In Q1 2021, the number of crypto related venture capital deals in excess of $50 million was double of the deals in the entire 2020. In 2020, there were just three deals within $50 million to $100 million range and deals in excess of $100 million were only four.
In the first quarter of 2021, deals worth $100+ million and more were seven deals. Seven other deals were within the range of $50 million to $100 million. The average deal size in 2020 was $5.7 million. It rose to $12.7 million in the first quarter of 2021.
Coinbase analysts stated that the performance of crypto startup was tied to the Bitcoin price. The price of Bitcoin has witnessed a steady rise in the last one year. Just yesterday, Bitcoin price surged past $60k.
The last time there was a spike in crypto related venture capital investments was in 2018. The investments then were concentrated on mining virtual coins and in crypto trading. But in the last few months, the biggest startup deals that were those that offered institutions an exposure to cryptocurrencies.
In March, the valuation of Chainalysis had doubled under six months to over $2 billion. Blockchain.com had raised $300 million in March to expand its institutional offerings. The Series C of Fireblocks, a crypto company that provides custodial services to big banks, saw it raise $133 million.
As the industry grew, platforms were birthed that had no direct relationship with Bitcoin. Dapper Labs has recently raised over $300 million for virtual sports collectibles platform, NBA Top Shot. The success of the fundraising helped to waken interests in NFTs. NBA Top Shot has a $2.5 billion valuation, putting it within the top ten most valuable startups.
The number of crypto investors have also risen. Andreessen Horowitz, had a successful second round of crypto funding raking in $515 million and took part in 20% of the top 25 biggest deals.
