Between September 2021 and mid-June 2022, Samsung invested in 13 cryptocurrency/blockchain companies, making the South Korean company the most active among the top 40 companies.
Samsung is increasingly active in the blockchain sector
According to research firm Blockdata’s analysis of blockchain and cryptocurrency investments by large companies that examines the period from September 2021 to mid-June 2022, South Korean electronics giant Samsung has been the most active, with investments in no less than 13 blockchain companies. It is followed in this ranking by United Overseas Bank, which has invested in 7 companies, and is the second most active, followed by the two American financial giants Citigroup (6) and Goldman Sachs (5).
In August, the Korean giant announced that it was ready to launch an NFT ecosystem for its new galaxy, saying the NFT ecosystem will drive “customer experience innovation” by connecting the virtual world with real-world benefits. Conversely, in June the company announced that it had started producing chips for cryptocurrency mining. And for about a year, he has been working with the South Korean government on a new state digital currency project.
According to data from blockdata, the number of startups in which the top four companies have invested, 31, would represent almost half of the total of 65 companies financed by approximately 40 companies in total during the period under review.
Blockdata’s research report states:
“The 40 companies invested approximately $6 billion in blockchain startups between September 2021 and June 2022. Because some rounds involve multiple investors, it is unclear how much each company invested in a project.”
Market data analysis
Meanwhile, Block data the data shows that when it comes to companies active in funding rounds, Alphabet came out on top in this category, having participated in rounds that raised just under $1.51 billion. Blackrock ranks second after participating in three funding rounds in which $1.17 billion was raised.
The American investment bank Morgan Stanley occupies the third place in the ranking, with participation in two investment rounds that raised a total of 1.1 billion dollars, while precisely Samsung occupies the fourth place with $979 million.
As the Korean tech giant invests in blockchain and the entire ecosystem related to it, it emerged from the games at last week’s Tokyo Show, one of the most important events in the gaming world, that even gaming giants are increasingly turning to blockchain and NFT technology.
On the sidelines of the event, the representative director of Oasys, a company specializing in the development of game-related blockchain, Ryo Matsubara, pointed out that their most famous project partners such as Bandai Namco, Sega and Square Enix, have now developed a long-term vision for blockchain-based games:
“We have a common vision for blockchain at the executive level. They don’t [want to] change this policy. They really understand the future adoption of blockchain. They don’t think, you know, just about income, they want to create the future to come [of gaming].”
According to Matsubara, game companies have been actively working for some time on the development of new blockchain-centric games.
Epic Games, one of the world’s leading game makers, has recently increased its exposure to blockchain games. Last week he added a new game in its store, the first free NFT game, called Blankos Block Party.