Top 5 blockchain startups to watch

2022 saw a positive trend despite the bearish dynamics, corporate bankruptcies and collapses in the crypto market. More blockchain exchange-traded funds have emerged this year, in particular, investment giant Black Rock launched one of such projects. The year was also marked by the emergence of faster and cheaper Aptos and Sui blockchains. According to Gartner, the industry of peer-to-peer platforms and protocols, and the businesses based on them, could surge to $176 billion by 2025 and reach $3.1 trillion by 2030.

Blockchain technology is becoming more relevant to a broader audience.  The opportunities of new technology inspire investors and entrepreneurs, revealing that there is profit to be made.

TeraWulf, 2021

American crypto mining startup in Easton City has successfully raised $250 million in funding. TeraWulf owns and operates a green Bitcoin mining farm. More than 91% of the company's energy comes from zero-carbon energy sources. Therefore, it mines BTC with minimal harmful environmental impact. 

In the third quarter of 2022, the startup raised another $17 million: $9.5 million came from existing investors and $7.5 million were incremental proceeds under a term loan.

NFTScoring, 2021

Czech company located in Prague provides NFT collection analysis tools. The startup managed to raise $1.7 million in the first funding round. The company is supported by reputable funds such as Y Combinator and Credo Ventures. In addition to blockchain, the platform uses artificial intelligence to help traders profit in the growing NFT asset segment.

NFTScoring tracks data from over 70,000 projects to identify popular or undervalued non-fungible tokens. With NFTScoring features, technical indicators are structured into clear information that a platform user can use to trade NFTs. Analytical dashboard with extensive simplified diagrams helps anyone to understand how the platform works regardless of their level of knowledge. The platform offers both a free version and a paid version that unlocks more features.

JustCarbon, 2021

A blockchain startup offers creative solutions to limit carbon emissions. A person can help to improve the environment by purchasing JustCarbon Removal (JCR) tokens. Each JCR on the user's account represents an emission reduction of 1 ton of carbon dioxide.

This platform does not only contribute to the achievement of carbon neutrality on the planet, but also facilitates the transition to a low-carbon economic model. JustCarbon is a decentralized marketplace that brings together climate experts, investors, technologists and other professionals to offset harmful emissions and support similar projects.

Hashtack, 2021

A DeFi protocol based on zk-rollup (a Layer 2 solution for Ethereum blockchain based on zero-knowledge proofs) allows getting loans with insufficient collateral for crypto trading. One of the unique features of this company is that it allows a person to borrow three times the collateral value. Hashstack users can get up to 328% more credit compared to Aave, Compound and MakerDao lending platforms.

Liquidity providers can save up to 15% annually. As the startup scales, the Federal Funds Rate (FFR) can be around 3.25%. According to the project's whitepaper, clients can lend their crypto assets Hashstack to insure them against inflation.

The blockchain startup makes money from fees, commissions, and revenue sharing in liquidating borrowers' funds. At this stage, Hashtack is running on the testnet. Approximately $183 million worth of transactions were made during the protocol's existence.

Ape Board, 2021

It is a cross-chain DeFi dashboard for crypto trading.  The blockchain startup is gaining popularity as traders buy different digital assets to diversify their investment portfolios, and the demand for cryptocurrencies is ever increasing. In May, Ethereum network analytics firm Nansen acquired Ape Board for $10 million.

A cross-chain decentralized financial tracker is intuitive. To get started, it is enough to add a wallet address so that the platform can track and display actions in different chains.