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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

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The Sandbox, is an NFT-based online platform that some see as a precursor to the metaverse. Photo: Shutterstock
Georgina Lee

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.

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Among these, Singapore DeFi platform Stader Labs, Hong Kong blockchain gaming platform Catheon Gaming and crypto custodial service provider Hex Trust appear on a top 100 list published 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.

Cross-border payments is an area where Asia-based start-ups have the potential to grow into billion-dollar players, according to a report from KPMG and HSBC. Photo: Shutterstock
Cross-border payments is an area where Asia-based start-ups have the potential to grow into billion-dollar players, according to a report from KPMG and HSBC. Photo: Shutterstock
The companies completed the report just before the crypto market chilled into a “crypto winter”, with the implosion of lending platforms such as Celsius Network and hedge fund Three Arrows Capital filling investors with fear and slashing two-thirds of crypto assets’ market capitalisation to US$1.1 trillion.
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“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.”

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