Markets
The Rise of the ICO, and What It Could Mean for Venture Capital
For any ambitious startup founder, the traditional route to funding goes through angel/seed investors and then eventually to the big venture capitalists.
The sophisticated players in this funding landscape make significant amounts of dough by spotting game-changing opportunities in their early stages, and then applying their insights, connections, and experience to these startups to make them financially viable. Finally, they guide the successful company to an exit, take their returns, and then distribute to the partners.
But what if startups, especially those related to the blockchain, were able to raise money from everyone simultaneously? What if the traditional gatekeepers didn’t matter as much?
ICOs vs. Venture
Last year, it became clear that Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) would start to challenge traditional venture capital, as funding raised through them exploded by over 20x.
Today’s infographic from Vanbex Ventures shows key statistics around this phenomenon, as well as the evolving reception from venture capital and institutional investors.
Needless to say, the relationship between ICOs and venture capital is a conflicted one.
On one hand, it represents the inevitable disruption of many different elements of the traditional business model. On the other hand, the ICO space is too tantalizing to ignore: cryptocurrencies are worth nearly $0.5 trillion, and those that put money in early saw returns in the quadruple digits.
Getting Onboard?
The $5.3 billion boom in ICOs in 2017 had no problems surpassing traditional early-stage venture capital for blockchain-adjacent startups, which only saw $0.95 billion in funding.
While most VCs were slow to adapt, there have been increasing signs of interest – even despite the existing regulatory concerns. In particular, the idea of additional liquidity appeals to these investors since tokens can be sold at any point. This gives an advantage over traditional models, where a liquidity event such as an IPO or acquisition is necessary.
As a result, some VCs are shifting how they work with blockchain startups. They will pre-acquire tokens prior to a public ICO, and even consult with startups to help them maximize the value of tokens and the underlying technology.
Going Institutional
The crypto asset class is also becoming more ubiquitous among institutional investors as well.
There’s such an institutional appetite to get exposure to this. It’s a half-a-trillion-dollar asset class that nobody owns. That’s a pretty wild circumstance.
– Dan Morehead, CEO and CIO of Pantera Capital
In fact, 17% of global hedge fund managers say they currently (or plan to) invest in cryptocurrency. At the same time, over 100 crypto hedge funds have popped up over the years – another sign of a widening and market landscape.
Markets
All of the World’s Exports by Country, in One Chart
We visualize nearly $25 trillion of global exports by country, showing you the top exporting nations and the data behind it all.
Creator Program
All of the World’s Exports by Country, in One Chart
In 2022, the total export value of global goods reached nearly $25 trillion.
With the evolution of international trade, the effects of globalization, and progress in technology, global trade has increased by around 300% over the last 20 years.
This visualization by Truman Du uses data from the World Trade Organization (WTO) to chart the world’s top exporters by country.
China is Still the “World’s Factory”
The world’s largest 11 exporters shipped out $12.8 trillion of goods in 2022, more than the rest of the world combined ($12.1 trillion).
The list is headed by China, with $3.6 trillion or 14% of total exports. The country has been the largest exporter of goods in the world since 2009.
| Top 11 | Country | Exports (USD) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 🇨🇳 China | $3.6T |
| 2 | 🇺🇸 U.S. | $2.1T |
| 3 | 🇩🇪 Germany | $1.7T |
| 4 | 🇳🇱 Netherlands | $965.5B |
| 5 | 🇯🇵 Japan | $746.9B |
| 6 | 🇰🇷 South Korea | $683.6B |
| 7 | 🇮🇹 Italy | $656.9B |
| 8 | 🇧🇪 Belgium | $632.9B |
| 9 | 🇫🇷 France | $617.8B |
| 10 | 🇭🇰 Hong Kong | $609.9B |
| 11 | 🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates | $598.5B |
In 2022, the top products exported from China by value were phones (including smartphones), computers, optical readers, integrated circuits, solar power diodes, and semiconductors.
Two of China’s primary trading partners are neighboring countries Japan and South Korea.
Mexico Surpasses China as America’s Largest Trading Partner
China has built up significant trade relations with the European Union and the United States, two of the world’s largest markets for goods.
However, recent trade tensions have led to China losing its status as the United States’ biggest trading partner in 2023.
Mexico has now overtaken China as the largest seller to the United States. This shift in trade dynamics is part of a broader effort by the U.S. to import goods from closer to home and reduce its dependence on geopolitical rivals.
The U.S. itself is the world’s second largest goods exporter, with over $2 trillion annually.
Canada was the largest purchaser of U.S. exports in 2022, accounting for 17% of total exports, followed by Mexico, China, Japan, and the United Kingdom.
The top exports of the United States are refined petroleum, petroleum gas, crude petroleum, cars, and integrated circuits.
The Regional View of Exports by Country
From a regional perspective, it’s clear Asia dominates the trading market with over 36% of the total exports, followed by Europe with 34%.
Source: World Trade Organization
While Asian, European, and North American countries have manufactured and technology products among their main exports, African and South American countries mostly export commodities such as oil, gold, diamonds, cocoa, timber, and precious metals.
A New Era of Deglobalization?
International trade grew immensely at the beginning of the 21st century, from $15.6 trillion in 2001 to $40.7 trillion in 2008.
Since then, protectionist trade policies such as taxes on foreign goods and import quotas have increased by 663%. Similarly, global trade as a percent of GDP has also stalled out, peaking in 2008 and going sideways ever since.
Despite many countries reducing their interdependence and integration in the post-COVID era, global exports are still set to grow by 70% between 2020 and 2030, reaching $29.7 trillion by 2030, according to Standard Chartered.
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