Blockchain and Cryptocurrency Companies Permeate Global Unicorn Businesses

The list of companies outlines several fascinating insights into the future of business and enterprise. These unicorns, as private companies, are often startups that have taken off. Because of that, it is unsurprising that the fintech industry, with 12 percent of Unicorns, is the largest category. Following this is E-commerce & direct-to-consumer, internet software & services, and artificial intelligence, each making up about 11%. Between the well-known names such as Airbnb, Wish, BuzzFeed, and Reddit, there are a few crypto-focused companies that have exploded in a short span of time. First capitalizing on Bitcoin’s boom, but these companies have managed to continue their upward trajectory to become forces to be reckoned with. Coinbase, BitMain, and Bitfury stand out straight away, but there are others that are profiting from the digital asset revolution.

A Mining Maelstrom

Two companies that make the CB Insights list under hardware, rubbing shoulders with drone company DJI and are Geek+ Robotics, are BitMain and BitFury. These two are known for their production of cryptocurrency mining hardware. BitMain was arguably the first, and most significant, name in cryptocurrency mining with its ASIC chips changing the game when it came to unearthing new coins. Interestingly, BitMain only remains in this list of unicorns currently because it failed to go public with an IPO application expiring when the market took a downward turn. Bitfury, on the other hand, is not entirely focused on the development and propagation of cryptocurrency mining hardware, and instead labels itself as a “full-service blockchain technology company,” as it looks to explore all different facets of the ecosystem, including the Lightning Network.

Financial Powerhouses

One of the more apparent unicorns coming out of the cryptocurrency space is Coinbase — the US-based cryptocurrency exchange that ranks as one of the biggest in the world. Coinbase has been one of the more recognizable and trusted names in the industry for some time now; however, their recent moves have caught the ire of its traders on the pro platform after it announced colossal fee hikes. Also categorized under fintech on the CB Insights list are a number of payment solution providers and challenger banks. These include Circle, Revolut, Robinhood, and Stripe, which all have some sort of link to cryptocurrency or the advancement of blockchain technology. In fact, Revolut even reported $45 million worth of cryptocurrency investments made by customers in 2018. The growth of the crypto and blockchain ecosystems can be seen not only in private unicorns but also in a list compiled by Forbes that highlights 50 major enterprises valued at over $1 billion, who are exploring the space. Do you think, in the future, there will be a category of unicorns just for blockchain and cryptocurrency companies as the ecosystem continues to grow?