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- The second half of 2021 has only just begun, but there is already a spike in the number of unicorns appearing in the crypto sector as years of mainstream investor opposition to crypto begin to disappear
- Coinbase, the massive crypto exchange located in the United States, is an excellent illustration of how quickly firms in the crypto sector may come to prominence
- BlockFi provides a number of products to retail crypto investors, including a crypto exchange, an interest-bearing account, and low-interest crypto loans
The second half of 2021 has only just begun, but there is already a spike in the number of unicorns appearing in the crypto sector as years of mainstream investor opposition to crypto begin to disappear. Since the beginning of the year, over 50 cryptocurrency and blockchain-related ventures have achieved unicorn status, with industry analysts expecting that more will follow. A unicorn is a firm that has been valued by venture capitalists at more than one billion dollars. Airbnb, Uber, and Elon Musk’s SpaceX are just a few examples of mainstream unicorns, all of which have been valued in the tens of billions of dollars.
Coinbase, the massive crypto exchange located in the United States, is an excellent illustration of how quickly firms in the crypto sector may come to prominence. Analysts anticipate that the list will continue to expand as mainstream use of crypto and blockchain grows, with firms like Amber Group, Blockchain.com, and OpenSea coming to the fore to join the elite club of enterprises valued at over $1 billion. BlockFi is the first on the list. In March of this year, this New Jersey-based financial services firm for crypto consumers closed a $350 million Series D investment round, valuing the company at $3 billion. BlockFi, which was founded by Zac Prince and Flori Marquez in 2017, has received an outstanding amount of investment, especially given the firm only raised $50 million in its Series C round last year.
BlockFi provides a number of products to retail crypto investors, including a crypto exchange, an interest-bearing account, and low-interest crypto loans. The company claims to be one of the few cryptocurrency exchanges with no commissions or transaction fees. BlockFi’s user base has grown from approximately 10,000 at the end of 2019 to over 250,000 retail consumers and 200 institutional investors and counting, thanks to these benefits. BlockFi has raised around $450 million in equity since its start, based on its most recent fundraising round. Bitpanda is up next. This Austria-based firm and crypto trading service, formerly known as Coinmal, has a $1.2 billion value following a $170 million Series B investment round.
Valar Ventures, a New York-based venture capital firm formed in 2010, led the fundraising round, which included assistance from DST Global and other partners. Valar Ventures has begun putting its toes in the crypto waters more recently, and it is also a backer of the trading software Robinhood. Bitpanda’s newest financing is a step ahead from its Series A round nine months ago, when the firm received $52 million, riding on the rising popularity and acceptance of crypto, not to mention the crypto bull market, which frequently raises the income of crypto market-infrastructure providers. According to Bitpanda CEO Eric Demuth, the firm has been profitable for the previous four years, indicating to investors that the company has a clear goal of becoming Europe’s top cryptocurrency payment and exchange platform.
Andrew is a blockchain developer who developed his interest in cryptocurrencies while pursuing his post-graduation major in blockchain development. He is a keen observer of details and shares his passion for writing, along with coding. His backend knowledge about blockchain helps him give a unique perspective to his writing skills, and a reliable craft at explaining the concepts such as blockchain programming, languages and token minting. He also frequently shares technical details and performance indicators of ICOs and IDOs.
