MTS bought 51% of Factorin, a Russia-based trade-finance service.
Some telcos are looking at developing a digital wallet that would link the digital currency to users' mobile phone numbers.
Clear claims it can reduce friction in global trade that amounts to $140 billion every year.
Japanese telco SoftBank is exploring blockchain tech as a way to improve upon current centralized and fragmented ID and authentication services.
Telefonica is set to trial a decentralized data marketplace that lets users sell their personal information.
South Korean telco LG Uplus is to trial a blockchain-based mobile payment service aimed to let travelers save fees when shopping abroad.
Japanese telecoms giant Softbank Corp. has completed a blockchain proof-of-concept that allows P2P mobile payments across different carriers.