TLDR:
- Crypto fundraising volume increased in July, reaching $1.44 billion
- Investors are becoming more cautious in the crypto space
In July, the crypto fundraising landscape saw a significant increase in volume, reaching $1.44 billion, according to data from Messari. While there was a slight drop in deal count to 177, venture firms like Pantera Capital and Mirana Ventures were behind some of the largest early-stage investments. However, this growth comes at a time when investors in the space are becoming more cautious.
Adam Cochran of Cinneamhain Ventures noted that limited partners (LPs) are increasingly focused on outperforming index fund returns and are finding better risk-reward ratios in Bitcoin and Ether holdings than in early-stage startups. Investors are also prioritizing liquidity and better earnings, pushing for more favorable financing terms.
During the first weeks of August, several startups secured capital, with decentralized physical infrastructure networks (DePIN) being one of the highlights. Parfin, a digital asset infrastructure provider, closed a $10 million Series A funding round led by ParaFi Capital. The funds will be used to expand operations globally and support the development of its blockchain system, Rayls.
Another notable investment was made in Andrena, a wireless internet service provider that raised $18 million to launch DAWN, a decentralized autonomous wireless network. DAWN offers decentralized broadband using multi-gigabit wireless technology and allows users to operate their own network hosts through individual internet infrastructure.
Open-source block explorer Blockscout also secured a $3 million seed round for data exploration across Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) chains. The platform offers users more information about blockchain transactions, blocks, and addresses. Funding will be used to improve the product suite and expand the Explorer-as-a-Service offering.
Lastly, game developer Cartridge raised $7.5 million in a Series A funding round led by BITKRAFT Ventures. The funding will support the development and deployment of blockchain-based games through the recently launched Dojo 1.0 framework and toolset for developers.
