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State of blockchain VC investments in Europe

To increase the amount invested into European blockchain companies and the number of European deals, Europe needs to solve 2 main barriers: A) lack of large European VCs, B) unclear and incoherent regulatory environment across EU countries.

6 June 2020
Research

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

  • In 2019, around $700m was invested in European blockchain companies, which is 24% of the $2.8bn invested globally. However, around 30% of 800 global blockchain deals were European — meaning Europe has smaller deal sizes ($3m average deal size in Europe vs. $3.6m globally)
  • UK still dominates, with 20% of deals, followed by Switzerland, Germany, Spain, Netherlands, France and CEE (Central and Eastern Europe)
  • European companies that raised over $50m are Bitfury ($170m), Ledger ($88m), Blockchain.com ($70m), Fnality ($63m). However, Europe was also home to some of the largest ICOs, such as TaTaTu ($575m), Waves ($142m), Envion ($101m), Bankera ($100m)
  • Europe has numerous universities with research focused on Distributed Ledger Technologies
  • To increase the amount invested into European blockchain companies and the number of European deals, Europe needs to solve 2 main barriers: A) lack of large European VCs, B) unclear and incoherent regulatory environment across EU countries

GLOBALLY IN 2019, BLOCKCHAIN FUNDING FELL TO $2.8BN, BUT THE NUMBER OF DEALS REMAINED STABLE

Source: CB Insights Blockchain Report

AT THE SAME TIME, SHARE OF EUROPEAN DEALS INCREASED FROM 27% TO 30%

Source: PWC — 2nd global crypto M&A and fundraising report April 2020

IN 2019, EUROPEAN BLOCKCHAIN COMPANIES RECEIVED $700M INVESTMENTS AND BLOCKCHAIN WAS THE 6TH LARGEST VERTICAL

Source: Atomico — State of European Tech 2019

UK STILL DOMINATES, WITH 20% OF DEALS, FOLLOWED BY SWITZERLAND, GERMANY, SPAIN, NETHERLANDS, FRANCE AND CEE (CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE)

Source: Crunchbase “blockchain” companies in “Europe” region in 2018 and 2019; Etienne Brunet newsletter on European crypto ecosystem HERE.

EUROPEAN COMPANIES THAT RAISED OVER $50M ARE BITFURY ($170M), LEDGER ($88M), BLOCKCHAIN.COM ($70M), FNALITY ($63M). HOWEVER, EUROPE WAS ALSO HOME TO SOME OF THE LARGEST ICOS, SUCH AS TATATU ($575M), WAVES ($142M), ENVION ($101M), BANKERA ($100M)

Source: Crunchbase “blockchain” companies in “Europe” region

EUROPE HAS NUMEROUS UNIVERSITIES WITH RESEARCH FOCUSED ON DISTRIBUTED LEDGER TECHNOLOGIES

Source: Rockaway Blockchain Fund research

Additional European universities with DLT research: Université du Luxembourg https://wwwen.uni.lu/, École Polytechnique https://www.polytechnique.edu/.

TO INCREASE THE AMOUNT INVESTED INTO EUROPEAN BLOCKCHAIN COMPANIES AND THE NUMBER OF EUROPEAN DEALS, EUROPE NEEDS TO SOLVE 2 MAIN BARRIERS: A) LACK OF LARGE EUROPEAN VCS…

Source: https://101blockchains.com/top-blockchain-investors/

There is not one European VC present in the list of top 50 blockchain investors: https://www.blockchain-council.org/blockchain/top-50-venture-capital-investors-in-blockchain/

…AND B) UNCLEAR AND INCOHERENT REGULATORY ENVIRONMENT ACROSS EU COUNTRIES

Source: Atomico — State of European Tech 2019

Although the European Commission has launched a consultation document on how to improve regulatory environment,the deadlines for implementation are unclear: https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/info/files/business_economy_euro/banking_and_finance/documents/2019-crypto-assets-consultation-document_en.pdf


Here is a short Powerpoint presentation for download:

https://www.slideshare.net/vikino/state-of-blockchain-vc-investments-in-europe


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