Businesses across the globe are exploring new ways to take advantage of blockchain technology and the various opportunities it offers. This article discusses the issue with reference to BlackRock Inc (NYSE: BLK), PayPal Holdings (NASDAQ: PYPL), SAP SE (NYSE: SAP) and WonderFi Technologies (TSX: WNDR) (OTCQB: WONDF).
WonderFi Technologies (TSX: WNDR) (OTCQB: WONDF) operates as a software company. It has developed a platform which integrates with the entire decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem, with the business serving customers around the world.
According to the business’ latest earnings, it scored revenues of CA$2.9m in its third quarter period after new acquisitions started contributing meaningfully to the business. This income is a vast improvement on the young company’s revenue in the same period last year.
The company’s latest exciting update is that it has entered an agreement to acquire blockchain development firm Blockchain Foundry. WonderFi Technologies is hoping this planned acquisition will solidify its place as Canada’s leader in digital assets, with Blockchain Foundry having launched platforms like LastKnown, an NFT minting platform and marketplace for unique NFT drops from artists and collections.
It’s also the business behind Metacademy, a learn-to-earn educational platform which teaches users how to set up a crypto wallet, how to mint, buy and sell NFTs, the differences between Web2 and Web3, and how users can better understand the metaverse.
WonderFi Technologies has already made several acquisitions this year including Bitbuy, which is Canada’s largest licensed crypto trading platform, and Coinberry, another licensed platform. These moves have brought a combined 625,000 new users into the company’s ecosystem.
Perhaps this is why famed Canadian entrepreneur and businessman Kevin O'Leary, a strategic investor in WonderFi Technologies said on a recent appearance on Logan Paul's Impaulsive podcast that he believed that the company “will eventually become a giant holding company for all these licensed exchanges around the world”.
BlackRock Inc (NYSE: BLK) is headed by Larry Fink and provides investment management services to institutional clients and to retail investors through various investment vehicles. The company manages funds, as well as offering risk management services. The business serves governments, companies and foundations worldwide.
The company’s most recent earnings update saw it report total revenue of $4.5bn for the three-month period ended 30 June, down from $4.8bn in the same period in 2021.
This downturn could primarily be attributed to a fall in investment advisory performance fees, which declined from $340m to $106m over the time frame as the BlackRock Inc’s CEO acknowledged that the start of the year had seen the business face a number of headwinds.
Interestingly, August saw the business launch its first ever investment product tied to cryptocurrency. The new trust, which is aimed at major institutional investors, is a response to what BlackRock Inc referred to as “substantial interest” from its client base.
Additionally, BlackRock Inc has partnered with Coinbase in an effort to improve its clients’ ability to manage and exchange their digital assets.
These moves towards blockchain and cryptocurrency seem like a vote of confidence in digital assets, and a powerful one at that considering that the company is the planet's largest asset manager.
Dan Schulman’s PayPal Holdings (NASDAQ: PYPL) operates as a holding company. The company, through its subsidiaries, provides a technology platform that enables digital and mobile payments on behalf of consumers and merchants. The company offers online payment solutions and serves customers worldwide.
PayPal Holdings’ most recent earnings showed that the business’ net revenues climbed by
9% to $6.8bn, while the business’ commitment to work with activist investment outfit Elliot Investment Management appears to have been well-received by shareholders.
In terms of embracing blockchain, PayPal Holdings seems to be aiming to attract new users to its services by offering customers the ability to transfer certain cryptocurrencies between each other, as well as outside wallets and exchanges.
PayPal Holdings said this change was “one of the most requested enhancements since we began offering the purchase of crypto on our platform”, clearly indicating the demand for increasing crypto capabilities.
Indeed, the company sees crypto as looming large in the future for payment technology despite a downturn in prices in the current calendar year.
The company could further champion blockchain integration too, with Senior Vice President Jose Fernandez da Ponte having previously noted that the technology offers unique advantages but acknowledged that customers would still need the familiarity of traditional user experiences.
SAP SE (NYSE: SAP) is a multinational software company led by Christian Klein. The company develops business software, including e-business and enterprise management software, consults on organizational usage of its applications software and provides training services. The business markets its products and services worldwide.
SAP SE’s most recent earnings release showed a 13% year-on-year increase in second quarter revenue to €7.5bn as cloud and software revenue climbed.
While many companies turning towards the blockchain are doing so to access crypto, SAP SE has taken a different tact. Instead, the company has implemented blockchain technology into some of its software solutions.
For example, the business is currently piloting GreenToken, a blockchain assisted system which is designed to boost sustainable outcomes and increase circularity in the chemicals industry by better recovering waste plastics.
This is just one example of the company’s efforts to integrate blockchain tech into its offerings, with the company priding itself in having been an early adopter of the technology. Explaining why blockchain works so well for SAP SE, the company’s business developer for blockchain, Benjamin Stoeckhert, commented:
“Supply chain transparency is the typical application for most of the existing SAP solutions. The blockchain-based material traceability option for SAP Logistics Business Network can provide an end-to-end picture of the supply chain provenance. It enables customers in industries such as foods, pharmaceuticals or chemicals to analyze their products’ genealogies up and down stream.”