Digital asset investment specialist KR1 PLC (AQSE:KR1) said 2021 was a year of ‘exceptional performance’ after the value of its portfolio rose by almost 500%.
Net assets increased by 488.6% year-on-year in the 12 months ended December 31, while NAV per share, a benchmark for measuring the performance of investment companies, was up 423.5% at 122.68p.
Total profit for the year was £143.7mln, up from £30.3mln 12 months earlier.
The results reflected a boom period for digital investment, which has since deteriorated into what some commentators have dubbed the ‘crypto winter’ as electronic currencies tanked alongside the value of blockchain-enabled business.
KR1 cautioned that the current conditions will ‘prevail for some time’. But it expects the technology to develop, while the depressed state of the market presents 'attractive opportunities' for follow-on investments.
“Despite the current bear market for crypto, we believe that the interest in and adoption of blockchain technology will continue and are firm believers in the transformational opportunities that it will bring,” co-managing directors George McDonaugh and Keld van Schreven told investors.
“As one of the first digital asset investment firms, we have already experienced previous crypto winters, and are well positioned to weather the current volatility.
“The current circumstances present many attractive opportunities for investment, and we will continue to seek out high-quality projects in order to drive shareholder value over the long term.”