Key Takeaways:
- Cryptocurrency projects across various sectors raised over $30B in funding in H1 of 2022
- With over $10.2B in funding, the CeFi sector attracted 33% of total funds raised
- Meanwhile, non-Ethereum-ecosystem NFT projects outpaced ETH NFT projects in Q2 2022
YEREVAN (CoinChapter.com) — Cryptocurrency projects raised $30.3 billion in funding during the first half (H1) of 2022. Despite the ongoing bear market, a total of 1,199 rounds of funding took place across various projects, according to the recent Crypto Fundraising Report by Messari and Dove Metrics.
While the highest number of fundraisers were in the NFT and WEB 3 sectors, the CeFi industry attracted most of the funding.
“Our database tracks more than 4,300+ active crypto investors (including funds, DAO’s, Labs, and angels),”
Messari announced.
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CeFi raises $10.2B in funding as crypto projects raise $30.3B
Over 33% of the total funds raised by crypto projects went to the Centralized Finance (CeFi) sector. Out of the total $30.3 billion, it attracted $10.2 billion in funding.
Funding for the sector jumped 108% compared to H1 of 2021. Meanwhile, it fell 5.6% vs. the second half of last year.
However, CeFi deals still increased by 40% compared to the second half (H2) of 2021.
In the past year, CeFi deals have been up by nearly 150%. The sector closed Q2 of 2021 with $2.2 billion in funds raised. Meanwhile, in Q2 2022, the sector scooped in $5.6 billion.
Moreover, the document reveals that the document reveals that around 50% of the funding deals in the sector were above $10 million.
Funding activities of CeFi payment companies grew, bagging around $600 million in May alone. With total funding of $1.5 billion across 41 deals, payment companies attracted the second-highest funds in the CeFi sector.
They were outpaced by only cryptocurrency exchanges, which attracted $3.2 billion through 65 deals.
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L1 smart contracts retain trust among investors
According to the report, infrastructural investments trailed closely behind the Centralized Finance (CeFi) projects. The sector attracted $9.7 billion, or 32% of the total funds raised.
Among these, Layer One (L1) smart contracts received most funds. They raised $3.6 billion through 26 deals. This shows the trust they enjoy among investors looking for long-term projects to rally behind.
With over $1.5 billion raised, February was the most successful month, according to the detailed report.
Meanwhile, in what comes as an indication of falling profits, investments in mining activities saw a huge decline between April and June.
Nonetheless, investors still pumped as much as $1.3 billion into 15 different mining deals.
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Ethereum (ETH) loses lead in NFT funding deals
In an exciting development, Ethereum (ETH) lost its lead in nonfungible token (NFT) sector funding, at least as far as value is concerned. Although the ETH ecosystem still attracted 64% of the volume, other chains bagged most of the funding.
Among themselves, non-Ethereum chains scooped in $3.5 billion from investors. In contrast, projects in the ETH ecosystem managed to get only $2.8 billion. This is $1.8 billion less than the others, according to the report.
Funding for the total NFT sector increased 365% compared to H1 of 2021. Deals also showed a jump of 168% vs. H1 of last year.
Meanwhile, the gaming sector soaked up most of the NFT funding. It attracted as much as $4.1 billion through 199 deals.
“The gaming NFT vertical stands in a class of its own – The gaming NFT vertical raised more than four times as much capital as any other NFT vertical in H1,”
Messari claimed.
In contrast, marketplaces got $937 million from investors through 49 deals.
At the same time, the Web3 fundraising activity jumped 764% vs. H1 of 2021. Deals in the sector also spiked 192% when comparing H1 of 2021 to H1 of 2022.
In addition, investors shared bullish sentiments for media and entertainment companies. As much as $395 million went into entertainment projects.
Of the total Web3 funding deals, 27% were above $10 million,, while only 13% were less than $1 million. In what comes as a sign of Web3 starting to mature, Series A funding makes up 32% of total fundraisers..
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DeFi ends H1 on a strong note
Decentralized Finance (DeFi) ended the first half of 2022 on a strong note, raising $624 million in June. This is twice as much as any month in the previous 6-month period.
However, among all sectors, DeFi raised the most minor funds. It was only able to bag $1.8 billion from investors. While this is still 133% in funding vs. H1 of 2021, it has failed to register a high number of deals.
Meanwhile, unlike the NFT sector, Ethereum-based DeFi projects continued to dominate the fundraising. They attracted $1.3 billion, leaving others to share a little over $500 million.
The report also indicated Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAO) participation continues to concentrate in early-stage rounds. As per the report, of all funding rounds that included DAO participation, 71% were at the seed stage.
While the overall market is down, the crypto fundraising report sends bullish signals. First, it indicates that the falling token prices have not pulled the breaks on investors’ faith in blockchain technology.
