They face stiff competition from other players who are spending significant sums to explore blockchain’s potential. About 70 banks (and Thomson Reuters) have joined a company called R3, which is examining whether blockchain could cut costs in the way financial markets execute transactions. A spokesperson for R3 did not respond to requests for comment.
PwC, a consultancy, said more than $1.5 billion was invested in blockchain companies in 2016.
Whoever wins this intellectual property race, the rush to patent applications poses a threat to the original conception of bitcoin as a technology available to all.
“What was started by Satoshi as an open source project is going to be far from an open project by the time all the commercial projects weigh in,” said Nigel Swycher, CEO of London-based Aistemos, an IP analytics company. “People will try to use patents as one of many ways to protect their interests.”
THE CODER
Details about Wright’s links to the online gambling industry have emerged from previously unpublished information from the Australian Tax Office (ATO), which is investigating Wright over his claims for tax credits relating to bitcoin ventures. In 2014 Wright told the ATO that he had been producing software for online casinos and other gambling businesses when he was writing computer code that later helped to develop bitcoin.
