In March, three crypto startups raised some of the largest capital raises in the industrys history. Here are the top ten.<\/p>\n
The cryptocurrency industry is steaming hot. The total market value of cryptocurrencies is approaching $2 trillion - thats bigger 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 start accepting payments for its electric vehicles in bitcoin, adding the cryptocurrency to its $2.5 billion bitcoin trove. One of the oldest banks in America, BNY Mellon, has launched a digital assets unit, Goldman Sachs has relaunched its crypto trading operations, JPMorgan has introduced a structured note offering tied to a basket of stocks with exposure to bitcoin, Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs have become the first major U.S. banks to offer their wealthy clients direct access to bitcoin.<\/p>\n
But institutions and venture firms rushing to cash in on the surge dont come empty-handed. Hoards of capital are pouring on crypto startups, minting new unicorns at a break-neck pace. Just in March, three crypto firms raised some of the largest capital raises in the industrys short but rich history. There are now at least 18 crypto-native companies with unicorn status, according to data platform PitchBook.<\/p>\n
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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, when an index that tracks the performance of the 10 largest and most liquid digital assets plunged by 80%.<\/p>\n
Crypto bulls are hoping that this time it is truly different. Publicly listed companies like MicroStrategy and Square have amassed sizable bitcoin positions on their balance sheets and are seeing it as an alternative to gold. Meanwhile applications for a U.S. bitcoin ETF are piling up at the SECs doorstep and the market is buzzing in anticipation of Coinbases direct listing slated for April 14, the first major public offering for a cryptocurrency company. Amid the frenzy, Forbes analyzed data from PitchBook and compiled a list of the 10 largest venture capital deals for blockchain and crypto-native firms.<\/p>\n
Deal date: August 7, 2018<\/p>\n
VC round: Series B1<\/p>\n
Notable investors: Crimson Capital China, Bluebell (Asia), Jumbo Sheen Group, Lioness Capital, Palace Investment Company, Pavilion Capital<\/p>\n
Post-money valuation: $15 billion<\/p>\n
Previous valuation: $12 billion<\/p>\n
The worlds leading bitcoin mining hardware manufacturer, Bitmain also operates Antpool, one of the top bitcoin mining pools, accounting for more than 12% of bitcoins network hash, or computational, power. Shortly after the $422 million capital raise, the Beijing-based company filed for an IPO on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in September 2018, but the offering fell through amid the bitcoin crash and market cooldown.<\/p>\n
Deal date: March 11, 2021<\/p>\n
VC round: Series D<\/p>\n
Notable investors: Bain Capital Ventures, partners of DST Global, Pomp Investments, Tiger Global, Susquehanna Government Products<\/p>\n
Post-money valuation: $3 billion<\/p>\n
Previous valuation: $435 million<\/p>\n
Founded in 2017, New-Jersey based BlockFi is now one of the leading cryptocurrency lending providers. Its products span multiple categories including crypto-collateralized loans and interest-bearing accounts through which investors can earn interest on their crypto holdings. Rumors of BlockFis potential IPO started to circulate last July following reports of a job opportunity, part of which involved helping the company go public.<\/p>\n
Deal date: March 30, 2021<\/p>\n
VC round: 5th round<\/p>\n
Notable investors: Coatue Management, Andreessen Horowitz, Michael Jordan, Kevin Durant<\/p>\n
Post-money valuation: $2.6 billion<\/p>\n
Previous valuation: N\/A<\/p>\n
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 surpassed the $400 million mark in trading volume, is largely responsible for the boom of non-fungible tokens (NFTs), essentially digital proofs of ownership trackable on a blockchain. Earlier, Dapper Labs developed a popular Ethereum game of breedable collectibles called CryptoKitties.<\/p>\n
Deal date: March 24, 2021<\/p>\n
VC round: Series C<\/p>\n
Notable investors: DST Global, Lightspeed Venture Partners, VY Capital<\/p>\n
Post-money valuation: $5.2 billion<\/p>\n
Previous valuation: $3 billion<\/p>\n
Blockchain.com provides a variety of crypto services to retail and institutional clients but is most famous for its non-custodial digital wallets. Unlike its counterparts controlled by third parties, these wallets give users full 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.<\/p>\n
Deal date: March 16, 2020<\/p>\n
VC round: Series B<\/p>\n
Notable investors: Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), BCG Digital Ventures, PayU<\/p>\n
Post-money valuation: N\/A<\/p>\n
Previous valuation: N\/A<\/p>\n
In February 2020, the crypto venture of ICE (the New York Stock Exchange owner) announced the acquisition of Bridge2 Solutions, provider of loyalty programs, to power Bakkts one-stop shop retail platform. Called Bakkt App, the service lets users aggregate various digital assets, including loyalty points, rewards programs, gaming assets, and cryptocurrencies, all in one wallet. In January, Bakkt announced it is going public via a SPAC merger with VPC Impact Acquisition Holdings at an enterprise value of about $2.1 billion. Upon the deals closure in the second quarter of 2021, the combined company will list on the New York Stock Exchange as Bakkt Holdings, Inc.<\/p>\n
Deal date: October 30, 2018<\/p>\n
VC round: Series E<\/p>\n
Notable investors: Tiger Global Management, Andreessen Horowitz, Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC), Polychain Capital<\/p>\n
Post-money valuation: $8.04 billion<\/p>\n
Previous valuation: $1.71 billion<\/p>\n
On February 25, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the U.S. filed for a direct listing on the Nasdaq stock exchange. Coinbase was valued at $68 billion, based on the recent filings. On March 19, the company was fined $6.5 million by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) over allegations of false transactions reporting and wash trading between 2015 and 2018 on its GDAX platform, later rebranded as Coinbase Pro. The exchanges direct listing is scheduled for April 14.<\/p>\n
Deal date: June 19, 2018<\/p>\n
VC round: Series B<\/p>\n
Notable investors: Sequoia Capital, Coatue Management, China Taijia, Blue Lighthouse Services<\/p>\n
Post-money valuation: $12 billion<\/p>\n
Previous valuation: $100 million<\/p>\n
Deal date: June 4, 2018<\/p>\n
VC round: Series B<\/p>\n
Notable investors: Xinhu Zhongbao Company, China Gaoxin Investment Group, State Development and Investment Corporation<\/p>\n
Post-money valuation: $470.25 million<\/p>\n
Previous valuation: $40.33 million<\/p>\n
Qulian Technology provides blockchain products for Chinas major organizations and institutions, including the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the State Administration for Market Regulation, the State Grid, and local governments. Its 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 Technologys partners also include Google and Microsoft.<\/p>\n
Deal date: Apr 19, 2019<\/p>\n
VC round: 2nd round<\/p>\n
Notable investors: Vidente, ID Ventures (South Korea), ST Blockchain Fund<\/p>\n
Post-money valuation: N\/A, valued at $888.27 million as of January 2021<\/p>\n
Previous valuation: $868.42 million<\/p>\n
In September 2020, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency has reportedly raided the offices of one of South Koreas largest crypto exchanges on fraud allegations, linked to a $25 million token sale that never materialized and led to losses for investors.<\/p>\n
Deal date: Oct 1, 2020<\/p>\n
VC round: Series C<\/p>\n
Notable investors: Tetragon Financial Group, SBI Holdings, Transform Capital, 10X Capital<\/p>\n
Post-money valuation: $10 billion<\/p>\n
Previous valuation: $410 million (2016)<\/p>\n
In December, Ripple Labs and its top executives were accused by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission of selling $1.3 billion of XRP, the native asset of the payments network developed by the company, as an unregistered security. Following the charges, multiple exchanges and trading platforms, including Coinbase, Binance.US, and eToro, delisted XRP and suspended its trading. In January, U.K.-based investment firm Tetragon Financial Group filed a lawsuit to redeem its equity in Ripple but ultimately lost the case. Despite the fallout, XRP remains one of the top traded digital assets.<\/p>\n
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10 Largest Venture Rounds In Crypto And Blockchain Forbes #10 - Forbes<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In March, three crypto startups raised some of the largest capital raises in the industrys history. Here are the top ten. The cryptocurrency industry is steaming hot. Continue reading