Consulting firm PwC believes that M&A growth will continue into 2022 as venture capital builds up in the cryptocurrency industry.
PwC
posted a report stating that the value of cryptocurrency mergers and acquisitions (M&A) increased from $1.1 billion in 2020 to $55 billion in 2021, i.e. by 4,846%. The authors of the report note that the average deal size tripled, from $52.7 mn to $179.7 mn. According to PwC, the capital of companies specializing in mergers and acquisitions (SPAC) is behind this significant jump.
Studies have shown that in terms of total value, Europe, the Middle East and Africa have pulled ahead, reaching $25.5 billion. Asia-Pacific is far behind, approaching $5 billion. the amount also increased by 143%.
The authors of the report note that with the emergence of 49 new funds in 2021, the number of venture capital companies investing in blockchain-based projects has grown to 500. The report predicts that in 2022 the crypto industry will maintain momentum based on significant growth in 2021. Moreover, the sheer number of venture capital funds is likely to fuel the growth of crypto transactions.
According to PwC researchers, the main question is whether companies will continue to use SPACs as a funding opportunity. The growth of SPAC, as a way to avoid a series of checks for cryptocurrency projects by regulators when entering the exchange, came in 2021. The authors of the report point to the ongoing growth trend in NFT, DeFi, Web 3 and Metaverse. These segments of the blockchain market saw outstanding growth in 2021. PwC expects this trend to continue, but likely more through fundraising deals rather than mergers and acquisitions as the technology is still in its infancy.
According to the researchers, the rest of the industry segments will continue to develop in 2022, when more institutional investors enter the market. This will go hand in hand with the consolidation and expansion of the industry.
Cryptocurrency exchange Binance bought a $200 million stake in Forbes magazine this week and became the second-largest shareholder of the influential American publication. A little earlier, the Elrond platform bought the payment service Uturst to create a payment system with DeFi capabilities. The new platform will be called Merchant Yield. Last year, NCR, a major American manufacturer of ATMs and other specialized equipment, announced that it had signed an agreement to buy out crypto ATM operator LibertyX.
Source: Bits
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