According to a PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) report, crypto-related mergers and acquisitions (M&A) rose to a whopping $55 billion in 2021. This amounts to nearly a 5,000% surge from the $1.1 billion value it was in year 2020,
PwC Report In Details
The U.S. led the pack regarding the number of crypto-based M&As in 2021, with 51% of all such transactions last year, up from 41% in 2020. Whereas, Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) conducted 33% of all deals. Lastly, the Asia Pacific (APAC) came up with the rest 16%.
However, considering the dollar value of the deals, EMEA came in first at $25.5 billion. Following right behind was the U.S. with $24.5 billion, with APAC coming up with deals worth $5 billion. But last year’s rise in average deal size of the U.S. to $179.7 million from $52.7 million was without doubt, related to the special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) boom. Especially as the SPAC boom saw a number of $1 billion+ mergers.
Also according to PwC, it found a 645% year-over-year rise in 2021 to a total value of $34.3 billion. This was after tracking crypto fundraising deals. The finding also saw that average deal size surged by 143% to $26.3 million.
As PwC suggests, the wide range of number of deals across business sectors goes to show the growth of the crypto ecosystem. Not only that, PwC also believes that this is an indication of an even wider adoption of crypto services.
Expectations For 2022
Taking a calculated guess into what might happen in 2022, the report authors expect the momentum to be sustained. However, they pointed out that a big rise in venture capital funds and dry powder is needed to be put to work. And with SPAC action slowing down, venture capital firms and incubators will be the largest source of M&A activity in crypto.
