Santander Innovation Ventures launches blockchain technology competition

Santander InnoVentures has announced the launch of a global blockchain competition, seeking to support early-stage startups that are using distributed ledger technology.

The $100 million venture capital firm from Spain’s largest bank — which recently participated in a $32 million investment in Ripple — will offer a $15,000 cash prize to the winner, as well as access to professional technical and business experts.

Mariano Belinky, Managing Partner at Santander Innovation Ventures, said in a statement:

“Decentralized ledger technology will bring tremendous value to our customers, banks and businesses. This competition will inspire and accelerate the progress of Internet financial startups.”

Santander Innovation Ventures has formed a partnership with startup agency OneVest to provide mentoring and guidance as an angel investor.

Applications are open and will close on December 31. The shortlist will be announced in early January, and the competition will be decided in New York that same month.

After the plan was announced, Belinky told reporters that the technology underlying bitcoin is a "powerful tool."

Application website entrance: innoventures.onevest.com

Santander Innovation Ventures is the Internet financial investment fund of Santander Bank (Spanish International Bank). It was established last year with a $100 million fund specifically for payments, marketplace lending, e-investment consulting, customer and risk analysis, and the provision of digital financial services.

A new forecast from Santander Bank suggests that nearly $20 billion could be saved annually by using some non-Bitcoin types of distributed ledgers and blockchain technology.

Original article: http://www.coindesk.com/santander-innoventures-launches-blockchain-tech-challenge/
Translation: Prince Gong