As the Bitcoin and cryptocurrency frenzy continues to dominate mainstream headlines, comparisons to the dotcom boom have been unavoidable, often in an attempt to explain this generational phenomenon. The market is once again being introduced to a radically disruptive new technology, which holds the potential to completely revolutionize numerous industries and global economies. As a result, this excitement has triggered a fevered rush by investors hoping to get in at the ground floor.

This is why Bitcoin has soared from $1,000 to $20,000 within the past year, and other popular cryptocurrencies like Ethereum, Ripple and Litecoin are seeing similar parabolic moves. But what most investors misunderstand about this new asset class is that the promise isn’t necessarily in the digital currencies themselves—which just like dotcom stocks, will have a few winners and likely a sea of catastrophic losers—it’s in the underlying technology. In the late 1990s, that underlying technology was the advent of the internet. Today, it’s blockchain.

A quick glance at the most valuable companies in the world today—Apple (AAPL), Google (GOOGL), and Facebook (FB), just to name a few—would show young companies that experienced meteoric rises because they understood how to harness the full potential of the internet by creating the right applications for the masses. Apple made it mobile, Google made it accessible, and Facebook made it personal. The real winners of the blockchain revolution likely won’t be a digital currency. It’ll be the companies that develop real-world applications, based on the underlying technology itself, that make legacy processes obsolete.

This is where eXeBlock Technology Corp. (XBLK:CNX) believes it holds a first-mover advantage. The company focuses on developing decentralized applications (what it calls DApps) that leverage blockchain technologies to maximize efficiencies, enhance security and transparency to be utilized across global markets. The company launched its first DApp, the much anticipated eXe50/50 Draw, which will help charities to lower their administrative costs while fundraising.

On Tuesday, eXeBlock announced a milestone agreement with the Peerplays Blockchain Standards Association to develop four DApps over the
course of the next 24 months. The DApps will be compatible with the Peerplays
blockchain platform. Each DApp will be
released in Beta form on TestNet in advance of any production release, in order
to gather feedback from the blockchain user community. As part of the
agreement, eXeBlock will receive approximately 940,000 Peerplays (‘PPY’) tokens
for the development of the DApps. PPY tokens allow holders to vote on
operational modifications within the network and share in revenue generated by
DApps operating on the Peerplays blockchain platform. According to
Coinmarketcap, each PPY is equivalent to $7.31 as of writing, bringing the
deal value to approximately $6.8 million for eXeBlock.

Blockchain’s Momentum is Undeniable

While most people associate blockchain as a facilitator of Bitcoin and other digital currencies, they don’t realize that this is just one application of the technology. A blockchain is a distributed ledger, or simply put, a digital record book of data that is verified in real time by its network of users. This decentralization is the crux of the revolutionary concept, relying on a crowdsourced approach to police itself. Collectively, the network ensures the data is correct, accessible and incorruptible. While the concept is simple, the mechanics of blockchain is rather complex, utilizing a series of encryption techniques and mathematical algorithms to safeguard the integrity of the system.

For its part, the eXeBlock team believes that blockchain technology is still in its infancy. Keeping with the dotcom comparison, it is currently at the stage where the internet was around the mid-1990s, just before its major breakthrough as a platform. But once that happens, the rate of transformation and growth trajectory could soar in similar fashion. Case in point, according to a recent IBM report, only 15% of all banks will be using blockchain by the end of 2017. That number will reach 66% by 2020. However, considering how quickly major Wall Street firms like JP Morgan (JPM) and Goldman Sachs (GS) have been moving into blockchain this year, it wouldn’t be surprising if that figure is reached even sooner.

Furthermore, Market and Markets estimates that the blockchain technology market is on pace to reach $2.3 billion by 2021, expanding at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 61.5%. eXeBlock has positioned itself well as a unique first-mover in the burgeoning blockchain market.

The launch of eXe50/50 Draw is a major milestone in this regard. The DApp was created to empower charities and non-profits around the world to use blockchain-based technology to fundraise on-demand, with lower costs, ease of use and quicker to market. In addition, unlike traditional methods, the fundraising can be done in multiple jurisdictions and, since its blockchain-based, stays active around the clock.

The company has also published a white paper to accompany the DApp, which is available on the eXeBlock website and further explains the application, its features, protocol and implementation. Later this month, the company will also release the programming code for eXe50/50 on TestNet, allowing eXeBlock to receive feedback and test the DApp prior to full commercial roll-out.

Meanwhile, eXeBlock will collect a nominal fee on each draw, and with an estimated 1.8 million non-profits and Charities in North America and the UK alone, this represents an immense market opportunity for the company, all the while providing significant value for good causes.

A key advantage of a decentralized process is that it will allow DApp users to continuously provide input to enhance the DApp without significant cost to eXeBlock.

How DApps Can Take Blockchain to the Next Level

eXeBlock is also planning a 2018 launch of its second DApp, Freedom Ledger, which is designed to facilitate the transactions for users that do not hold a cryptocurrency account. This could be a significant opportunity, not just for eXeBlock, but for the broader blockchain community as well to expand the adoption rate of blockchain-based technologies and of new DApps that will launch in the future. eXeBlock has said that it intends to launch about two new DApps per year, and has outlined a diligent three-stage development process to ensure each new launch meets its standards. The company will generate recurring revenue on a ‘per-use’ basis through the DApps.

It should be noted that the eXeBlock team is well versed in utilizing blockchain technologies to optimize transactional efficiencies. eXeBlock is led by Founder Jonathan Baha’I, a widely recognized blockchain expert and proven entrepreneur, and CEO Ian Klassen, who leverages over 25 years of experience leading public companies and building businesses with innovative technologies and solutions.

Baha’i was also a cofounder of Peerplays, the world’s first eSport tournament and wagering platform built entirely on blockchain. The platform garnered popularity for leveling the playing field in the online gambling space for gaming enthusiasts. Spearheading eXeBlock’s development efforts is Alexei Dulub, who worked with Baha’i at Peerplays and is also the founder of full stack development firm PixelPlex.

The team has already exhibited remarkable progress in a short time. In Q4 2017 alone, the company closed nearly $6.2 million in funding, and successfully listed on the Canadian Securities Exchange. The proceeds of the raise will be used for further development and working capital requirements. Considering that eXeBlock has identified at least seven additional DApps for its development pipeline, it’s clear that the company is just getting started.

How eXeBlock will leverage this momentum in 2018 and beyond certainly warrants the market’s attention, especially as the blockchain and cryptocurrency markets have seemingly ushered in the next era of the innovation cycle.

For more information on eXeBlock Technology Corp., visit https://www.exeblock.com/


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