2024 Crypto VC Annual Report: Total Investments Close to 10 Billion Throughout the Year, OTC Booming, Largest Acquisition in History

Author | Wu Says Blockchain

According to statistics from RootData, in December, there were a total of 102 investment projects publicly disclosed by Crypto VCs, a month-on-month increase of 7.4% (95 projects in April 2024) and a year-on-year decrease of 6.4% (109 projects in May 2023). The total number of publicly disclosed investment projects throughout 2024 reached 1,535, up 26.1% compared to 2023 (1,217 projects). Note: Not all funding rounds are announced in the same month, so the above statistics may increase in the future. The number of projects in various sectors for the entire year of 2024 is as follows:

Among them, CeFi accounts for approximately 5.7%, DeFi for approximately 24.4%, NFT/GameFi for approximately 15.1%, L1/L2 for approximately 11%, RWA/DePIN for approximately 8.8%, Tool/Wallet for approximately 7.3%, and AI for approximately 9.6%.

The total financing amount in December was $740 million, marking a month-on-month increase of 60.9% (compared to $460 million in April 2024) and a year-on-year decrease of 18.7% (compared to $910 million in May 2023). The total amount of publicly disclosed investment projects for the entire year of 2024 was $9.33 billion, an increase of 0.5% compared to 2023 ($9.28 billion). The top 10 rounds by amount are as follows:

On October 21, payment company Stripe acquired Bridge for $1.1 billion. This is Stripe's largest acquisition to date and the biggest acquisition in the history of the crypto industry.

Australia-based crypto mining company Iris Energy raised $413.40 million through stock issuance since mid-May to fund its expansion plans for 2024. From May 15 to June 28, the company sold 39.80 million shares through its market stock issuance plan (ATM), achieving total proceeds of $413.40 million. The company raised $257 million through equity financing in the first quarter and an additional $44.80 million from March 31 to May 15. In total, the company raised approximately $714 million in the first half of this year.

On the evening of December 12, Avalanche announced the completion of $250 million financing through a token lock sale, led by Galaxy Digital, Dragonfly, and ParaFi Capital, with participation from over 40 investment firms including SkyBridge, SCB Limited, Hivemind, Big Brain Holdings, Hypersphere, Lvna Capital, Republic Capital, Morgan Creek Digital, FinTech Collective, CMCC Global, Superscrypt, Cadenza, Chorus One, and Tané Labs. The funds raised will be used to promote an upgrade called "Avalanche9000."

Monad Labs completed a $225 million financing round led by Paradigm on April 9, with investors including Electric Capital and Greenoaks. The funds will be used to build a Layer 1 blockchain. Monad will fully support EVM and has already deployed its internal testnet.

Bitcoin sidechain Liquid's developer Blockstream completed a $210 million convertible note financing round on October 15, led by Fulgur Ventures. This round of financing will be used to accelerate the market adoption and development of Blockstream L2 technology.

Robinhood acquired global cryptocurrency exchange Bitstamp for approximately $200 million in cash, with the acquisition expected to be completed in the first half of 2025, subject to customary closing conditions such as regulatory approvals. This acquisition will significantly expand Robinhood's global business and introduce institutional business for the first time, covering markets in the EU, UK, US, and Asia. Bitstamp currently holds over 50 active licenses and registrations globally.

Bitcoin mining company Bitfarms acquired its competitor Stronghold Digital on June 6 for $175 million in stock and debt. According to the agreement, Bitfarms will...52 shares will be exchanged for each 1 share of Stronghold, which is a 71% premium over the 90-day volume-weighted average price of Stronghold on Nasdaq as of August 16. This transaction occurred weeks after Riot Platforms paused its acquisition plans for Bitfarms.

Cryptocurrency mining companies Cleanspark and GRIID Infrastructure Inc. finalized a merger agreement on August 21, with CleanSpark acquiring all issued and outstanding common stock of GRIID through an all-stock transaction. The total enterprise value of this transaction, including payments and assumed debt, is $155 million. At the time of signing the merger agreement, both companies also entered into an exclusive hosting agreement for all currently available power, with 20 megawatts allocated to CleanSpark.

Cryptocurrency mining company Hut 8 received a strategic investment of $150 million from Coatue on June 24, with both parties collaborating to build an artificial intelligence infrastructure platform. Coatue agreed to invest $150 million in the company through convertible notes, with an annual interest rate of 8.00% (compounded quarterly). The initial term of the notes is five years, with the company having the option to extend for up to three additional one-year terms.

The social protocol Farcaster completed a $150 million financing on May 21, led by Paradigm, with participation from a16z, Haun, USV, Variant, Standard Crypto, among others, currently valuing it at $1 billion.