Research Institute

What Research Institute does

The Research Institute was a non-profit research initiative founded in spring 2017 by a group of researchers and developers with scientific and practical experience in blockchain product launches. It operated as a neutral platform addressing what it identified as the lack of a consistent philosophy and approach to solid research in emerging technologies — specifically cryptography, systems analysis, big-data processing, and distributed computing. Its technology footprint centred on Distributed Ledger Technologies and blockchain, with eight published applied-research areas: consensus mechanisms (including federalised consensus, block-time optimization, and reliability-versus-redundancy tradeoffs), paired and multi-side state channels with arbitrarily large nesting, zero-knowledge proofs and associated symmetric primitives, tokenization for real estate and the sharing economy, cross-chain gateways and atomic swaps, DeFi protocols, cryptographically secured cold storage, and trading algorithms for DLT environments. Legal incorporation sat under Research Centre Amsterdam BV in the Netherlands, while community operations were anchored in London.

The institute's "products" were research, educational, and community outputs rather than commercial offerings: Research Institute Labs served as the applied-research facility; an annual Grant Programme funded academic projects (including liquid democracy research at Lancaster University, stateless cryptocurrency research at the University of Maryland, and smart-contract security work at King's College London); a Master Workshop Series brought 20-plus thought leaders to two-day evaluation events (Off the Chain, Berlin, June 2018; Layer 1 Solutions, Amsterdam, November 2018); and recurring blockchain meetups were co-hosted with Binary District. Customers/collaborators were Academic Institutions (UCL, King's College London, Imperial, Portsmouth, Cambridge, Lancaster, Maryland), Industrial R&D Centres, Government Institutions, and Enterprise Organisations, with named partners Binary District, Zcash Foundation, and Blockchain Connector.

The business model was explicitly non-commercial: the revenue_model field confirms "It does not generate commercial revenue," with operations funded through grants, donations, and collaborative projects. There are no disclosed pricing models, no product revenue, no headcount-linked sales motion, and no parent company or institutional investor. Geographic footprint spanned the UK, Netherlands, and Germany, with the institute recognised within the international research community. The entity ceased to exist as a standalone organisation in 2019, with team members continuing independently in distributed systems and blockchain technology fields.

Name

Research Institute

Legal name

Research Centre Amsterdam BV

Website

https://researchinstitute.foundation

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Closed

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Research Institute was a non-profit blockchain research initiative founded in 2017, running applied-research labs, an academic grant programme, and the Master Workshop Series to advance DLT and cryptography. It served universities, industrial R&D centres, government, and enterprises across the UK, Netherlands, and Germany before ceasing operations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Blockchain Research and Development Services

NAICS

Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services (54169)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Research Administration & Compliance (Sponsored Programs, IRB/REB) (EDADAKAH)

Keywords

• Blockchain research
• Distributed ledger technology
• Cryptography research
• Academic grant funding
• Non-profit research institute

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Non-profit Research Operations: The Research Institute operates as a non-profit initiative. It does not generate commercial revenue but instead supports research through grants, donations, and collaborative projects. The institute focuses on supporting the international research community rather than commercial product monetization.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Research Institute is a non-profit research initiative that conducted applied research on blockchain, distributed ledger technologies, and cryptography through its Research Institute Labs. It supported the international research community via an annual Grant Programme funding academic blockchain research, a Master Workshop Series evaluating emerging technology (e.g., state channels, Layer 1 scaling), and recurring Blockchain Meetups hosted with partners such as Binary District. Its customers are universities, industrial R&D centres, government institutions, and enterprise organizations; the organization does not sell commercial products.

Product overview

Research Institute is a non-profit initiative focused on international blockchain research and development. The organization operates as a platform comprising Research Institute Labs for applied research on distributed ledger technologies and cryptography, a Grant Programme supporting academic blockchain research projects, Master Workshop Series for technology evaluation, and Blockchain Meetups for community engagement. The offering is not a commercial product portfolio but rather a collection of research, educational, and community-focused activities supporting the international blockchain and distributed systems research community.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Research Institute Labs Applied research facility conducting studies on tokenization for real estate and sharing economy, decentralized finance protocols, gateways and atomic swaps, cryptographically secured cold storage, trading algorithms, and DLT/blockchain applications for enterprises and government institutions. Intended for academic researchers, industrial R&D centres, governments, and enterprises seeking applied research collaboration.
• Grant Programme Annual grant program supporting academic research projects in blockchain and distributed ledger technology, including topics such as consensus mechanisms, smart contract security, liquid democracy, and stateless cryptocurrency research. Grants were awarded to researchers including Patrick McCorry (King's College London), Bingsheng Zhang (Lancaster University), and Charalampos Papamanthou (University of Maryland).
• Master Workshop Series Series of intensive workshops dedicated to evaluating the current state of research in emerging technologies, including blockchain scalability, Layer 1 scaling solutions, and state channel implementations. Speakers have included researchers from Imperial College London, Cornell, Princeton, Purdue, TU Darmstadt, Blockstream, Zcash, Ethereum, and other leading organizations.
• Blockchain Meetups Regular blockchain-themed events hosted in collaboration with Binary District, bringing together academic scientists, researchers, and practitioners to discuss innovations, trends, approaches, and challenges in blockchain and distributed ledger technologies.

Quantifiable outcome

• Organized Master Workshop series with 20+ thought leaders discussing state channels and Layer 1 scaling solutions
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature8 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Binary DistrictcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOngoing collaboration with Binary District to host blockchain-themed events throughout the year. Events bring together leading academic scientists, researchers and practitioners to discuss the most recent innovations, trends, approaches, and challenges in blockchain technologies.
• Zcash FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerContributed to the Zcash Foundation's Grant Programme. Research Institute members participated in the Grant Programme Committee, which received 41 initial proposals covering analysis and improvement of Zcash security, wallet-building, community outreach, proof-of-work algorithms, second-layer technologies, and novel research.
• Blockchain ConnectorminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated on organizing a free blockchain developer workshop in London, supporting educational activities and developer community engagement.
• Academic Institutions (UCL, KCL, Imperial, Portsmouth, Cambridge)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerActive collaboration with multiple UK universities through a cross-university blockchain research seminar. Supported joint projects with academic institutions from the very beginning of the institute's founding, initiating numerous collaborative research initiatives.
• Industrial R&D CentrescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInitiated numerous joint projects with industrial R&D centres. Collaboration focused on applied research and bridging the gap between academic research and practical industrial applications.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Blockstream: Commercial research and engineering company focused on Bitcoin and blockchain infrastructure. Comparable in research output on consensus, sidechains, and cryptographic protocols - Blockstream's Christian Decker was a Master Workshop speaker - but operates as a commercial entity rather than non-profit.
• Ethereum Foundation: Established non-profit foundation supporting Ethereum protocol research and development. Comparable in mission (blockchain research funding and ecosystem development) but materially larger in resources and reach; the Research Institute's Master Workshop featured multiple Ethereum ecosystem researchers (Christian Reitwiessner, Tom Close).
• Protocol Labs: Research-focused organization driving Filecoin/IPFS and related distributed systems protocol research. Comparable as a research-driven organization operating at the intersection of cryptography, distributed systems, and networking, though considerably larger and more commercially oriented.

Direct peers

• MIT Digital Currency Initiative: Academic research initiative focused on cryptocurrency and blockchain technology at MIT. Comparable as a research-focused entity bridging academia and blockchain development, with similar mission around consensus, cryptography, and DLT applications.
• Chaincode Labs: Applied research and development organization focused on Bitcoin and Lightning Network protocols. Comparable as a research-driven organization working on consensus, payment channels, and distributed systems research with strong academic ties.
• Stanford Center for Blockchain Research: University-based research center focused on blockchain fundamentals, cryptography, and decentralized systems. Comparable as a cross-university research initiative bridging academia and industry in blockchain technologies.
• Interchain Foundation: Swiss-based foundation supporting Cosmos/IBC ecosystem research and development. Comparable as a non-profit foundation funding distributed systems and interoperability research with grant programmes.
• Zcash Foundation: Non-profit foundation funding cryptography and blockchain research through grant programmes. Direct peer - the Research Institute participated in the Zcash Foundation's Grant Programme Committee, and both organizations fund academic research on ZK proofs, consensus, and blockchain security.
• Web3 Foundation: Foundation funding research and development of decentralized web technologies (Polkadot/Substrate). Comparable as a foundation running grant programmes and supporting academic research in distributed systems, consensus, and cryptography.

Others

• Binary District: Event and community organization partner that co-hosted blockchain meetups with the Research Institute. Comparable as an ecosystem enabler rather than a research peer; relevant as a community-building collaborator.

Market position

Strengths3 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/1nst1tute

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Research Institute