nChain

Based mainly in London, this blockchain research and development company has tied its whole identity to one network: Bitcoin SV, which it regards as the original Bitcoin. According to the firm, the network keeps the original protocol and core design, with the aim of fulfilling the idea of a global peer-to-peer electronic cash system that people can use every day. Its stated mission is to encourage worldwide adoption and enterprise-level use of Bitcoin.

Why it favours a stable protocol

nChain argues that years of experimentation with the Bitcoin protocol on other projects have undermined it, and that a stable base combined with very large on-chain scaling makes it easier for businesses to build on. It expects lower transaction fees, faster confirmation and greater efficiency for enterprises, and says the network is more than a currency: a powerful data network on which decentralised applications, smart contracts and asset tokenisation can run.

Research and development

The firm's researchers work on several fronts:

• Near-term scaling of the network, including how nodes can handle bigger blocks and heavier transaction flow while staying fully resilient.
• Medium and long-term advances such as techniques for smart contracts, tokenising assets and greater privacy.
• Products and applications that let others benefit from its findings.
• Consulting for other enterprises that want to develop applications and products from its research.

It also runs a development team devoted to open-source work supporting the Bitcoin protocol and its testing. Much of the firm's work is protected by patents, but it says it intends to licence selected innovations and products under open-source or royalty-free terms for applications that run on the BSV network. A professional services unit is being built to help business clients design and carry out blockchain projects using the firm's intellectual property.

The people behind it

The team describes itself as global, with more than ten nationalities and a core research group holding more than ten doctorates in mathematics, cryptography, physics, computer science and network theory. Developers work in Java, C++ and Python, and many come from large traditional financial-services companies. Research and development services are carried out by nChain Limited at the direction of nChain Holdings Limited.