A Taste of Consensus 2018: 4 Blockchain Projects to Keep an Eye On

Next week, thousands of crypto and blockchain enthusiasts will descend on New York City for the 4th annual four-day Consensus Conference at the New York Hilton Midtown. The event features more than 250 speaks, 4,000 attendees, and a cadre of industry leaders from around the world who are gathering for one of the largest collectives blockchain development gatherings in the world.

The event features a slew of heavy hitters like Jack Dorsey, the co-founder of Twitter and CEO of blockchain startup Square, Charlie Lee, creator of Litecoin, and Dan Morehead, CEO of Pantera. In addition, some of the most recognizable names in tech including Microsoft and IBM are participating in the event.

Of course, Consensus isn’t just about the big names and popular performances. It’s an opportunity for new blockchain initiatives to show off their prowess and to demonstrate their platform’s most compelling features. As we approach the start of Consensus 2018, here are some projects worth keeping an eye on.

Blox: Quickbooks for Crypto

Increasingly individuals and companies are acquiring crypto assets that are spread out among many different wallets, exchanges, and other holding methodologies. With Blox, those assets are manageable from a single application. In addition to a web-based platform, Blox already offers an app in the Android and Apple App Store, and their latest product is tailor-made for the business community.

In the same way that Quickbooks provided a single easy-to-use platform for companies to organize and manage all of their financial assets. Blox Business helps companies perform a similar function for their crypto assets. They already have more than $2 billion in managed assets, and they are on pace to exceed $10 billion by the end of the year.

Blox CEO, Alon Muroch, is presenting on the future of cryptocurrencies and blockchain asset management on Tuesday, May 15th, 11:45-11:55, Rendezvous Trianon, 3rd Floor.

Agrello: Legally Binding Smart Contracts, Powered by AI

Agrello combines their legal training with the transformative power of the blockchain to create a platform for legally binding smart contracts. With just a mobile app, anyone can negotiate and execute smart contracts that are secured and enabled by the blockchain.

Their features include a virtual passport, a legally binding digital signature, and a slew of smart contract templates. In this way, Agrello is making real-world smart contract adoption available for anyone. Their platform doesn’t require any programming skills, and the open interface means that community developments are continually contributing to its maturation.

Agrello has a significant presence at this year’s conference. Hando Rand, Agrello’s CEO, is offering a brief presentation demo on Monday, May 14th, and their team is on hand to meet with interested parties until May 19th. Anyone can sign up to meet with the company’s representatives for a personal orientation of the platform’s features.

ThinkCoin: Multi Asset Trading on the Blockchain

ThinkCoin is the new digital token that will power TradeConnect, a multi-asset trading platform hosted on the blockchain. Using a mobile app and smart contracts, TradeConnect creates a market for all types of financial assets that are purchased and traded using their native TCO token. They’ve recently partnered with 0chain to provide high-frequency trading mechanisms to TradeConnect users, and they have other prominent announcements on the horizon.

In conjunction with Consensus, ThinkCoin is participating in the TokenMatch.net pitch event where they were selected to present their platform to interested investors. Consensus week has expanded to encompass much more than just the conference, and ThinkCoin is right in the middle of next week’s action.

QTUM: The Blockchain Made Ready for Business

This year, one of the major movements in crypto integration is enterprise solutions for blockchain integration. In part, these initiatives have been slow to develop because there is a lack of blockchain development talent available.

QTUM solves that problem by providing a platform for building decentralized applications that are incredibly capable but also easy to use. These Dapps, have cross-blockchain interoperability while also using things like smart contracts and a decentralized network to enhance capability, security, and reliability. In many ways, QTUM operates like the Squarespace of the crypto ecosystem because they allow anyone to build and develop a compelling product.

One of QTUM’s developers, Jordan Earls, is presenting as part of a panel discussing on-device key management on May 14th.

Are you going to Consensus 2018? Which of these projects are you most interested in? Are there others that you think should be in this list? Let us know in the comments below.

Images and media courtesy of Blox, Agrello, ThinkCoin, QTUM