January’s Top Fundraisers in Crypto VC

In January, the crypto venture capital landscape saw a significant uptick in investment projects.

According to Wu Blockchain’s report leveraging RootData’s statistics, there were 113 publicly disclosed investment projects, marking a notable increase of 10.8% compared to December 2023 and a steady year-on-year rise of 1.8% from January 2023.

$650 Million Raised

Among the diverse sectors within the crypto market, infrastructure projects secured approximately 12% of the financing, with DeFi and NFT/GameFi each comprising around 19% and 12%, respectively, a trend similar to last year’s. The report revealed that CeFi and L1/L2 solutions also made notable contributions, capturing approximately 6% and 4% of the financing proportion.

Despite a month-on-month decrease of 28.6%, the total fundraising amount for January reached $650 million, indicating sustained investor interest and confidence in the long-term potential of crypto ventures. Leading the fundraising charge was HashKey Group, which raised nearly $100 million in its Series A round, boasting a pre-money valuation surpassing $1.2 billion.

Core Scientific, a prominent Bitcoin mining company, followed closely, successfully closing a $55 million equity offering that was oversubscribed. Flowdesk, a French cryptocurrency market maker, secured $50 million in its Series B funding round, with support from notable investors, including Cathay Innovation, Ripple, and Bpifrance.

Sygnum, a cryptocurrency bank, also made waves by securing over $40 million in strategic financing, positioning itself as a key player in the financial landscape.

2023 Funding Hits $9B

Related research conducted by RootData revealed that the overall funding for Web3 amounted to $9.043 billion throughout 2023, with different sectors experiencing differing levels of success. Investment tended to gravitate towards enterprise infrastructure and digital wallets.

Within the DeFi sector, there was intense competition in decentralized exchanges (DEX) while interest in derivatives and Real World Assets (RWA) expanded. Despite a decline in CeFi funding, opportunities within the Bitcoin ecosystem continued to entice investors.

The number of developers surged by 66%, with Ethereum emerging as the leader in this regard. DeFi, Layer 1/Layer 2 solutions, and GameFi retained their popularity, although compliance and social sectors gained significance as well.