Crypto fundraising in November saw a significant uptick compared to the amounts raised in prior months. Bitcoin miners took the lead this time, accounting for 90% of the deals ahead of exchanges and payments projects.
Research by market intelligence platform Messari found that Bitcoin miners Northern Data and Phoenix Group raised more than half of the total amount accumulated by the crypto venture capital market.
Bitcoin Miners Lead in Crypto Funding For November
During the last month, the crypto market inked 98 deals worth $1.75 billion, a major jump from October’s $750 million. The top ten deals were worth more than $1.4 billion and involved various crypto projects.
Northern Data led the list with more than $600 million in funds raised at a debt financing round, while Phoenix Group followed with $370 million at an initial public offering (IPO). Crypto exchange and wallet provider Blockchain.com came third with $110 million raised in a Series E funding round, and blockchain-based wholesale payments firm Fnality followed closely with $95 million in a Series B round.
Other major deals included strategic investments, post-IPO financing, and Series A rounds raking in tens of millions of dollars for firms like Bitcoin miner Bitfarms and decentralized artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure startup Ritual. Last on the list was Blast, a controversial Ethereum-based layer-2 blockchain, which raised $20 million in an undisclosed round led by venture capital firm Paradigm.
Investors in Ramping-up Stage
It is worth noting that without the two huge funds raised by Northern Data and Phoenix Group, the total amount amassed in November would have stood at $750 million, the average monthly funding since August.
However, the average deal size increased by 50% from October’s $5 million to $7.5 million.
Messari researcher Kel said the heavy funding received by Bitcoin miners gives room for optimism and suggests that venture capitalists close to the sector expect higher Bitcoin (BTC) prices, especially with the upcoming halving event. The halving will slash miners’ block rewards by half and reduce the amount of BTC produced daily. Despite fears of the impact of reduced block rewards, venture capitalists seem to be focused on the bright side.
Meanwhile, the recent rally of cryptocurrencies has not extended to private market flows. Kel believes investors may be in a ramping-up stage that has not translated into announced deals.
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