Crypto sentiment high in 2021 and mentions of ‘crypto’ in company filings rise over 60%

There has been a significant year-on-year (YOY) rise in both business sentiment towards cryptocurrency and the number of mentions these coins gained in company filings, according to GlobalData. The leading data and analytics company notes that these gains were spurred by metaverse buzz.

GlobalData’s latest report, ‘Company Filing Analytics Trends & Signals Annual Report 2021’, revealed that business sentiment towards cryptos rose around 6% YOY, while mentions of ‘cryptocurrency’ in company filings saw a rise of over 300% in 2021. Further, key words related to crypto investment were mentioned over 60% more in 2021. Meanwhile, mentions of the ‘Metaverse’ in company filings rose by over 135% in Q4* earnings transcripts.

Rinaldo Pereira, Business Fundamentals Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “Such excitement is having a knock-on effect to multiple related technologies. For example, business sentiment towards augmented and virtual reality—two technologies that will play a big part in metaverse development—rose by 5% in 2021.

“Cryptocurrencies also benefitted from the hype, with several metaverse discussions also mentioning ‘crypto’. However, this is not the only aspect raising business sentiment towards these currencies. The move towards a more regulated crypto environment is attractive to corporates, and several companies are expecting regulations to do a world of good for the crypto industry. If regulations are introduced, we may see companies launching their own coins.”

George Monaghan, Thematic Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “The benefits cryptocurrencies offer businesses were never unclear: they offer a faster, more traceable, direct, and secure transaction. Their adoption within the business world has only been hindered by the potential dangers of the technology. As regulation worked to assuage this danger, corporations became more willing to enter crypto. Further, crypto became more alluring as the opportunity grew—2021 saw more retail investors get involved than ever before, and more investors means more potential money!”

Bitcoin was the most mentioned cryptocurrency in 2021’s earnings transcripts. The coin was also the, most discussed key word in social media conversations, according to GlobalData's Social Media Analytics Platform. Social Media conversations around the crypto surged YoY by more than 400% in 2021.

Monaghan continued: “People both love reading about ‘get rich quick schemes’ and their success stories, as well as tales of incredible and sudden loss (this particular joy is known as ‘loss porn’ in online crypto communities) on social media. In 2021, more people were trading in crypto, and so people both made and lost money more than ever. Prices soared to all-time highs, and we saw plenty of crashes too. This all made for wonderful gossip on social media.”

* Until 16 November 2021