2023 Crypto VC Directory: Who Are the Most Active Among 300 Global Crypto Funds?
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2023 Crypto VC Directory: Who Are the Most Active Among 300 Global Crypto Funds?
This article will discuss the latest research findings on the world's top cryptocurrency venture capital firms.
Navigating Web3 tides with focused insightsWritten by: Ryan Allis, founder of iContact, Hive, and Coinstack
Compiled by: TechFlow
Following the popular release of Coinstack’s 2022 list of cryptocurrency venture capital firms, the report below was produced last week ranking the top 300 global cryptocurrency venture capital funds. This article will cover the following categories:
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Top crypto-focused VC firms ranked by fund size;
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Top crypto-focused VC firms ranked by number of investments;
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Top crypto-focused VC firms ranked by number of new investments over the past 12 months.
Let’s begin with some summary data:
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The top 300 global crypto-focused VC firms collectively manage $83.9 billion in capital.
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San Francisco is the leading city for crypto VC capital globally, representing 45.16% of total capital among the top 50 crypto VC firms, followed by New York, Hong Kong, Singapore, Austin, London, and Shanghai.
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Despite a downturn in the second half of 2022, 2022 remains the largest year in history for crypto venture investment, with over $26.2 billion in new capital invested in companies, compared to $25.1 billion in 2021.
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Q4 2022 saw $2.5 billion in new crypto VC investment, down 77% from Q1 2022 ($11.2 billion). However, we’ve passed the inflection point and are now trending upward.
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In February 2023, venture capital investment into crypto/blockchain companies totaled $872 million, up 52% from $574 million in January 2023.
This means that even at our deepest bear market moment, VCs continue investing over $25 million per business day into equity of crypto/blockchain companies (currently around $45 million per business day). And this doesn’t even include VC investments into tokens.
Zooming out further, current venture capital flowing into companies during January–February 2023 is 3.1 times higher than during the same period four years ago (January–February 2019), which was also a bear market phase.
Thus, despite being in a bear market, capital flows remain three times higher than in the previous cycle. The digital asset industry is maturing, and we’re seeing more institutional capital stay committed to this space. This is significant.
Compared to past downturns, the crypto venture capital market has not only survived but is thriving, and is poised for a strong rebound in 2024/2025.
As we prepare for Bitcoin’s halving in April 2024 and a potential bull run in 2025, we are turning the corner in crypto venture capital. Bull markets in our industry typically occur every four years and last about 18 months.
Now is the time to prepare for the next bull market.
At some point—based on historical patterns, I expect around December 2024 or January 2025—Bitcoin will surpass $69,000 again, and Ethereum will exceed $4,800. Capital allocators active in the sector today will look exceptionally prescient. They are stepping in while others flee, recognizing that smart contracts, distributed ledgers, always-on markets, and tokenized financial assets are foundational technologies for the future of global finance.
The smartest VCs are placing their bets now, when valuations are discounted—and they’re consistently investing through the noise across themes like Web3, GameFi, DeFi, infrastructure, and DLT.
2023 List of Crypto Venture Capital Firms
Which crypto-focused venture capital firms are the largest? Which have been most active in investing following the Terra/Three Arrows/Celsius/FTX collapses?
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By fund size, the largest crypto-focused VC firms are: A16Z Crypto, Binance Labs, Multicoin, Pantera, and Paradigm.
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By total number of crypto investments, the top five crypto-focused VC firms are: Coinbase Ventures, DCG, NGC, AU21, and Animoca.
But who has led the way in new crypto VC investments over the past 12 months?
- Currently, the most active crypto VC firms are: Big Brain Holdings, Shima Capital, Infinity Ventures, GSR, and MH Ventures.
Let’s dive deeper and provide a full ranking.
Largest Global Crypto Venture Capital Firms by Fund Size
The table below is compiled through our own research combined with data from Pitchbook, Crunchbase, AUM13F, and company websites. When firms invest beyond blockchain/crypto, we include only those funds and investments as narrowly focused on crypto as possible.
Below are the top 50 firms ranked by fund size. According to our research, 19 crypto-focused VC firms have dedicated $1 billion or more specifically to crypto investments.
Crypto Venture Capital by City
The top 50 crypto VC firms manage a total of $59.6 billion in capital. Where is this capital geographically distributed? Let's examine capital allocation by headquarters location:
The San Francisco Bay Area accounts for 45.2% of the market share among the top 50 global crypto VC firms, managing over $26 billion in capital—nearly equal to the sum of all other major global cities combined.
The United States dominates the crypto venture capital landscape—at least among the top 50 firms by fund size.
Top 50 Crypto VC Firms Ranked by Number of Investments
Now let’s rank the top crypto VC firms by the total number of investments made in the crypto/blockchain space. This presents a very different picture of the top 50.
Top 50 Most Active Crypto VCs Over the Past 12 Months
Finally, let’s look at overall crypto investment activity based on the number of investments made in the past 12 months. This reveals who is currently active—not just firms that were busy between 2018–2021—and who may be particularly willing to do seed/early-stage deals.
Here’s what we found upon analysis.
Overall Health of the Crypto VC Sector
According to Pitchbook, 2022 was the biggest year in history for crypto/blockchain venture investment, with over $26.2 billion in new capital deployed, slightly surpassing 2021’s $25.1 billion. Here’s a chart illustrating this.
However, looking at Pitchbook’s quarterly data paints a different picture. Activity peaked in Q1 2022, with over $11 billion in new capital invested, compared to just $2.5 billion in Q4.
Q1 2023 is projected to see approximately $1.8 billion in new investments—the lowest since Q4 2020.
However, given the sharp month-over-month increase from January to February 2023, it appears we've turned the corner, and trends are rising as we enter Q2 2023. Smart companies are now making bets for the next cycle.
On exits, there were roughly 70 major crypto VC equity exits in both 2021 and 2022 (not counting liquidity from token investments). While 2023 has seen fewer exits so far, the long-term trend is clear: this industry is here to stay.
What Valuation Levels Are We Seeing Today?
Finally, we’ll review median pre-money valuations in the seed and Series A crypto VC landscape. Below are the median valuations for seed, Series A, and Series B deals from January 1 to March 16, 2023.
Seed Deal Valuations
How have seed round valuations and funding amounts evolved over time in the crypto industry?
As shown below, the median seed raise in 2023 was $3 million, with a median pre-money valuation of $22.8 million, ranging from $11 million to $43 million.
Interestingly, according to Pitchbook, average seed valuations in 2023 are actually higher than in 2022—but the number of deals completed is about 50% lower than the 2022 average. Based on our own experience, most revenue-less seed-stage crypto startups are seeing pre-money valuations between $10 million and $20 million—suggesting Pitchbook’s dataset for early 2023 crypto seed rounds may have limitations.
Series A Deal Valuations
How have Series A valuations and funding amounts evolved over time in the crypto industry?
The median Series A raise in 2023 was $9.7 million, with a median pre-money valuation of $90 million, ranging from $55 million to $115 million. These Series A rounds typically go to companies generating $1M–$10M in annual revenue, having achieved product-market fit, and showing month-over-month growth even during the current economic downturn.
Series B Deal Valuations
How have Series B valuations and funding amounts evolved over time in the crypto industry?
The median Series B raise in 2023 was $55 million, with a median pre-money valuation of $740 million—up from $295 million in 2022. However, only a small number (nine) of Series B rounds were completed in 2023 so far, so this figure may decline as more deals close. In 2022, the 25th–75th percentile range was $150 million to $1.25 billion.
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