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In March, three crypto startups collected some of the largest capital increases in the industry’s history. Here are the top ten.
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The crypto-currency industry is steaming hot. The total market value of cryptocurrencies is about $ 2 trillion – that is greater than the market capitalization of Amazon, Google and Microsoft. Bitcoin has traded more than $ 50,000 since March 8 and has a market value of $ 1.12 billion, almost as much as all the silver in the world. FOMO-issued settings are still flowing into space. Tesla will start accepting payments for its electric vehicles in bitcoin, adding the cryptocurrency to its $ 2.5 billion bitcoin trophy. One of the oldest banks in America, BNY Mellon, has launched a digital asset unit, Goldman Sachs has re-launched its crypto-trading business, JPMorgan has offered a structured offering linked to a basket of shares with exposure to bitcoin, Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs became the first major US banks to offer their wealthy customers direct access to bitcoin.
But institutions and businesses that are in a hurry to earn the boom are not coming empty-handed. Crowds of capital pour in on crypto startups, hitting new unicorns at a broad pace. Just in March, three crypto-enterprises collected some of the biggest capital increases in the short but rich history of the industry. According to the data platform PitchBook, there are now at least 18 crypto-native businesses with unicorn status.
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In the heyday of ICOs, companies raised billions, but the hype was short-lived. Low-quality projects, multiple scams and the lack of institutional and regulatory oversight have led to what is now known as the Great Crypto Crash of 2018, when an index tracks the performance of the ten largest and most liquid digital assets, by 80%. .
Crypto bulls hope it’s really different this time around. Publicly traded companies such as MicroStrategy and Square have acquired significant bitcoin positions on their balance sheets and consider it an alternative to gold. Meanwhile, applications for a US bitcoin ETF are popping up in front of the SEC’s door, and the market is buzzing in anticipation of the direct listing of Coinbase scheduled for April 14, the first major public offering for a cryptocurrency firm. In the midst of madness, Forbes analyzed data from PitchBook and compiled a list of the ten largest venture capital transactions for blockchain and crypto-native businesses.
Bitmain: $ 422 million
Trading date: 7 August 2018
Round VC: Series B1
Notable investors: Crimson Capital China, Bluebell (Asia), Jumbo Sheen Group, Lioness Capital, Palace Investment Company, Pavilion Capital
Valuation after money: $ 15 billion
Previous valuation: $ 12 billion
The world’s leading manufacturer of bitcoin hardware, Bitmain, also operates Antpool, one of the best bitcoin mining pools, which accounts for more than 12% of bitcoin’s network hash or computer power. Shortly after the $ 422 million capital increase, the Beijing-based company filed for an exchange on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in September 2018, but the offer went through amid the bitcoin collapse and cooling of the market.
BlockFi: $ 350 million
Trading date: 11 March 2021
Round VC: Series D
Notable investors: Bain Capital Ventures, partners of DST Global, Pomp Investments, Tiger Global, Susquehanna Government Products
Valuation after money: $ 3 billion
Previous valuation: $ 435 million
Founded in 2017, BlockFi was founded in 2017 and is now one of the leading providers of cryptocurrencies. The products span several categories, including loans held by crypto collateral and interest-bearing accounts through which investors can earn interest on their crypto holdings. Rumors of the possible blockchain move by BlockFi began to spread in July last year following reports of a job opportunity, including being part of the venture to become public.
Dapper Labs: $ 305 million
Trading date: 30 March 2021
Round VC: 5th round
Notable investors: Coatue Management, Andreessen Horowitz, Michael Jordan, Kevin Durant
Valuation after money: $ 2.6 billion
Previous valuation: Nvt
The Vancouver-based startup is best known as the developer of NBA Top Shot, an NFT market for basketball video highlights or ‘moments’. The project, which has already surpassed the $ 400 million trading volume, is largely responsible for the rise of non-fungible tokens (NFTs), essentially digital evidence of ownership that can be tracked on a blockchain. Brave Labs previously developed a popular Ethereum game from breeding collectibles called CryptoKitties.
Blockchain.com: $ 300 million
Trading date: March 24, 2021
Round VC: Series C
Notable investors: DST Global, Lightspeed Venture Partners, VY Capital
Valuation after money: $ 5.2 billion
Previous valuation: $ 3 billion
Blockchain.com offers a variety of crypto services to retail and institutional clients, but is best known for its non-oversight digital wallets. Unlike peers controlled by third parties, these wallets give users full control over their private keys representing ownership of crypto assets. The London-based company claims to have processed 28% of all bitcoin transactions since 2012.
Baked: $ 300 million
Trading date: 16 March 2020
Round VC: Series B
Notable investors: Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), BCG Digital Ventures, PayU
Valuation after money: Nvt
Previous valuation: Nvt
In February 2020, the crypto business of ICE (the New York Stock Exchange owner) announced the acquisition of Bridge2 Solutions, a loyalty program provider, to power Bakkt’s one-stop shop platform. With the Bakkt App service, users can bring together various digital assets, including loyalty points, rewards programs, game assets and cryptocurrencies, all in one wallet. In January, Bakkt announced that it would disclose an enterprise value of approximately $ 2.1 billion via a SPAC merger with VPC Impact Acquisition Holdings. Following the closing of the transaction in the second quarter of 2021, the combined company will be listed on the New York Stock Exchange as Bakkt Holdings, Inc.
Coinbase: $ 300 million
Trading date: 30 October 2018
Round VC: Series
Notable investors: Tiger Global Management, Andreessen Horowitz, Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC), Polychain Capital
Valuation after money: $ 8.04 billion
Previous valuation: $ 1.71 billion
On February 25, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the US posted a direct listing on the Nasdaq stock exchange. Coinbase is valued at $ 68 billion, based on the recent submission. On March 19, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) was fined $ 6.5 million for allegations of fraudulent transactions and laundering between 2015 and 2018 on its GDAX platform, later renamed Coinbase Pro. The direct listing of the exchange is scheduled for April 14.
Bitmain: $ 292.7 million
Trading date: 19 June 2018
Round VC: Series B
Notable investors: Sequoia Capital, Coatue Management, China Taijia, Blue Lighthouse Services
Valuation after money: $ 12 billion
Previous valuation: $ 100 million
Hangzhou Qulian Technology: $ 235 million
Trading date: June 4, 2018
Round VC: Series B
Notable investors: Xinhu Zhongbao Company, China Gaoxin Investment Group, State Development and Investment Corporation
Valuation after money: $ 470.25 million
Previous valuation: $ 40.33 million
Qulian Technology offers blockchain products for the largest organizations and institutions in China, including the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the State Administration for Market Regulation, the State Grid and local governments. Its one-stop blockchain open-service BaaS platform, FiLoop, is used by some of China’s largest banks, including China Construction Bank, Agricultural Bank of China, and China Merchants Bank, according to the company. Qulian Technology’s partners also include Google and Microsoft.
Bithumb: $ 200 million
Trading date: 19 April 2019
Round VC: 2nd round
Notable investors: Vidente, ID Ventures (South Korea), ST Blockchain Fund
Valuation after money: N / A, valued at $ 888.27 million from January 2021
Previous valuation: $ 868.42 million
In September 2020, the Seoul Metropolitan Agency allegedly raided the offices of one of South Korea’s largest crypto exchanges over fraud allegations, linked to a $ 25 million sign sale that never materialized and to losses for led investors.
Ripple Labs: $ 200 Million
Trading date: 1 Oct 2020
Round VC: Series C
Notable investors: Tetragon Financial Group, SBI Holdings, Transform Capital, 10X Capital
Valuation after money: $ 10 billion
Previous valuation: $ 410 million (2016)
In December, Ripple Labs and its top executives were accused by the US Securities and Exchange Commission of selling $ 1.3 billion of XRP, the original asset of the payment network developed by the company, as an unregistered security. Following the charges, XRP was dismissed and several trading platforms, including Coinbase, Binance.US and eToro, were removed and trading suspended. In January, British investment firm Tetragon Financial Group filed a lawsuit to redeem its shares in Ripple, but eventually lost the case. Despite the downturn, XRP remains one of the best-traded digital assets.