Cryptocurrencies Bagged Largest Investment So Far in 2021, Beating Previous Records: Report

Quadrupling the previous all-time high recorded in 2018, the crypto space managed to gather more than $30 billion (roughly Rs. 2,27,617 crore) in 2021. In 2018, venture capital funds amounting to $8 billion (roughly Rs. 60,704 crore) were seen in the crypto market. As per a report by PitchBook Data, the perception towards cryptocurrencies has gone beyond seeing it as “digital gold” this year. The major boom in the crypto market comes in the backdrop of Bitcoin registering a breakthrough gain of 1,300 percent.

As per the PitchBook report (via Bloomberg), investors are funding “anything” and “everything” around cryptocurrencies.

“We’ve moved beyond just digital gold. We’ve got financial services, art, gaming as a subcategory of non-fungible tokens (NFTs), Web 3.0, decentralised social media, play-to-earn — all of that made investors think ‘we don’t have enough exposure,’” the Bloomberg report quoted Spencer Bogart, general partner at investment venture firm Blockchain Capital.

This significant funding that the crypto space has garnered in 2021 includes fundraising by crypto-related firms like Robinhood and Revolut.

In the US alone, around $7.2 billion (roughly Rs. 54,628 crore) were poured in crypto-related deals, making up for a four-time growth since 2018.

Earlier in December, crypto investment platform Stacked raised $35 million (roughly Rs. 263 crore) in a funding round led by quantitative cryptocurrency trading firm Alameda Research and crypto-start-up investment firm, Mirana Ventures.

In October, crypto exchange platform WOO Network bagged $30 million (roughly Rs. 223 crore) from various investors in a Series A funding round.

The same month, a US-based NFT company called Candy Digital also secured $100 million (roughly Rs. 747 crore) in a Series A funding round co-led by private equity firms Insight Partners and SoftBank Vision Fund.

Other findings have revealed that the NFT sector has evolved from being niche into something bigger, an observation which coincides with previous reports highlighting the growth of this digital collectibles sector.

In the third quarter of 2021, NFT sales volume surged to $10.7 billion (roughly Rs. 79,820 crore), up by over eightfold from the previous quarter, according to data from market tracker DappRadar.

Despite adoption reluctance due to decentralised nature and volatility, the crypto space seems to be blossoming in several parts of the world.

El Salvador adopted Bitcoin as a legal tender in September.

The crypto market in Nigeria, Kenya, Tanzania, and South Africa together saw a growth of 1,200 percent, reaching a market valuation of $105.6 billion (roughly Rs. 775 crores) in one year, a report by Chainalysis claimed in September.

Cryptocurrency is an unregulated digital currency, not a legal tender and subject to market risks. The information provided in the article is not intended to be and does not constitute financial advice, trading advice or any other advice or recommendation of any sort offered or endorsed by NDTV. NDTV shall not be responsible for any loss arising from any investment based on any perceived recommendation, forecast or any other information contained in the article.