Data from DeFiLlama shows the crypto sector’s fundraising has reached $101 billion since 2014, with Coinbase representing at least 4% of those investments since 2017.
As seen in the image below, crypto fundraising has practically not seen an uptick in 2024, despite the overall bullish sentiment in the crypto market after the approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs.
The biggest amount of crypto fundraising was recorded in October 2021. In May alone, only $280M was poured into the space. This represents a decrease of over 90%.
Coinbase Tops Crypto Fundraising Charts
Coinbase Ventures tops the charts with 443 investments since 2017, followed by Animoca Brands Corp. and Outlier Ventures Ltd. Crypto venture investment rose to $2.5 billion in the first quarter of this year, up from a recent low of $1.9 billion in the fourth quarter of 2023.
This uptick brought eye-catching billion-dollar valuations for startups like Farcaster, Berachain, and Hidden Road Partners.
These investments occurred alongside a wider crypto rally, including Bitcoin reaching a record $73,798 in March. While the climb has stalled, some analysts expect renewed momentum and a wave of crypto-related initial public offerings.
Meanwhile, Kraken seeks to raise over $100M in pre-IPO fundraising.
Unsurprisingly, the number of failures and scams perpetuated by infamous figures within the space has deterred investors and prospective institutions from the industry. These include Sam Bankman-Fried, the FTX/Alameda Research feud, and crypto lender BlockFi.
As a result, significant investors like Tiger Global Management LLC and Temasek Holdings Pte have largely retreated from the sector. According to Bloomberg, Tiger Global has made only four crypto deals since the start of 2023, following a period of high activity before the FTX collapse,
