Bitcoin Press Release: Status and Etherisc selected as top two startups at the recently concluded Blockchain Startup Contest.

December 5, 2016, Singapore – BlockchainHub has announced Status — an Ethereum mobile client, and Etherisc — a decentralized insurance application as the two main winners of Blockchain Startup Contest. The winning teams received an award of €15,000 each.

The Blockchain Startup Contest saw participation by contestants from over 29 different nations showcasing a variety of blockchain use cases. Out of over 80 applications, 20 teams made it to the finals, to be judged by their pitch and live Q&A session. The jury, made of eight thought leaders from within the industry evaluated these startups based on multiple criteria including business idea, business model, market timing, social impact, team, and execution.

The Blockchain Startup Contest was conceptualized by the BlockchainHub Graz and all prizes were awarded in Ether (ETH) to winners, as a demonstration of the near real-time cross-border payment capability of Ethereum Network.

“We were amazed by the amount, diversity and quality of the 80 applications received from 29 countries. Most projects share not only the Blockchain as a technical foundation but also the common goal to make the world a better place,”

Commented Thomas Zeinzinger, Co-Founder of BlockchainHub Graz. Zeinzinger continued saying,

“We thank everybody for their participation, swift interaction and support to make this a great event and look forward to future co-operations with startups and companies all over the globe,”

The co-founder of Status, Carl Bennetts while expressing his appreciation for the Ethereum platform and the Blockchain Startup Contest said,

“We couldn’t be more excited at the prospect of bringing Ethereum and decentralized technologies directly to the general public. It’s pleasing to see initiatives like this one encouraging a transition towards decentralization — they provide a valuable service not only to startups in the industry but also in exposing more established institutions to the potential of blockchains.”

Similarly, one of the co-founders of Etherisc — Stephan Karpischek said,

“It is hard to overestimate the impact that blockchain will have on the insurance market. We build smart insurance applications on Ethereum. While we knew that we are onto something big here, we now feel humbled to win in such a great competition. This is a great motivation for us to continue with making insurance processes more efficient, transparent and fair.”

About the Blockchain Startup Contest

The event was organized by the BlockchainHub Graz, a collaboration between Lab10, Coinfinity, and MakerSpace, and was sponsored and supported by Energie Steiermark, Steiermärkische Sparkasse + Erste Bank, eCounting, KaPa Ventures and the City of Graz.

About Status

Headquartered in Singapore, Status is an open source project that combines a messenger, wallet, and DApps browser for the mass market to begin using cryptocurrency and decentralized applications directly from their Android or iOS devices. Status will be launching an API and developer tools at the end of Q1 2017, enabling DApp developers to reach new users through its open, decentralized platform.

About Etherisc

Etherisc builds smart insurance applications on the blockchain, with the goal to make insurance processes much more efficient and fully transparent. At devcon2 in Shanghai in September 2016, Etherisc demonstrated the benefits of a fully automated process with the flight delay DApp. Now it aims to extend this model to other insurance verticals and provide investors with a truly peer-to-peer and decentralized insurance market.

Learn more about BlockchainHub Graz at – https://blockchainhub.net/graz/

Learn more about Status at – https://status.im

Learn more about Etherisc at – https://fdd.etherisc.com

Media Contact

Contact Name: Chase J. Thompson

Company Name: Status Holdings Pte. Ltd.

Contact Email: [email protected]

Company Location: Singapore

Status is the source of this content. Virtual currency is not legal tender, is not backed by the government, and accounts and value balances are not subject to consumer protections. This press release is for informational purposes only. The information does not constitute investment advice or an offer to invest.