Singapore still finding crypto gold as fintech investments hit $4.1B

Fintech investments in Singapore have climbed to the very best in three years, with cryptocurrency and blockchain nonetheless capturing prime {dollars}.

Investments for the sector grew 22% to hit $4.1 billion final yr, clocking 250 offers in mergers and acquisitions, non-public fairness, and enterprise capital. The quantity was the second-highest fintech funding over the previous decade, the place investments topped at $5.62 billion in 2019, simply earlier than the worldwide pandemic landed, in response to the newest KPMG Pulse of Fintech report.

Throughout the globe, fintech investments reached $164.1 billion throughout 6,006 offers final yr, down from a file $238.9 billion from 7,321 offers in 2021. The highest three funding areas in 2022 had been funds, adopted by crypto and blockchain, and regtech (regulatory expertise).

In Singapore, funds had been funnelled in direction of the highest three areas of crypto and blockchain, funds, and wealthtech. Blockchain and crypto additionally noticed excessive funding curiosity the yr earlier than in 2021, when the category raked in almost half of whole funds, elevating $1.48 billion throughout 82 offers.

Throughout the Asia-Pacific area, fintech investments noticed a slight enhance to $50.5 billion in 2022, up from $50.2 billion in 2021. Particularly, the second half of 2022 noticed simply $5.8 billion in fintech investments, in comparison with $44.6 billion within the first half.

The KPMG report pointed to Block’s $27.9 billion acquisition of Australian purchase now, pay later vendor Afterpay, which accounted for greater than half of the regional investments. The buyout pushed Australia to the entrance of the pack in Asia-Pacific, clocking $20.2 billion in fintech investments.

India’s $6 billion funding, alongside Singapore’s $4.1 billion, dwarfed China’s fintech funding pool, which clocked at simply $770 million.

The Americas remained the main area for fintech investments, accounting for $68.6 billion final yr, with the US making up the majority at $61.6 billion. The EMEA area recorded $44.9 billion in fintech investments.

Throughout the globe, funds took the most important share of fintech funds, whereas regtech noticed the very best development to hit $18.6 billion in 2022, up from $11.8 billion the yr earlier than.

Singapore’s state-owned funding agency Temasek Holdings final November mentioned it might write down its investment in troubled cryptocurrency exchange FTX, stating its perception in disgraced founder Sam Bankman-Fried was “misplaced”. Temasek had participated in two funding rounds, totalling $275 million in funding.

Native financial institution DBS this week mentioned it registered an 80% year-on-year development within the variety of Bitcoin traded final yr on its DBS Digital Alternate. The variety of Bitcoin custodised with the financial institution’s digital asset custody platform additionally doubled, it added.

The variety of Ether traded on the trade climbed nearly 65% in 2022, whereas the quantity of the crypto custodised with DBS grew greater than 60%.

The Singapore financial institution has slightly below 1,200 prospects registered with the digital trade, as of December 31, 2022.