The Rise of Cryptocurrency Startup Funding

Cryptocurrency startups have amassed a staggering over $100 billion in total funding since the inception in 2014, as per data compiled by DeFiLlama. A remarkable $3.54 billion has been raised up to May of this year alone, fueled by a surge in bitcoin (BTC-USD) and other digital tokens.

DeFiLlama, an aggregator tracking the crypto sector’s total value locked, reveals captivating insights into the total U.S. dollar value of digital assets locked, or staked, on a particular blockchain network via decentralized finance platforms.

Since 2014, crypto startups have witnessed an impressive total of 5,287 funding rounds raising a substantial $101.36 billion. Noteworthy, October 2021 emerged as the pinnacle month within this timeframe, with over $7 billion raised.

The Historical Context

This year, the crypto industry news and research outlet The Block reported that the total, all-time dollar amount invested in crypto and blockchain-related companies surpassed $90 billion back in February. The firm’s funding data for startups that it monitored dated back to 2017.

The achievement of surpassing the $100 billion milestone arrives a few months after the crypto industry received a significant boost from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) long-awaited approval of spot bitcoin (BTC-USD) exchange-traded products in January.

Following this development, bitcoin (BTC-USD) catapulted to a record high exceeding $73,000 in March, although its value has somewhat retreated after its most recent halving event on April 19, 2024. Halving events serve to decrease the rate at which new coins are created, consequently reducing the available amount of new supply.

Exploring Bitcoin and Crypto Further

For investors keen on tracking bitcoin (BTC-USD) focused funds, several names stand out within the market: (IBIT), (GBTC), (FBTC), (ARKB), (BITB), (HODL), (BRRR), (BTCO), (EZBC), and (BTCW).