In a survey released earlier this month by the analyst firm Blockdata, the top 100 were analyzed companies who invest in blockchain from September 2021 to mid-June 2022.
In addition, companies that hold crypto assets under management – in order to understand the main use cases that institutions are paying attention to and which new banks have entered the space in the last 10 months.
In the analysis, the blockchain investment activity of the top 100 public companies by market capitalization was also reviewed to seek to understand what has changed, which areas within the blockchain are most important to these companies, and which new entrants are investing now. Check out:
The companies that invested the most in blockchain and crypto technology
According to the report, forty corporations invested in companies in the blockchain sector or crypto technology during this period.
Samsung is the most active, having invested in 13 companies. UOB followed with 7 investments, followed by Citigroup with 6 investments and Goldman Sachs with 5.
It is not specified how much money these corporations have invested, since, according to the analysis house, a large part participates in financing rounds with several or many other investors.
Based on this, the active investors in the largest funding rounds according to the survey are Alphabet ($1,506M over 4 rounds), Blackrock ($1,171M over 3 rounds), Morgan Stanley ($1.10M over 2 rounds), Samsung ( $979M over 13 rounds), Goldman Sachs ($698M over 5 rounds, BNY Mellon ($690M over 3 rounds) and PayPal ($650M over 4 rounds).
As per Blockdata, the 40 companies invested approximately $6 billion in blockchain startups between September 2021 and June 2022.
As some rounds involve the participation of multiple investors, it is unclear how much each company has invested in a project.
Although not on the current list of top investors, MasterCard still actively participates in the integration and development of inorganic technology.
Prior to September 2021, Mastercard was among the top 3 active investors based on the number of deals it participated in.
However, since then, MasterCard has mainly conducted incubator and accelerator programs for 4 blockchain startups. In September 2021, it also acquired CipherTrace, a cryptographic intelligence company to bolster its cybersecurity solutions to stay on top of digital assets.
In the banking context, while Citigroup and Goldman Sachs have maintained their place among top investors, United Overseas Bank, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, BNY Mellon and Morgan Stanley have made considerable leaps to find themselves on the list as well.
In which sectors of the crypto market are companies investing?
Also according to research by the company Blockdata, a total of 61 blockchain/crypto companies received investments in 71 investment rounds. These blockchain companies are active in 20+ industries and 65 use cases:
- Nineteen companies offer some form of security solutions and services. non-fungible tokens (NFT). Many of them belong to industries such as gaming, arts and entertainment, and distributed ledger technology (DLT).
- In all, 12 companies are marketplaces, with some supporting the purchase and sale of NFTs.
- Eleven organizations provide gaming services. There is considerable overlap between use cases for companies offering NFT solutions, marketplaces, and games.
The popularity of NFTs can primarily be seen as an opportunistic move by corporations looking to capitalize on trends to cater to where their customers are transacting, according to the report.
Capital-raising startups are enabling commerce in decentralized worlds by developing platforms where users can buy and sell NFTs, including virtual land, clothing and other branded items.
Other prominent use cases
- Seven companies offer blockchain services. ConsenSys secured one of the largest financing amounts (a $450 million deal involving Microsoft) in the period under review.
- Five companies focus on infrastructure.
- Four companies focus on blockchain development platforms, dApps, smart contracts, asset management/tokenization and scaling solutions.
- Three companies offer escrow solutions and secure high-value deals – Fireblocks ($550 million deal involving Alphabet), Circle ($550 million round with Blackrock participation) and Anchorage Digital ($350 million deal involving Blackrock). PayPal and Blackrock).
Different investment approaches by public companies
Samsung is betting on the entire blockchain ecosystem by investing in companies focused on 15 different use cases such as blockchain services, development platforms, NFT and social media.
On the other hand, Alphabet and Blackrock are presenting a completely different strategy, placing bets focused on a smaller set of companies.
The review house concludes that corporations are exploring specific use cases and portfolios that complement their core offerings.
For example, HERE Technologies has invested in UNL, a blockchain-based location and mapping technology company, to implement blockchain-enabled security and transparency measures in a location/mapping setup.
Banks have started to increase their exposure to crypto and blockchain services, according to the analytics firm, due to increased customer demand.
Still in the logic of Blockdata, this movement led banks to make investments in cryptocurrency custody, asset management and trading.
As for traditional corporations – such as Samsung and Microsoft – they already support the blockchain landscape, as indicated by the funding trend over the years.
Now, it’s about finding innovative companies and portfolios that add value to the growth and consolidation of your core business.
Like banks, corporations may want to move away from isolated trends and focus on segments that can deliver synergistic growth, according to the survey.
Join the Crypto Times Telegram group!
You access news from the crypto world in real time and you can even participate in community discussions. Join the Crypto Times Telegram group now!
Disclaimer
Money Times publishes informative articles of a journalistic nature. This publication does not constitute an investment recommendation.
Source: Moneytimes
I am an author at Global happenings and I mostly cover automobile news. In my time working in the automotive industry, I have developed a keen interest in the latest developments and trends. My writing skills have also allowed me to share my knowledge with others through articles and blog posts.
