Billions Invested by VCs in 2023 Despite US War on Crypto

Venture capital investment usually slows during bear markets, but several large investments have already been made in crypto and Web3 this year.

The backdrop of regulatory uncertainty and the direct assault on the sector in the US does not seem to have deterred investors.

On April 18, a DeFi investor highlighted some of the largest fundraisings in the crypto and Web3 sector so far in 2023.

Venture capitalists have invested billions of dollars in crypto projects over the past four months.

I researched all of their investments so you don’t have to.

Here are the top projects that raised insane amounts in 2023👇 pic.twitter.com/DzU3Kob6fm

– DeFi Investor 🔎 (@TheDeFinvestor) April 18, 2023

Venture capital keeps flowing

Some of the largest venture capital firms in the industry, such as Three Arrows Capital and Alameda Research, have collapsed. However, the analyst noted, “Crisis means opportunity.”

LayerZero has raised $120 million this year from a16z and Sequoia Capital, among others. The protocol makes it easy to create cross-chain dApps that are interoperable across all main chains. It has been valued at around $3 billion after hitting a $135 million Series A hit in March 2022.

Scroll ZKP has secured $50 million in funding at a valuation of $1.8 billion with investors including Polychain Capital and Sequoia. The project enables the development of smart contracts for the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM).

Ethereum recovery platform Eigenlayer also raised $50 million in a round led by Blockchain Capital. The protocol makes it possible to reintegrate ETH into other networks to enhance their security and cryptographic economics.

AI-focused cryptocurrency Fetch.ai has raised $40 million from market maker and investment firm DWF Labs. The platform intends to use artificial intelligence to automate tasks such as executing transactions.

Other crypto and Web3 projects that raised venture capital funding this year include social platform Plai Labs with $32 million and enhanced trading platform Sei Network with $30 million.

Asia hub

Moreover, companies operating in the cryptocurrency sector are increasingly wary of the US and are looking east towards Asia.

A number of large multi-million dollar funds have also been launched to invest in Asian Web3 and cryptocurrency startups. Those funds include the $100 million Bitget Web3 Fund that was announced earlier this month.

The goal of the Asia-focused fund is to “foster a positive attitude towards the cryptocurrency economy and support the development of the Web 3 environment,” according to Bitget.

In late March, Hong Kong investment firm ProDigital Futures announced plans to invest $100 million in crypto and Web3 startups in the region.

Hong Kong could become a hub for venture capital investment when it rolls out its crypto framework in June. Big money from mainland China is poised to enter the sector through this legal avenue.