- The total volume of crypto M&A deals skyrocketed nearly 5,000% in 2021, according to PwC.
- The average transaction size tripled in value from $52.7 million to $179.7 million.
- PwC also found that deals shifted back to the Americas with 51% of them occurring in the region.
The total volume of cryptocurrency mergers and acquisitions skyrocketed nearly 5,000% in 2021, mirroring the stunning rally in the price of digital assets, according to PwC.
In a report published in early February, the Big Four accounting firm revealed that the number of deals surged by 4,846% in 2021 with the average transaction size tripling in value from $52.7 million to $179.7 million.
This was boosted by a number of blank-check deals worth billions of dollars. The top 10 deals, in fact, were all well above that level, led by Bullish Limited, which was acquired for $8.1 billion.
Meanwhile, the total value of crypto fundraising deals leapt 645% to $34.3 billion in 2021, with the average fundraising amount up 143% to $26.3 million. The previous year also saw players tap into the SPAC boom.
Below is a the top five investors by deal count in 2021, according to PwC.
| Rank | Investor Name | Selected Investments |
| 1 | AU21 Capital | Chainflip, DEIP, Arcana Network, reBaked, Decentral Games |
| 2 | Genesis Block Ventures | Highstreet, Coin98 Finance, Pyth Network, Calaxy, Dex Lab |
| 3 | Genblock Capital | NearPad, Biconomy, ClayStack, DexLab, Unbound Finance |
| 4 | Coinbase Ventures | Chainflip, MobileCoin, CoinDCX, Liquality, Pintu |
| 5 | Moonwhale | SoldexAI, Beyond Finance, DeepDAO, Chronicle, Panther Protocol |
The firm also found that transactions shifted back to the Americas, with 51% of deals occurring in the region, up from the previous year's 41%.
However, the Europe, Middle East, and Africa region saw total deal value of $25.5 billion, slightly surpassing that of the Americas despite comprising only 33% of the deals globally. The Asia Pacific region garnered 16% of the total deals at $5 billion.
Digital assets exploded in the past year with various cryptos, from bitcoin to dogecoin, hitting their all-time-highs. The market capitalization of the ecosystem even hit $3 trillion at one point in November, roughly the size of the entire UK economy, amid a broader rally. It has since cooled off and now stands at $2 trillion.