December 2024
According to RootData statistics, there were 1,530 publicly announced venture capital (VC) investment rounds in cryptocurrencies in 2024, a massive 25.1% increase from the previous year.
Total fundraising this year reached $10.04 billion, up 7.59% from 2023.
Healthy Rise in Cryptocurrency Investment
Venture capital investment activity is an important barometer of the health of the cryptocurrency industry, and current levels paint a bullish picture. Initially, the strongest fundraising activity occurred in the first half of the year, with a steady decline in the following months. However, since Trump’s re-election to the US presidency, this trend has reversed with new inflows.
Investment rounds above $20 million were down compared to the previous year, but all other crypto fundraising sizes between $1 and $20 million increased. Additionally, seed rounds represented a smaller portion of total fundraising rounds, with strategic funding rising in 2024.
Despite the increase in the amount of venture capital invested in the crypto space, its sectoral allocation has seen some dramatic changes. To be fair, blockchain infrastructure has been the biggest beneficiary of venture capital during both years.
The largest single investment came in October, courtesy of Stripe, the massive payments platform. In a “historic” deal aimed at facilitating the company’s cryptocurrency activities, Stripe bought Bridge for $1.1 billion. This massive sum easily topped the list of largest fundraising rounds, more than doubling from second place.
“Stripe’s $1 billion acquisition of Bridge signals to investors that stablecoin startups that were underfunded due to the tokens’ early lack of liquidity now have a clearer path to a big exit,” wrote Qiao Wang, founder of The DAO Alliance. “Expect more funding and more entrepreneurs building around stablecoins.”
Another high-profile investment in the crypto space was Australian mining company Iris Energy, which received $413 million in July. The company plans to use the funds from investors to boost its operational capacity, adding 30 EH/s and 510 megawatts (MW) of data centers in 2024. Iris is also working on a 1,400 MW mining project in West Texas.
Avalanche, a prominent blockchain project, also brought in significant funds from investors towards the end of the year. This contributed to a trend of blockchain infrastructure receiving more funding capital than any other area in crypto/Web3. On December 11, it held a private sale of locked tokens, with institutions like Galaxy Digital contributing the most.
2024 has been a bullish year for crypto investing. Since Bitcoin ETF approval began at the beginning of the year, institutional adoption has surged across the space. Recent surveys of the crypto community indicate a high level of individual optimism, and this bullish sentiment is reflected in these aggressive investments.
