Crypto Funding: Startups Rake In Over $100 Billion In 10 Years

Cryptocurrency startups have raised more than $100 billion from the end of May 2014 through mid-June 2024, the latest data revealed, signifying the growing interest of investors in the burgeoning industry.

As of June 16, 2024, the total funding amount that poured into the crypto startup sector stands at $101.359 billion, according to data from decentralized finance (DeFi) analytics dashboard DefiLlama.

The total value locked (TVL) tracker also revealed that there have been a total of 5,287 funding rounds in the past 10 years. In the first two weeks of June alone, a total of $280.25 million in funding flowed into the crypto startup sector.

Among the most significant funding rounds in recent weeks was logged by Bitcoin staking project Babylon, which snagged $70 million late in May in a round led by prominent venture capital firm Paradigm that focuses on crypto.

Another significant startup fundraising round was secured by blockchain-based social media project Farcaster, which raised $150 million earlier in May. The said funding round was also led by Paradigm, with support from Standard Crypto and a16z among others.

In April, Ethereum Virtual Machine-compatible layer-1 blockchain Monad announced it raised $225 million in a round led by Paradigm, which it said should help hire more people as it attempts to develop a faster version of the blockchain.

Also in April, Cosmos technology-built layer-1 blockchain Berachain raised $100 million in a round led by Brevan Howard Digital and various other notable backers, including Animoca Brands' Yat Siu and Polygon co-founder Sandeep Nailwal.

The latest figures mark a major milestone in the crypto sector, indicating growing support and belief in the potential of digital assets startups and the further development of technologies to build on the next-gen crypto platforms and offerings. The entry of decentralized VC firms also adds more spice to the fast-evolving sector.

There have been highs and lows in the industry, especially in the early days of the crypto sector. Interestingly, the funding hit an all-time high ($7.079 billion) in November 2021, about a year before the crypto sector was underwent a "winter" season following the collapse of crypto titan FTX and several other companies that were exposed to the business.

Funding dropped after the crypto winter late in 2022 and continues to struggle to breach the billion-dollar mark in monthly funding flows. On the other hand, March 2024 snapped the months-long drought when crypto startups brought in over $1 billion. It remains to be seen how the startup sector will perform throughout the entire month of June.