The State of Blockchain — Q1 2021 Review
March 2021
The digital economy is here. Last year began the transition but activity over the first 62 days of 2021 in the blockchain industry solidified it. With more than 1,200 companies building & investors funding ($35.9B+!) this new economy, the metaverse is approaching at record speeds
Congratulations to Optimism PBC, Sorare, TaxBit & Mintable on their recent 💸 fundraising. Leading venture capital funds investing throughout the landscape include Digital Currency Group with 53+ investments, Pantera Capital at 31+, Andreessen Horowitz at 26+, Blockchain Capital LLC & Polychain Capital w/22+.
Quick Q1 2021 Highlights:
- NFT (non-fungible tokens) transactions volume during the first 62 days of 2021 surpassed $260M overtaking 2020's grand total of $250M.
- Amazon Web Services (AWS) begins allowing for customers to spin up Ethereum (ETH) nodes & development environments expanding their offerings in the blockchain & blockchain-as-a-service (BaaS) offerings.
- Amazon (AMAZ) kicks off a limited-detailed digital currency project starting in Mexico. This project marks a first for the company.
- Decentralized Finance (DeFi) Total Locked Value (TVL) reaches an all-time high of more than $45B.
- Discover Financial follows in the footsteps of its market competitors Visa & Mastercard by entering into the digital assets & payments industry.
- Musician 3LAU releases the first tokenized album. Shortly after, the Kings of Leon followed suit.
👉 A full breakdown of the broader industry is now available including an in-depth overview of the Q1 2021 Blockchain Landscape, new categories to watch, areas of opportunities, emerging use-cases, and a view into the remainder of 2021.
⬇️ Lastly, a hi-res PDF version of the landscape is available (FREE) for download on Topio Networks.
