The digital currency ecosystem has continued to see a massive influx of funds from investors in the past year. This trend was confirmed in a new KPMG report that revealed the cryptocurrency ecosystem got heated up in the first half of 2021. The increased growth the ecosystem saw in the first half was more than twice the level seen in 2020 and soaring past the previous annual record high set in 2018.
According to the report, the maturity of the blockchain and cryptocurrency ecosystem has had a rub-off on the understanding of those who invests in the space.
“In H1’21, a significant amount of institutional money flowed into the crypto space, highlighting the broadening of the investor base. Investor awareness and knowledge of the sector is growing, with investors now having a much better understanding not only about crypto assets, but also the operational and procedural side of crypto — from custody and storage to storekeeping and the competitiveness and maturity of service providers,” the report reads.
Role of Venture Capital Firms
While the direct inflow of funds into cryptocurrencies by institutional investors has slowed with the growing regulatory scrutiny, Venture Capital firms are notably investing in the startups providing blockchain and crypto related services.
Amongst the big names that received funding from investors thus far this year include Messari which pulled as much as $21 million earlier this month, BlockFi which raised $350 million and Blockchain.com.
The funding cuts across various aspect of the blockchain world from exchanges, to lending platforms and even Bitcoin rewards app, Lolli which raised $10 million in Series A funding round back in July.
Projections for Second Half: NFT Exchange Emergence
The report and the section on cryptocurrencies was concluded with the projected trends for the rest of the year. Per the report, the blockchain ecosystem will continually see the maturation of the cryptocurrency space while innovative use cases that will continually separate cryptocurrencies from blockchain technology.
In all, we are bound to see the emergence of a special type of cryptocurrency exchanges which will focus exclusively on such new technologies as Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs).
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