What’s in a New Name?

A couple of well known blockchain companies have recently rebranded. Here are some details …
Monax Industries — is the new name for Eris Industries. Monax is another name for marmot, which are fuzzy rodents that the Eris team seem to relate to. You cannot make this stuff up … from the company blog:
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“We’ve long had an affinity for these fuzzy creatures. Marmots are natural ecosystem engineers, a keystone species that provides critical balance to the environment as a whole. Diligent burrowing transforms their mountain landscape into habitat that provides a framework for them and other species to thrive. Marmots bring order out of chaos, relishing planning, execution and tidiness. They are the engineers of their ecosystems. As we move away from our chaotic beginnings into a long-lasting framework, we embrace the tao of the marmot.”

Monax’s core platform product is still named Eris, at least for now. The company says its platform “is the first Application Platform built from the ground up to provide a logical base for developers and devOps to build, test, and run ecosystem applications. It is designed to support multiple blockchain clients connected to multiple blockchain networks with different smart contract interpreters all seamlessly connected to other microservices necessary to build, test, and run the ecosystem application such as key management systems and distributed data lakes.”

The name change will no doubt please Don Wilson, founder of Chicago’s Eris Exchange, a futures marketplace. Wilson is also a cofounder of Digital Asset Holdings.

Paxos — is the rebranding of the division of the ItBit bitcoin exchange that focuses on blockchain technology. The name is inspired by a technical term that represents a process for reaching consensus.

Paxos has developed Bankchain, which is “a next-generation blockchain settlement platform that streamlines the post-trade process, unlocking new cost savings and operational efficiencies without compromising on security.”

A recent agreement with cross-border settlement service Euroclear will see Bankchain applied to “bring instant settlement and true delivery versus payment to the London bullion market.” Professional services firm EY is also involved with Paxos and the gold marketplace.

A recent press report covered Paxos’ ambitions in the U.S. securities post-trade space.
itBit continues to run its bitcoin exchange and OTC trading operation using the original branding.