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Galaxy

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April

Optimism

Venture capital funding into crypto jumped by 52.5% month-on-month in March, with crypto projects getting $1.16 billion, mostly in infrastructure and decentralized finance projects.&nbsp;
RootData <a href="https://www.rootdata.com/dashboard" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">figures</a> show 180 publicly-announced investments managed to sec investment in the last month — the highest monthly figure since April 2022.
One-fifth of deals saw fundraises of between $1 million to $3 million, while just over 15% raised between $5 million to $10 million. The majority of the funded projects were based in the United States, but they still only made up less than 10% of the total deal count.
Ethereum layer-2 blockchain Optimism got the <a href="https://www.rootdata.com/Fundraising" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">month’s</a> largest raise <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/optimism-offloads-tokens-private-deal">when it sold</a> $89 million worth of its tokens in a private deal. Cryptography startup Zama was runner-up with its <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/zama-73-million-raise-data-privacy">$73 million</a> Series A.
<figure>
 <img src="https://s3.cointelegraph.com/uploads/2024-04/e4d460ec-5904-4361-9f20-ecbbf441eafc.png">
 <figcaption style="text-align: center;">
 March’s top 10 largest deals by amount raised. Source: RootData
 </figcaption>
</figure>
The monthly deal number was up 25% from February and over 70% from the prior year period, while the total amount raised was also up 28% compared to March 2023. 
VC firms recently hinted at their crypto-focused interests for the year ahead. Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) on April 1 <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/andreessen-horowitz-a16z-crypto-vc-invest-30-million-gaming-startups">earmarked $30 million</a> for a fund focused on Web3 gaming.
<figure>
 <img src="https://s3.cointelegraph.com/uploads/2024-04/c9715397-cf7d-4cb4-9c4d-64d33751e824.png">
 <figcaption style="text-align: center;">
 Crypto-related VC funding by month since March 2022 with USD amount raised (orange) and number of deals (gray line). Source: RootData
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</figure>
Last week, a16z co-founder Marc Andreessen and Galaxy Digital were top contributors to VC firm 1kx’s <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/marc-andreessen-galaxy-digital-75-million-crypto-fund">$75 million</a> fund targeting crypto-based consumer apps and Hack VC in February <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/hack-venture-capital-raises-150-million-fund-crypto-ai-startups">raised $150 million</a> to fund early-stage crypto and artificial intelligence startups.
Infrastructure projects were the most well-funded firms in March, making up for nearly $283 million — around a quarter of the total $1.16 billion VC funding. 
Decentralized finance (DeFi) projects followed with $228.1 million in funding, making up nearly 20% of the total, with centralized finance (CeFi) projects — such as exchanges — seeing the third-most funding at $85.5 million. 
No funding was raised in the DAO category. 
<figure>
 <img src="https://s3.cointelegraph.com/uploads/2024-04/4ea7fe92-a236-4833-aa34-e5c1a67d31b7.png">
 <figcaption style="text-align: center;">
 Fundraising amount per sector for March 2024. Source: RootData
 </figcaption>
</figure>
Last month’s funding is the first time since November that VC funding has broken over $1 billion for the month.
Related: <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/web3-startups-flock-to-accelerators-as-crypto-enthusiasm-surges">Web3 startups flock to accelerators as crypto enthusiasm surges</a>
It comes after a <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/venture-funds-eye-recovery-2024-capital-remains-tight">dampened 2023</a> for crypto raises after FTX collapsed in late 2022 and took the crypto markets with it.
VC funding has made monthly gains year-to-date as enthusiasm for crypto has made a comeback in tandem with the markets, which PitchBook <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/vc-blockchain-and-crypto-funding-rises-in-q4-2023-report">attributed to the launch</a> of spot Bitcoin (<a href="https://cointelegraph.com/bitcoin-price">BTC</a>) exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the U.S.
Magazine: <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/magazine/learn-to-pitch-like-a-man-helping-female-crypto-founders-blast-off/">The secret of pitching to male VCs: Helping female crypto founders blast off</a>

Crypto VC funding surged 53% in March, Optimism wins largest share

Cointelegraph

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