Blockchain Industry Observation Column · Chapter 10
Picture丨From the Internet
Picture丨From the Internet
The cryptocurrency industry is thriving, with a total market value of nearly $2 trillion, larger than the market capitalization of Amazon, Google and Microsoft. Since March 8, bitcoin has traded more than $50,000 and has a market capitalization of $1.12 trillion, nearly as much as all the silver in the world is worth.
Institutions with FOMO sentiment continue to flood the market. Tesla began accepting bitcoin as payment for its electric vehicles, adding to its $2.5 billion holdings of the cryptocurrency. BNY Mellon, one of the oldest U.S. banks, has launched a digital assets unit, Goldman Sachs has restarted its digital currency trading business, and JPMorgan has launched a structured note tied to a basket of stocks with exposure to bitcoin , Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs have become the first traditional banks in the United States to provide bitcoin services directly to high-net-worth clients.
Institutions and venture capital firms eager to cash in are not in vain. Huge amounts of money have poured into startups in the crypto industry, creating new unicorns at a breakneck pace. Just this past March, three crypto-industry companies raised one of the largest investments in the industrys brief but rich history.According to PitchBook data, at least 18 companies in the encryption field currently have unicorn status.
During the heyday of ICOs, there were companies that raised billions of dollars and were short-lived. Low-quality projects, multiple scams, and a lack of institutional and regulatory oversight led to what is now being called the Great Crypto Crash of 2018 when an index tracking the performance of the ten most liquid digital assets plummeted 80%.
Hopefully this bull run in cryptocurrencies is truly different. Public companies such as MicroStrategy and Square have amassed large Bitcoin positions on their balance sheets, viewing it as an alternative to gold
Meanwhile, applications for a U.S. bitcoin ETF are piling up at the door of the SEC, and the market is buzzing with expectations for Coinbases April 14 direct listing, the first major public offering (IPO) of a cryptocurrency trading firm. .secondary title
1. Bitmain: $422 million
Transaction date: August 7, 2018
VC round: B1 round of financing
Famous investors: Hansheng Capital, Blue Bell Investment (Asia), Hongzhao Group, Lioness Capital, Goxuan Investment, Singapore Lanting Investment
Post-money valuation: $15 billion
Last valuation: $12 billion
As the worlds leading manufacturer of Bitcoin mining machines, Bitmain also operates Antpool, one of the worlds top Bitcoin mining pools, with more than 12% of the Bitcoin network hash or computing power (computing power).secondary title
2. BlockFi: $350 million
Transaction date: March 11, 2021
VC round: D round of financing
Notable investors: Bain Capital Ventures, DST Global Partners, Pomp Investments, Tiger Global, Susquehanna Government Products
Post-money valuation: $3 billion
Last valuation: $435 million
Headquartered in New JerseyFounded in 2017, BlockFi is now one of the worlds leading cryptocurrency loan providers.secondary title
3. Dapper Labs: $305 million
Transaction date: March 30, 2021
VC round: the fifth round of financing
Notable investors: Coatue Management, Andreessen Horowitz (A16Z), Michael Jordan, Kevin Durant
Post-money valuation: $2.6 billion
Last Valuation: N/A
The Vancouver-based startup is the developer of NBA Top Shot, an NFT marketplace for basketball video highlights, or moments.secondary title
4. Blockchain.com: $300 million
Transaction date: March 24, 2021
VC round: Series C financing
Famous investors: Partner of DST Global, Lightspeed Investment Fund, VY Capital
Post-money valuation: $5.2 billion
Last valuation: $3 billion
Blockchain.com offers a variety of cryptocurrency services to retail and institutional clients, but is best known for its decentralized digital wallet.secondary title
5. Bakkt: $300 million
Transaction date: March 16, 2020
VC round: B round of financing
Notable investors: Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), BCG Digital Ventures, PayU
Post-trade valuation: N/A
Last Valuation: N/A
In February 2020, the crypto industry venture capital arm of New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) owner ICE announced the acquisition of loyalty rewards provider Bridge 2 Solutions to power Bakkts one-stop retail platform. This item is calledBakkt Apps service enables users to aggregate various digital assets in one wallet, including loyalty points, reward programs, game assets and cryptocurrenciessecondary title
6. Coinbase: $300 million
Transaction date: October 30, 2018
VC round: E round financing
Notable investors: Tiger Global Management Fund, Andreessen Horowitz (A16Z), Government of Singapore Investment Corporation, PolyChain Capital
Post-money valuation: $8.04 billion
Last valuation: $1.71 billion
February 25,The largest U.S. cryptocurrency exchange has filed for a direct listing on the Nasdaq stock exchange. According to recent data, Coinbase has a value of $68 billion on file.secondary title
7. Bitmain: $292.7 million
Transaction date: June 19, 2018
VC round: B round of financing
Notable investors: Sequoia Capital, Coatue Management, China Taijia, Blue Lighthouse Services
Post-money valuation: $12 billion
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8. Hangzhou Qulian Technology: $235 million
Transaction date: June 4, 2018
VC round: B round of financing
Famous investors: Xinhu Zhongbao Company, China High-tech Investment Group, State Development and Investment Corporation
Post-money valuation: $470.25 million
Last valuation: $40.33 million
Qulian Technology provides blockchain products to major Chinese organizations and institutions such as the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the State Administration for Market Regulation, the State Grid and local governments.secondary title
9. Bithumb: $200 million
Transaction date: April 19, 2019
VC round: the second round of financing
Notable investors: Vidente, ID Ventures (Korea), St Blockchain Fund
Post-money valuation: N/A, valued at $888.27 million as of January 2021
Last valuation: $868.42 million
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10. Ripple Labs: $200 million
Transaction date: October 1, 2020
VC round: Series C financing
Notable Investors: Tetragon Financial Group, SBI Holdings, Transform Capital, 10X Capital
Post-money valuation: $10 billion
Last valuation: $410 million (2016)
In December, Ripple Labs and its executives were charged by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for selling XRP, the native asset of the payment network developed by the company, as an unregistered security for $1.3 billion. Following the allegations, several exchanges and trading platforms, including Coinbase, Binance.US and eToro, delisted XRP and suspended trading. In January, U.K.-based investment firm Tetragon Financial Group filed a lawsuit seeking to redeem its stake in Ripple, but lost the case.Despite the impact, XRP remains one of the most traded digital assets.
This article is from www.forbes.com, authored by Nina Bambysheva, researcher of cryptocurrency and blockchain industry at forbes.
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