Tokyo (SCCIJ) – The Swiss Crypto Valley, a cluster of blockchain start-ups in the area around the town of Zug near Zurich, continues to benefit from the global spread of cryptocurrencies, the Web3 concept, and non-fungible tokens. Since the end of 2020, the valuation of its 50 top blockchain companies has grown almost six-fold, while the number of unicorns has almost doubled. The annual report of the investment company CV VC explains the strong growth with the exemplary regulatory jurisdiction, the all-encompassing business environment, and the determined decentralized mindset in Switzerland.
The relevance of the Swiss Crypto Valley for the blockchain industry in the canton of Zug has grown.
Market capitalization jumps
According to the report, Swiss Crypto Valley has reaffirmed its standing as the most mature global blockchain hub with a record valuation of its Top 50 companies at $611.8 billion. Comparatively, the largest Swiss companies by market capitalization are valued at $2.2 trillion. Crypto Valley is closing in at nearly a quarter of this. The total number of firms in Crypto Valley has grown to 1,128, an increase of 18% from 960 in December 2020.
Total employment by blockchain companies increased to 6,002. This is a substantial growth of 16% from 5,184 in December 2020. The Top 50 companies in Crypto Valley have 1,010 employees, a change of 22% from 829. Crypto Valley now counts 14 unicorns with a valuation of more than $1 billion, up from eight at the end of 2020, one is a hectocorn valued at more than $100 billion and three are decacorns valued above $10 billion.
Several reasons for strong growth
The attractive nature of Crypto Valley’s regulatory framework and the expanse of crypto and blockchain experts, service providers, and academic institutions continue to drive flourishing activity within the region. 2021 saw the enactment of the DLT Law (distributed ledger technology) in Switzerland and the first listings of security tokens on regulated secondary markets.
In the opinion of CV VC, the valuations and expansions of companies within Crypto Valley significantly increased due to the adoption of cryptocurrencies in financial services and the emergence of new digital assets as investment classes, including decentralized finance (DeFi) and non-fungible token (NFT) offerings. A key driving force of investment across the sector has been the thesis of Web 3. This means that decentralization will drive economic activity, efficiency, and not yet anticipated business models in finance and other industries.
Worldwide attention for Switzerland
Global businesses are choosing Crypto Valley as a home for their organizations. As a result, there has been an increase in the number of firms and employment within the region. In addition to large funding rounds, there were some significant first acquisitions; a crypto company by a legacy firm and a protocol acquisition by another protocol. “Crypto Valley is not just a ‘place’ but, rather, a mindset, driven by a determination to transform the way the world interacts and transacts,” said Mathias Ruch, Founder & CEO of CV VC.
The CV VC Top 50 Report is created by the investment company CV VC AG in collaboration with PwC Switzerland. The periodical report, now in its 7th edition, focuses on market valuation developments from Crypto Valley, which includes Switzerland and Liechtenstein. The report highlights the diverse blockchain and cryptocurrency ecosystem, consisting of startups, corporations, and government entities. The report can be downloaded from here.
Text: SCCIJ with material of CV VC; Photo: Wikipedia CC BY-SA 3.0
