year, the payment giant Square has invested $ 50 million in bitcoin and at least 20 institutional investors have so far filed documents with the US Securities and Exchange Commission revealing their investments. But cryptocurrency is just an application of the blockchain, dozens of companies are now using the technology to improve their business processes.
To follow this rapidly changing landscape Forbes is now accepting applications for its annual Blockchain 50 list from companies based anywhere in the world. The only requirements are that the company must be a billion dollar business and do meaningful work in any blockchain application, including finding new ways to streamline business processes, eliminate inefficiencies, reduce fraud, or simply do an old-fashioned investment in a new form of money.
Members of the past list include Facebook, which joined the Blockchain 50 list in its inaugural year, before its plans to launch a new currency, called Libra, were public. Long before Square made its historic bitcoin investment, the payment company founded by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey entered the list for some of his first exploratory investments in Lightning, a payments network designed to make using bitcoin to buy things faster and cheaper. Other Blockchain 50 companies include the energy giant Royal Dutch Shell, automotive giant Daimlerand the second largest bank in the world, China Construction Bank.
2021 Forbes Candidates on the Blockchain 50 list are invited to complete this application form in as much detail as possible before Friday 6th November. In three weeks, the competition to include is already on the rise.
Given the complexity of building blockchain applications, which rely on a distributed and shared infrastructure, advanced prototypes with involved industry participants can qualify a member of the list. But increasingly, members of the list are launching live blockchain applications that track real value in new ways.
At the end of the nomination period, a team of Forbes Staff journalists with specialties across a wide variety of industries will select candidates, looking for the most mature blockchain programs run by the world’s most talented teams. Winners are expected to be revealed in a 2021 magazine issue and online.
If you think you know a company with the skills to do the cutting, read the more detailed criteria here and fill out the list by November 6.
