Blockchain has been a trending topic in multiple fields for the last few years. Millions of people went crazy about Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies which emerged later. Some people saw the opportunities within the digital currencies market while others didn’t stop there. Specialists from various countries are developing solutions in different areas. Ukrainian developers are not an exception. The blockchain technology became the hot stuff of IT development and keeps on evolving.
What Is Blockchain And How Does It Work?
Even though the technology is developing rapidly, not that many people fully understand the concept of Blockchain. So, for many, this is a fantastic beast and they have no idea where and how to find it. Blockchain started its way around a decade ago and was initially created as a platform for the Bitcoin cryptocurrency. The idea of the system is to provide more security and transparency by decentralizing the data storage. The information in clusters is not collected and kept within just one a few servers. It gets copied to every client within the Blockchain.
This way of storing data makes it incredibly hard to alter or remove anything, as the data removed from one client still remains in thousands of clients around the world. To be fair, it’s not impossible to break the system, however, the amount of computer power required for this should be extremely large. The main point is that it’s not worth it, and even if the breach is performed, it might cause more damage to the hacker rather than bring them benefits. To be more specific, if Bitcoin was to be hacked in order to obtain the cryptocurrency, it’s value is very likely to drop dramatically.
But, as we already mentioned, the Blockchain solutions don’t stop just at the digital money market. The technology is used in various fields, for storing documentation, provide clear and transparent platforms for governments, or develop smart contracts. The latter ones are gaining popularity in the digital world due to their special features. Smart contracts ensure the successful closure of a deal and the delivery of the required assets to the parties involved. There are also platforms for voting that are aimed at ensuring a clear and easy process and reducing the corruption level.
Ukraine And Its Role In the Blockchain Development
More and more developers and companies are getting interested in the Blockchain solutions. Nevertheless, the number of really good specialists and agencies is still quite limited. Ukraine has presented a great pool of highly-skilled professionals in various IT areas within the last years. For many businesses around the world, the country became the source of cost-efficient and skilled IT specialists. Some of the agencies created work within the Ukrainian markets. But, most of the development companies also provide outsourced services.
Among multiple technologies, applications, and systems built in Ukraine are quite a few Blockchain solutions. As the interest in Blockchain grows, the Ukrainian companies are working towards improving the workforce situation and creating new products. Some of the educational institutions in the country are beginning to incorporate the Blockchain related studies into their curriculums. Separate companies organize their own courses, and the community, in general, organizes events related to the industry.
Top Blockchain Companies In Ukraine
There are quite a few projects working with Blockchain which could be mentioned but we will concentrate on the main players.
N-iX is a Ukrainian-Polish project which has been on the market for over 15 years. The company now holds multiple offices around the globe and concentrates on outsourcing their services. This organization does not strictly deal with the Blockchain technologies, it’s only one part of their business. N-iX has over 800 specialists in various areas and serves different fields such as fintech, hospitality, Hi-tech, and healthcare.
Distributed Lab is another Ukrainian development company which unlike N-iX specializes particularly in Blockchain solutions. The company has already created a few products.
- Kuna – the cryptocurrency stock exchange
- Bitxfy – an online wallet for digital currency exchange to UAH (Ukrainian national currency) and vice versa
- Infra – P2P (peer-to-peer) financial platform for open and transparent communication
These are not all of the products created by the Distributed Lab. Some other honorable mentions include Shelf – an auctioning network, BullionCoin – cryptocurrency backed up by silver and gold, and some others.
Atticlab is a Blockchain-specialized project, which is aimed at working with banks. The company exists for over 20 years and has developed a few projects of their own.
HUMANIQ – a system that can use the biometric data of a user for identification. It manages and stores data.
CRYPTAGIO – a cryptocurrency exchange
OpenbankIT – a banking online system for managing digital currencies
Paytomat offers real life applications to various cryptocurrencies by enabling local stores and online merchants to accept payments in crypto. We combine our unique technology with a blockchain loyalty program covering both parts of our ecosystem: the merchant and the end customer
Who Else Is Involved?
The Ukrainian involvement in the Blockchain field is not limited to the development companies. There are many individuals as well as communities that help to improve and grow processes.
- The Bitcoin Foundation Ukraine is the online communication platform for discussing Blockchain-related topics. It also serves as an information center.
- Mikhail Chobanyan – the founder of the Kuna Bitcoin Agency and the co-founder of Bitcoin Foundation Ukraine.
- Artem Afian – is an attorney who advocates for the Bitcoin legalization in Ukraine.
- Andrey Dubetsky – actively promotes Blockchain application in Ukraine. Co-founder of Bitcoin Foundation Ukraine and a member of Ukrainian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association.
ICO (Initial Coin Offering) has become a popular way of crowdfunding for startups. The idea behind ICOs is issuing tokens which can be sold to potential customers and investors in exchange for services in the future. This method helped multiple companies around the world to gather funds for further development. Here are some of the Ukrainian ICOs.
- DMarket – a global decentralized cross-market platform which allows developers, gamers, and entrepreneurs to evaluate, purchase, and sell gaming content. The platform is developed using Blockchain and smart contracts. The company was created in 2017, and gathered $10,9 mln during their ICO.
- Neuromation – a technological platform which is aimed at creating an artificial learning environment for deep learning of neural networks with the help of multiple examples. These models are further used for algorithms improvement.
- Minexcoin – the project is aimed at developing a cryptocurrency debit card which can be used for everyday purchases anywhere.
However, not all the ICOs are trustworthy. There are many examples of misleading projects as well as an open scam. Some projects initiate an ICO promising new modern technologies to their investors. However, those technologies often have nothing to do with the Blockchain. Technically not a scam, such examples leave a bitter aftertaste for clueless users and make it harder to trust actual Blockchain-related projects. Yet, there are cases of real scam.
The company called COINHOARDER was recently discovered to be fake by the Cyber Policy of Ukraine and Cisco. The project targeted blockchain.info wallet and created multiple fake links to the service using Google Ads. By the time the crime was uncovered, the scammers are told to have stolen over $10 mln.
Perspectives Of the Ukrainian Blockchain Market
The Ukrainian community continues working on evolving the Blockchain projects and establishing itself in the top positions on the market. The obtained knowledge and skills allow the developers to create innovative solutions, teach new professionals and bring value to the world. The interest in the technology only grows over time and with the help of multiple enthusiasts is able to reach great heights.
Andriy Velykyy, Business Development Director at Paytomat:
“Ukraine is one of the world’s pioneers in Blockchain integration on the country wide scale. As corruption problem unfortunately remains a major issue in the country, various government branches are looking for technology that provides transparency and immutability. There are several projects that are already using Blockchain for registering the farmland ownership, voting trials and the amount of such projects would be growing exponentially. Paytomat started in Ukraine, allowing hundreds of merchants to accept cryptocurrency and is quickly onboarding merchants worldwide. Bridging the gap between tradition finance and cryptocurrencies, we attract crypto fans from all over the world to the merchants that support our solution, ensuring that Ukraine is on the cutting edge of world’s Blockchain adoption.”
Conclusion
The possibilities that open thanks to the new emerging technologies are growing. The communities around the world are creating new ideas to make our day-to-day lives easier. The growing Ukrainian community has proved itself as a great talent source. And, no doubt, it will continue growing and bringing more skilled players to the Blockchain field.
