• Current Partnerships:
• The Rumor Mill:
• Final Thoughts

The Hottest Cryptocurrency Partnerships of 2018

A project’s partnerships play a huge role in its growth prospects and technical developments. Partnership updates are released around the clock, and they can be very easy to miss.

We’re kicking off our weekly segment on cryptocurrency partnerships with some of the biggest partnerships right now, ones that are anticipated in the future, as well as potential partnerships that come from the rumor mill.

This isn’t investment advice. Do your own research and make your investment decisions on your own terms.

Current Partnerships:

Tron (TRX): On January 3rd, Tron announced a partnership with leading gaming platform Game.com, where users can purchase virtual pets via TRX. One week prior, oBike, a 10 million user shared economy company that runs in 20 countries teamed up with Tron. If you’re interested getting the first-hand scoop, CEO Justin Sun usually teases his followers about major upcoming partnerships via Twitter. Below, you can see one of Sun’s first of many important announcements regarding company alliances.

Ripple (XRP): Cross-border payments solution XRP seems to be the star in the big-name partnership game at the moment. Financial giants such as Santander and American Express will attempt to utilize the blockchain to replace the outdated 1970’s SWIFT system. More recently, Japanese firm SBI Holdings announced its plan to offer Ripple as a payments solution for banks across Asian countries, including China, Japan, and Taiwan.

Raiden Network (RDN): According to The Merkle.com, RDN has formed pivotal alliances in the energy and computer gaming. Those in the energy sector include Grid+ (symbol: GRID) and Energy Web Foundation (EWF). Currently, EWF seeks to deploy blockchain solutions in the energy sector, with a list of clients including one of the top-ten largest companies in the world, Royal Dutch Shell. In the gaming industry, Raiden Network partnered with Enjin which holds an 18 million user base and is currently “the largest gaming community creation platform in the world.”

Dash (DASH): In a Tweet on January 4th, Dash announced its partnership with Bitnovo, a Spanish startup that is said to make the cryptocurrency available to over 12,000 retailers in Spain. Consumers will be able to purchase DASH “with coupon in thousands of stores and in selected Carrefour and Media Markt outlets through the purchase of gift cards.” To put this partnership into perspective, MediaMarkt is currently Europe’s biggest consumer electronics retailer. While the amount of retailers certainly sounds impressive, Bitnovo plans on expanding to other countries such as the UK, Portugal, and Italy, in turn enhancing the probability of DASH’s success through a dramatic new market entrance in brick and mortar shops.

Qtum (QTUM): With the support of online audio and video entertainment services mammoth Baofeng (valued at over 1 billion USD), the team at Qtum hopes to outdo Ethereum and Bitcoin and build the biggest and first Blockchain Consensus Network (BCN).  With the plan to facilitate 50,000 network nodes, it will be 5 times larger than Bitcoin’s 10,000 node network and 2.5 times larger than Ethereum’s 20,000 node network. As stated by Baofeng CEO Reccon Cui, the “Baofeng Group operates the world’s largest P2P network, so we are impressed by the security and superior flexibility of the Qtum’s blockchain architecture”.

Stellar (XLM): While the technical aspects of Stellar are nearly (if not completely) identical to Ripple’s, the two forces as of now are generally going after different entities. Stellar attempts to bring affordable financial services to those in poverty, while Ripple’s partnerships are focused more on financial giants and major banks. Partnered with technology giant IBM and consulting firm Deloitte, you can find continual partnership announcements located on the companies official Twitter, an as well find the extensive list of current partnerships here.

Cardano (ADA): Although it is not a big-name partnership, Cardano is officially accepted as a form of payment at Spain’s Hotel Ginebra. According to the Hotel’s website, “by accepting ADA as payment, accommodations worldwide will be able to save on large amounts of commissions which will eventually result in better rates for you, the customer.” If all works out, meaningful recognition could give ADA the credibility to continue its growth.

IOTA (MIOTA):  In a blog post dated January 4th, 2018, IOTA co-founder Dominik Schiener announced that the team has “officially partnered with the International Transportation Innovation Center (ITIC), to collaborate with them to work on autonomous vehicle testbeds.” The significance of this partnership is that it furthers the testing of innovations in “smart city” environments, such as smart mobility projects. Live demonstrations will be held in 2018 and give the public insight into what IOTA/ITIC is accomplishing, and will include “a larger group of joint partner companies.”

Pundi X (PXS): According to its website, Pundi X will empower retail shops to “buy sell and accept cryptocurrency”. With less than 1% of the population holding currency, Pundi X plans to expedite the process of growing the crypto community by offering more than 100k retail shops in three short years the chance to “digitize” their store. While they have already announced the starting date of their ICO, participating stores will be able to transact nearly any digital currency including Ethereum, Stellar, Qtum, and more. Partnerships include Stellar, Fintech Indonesia, and the Swiss Finance + Technology Association.

Monero (XMR): We all know that artists love their privacy when they get a chance to have it. With Project Coral Reef, cryptocurrency and music enthusiasts to combine their passions by allowing you to purchase music and merchandise with ultra-private coin Monero. According to G-Eazy, “as cryptocurrencies become more popular, it’s important that my fans have choices when it comes to how they buy my songs and merchandise…given Monero is one of the safest, most secure and most private cryptocurrencies, it’s one of the best options for my fans this holiday season.” Among the artists you are able to purchase products from via Monero include SIA, Kaskade, Weezer, and Mariah Carey.

The Rumor Mill:

Western Union to Utilize XRP: According to Markets Insider, Western Union and Ripples value increased as rumors circulated that Western Union will implement XRP throughout its systems. It seems that the rumor started when Ripple’s official Twitter announced that it had teamed up with three money transfer firms who rank among the largest top five. Western Union currently holds the number one spot and is probably the most well-known. Taking the number two spot is Moneygram, followed by TransferWise, WorldRemit, then PayPal, meaning potentially any of these could be part of the alliance.

Coinbase to add XRP: A recent announcement by Coinbase squashed many Ripple investors hopes for it to be integrated into the exchange. For clarity, Coinbase did not say they will never add #XRP, however, they are saying as of now they do not have any plans to add any new coins to their exchange. So there is still a possibility it will be added in the future, along with other coins.

Mark Zuckerberg Looks Into Crypto: Sorry Mark, but you’re way behind the Winklevoss Twins. In a personal FB post by the CEO himself, Zuckerberg alludes to the fact that he wants to solve the problems that surround his company, considering the fact that many people believe FB is a centralized system that acts somewhat as a “big brother”. According to the post, the solutions may or may not include cryptocurrency. Should we stay tuned for a “Zuckcoin” in 2018?

TRX and Public Companies: CEO Justin Sun announced in a live video that he was contacted by major public companies last week that are currently listed under the NASDAQ and NYSE. According to Sun, partnerships were formed and integration with TRX is currently underway. “At least 5” public companies came on board. Due to regulations, Sun says he is unable to share the names until the companies announce the partnership themselves. However, the young CEO promises his followers and investors that these companies will bring Tron to “a whole new level”, bringing in at least 100 million new users.

Final Thoughts

It’s important we pay attention to what these innovative teams are working on, as well as who they plan on working within the future. These partnerships could play a substantial role in how a project grows its technology and user base.

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