Tezos Ecosystem Gains Momentum as Wakam and Smartlink Become Corporate Bakers

Digital insurer Wakam has officially become a corporate baker on the Tezos (XTZ) blockchain, expanding its involvement in the ecosystem. The Paris-based company can now validate transactions and add blocks to the Tezos blockchain. Wakam highlighted Tezos's self-upgrading proof-of-stake protocol, which has completed five upgrades since launch, with Edo being the latest. The firm stated that Tezos's technology makes it an ideal platform for creating and managing decentralized applications and digital assets.

Wakam provides B2B insurance services to clients and partners, including insurance giant AIG and Yamaha Motor Company. The firm utilizes blockchain technology to offer innovative Insurtech services. Wakam has been increasingly active in the industry; last month, it partnered with London-based fintech Revolut and Quover to provide a new insurance package, expanding its reach to Revolut's 13 million customers.

In a parallel development, decentralized escrow platform Smartlink also announced it is expanding its presence by becoming a corporate baker on Tezos. Smartlink provides end-to-end online escrow solutions with low processing costs, removing the need for expensive third parties. The platform's services cover over 15 top ERC-20 tokens, which are wrapped into Tezos standard FA1.2 tokens for tradability with reliable settlement and low gas fees.

Smartlink now joins the ranks of other corporate bakers on Tezos, including Ubisoft, Exaion, and the newly added Wakam. Over 400 bakers worldwide participate in securing the Tezos network daily. Michel Mauny, President of Tezos's Nomadic Labs, commented on both developments, stating, "We are particularly proud to welcome Wakam to the Tezos ecosystem," and regarding Smartlink, "We are always delighted to see project leaders becoming increasingly involved in our ecosystem. Smartlink holds great promise."

Ben Constanty, CEO and founder of Smartlink, said, "I am now more convinced than ever that we have made the best technological decision choosing Tezos. The promise of this network is consistent with the same ambitious goals we have for our platform."

Wakam's blockchain journey began in 2018 when it started using the SaaS blockchain product Sequence. Last year, it began using the enterprise Ethereum version, Quorum, and has timestamped policies on the Bitcoin blockchain for transparency. The company has automated over 550,000 contracts on the blockchain and expects to complete automation for its complex products this year.

Tezos, designed to stay on the cutting edge, uses a proof-of-stake consensus that consumes about 2 million times less energy than proof-of-work networks. Network activity on Tezos increased by 1,200% in 2021, and it hosts popular DeFi and NFT applications.