- Investors have injected more than $8 billion into crypto and blockchain initiatives in the first half of the year.
- Crypto will likely remain a hot topic for the rest of 2021.
- BlockFi, Paxos, Blockchain.com, and Bitso have attracted more than $200 million in investment.
Investor interest in the crypto sector is pushing the industry towards new milestones, a recent report by KPMG accounting firm reveals. The study, dubbed “Pulse of Fintech H1 2021,” investigates global investment trends across various fintech industries in the first half of 2021.
The report claims that interest in investing in crypto and blockchain initiatives does not only come from private startups and investors, but also from official bodies, and governments. As per the report, 2,456 investment deals worth $98 billion were made in the first 6 months of the year.
Between January and June this year, 548 investment deals, which involve private equities, venture capitals, and mergers and acquisitions, have taken place in the booming crypto and blockchain industry. The cumulative value of these deals reaches a staggering $8.7 billion, more than double all the investments of 2020, which totals $4.3 billion.
Anton Ruddenklau, global fintech co-leader at KPMG, said the focus on the crypto and blockchain sector is quite considerable. “Cryptocurrency and blockchain is exploding globally. There’s so much happening in the space right now, between the eCNY project running in China, Facebook’s Diem, a number of ecosystem initiatives — not to mention all the different trading platforms raising money,” he said.
Ruddenklau said digital currencies are a hot topic for investors. “Digital currencies and virtual assets are a big, big topic of conversation. I think for the rest of this year at least, crypto will be a very hot ticket for investors,” he stated.
Crypto Will Remain a Hot Topic in 2021
The report anticipates that as the cryptocurrency and blockchain space continues to mature, more and more investors would consider dipping their toes into these uncharted waters. The report reads:
H1’21 saw an explosion of activity in the blockchain and crypto space. We’ll likely see this trend continue, with focus stretching across the crypto ecosystem — from cryptocurrencies and trading platforms to NFTs, alternative asset trading, and support structures.
In addition, the study reveals that due to distinct sections of the crypto market, the space would be able to attract a diverse range of investors. Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are now recording new highs after the market saw some period of market inactivity following its initial surge in 2021.
Among the more noticeable investments in the first half of the year, BlockFi, a cryptocurrency trading platform, attracted around $350 million. Paxos and Blockchain.com also raked in huge deals, each attracting $300 million in investment.
