A Look Back, Before Moving Forward

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2019 began with the 10th birthday of bitcoin’s genesis block, and we’re now on the cusp of a new decade that’s full of promise. Over the past ten years our company and community has come further than we could have ever imagined. The dream of creating a new financial system for the internet is even closer to a reality — and it wouldn’t be possible without you!

We wanted to briefly recap the highlights from the year and thank you for being part of Blockchain.com’s biggest year yet.

We Added New Ways to Use your Blockchain Wallet

This year, more people than ever joined the crypto revolution! There are now over 44.5M Blockchain Wallets, more than double the 21M we had at the start of 2018.

Our top priority was expanding features so you could do more with your Blockchain Wallet. Some highlights include:

  • Enhanced in-wallet trading and increased trading limits so you can trade $5 or $25,000. In the last year, nearly 1 million Swap orders were completed allowing users to trade on-chain without ever having to leave their Wallet.
  • Introduced Digital Dollars powered by Paxos (“PAX”), giving people across 150 countries access to the world’s reserve currency for the first time.
  • Launched Blockchain Airdrops and gave millions in free crypto away. By being Gold Level, you can try and discover new crypto from our select partners.
  • Integrated with BitPay so you can easily use your crypto to pay for products and services.
  • Improved our mobile apps. We made our iOS and Android apps faster and stronger than ever before, giving you the best experience when you’re on the go.

We Built the Exchange of the Future

At the end of the summer we released the next generation exchange that crypto traders deserve today. The Blockchain Exchange redefines speed, reliability, and liquidity, while fixing major pain points that the industry has failed to address.

Whether you’re a first-time trader or seasoned in crypto, the Blockchain Exchange has you covered:

  • Account creation is so fast that you can go from set up to trading in a matter of minutes.
  • Convert your money into crypto through our global banking network and easily trade across dollars, euros, or pounds.
  • Deep liquidity allows access better prices than other leading exchanges saving you more money.
  • The fastest trading engine so you can maximize your edge regardless of how the market is moving.
  • Trade all of the top cryptos and new ones, including the popular crypto project ALGO and exclusively released gold-backed token, DGLD.
  • The Exchange is integrated with the Blockchain Wallet so you can securely transfer and trade your crypto while keeping maximum control over your keys.
  • Support available through LiveChat so you can get your questions answered in real-time.

It’s one thing to build a product, but another to see traders like you use it every day. Thank you for making the Blockchain Exchange an early success. We’re committed to providing you a fair, liquid, and fast marketplace today and well into the future!

We Became a Preferred Partner to Institutions

In 2019 our institutional clients lent, traded, or borrowed billions in crypto. But institutions’ needs are evolving so fast that they need a partner that understands the nuances of crypto. In July, we quietly launched a lending desk through Blockchain Markets and have seen a tremendous response. In just three months, we went from originating $10M in loans in our first month to $120M in November.

We also invested heavily into the ecosystem through Blockchain.com Ventures, supporting projects like Enjin, Origin, DappRadar, Zerion and many more.

In addition to the above, we also:

  • Got More People Into Crypto through Blockchain Airdrops! We gave away Stellar (XLM) for free to over a million people across 140 countries. Now, we’re working with one of our favorite projects in crypto, Blockstack, to put Stacks tokens into the hands of an entirely new wave of eligible users. Reserve your spot by logging into the Blockchain Wallet today!
  • Improved the Blockchain Explorer. We added support for ethereum and bitcoin cash and built new infrastructure for the bitcoin blockchain so you have more visibility and access to new data on the network.
  • Led the industry with emerging research including the State of Stablecoins, our first Cryptoasset Investment Thesis, and primers on leading assets (Stellar; Paxos). Our team is frequently cited by the media, analysts and presenting at top industry events.

What’s next?

In 2020, we’ll continue to build and ship products that empower you to control your money the way you want. It’s clear that we’re living through an economic revolution — the largest paradigm shift in how money works since the invention of credit. We’re here for the long term, committed to fight every day for our users, team, and a future where everyone can be economically free.

We’re glad you’ve joined us in this revolution and here’s to the next ten years!

A Look Back, Before Moving Forward was originally published in @blockchain on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.