In Israel,
the number of blockchain and crypto-related companies increased by 32%
in 2019, according to a report from the Israeli Bitcoin Association published on Dec. 30.




The
report revealed that there were 150 active companies in the field in
2019, while at the end of 2018, the number was 113. Out of the 113
companies, only 63 continue to operate today, with the information about
the rest of them unavailable. The Association suggested this is because
those companies did not survive the past year.


Other related statistics



Although
the report did not provide data on the number of employees serving for
the reported companies, it said that the staff size decreased
significantly in 2019 as compared with 2018 and 2017. The data indicated
that most of the companies had no more than ten employees.


The
report further revealed that the majority of the companies were
startups, operating within three years, wherein 30% of currently active
companies were established in 2017 and 30% in 2018.


In
terms of financing sources, 44% of crypto- and blockchain-related firms
operating in Israel were self-funded in 2019, while 42% raised funds
from investors. At the same time, 7% of the companies reportedly rely on
independent income to finance operations.


A blockchain-friendly hub


Israel is known as a blockchain-friendly hub, ranking
49th out of 190 on the ease of doing business index, according to the
Doing Business 2019 report compiled by the World Bank. However, its
overall score belies certain areas of difficulty for businesses like
paying taxes, with Israel’s rank being 90th out of 190. Another trouble
spot is enforcing contracts, for which Israel again ranks 90th.

Last
August, news broke that the Capital Market, Insurance and Saving
Authority, a division of Israel’s Ministry of Finance (MoF), was looking to
accelerate the process of procuring licenses for blockchain and fintech
companies in the country. The authority was hoping to foster local
competition by licensing more fintech companies.

source link : https://cointelegraph.com/news/number-of-blockchain-companies-in-israel-grew-by-over-30-in-2019