Last year saw a surge in the consolidation of cryptocurrency-related firms, reaching a new record in deal activity, says PwC.

The total volume of mergers and acquisitions within the crypto industry increased more than twofold from $481 million in 2019 to $1.1 billion last year, according to a market overview by PwC on Monday, Bloomberg reports.

In addition, the average deal size in cryptocurrencies rose from 2019’s figure of $19 million to close to $53 million, with crypto fundraising rising 33% on overall value in 2020.

Countries within the EMEA region saw a significant rise in the number of deals, whilst a threefold growth in deal value was reported in the Americas.

Following fresh highs reached in 2020, Cointelegraph reports, crypto industry deal activity will likely continue growth throughout this year. 

According to PwC global crypto leader Henri Arslanian, 2021 is “already on track to significantly surpass it from every single metric” as institutional players and high-profile investors move into the industry.

Furthermore, as well as greater consolidation in crypto, PwC reported that the industry will become more institutionalised. 

The survey showed major gains within the crypto market – as Bitcoin hit its record high of $61,000 in the middle of this month - coupled with the heightening adoption of central bank digital currencies, stablecoins, decentralized finance and non-fungible tokens.

This was echoed by deVere CEO Nigel Green, who said to the media on Monday: “It’s likely that institutional investors are waiting for prices to dip a little further and are poised to significantly increase their exposure to crypto when they do.  

“Should this happen, as we expect it will, we know that this will drive prices upwards.”