Crypto Valley Top 50 Firms focus priorities and expand during crisis
The leaders of the Crypto Valley Top 50 Companies recently gathered in an online meeting to discuss the impact of the Covid-19 crisis on the industry. The invite-only event was organized by CV VC which is publishing the CV VC Top 50 Report semi-annually. The goal of the Crypto Valley Top 50 Leader Circle is to shape the Crypto Valley with the leading companies and discuss the future of the industry.
Alarming feedback from a survey of over 200 firms in the Crypto Valley
On April 3rd, the Swiss Blockchain Federation published a survey of over 200 firms in the Crypto Valley on the impact of the COVID-19 crisis. Under the impression of the crisis, the feedback was alarming and a sense of doom gloom was transmitted to the world.
While the Crypto Valley Top 50 Firms are also negatively impacted, it is important to note differences between the top firms in comparison to the startups.
When CV VC surveyed the Top 50 Firms separately on April 20th, it found that many are thriving and the ecosystem overall is not in danger of disappearing. Clearly, the Crypto Valley Top 50 companies are further in their development cycle than other startups, counting large protocols, crypto banks, brokers, exchanges, and enterprise blockchains among its ranks.
In the meeting, good news came from Crypto Finance ’s CEO. Jan Brzezek spoke about his recent fundraise of CHF 14.5M. Exciting news also came from the exchange Lykke, which secured a strategic investor with Hanwah Systems. Richard Olsen, the Founder of Lykke and early Fintech innovator, emphasized the importance of Crypto Valley companies to build on each other’s strength to drive adoption and innovation. Hubertus Thonhauser of Tezos contributed to the perspective of a globally decentralized project driving innovation in several key geographic markets at the same time.
Ralf Kubli, of CV VC, discussed the main differences in the survey results between Crypto Valley Top 50 and the larger group of companies surveyed early in April.
Stark differences in runway and work-force situation
While the percentage of companies negatively impacted by the crisis was similar with 70% between the large group and the more mature Crypto Valley Top 50 Firms, there are stark differences in runway and work-force situation.
Runway: Over 50% of the Crypto Valley Top 50 Companies have a runway of over 12 months, and 80% are safe for more than 6 months. Whereas in the larger group surveyed, 50% of companies indicated a runway of fewer than 6 months.
Work-Force Situation: Overall, 60% of all Crypto Valley firms indicated to reduce staffing as a consequence of the crisis. In contrast, of the Crypto Valley Top 50 Companies, only 10% planned staff reductions, and 35% were executing on adding personnel and resources.
Encouraging outlook and steps post-crisis
In the open discussion over the future of the industry Lone Fonss Schroder, CEO of Enterprise Blockchain Concordium, mentioned how important and valuable top-level interactions are to identify priorities across the industry. She also had encouraging messages from the corporate world, where business activity in post-crisis locations is returning.
The Crypto Valley Top 50 companies will gather in May for the next top-level meeting. A number of Top 50 Companies are planning to build a presence in key markets at the same time, thus re-creating the dynamic ecosystem of Crypto Valley in different locations as a key driver for innovation and adoption.
