Venture Capital Investment in Crypto and Blockchain in 2024

Venture capitalists invested around $13.7 billion in crypto and blockchain startups in 2024, a 28% increase from the $10.7 billion deployed in 2023, according to The Block Pro’s Funding Dashboard. However, funding remains far below the peaks of $33.3 billion in 2022 and $29 billion in 2021.

> “It’s surprising that VC funding has not sped up more quickly relative to 2023 with bitcoin up over 150% YTD [year to date],” Rob Hadick, general partner at Dragonfly, stated. “I expect that’s likely because the LP [limited partner] market has continued to stay relatively muted, and most VCs do not yet have the confidence to deploy their remaining funds in earnest until they raise (or at least become comfortable they will be able to raise) new funds.”

Will Nuelle, general partner at Galaxy Ventures, echoed Hadick’s sentiment, stating that while the 2024 funding increase is promising, it feels modest compared to the broader market rebound.

Ed Roman, co-founder and managing partner at Hack VC, suggested that the growth aligns with his expectations: “The election results did not occur until late into the year, so the ripple effects of that haven’t yet been felt.”

Key Drivers of Growth

Several VCs attributed the funding increase in 2024 to key factors: a bullish crypto market, regulatory optimism, institutional adoption, and emerging narratives like crypto-AI integration.

Lauren Stephanian, general partner at Pantera Capital, noted that when crypto prices rise, both funds and angel investors become more willing to invest, attracting more talented founders.

Alex Odagiu, investment director at Binance Labs, linked growth to the broader market rally this year, pointing to milestones like the approval of bitcoin spot ETFs, which validated crypto as an asset class and attracted institutional capital. Odagiu also mentioned expectations of continued positive signals from a crypto-friendly U.S. administration.

Kyle Samani, co-founder and managing partner at Multicoin Capital, expressed optimism about the political landscape, stating, “We’ve never had a pro-crypto President nor a pro-crypto Congress. We have both starting in 2025.” He remains hopeful they will prioritize crypto-related issues and pass clearer regulations for innovation.

A Record Year for Early-Stage Deals

Early-stage funding dominated in 2024. Pre-seed deals reached an all-time high of over 1,180 (+68% year-over-year), per The Block Pro’s Funding Dashboard. Seed-stage funding totaled $3.4 billion, nearing 2021’s $3.8 billion despite reduced overall inflows. Series A rounds saw over 175 deals (+59% YoY), raising $2.8 billion (+46% YoY). Meanwhile, mid- and late-stage funding declined, paving the way for mergers and acquisitions (M&As).

Top Sectors

Infrastructure led 2024 crypto VC funding, with around $5.5 billion invested across over 610 deals — a 57% YoY increase for the sector. Investments targeted scaling blockchain networks to improve speed, cost, and scalability, with a focus on Layer-2 solutions for Bitcoin and other blockchains. Modular technologies including data availability, shared sequencers, and rollups-as-a-service attracted significant funding. Liquid staking protocols and developer tooling also remained key areas of interest.

NFTs and gaming startups raised $2.5 billion, slightly exceeding 2023’s $2.2 billion. Despite steady funding, on-chain metrics showed declining activity in NFT marketplaces as trends like memecoins gained traction.

Enterprise blockchain funding dropped sharply, falling 69% YoY to $164 million from $536 million in 2023. Investor interest shifted towards more scalable blockchain use cases.

Web3 raised $3.3 billion over the past two years, close to $3.4 billion raised in 2021-2022, driven by emerging areas like SocialFi, crypto-AI, and decentralized physical infrastructure networks (DePINs). DePIN stood out as a fast-growing vertical with over 260 deals and about $1 billion in total funding.

DeFi saw a strong resurgence in 2024, with over 530 deals (+85% YoY) compared to 287 in 2023. Bitcoin-based DeFi use cases such as stablecoins, lending protocols, and perpetual swaps contributed to the growth.

Looking Ahead

Top crypto VCs are cautiously optimistic about 2025. While funding levels are not expected to return to the highs of 2021-2022, there is consensus that startups with strong product-market fit and user adoption are well-positioned to secure capital in the year ahead.

For comprehensive pieces on crypto VC funding and M&A outlooks for 2025, visit our website next week.