In March, three crypto startups raised some of the biggest capital increases in the history of the industry. Here are the top ten.
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The cryptocurrency industry is sweltering. The total market value of cryptocurrencies is approaching $ 2 trillion – that’s greater than the market caps of Amazon, Google and Microsoft. Bitcoin has been trading above $ 50,000 since March 8 and has a market value of $ 1.12 trillion, almost as much as all the silver in the world. FOMO-ed institutions keep pouring into the space. Tesla will begin accepting payments for its electric vehicles in bitcoin, adding the cryptocurrency to its $ 2.5 billion bitcoin hoard. One of the oldest banks in America, BNY Mellon has launched a digital asset unit, Goldman Sachs has relaunched its crypto trading business, JPMorgan has introduced a structured offering tied to a basket of stocks with exposure to bitcoin, Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs have become the first major US banks to offer their high net worth customers direct access to bitcoin.
But institutions and venture firms rushing to cash in on the rise are not left empty-handed. Hordes of capital are pouring into crypto startups, hitting new unicorns at breakneck speed. Just in March, three crypto firms picked up some of the biggest capital increases in the industry’s short but rich history. According to data platform PitchBook, there are now at least 18 crypto-native companies with unicorn status.
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In the heyday of ICOs, companies raised billions, but the hype was short-lived. Low quality projects, multiple scams, and the lack of institutional and regulatory oversight led to what is now known as the Great Crypto Crash of 2018, where an index tracking the performance of the 10 largest and most liquid digital assets dropped by 80%. .
Crypto bulls hope it’s really different this time around. Publicly traded companies such as MicroStrategy and Square have amassed significant bitcoin holdings on their balance sheets and see it as an alternative to gold. Meanwhile, applications for a US bitcoin ETF are piling up on the doorstep of the SEC and the market is buzzing in anticipation of Coinbase’s immediate listing scheduled for April 14, the first major public offering for a cryptocurrency company. In the midst of the frenzy, Forbes analyzed data from PitchBook and compiled a list of the 10 largest venture capital deals for blockchain and crypto-native companies.
Bitmain: $ 422 million
Deal date: August 7, 2018
VC round: Series B1
Well-known investors: Crimson Capital China, Bluebell (Asia), Jumbo Sheen Group, Lioness Capital, Palace Investment Company, Pavilion Capital
Valuation after money: $ 15 billion
Previous valuation: $ 12 billion
Bitmain, the world’s leading bitcoin mining hardware manufacturer, also operates Antpool, one of the best bitcoin mining pools, which accounts for more than 12% of bitcoin’s network hash or computational power. Shortly after the $ 422 million capital increase, the Beijing-based company filed an IPO on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in September 2018, but the offer fell through during the bitcoin crash and the cooling of the market.
BlockFi: $ 350 million
Deal date: March 11, 2021
VC round: Series D.
Well-known investors: Bain Capital Ventures, Partners of DST Global, Pomp Investments, Tiger Global, Susquehanna Government Products
Valuation after money: $ 3 billion
Previous valuation: $ 435 million
Founded in 2017, BlockFi is now one of the leading cryptocurrency loan providers. The products span multiple categories, including cryptocurrency-backed loans and interest-bearing accounts that allow investors to earn interest on their cryptocurrency. Rumors of BlockFi’s potential IPO started circulating last July following reports of a job opening, part of which involved helping the company go public.
Dapper Labs: $ 305 million
Deal date: March 30, 2021
VC round: 5th round
Well-known investors: Coatue Management, Andreessen Horowitz, Michael Jordan, Kevin Durant
Valuation after money: $ 2.6 billion
Previous valuation: N / A
The Vancouver-based startup is best known as the developer of NBA Top Shot, an NFT marketplace for basketball video highlights or ‘moments’. The project, which has already crossed the $ 400 million mark in trading volume, is largely responsible for the emergence of non-replaceable tokens (NFTs), essentially digital proofs of ownership traceable on a blockchain. Previously, Dapper Labs developed a popular Ethereum game of collectible collectibles called CryptoKitties.
Blockchain.com: $ 300 million
Deal date: March 24, 2021
VC round: Series C.
Well-known investors: DST worldwide, Lightspeed Venture Partners, VY Capital
Valuation after money: $ 5.2 billion
Previous valuation: $ 3 billion
Blockchain.com offers a variety of crypto services to retail and institutional clients, but is best known for its non-custodial digital wallets. Unlike their third-party counterparts, these wallets give users complete control over their private keys that represent ownership of crypto assets. The London-based company claims it has processed 28% of all bitcoin transactions since 2012.
Bakkt: $ 300 million
Deal date: March 16, 2020
VC round: Series B
Well-known investors: Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), BCG Digital Ventures, PayU
Valuation after money: N / A
Previous valuation: N / A
In February 2020, the crypto firm of ICE (owner of the New York Stock Exchange) announced the acquisition of loyalty program provider Bridge2 Solutions to power Bakkt’s one-stop-shop retail platform. Named Bakkt app, users can merge various digital assets including loyalty points, rewards programs, gaming assets and cryptocurrencies all in one wallet. In January, Bakkt announced that it would go public through an SPAC merger with VPC Impact Acquisition Holdings for an enterprise value of approximately $ 2.1 billion. At the close of the deal in the second quarter of 2021, the combined company will be listed on the New York Stock Exchange as Bakkt Holdings, Inc.
Coinbase: $ 300 million
Deal date: October 30, 2018
VC round: Series E.
Well-known investors: Tiger Global Management, Andreessen Horowitz, Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC), Polychain Capital
Valuation after money: $ 8.04 billion
Previous valuation: $ 1.71 billion
On February 25, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the US filed for a direct listing on the Nasdaq exchange. Based on the recent deposits, Coinbase was valued at $ 68 billion. On March 19, the company was fined $ 6.5 million by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) for allegations of false transaction reporting and wash trading between 2015 and 2018 on its GDAX platform, later renamed Coinbase Pro. The direct listing of the stock exchange is scheduled for April 14.
Bitmain: $ 292.7 million
Deal date: June 19, 2018
VC round: Series B
Well-known investors: Sequoia Capital, Coatue Management, China Taijia, Blue Lighthouse Services
Valuation after money: $ 12 billion
Previous valuation: $ 100 million
Hangzhou Qulian Technology: $ 235 million
Deal date: June 4, 2018
VC round: Series B
Well-known investors: Xinhu Zhongbao Company, China Gaoxin Investment Group, State Development and Investment Corporation
Valuation after money: $ 470.25 million
Previous valuation: $ 40.33 million
Qulian Technology provides blockchain products for China’s major organizations and institutions, including the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the State Administration for Market Regulation, the State Network and local governments. The one-stop blockchain open service BaaS platform, FiLoop, is used by some of the largest banks in China, including China Construction Bank, Agricultural Bank of China and China Merchants Bank, according to the company. Qulian Technology’s partners also include Google and Microsoft.
Bithumb: $ 200 million
Deal date: April 19, 2019
VC round: 2nd round
Well-known investors: Vidente, ID Ventures (South Korea), ST Blockchain Fund
Valuation after money: N / A, valued at $ 888.27 million as of January 2021
Previous valuation: $ 868.42 million
In September 2020, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency reportedly raided the offices of one of South Korea’s largest crypto exchanges over fraud allegations, linked to a $ 25 million token sale that never materialized and led to losses for investors.
Ripple Labs: $ 200 million
Deal date: Oct 1, 2020
VC round: Series C.
Well-known investors: Tetragon Financial Group, SBI Holdings, Transform Capital, 10X Capital
Valuation after money: $ 10 billion
Previous valuation: $ 410 million (2016)
In December, Ripple Labs and its top executives were accused by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission of selling $ 1.3 billion worth of XRP, the original assets of the company’s developed payment network, as an unrecorded security. Following the allegations, multiple exchanges and trading platforms including Coinbase, Binance.US and eToro have scrapped XRP and suspended trading. In January, UK-based investment firm Tetragon Financial Group filed a lawsuit to repay its equity in Ripple, but ultimately lost the case. Despite the fallout, XRP remains one of the best-traded digital assets.