Venture capital in the Internet finance sector doubled to $13.8 billion

Baozou Commentary : Data shows that the scale and amount of venture capital in global Internet finance have increased significantly since 2014, showing five key global trends in this field. From the growth trend of corporate financing in Europe, Asia and North America, it is not difficult to see that countries are paying more and more attention to Internet finance. Internet finance has become the center of the world economy, and the role played by major global technology giants has gradually threatened the status of traditional Internet finance participants.

Translation: Annie_Xu

Internet finance became a mainstream business in 2015, and venture capital in this field doubled to US$13.8 billion in 2014. Internet finance has a strong momentum of development in North America, Asia and Europe.

In 2015, global Internet finance companies raised $13.8 billion in 653 financing activities, while in 2014, only $6.7 billion was raised in 587 financing activities. Statistics show that Internet finance has been improving in recent years.

The growth in transaction volume is not as obvious as that in transaction amount, which indicates that the average transaction size has increased significantly compared with historical records.

Five key global trends

CoinTelegraph lists five key global trends that show the penetration rate of Internet finance.

1. Internet finance is at the center of the global stage;

Geographical diversity has led to the emergence of Internet finance centers around the world - London, Sydney, Tel Aviv, Singapore, Hong Kong, etc.

2. Payment and loan solutions lead the development of Internet finance;

Historically, traditional bank payment and lending functions have been the main sub-industry driving the development of Internet finance, and most of the use cases focused on are basically payment processing and lending technologies.

3. Transaction volume grows across regions;

The data shows that the most significant change in 2015 is the growth in transaction value. SoFi raised $1 billion in its E round of financing; Kabbage and Dianrong also raised large amounts in recent rounds.

4. The company plays a big role in the field of Internet finance, especially in Asia;

The role of Internet finance companies is changing from a major competitor to a potential promoter; companies are involved in 25% of Internet finance transactions. Major technology giants such as Google and Apple are gradually threatening the status of traditional Internet finance participants such as banks.

5. Internet finance investment slowed down in the fourth quarter of 2015;

In the fourth quarter of 2015, the total amount of global venture capital declined significantly, and Internet finance also fell from US$4.7 billion to US$1.7 billion.

Regional differences in the growth of Internet finance

Specifically for each region, North America raised US$7.7 billion in 378 financings; Asia raised US$4.5 billion in 130 financings; and Europe raised US$1.5 billion in 125 financings.

In 2015, North America performed extremely well in the field of Internet finance, with transaction volume and transaction amount accounting for 50% and 70% of the world's total for the year respectively.

Internet finance investment in Asia increased significantly in 2015, growing from US$1.1 billion to US$4.5 billion over the same period, making a huge contribution to the growth of global Internet finance.

European Internet finance companies raised more than $1 billion for the second consecutive year, with relatively small amounts of venture capital, showing the region's growing interest in Internet finance.