Crypto M&A Skyrockets in 2018 With a Slumped Market
- Investors are looking to get discounted deals in the bear market.
2018 has not been a good year for the cryptocurrency investors. However, the plunged price of Bitcoin Bitcoin While some may still be wondering what is Bitcoin, who created Bitcoin, or how does Bitcoin work, one thing is certain: Bitcoin has changed the world.No one can remain indifferent to this revolutionary, decentralized, digital asset nor to its blockchain technology.In fact, we’ve gone a long way ever since a Florida resident Laszlo Hanyecz made BTC’s first official commercial transaction with a real company by trading 10,000 Bitcoins for 2 pizzas at his local Papa John’s.One could now argue that While some may still be wondering what is Bitcoin, who created Bitcoin, or how does Bitcoin work, one thing is certain: Bitcoin has changed the world.No one can remain indifferent to this revolutionary, decentralized, digital asset nor to its blockchain technology.In fact, we’ve gone a long way ever since a Florida resident Laszlo Hanyecz made BTC’s first official commercial transaction with a real company by trading 10,000 Bitcoins for 2 pizzas at his local Papa John’s.One could now argue that Read this Term has attracted a new breed of audience to the industry - the deal-makers.
According to PitchBook data compiled by JMP Securities, the deals related to the cryptocurrency and Blockchain Blockchain Blockchain comprises a digital network of blocks with a comprehensive ledger of transactions made in a cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin or other altcoins.One of the signature features of blockchain is that it is maintained across more than one computer. The ledger can be public or private (permissioned.) In this sense, blockchain is immune to the manipulation of data making it not only open but verifiable. Because a blockchain is stored across a network of computers, it is very difficult to tampe Blockchain comprises a digital network of blocks with a comprehensive ledger of transactions made in a cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin or other altcoins.One of the signature features of blockchain is that it is maintained across more than one computer. The ledger can be public or private (permissioned.) In this sense, blockchain is immune to the manipulation of data making it not only open but verifiable. Because a blockchain is stored across a network of computers, it is very difficult to tampe Read this Term companies has increased by 200 percent in 2018. These deals include majority investments, partial liquidation, and full acquisitions.
In 2017, 47 deals were completed in the crypto industry, however, this year, till mid-October, this number went up to 115, and by the end of 2018, it might hit 145.
Since January, the cryptocurrency market has gone through massive turmoil. Within a year, Bitcoin prices plunged heavily from around $20,000 to below $3,800, as per Coinmarketcap.com’s data. The market also shed more than 84 percent of its valuation to come down to $127 billion.
Best Time to Buy
Despite the bloodbath, many investors are seeing it as the perfect opportunity to invest in solid blockchain technology firms for a heavily discounted price. Satya Bajpai, head of JMP’s blockchain and digital assets investment banking unit, told CNBC: “You're seeing mispricing of assets. Even for great businesses, the value of the token remains correlated to Bitcoin, which can create an ideal opportunity for strategic acquirers.”
Explaining the heavy mergers and acquisitions of the nascent blockchain industry, Bajpai added: “It's expensive, but you get the technology and product immediately. This industry is like a treadmill — the only way to keep up on a treadmill is to keep running by investing in new technology.”
The tremendous growth of the industry has created a high demand for blockchain engineers, however, as the sector is only two to four years old, the number of these specialized engineers is still very low. Many deals are also inked to tap on a firm's human resources.
Equity vs. Token
However, as compared to traditional companies, blockchain-related deals have a higher level of complexity as most of these firms go for ICOs rather than traditional fundings from funding techniques. This creates a roadblock as institutional investors prefer equity rather than digital tokens.
"As soon as a company becomes interesting, they get bought — the deal size may still remain small, but the number of deals will increase because that's the most viable and fastest way to grow in this environment," Bajpai concluded.
2018 has not been a good year for the cryptocurrency investors. However, the plunged price of Bitcoin Bitcoin While some may still be wondering what is Bitcoin, who created Bitcoin, or how does Bitcoin work, one thing is certain: Bitcoin has changed the world.No one can remain indifferent to this revolutionary, decentralized, digital asset nor to its blockchain technology.In fact, we’ve gone a long way ever since a Florida resident Laszlo Hanyecz made BTC’s first official commercial transaction with a real company by trading 10,000 Bitcoins for 2 pizzas at his local Papa John’s.One could now argue that While some may still be wondering what is Bitcoin, who created Bitcoin, or how does Bitcoin work, one thing is certain: Bitcoin has changed the world.No one can remain indifferent to this revolutionary, decentralized, digital asset nor to its blockchain technology.In fact, we’ve gone a long way ever since a Florida resident Laszlo Hanyecz made BTC’s first official commercial transaction with a real company by trading 10,000 Bitcoins for 2 pizzas at his local Papa John’s.One could now argue that Read this Term has attracted a new breed of audience to the industry - the deal-makers.
According to PitchBook data compiled by JMP Securities, the deals related to the cryptocurrency and Blockchain Blockchain Blockchain comprises a digital network of blocks with a comprehensive ledger of transactions made in a cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin or other altcoins.One of the signature features of blockchain is that it is maintained across more than one computer. The ledger can be public or private (permissioned.) In this sense, blockchain is immune to the manipulation of data making it not only open but verifiable. Because a blockchain is stored across a network of computers, it is very difficult to tampe Blockchain comprises a digital network of blocks with a comprehensive ledger of transactions made in a cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin or other altcoins.One of the signature features of blockchain is that it is maintained across more than one computer. The ledger can be public or private (permissioned.) In this sense, blockchain is immune to the manipulation of data making it not only open but verifiable. Because a blockchain is stored across a network of computers, it is very difficult to tampe Read this Term companies has increased by 200 percent in 2018. These deals include majority investments, partial liquidation, and full acquisitions.
In 2017, 47 deals were completed in the crypto industry, however, this year, till mid-October, this number went up to 115, and by the end of 2018, it might hit 145.
Since January, the cryptocurrency market has gone through massive turmoil. Within a year, Bitcoin prices plunged heavily from around $20,000 to below $3,800, as per Coinmarketcap.com’s data. The market also shed more than 84 percent of its valuation to come down to $127 billion.
Best Time to Buy
Despite the bloodbath, many investors are seeing it as the perfect opportunity to invest in solid blockchain technology firms for a heavily discounted price. Satya Bajpai, head of JMP’s blockchain and digital assets investment banking unit, told CNBC: “You're seeing mispricing of assets. Even for great businesses, the value of the token remains correlated to Bitcoin, which can create an ideal opportunity for strategic acquirers.”
Explaining the heavy mergers and acquisitions of the nascent blockchain industry, Bajpai added: “It's expensive, but you get the technology and product immediately. This industry is like a treadmill — the only way to keep up on a treadmill is to keep running by investing in new technology.”
The tremendous growth of the industry has created a high demand for blockchain engineers, however, as the sector is only two to four years old, the number of these specialized engineers is still very low. Many deals are also inked to tap on a firm's human resources.
Equity vs. Token
However, as compared to traditional companies, blockchain-related deals have a higher level of complexity as most of these firms go for ICOs rather than traditional fundings from funding techniques. This creates a roadblock as institutional investors prefer equity rather than digital tokens.
"As soon as a company becomes interesting, they get bought — the deal size may still remain small, but the number of deals will increase because that's the most viable and fastest way to grow in this environment," Bajpai concluded.