Start-ups in NFTs, blockchain-based DeFi can rise from crypto-crash ashes to become unicorns, says KPMG and HSBC report
- A quarter of Asia-Pacific’s 6,472 start-ups are engaged in NFT and decentralised finance, and some of these have the unicorn potential, new report says
- China tops the region as the market with the highest number of emerging start-ups that can grow into billion-dollar unicorns
A quarter of more than 6,000 start-ups in Asia-Pacific are engaged in non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and decentralised finance (DeFi) as their core businesses, a troubled sector that still has the potential to produce dominant unicorn companies, according to a joint study by KPMG and HSBC.
The joint report selected 100 companies that have the potential to become unicorns – private companies valued at US$1 billion – from among 6,472 start-ups that are valued at US$500 million or less.
The report on “emerging giants” across 12 markets, including China, Hong Kong, India, Singapore, Indonesia, Australia and Japan, is a first for KPMG and HSBC, which intended to gauge the diversity of the region’s evolving new economy.
“We believe that blockchain companies and crypto assets more broadly will rebound at some point,” said Darren Yong, head of tech, media and telecoms (TMT) for KPMG Asia-Pacific. “There will be a resurgence of applications, if these unicorns are delivering value they would emerge as the next Amazon.”
