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Cryptocurrency startups have increased investment along with the recent rally in Bitcoin and other major tokens, and the total investment capital raised since the launch of the related industry has exceeded $100 billion (KRW 138 trillion).
According to data from DeFiLlama, a DeFi (decentralized finance) information provider, the amount of fundraising in the virtual currency sector has reached $101 billion (KRW 139.5 trillion) since 2014, Bloomberg News reported on the 16th. local time) reported.
According to data from The Block Research, the cumulative investment since 2017 is more than $95 billion (131 trillion won).
Investments in cryptocurrency startups have declined sharply after surging in 2021 and 2022.
However, according to data from research firm Pitchbook, cryptocurrency venture investment recorded $2.5 billion (KRW 3.5 trillion) in the first quarter of this year, up from the recent low of $1.9 billion (KRW 2.6 trillion) in the fourth quarter of last year. .
Fundraising in the form of venture capital deals and token sales has been a major driver of the cryptocurrency industry's growth, but the large sums of money that have flooded these startups have had mixed results for investors.
Paul Veraditakit, managing partner at Pantera Capital, a $4.7 billion (6.5 trillion won) cryptocurrency investment firm, said that traditional exits, such as public listings, are “certainly more expensive than what you would normally expect from a traditional venture capital firm.” “It took longer,” he said.
It's just that Coinbase Global's $86 billion (119 trillion won) listing on Nasdaq, which took place during the 2021 bull market, is a notable exception.
Investors were hit hard by the bankruptcy of once-famous cryptocurrency startups such as FTX, a cryptocurrency exchange founded by Sam Bankman-Fried, and BlockFi, a cryptocurrency lending company.
In the end, major investors such as Tiger Global Management and Temasek Holdings effectively withdrew from this business.
The industry expects that mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and initial public offerings (IPOs) will become more active as the digital asset industry matures, with up to 15 virtual currency companies expected to be listed this year.
Meanwhile, it was argued that financial companies are showing a cautious attitude toward investing in Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and are slowly moving toward gradual adoption.
Samara Cohen, BlackRock's chief investment officer for ETFs and index investments, said in a recent conference call that roughly 80% of Bitcoin ETF purchases to date have likely come from "voluntary investors who self-allocated through online exchange accounts." CNBC reported on the 16th that he said this because it was big.
According to data submitted by institutional investors to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), hedge funds and other officially registered investment managers also began buying, but were more cautious.
BlackRock launched its Bitcoin spot ETF, iShares Bitcoin Trust, in January, which has grown into the world's largest Bitcoin fund.
