Some of the biggest cryptocurrency fundraisers have taken place in the past 12 months. Here are the biggest fundraising rounds of 2021.
Companies in cryptocurrency are quickly turning to large investors to fund their business plans through equity investments. This year has seen large amounts of money flow into the industry; here are some of the biggest funding rounds.
FTX breaks a record with a $900 million fundraising.
On June 21, cryptocurrency exchange and futures trading platform FTX announced a record-breaking Series B round that raised $900 million from investors like Softbank and Ribbit. The fundraising brought the company's valuation to $18 billion.
The company will use its new capital to expand its services and form new partnerships. In particular, it plans to focus on FTX Pay, FTX Liquidity and FTX NFTs.
FTX is a relatively new company. It was founded in 2019 and quickly rose to become a leading crypto exchange. Currently, it has a daily trading volume of $1 billion, making it one of the five largest cryptocurrency exchanges in existence.
The exchange has also become notable for its sponsorship deals. Earlier this year, it purchased the naming rights to the former American Airlines Arena in Miami. It also partnered with the TSM e-sports team, which was named FTX TSM.
Celsius (750M$)
It's the star lending platform that's been raising money one after another. After a series B round of $400 million in October 2021, it has now raised another $350 million, bringing the total to $750 million.
This is the result of a succession of announcements, each one more impressive than the last. Like the creation of a platform in decentralized finance (DeFi) which will be called CelsiusX. But also, thanks to the addition of 300 million dollars for the further development of its activities in the mining of Bitcoin.
With this impressive raise, Celsius is now valued at $3.5 billion according to CEO Alex Mashinsky, and it could reach $10 billion in valuation when the mining and financing services in DeFi are up and running.
Circle (440M$)
In May 2021, cryptocurrency services company Circle raised $440 million. Previously, it had a valuation of $3 billion. Circle is known for its partnerships with VISA, Coinbase and its stablecoin the USDC. This raise will enable the development of infrastructure for new solutions for payment and cryptocurrency adoption.
BlockFi ($350M)
BlockFi is a crypto lending and interest platform. In March 2021, it announced that it had raised $350 million in a Series D funding round. This raised its valuation to a total of $3 billion. There are currently rumors that the company is planning an Initial Public Offering (IPO), which would further increase its valuation.
Solana ($314M)
Solana Labs is a company offering a blockchain (Solana) that aims to compete with Ethereum. The company raised $314 million in a June 2021 funding round. It plans to use the newly raised funds to build a trading desk and a venture capital investment arm.
Dapper Labs (305M$)
Dapper Labs is the company responsible for publishing NFT like NBA Top Shots and CryptoKitties. The company held a Series E funding round in March 2021. It raised $305 million in that round, bringing its valuation to $2.6 billion. The bet on the use of the Flow protocol seems to pay off, allowing a drastic reduction in fees when exchanging NFT cards between users.
Blockchain.com (300M$)
Also in March, cryptocurrency exchange and blockchain mining site Blockchain.com raised $300 million in a Series C funding round. This event brought its total valuation to $5.2 billion.
Sorare 🇫🇷 (45M$)
In France now, it's Sorare that is making a very good Series A of 40 million euros or $45 million. The company created in 2019 is a startup specialized in gaming and NFT. Far behind the international crypto companies, Sorare materializes in February 2021 the largest French fundraising. Among the investors are: e.ventures, Benchmark, Accel, but also the very famous soccer player Antoine Griezmann.
Why is fundraising important?
The past year has seen the largest fundraisings in the history of the cryptocurrency industry. Only a few other rounds as large as the ones on this list have happened before, including the fundraisings of Bitmain, Coinbase and Bithumb.
There's a reason why (big) startups in crypto are turning to traditional funding campaigns lately. These companies are mostly already established and regulated by the legislation of the location of the headquarters. This makes it easier and far more lucrative for them to raise a round of funding from investment funds rather than numerous individual investors in an Initial Coin Offering (ICO).
Many companies that receive funding will likely pass on their wealth to other startups. Coinbase, for example, operates Coinbase Capital, while others run incubator programs or LaunchPads. This redistribution of wealth should foster innovation and growth.
Disclaimer: The information contained herein is provided without regard to your personal circumstances and should therefore not be construed as financial advice, investment recommendations or an offer or solicitation to trade in cryptocurrencies.
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