Ripple raised the highest amount of funding among blockchain companies last year, according to a report by CB Insights.
Ripple Raises $200 Million at a Valuation of $10B
Last month, we reported that Ripple secured $200 million in a Series C round from investors like SBI Group, Tetragon Financial Group, and Routee 66 Ventures. The blockchain firm led by Brad Garlinghouse was valued at $10 billion at the time.
The investment round helped the XRP issuer to top the list of blockchain firms by the amount of funds secured last year. Ripple plans to use the funds for talent hiring, opening new offices overseas, and enhancing balance sheet flexibility.
Ripple was followed by Figure Technologies in the list of largest funding rounds. The latter raised $103 million to support the expansion of its blockchain-based platform Provenance. Figure uses the platform to help users get home equity loans within minutes.
Digital Asset and PeerNova came next with $35 million and $31 million, respectively. The former intends to fund developer community project related to its Digital Asset Modeling Language (DAML), which is used to faster asset settlement. Elsewhere, PeerNova is eyeing expansion of its technology that helps financial institutions handle their data workflows.
Investment to Blockchain Firms Declined in 2019
Even though blockchain has gone mainstream, 2019 was not as successful for specialized startups as the previous year in terms of raised funds.
According to CB Insights, total equity funding to blockchain startups dropped more than 30% last year compared to 2018. Mentions of blockchain in public earning reports also declined. Ripple’s $200 million wouldn’t have even made the top 3.
The research authors suggest that the reason for the decline is that many startups are still trying to figure out product market fit.
In the last quarter of 2019, blockchain firms raised a combined $785 million across 164 deals, down 36% compared to the same period in the previous year.
In 2018, blockchain giants like Bitmain and Coinbase had great contribution, being among the top two fundraisers with $400M and $321M, respectively. Ripple raised only half of the amount secured by Bitmain.
Do you think 2020 will be a better year for blockchain startups? Share your expectations in the comments section!
Image via Shutterstock, CB Insights