Estonia-based “stock exchange for startups” Funderbeam released its Blockchain Report 2017, which includes details on blockchain startup funding such as total funding and individual funding rounds since 2012 as well as industry funding by region, industry co-relations, top investors, and the most funded startups.
Funderbeam, the world’s first primary and secondary marketplace for early-stage startup investments, uses the blockchain to secure all interactions sourced through it. To add to this unique value proposition, Funderbeam also provides free access to data covering over 180,000 startups and investors and publishes regular reports on startup funding trends.
Funderbeam’s internal data, as well as data from other sources, was used to compile the Blockchain Industry Report 2017. Social media profiles, such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, of companies and investors, were used to source data as well as their web pages. Media outlets like TechCrunch, FinSMEs, and PE HUB also provided information that went into the report. In addition to the sources, Funderbeam partnered with CrunchBase and other regional partners across Europe.
According to the report, the blockchain industry began gaining traction in 2013. The industry has since then grown from funding of about $75 million with funding now totaling to $856 million. Although the total number of funding rounds have decreased, the funding has grown signaling a rise in funding amounts per round.
Regionally, North America was determined to be the leader in terms of funds raised. It also received the largest amount of startup funding though only 0.32 percent of the total funding in the region went to blockchain startups.
Europe had a funding peak in 2014 but saw a significant dip the following year. However, it is the region where the largest share of funds (about 1.25 percent) go to blockchain startups. In absolute terms, the United Kingdom leads Europe in blockchain startup funding, which should not come as a surprise given London’s position as a global hub for FinTech startups followed by Ireland, Switzerland, and the Netherlands.
In terms of the percentage of startup funding going to blockchain startups, Ireland leads the way with 6.26 percent and the Netherlands following with 5.42 percent, demonstrating the friendly regulatory and business environments in these countries.
In January 2016, BitPay EMEA General Manager Marcel Roelands highlighted the Netherlands as a hotspot for blockchain technology and stated, “The Netherlands has the opportunity to become a leading nation in Europe for FinTech companies using bitcoin and the Bitcoin blockchain to innovate in payments and banking.”
Also, Ireland is known for its high concentration of ICT businesses, making it a favorable landscape for blockchain startups. For example, the country hosts Deloitte’s Blockchain Lab which, in March 2017, announced a proof of concept named ‘RegChain,’ bringing regulatory reporting to the blockchain in collaboration with Irish Funds and others.
Asia has shown the largest growth in overall startup funding since 2015, but only 0.25 percent of total funding has so far gone into startups focusing on blockchain technology.
Regarding industry correlation, the financial industry showed the largest number of blockchain startups. Business and industry, as well as software development, came in second and third respectively. Other key industries included e-commerce and mobile platforms.
The report also compiled information on the top five most funded startups; Matrix at $450 million, The DAO at $163 million, Remitly at $138 million, Circle Internet Financial at $136 million, and Coinbase at $122 million. The top investors were Blockchain Capital, Pantera Capital, and Digital Currency Group, investing over $1 billion across 95 startups collectively.
You can find the report in its entirety here.
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