There were nearly 500 fintech financing and M&A deals in the first quarter of 2024, with insurtech, crypto and blockchain proving hot areas, according to data from Royal Park Partners (RPP).
Despite the demise of a number of underfunded fintech startups, the study finds the sector to be generally in rude health, demonstrating continued resilience and expansion in the first months of the year.
There were 248 financing deals in fintech during the quarter, although their total value was down from $14.1 billion in Q4 2023 to $7.8 billion, highlighting continued investor caution against the backdrop of ongoing inflation and geopolitical instability.
Insurtech stocks saw the value of deals soar 61% quarter-on-quarter, dramatically outpacing other verticals including payments (+5%) and capital markets/wealth management tech (+4%).
Crypto attracted around 25% of total financing rounds in Q1, while banking and lending also garnered significant investment thanks to big rounds for the likes of Monzo ($430 million), Svatantra ($230 million) and SK Finance ($160 million).
M&A saw 240 deals, dominated by the $35.3 billion agreement between Capital One and Discover, which pushed total deal value across M&A and financing to $70 billion.