Despite Bear Market, 2022 Fundraisers Have Surpassed 2021: Report

Targeted investments in the crypto industry reached $30.3 billion in the first half of the year, more than the whole year combined in 2021, according to Messari’s H1 2022 Fundraising Report. It shows that the market decline in the first six months has not shaken investors’ confidence in blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies.

Despite the infamous collapse of a group of CeFi projects such as centralized exchanges in Q2, the sector remained strong in attracting investments totaling $10.2 billion, leading three other sectors, including infrastructure, DeFi, and Web3 & NFT.

According to a report made by Messari’s newly acquired Dove Metrics fundraising database, the uptrend in betting on crypto projects has demonstrated steady growth over the past 6 months compared to the previous six months. Traditional and crypto funds raised a total of $35.9 billion during the same period, surpassing full-year volumes of $19 billion in 2021.

In key areas, investments are leaning heavily towards early-stage projects, showing that investors see crypto as a growing industry with huge potential.

Ethereum Rise in Investment

Ethereum losing the lead on NFTs in H1 is a perfect example as other upcoming ecosystems continued to win funding. Ethereum-based projects only gained $1.1B via investments, far lower than projects based on other networks combined at $2.9B. It’s worth noting that Solana-based NFTs have grabbed attention lately due to low network fees. That is especially shown in the rising popularity of the marketplace Magic Eden, which raised $130M in June this year.

On the other hand, Ethereum-based DeFi protocols continued to dominate fundraising in the same period, with 56% and 82% of the DeFi funding capital going to Ethereum in Q1 and Q2, respectively. The report added that DEX’s and Asset Management products were the most popular among investors.

CeFi Projects Attracted Capital Despit Numerous Bankruptcy Cases

Centralized exchanges attracted $3.2 billion in the first half of the year, outpacing the second-ranked payment companies that received $1.58 billion in funding, despite the collapse of many environmental companies. world and famous lenders.

As a relatively mature field, CeFi had half a funding round with an amount of over $10 million from January to June, with total investment reaching $10.2 billion, down 5.6% compared to 2021. Additionally, 40% of the infrastructure funding round is going to Series A or late-stage projects, with smart contract platforms taking the largest share of the funding.

In summary, the report indicates that the deepening of the market crash in May and June did not hamper investor confidence in the industry as there was no sharp drop in volume across other sectors.