Top 20 Active Web3 Venture Capital Firms, Investing in 2023 Bear Market
As a web3 founder, I believe you might already be tired of reading how bad this year was for web3 startups. I mean who hasn't noticed it yet? Probably the only question you want to ask is when is it all going to end? And luckily you might find an answer in our recent survey about VC sentiments.
But the right question you should ask yourself is "What to do now", how to deal with the current situation. Should you really postpone again your VC Fundraising, community token sale and IDO? Or maybe, just maybe, this article is your sign to forget about market conditions and rush to reach VC’s from this list.
See, there are two reasons I decided to write this article. First of all, I believe that it could be a good motivation to see real success cases in a current market for those who are already giving up on web3 after being more than a year in the bear market and seeing losses on all investments. And the second is that this article is an actual list of current active web3 VCs who ACTUALLY invest in crypto now, so after reading this you can directly go outreach them.
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DWF Labs
DWF Labs is a new rising star in the web3 VC landscape. founded in 2022 is an Asian based internationally renowned market maker and web3 investment firm that specializes in digital assets. In addition to investing cash in promising startups, they offer a comprehensive range of services, including token listing, market making, and OTC trading solutions.
Despite being a very young fund, only during April DWF participated in 10 rounds investing over $53 million dollars. One of the biggest investments in 2023 was the closure of the $16 million RACA’s funding round. RACA is a metaverse platform for game studios, governed by a community-driven decentralized autonomous organization (DAO)
Hashkey Capital
Since 2015, HashKey Capital supports the visionaries and innovators driving the development of the open economy. With a worldwide reach and a deep understanding of the cryptocurrency landscape, HashKey Capital plays a pivotal role in the advancement of the blockchain industry by assisting institutions, entrepreneurs, and skilled individuals in fostering blockchain adoption globally. It focuses on investments in blockchain technology, fintech technology, and digital assets.
In April 2023 Hashkey Capital invested in 10 web3 companies that raised $63 million VC funding in total. One of the biggest closed rounds was Nibiru’s $8.5 million seed funding round. Nibiru is a decentralized finance (DeFi) hub, a proof-of-stake blockchain, and a member of a family of interconnected blockchains that comprise the Cosmos Ecosystem.
Kucoin Ventures
KuCoin Ventures is dedicated to investing in the most groundbreaking crypto and blockchain companies during the Web 3.0 era. As an investor driven by community engagement and thorough research, KuCoin Ventures maintains close collaboration with portfolio projects throughout their entire lifespan. They specifically prioritize projects related to decentralized finance (DeFi), GameFi, and Web3 infrastructure startups.
In April Kucoin Ventures participated in 6 funding rounds with a total of $39 million raised funds. The biggest round was a $15 million series A funding round of Polyhedra. PolyHedra is an infrastructure for Web3 Interoperability with cutting-edge zero-knowledge proof systems.
CMT Digital
CMT Digital Ventures, a segment of the CMT Group, specializes in crypto asset trading, and investments in blockchain companies, and actively engages in legal and policy matters within the crypto asset and blockchain technology industry. Led by Colleen Sullivan since late 2013, the firm dedicated significant efforts to comprehending the Bitcoin protocol and played an instrumental role in shaping the regulatory framework for crypto assets.
During April CMT Digital participated in 6 funding rounds with a total of 24.5 mil raised funds. The biggest was Fractal’s $6 million round. Fractal is an institutional-grade technology infrastructure provider that enables institutions to clear, settle, and margin digital asset trades on-chain, allowing all on-chain financial assets to interact with and collateralize against each other via a universal margin account
NGC Ventures
NGC Ventures, established in December 2017, is a prominent institutional investor in blockchain and distributed ledger technologies. As one of the largest investors in this field, NGC has played a crucial role in supporting numerous leading blockchain projects.
During April NGC Ventures participated in 6 funding rounds with a total amount of $149 million raised funds. The biggest was a $120 million Series B funding round of LayerZero. LayerZero is a messaging protocol that allows for interoperability and facilitates seamless cross-chain messaging across countless blockchains.
BiXin Ventures
Bixin Ventures is closely associated with Bixin, the largest off-chain crypto-wallet in China in terms of user base. Bixin Investment operates in conjunction with Bixin and benefits from its extensive resources and influence within the blockchain ecosystem. Bixin, as an early participant in the blockchain industry, has a diverse range of offerings, including a crypto wallet, exchange, mining pool (previously holding 5% of the total web hash power), and vertical media covering blockchain and cryptocurrencies.
In April Bixin took part in 5 funding rounds with a total amount of $153 million of funds raised. One of the biggest rounds was Sei Network’s round of $30 million. Sei Network is a blockchain Layer-1 created specifically for DeFi with the aim of becoming a foundational platform for the future financial system.
Spartan Group
The Spartan Global Blockchain Opportunity Fund is a portfolio of digital assets that is actively managed with the goal of achieving absolute returns. The fund's partners have extensive experience in various domains such as public market investing, venture capital, financial advisory, and regulatory analysis. With their combined expertise, they aim to leverage their knowledge and skills to identify opportunities and maximize value within the decentralized financial landscape.
Last month Spartan Group invested in 5 web3 startups with a total amount of $32 million raised. The biggest was MetaGravity’s $9,5 million seed funding round. MetaGravity is a London-based provider of the next-generation virtual world and metaverse infrastructure that aims to create the technical foundation for a scalable and decentralized metaverse by building the distributed computing infrastructure for metaverse gaming and virtual world simulations.
Circle Ventures
Circle is a technology company specializing in peer-to-peer payments. Founded by Jeremy Allaire and Sean Neville in October 2013, Circle offers a mobile payment platform called Circle Pay. This platform enables users to securely hold, send, and receive traditional fiat currencies.
Circle Ventures supports crypto startups and founders with capital, resources and community, helping build an open economy on the Internet.
In April Circle Ventures helped to close 5 rounds with a total amount of $146 million raised funds. The biggest was $10 million Rarify’s round. Rarify Labs is a service provider and community member dedicated to advancing the next-generation interoperability protocol Rarimo
Cogitent Ventures
Cogitent Ventures is a crypto VC firm, focusing on pre-seed and seed-stage investments in web3 infrastructure, metaverse, GameFi, DeFi, NFT and complementing verticals.
In April 2023 Cogitent Ventures deployed capital in 4 VC funding rounds with a total amount of $13 million of raised capital. The biggest was Tribe3’s round of $2.1 million. Tribe3 is a gamified decentralized NFT futures exchange that allows users to trade NFT perpetual futures with leverage, engage in tribe battles against others in the community, and win in-game items to create personalized NFT avatars.
Arcane Group
Arcane Group is a multinational venture capital firm that invests in emerging entrepreneurs and companies in the Web3 space, which encompasses decentralized technologies and blockchain advancements. With its headquarters located in Singapore, Arcane Group consists of a diverse community of analysts, engineers, and collaborators who specialize in different verticals within the blockchain industry. Their collective expertise allows them to support and empower the next generation of innovators in this space.
During April Arcane helped to close 4 funding rounds with a total amount of $25 million of raised capital. One of the biggest was Gameta’s $5 million round. Gameta is a web3 startup in gaming vertical, a multi-layered NFT entertainment and gaming network that provides players with a comprehensive Web3 gaming and entertainment experience, ranging from hyper-casual to immersive
Alchemy Ventures
Alchemy Ventures is a venture capital firm that focuses on empowering the Web3 ecosystem, developers, creators, and builders. Their investments are directed toward teams that are spearheading the development of the next generation of finance, computing, and ownership solutions. Alchemy Ventures has a mission to provide developers with the essential building blocks necessary to shape the future of technology. Through their dedicated financing and resources, they actively accelerate this mission by supporting the most promising teams that contribute to the growth of the Web3 ecosystem.
In April Alchemy Ventures took part in 4 funding rounds with a total amount of at least $11 million venture capital raised. The Biggest was Intmax’s round of $5 milllion. Intmax is a novel Layer-2 network on Ethereum that uses zkRollup technology to offer low cost, security, and scalability for web services and financial transactions.
Polychain Capital
Polychain Capital is a VC investment firm dedicated to achieving exceptional returns for investors by actively managing portfolios comprised of blockchain assets. Their focus lies in harnessing the potential of this emerging asset class and leveraging it to generate favorable outcomes for their investors.
During April Polychain took part in 3 funding rounds with a total amount of $74 million raised capital. The biggest was the $42 million round of Berachain. Berachain is a DeFi-focused EVM-compatible Layer-1 blockchain built on the Cosmos SDK, powered by Proof of Liquidity Consensus, and will be EVM-compatible.
Coinbase Ventures
Coinbase Ventures is a US-based investment firm of Coinbase crypto exchange. They provide VC funding to early-stage crypto startup teams. They have an impressive list of portfolio companies and have invested in hundreds of teams building everything: from layer-1 protocols, Web3 infrastructure and centralized on-ramps, to DeFi (decentralized finance), NFTs and metaverse projects, developer tooling, and more.
During April Coinbase Ventures participated in 3 funding rounds with a total amount of $15 million raised capital. The biggest was Dflow’s $5,5 million round. DFlow is a US-based decentralized order flow marketplace powered by a payment-for-order-flow (PFOF) model that guarantees the best execution for retail investors and enables safe monetization for sources of retail order flow.
Shima Capital
Shima Capital is a US-based investment fund from San Francisco, California, investing globally in blockchain and crypto startups. It was very active during the 2021 bull run and continued deploying venture capital in the 2022-2023 crypto winter season.
In April this year, Shima Capital invested in 3 blockchain startups that raised $53,5 million in funding in total. One of the biggest was TinyTap’s $8,5 million round. TinyTap is a Tel Aviv-based EdTech company owned by Animoca Brands that offers a code-free authoring platform for educators to create interactive educational games for young learners from pre-K to grade 6.
6Th Man Ventures
6th Man Ventures, founded in 2021 and led by Mike Dudas and Serge Kassardjian, is a venture capital fund focused on early-stage investments in cryptocurrency, technology infrastructure, and innovative economic models for various sectors including media, entertainment, art, games, and creators.
Only during the first half of May 2023, 6Th Man Ventures already invested in 3 crypto startups that raised $9 million in VC funding in total. The biggest was Fare protocol $6,2 million round. FARE Protocol is a cryptocurrency ecosystem that operates on probability smart contracts triggered by transparent on-chain events.
SuperScrypt
Superscrypt is a blockchain investment company in its early stages, established by Temasek. The company specializes in investing in and providing assistance to pioneering founders and projects throughout the entire blockchain ecosystem.
In April 2023, SuperScrypt funded 2 web3 startups that raised $7 million venture capital in total. The biggest was Catalyst $4.8 million round. Catalyst is a decentralized protocol that provides permissionless liquidity between modular blockchains.
Sino Global Capital
Sino Global Capital (SGC) is a global venture capital firm emphasizing a countercyclical, stage-neutral approach to investing in up-and-coming markets, focusing on top-tier blockchain and digital asset initiatives in the realms of crypto, crypto-related infrastructure, DeFi, and GameFi. With its deep expertise and extensive network, SGC provides strategic support to help companies unlock their full potential and navigate the complexities of the evolving digital landscape.
As an early entrant into the crypto space, SGC has been at the forefront of investment in this rapidly growing industry. Through its pragmatic approach and keen understanding of the market dynamics, SGC has successfully identified and capitalized on opportunities in the fastest-growing markets globally
MoonPay
MoonPay, as the new benchmark for converting fiat to cryptocurrency, operates as a marketplace that connects cryptocurrency exchanges with users. Their primary objective is to enable immediate, non-custodial transactions for acquiring major cryptocurrencies. MoonPay's overarching mission is to ensure the accessibility of cryptocurrency to individuals from all walks of life.
During April MoonPay participated in 2 funding rounds with a total amount of 10.10 mil raised capital. The biggest was an $8 million Absolute Lab’s round. Absolute Labs is a Web3 CRM and marketing automation platform Wallet Relationship Management (WRM) that is designed to be wallet-first and natively tethered to on-chain data, enabling brands to gain critical insights on prospects and customers, identify actionable segments, and automate cross-channel campaigns, including NFT airdrops, across the entire marketing funnel.
Draper Associates
Draper Associates, founded in 1985, is a seed-stage venture capital firm that encourages entrepreneurs to drive their businesses to greatness, transform industries with new technologies, and build platforms for extraordinary growth, jobs, and wealth creation.
During April Draper Associates invested in 2 startup funding rounds with a total amount of $8.8 million raised capital. The biggest among these was a $4 million Amboss round. Amboss is a Lightning Network, a decentralized layer-2 protocol built on top of Bitcoin that promises fast and cheap transactions.
Robot Ventures
Robot Ventures hosted by Robert Leshner is an early-stage VC investor that supports fintech and cryptocurrency companies with ambitious goals and unconventional perspectives.
In April Robot Ventures participated in 3 VC funding rounds with a total amount of $51,7 million raised capital. The biggest was Astria’s $5.5 million round. Astria is a modular blockchain that allows individuals to deploy their own censorship-resistant rollup without relying on a centralized sequencer.
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