State of blockchain VC investments in Europe
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
At the same time, share of European deals increased from 27% to 30%
In 2019, European blockchain companies received $700m investments and blockchain was the 6th largest vertical
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
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…
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
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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