EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
While Binance, Coinbase and other crypto exchanges frequently make the headlines, little attention is paid to the infrastructure technology vendors that power the back-end systems of these behemoths. That is not to say these companies are undervalued by the market. Altogether, the sum of crypto tech vendors’ publicly known valuations is a formidable US$61.2 billion, and 18 vendors have even achieved unicorn status. To-date, crypto tech vendors have received a combined US$10 billion in funding.
This report examines these unfamiliar, yet critical, providers that are building and selling the “back-bones” needed to run a successful crypto services business. These vendors can be grouped together based on the activity or activities they cover within the Crypto Markets Lifecycle: from the origination phase, to pre-, at-, and post-trade processes, all the way through to compliance and risk management.
Opimas anticipates that altogether, crypto tech vendors will generate revenues of close to US$2.1 billion in 2022. This is a significant increase from 2021, when vendors were estimated to have earned just over US$800 million.
Looking ahead, Opimas predicts that more and more crypto tech vendors will expand their market reach by joining forces with well-established, incumbent vendors, a trend that has already begun to take hold. Legacy banks, such as BNY Mellon and State Street, have also entered the scene, and have turned to crypto tech vendors to help them add support for cryptocurrencies. However, vendors that do not tick the box when it comes to cybersecurity controls and fourth-party vendor management will have a hard time bringing in big banks as clients.