US companies’ sentiments around cryptocurrencies overtook Chinese companies in Q2 2021, following the Mainland Government’s crackdown. While sentiments for both US and Chinese firms declined in Q3 2021 as companies were left reeling from the clampdown, US companies’ sentiments remained higher than their Chinese counterparts, according to GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

Rinaldo Pereira, Business Fundamentals Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “‘Geopolitics’ was a key point of discussion around crypto for US companies in 2021 and impacted sentiments for most companies. However, mentions of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) around crypto nearly doubled in Q3 2021 compared to Q2 2021 for US firms. This suggests that US companies were more optimistic compared to their Chinese counterparts – who are facing the brunt of the government’s crackdown.”

Chinese firms’ sentiments were also impacted by ‘Geopolitics’ as well as ‘China Impact’. These were among the top themes being discussed around crypto in 2021. Additionally, ‘Regulations’ was among the top crypto keywords mentioned by companies from Mainland China.

George Monaghan, Analyst at GlobalData’s thematic team, suggests that the Chinese Government’s anti-crypto sentiment is likely to have further devastating impacts on the crypto sector. However, Monaghan added that only actual legislation can have adverse impacts.

Pereira concludes: “Following the news around the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) allowing bitcoin futures, crypto sentiments for US companies are likely to be positively impacted. That said, companies continue to consider crypto to be a risk. US firms’ mentions of crypto as a risk almost tripled during Q1-Q3 2021 compared to the same period last year.”