Blockchain start-ups worldwide raised a record £3.2 billion in funding during Q2 2021, in spite of the significant decline the cryptocurrency market has been experiencing since mid-April.
This data, collected by analytics firm CB Insights in its ‘State of Fintech‘ report, represents a 50% increase over last quarter and a ninefold increase compared to the same time last year.
The global fintech industry also reached new heights in this quarter, with £22.4 billion being funded into the sector by venture capital firms.
“Across 657 deals, global VC-backed fintech companies raised a record $30.8 billion (£22.4bn), shattering last quarter’s funding record by 30%. This impressive funding growth was accompanied by a modest 2% deal growth quarter-over-quarter and a 29% increase year-over-year,” the report reads.
The largest funding round in this period went to Circle, a US-based stablecoin company that raised a then-record breaking £320 million in May. Crypto derivatives exchange FTX has since surpassed Circle in receiving the largest funding round for a crypto firm, raising an eyewatering £654m in July.
Hardware wallet developer Ledger came second in terms of funding, acquiring £276m in June. Other notable funding rounds included £218m in April for custody firm Paxos, Block.one’s £218m haul in May for its new exchange; and Mexico City-based exchange Bitso’s £181m round in May.
CB Insights also made note of sectors to watch in the growing blockchain start-ups space. No area stood out more here than the growing blockchain analytics industry, with June seeing Chainalysis raise £72.5m and CipherTrace bag £20m.
While Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have seen their prices slashed these past few months, funding into the sector shows no signs of slowing down.
Want to learn more from executives at the heart of this space? The Blockchain IoT Solutions Congress, on November 2 2021, will explore the convergence of these two technologies and the use cases and industries that will benefit.
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