Bitcoin and blockchain industry received $550 million in investment in 2016, and it continues to break records

A new report from data analytics firm CB Insights shows that investment in bitcoin and blockchain technology startups reached 5.5亿美元in 2016, compared with almost zero investment in 2012.

According to CB Insights, the proportion of investment in Bitcoin and blockchain industry has increased by 5 percentage points since 2012, from 524 million US dollars in 2015 to 550 million US dollars in 2016. Although many people think that the increase is not large, compared with 2012, this figure is already amazing.

In 2012, only five projects in the Bitcoin and blockchain space received investments totaling $1.3 million. However, just two years later, in 2014, 143 projects received investments totaling $357 million.

Bitcoin and blockchain investment ratio declines

However, although investors are keen to explore the development of Bitcoin and its underlying technology blockchain, the amount of investment in the industry has increased in 2016, but the proportion of the increase is far less than that in 2014.

In 2016, investors invested in 132 bitcoin and blockchain companies, down from 143 in 2014. The number was down 18% from 161 investments in 2015.

Financing rounds

In 2016, there were four projects in the industry that received more than 50 million in financing, including Circle (60 million USD, Series D), DAH (60 million USD, Series A), Ripple (55 million USD, Series B), and Blockstream (55 million USD, Series A).

However, 21 and Coinbase still hold the record for the largest funding rounds in the industry, with both companies raising $111 million and $75 million, respectively, in the first quarter of 2015.

Although the total amount of funding received in the first quarter of 2016 was much higher than any quarter in 2015 (45 projects received a total of $175 million), the investment intensity has been declining for a period of time. In the fourth quarter of 2016, only 29 projects received $87 million.

Towards maturity

The Bitcoin and blockchain space is still in its early stages and is always on the path to maturity. The fact that the industry went from $1.3 million in funding to $550 million in a relatively short period of time between 2012 and 2015 is a sure sign of progress.

In addition, there is still room for development in this area, which means that it is only a matter of time before investment increases.

Funding for bitcoin and blockchain technology in Canada increased last year, with venture capital funding reaching $138 million, compared with $7.3 million in 2000 and $21.8 million in 2012.

The UK has long been considered a hub for fintech. However, the country’s bitcoin and blockchain sectors saw a slight decline in venture capital funding last year, but the fintech sector was not affected at all.

Of course, one thing that never changes is that enthusiasm for Bitcoin and its distributed ledger has only grown, and the investment industry is no exception.