Blockchain VC funding halves in October despite some strong raises
VC funding continues to decline, but Uniswap bucks the trend by drumming up $165 million in a Series B round.
Blockchain venture capital inflows sharply decreased in October from the previous month. According to Cointelegraph Research, the number of individual deals dropped from 93 to 69 monthly.
The Cointelegraph Research Terminal VC database, which compiles comprehensive details on deals, mergers and acquisition activity, investors, crypto companies, funds and more, shows venture capital inflows plummeted 48.6%, totaling $843.5 million in venture capital (VC) investment, down from $1.64 billion in September.
Big raises despite difficult market conditions
It’s not all bad news. Signals that there is still active interest by VCs in the blockchain industry are flashing daily. In the decentralized finance (DeFi) sector, Uniswap Labs — the team behind the largest decentralized exchange (DEX), Uniswap — secured $165 million in a Series B round led by Polychain Capital, with participation from investors such as Andreessen Horowitz, Paradigm, SV Angel and Variant. The series B funding round for the DeFi protocol brings Uniswap’s total valuation to $1.66 billion.
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Blockchain development platform Tatum raised $41.5 million from Evolution Equity Partners, Octopus Ventures, 3VC, Tensor Ventures, Depo Ventures, Leadblock Fund, Circle and the founders of Bitpanda.
Meanwhile, crypto custodian Copper raised $196 million in its ongoing Series C round. The overall funding target for Copper has not been publicly determined. Barclays Ventures and Tiger Global Management led Copper’s latest fundraising. The company has previously received backing from Alan Howard, Dawn Capital and Target Global.
Web3 continues to attract investor interest
The Web3 sector accounted for 42% of investor interest in October, with over $350 million flowing in. Investors are eyeing Web3 infrastructure companies. Chainsafe, a firm focused on protocol implementation and cryptographic technology, secured $18.75 million in a Series A led by Round13.
Mobile games publisher Homa Games raised $100 million in a Series B funding round led by Quadrille Capital and Headline. Other participants included Northzone, Fabric Ventures, Bpifrance, Eurazeo and Singular participation. Homa has published mobile game titles such as Sky Roller, Aquarium Land and Z Defense.
Scaling startup Celestia was also on investors’ radars, closing a $55 million deal to continue the development of modular blockchain technology. The round was led by Bain Capital Crypto and Polychain Capital, with participation from Spartan Group, FTX Ventures and Jump Crypto.
For a full analysis of the blockchain VC sector in August, check out the monthly “Investor Insights” report from Cointelegraph Research. The research team breaks down the past month’s top market-moving events and the most critical data across the various sectors of the industry, including venture capital.
The article pulls from Cointelegraph Research Terminals’ expansive Venture Capital Database. This article is for information purposes only. It represents neither investment advice, an investment analysis, or an invitation to buy or sell financial instruments. Specifically, the document does not serve as a substitute for individual investment or other advice.
