Crypto startups raised $135.8 million in funding this week from venture capitalists and other investors, according to CryptoRank data. Noted venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) dominated the fundraises, participating in two of the largest funding rounds this week, one of which was a new project from former a16z executives.
Venture capital investing has retracted during the extended bear market. Investors with deep pockets are better able to mitigate the potential risks by investing often and in relatively larger rounds in the current landscape. a16z broke industry records with $2.2 billion in capital committed to its third crypto fund in June 2021. The firm then announced a $4.5 billion fourth fund in May 2022.
The largest fundraise this week, not including the $77 million cash-and-stock deal between bankrupt crypto miner Core Scientific and Bitminer, was Web3 gaming studio and technology provider Proof of Play. The studio raised $33 million in a seed round that was co-led by a16z and Greenoaks.
Bastion, which helps companies integrate Web3 infrastructure into enterprise technology in a compliant way, came out of stealth mode with a $25 million seed fundraising round led by a16z crypto. The backing was a natural fit since the startup was founded by the a16z’s former chief technology officer and chief security officer.
Rounding out the a16z investment activities this week was the $3.6 million round for Freatic, which is building a decentralized information protocol.
Other notable fundraises this week included a $22 million round for Mesh, a financial platform that bridges digital assets and traditional finance, a $14 million raise for United Arab Emirates-based infrastructure provider Fuze, and the $10.2 million raised for verifiable computing company Jiritsu led by gumi Cryptos Capital.
