KPMG-HSBC report shows over 25% Asia Pacific startups are connected to blockchain

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KPMG-HSBC report shows over 25% Asia Pacific startups are connected to blockchain

By Harshini Nag - min read

While venture capital investment has reduced in the last year, the Asia Pacific region continues to make major strides in the tech world with an increasing number of new start-ups emerging with a blockchain foundation.

A recent report published jointly by Big Four accountant KPMG and international banking company HSBC found that a quarter of the 6427 Asian Pacific start-ups surveyed were blockchain-related.

The Asian Pacific “emerging giants,” as the report referred to the start-ups, show the most significant presence in the Nonfungible tokens, or NFTs sector. Organizations engaging in Decentralised Finance (DeFi) are a close second.

The other categories in the top five sectors of blockchain-based Asia Pacific start-ups are Electric vehicle charging infrastructure, quantum computing and robotic processing automation. The list also ranked blockchain real estate and decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) in the 14th and 15th positions, respectively.

While blockchain-related companies posed a strong collective presence, only five blockchain-related companies made it to the top 100 emerging giants in Asia Pacific. Only one company, Hong Kong’s Catheon Gaming, a play-to-earn platform, stood 8th, securing a position in the top 10. Interestingly, popular crypto service unicorns Hong Kong’s Amber Group and Singaporean Matrixport were not included in the top 100 emerging companies in the region.

The report evaluated companies from 12 Asia Pacific countries. These countries accounted for almost 95% of all companies surveyed as part of the research. Mainland China (32.8%) and India (30.1%) are the countries where most new tech companies were established.

Explaining the role of the Asian middle class, the report said:

“The continuing growth of Asia’s middle classes, and especially the emergence of Gen Z consumers will be the biggest single factor driving digital economies across the region. But […] Asia’s more prosperous, ageing societies, too will also be rich sources of innovation.”