Fintechs prove that unicorns can happen in less than a year

Achieving unicorn status is an important milestone for any fintech that is able to achieve this feat. With this in mind, a new study has revealed that the industry players reached the $1 billion valuation mark the fastest.

Data from price comparison website Terms of use has listed the fintech unicorns that have broken through the $1 billion mark the fastest.

Figures also discuss the most valuable fintechs and their origins, revealing the top destinations for fintech unicorns. So who tops the list?

Pacaso – 174 days

Pacaso took the crown for the fastest company to become a unicorn company, taking less than half a year to achieve unicorn status.

Founded in October 2020, the San Francisco-based realtor’s valuation topped $1 billion within five short months of operations. At the top of this list, the crown was partially accelerated by its $75 million equity financing in March 2021. This was in addition to securing $1 billion in debt financing.

It is Maveron-led Series A, which set the stage at launch, raised an initial $17 million in conjunction with $250 million in debt financing.

The company has later expanded its operations to Spain.

Magic Eden – 277 days

In second place, Magic Eden crossed the $1 billion mark at just nine months old. The Solana non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace was launched in September 2021, reaching unicorn status last June. This was after its $130 million Series B round led by Electric Capital and Gray lock Partnerswhich followed a $27 million Series A last March.

Magic Eden currently produces around 50,000 NFTs a day and is responsible for 92 percent of all Solana-based NFT volume.

Zebec – 301 days

Zebec completes the top three, taking 301 days to achieve unicorn status after it was founded in November 2021.

It is a programmable cash flow protocol based on the Solana network and headquartered in the US. The company announced unicorn status in August 2022 amid a notable drop in new unicorns at the time.

The funding round in August boosted the valuation to over $1 billion, led by Circle Ventures, Shima and Resolutely. This was in addition to a $15 million funding round the previous February, and Zebec secured a cool $42.5 million in funding to date.

The American Dream

In addition to the top three, the data also shows where on the map these fintechs are based. Not only are all three American companies, but each is headquartered in sunny San Francisco.

As expected of Fintech TimesSilicon Valley has come to prove itself as a marvel of fintech innovation on the West Coast.

The city’s defining startup community follows in the footsteps of fintech’s biggest success stories (Credit Karma, Coin base and the most valuable unicorn of all Stripe); as Utility Budder’s data indicates. It is no wonder then that nine of the 10 largest fintech companies in the US are based in the region.