Bitcoin king of cryptocurrencies and equity to the rescue

Bitcoin, a king who vacillated with the coronavirus. However, by 2019, the value of the cryptocurrency had practically doubled, to the point of being hailed by Goldman Sachs as the best performing asset. 2019 was also the year of Equity funds, substitutes for ICOs.

2020 will it look like the previous year? The current global crisis complicates any forecast. What is certain, however, is the strong performance of the Bitcoin recorded in 2019. For CB Insights, " Bitcoin was king "until coronavirus and the movement of liquidation of crypto assets by investors.

In his study Blockchain Report 2020, the research firm recalls that the value of this cryptocurrency has almost doubled in the last year. However, he notes, media coverage was much lower than in the past.

2020, the first major crisis and test year for Bitcoin?

But for those involved in finance, including traditional finance, the first quality of Bitcoinis its performance in terms of performance. Besides, Goldman Sachs distinguished it as the best performing asset in 2019.

And 2020 might not be such a catastrophic year, and then after the plunge, the value of Bitcoin has returned to growth to stabilize around 6000 dollars. The crisis could be an opportunity for supporters of Bitcoin (and cryptocurrencies) to demonstrate its quality as a safe haven.

The performance of this asset was not the only notable element of 2019 for CB Insights, which observes a clear change in the financing methods of companies in the sector.

The ICOs had allowed actors two years earlier to raise $ 7.8 billion. The boom has passed, however. In 2019, their amount has dropped 95% to $ 371 million. But to raise funding, companies have been able to rely on more conventional methods, such as private equity.

$ 2.7 billion in equity financing

These funds have indeed taken over, notes the study with $ 2.79 billion raised with these investors. However, the latter were not enough to compensate for the collapse of funding (-30% over one year). A return of ICOs, including to France, would however not be totally prohibited.

CB Insights notes a certain openness on the part of regulators, but in a more strict and under supervision of competent authorities, like the SEC in the United States. This favorable outcome could be explained by the availability of more efficient tools for monitoring crypto networks, including those of Chainalysis, Elliptic or CypherTrace.

However, "although the United States has been open in some areas of cryptography, it has suppressed others," the firm said in its annual study.

Finally, the regulation may not be the main challenge for crypto players. The Blockchain Report recalls that the low use of dApps, the lack of network interoperability and the high volatility "are still barriers to the widespread adoption of crypto tools. "

But 2020 should not be less marked by the "explosion of blockchain service providers", in particular exchanges and depositories. Objective for companies: to be competitive by adding value-added and high-margin services.