Even if you are not a crypto enthusiast, you must
Even if you are not a crypto enthusiast, you must have heard the term Bitcoin, provided you don’t live under a rock. Though you may be aware of the various developmental aspects of this cryptocurrency, what is more, fascinating and is going through a lot of research is the technology that Bitcoins stand on- Blockchain technology.
Many major companies are getting involved in a high-tech arms race to acquire blockchain patents faster than another.
More than 2000 blockchain patents have been filed in total, according to the Bitcoin Patent Report. This rise is in a way in sync with internet-related patents in the early days of cyberspace, rising from 165 in 1995 to 2,193 in 1998, according to a report by Harvard.
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Globally, more than 3550 patents have been filed, according to Google Patents statistics. The clear leader, in this case, quite unsurprisingly, is the United States, which has been the source of 36% of blockchain technology patents filed over the past year. It is followed closely by China, who has 29%.
Blockchain Technology has many advantages. It can cut down drastically on the time it takes to transfer funds, upgrade security, as well as save banks up to $20 billion a year according to a report from Santander InnoVentures. It could achieve this by eliminating the slow centralized financial systems currently in place.
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The Top Patent-Owning Companies:
Google so far has filed for 9 blockchain patents which are related to securing information stored in their cloud. Unfortunately for Google, “Just blockchain it,” doesn’t have the same ring to it.
IBM
IBM is another such company which many developments in the field of innovation with a total of 27 blockchain patents and applications. IBM was awarded a patent for a system that checks the integrity of a blockchain. So it’s like a blockchain verifying a blockchain.
Mastercard
Mastercard, the international payments services company has also filed for 27 blockchain patents. They are exploring accepting payment in Bitcoin and possibly other cryptocurrencies.
Microsoft
Microsoft filed for 40 blockchain-related patents. Which patents generally fall into the categories of accepting payment in crypto and securing data storage.
Bank of America
The company with the most number of patents is the Bank of America.
Even after the bank banned credit card purchases of cryptocurrency, they have filed for 48 blockchain patents, related to payment systems, according to Bloomberg.
Conclusion
It can very well be understood from the rising graph of the number of blockchain patents that much innovation and development is being carried out in this field.
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