Gone are the days when Venture capital firms shied away from investing in the blockchain and cryptocurrency. Today, more and more venture capital firms are looking into investing in cryptocurrency and blockchain-related funds. In the past 2-3 years, the industry has begun to mature; as a result, the venture capital investments in blockchain and cryptocurrency companies have crossed the mark of 200, which is much higher than all of 2011 to 2015 combined. 

Investment has been increasing sharply.

In 2012, Ripple was among the first cryptocurrency companies to receive venture funding, which raised a total of just $3.1 million in its first three funding rounds. Today, the total market value of cryptocurrencies is approaching $2 trillion, which is bigger than Google, Amazon, and Microsoft’s market caps. Lots of capital is pouring on crypto startups, giving unicorn status to several crypto-native companies. In March alone, three crypto firms raised some of the largest capital raises in the crypto industry’s history, which ruled newspaper headlines.

BlockFi – $350 million: BlockFi, a financial services company dedicated to building a bridge between cryptocurrencies and traditional financial and wealth management products, recently closed on a massive $350 million Series D funding that now values the company at $3 billion. 

(Deal Date – March 11, 2021)

Dapper Labs – $305 million: Dapper Labs, the maker of blockchain-based digital collectibles CryptoKitties and the decentralized Flow blockchain network creator, recently raised $305 million in a new round of funding that now values the company at $2.6 billion. 

(Deal Date – March 30, 2021)

Blockchain.com – $300 million: Blockchain.com, the company behind the popular open-source cryptocurrency wallet, has recently raised $300 million in a Series C funding round that values the London-based company at $5.2 billion. 

(Deal Date – March 24, 2021)

As more startups are coming on the scene armed with capital to develop more user-friendly blockchain platforms in 2021, we are poised to see more venture capital investment in blockchain technology and cryptocurrency. But, there are still several hurdles on the way, such as – volatility in cryptocurrency pricing. For example, in 2017 and 2018, several people jumped on the crypto bandwagon, urging the price up, only for the market to crash.

Meanwhile, regulatory clarity regarding cryptocurrency has improved in the past five years, enabling companies to make more blockchain applications and drive change in the industry while keeping people safe.