ConsenSys, a New York-based Ethereum-related development studio, has published a blog post explaining how a list of the top startups (based on their “high potential impact”), called Breakout List, was compiled.
In its extensive blog (posted on March 10th), ConsenSys’ team noted that the Breakout List was created after the company publishing it had gathered data from top-performing venture capital firms, prominent angel investors, late-stage investors, and the CEOs of some of the world’s most promising startups.
Breakout List’s latest edition (for 2019) has reportedly been compiled after receiving recommendations from well-known businessman and software engineer, Eric Schmidt, and Sheryl Sandberg, the billionaire chief operating officer (COO) at Facebook. As explained by both Sandberg and Schmidt, joining these high-performing firms offers a candidate the promise of greater job security and career prospects.
Binance, Coinbase Lead The List
As noted in ConsenSys’ blog post, the Breakout List consists of firms specializing in developing autonomous or self-driving vehicles, cloud computing software, augmented reality (AR), artificial intelligence (AI), data analytics, blockchain technology, and cryptocurrencies.
Significantly for the crypto world, Malta-based digital asset exchange Binance was mentioned on the Breakout List as one of the best companies to work for. Last year, Binance managed to record profits of over $200 million during Q1 2018. Although Binance may no longer be generating as much in revenue or profits due to the prolonged bear market, it was notably more profitable than Germany’s largest financial institution, Deutsche bank. During the same period (Q1 2018), Deutsche bank only earned $146 million in profits.
San Francisco-based crypto exchange Coinbase also made the list, as the company has managed to expand its services despite the sharp decline in the price of most major digital assets and some negative attention for the company. Recently, Coinbase’s acquisition of blockchain intelligence firm Neutrino has led to many social media users criticizing the exchange for working with a company whose executives had allegedly been involved (previously) in selling spyware to governments accused of serious human rights violations.
Electric Coin Company, CoinList Mentioned On Breaker List
Although these accusations might have dented Coinbase’s reputation – prompting a #DeleteCoinbase movement on Twitter among members of the crypto community, Coinbase’s management has been able to develop a brand that is widely-recognized. This can be partially attributed to the American exchange operator hiring highly qualified and experienced professionals to lead its team including Balaji S. Srinivasan, the co-founder of Earn.com and current CTO at Coinbase.
CoinList, a company that conducts research on the crypto industry and offers advice to its clients regarding which companies may be worth investing in, has made the Breaker List for 2019. Other crypto-related firms on the Breaker List include the Electric Coin Company which recently rebranded itself as it was previously known as the Zcash company.
According to the firm, it now offers a more diverse set of services – in addition to supporting the ongoing development of the privacy-focused cryptocurrency, zcash (ZEC). Because it is now involved in various other crypto and blockchain-related initiatives, the company’s management decided to change its name to Electric Coin Company – a name which it considers to be more descriptive of the set of products and services it offers.
Protocol Labs, Reserve, Harbor, Numerai, Robinhood Make The List
Protocol Labs, a company focused on developing tools to improve how the internet currently works, and Numerai, a hedge fund that is operated by an anonymous group of data scientists, were also mentioned on the Breaker List. Reserve, the developers of a stablecoin that aims to function as a “universal store of value”, and Harbor, a compliance platform for allowing users to issue “tokenized private securities” made the Breaker List as well.
The developers of Robinhood, a low-commission cryptocurrency and stock trading app, were also listed by Breaker List as one of the best companies to work for in 2019.
The Ethereum Foundation, an organization dedicated to supporting the ongoing development of Ethereum (ETH), and Lightning Labs, the leading developer of second-layer payment solutions protocol, the Lightning Network (LN), also made the latest Breaker List.
