During October, venture capital funds invested USD$307.68 million in cryptocurrency startups. This amount is 12.8% lower than the total invested in September and just above the three-year minimum recorded in August. The data is according to information from DefiLlama.
Most investments were directed towards projects creating infrastructure solutions in the blockchain industry, receiving USD$153.8 million.
Blockaid, a startup specialized in Web3 protocol security, had two rounds in October and raised USD$33 million from venture capital firms, making it the infrastructure-focused project that received the most investments in that month.
Membrane Labs, a platform focused on commerce and loans, also received a significant contribution of USD$20 million.
DefiLlama also considered the USD$10 million received by the Brazilian startup Vaas in a pre-seed round, with participation from Honey Island, Fuse Capital, and ABSeed Ventures. According to Cointelegraph Brazil, the capital will be used to expand the company’s services in Latin America.
Despite the predominant interest in infrastructure, there was significant movement in the sector, with investments in this category representing 50% of all the capital allocated by venture capital firms in October. It’s common for startups in this sector to receive over 60% of all investments in the crypto industry, as was the case throughout 2023.
The decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem, despite the decrease in invested capital, garnered more attention from venture capital firms in October. Startups in this sector received USD$56.78 million, a 40% increase from the amount raised in September.
The most significant contribution to DeFi was SynFutures, a decentralized derivatives protocol based in the Ethereum ecosystem, which received USD$22 million.
Another sector that attracted significant interest from venture capital funds in October was Web3, specifically startups creating solutions within this ecosystem. In total, USD$51.2 million was allocated to these initiatives.
The startup Blackbird received USD$24 million to develop a loyalty system based on NFTs for restaurants. This amount represented the most significant investment in a startup utilizing Web3 solutions in October.
Projects focused on creating games for Web3 also saw growth in contributions received last month.
For the second consecutive month, investments in games using blockchain technology grew and reached USD$45.9 million in October.
The Web3 gaming initiative that received the most funding was Shrapnel, backed by significant venture capital firms and angel investors. Their Series A funding round amounted to USD$20 million in capital.
