From an institutional point of view, the adoption of cryptocurrencies is done silently. Indeed, more and more companies are investing in this new asset class. That said, this investment takes many forms. The first is the actual purchase of cryptos. Another, less popular method is to inject capital into startups operating in the blockchain industry.
Google is betting big on blockchain and cryptos
The list of companies exploring blockchain continues to grow. According to a recent report published by analytics firm Blockdataadoption has never been stronger among publicly traded institutions.
Alphabet, the company behind Google, is leading the way. Between September 2021 and June 2022, the firm injected more than $1.56 billion into startups blockchain/crypto. And that in just four funding rounds. That said, Alphabet hasn’t always been enthusiastic about this technology. However, lately, despite its initial skepticism, the company is getting involved in different innovative projects in the sector.
A trend followed by financial services giants. In this case, BlackRock invested $1.17 billion in three rounds, and Morgan Stanley, $1.1 billion in two rounds. Meanwhile, Samsung, the electronics leader, breaks the record for the number of financing operations. The company can boast of having financed 13 startups for a total of $979 million.
Further down the rankings are PayPal, Microsoft and Citi with total funding estimated at 650 million, 447 million and 215 million respectively.
What use cases are these companies investing in?
Among these investors, many are those whose core business is not related to capital management. A way of underlining the fact that the blockchain goes far beyond cryptocurrencies.
The study reveals that major institutional brands took part in 71 financing rounds. These involved about sixty startups specialized in blockchain or crypto. It turns out that the majority of these start-ups offer services around NFTs. However, the marketplaces and the companies of gaming are also very popular.
Last month, it was reported that venture capitalists had pumped over $29 billion into cryptocurrency companies in the first half of 2022. All this in the midst of the bear market. It is clear that traditional companies are positioning themselves prospectively to dominate emerging markets. The train is on!
Receive a digest of news in the world of cryptocurrencies by subscribing to our new daily and weekly newsletter service so you don’t miss any of the essential Tremplin.io!
