Cryptocurrency venture capital (VC) activity saw a notable shift in June.
According to RootData, there were 92 publicly disclosed crypto venture capital investments, down 40% from 153 in May. Total funding was $697 million, down 30% from $990 million last month.
Crypto VC investments fell in June
Venture capital activity is often used to gauge major investor confidence and interest in the cryptocurrency market, and recent data shows a cooling off period following a particularly active May, but the market remains on a positive growth trajectory on a year-over-year basis.
As mentioned above, the 92 public crypto VC-invested projects represent a 40% decrease from the 153 projects recorded in May. However, this figure does represent a slight increase compared to the 87 projects recorded in June 2023.
Total fundraising in June was $697 million, down 30% from the $990 million in May 2024. Despite the month-on-month decrease, the June 2024 total was up 42% from the $480 million reported in June 2023.
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The fluctuations in fundraising are indicative of a maturing market where strategic investments are becoming more selective amidst broader economic factors. Alongside the changes in fundraising, asset allocations across sectors are also shifting, signaling new priorities and trends.
Despite the growing buzz around real-world assets (RWA) and decentralized physical infrastructure networks (DePIN), these sectors secured just 6% of total investment, with DeFi leading the way at around 20%, followed by NFTs/GameFi at 18%.
L1/L2 investments accounted for 11%, followed by Tools and Wallets at 8%. AI and CeFi were the lowest at around 9% and 4%, respectively. It is important to note that these figures do not include mergers and acquisitions deals.
Bitstamp’s $200M acquisition draws attention
The most notable venture capital investment in June was Robinhood’s acquisition of Bitstamp. The deal will consolidate Bitstamp’s 50 active licenses and registrations worldwide, strengthening Robinhood’s cryptocurrency offerings. Robinhood will also leverage its existing relationships, infrastructure and products to enter the institutional space.
“As the world’s longest operating cryptocurrency exchange, Bitstamp is known as one of the most trusted and transparent cryptocurrency platforms in the world. Bringing Bitstamp’s platform and expertise into the Robinhood ecosystem will provide our users with an enhanced trading experience with an ongoing commitment to compliance, security and customer-centricity,” said JB Graftieaux, CEO of Bitstamp.
The acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals, and is expected to close in the first half of 2025. Barclays Capital acted as exclusive financial advisor to Robinhood, and Galaxy Digital Partners acted as advisor to Bitstamp.
Read more: How to buy and sell cryptocurrencies on Robinhood: A step-by-step guide
Following Bitstamp, GRIID secured a $155 million M&A deal and Hut 8 secured $150 million in strategic funding. Both are in the mining sector. CleanSpark announced it would acquire GRIID through a stock deal valued at $155 million, including payments and debt assumption. The company also signed an exclusive hosting agreement to allocate 20 megawatts of power.
Meanwhile, Hut 8 is developing an AI infrastructure platform with a $150 million investment from Coatue. The funding will be provided through convertible notes with an annual interest rate of 8% for an initial period of five years, with an option to extend to another three years. Hut 8’s pivot to AI is not unexpected, as BeInCrypto previously reported that in the wake of Bitcoin’s halving, many miners are seeking new sources of income.
Other major investments included modular blockchain project Avail and rollup deployment platform Conduit, which raised $43 million and $37 million, respectively. Smaller rounds were seen across a range of sectors, including DeFi, AI, NFTs and GameFi, with companies like M^0, Ora and Sandbox securing $20 million each.
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