The market for digital assets is growing again and will reach a market capitalization of US$ 323 billion by June’s end, and on the crypto fundraising front, US$3.3 in capital has been raised as of May 2019.

While digital assets reached their lowest market capitalization in 21 months in February 2019, their value had more than doubled (US$ 262 billion) by the end of May 2019.

Digital assets benefited from the ongoing clarification of regulatory frameworks and renewed interest in cryptocurrencies from institutional investors and established companies.

Bitcoin, the world’s largest digital asset in terms of market capitalization, regained more than 120% in the first five months of 2019, reaching a price of approximately US$ 8,587 in May and, briefly rising to the US$11,000 mark by the end of June 2019.

Initial Exchange Offerings are gradually becoming established

The new vogue is the Initial Exchange Offerings, which are run by,  you guessed it, crypto exchanges. Exchanges are establishing themselves as a new fundraising instrument in the blockchain sector.

The so-called Initial Exchange Offering (IEO) has established itself as a new crypto fundraising format. With this variant, Initial Coin Offerings or Security Token Offerings can be carried out via one or more crypto exchange platforms. Bitfinex’s IEO was the largest IEO in 2019, raising US$ 1 billion in capital.

Dr. Daniel Diemers, Head of Blockchain EMEA at Strategy&, PwC’s global strategy consulting business, said:

“The development of IEOs has accelerated significantly since the beginning of 2019. It reflects the creativity and innovative spirit of the crypto industry and shows that the demand for simple and secure solutions is growing. IEOs show that fundraising via crypto currencies is becoming more established and striving for greater institutionalization and credibility.”

Cyber security is becoming a top priority for blockchain companies

Recent cases of cyber attacks such as Binance, Bithump and Coinbase have put security higher on the agenda of blockchain companies.

Losses and vulnerabilities are not necessarily the cause of sophisticated attacks—they are often aided by a lack of security precautions or human error.

“Aspects such as key custody, KYC/AML and new capital requirements are major issues in today’s crypto ecosystem. A market for new procedural solutions is emerging to protect digital assets and meet regulatory requirements,”

concludes Diemers.