TLDR:
- Venture capital funding in crypto rose to $2.4 billion in the first quarter of 2024.
- The debut of the first U.S. bitcoin spot ETF and expectations of lower interest rates drove investor appetite.
Crypto startup funding increased for the second consecutive quarter, reaching $2.4 billion in the first three months of 2024. This surge in funding was fueled by lower interest rates and the introduction of the first U.S. bitcoin spot ETF. The funding was spread across 518 deals, marking a 40.3% increase from the previous quarter, as reported by data firm PitchBook. Despite a drop in global venture capital investments to a near five-year low during the same period, the recovery in publicly traded tokens and institutional adoption is expected to drive increased VC funding. Startups focused on building infrastructure for crypto and blockchain technology received the largest share of funding during the quarter. The biggest deal was led by decentralized cloud platform Together AI, which raised $106 million in an early stage round. Although exits remain low, Pitchbook analyst Robert Le anticipates an increase in mergers later in the year, especially among crypto exchanges, custodians, and infrastructure providers as the market matures.
