2024 Crypto Fundraising Recap: Insights & Future Outlook

Crypto Fundraising Shows Modest Growth for a Bull Market

Despite a bullish year for cryptocurrencies in 2024, the growth in crypto fundraising remained relatively modest. Crypto projects collectively raised $16.1 billion in 2024, a 53% increase compared to $10.5 billion in 2023. While a 53% annual increase may appear significant at first glance, it’s important to remember that the crypto sector, including fundraising, is characterized by high volatility. Thus, a 53% growth during a bull market can hardly be deemed impressive.

In comparison, global venture capital investments amounted to $368.5 billion in 2024, meaning that crypto ventures represent about 4% of the global total.

The total number of funding rounds in crypto rose by 28.5%, from 1,303 in 2023 to 1,675 in 2024.

When compared to Bitcoin's price movements, the state of crypto fundraising looks even less encouraging. The data points to clear stagnation in the sector, with the risk of further declines if a bear market takes hold. 

The primary reason for this subdued fundraising environment seems to lie in the low or even negative returns on investments in crypto startups. According to the chart below, the majority of funding rounds are underperforming when comparing a startup’s valuation during its funding round to its current market capitalization. 

This analysis is based on funding rounds with known valuations above $100 million that involved at least one Tier 1 or Tier 2 fund. While the dataset includes only a limited number of deals due to the scarcity of valuation data, there’s no reason to assume that the broader picture would significantly deviate from these findings.

Fundamentally, there are only two ways to resolve this situation: either reduce startup valuations during funding rounds or achieve higher capitalization for projects post-funding. While venture capitalists (VCs) have limited control over a project's eventual market capitalization, they have full control over the valuations they set during funding rounds.

Fundraising Round Size and Jurisdictions 

The distribution of funding rounds by size remained relatively consistent year-over-year, with the majority of rounds falling within the $1–10 million range.

Seed rounds continued to dominate in terms of volume, while Series A rounds led slightly in total funding raised. Late-stage investment rounds, however, remain less active, highlighting a gap in the market for more mature funding opportunities.

This dynamic could shift with the emergence of a more crypto-friendly regulatory environment in the United States. As the global leader in venture capital investment in cryptocurrency, favorable U.S. legislation could allow crypto projects to compete more effectively with traditional financial applications. Such legislation could also open additional exit opportunities for VCs, not limited to token sales but extending to IPOs, ETF launches, or acquisitions by corporations. U.S. regulatory policies could become a powerful driver for growth in the crypto sector and its fundraising ecosystem.

Blockchain Services: The Leading Category in 2024

In 2024, Blockchain Services emerged as the clear leader in terms of funding raised. This category spans a diverse range of subcategories and projects with unique business models, reflecting a growing preference among venture capitalists for innovative solutions that push beyond traditional frameworks.

The Blockchain and CeFi sectors followed closely behind each other, taking second and third places with only a narrow margin between them. Blockchain projects have historically drawn significant investment due to two primary factors: the technical complexity required to build a unique and competitive blockchain and the necessity for these blockchains to establish entire ecosystems of projects around them to maintain market relevance.

CeFi, on the other hand, acts as a bridge between Web3 and traditional finance. Projects in this category often offer more transparent and predictable business models, coupled with user-friendly interfaces and clearer regulatory frameworks. This combination makes CeFi projects particularly attractive to investors. While DeFi currently has approximately 10 million users, CeFi platforms have surpassed 100 million, showcasing their wider accessibility and adoption.

Narrative Leaders

Let’s take a closer look at standout projects that secured significant funding in 2024 and shaped key narratives for both the past year and the upcoming 2025. These projects not only attracted substantial investment but also defined the thematic and technological trends that will likely influence the crypto market moving forward.

Blockchains: Monad, Berachain, Story Protocol и 0G Labs

Monad: Optimized for Speed and Efficiency

Monad is an EVM-compatible Layer 1 blockchain designed to deliver exceptional throughput and low latency. It is capable of processing up to 10,000 transactions per second, ensuring smooth operations even during peak demand. Its architecture boasts 1-second block times and single-slot finality, providing near-instant transaction confirmations. By leveraging parallel transaction execution, Monad scales efficiently while maintaining high performance. This makes it a powerful solution for developers and users seeking fast and scalable blockchain experiences.

Berachain: Redefining Consensus with Proof-of-Liquidity

Berachain introduces a groundbreaking Proof-of-Liquidity (PoL) consensus mechanism, which ties network security to liquidity provision. Validators on the network stake liquidity assets, enhancing network security while earning rewards. Designed with decentralized finance at its core, Berachain aligns incentives for liquidity providers and application developers, fostering a mutually beneficial ecosystem. Its compatibility with the Ethereum Virtual Machine further simplifies the deployment of Ethereum-based decentralized applications, positioning Berachain as a leading player in the DeFi landscape.

Story Protocol: Empowering Creators with On-Chain IP

Story Protocol is a specialized blockchain aimed at revolutionizing intellectual property management in the digital age. It allows creators to register their IP on-chain, using smart contracts for automated licensing and monetization. Through the integration of ERC-6551, it enables token-bound accounts that transform NFTs into programmable assets. Story Protocol also employs a dedicated blockchain optimized for efficiently handling complex data structures, combining the best of Ethereum Virtual Machine and Cosmos SDK technologies. This protocol offers creators unprecedented control over their intellectual property while fostering collaboration and innovation.

0G Labs: AI Meets Blockchain

0G Labs focuses on integrating artificial intelligence with blockchain technology to address the needs of data-intensive applications. It is developing a highly scalable modular AI blockchain designed to support AI-driven processes. A key feature of its architecture is a robust data availability layer, which efficiently manages and stores the complex datasets required for both AI and blockchain operations. Additionally, 0G Labs is working toward creating a decentralized AI operating system (dAIOS) that combines the principles of decentralization with AI functionalities to power transformative applications. This fusion of AI and blockchain positions 0G Labs at the cutting edge of technological innovation.

It is also worth noting that 0G Labs raised $250 million through an OTC deal, making it the blockchain project that attracted the most funding in 2024, surpassing even Monad.

The innovations brought by Monad, Berachain, Story Protocol, and 0G Labs highlight the versatility and potential of blockchain technology. Monad excels in speed and efficiency, Berachain reshapes liquidity and consensus mechanisms, Story Protocol empowers creators with programmable IP, and 0G Labs bridges the gap between AI and blockchain. Together, these projects underscore the dynamic evolution of decentralized ecosystems, offering a glimpse into the future of technology-driven innovation.

Blockchain Infrastructure: EigenLayer and Babylon

The evolution of blockchain technology relies on robust and adaptable infrastructure to meet the growing demands of decentralized systems. EigenLayer and Babylon represent two groundbreaking approaches to enhancing blockchain infrastructure, focusing on optimizing security, scalability, and cross-chain functionality.

EigenLayer: The Leader of Restaking Narrative 

EigenLayer introduces a novel approach to blockchain security by creating a restaking marketplace. This platform enables Ethereum validators and stakers to reuse their staked assets to secure additional services, effectively maximizing the economic potential of staked ETH. By allowing restaking, EigenLayer enhances the efficiency of Ethereum’s security model and provides validators with additional revenue opportunities.

Babylon: Blockchain Security Through Bitcoin

Babylon leverages the unparalleled security of the Bitcoin network to enhance the protection of proof-of-stake blockchains. By anchoring transactions from other blockchains onto Bitcoin’s proof-of-work ledger, Babylon provides an additional layer of tamper-proof security. This cross-chain integration ensures higher levels of transaction finality and immutability, particularly benefiting smaller or emerging blockchains with limited validator sets. Babylon’s approach exemplifies how different consensus mechanisms can complement each other, with Bitcoin’s strengths bolstering the security of proof-of-stake ecosystems. By bridging these networks, Babylon contributes to a more interconnected and secure decentralized landscape.

EigenLayer and Babylon represent significant advancements in blockchain infrastructure, addressing critical challenges in security and scalability. EigenLayer optimizes Ethereum’s security model by introducing restaking, while Babylon harnesses Bitcoin’s proof-of-work to fortify the security of proof-of-stake chains. These innovations not only improve the reliability and efficiency of decentralized systems but also foster greater interoperability across blockchain networks.

Blockchain Services: Sentient and Zama

Sentient: Decentralized AI for Blockchain Applications

Sentient bridges artificial intelligence and blockchain, creating a decentralized framework for AI-powered applications. Its innovative design enables the deployment of AI models across decentralized networks, ensuring scalability and privacy. By distributing AI computation tasks among network nodes, Sentient leverages the collective power of decentralized infrastructure while preserving data confidentiality. 

Zama: Privacy-Preserving Blockchain with Homomorphic Encryption

Zama focuses on enhancing privacy within the blockchain ecosystem through the implementation of homomorphic encryption. This cutting-edge technology allows computations to be performed on encrypted data without requiring decryption, ensuring that sensitive information remains secure throughout the process. Zama’s approach provides robust data privacy while maintaining the functionality and transparency of blockchain systems.

Sentient and Zama represent significant advancements in blockchain services, addressing critical challenges in scalability, privacy, and intelligent automation. Sentient introduces decentralized AI capabilities, enabling smarter decentralized applications, while Zama’s homomorphic encryption ensures robust data privacy without compromising functionality.

DeFi: Polymarket

Polymarket, a decentralized prediction market, gained significant attention within the crypto community and beyond in 2024, driven by the popularity of bets on the U.S. presidential election. Although Polymarket has been operational since 2020, it only experienced substantial traction and fundraising in 2024, propelling its metrics to new heights.

Despite a significant decline in metrics following the conclusion of the elections, Polymarket managed to make a splash and prove that Web3 applications are capable of achieving rapid mass adoption.

Conclusions from the Top 10 Notable Rounds: Key Narratives - AI, DeFi on Bitcoin, Specialized Blockchains

The key trends for the end of 2024 and the beginning of 2025 are AI, DeFi on Bitcoin, and Specialized Blockchains. Among the top 10 projects we've highlighted in the AI sector, 0G Labs and Sentient stand out, while Babylon is a key player in the Bitcoin ecosystem. Story Protocol has the potential to revive the dormant NFT market.

Unfortunately, we can't cover all the promising projects that are securing funding daily. For a complete list, visit our website, where you can use Layouts and Filters to find the specific project categories that interest you.

Top VC Portfolio

When discussing crypto fundraising, it's impossible not to mention Tier 1 VCs and take a look into their portfolios to see where the most prominent crypto venture funds are investing. The image showcases the top 8 most active investing Tier 1 funds in 2024.

Summarizing the investments made by the funds, several observations can be made:

AI and Blockchain Convergence

Projects like Sentient, Fraction AI, and Sahara AI exemplify the growing intersection of artificial intelligence and blockchain technology. VCs are betting on decentralized AI applications, privacy-preserving AI computations, and AI-enhanced analytics for finance, gaming, and enterprise systems.

Trend: The integration of AI with blockchain reflects the demand for smarter, data-driven decentralized systems capable of addressing complex tasks with enhanced privacy and scalability.

Privacy and Security

Several projects, such as Zama, RedStone, and Babylon, emphasize advanced privacy solutions. These include innovations like homomorphic encryption, zero-knowledge proofs, and decentralized secure data computation.

Trend: With increasing regulatory scrutiny and the importance of data confidentiality, privacy-focused infrastructure has become a top priority for VCs.

Modular and Scalable Infrastructure

Projects like Eclipse, Story Protocol, Lava Network, and Realm Network highlight modular and scalable blockchain infrastructure. These projects aim to improve the performance of Layer 1s and Layer 2s through custom virtual machines, middleware, or data scalability solutions.

Trend: Scalability remains a pressing challenge, and modular designs that decouple functions like consensus and data storage are gaining traction.

Gaming and Metaverse

Projects such as Alliance Games, Overworld, and Puffverse reflect the ongoing interest in blockchain-based gaming, virtual worlds, and metaverse experiences. These projects leverage token economies, NFTs, and immersive gameplay mechanics.

Trend: Blockchain gaming and metaverse projects are seen as gateways for mass adoption, enabling users to experience decentralized technologies in intuitive ways.

Conclusion 

The 2024 fundraising landscape highlighted a paradox: despite a bull market, crypto fundraising growth remained relatively subdued, signaling potential challenges for venture capital. This stagnation underscores the need for either more realistic startup valuations or improved capitalization strategies to drive sustainable growth. At the same time, emerging narratives such as AI integration, Bitcoin-based DeFi, and specialized blockchains have taken center stage, reflecting investor priorities on scalability, privacy, and innovation. These trends are shaping the future of the industry, offering a glimpse into the next wave of transformative developments in the crypto ecosystem.