Closer to home, the Australian Securities Exchange shocked investors by announcing its CHESS software would be re-launched on the blockchain.
At the time, these announcements were questioned by traditional investors but simultaneously cheered by blockchain enthusiasts, who rejoiced that traditionally slow-moving corporations seemed eager to get on board with the nascent technology.
Even Dogecoin – a cryptocurrency started as a joke that uses an internet meme of a dog as its logo – has surged to have a market capitalisation of more than $50 billion.
Picking the reason behind the rise in bitcoin’s price has al]ways been difficult, but the last 12 months have caused a perfect storm of sorts, with young, stimulus-flush investors accounting for much of the new money flowing into the currency.
The recent IPO of crypto exchange giant Coinbase, which valued the company at nearly $100 billion, also caused investors to sit up and take note.
For executives mulling how to invest shareholder funds into this new and exciting technology, it’s easiest to just follow the money.
Blockchain has long been touted as a form of technological liberation, taking control away from centralised authorities and putting it back in the hands of individuals.
It’s these principles that saw blockchain be used for ambitious projects such as electronic voting, managing healthcare data or overseeing compliance and regulation.
James Cameron, a partner at Australian venture capital firm Airtree, agrees that 2017’s hype around blockchain technology from an enterprise-level has died down.
Some corporate interest has persisted, too.