- Crypto Venture Capital Fundraising Jumped Over 50% in March Amid Rally
- Most capital went into infrastructure and decentralized finance (DeFi) projects, data by RootData shows
- Crypto Venture Capital Fundraising Jumped Over 50% in March Amid Rally
Crypto venture capital fundraising jumped over 50% in March amid the broader market rally, according to data compiled by analytics firm RootData.
The data shows that crypto startups raised $2.1 billion in March, up 52.8% from February and marking the highest month since November 2021. The monthly total is still far below the heights seen last year, however. In March 2021, crypto startups raised nearly $3.3 billion.
Breakdown of Funding
The largest share of the funds, about $700 million, went to infrastructure projects, while DeFi came second with $600 million raised. Other major sectors by fundraising last month include Web3, gaming, non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and centralized finance (CeFi).
Infrastructure has been leading crypto fundraising over the past few months. Since the start of 2022, the sector has raised nearly $2 billion in total, RootData’s data shows.
Top Funding Rounds
The largest funding round in March was $350 million raised by crypto trading platform Apifiny. Cross-chain messaging app Teleport also closed a sizable $110 million round. Other major rounds last month include $105 million for CeFi platform Hodlnaut and $100 million for crypto data provider Nansen.
Market Sentiment
The jump in crypto startup fundraising comes amid an improving market sentiment this year. Bitcoin kicked off 2022 trading around $46,000 and declined to about $34,000 by late January. Since then, the largest cryptocurrency has recovered beyond $45,000.
Ether, the second-largest crypto by market capitalization, has seen an even more dramatic rebound this year, rising from about $3,500 in early January to over $3,400 currently. The recent price recovery and stability have renewed investor appetite for crypto startups after a relatively quiet period for fundraising at the end of last year.
Conclusion
Crypto venture capital activity picked up significantly in March thanks to the broader market rebound so far in 2022. While monthly fundraising is still below the highs seen last year, investor interest seems to be coming back amid greater market stability.
Infrastructure and DeFi attracted the most capital last month, continuing the trend from earlier in the year. With prices holding up reasonably well, crypto startups could continue to see strong fundraising in the coming months.
