In May 2022, a fake stablecoin project called Terra was hacked, starting a massive meltdown that wiped out more than $1 trillion of the cryptocurrency market cap. The expansion and broader market forces scared other investors away from crypto and drove more companies out of the business. The trend reached its nadir in November, when the industry’s golden boy, Sam Bankman-Fried, was arrested for running a Ponzi scheme, prompting a firestorm from regulators.
It has truly been a year from hell for crypto. But the headlines hide a broader story about the company’s existence — and even more power.
In March, the market capitalization of crypto exceeded $1 trillion, while Bitcoin traded well above $25,000—twice above the highs set during the boom. last big for the asset class, in 2017. Importantly, crypto has matured a lot since then, attracting experts. people who join blockchain believers to build good businesses. Wall Street executives such as Goldman Sachs’ David Solomon have acknowledged that blockchain-based businesses exist. And while the Crypto Winter has so far put an end to bad or scammy businesses, some people are showing that they are ready to make real waves in the world of finance and business. that’s why Victory is publishing the Crypto 40 startup—the latest of our benchmark list, similar to the Fortune 500, which recognizes the companies that matter most in the industry.
The Crypto 40 consists of eight sectors-an overview of the industry, defined primarily by crypto trading, is more comprehensive. We honor various companies – from VC companies to NFT stores to data companies to decentralized protocols – that have created great businesses based on blockchain technology. Alchemy, for example, offers plug-and-play tools for companies that want to build products and services around Ethereum and other blockchains. Now, Yuga Labs is fueling the economy by giving consumers control over the intellectual property embedded in popular digital collections like Bored Apes. Together, these 40 companies are building the foundations for a sustainable digital economy.
The Fortune Crypto 40 also shows the fact that the industry is not only made up of edgy startups. In fact, the sector known as TradFi—crypto lingo for traditional money—is based on market principles that have innovated with the blockchain in surprising ways. For example, PayPal is integrating its crypto services with the popular Ethereum wallet MetaMask—a move that could introduce millions to decentralized transactions—while Fidelity now allows customers to integrate to Bitcoin in traditional retirement funds.
To determine the winners, Victory relies on a range of empirical metrics, combined with surveys of more than 200 fund managers conducted by Researchscape. The results are diverse and complex, providing a list of businesses—and in some cases non-profits or decentralized organizations—that have high revenue streams, stable revenue streams, and respect. from their customers and partners. (More details on how it works can be found here.)
The Crypto 40 aims to reward knowledge and good business practices – qualities that are lacking in young entrepreneurs. Some companies that rank higher based on metrics alone have slipped on our list because they don’t meet the high standards of openness. Binance, for example, is the largest cryptocurrency exchange when it comes to trading books, but it fell in our ranking due to its legal problems and lack of information. in relation to its maintenance and business activities.
The menu includes some familiar names and some surprising losses. (We expect some grumbling; we appreciate the high finishers.) Above all, the Fortune Crypto 40 is another piece of publishing that does what it does best: tell survey readers about companies that are making an impact in the world of business.
This article appears in the April/May 2023 issue of Victory with the title, “Ready for a new beginning.”