Crypto pretty much seems to have lost its allure as far as venture capitalists are concerned. According to new data from Crunchbase, investments into web3 startups declined in the third quarter compared to the second quarter, marking the seventh straight quarter of declines for the sector since crypto venture fundraising peaked in Q4 2021.
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That’s not shocking. As TechCrunch+ reported in August, when crypto fundraising numbers surpassed most people’s expectations:
August’s good numbers might not be able to stem the bleeding, though. To put an optimistic spin on it, maybe Q3 2023 will break the trend since a few investment vehicles like Vessel Capital’s $55 million fund and MoonPay’s venture arm were launched in recent weeks and will start deploying capital soon. But it’s anybody’s guess whether investors will move quickly — or sign bigger checks.
Crunchbase’s data indicates that web3 startups raised $1.3 billion in the third quarter, down from around $2 billion in both Q1 and Q2.
Compared to the past few years, those numbers are vanishingly small. On average, web3 startups raised more than $8 billion in every quarter between Q3 2021 and Q2 2022. And then things fell off a cliff: The $4.5 billion that crypto startups raised in Q3 2022 was about half the amount raised in Q2, for reference.
Here’s what the trend looks like:
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