top of page
Search
Writer's pictureMichael del Castillo

Big Blockchain: The 50 Largest Public Companies Exploring Blockchain

Updated: Jul 23, 2023


There’s more than one way to gain exposure to blockchain innovation. Beyond buying over-the-counter products or investing directly in blockchain startups some of the largest public companies in the world are already dabbling in the tech. In fact, a closer look at this year’s Forbes Global 2000 list of the largest public companies in the world reveals that not only are all ten of the largest public companies in the world exploring blockchain, but at least 50 of the biggest names on the list have all made their own mark on technology first inspired by bitcoin.



(Stuart Ramson/AP Images for American Express)


50) American Express Company [Ticker symbol: AXP]

Location: United States

Sales: $37.65 billion

Blockchain Play: Ranked number 119 on the Global 2000, this credit giant is testing a way to use blockchain to give vendors more power over membership rewards.




(Photo by Dominik Bindl/Getty Images)


Location: Spain

Sales: $29.24 billion

Blockchain Play: The bank ranked number 116 on the Global 2000, has announced it closed a €75 million corporate loan using both ethereum and Hyperledger Fabric.




(AP Photo/Koji Sasahara)


Location: Japan

Sales: $29.73 billion

Blockchain Play: An early leader in a wide range of blockchain projects, the 114th largest company on the Global 2000 took a hit this year when its head of blockchain left, according to a CoinDesk report .




Photographer: Carla Gottgens/Bloomberg


Location: Australia

Sales: $41.23 billion

Blockchain Play: Often called the world’s largest mining company, the 108th largest firm on this year’s Global 2000 list is exploring how blockchain can improve its supply chain.




(AP Photo/Noah Berger)


Location: United States

Sales: $39.47 billion

Blockchain Play: Since joining Hyperledger Fabric in 2017, the 107th largest company on this year’s Global 2000 list has been preparing to launch its own enterprise blockchain platform.




AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein


45) Tencent Holdings Ltd [BMMV2K]

Location: China

Sales: $35.27 billion

Blockchain Play: Earlier this year, the company ranked 105 on the Global 2000, announced work with the Shenzhen State Taxation Bureau to explore blockchain and taxes.




Photo credit should read ANTONY DICKSON/AFP/Getty Images


44) AIA Group [B4TX8S]

Location: Hong Kong

Sales: $31.92 billion

Blockchain Play: Ranked 93 on the Global 2000, the insurance giant last year revealed a bancainsurance platform using Hyperledger Fabric, and now runs its own blockchain accelerator.




AP Photo/Ng Han Guan


43) Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. [BABA]

Location: China

Sales: $37.87 billion

Blockchain Play: Ranked number 81 on the Global 2000, this ecommerce giant has piloted a food supply chain and plans to invest part of a $14 billion Series A in the tech.




Photographer: Michael Nagle/Bloomberg


42) MetLife, Inc. [MET]

Location: United States

Sales: $64.08 billion

Blockchain Play: The insurance giant ranked number 78 on the Global 2000 has partnered with IBM and insurance tech company Majesco, to build a blockchain platform for insurance.




Photo by Alexander Koerner/Getty Images


41) Facebook, Inc. [FB]

Location: United States

Sales: $44.59 billion

Blockchain Play: The CEO of the 77th largest company on the Forbes Global 2000 list, Mark Zuckerberg, has explained his company plans to explore blockchain in a number of use cases.




Photographer: Victor J. Blue/Bloomberg


40) Prudential Financial [PRU] Location: United States Sales: $61.13 billion Blockchain Play: Largely working behind the scenes, the financial giant ranked number 73 on the Global 2000 and is a backer of influential Digital Currency Group.



Photographer: Michael Nagle/Bloomberg


Location: United States

Sales: $56.83 billion

Blockchain Play: After the entertainment giant shelved an internal blockchain solution, Dragonchain, employees spun-off their own startup to commercialize the platform.




Photographer: Michael Nagle/Bloomberg


38) IBM [IBM]

Location: United States

Sales: $80.06 billion

Blockchain Play: The computer giant ranked number 67 on the Global 2000 has open-sourced the widely used Hyperledger Fabric and is a driving force behind multiple blockchain initiatives.




Photographer: Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg


Location: United States

Sales: $159.59 billion

Blockchain Play: The auto giant that ranked number 67 on the Global 2000 co-launched a blockchain research group for the auto industry, and was granted a patent for controlling traffic flow.




Photographer: Suzanne Plunkett/Bloomberg News


36) Prudential [70995] Location: United Kingdom Sales: $111.48 billion Blockchain Play: The company ranked number 66 on the Global 2000 has partnered with Singapore telecom firm StarHub to launch a blockchain-based trade platform for small businesses.



Photographer: Alessia Pierdomenico/Bloomberg


35) Intesa Sanpaolo S.p.A. [407683]

Location: Italy

Sales: $42.52 billion

Blockchain Play: Ranked number 61 on the Global 2000, this Italian bank has been a leader in using public blockchains, including bitcoin to timestamp records and ethereum for derivatives.




AP Photo/Richard Drew, File


34) Goldman Sachs Group Inc. [GS]

Location: United States

Sales: $43.69 billion

Blockchain Play: Ranked number 60 of the Global 2000, the bank has plans to open its own bitcoin trading desk.




Photo by Omar Marques/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images


33) ING Group [BZ5739]

Location: Netherlands

Sales: $56.58 billion

Blockchain Play: Ranked number 56 on the Global 2000, ING Group has open-sourced software solutions designed to help protect a user’s identity.




Photographer: Bartek Sadowski/Bloomberg


32) Amazon.com Inc. [AMZN]

Location: United States

Sales: $193.19 billion

Blockchain Play: This ecommerce giant ranked number 53 on the Global 2000, offers cloud integrations for a number of blockchains and recently partnered with ethereum startup ConsenSys.




Photo by Alexander Pohl/NurPhoto via Getty Images


31) Siemens AG [572797]

Location: Germany

Sales: $94.47 billion

Blockchain Play: This industrial giant ranked number 51 on the Global 2000 and has invested in LO3, a blockchain energy startup working to help neighbors buy and sell solar power directly from each other.




Photo by Logan Bowles/PGA Tour


30) Morgan Stanley [MS] Location: United States Sales: $45.59 billion Blockchain Play: In spite of clearing bitcoin futures contracts for its customers, the number 50 company on the Global 2000 also issued a report on the negative impacts of bitcoin mining on the environment.



Photo by Alexander Koerner/Getty Images


Location: United States

Sales: $64.03 billion

Blockchain Play: Since contributing blockchain platform Sawtooth to the Hyperledger consortium, the computer giant ranked number 49 on the Global 2000, has focused on how hardware can help blockchain.




Photographer: Stefan Wermuth/Bloomberg


28) Nestle [712387]

Location: Switzerland

Sales: 91.23 billion

Blockchain Play: The Swiss food-giant ranked number 48 on this year’s Global 2000 and is now part of a consortium working with IBM to remove unnecessary middlemen from the way they ship goods.




Photographer: Andrey Rudakov/Bloomberg


27) Sberbank Russia [476798]

Location: Russia

Sales: $46.33 billion

Blockchain Play: The 47th largest public company according to the Global 2000, launched a blockchain lab in 2017 and is working with Russia’s securities depository to explore blockchain corporate bonds.




Photographer: Michael Nagle/Bloomberg


26) Pfizer [PFE]

Location: United States

Sales: $52.67 billion

Blockchain Play: Ranked number 44 on the Global 2000, this pharmaceutical giant is in the early stages of a project with Chronicled, a blockchain startup for supply chains.




Photographer: Cole Burston/Bloomberg


Location: Canada

Sales: $40.49

Blockchain Play: In addition to exploring a number of blockchain solutions, the bank ranked number 42 on the Forbes Global 2000, earlier this year registered a patent for automating credit scores.




Photographer: Vincent Mundy/Bloomberg


Location: Belgium

Sales: $56.36 billion

Blockchain Play: Number 42 on the Global 2000, the maker of Budweiser has announced work on a blockchain platform aimed at simplifying freight logistics.




Photographer: Akio Kon/Bloomberg


23) Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group [8306]

Location: Japan

Sales: $51.76 billion

Blockchain Play: Ranked number 37 on the Global 2000, MUFJ joined the Ripple payments network in 2017, and plans to co-launch its own blockchain solution next year.




Photographer: Charles Mostoller/Bloomberg


22) Comcast Corporation [CMCSA]

Location: United States

Sales: $86.85 billion

Blockchain Play: The telecommunications giant that ranked number 34 of the Global 2000, backs Boldstart Ventures, which invests in enterprise blockchain startups.




Photographer: Christophe Morin/Bloomberg


Location: France

Sales: $149.9 billion

Blockchain Play: Ranked number 33 on the Global 2000, this insurance giant launched its 'Fizzy' smart contract platform using ethereum to automatically execute flight insurance payments.




Photographer: Angel Navarrete/Bloomberg


20) Banco Santander [570594]

Location: Spain

Sales: $56.07 billion

Blockchain Play: The 31st largest public company on this year’s Global 2000 list has invested in Ripple and Digital Asset Holdings, and launched a payments app using Ripple technology.




Photo by Roberto Machado Noa/LightRocket via Getty Images


19) Daimler AG [552902]

Location: Germany

Sales: $193.22 billion

Blockchain Play: Since last year issuing at €100 million corporate bond using ethereum, the maker of Mercedez-Benz, ranked number 29 on the Global 2000 list, has begun testing its own cryptocurrency.




AP Photo/Richard Drew


18) Walmart [WMT] Location: United States Sales: $500.34 billion Blockchain Play: Since an early prototype to use Hyperledger Fabric on the pork supply chain, the global grocer that ranked 24 on the Global 2000, has expanded its blockchain work to other supply chains.



AP Photo/Mark Lennihan


17) Alphabet Inc. [GOOGL]

Location: United States

Sales: $117.88 billion

Blockchain Play: In addition to a number of blockchain investments, the search giant that ranked number 23 on this year’s Global 2000 list is reportedly working on its own blockchain projects.




Photographer: Martin Leissl/Bloomberg


16) Allianz SE [523148]

Location: Germany

Sales: $122.55 billion

Blockchain Play: In addition to building a prototype for “self-insurance," the insurance giant that ranked number 22 on the Global 2000 is reportedly exploring a token for moving value.




Photo by Mikhail TereshchenkoTASS via Getty Images


15) Microsoft Corporation [MSFT]

Location: United States

Sales: $103.31 billion

Blockchain Play: Ranked number 20 on the Global 2000, the software giant was among the first to monetize blockchain services, and now works with a number of blockchains via it’s Azure platform.




Photographer: Christophe Morin/Bloomberg


14) BNP Paribas SA [730968]

Location: France

Sales: $117.77 billion

Blockchain Play: Ranked number 19 on the Global 2000, this French bank is working with “Big Four” accounting firm, EY, to use blockchain for its internal treasury operations.




AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon, File


13) Samsung Electronics Co. [677172] Location: South Korea Sales: $224.64 billion Blockchain Play: Ranked number 14 on the Global 2000, this electronics giant last year announced its Nexledger platform for tracking global supply chains.



Photo by Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images


12) Toyota Motor Corp. [7203] Location: Japan Sales: $265.17 billion Blockchain Play: A founding member of the Blockchain Mobility Consortium, this manufacturing giant is exploring how blockchain payments could enable self-driving cars.




Photographer: Andrey Rudakov/Bloomberg


11) Royal Dutch Shell Plc. [B03MM4]

Location: Netherlands

Sales: $321.77 billion

Blockchain Play: An investor in blockchain development firm, Applied Blockchain, this oil giant is also working with BP to create an energy commodities platform.




AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko


10) Ping An Insurance Company [B01FLR] Location: China Sales: $141.62 billion Blockchain Play: In addition to being a member of distributed ledger group, R3, this insurance giant works with other insurance firms to explore blockchain.



AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein


9) Bank of China Ltd. [B15456]

Location: China

Sales: $118.15 billion

Blockchain Play: The Chinese bank has partnered with tech giant Tencent to test financial applications of blockchain technology, according to a CoinDesk report, and has filed a number of related patents.



Photo by Emmanuele Contini/NurPhoto via Getty Images


8) Apple Inc. [AAPL] Location: United States Sales: $247.53 billion Blockchain Play: The computer giant has filed a patent for using blockchain technology to timestamp data.



Photographer: Patrick T. Fallon/Bloomberg


Location: United States

Sales: $102.06 billion

Blockchain Play: As part of being an early member of distributed ledger consortium R3, this bank is helping build a simpler way to track securitized home mortgages.




Photo credit should read HECTOR RETAMAL/AFP/Getty Images


6) Bank of America [BAC] Location: United States Sales: $102.98 billion Blockchain Play: One of the most prolific patenters of blockchain technology, this banking giant is working to automate the process of creating letters of credit using the ethereum blockchain.


Photo by S3studio/Getty Images


Location: China

Sales: $129.34 billion

Blockchain Play: The state-owned bank is working on a decentralized network to offer unsecured agricultural loans to e-commerce merchants.

Photo by Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images


4) Berkshire Hathaway Inc. [BRK.B]

Location: United States

Sales: $235.16 billion

Blockchain Play: Berkshire subsidiary BNSF railroad and fine jewelry subsidiary Richline Group are exploring blockchain to streamline their supply chains.




Photo by Erik McGregor/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images


3) JPMorgan Chase & Co. [JPM]

Location: United States

Sales: $118.18 billion

Blockchain Play: Since contributing blockchain platform Quorum to the open-source community a number of developers have expressed interest, including information giant IHS Markit.




Photo by S3studio/Getty Images


2) China Construction Bank Corporation [B0LMTQ]

Location: China

Sales: 143.2 billion

Blockchain Play: CCB is using the IBM Blockchain platform to streamline the way banks and insurance companies jointly sell some of their financial products.




Photo by Unkel/ullstein bild via Getty Images


Location: China

Sales: $165 billion

Blockchain Play: A patent filed by ICBC describes a way to use blockchain technology to verify digital certificates instead of a trusted central authority.

19 views0 comments

Recent Posts

See All

Kommentare


bottom of page