Source: VanEck; Compiled by Golden Finance. Cryptocurrency is a combination of cryptography, distributed systems, and economics aimed at creating private currencies that can compete with government-backed fiat currencies. After Bitcoin demonstrated the ability of decentralized networks to coordinate and transfer value, other companies began experimenting with building blockchains with fewer technical constraints. These participants included corporations and foundations dedicated to building blockchains to solve problems that plagued large companies. While blockchain presents a range of potential applications, most corporate efforts remain in the exploratory phase, motivated by following trends rather than serious strategic intent. For example, in 2016, JPMorgan Chase forked Ethereum to create Quorum, a permissioned blockchain for financial institutions that integrates smart contracts to speed asset settlement, execute repurchase transactions, and reduce compliance checks in cross-border payments. By 2018, entities like Walmart and Carrefour were using blockchain to track the origins of vegetables sold in their stores. Another interesting experiment is HSBC's Voltron digital letter of credit, and MineHub, which placed BHP Billiton's iron ore transactions on a private blockchain in 2020. In the shipping sector, Tradelens, a collaboration between IBM and Maersk, uses IBM's Fabric distributed ledger to record global shipping data and documents. Most of these early projects amounted to little more than PR stunts and R&D tax deductions, mostly proofs of concept that lacked practical problems to solve or were hampered by regulatory restrictions. Many ultimately collapsed because their value failed to outlive the necessary launch time and the traction of stakeholders wedded to legacy systems. With the recent surge in cryptocurrency prices and the introduction of legislation related to stablecoins and digital assets, businesses are once again exploring blockchain applications. However, this time appears different, as Washington, D.C., is providing both legal clarity and incentives for blockchain adoption. Now seems to be the "crypto moment," just as Barack Obama's inauguration in 2009 was called the "green energy moment." Some of the most notable "enterprise" blockchain projects include: 1. Figure Technologies: Provenance is a Cosmos blockchain that serves as a distributed ledger for HELOCs and, in the future, other asset-backed securities. 2. SWIFT: SWIFT is working with 30 financial institutions to create a shared digital distributed ledger that is interoperable with existing blockchains. 3. Societe Generale: Forge is a fully regulated and compliant tokenization and stablecoin platform that connects to public blockchains and traditional market infrastructure. 4. Stripe: Tempo is an Ethereum-based network that will serve as a neutral stablecoin payment network for agent AI. 5. Digital Asset: Canton, a collaboration between DRW, Tradeweb, and GS, is a privacy-first settlement network for securities trading and asset exchange between financial institutions. 6. Circle: Arca, Circle's USDC-centric payments blockchain. 7. OpenAI: Worldchain is a blockchain hosting an ID system that distinguishes human and AI users on the internet. 8. Coinbase: Base is Coinbase's DeFi and crypto payment hub, which may also include Cloudflare's AI-powered payment stablecoin, NET. 9. Ripple: The Ripple network is creating settlement systems and payments for financial entities such as prime broker Hidden Road. 10. JPMorgan Chase: Kinexys, a digital payments network, enables programmable cross-chain payments 24/7.