According to a KPMG report, investors have a better understanding about not just crypto assets, but the operational and procedural side of cryptocurrencies. The big four accounting firm might also see value in the latest crypto hype train of pixelated art and JPEGs, saying that “virtual assets are a big, big topic of conversation”.
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Investments in the space have continued to grow thanks for ever-increasing investor appetite, according to a fresh report from a Big Four accounting firm KPMG.
Called “Pulse of Fintech H1 2021,” the traditional financial paper covers global investment activity in various fintech verticals for the first half of the year. Specifically, it delves into 2,456 investment deals worth $98 billion, made between January and June. One of the main trends outlined for 2021 so far was the explosive growth of the crypto and blockchain investments space, the report reads.
The first six months of 2021 saw 548 investments ventures, including venture capital, private equity rounds, as well as mergers and acquisitions in the crypto sector. The total value of investments in the first half of the year stands at $8.7 billion, already double the total value of 580 deals made in 2020, worth $4.3 billion.
Firms that raised over $100 million in funding rounds, including BlockFi, Paxos and others, led the growth investment volume.
“Cryptocurrency and blockchain are exploding globally,” said KPMG fintech co-leader Anton Ruddenklau.
He added:
There’s so much happening in the space right now, between the eCNY project running in China, Facebook’s Diem, a number of ecosystem initiatives — not to mention all the different trading platforms raising money. Digital currencies and virtual assets are a big, big topic of conversation. I think for the rest of this year at least, crypto will be a very hot ticket for investors.
The study confirms rising investor awareness of crypto as a key driver of growth and value-investments. Investors now have “a better understanding only about crypto assets, but also the operational and procedural side of crypto — from custody and storage to store keeping and the competitiveness and maturity of service providers.”
The firm predicted that the industry would continue to mature, while the difference between cryptocurrencies and blocckhain technologies would get stronger. Non fungible tokens (NFTs), a major focus in the first half driving would contribute to the evolution of exchanges in the form of NFT-focused trading platforms.
The question is, does KPMG see value in JPEGs, pixelated art and crypto punks?
The report expects a further focus on regulatory frameworks for the rest of the year. One specific case, India, will impact the whole ecosystem should it regulate cryptocurrencies as an asset class in the second half of 2021.
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