Top 10 UK Blockchain Startups and Technology Companies to Watch in 2024

Blockchain technology, a true game-changer birthed by the Industrial Revolution, has firmly established its disruptive presence. According to Statista, the blockchain market is on a meteoric rise, set to hit $1,235.71 billion by 2030, with businesses eagerly jumping on board each day. Many are eyeing the most promising UK blockchain startups 2024, known for their rapid growth and competitive edge.

2023 was like a threshold, especially in the crypto regulation sphere, that laid the foundation for greater transparency and trust among innovators and startup founders. But that’s not all – this period also witnessed significant strides in enhancing user experience and building robust infrastructure in the blockchain sphere. An intriguing highlight of 2023 was the explosion in NFT-based patent filings, which experienced a fourteen-fold increase compared to 2020.

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If blockchain technology interests you, you’ve come to the right place. We’ve taken the time to handpick and present a list of the best blockchain startups in UK.

Blockchain in the UK’s Startup Ecosystem

The UK currently hosts several hundred fast-growing businesses that specialize in blockchain-based software and services. Most of these (63%) are new UK blockchain startups at their beginning stages, showing that this area is still quite new. 

Blockchain has many applications, but 78% of these tech firms are mainly working in the Business & Professional Services sector. Their focus is largely on banking and finance, including innovative financial tech firms and new banks. This shows how blockchain is starting to change traditional business methods in the UK. On the other hand, only 6% of these companies are in media (the second most popular sector for blockchain), 5% in both supply chain and leisure & entertainment, 4% in retail, and 3% in industrial sectors.

Top Blockchain Startups in 2024

Now let’s move on to our list of top blockchain development companies in UK. We should note their various approaches to modernizing the industry. Some develop innovative products and ideas, while others find opportunities in existing technologies. But all of these deserve attention.

Blockchain

Blockchain.com is one of the most successful UK blockchain technology companies ever. It is a full-stack crypto services platform that allows users to hold, trade, and manage cryptocurrency assets. The company works with B2B and B2C clients to develop financial services standards and infrastructure for cryptocurrencies. 

Blockchain.com was founded in 2014 and has been incredibly fortunate in the blockchain space. The startup was one of the pioneers in the industry and developed infrastructure for the Bitcoin community. Later, it established the Blockchain Explorer, which allows individuals to examine blockchain transactions and build on Bitcoin through their APIs.  

When it comes to funding, Blockchain.com’s story is pretty impressive. They’ve scooped up a sizable £356 million from investors – Silicon Valley, Wall Street, London, you name it. And get this: in 2021, they pulled in a whopping £218 million in just one funding round. They recently wrapped up a Series E funding round that brought in a cool $110 million. It’s clear that Blockchain.com isn’t just playing the game – they’re setting the pace.

Copper

Copper, headquartered in London, is a leading digital asset technology company dedicated to helping institutional investors safely acquire, trade, and store cryptocurrencies and other digital assets.

Copper’s multi-award-winning custody solution leverages cutting-edge Multi-Party Computation (MPC) technology, offering the highest level of security and resilience against unauthorized access. This unique technology ensures that no single party holds the private keys, making it significantly more secure than traditional single-signature solutions. Copper’s ClearLoop product secures trades and allows them to be instantly settled without the need to pre-fund exchanges. Their trading engine offers advanced order types, aggregation tools, and algorithmic trading capabilities.

Copper has secured a total of £42.3m in equity funding so far across four rounds, raising £25m in its latest deal led by Alan Howard. Other backers include Dawn Capital, Illuminate Financial Management, LocalGlobe, MMC Ventures, and angel investors. The fast-growing blockchain company was also recently named in the Forbes Blockchain 50 2022.

Elliptic

Elliptic is a London-based startup offering blockchain analytics, certifications, regulatory compliance, and financial management services. It ranked #1 in Deloitte’s Technology Fast 50 for 2023, showcasing their rapid growth and impact in the blockchain security space.

One of the top UK blockchain startups, Elliptic, started in 2013 as a simple Bitcoin storage service that was used to hold Bitcoin private keys, protecting them from hacks and thefts. With time, it evolved into a full-fledged blockchain analysis provider, working with some of the largest financial institutions to protect them from financial crime in crypto assets. 

The company helps investigate illegal Bitcoin transactions, tracing them through all entities in the chain. It maintains a database of millions of Bitcoin addresses that detects suspicious cryptocurrency activity. One area of Elliptic’s research and development is a response to ransomware attacks. The team has created software that can identify such attacks and trace the ransom received during them. 

Elliptic is the only blockchain analytics provider recognized by the World Economic Forum as a Technology Pioneer. In addition, it is currently managing 66% of all crypto volume exchanges in the world. The startup raised $5 million in seed funding back in 2015 and followed that with a substantial $23 million in Series B funding in 2019. Their most recent funding round, a Series C, brought in an impressive $60 million.

Zamna

Zamna is another top UK blockchain startup using this technology to create a secure identity data management infrastructure for organizations and individuals. Their mission is to ensure your identity information flows smoothly and securely, especially when jet-setting around the globe.

Zamna is using blockchain to whip up some apps that can check identity digitally. This digital ID can be shared securely over different platforms. So when you’re hopping from one country to another, checking into hotels, you don’t need to flash your physical passport. That’s the kind of game-changing stuff Zamna is working on.

They’re taking this concept for travel and the healthcare world, too. Imagine having your health status digitally verified without worrying about your info being mishandled or leaked.

Zamna has recently raised $5m and started collaborating with Emirates and the UAE’s General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs (GDRFA) to enhance the check-in and transit process for travelers passing through Emirates airports, aiming to provide a smoother and more efficient experience.

Adhara

Adhara works mostly with giant corporations and financial institutions to handle their liquidity management and international payments for decentralized financial networks. Other solutions include multi-currency payment processing, FX, and international payments based on tokenized money over smart contracts.

Adhara was recognized as a Technology Pioneer by the World Economic Forum in 2021. Also, their CEO was named one of the top 25 blockchain technology CEOs of 2020 by Technology Innovators Magazine. 

The company recently secured $7.5 million in Series A funding from Yabeo, FOMCAP, and a few other investors. The total equity fundraising stands somewhere close to $14 million. In 2023, Adhara launched its Liquidity platform, which is already being used by several decentralized financial networks.

Argo Blockchain

Argo Blockchain is the first and only cryptocurrency mining company to gain admission to the London Stock Exchange through a standard listing. The company is publicly traded now and focuses on large-scale cryptocurrency mining.

Argo Blockchain has state-of-the-art mining facilities with cutting-edge equipment and highly energy-efficient machines. Their focus is on creating affordable consumer services for crypto mining to channel in as many consumers as possible. This startup is one of the only blockchain technology development companies in the UK that has become ‘climate positive’ for Scope 1, 2, and 3 greenhouse gas emissions.

The total equity funding it has raised amounts to $24.4 million. In July 2023, Argo announced a private placement and public sale to raise $10 million. Proceeds were used to pay down debt and potentially expand operations.

Travala.com

Travala is a shining example of UK crypto companies pushing the envelope. This is a travel booking platform where you can snap up deals on over 3 million travel products worldwide and pay with your favorite cryptocurrencies. Launched into the travel scene in 2017, Travala has quickly zoomed up the ranks, offering a smooth, almost effortless booking experience, all thanks to the magic of blockchain technology and some cleverly used token incentives.

What really sets Travala apart is its accessibility and making travel more inclusive. By tapping into the decentralized power of blockchain, Travala facilitates secure, peer-to-peer transactions without the hassle of traditional booking platforms.

Covering over 2,200,000 properties and 90,124 destinations in 230 countries, Travala offers savvy travelers prices up to 40% lower than you might find elsewhere. It’s a clear signal that UK blockchain companies like Travala aren’t just dabbling in technology for technology’s sake; they’re using it to make real, tangible improvements in everyday life.

Cudos

CUDOS is the Next Generation Cloud platform by Cudo, connecting consumers of cloud computing to providers looking to monetize their underutilized hardware. This platform is energized by the CUDOS Token, enabling Cudo to offer organizations computing power at a fraction of the usual cost — up to ten times cheaper.

With the ever-growing demand for computing power across various sectors – from video rendering to medical research – CUDOS provides a solution by tapping into external hardware resources.

Opening up the world of computing resources to everyone has its fair share of advantages. For regular users, it’s a chance to earn extra cash by sharing the computing power they’re not using. Plus, they get to be part of building a greener and more efficient cloud system. On the business side, it’s like finding a treasure trove of affordable computing power without being tied down by the usual big cloud companies.

But there’s more to Cudos than just swapping computing power. They’re also crafting a dynamic world of decentralized apps (dApps), each tapping into what makes their platform stand out. This offers everything from gaming platforms that aren’t controlled by a single entity to secure spots for storing digital stuff.

Fetch

Fetch.ai, originally founded in Cambridge, UK, is an exciting company operating at the intersection of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and blockchain technology. Fetch.ai’s core technology revolves around building and developing the Fetch.ai Network, a permissionless, open-source DAN powered by their Fetch token (FET). This network fosters collaboration and coordination between AI agents, facilitating autonomous transactions and smart contracts. 

It has raised an estimated $26 million in funding over three rounds and four years of operation.  Its backers include GDA Group and Outlier Ventures. Also Fetch.ai partnered with Bosch, a leading provider of automotive and industrial technology, to explore the application of their AI and DAN technology in the automotive industry. 

Fetch.ai faces competition from other blockchain-based AI projects and established players in the AI and autonomous systems domain. However, their unique focus on DANs and agent-based solutions provides them with a potential competitive advantage.

SETL

SETL is a standout startup in the blockchain world, known for its fast and secure solutions in financial settlements, asset management, and payments. It’s not just about speed, though that’s a big part of it, with the platform handling up to 30,000 transactions every second. This means things get done fast, without skimping on the security you’d expect from traditional banks. Plus, its system is tough – it keeps running smoothly even if some parts go offline. Since its inception in 2015, SETL has rapidly grown its clientele and continues to draw significant media attention. Esteemed organizations like Citibank, Deloitte, and Orange place their trust in SETL, which has successfully raised approximately $39 million in funding. 

In a notable move in 2024, SETL launched an ongoing blockchain test network through its LedgerSwarm software for the Regulated Liability Network (RLN). It is an initiative that unifies various regulated monetary forms – including tokenized deposits, central bank digital currencies, and regulated stablecoins – with tokenized assets.

UK Blockchain Startups: Summary

The UK really stands out as a special place for growing and developing businesses in the blockchain world. It’s got this great mix of supportive government rules, easy access to funding, and a strong entrepreneurial culture. Rishi Sunak, UK Prime Minister, stated: “As we cement the UK’s place as a science and tech superpower, we must embrace innovations like Web3, powered by blockchain technology, which will enable startups to flourish here and grow the economy.” This gives the green light to all creative minds looking to do new things with blockchain.

We hope our article helped you learn more about the UK blockchain startups world. Keep an eye on them in 2024; it’s sure to be exciting. If you have other questions related to blockchain technology or custom software development, you can contact us.