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First Israeli
Blockchain Report
October 2018
Digital Assets Group
Copyright
Credits
& Disclaimer
This report was written by: One Alpha is part of First Digital Assets Group, the leading digital assets
Yaniv Feldman, Adiel Yaakov, and Eliya Cohen group in Europe. We are excited to offer you the most detailed market
intelligence report focused on the Israeli ecosystem to date.
Research by:
Alon Tsevi, Moran Turgeman, Raz Peleg, and Eliya Cohen One Alpha retains all rights to its database and to any of the information
provided as part of this report and any rights related thereto. Nothing
Edited by: herein shall derogate from One Alpha or First Digital Assets Group's right
Laura Rosbrow-Telem, Yaniv Feldman, and Eliya Cohen to continue using such information in any way. This report is protected
by copyright law and no portion of this report may be photocopied,
Design: reproduced, or scanned into an electronic system or transmitted,
Hadas Shezaf forwarded, or distributed in any way without prior consent of First Digital
Assets Group.
Special thanks:
Ron Lopata, C.P.A., a senior manager at EY Israel tax department The information contained in this report is derived from carefully selected
sources we believe are reasonable, including without limitation, a database
aggregated by One Alpha. Some of the data included in this report is time-
sensitive and is subject to changes as they will unfold in the market from
time to time. We do not guarantee its accuracy, reliability, or completeness
and nothing in this report shall be construed to be a representation of
such a guarantee. One Alpha or First Digital Assets Group accept no
responsibility for and liability arising from any use of this report or its
content and nothing herein shall constitute or be construed as an offering
of financial instruments, investment advice, or as a recommendation by
One Alpha or First Digital Assets Group for an investment or business
strategy.
This report contains forward-looking statements, including but not limited
to comments regarding future predictions. Forward-looking statements
address future events and conditions and therefore involve inherent
risks and uncertainties. We assume no liability for any such statements
or for their interpretation, nor do we assume liability for future users of
information contained in this report or whatever actions one may take as
a result of having been exposed to such information. Any advice received
via this report should not be relied upon for personal, legal, or financial
decisions and you should consult an appropriate professional for specific
Tel Aviv advice tailored to your situation.
October 2018
2 3
About About
First Digital One Alpha
Assets Group
First Digital Assets Group was created to One Alpha is a crypto data intelligence,
Table of
provide regulated financial services for the research, and analysis company that is part
growing blockchain economy. of First Digital Assets Group. Our goal is to
provide institutional investors, VCs, traders,
These are extraordinary times: New analysts, and the entire crypto industry with
Contents
regulations are written every day, while old the information they need to make better and
ones become obsolete. New companies and smarter data-driven business decisions.
products launch in our once small and limited
space of blockchain technologies, while giants One Alpha's Crypto Intelligence platform
easily disappear if they remain irrelevant and collects data from thousands of sources, so
do not adapt. you won't have to. Through our platform, you
can get access to data, research, analysis, and
Since blockchain will transform banking, insights on traded crypto assets, ICO projects,
Introduction 7
banks need to be leading this charge before market movements, trends, and market-
blockchain technology disrupts their sector. changing events — before they happen. One Industry Voices 8
At the same time, blockchain, a radically Alpha provides a real-time data feed directly
decentralized technology, requires better from exchanges, blockchains, open source
intergration mechanisms with the mainstream developer libraries, social media, news, and Executive Summary 14
financial world. wallet monitors. You can get information from
our feed via your desktop, mobile, email, or
Understanding the various challenges API.
Global Blockchain Market Overview 18
blockchain technology brings, First Digital
Assets Group has created a flexible and One Alpha's research team supports our robust Tech and Trends 34
dynamic companies and products to help platform, providing premier market and sector
businesses adapt to this new sector. Through research for the blockchain industry, as well
their entire suite of services, from liquidity as industry research reports, market and asset Regulation 52
and enterprise wallets, through custodianship, investment reports, and due diligence audits.
asset management, and data intelligence, they
remain agile and responsive to our partners Israel 62
worldwide.
Their team consists of the people that built
cyber security solutions when companies felt
most vulnerable, developed financial products
that gave more power to everyday investors
and will help you stay ahead of the curve — and
become First.
Digital Assets Group
4 5Introduction
In 2017, the blockchain and cryptocurrencies market technological descendants could be what the industry
reached an all-time high. It then turned into the needs to break the barriers for mass adoption.
most significant bear market since its inception. We Aside from user experience, blockchain is also
have moved from “utility tokens are the new kings of fighting to prove its usability as a technology. While
the blockchain,” to “utility tokens are obsolete and there is a lot of criticism about using blockchain for
aren’t really needed”; from “blockchain, not crypto” enterprise purposes, this year we have seen the first
to “blockchain and crypto”; and from raising money blockchain projects going into production in Fortune
through large public sale ICOs to private pre-sale 500 companies. One example is Walmart, which had
rounds, mostly from accredited investors, VCs, and recently sent a public notice to its grocery supply chain
hedge funds. participants that it would be moving its production to
a blockchain-based system. After extensive tests of
Just a year ago, we struggled to explain what Bitcoin the system, the company was able to reduce the time
is, why crypto matters, and how blockchain can of several tasks preformed in the system from days to
revolutionize industries. Now, even when it seems that mere seconds.
the industry is moving ahead at lightning speed, there
are more than a few challenges that we need to solve to From our perspective, the prolonged bear market
unlock the technology’s true potential. provided the sector with a much-needed relief,
lowering valuations to a more sensible level. Despite
One path forward might be mass adoption of crypto the considerable correction, a large portion of the
assets. In order to reach this mass adoption, the first value represents the future potential of the network
aspects we need to improve are usability and user rather than its current one. The December 2017 and
experience. Crypto is still rather complicated to January 2018 boom and bust had a cleansing effect on
buy, sell, and hold. Though anyone can download a the ecosystem, removing many of the speculators and
crypto wallet app to their phone and digital payments leaving mainly real investors, operators, and builders
have become more common, handling private keys in the market. This is what was necessary to move
is something that remains beyond the reach of most forward and build a successful ecosystem.
people.
We at One Alpha truly hope that you will be able to gain
Throughout 2017, we saw a plethora of intriguing meaningful insights from our report.
solutions attempting to improve user experience,
including custodial wallets, institutional products Yaniv Feldman, CEO
such as ETFs, Digital Assets receipts, and futures, One Alpha
all eliminating the need for personal custody.
Other projects make the use of crypto assets almost
completely transparent to the end user. Most of these
solutions come at the expensive cost of giving up
your private keys, therefore not actually owning your
own assets: one of the main issues Bitcoin originally
aimed to solve. That said, these solutions or their
6 7Industry Voices
"
Stay Calm,
While the Israeli blockchain industry has However, blockchain also showed us a phenotypes of the same syndrome. Our
experienced a lot of turbulence in the past different breed of companies in areas problem, or perhaps the “outside” world’s
year or so, it has kept on thriving. Local where Israelis have yet to gain a strong problem, is lack of patience. The world
investors and entrepreneurs have matured enough footing: infrastructure. Companies expects blockchain to be ready. Now.
Stay
tremendously during this period and like Spacemesh, Orbs, COTI, and others
perhaps, some even “earned” more gray try to reimagine how blockchains should Why can’t we already transfer funds at
hair due to the markets. As always, the good work with payments, in the enterprise scale? Why are there still hacks? Why
(new amazing technologies) came with the environment and beyond. is Bitcoin so volatile? Things take time.
bad (abuse of the ICO model), and some of Evolution is slow. The internet took almost
Humble,
the ugly (malicious actors damaging the All of the companies mentioned above 25-30 years to go mainstream. Blockchain is
local industry’s reputation). share the same drawback: People expect less than 10 years old and if we really think
them to deliver already. If I could ask the about it, blockchain only received a big
The Israeli industry persists to contribute “blockchain gods” (no, I am not talking push in the past 2-3 years.
and Keep on
to the direction blockchain is headed; The about Vitalik) for two things for the Israeli
usual suspects are the fields of security industry, I would ask for the following: Entrepreneurs and investors, don’t be
and privacy. Companies like QED-it, A. Set the expectations straight. threatened by the overwhelming pressure
BEAM, and StarkWare are hard at work B. Give our entrepreneurs the stamina (and of the outside world to prove blockchain is
developing creative ZKP solutions, enabling funds) to carry this through. real. There is also no need to get on every
Building
additional use cases for blockchain. More These two symptoms might be the stage and prove that blockchain is the
security-focused companies, like Knox or solution to world hunger and that we have
Fireblocks, are helping to protect digital all the answers. Stay calm, stay humble, and
assets, increasing trust and comfort for the keep building. The evolution is happening
industry. and it is taking place in Israel.
Ran Goldi
CEO,
First Digital Assets Group
Digital Assets Group
8 9Industry Voices
The Upside Israel - a Global Leader
to the Downtrend with Room for Improvement
"
With the total crypto market cap losing 75% Local Israeli projects such as Zeex and Israel has very strong technical expertise, On a global scale, the time has come for
of its value in the past nine months, many Mobilechain, which are still raising funds with Tel Aviv being one of the leading blockchain teams to fulfill the promises
are beginning to ask, “Is this the end?” And but already have working products and large global tech hubs. Israelis are exceptionally they made when they were fundraising.
as much as we at BlockchainIL enjoy waking user bases, are well positioned to enjoy the skilled in computer science, mathematics, While we believe many projects will fail to
up to a bull market, we cannot ignore the increased efficiency that blockchain has to and economics – the key ingredients of the deliver, a few stars will emerge and create
benefits of this downtrend. offer. These are the types of projects that blockchain. As a result, we see many great value for consumers and enterprises at
give us immense hope for the future of projects starting here and we are delighted a magnitude similar to what the internet
In 2017, over $6 billion was raised by blockchain. to be on board of Israel’s finest. brought us. We are convinced that Israel
blockchain projects and so far, the amount will be home to some of the brightest of
raised shows little correlation with the Over the next several years, blockchain Israelis, however, are not the best when them.
innovation within the space. As it stands technology will be flooded with projects it comes to marketing their solutions on
today, over 60% of the top blockchain with innovative use cases, brilliant and the global stage that blockchain presents.
projects have no useful function, while adaptable teams, and, most importantly, Going forward, Israeli entrepreneurs must
only two out of the more than 800 dApps on projects that will have meaningful impact present themselves with confidence in
Ethereum have over 1,000 daily users (both on the lives of everyday people. The best their products to build a global community,
of which are exchanges). This anticlimactic days of blockchain technology certainly lie audience, and client base.
innovation and the lack of daily use is a before us.
result of teams and technology that are Putting the exceptional talent aside, Israel
not aligned with wide-scale adoption, offers favorable circumstances for doing
along with the infrastructure immaturity business. These include a strong venture
and the limited time teams had to deploy capital industry that funds promising
complex, yet promising products. Either blockchain projects in early and growth
way, speculators have reassessed and are stages, well-developed infrastructure,
changing their strategy drastically. a healthy workforce, and taxes that are
not a major drawback. When it comes to
Having the benefit of hindsight, investors regulation concerning blockchain and
are now beginning to require clear digital assets, unfortunately, Israel lags
metrics for evaluating the viability of a behind leading jurisdictions such as
project’s value proposition and team prior Switzerland and Japan. It will be crucial to
to discussing capital allocations, thus adopt legislation that fosters growth while
drowning out the noise and only allowing protecting investors to retain great teams
projects with real potential to emerge. Alon Aginsky and support promising ideas. Agada Nameri
In addition, the downtrend has fueled CEO of BlockchainIL General Manager,
innovation in new fundraising methods iCapital
like the STO (Security Token Offering) and
Liquid ICO, which follow the philosophy of
“tech first, marketing second.”
10 11Industry Voices
Murky Yet Bright Future Ahead Go Big or Go Home
"
While Israel is already established as a clear which type of blockchain actors are The crypto ecosystem and blockchain all times. Since crypto, by definition, is
leader in the development of blockchain considered financial services providers, technology hold great promise for external to the financial ecosystem, the only
and distributed ledger technology, the which requires licensing under the relevant disruption and improvement. Their means for such growth is easy fiat-to-crypto
crypto financial services sector is now laws. While in the U.S., for example, potential to build innovative financial on- and off-ramp solutions. Mainstream
finally catching up. the authorities have indicated that ICO platforms worldwide and substantially users need to know that they can ramp
issuers are considered financial services improve all connected and supported off at any time with no hassle or risk. This
The Israeli crypto financial services businesses that require registration, the systems was extremely compelling 10 years awareness will encourage them to join the
industry is still in its nascent stages of Israeli authorities have not made a similar ago – and still is. But now it’s time to grow. ecosystem.
development. However, lately we have seen pronouncement to date. The regulations on
more crypto exchanges launched in Israel exactly which documents financial services Growth can be realized through increased We need to release the snake's tail from
and an increase in the number of crypto providers are required to obtain from their opportunities, the number of companies, its mouth and allow the market to grow,
OTC desks: both are indicators of positive customers and the required procedures for product quantity and quality, actual value, fulfill its potential, and reach billions of
change. This increase is due to the large verifying the source of funds in the crypto users, and usage. The crypto ecosystem, people. Yes, it’ll take time. The market will
amounts of funds, in the form of crypto space also remain unclear. which is estimated at 80 million or so users, remain volatile until it grows and things
assets, raised over the last two years in ICOs needs to expand and engulf millions of will continue being hard. But that’s why we
by Israeli companies, which require OTC The Israeli Anti-Money Laundering additional users. chose to be pioneers – to go big or go home.
services through which they can convert Authority is scheduled to come out Let’s go big.
their funds into fiat (usually from Bitcoin with regulations on these issues in Yet growth is challenging. Unclear
and Ethereum). October, which will be an interesting regulation leads to bank hostility and
development for the community. To their limited transfer of fiat funds to crypto. In
From our ecosystem community and our credit, they have been engaged in in- order to avoid regulatory requirements,
research at Hexa Finance, we have seen that depth conversations with many market crypto companies tend to focus on crypto-
the 60-75% decline in the price of Ethereum participants and appear to have a good to-crypto trades. This strategy has them
over the last six months and the 30% understanding of the issues. Given this, banking nicely on profits but keeps the
decline in the price of Bitcoin respectively, there is room for careful optimism that crypto ecosystem at a standstill. They
make the process of fundraising more these regulations will give clarity and allow neglect to expand their user base and lose
difficult for Israeli companies. More so, blockchain market participants to operate in focus on the long-term goal to increase
many of those that previously raised Israel in a compliant way. the market. Like a snake biting its own tail,
financing did not convert the BTC and ETH users buy and sell crypto-to-crypto from
they raised in their ICOs to fiat, before or in Daniel Peled and to each other.
the middle of this steep decline. President of the Hexa Group,
Head of Hexa Finance In order for new users to come into the Nimrod Lehavi
With regard to regulation in Israel, the market, they need an easy and safe way to CEO of Simplex
application of the anti-money laundering purchase crypto via fiat. They need to feel
and counter financing of terrorism law to that transferring fiat from regular financial
the crypto space is still a work in progress. systems to crypto is a simple procedure
The authorities have not yet made it and cashing out is an available option at
12 13Executive Summary billion. The total number of ICOs in 2017
was close to 350, while the up-to-date
number in 2018 is currently more than
800. The sum raised in 2017 was close
to $6 billion, and more than $20 billion
in 2018 so far. The biggest ICOs in 2018
VC Funding
include EOS ($4.2 billion), Telegram
($1.7 billion in several rounds), TaTaTu
390
390
($575 million), Dragon ($420 million),
800 and tZero ($328 million). To date, ICOs
Total and Bitcoin
account for less than 10% of the global
Global 600
Market Cap
($ billions)
Market Cap
Bitcoin
venture capital funding volume.
153
Deals in 2018
Ecosystem
Number
$1.94B
of Deals
VC-backed ecosystem
400 The VC-backed projects amount to $7.5-
There are about 4,300 companies in the 10 billion in assets that are held by the
Sum 876 1,944
global ecosystem. The current crypto 200 funds, and $2- 4 billion are exposed to (in $ millions) VC Investment
market cap is $220 billion, which is about crypto through more traditional financial 2017 2018
a 75% valuation drop from the all-time vehicles like ETNs, trusts, indexes, and
0
record in January 2018. But, it started 1.2017 30.9.2018 futures products. VC equity funding in
at a mere $17 billion valuation at the blockchain and crypto projects exceeded
beginning of 2017. Unlike the general $4.5 billion raised since VC started
opinion, the bulk of the crypto valuation Of the top 100 ecosystem projects, financing this sector.
Tech
Native Cripto
record was not due to the growth in 47 are utility tokens, 27 are platforms
Bitcoin valuation, but from the influx of and only 26 are cryptocurrencies. In the first 7 months of 2018, the sum
altcoins and the appetite of speculators. Interestingly, a look at the value division of VC investment in the ecosystem and Trends
At the highest points of the total market shows a completely different picture. amounted to $1.944 billion in 390 deals,
$20B
cap valuation, the share of Bitcoin from Cryptocurrencies capture 77% of the compared to $426 million in 97 deals The ever - developing ecosystem
the total cap was at its lowest point value, platforms 20%, and utility tokens for the same period in 2017, and $876 provides an interesting case study in
Tokanization
ever, at about merely a third of the total are at 3 percent. Of this valuation, it is million in 153 deals in all 2017. technological innovation. Several leading
market cap. noticeable that Bitcoin captures about Sum Raised via ICOs 2018 trends and technological developments
790
71% of all currencies and Ether 54% of all Looking at an average per deal per are currently in progress to improve the Crypto-
$220B
Currencies
platforms. month, despite the impressive 2018 shortcomings of the budding fields of
numbers (with March averaging $8.67 cryptocurrencies and blockchain.
million per deal), 2017 had the only two
Number of ICOS 2018
Crypto Market Cap ICOs months with an average of more than $10 A rough classification of the
ICO funding overtook traditional angel million (May 2017 with almost $14 million developments in crypto is a division to
4,300
and seed venture capital investors in and January 2017 with a little over $11 native crypto and tokenization.
Stable Utility
Q4 2017. In Q1 2018, ICOs raised over million). Most of the deals were relatively Native cripto are developments that Coins Tokens
$6 billion from investors compared to small, with 20 deals under $1 million, and were not possible before the emergence
Global ICOs
Companies around $3 billion in early-stage venture only two deals of more than $100 million. of the ecosystem. This stream includes
790
capital investments. In Q1 2018, around cryptocurrencies, utility tokens, smart
Currently, Bitcoin is gaining strength, 200 ICOs took place whereas about 2,000 Crypto funds contract platforms, and non fungible
and captures more than half of the total companies raised money for their seed 552 The total number of crypto funds tokens. Tokanization is the use of the
Security Smart
crypto market cap. Ethereum captures rounds. launched as of August 2018 is 563. Since ecosystem tools to improve currently Tokens Contract
Number
10% of the total market cap. There are of ICOs
the beginning of 2017, 330 funds were existing services. Tokenization
currently more than 2,000 traded crypto According to our data, about 20% of the started (61% of the total number of incorporates asset-backed tokens (such
assets and more than 1,000 unique projects that publish a white paper fall crypto funds). 2017 was a record-setting as security tokens and natural assets),
tokens worth around $14 billion. 87% under the definition of outright scams. year, with 194 (36%) funds opening their crypto fiats, and stable coins (fiat-
of the tokens are Ethereum based, with With roughly $6 billion raised through Raised 20 doors that year. 2018 setting a healthy backed, crypto collaterals, price control
7
NEO and Waves capturing around 2.4% ICOs in 2017, the sum of funds which (in $ billions) pace with 136 (25%) funds in the first 8 mechanisms, or some combination of Naural Non Fungible
each. were scammed was more than a $1 2017 2018 months of the year. the three). Asset-backed Tokens
Tokens
14 15Some of the main technological (35), Intel (34), Thomson Licensing
advancements include improving (31) and Amazon Technologies (27).The
the existing infrastructure, such as major corporate actors, such as Bank
Bitcoin Mprovements
Layer 2 infrastructure and Sharding. of America, MasterCard and Barclays
Several projects concentrate on with multiple DLT patent applications
Bitcoin improvements specifically. in recent months, are also dipping their
Amongst them are SegWit, Schnorr, or toes. In fact, Bank of America holds 45
Confidential Transactions. patent filings related to the ecosystem,
Scaling Existing Projects
and MasterCard is considered one of the
~700
leaders with 21.
platform, also supposedly raised $600 as the other top 5 sectors. The Israeli
140
Dark side million for their token AriseCoin before ecosystem is budding, with early half
Patent applications in the US Despite rosy depictions and general its assets were frozen due to charges of of the companies founded in 2017 (57,
since Jan. 2011 optimism surrounding the ecosystem, fraudulent behavior. which are 39% of the total), and the
~1250
not all is well in the realm. As in other first 9 months of 2018 (21 companies).
cases, the bright light of success Schnorr Regulation and crypto hubs Israeli Blockchain Companies
attracted a large number of predators One of the most important features Israeli ICOs in 2017 mounted to $500
$1.3B
Patent Applications Expected attempting to feed off the masses in of the ecosystem's maturation is the million raised, for less than 20 ICOs.
Worldwide in 2018 the ecosystem. Several of the main fact that the majority of the most According to Stanford’s Journal of
controversies in the last year included advanced countries around the world are Blockchain Law & Policy article (Sep.
Enterprise Blockchain wash trading, exchange hacks, ICO currently forming a relationship with 2018), this makes Israel the best in the Invested in Israeli Blockchain
Layer 2 Infr- Confidential
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office scams, and others. astructure Transactions the ecosystem. Many states, desiring world in funds raised per ICO ratio. Companies
has published nearly 700 blockchain- closer interconnections, have formulated Additionally, we have seen a steady
related patent applications that it Wash-trading is the systematic or are currently devising regulation rise in both the number of ICOs and
received in the last 7 years (January exaggeration of trading volume by a frameworks that will mainstream the sums raised since the beginning of Deals in the Israeli
2011 to April 2018). They granted 10% crypto exchange in order to appear ecosystem into its deserved place as 2017. While the largest number of Blockchain Ecosystem
of the applications as patents (70) bigger and more important than it is in a global disruptor. Some states, such ICOs was executed during Q2 2018, Q1
Sharding Mimble
during that time. Worldwide, we know the reality. The leading example of the Wimble
as Switzerland or Malta, went as far as 2018 was the most profitable with $315
47 Fintech 7 Social
of an additional 350 blockchain-related malpractice is BCEX, which is said to calling themselves crypto hubs, all in million raised.
patents. The overall number of DLT- falsify its trading volume by more than order to attract the novel technology and
related patents and applications for 2018 22,000 times. the vast resources within their respective Israeli regulation is quickly shaping 5 Marketplace
17 Infra-
is expected to be around 1,245, which is borders. to become one of the most advanced structure
up from 313 in 2016. During the last several years, hundreds in the world. Merely a few days prior 5 Supply-chain
of millions of U.S. dollars and their to the publication of this report, a
More than half of blockchain patents equals in crypto coins were stolen, by Israel new law, which regulates virtual
15 Security
4 AI
(225 out of the 406) filed in 2017 came private, corporate, and even allegedly currencies, came into being on
from China: This represents a 381% rise state actors. Mt. Gox was the first Israel presents itself as one of the most October 1, 2018. A FATF-adjusted 11 Media
compared to 59 patents in 2016. The famous hack for 740,000 Bitcoins, $15 important hubs of the global ecosystem. regulation pack will soon come to 4 Cleantech
U.S. came as a remote second with 91 billion worth in January 2018; The DAO Its innovative high tech community plays force (unfortunately, no exact date
filed patents in 2017 compared to 21 in and Bitfinex are two other noticeble an important role in the development is available at the moment). The tax 10 Gaming 3 Hardware
2016. Moreover, six out of the top nine hacks. In 2018 alone, Coincheck was of the future of cryptocurrencies and framework of cryptocurrencies and
blockchain patent filers from 2012 to 2017 hacked for $500 million worth of NEM blockchain innovation. Its regulatory various token types is compatible with
were Chinese companies. Generally, tokens, BitGrail was hacke almost $600 regime is transforming itself to be a fiat-related regulations. The Israeli
patent applications for blockchain tripled million worth of tokens, and NiceHash hospitable, fertile ground for future Securities Authority had recently ICO Sum
(in $ 606
from 2016 to 2017, while patents specific lost more than 4,000 Bitcoins. Another growth. There are currently over 140 provided its own formal crypto- 586
to cryptocurrencies rose by 16 percent, form of stealing were the ICO scams, companies in the Israeli ecosystem, with related regulation. Moreover, in 2018 millions)
to 602 in 2017. which promised a lot to its investors over $1.3 billion invested. More than 60% a legal precedent was established
and delivered very little, if at all. Some of the companies and 88% of the funds when the Israeli high court issued a
In the field of cryptocurrencies, the top examples include Pincoin, which raised are ICO-related. The biggest sectors of ruling favoring an Israeli company
patent filers during the years 2012-2017 $660 million from approximately 32,000 the Israeli ecosystem-related companies (Bits of Gold), forcing a policy
were dominated by western companies individuals and then disappeared. are Fintech (48), and Infrastructure (17), reconsideration from a major Israeli 2017 2018
such as IBM (with 54 filings), Gemalto AriseBank, a self-described banking Security (14), Media (11) and Gaming (10) bank. Q1-Q3
16 17Global Market
Global
Blockchain
The beginning of 2018 was the most Many new retail investors rushed
prolific time in the relatively short to invest in Bitcoin and other
lifespan of cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin cryptocurrencies, only to lose more
and other digital assets saw a meteoric than half of their investment as 2018
rise, followed by a devastating fall. Since progressed further into bear market
Market
the peak in January, markets across the territory. Projects that raised money
world came crashing down, affecting during late 2017 to early 2018 and didn’t
every single coin and token. The price of carefully manage their treasury, collapsed
Bitcoin fell by about 65% during a one- and rapidly disappeared from the scene.
month span. The current total market cap
is floating around the $200 billion mark, The remaining companies had to
Overview
far from the highs of the $800 billion thoughtfully plan ahead or risk facing
valuation in January. What followed after a similar fate. This harsh beginning of
the January mania was one of the longest 2018 left the scene with around 4,300
bear markets in crypto and the harshest active companies in different stages of
periods in terms of absolute loss. development in the ecosystem.
18 19Nonetheless, despite suffering huge (87.41% of which are Ethereum based, The gradual growth of the crypto
Global Market
losses, ICOs raised much higher sums 2.44% NEO, 2.34% Waves), with a total Total, Bitcoin, and Ethereum Market Cap ecosystem from 2016 continued at
of money in 2018 than in 2017: in fact, market cap of $15 billion. 01/2017-09/2018 ($ billions) the beginning of 2017. During the
almost twice as much at the time of first months of the year, the total
writing. At the moment, the total market 1000 market cap continued its gradual
Crypto market Cap
cap is divided unevenly between climb at a linear rate. The growth
Bitcoin
We are experiencing a phase of cryptocurrencies, platforms, and utility started to gain momentum during
Ethereum
sobriety and maturation – a decline tokens. Bitcoin and Ethereum capture the spring, multiplying the total cap’s
in retail investment and a more the majority of the market cap, with 800 worth first at the end of April, then
careful, responsible approach from Bitcoin alone worth more than $113 after less than a month, exploding by
institutional investors on one hand billion, 55% of the market cap of the top more than 4,700% from the valuation
and regulators around the world on 100 projects (which capture 92% of the by the end of the year. However, since
the other. A long bear market might total cap), and Ethereum around 10% of 600 its peak valuation, the market cap
be the ideal climate to let the dust the top 100 cap. declined at almost the same rate as
settle and examine, both internally its growth, losing 73% of its value by
and externally, the true possibilities In the division between currencies, the end of September 2018.
that lay within the cryptocurrency and platforms and utility token projects, 400
blockchain ecosystem. Ultimately, the currencies capture an impressive 77%
goal is to take a step further and bridge and platforms 20%. Within currencies,
the gap between consumers, traditional Bitcoin captures 71% of the currencies
investors, and blockchain technology. cap value. In platforms, Ethereum 200
captures 54%. It is worth noting that
Coinmarketcap currently has more than while utility tokens have a considerable
2,000 unique crypto assets, with a total representation in the top 100 capped
0
market cap of $220 billion, and more projects (47 projects), they capture less
1.2017 1.2018 30.9.2018
than 1,000 unique tokens on 18 platforms than 3% of the total cap value.
Top 100 Projects Bitcoin, Etheruem, and Altcoins Rest
by Type $156.8 Crypto market Cap In the public opinion, the growth
% of Total Cap per Week
Bitcoin and decline of the market cap
Ethereum were closely connected to Bitcoin,
Currencies 26 the titan of cryptocurrencies.
100% However, evidently it was the other
47 Number [Projects]
Utility tokens $6 cryptocurrencies (the altcoins) that
27 were responsible for the late 2017
Cap [$B]
Platforms 80% market growth. As seen here, the
$40.3 relative market cap of Bitcoin showed
a considerate decline during the
60% late 2017 market cap growth, with
Ethereum Share of All Bitcoin Share of all Bitcoin's relative share plummeting
Platform Projects Cryptocurrencies Projects from a 87.52% of the total cap to a
40%
mere 33% at its lowest. Only when
the altcoin bubble burst, with most
Ethereum Bitcoin altcoins shrinking to a fraction of
$22.0
54% 71% $111.6 their peak valuations following the
20%
April market cap local peak of $460
Rest Rest billion, did Bitcoin's share begin to
$18.3 $45.2 grow again, to a little more than half
0%
1.2017 1.2018 30.9.2018 of the total market valuation.
20 21Global ICOs
Global Market
Leading ICOs in 2018
Sum Raised (in $ millions)
about 2,000 companies raised money for their seed
Global ICOs: Numbers and Sums rounds in the U.S. Fewer companies raising funds with
ICOs and a higher volume of funding ultimately lead
to companies raising a significantly larger amount of
capital than possible through seed financing rounds.
This stems from the wide gap between the number
790
of investors in the two mechanisms (thousands up to
$1,700*
hundreds of thousands in ICOs vs. only a few in seed
552 investing) and low-entry barriers presented for ICO
investors, meaning less strict requirements with a lower
20 minimum investment amount.
7
While dominating compared to early-stage investments,
2017 2018 2017 2018 and despite the steady increase in ICO funding, it
Raised ($ billions) Number of ICOs barely scratches the surface of the overall venture
capital landscape. 200 ICOs account for less than 10%
of the global venture capital funding volume.
$328*
$4,200*
Following the spectacular ICO fad of mid to late 2017, Due to increased regulation, the frauds and the scams,
2018 is proving itself to show the signs of a much more the current bear market, and the culmination of new,
mature market: both regarding the projects conducting
ICOs and increasing participation in them. All
more responsible investing mechanisms, the 2017
boom might be looked back at as just a phase. Investors
$420
fragments of the ecosystem showed encouraging signs realized that the unsustainable scenarios of sizable
regarding the future of the community as a whole. instant returns on investments in ICOs were a thing of
the past, making way for better mechanisms to enter $300
ICOs have attracted a lot of attention throughout 2017 the ecosystem. More mature teams, clearer terms,
and especially during the meteoric climb that peaked and streamlined sales catering to the needs of their $118
in January 2018. The market's total capitalization customers or potential investors entered the scene.
increased fourfold and the number of blockchain Participants grew more experienced as well, carefully $151*
projects kept rising. ICOs have proven to showcase
a true alternative for angel and seed investments in
taking the needed measures to ensure eligibility,
demanding transparency from teams, and displaying $575 $117
terms of raising capital, especially for early-stage less erratic market behavior post-sale.
tech projects. In money raised, ICO funding overtook
traditional angel and seed venture capital investors in This year, we witnessed several records being broken. $133 $100 $94
Q4 2017. In Q1 2018, ICOs raised over $6 billion from EOS was the largest public ICO ever, successfully
investors compared to around $2 billion in early- raising $4 billion over the course of its year-long sale.
stage venture capital investments. Since it seems Telegram also made history, announcing the successful
much easier to find ICO investors than first stage raise of $1.7 billion exclusively from private investors
classic investors, one might think that the reason toward the development of the Telegram Open Network
was thousands more projects raised capital through (TON), canceling the previously scheduled public
ICOs than seed and angel investments. However, in round. In general, around 30% of all announced ICO
Q1 2018, merely around 200 ICOs took place whereas projects in this period closed successfully. *Started during 2017
22 23Leading ICOs
Global Market
EOS Telegram TaTaTu Dragon Huobi Token tZERO
EOS by Block.one is Telegram is an encrypted TaTaTu is a decentralized Dragon is building a Huobi, one of the largest tZERO is an alternative
a decentralized smart multi-platform chat with platform that financially decentralized currency cryptocurrency exchanges trading system (ATS)
contracts platform, over 200 million users. Its rewards users for viewing and partnership network in the world, has launched that is registered with
designed to support ability to manage groups content and referring for players and casinos, a blockchain-powered the U.S. Securities and
commercial-scale with many participants others to the platform. using its standing loyalty point system that Exchange Commission
decentralized applications has made Telegram the By streaming files and partnerships with the makes use of the Huobi (SEC). While tZERO is still
by providing the core platform of choice for related projects to peers, gambling industry in Asia. Token. These tokens under development, the
functionality developers people involved with and by voting to choose All transactions will sit would allow its holders project has already raised
require. EOS raised the cryptocurrencies who which types of content on the blockchain, and to receive transaction $250 million through their
highest all-time ICO, use it to launch project TaTaTu should host in the any winnings could be fee discounts, provide crowdsale. tZERO aims to
totaling $4.2 billion. token sales and ICOs, keep future, users can earn automatically converted liquidity protection, operate as a “blockchain-
The first event raised $172 followers up to date on TTU tokens to later spend to other cryptocurrencies, access to exclusive events, ified” Wall Street
million, while subsequent projects, and coordinate on the platform or convert kept as DRG or paid out in and be tradable against exchange, designed to
events raised $11 million developer efforts. It to fiat. TaTaTu Token has fiat, creating the concept popular coins to increase trade securities within the
on average. was announced that the sold over $575 million of a flexible online liquidity. The ICO has platform. For regulators,
private sale round of the worth of its currency gambling mechanism. raised $300 million. tZERO represents one
Telegram ICO raised $850 through an ICO, making From the $420 million of the earliest attempts
million in addition to it the third-largest coin raised by the company, to create crypto assets
their initial target of $1.2 offering to date. $265 million were raised management and
billion, helping them raise by institutional investors. alternative trading
$1.7 billion in total. systems.
Bankera Basis PumaPay Orbs Envion Elastos
Basis is a stablecoin PumaPay is a billing Orbs, an infrastructure as Envion utilizes Mobile The Elastos project aims
Bankera is a trading project funded by well- protocol that enables the a service (IaaS) platform, Mining Units (MMUs) for to establish an open-
platform that offers respected investors in the use of cryptocurrencies allows consumer brands crypto mining activities. source internet operating
higher functionality venture capital ecosystem, both online and offline. to create large-scale Their MMUs are designed system powered by
while exchanging such as Andreessen PumaPay provides decentralized apps, acting for automation, cost- blockchain technology.
cryptocurrencies. It Horowitz, Google retailers with a cost- as the production layer efficiency, and security. The team is attempting to
supports major crypto Ventures, Bain Capital effective, reliable, and overlaying Ethereum. It The project, which raised create a novel alternative
assets, including Bitcoin Ventures, and Polychain flexible alternative to also increases security, $100 million, is now to the current internet
and Ethereum, as well as Capital. Basis value is credit cards. Utilizing liquidity, and integration, accused of fraud and is infrastructure, which is
DASH, NEM, and others. backed by an 'algorithmic blockchain technology, combined with low currently deadlocked. more secure and allows
Access is granted through central bank' mechanism, the PumaPay team states fees, production-ready Envion’s future remains for a better value transfer
the Bankera wallet, which which will be in charge of that the company’s goal is scalability, and a suitable uncertain. and more efficient
allows off-chain and on- automatically selling bond to provide instant, direct, fee structure. generation of wealth.
chain transactions to tokens to peg the price of and secure payments The project has raised
take place. one Basis token at a single with low fees and no $94.1 million in its ICO.
U.S. dollar. Basis raised a chargebacks.
total of $133 million.
24 25Equity vs. Token Investing
Global Market
503
VC Funding in 2017- 2018 In 2017, 153 deals summed up to $876 million, while VC equity funding of blockchain and crypto projects
Sums and Number of deals 84 the first 7 months of 2018 more than doubled the 2017 exceeded $4.5 billion raised since VC started financing
amount of deals (with 390) and the sums (with $1.944 this sector. As much as $1.1 billion in funding went to
Number of Deals 334 billion). Moreover, unlike 2017, when only 3 months 178 deals in Q2 2018.
Sum (in $ millions) showed more than a $100 million investment, the first
265 67 7 months of 2018 proved to be record breaking, with The range of $7.5-10 billion in assets are held by these
2017's total investment surpassed after merely the first funds, and between $2-4 billion are exposed to crypto
209 227
58 231 58 228 3 months of 2018. through more traditional financial vehicles like ETNs,
166 trusts, indexes, and futures products. A record breaking
119 156 Average-wise, despite the impressive 2018 numbers pace of new crypto funds have formed to invest in
82 44 44 (with March averaging $8.67 million per deal), 2017 tokens and currencies in 2018. There is a plethora of
66 68
48 had the only two months with an average of more than functionalities for most funds that have been launched
57 35
$10 million (May 2017 with almost $14 million and both in 2017 and 2018, including trading, venture,
10 18 18 15 January 2017 with a little over $11 million). indexes, token baskets, credit and ecosystem funds,
and more. The majority of assets is highly concentrated
within the top 10 funds.
19 19
16 15 15
14 14
10 9 11
8
3 Top 4 VC Deals in 2017-2018
3.4 1.0 4.1 2.0 13.9 4.1 1.0 6.3 7.5 8.5 5.0 11.1 3.6 5.2 8.7 6.6 4.6 4.0 5.2 Sum (in $ millions)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Average deal sum
(in $ millions)
2017 2018
$300
Number of Deals per Size $110 $103
in 2017-2018 (in $ millions)
$65
20 13 18 14 9 6 1 2
Bitmain Circle Pintec Paxos
$0-1 $1-2 $2-5 $5-10 $10-20 $20-50 $50-100 $100 <
26 27Total Crypto Fund Launches
Crypto Funds
Global Market
Number of Crypto Fund Launches ta tes gdo
m
ds
dS Kin o ng an rea
per Country ite re d
gK ny sl Ko
ted a o lan da lia a nI e
Un i hin p er a Ho
n
str
a
ma c uth ae
l
Un C ga itz an Au erm y ran So Isr
Sin Sw C G Ca F
36 33 28 22 20 20 17 13 7 5 4 4
289
2018 saw a steady increase in new crypto
funds entering the market and is on
6 1 11 8
target to break the record set in 2017 5
0 3
for most funds established in a year.
er
13
14
15
16
17
18
rli
20
20
20
20
20
20
As more investors show interest in the
Ea
United Kingdom
crypto market, fund managers identify
Germany
this opportunity and meet this demand.
3 0 1 1 3 3 2
The ever increasing numbers indicate
Canada
er
13
14
15
16
17
18
that the market is interested in crypto
rli
20
20
20
20
20
20
8
Ea
6 3 2
investments, but is still understandably 0 0 0
5 0 8 8
2 5 4
cautious of the space. Currently,
er
13
14
15
16
17
18
rli
20
20
20
20
20
20
investors would like to initiate their
er
13
14
15
16
17
18
Ea
rli
20
20
20
20
20
20
Ea
interaction with the ecosystem using a Switzerland
9 7 China
trusted intermideate such as a fund. 103 0 1 0 0 2
This year saw the most funds opened
er
13
14
15
16
17
18
United States
rli
20
20
20
20
20
20
64
Ea
in the United States, although the
regulatory environment there is not 45
ideal for investors. So far in 2018, the 17 16 15 21 France
4 0 0 0 0 1 0
total amount of capital raised to establish Israel
South Korea
U.S.-based funds more than doubled that 1 3
er
13
14
15
16
17
18
3 0 0 0 0 0
er
13
14
15
16
17
18
rli
1
20
20
20
20
20
20
0 0 0 0 0
rli
Ea
20
20
20
20
20
20
of the previous year.
Ea
er
13
14
15
16
17
18
rli
20
20
20
20
20
20
er
13
14
15
16
17
18
Upcoming progress in this space is
Ea
rli
20
20
20
20
20
20
Ea
sure to follow, including larger numbers Cayman Islands
of companies focused on launching 0 0 0 0 0 3 4
investable crypto indexes and funds. Hong Kong
er
13
14
15
16
17
18
rli
20
20
20
20
20
20
Each will detail different allocations of 1 0 3 3 2 5 5
Ea
assets within the ecosystem, catering to Global Number
er
13
14
15
16
17
18
rli
20
20
20
20
20
20
the varied tastes of investors. of Crypto Fund
Ea
Singapore
Launches 5 0 1 1 4 10 6
The total number of crypto funds
launched as of August 2018 is 563. In the per Year
er
13
14
15
16
17
18
rli
20
20
20
20
20
20
Ea
last two years, 330 funds were started 194
(about 61% of the total number). The
number of crypto funds started in 2013- 136
2015 alone exceeded the total number
of such funds pre-2013. 2017 was a Australia
record setting year with 194 (36%) funds 82 2 5 7
0 0 0 2
opening their doors. 2018 proves itself 43
er
13
14
15
16
17
18
24 30 29
rli
20
20
20
20
20
20
as a worthy competitor, setting a healthy
Ea
pace, with 136 (25%) funds in the first 8
months of the year.
r
13
14
15
16
17
18
r lie
20
20
20
20
20
20
Ea
28 29Top exchanges:
Global Market
2018 has presented crypto exchanges with a difficult Binance OKEx Bithumb Bitmex Huobi Bitfinex
reality. The exchanges have faced multiple unique
challenges that served as a maturity test of sorts. The Headquarters: Headquarters: Headquarters: Headquarters: Headquarters: Headquarters:
days of exponentially increasing trading volume were Malta Hong Kong South Korea Hong Kong China Hong Kong
abruptly over and many exchanges were not ready for
the sudden shift that occurred around the start of the 2017 2014 2014 2014 2013 2012
year. Moreover, it seemed as if new exchanges kept
appearing and competition for market share grew Tradable Currencies: Tradable Currencies: Tradable Currencies: Tradable Currencies: Tradable Currencies: Tradable Currencies:
tougher. Crypto: 350+ Crypto: 450+ Crypto: 50 Crypto: ETH, XBT, Crypto: 300+ Crypto: 200+
Fiat: Korean won EOS, LTC, XRP, ETC, Fiat: EUR/GBP/JPY/
Another obstacle for exchanges this year proved to TRX, BCH, ADA USD
be cyber security. We have witnessed exchanges
succumbing to hacks and funds being stolen on a larger Advantage: Advantage: Advantage: Advantage: Advantage: Advantage:
scale than ever before, with multiple mega-hacks and The largest One of the largest South Korea’s largest Tremendous amounts One of the largest Clean and easy-to- use
mass theft costing hundreds of millions of dollars. cryptocurrency cryptocurrency exchange, huge of liquidity available, exchanges in the world platform, fiat gateway,
exchange in the exchanges in the amounts of volume and increased emphasis on in terms of volume, leverage trading,
Due to the intense fluidity of the customer base, world, huge amounts world, multi-platform liquidity, low fees security, a large variety around the clock margin funding,
another hurdle that exchanges face is trader retention. of volume and support, multiple of contract types, customer service, advanced algorithmic
The exchange business model could not simply rely liquidity, BNB token cycles for easy hedging margin trading native token that order types, high-
on the basic trading fees and exchanges were forced to greatly reduces fees, and arbitraging, low reduces fees, beginner security exchange with
add additional components to their service. Bitfinex, extremely fast traffic fees, margin trading friendly, Huobi.pro advanced analytics
for example, allowed traders to trade crypto assets growth, good security provides advanced charts
against physically-backed fiat currencies. Binance, and community trading features
with their own issued token, BNB, offered users a relations for more than 190
trading fee discount if they held it in their exchange blockchain assets
wallets. Kucoin developed a model allowing traders to
trade “shares” of the exchange (KCS) and receive their
dividend of the exchange’s trading fees daily.
This year, we also noticed a rise in specialized
exchanges, such as Bitmex, allowing traders to trade
contracts derived from top cryptos using up to 100
times leverage, or IDEX, a decentralized exchange
that is a completely automated smart contract running
on the Ethereum network. Lastly, due to the evolving
adoption and awareness of crypto assets around the
world, many exchanges faced regulatory roadblocks,
making it harder for them to maintain “business as
usual.” Binance, for example, chose to establish their
base of operations in Malta, which passed laws to
regulate and encourage DLT and blockchain companies
to base themselves on the island.
30 31Global Market
Honorable mention Gemini Poloniex Kraken Bittrex GDAX (Coinbase) Upbit
exchanges: Headquarters: Headquarters: Headquarters: Headquarters: Headquarters: Headquarters:
New York City, New Wilmington, Delaware, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Nevada, San Francisco, South Korea
York, U.S. U.S. California, U.S. U.S. California, U.S.
2014 2014 2011 2014 2012 2017
Tradable Currencies: Tradable Currencies: Tradable Currencies: Tradable Currencies: Tradable Currencies: Tradable Currencies:
Crypto: BTC, ETH, Crypto: 100+ Crypto: 50+, Crypto: 190+ Crypto: ETH, BTC, LTC, Crypto: 250+
ZCash Fiat: CAD, EUR, GBP, BCH, ETC Fiat: Korean won
Fiat: USD JPY, USD Fiat: USD/EUR/GBP
Advantage: Advantage: Advantage: Advantage: Advantage: Advantage:
Discounts available for Large tradebook High liquidity with Fully regulated in the One of the largest South Korea’s second
high volume traders, with decent volumes, low fees, fast funding, U.S., lightning fast cryptocurrency largest exchange, large
fully regulated, user good margin. Trading Bitcoin dark pool, trade execution, stable trading institutions in liquidity pool, intuitive
friendly design, available on largest, cryptographic wallets, quick to add the world with many interface, was accused
security and altcoins, intuitive communication a new sought after products and services of fraudulent behavior
compliance, high design, fully regulated cryptocurrency and tens of millions of yet all accusations
liquidity customers in dozens of were proven to be
countries completely false
32 33Tech
and
Trends
While we are still at the very beginning This division helps us differentiate be-
of the crypto asset revolution, there have tween the two main current trends. The
been remarkable developments in this first trend is the use of the new technol-
constantly evolving field. In this chapter, ogy to create innovative tools, services,
we will mention a few of the recent trends and infrastructure that were not possible
in the ecosystem. To help readers absorb (or not practical) prior to the development
a considerable amount of new informa- of the technology. The second trend is
tion, we will divide the crypto asset world the use of the new technology to improve
into two main groups: native cryptos and already existing structures such as finan-
tokenized assets. cial devices, tools, etc.
34 35Tech and Trends
Crypto Assets Classification
Native Crypto
Cryptocurrencies Smart Contract Platforms Utility Tokens Non- Fungible Tokens/ Collectables
The best-known category in this list and the beginning The infrastructure that is the technological basis for Utility tokens are tradeable digital coupons that one Non-Fungible Tokens are novel crypto tokens in that
of this crypto story. Cryptocurrencies are decentralized the crypto asset world. Smart contract platforms are purchases with a promise for a future possibility they are not interchangeable. Unlike currency, where
encrypted digital assets, usually based on blockchain built to create a trustless execution environment, and to use in exchange for a service or a good that is a coin’s or a note’s worth is not based on their serial
technology, that are created as a mean of payment and additionally include a myriad of benefits, such as cost, unavailable to purchase directly at the time of the number but on the stated value of the currency, the
can be digitally traded between willing parties based on time, security, and others. Smart contract platforms transaction. The uses of the token vary widely and value of an NFT token is based on its uniqueness. NFTs
supply and demand economic rules. Cryptocurrencies are the technological solution for ensuring future include software use, cloud storage, voting rights, and introduce scarcity to the digital token world, one of the
have two main traits which make them valuable. They fulfillment of contracts. When certain pre- programed many others. Being a new vehicle, there are currently basic ideas of economics, trade, and value. There are
function as a censorship resistant mean of exchange conditions which comprise the contract at the time several major uncertainties surrounding the tokens. several potential uses for this kind of token, such as
and as a store of value. of the agreement are met, an outcome coded into the For example, as with most economic transactions, it cases where the maker of the token is required to create
smart contract is executed automatically. proves extremely hard to decipher the real interests of scarce items, including digital art, collectibles, in-game
Leading Cryptocurrencies: Bitcoin, Litecoin, the trading parties. It is hard to know if a person invests items, etc. This branch of tokens requires a specific
Dogecoin, Dash, Monero, Zcash. Leading Platforms: Ethereum, Neo, Cardano, EOS. in a future good or service due to their current belief set of services tailored to the needs of NFT. One of the
in a future need or due to speculative causes. This services is the digital equivalent of auction houses,
makes the definition of utility tokens overly “liquid” which differ from regular token exchanges. In 2018,
and immensely difficult. For this reason, legal and tax Rare Bits, an NFT marketplace, was launched and raised
authorities around the world are mightily struggling $6 million for its series A round.
with such tokens, preferring to act on a case-by-case
basis instead of introducing sweeping regulations that There are multiple current examples of NFT, but the
would allow the field to develop at a more rapid pace most famous one is CryptoKitties. CryptoKitties, one of
and attract additional types of investors. the first Ethereum-based games, allows for a trading
network of unique items (in the form of cats) between
Leading Utility Tokens: Binance Coin, Steem, Augur, parties. It was a hit during the end of 2017. At its peak,
Basic Attention Token. CryptoKitties was so popular that it created a sizable
slowdown of the entire Ethereum network. The hype
was high indeed and in March, CryptoKitties received
$12 million in funding, led by Andreessen Horowitz and
Union Square Ventures. Despite a recent considerable
slowdown in transactions, the most expensive
CryptoKitty to date, Dragon, (CryptoKitty #896775) was
traded for more than $170,000 in September.
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