October 2024 Investment Surge: $2.48B Raised in Blockchain, Social, and DeFi Sectors
In October 2024, the investment landscape saw a remarkable surge, with $2.48B raised across 108 rounds, marking a significant increase of 273.63% in funds compared to September's $663.67M in 103 rounds. This shift signals a dynamic change in investor activity.
Over the past year, the trend has fluctuated, but October stands out as a potential turning point, indicating a robust recovery in investment appetite following several months of decline.
Recent news, including Circle's expansion of USDC into Australia and Grayscale's decentralized AI fund, reflects heightened investor confidence. These developments, paired with macroeconomic factors pushing for digital asset adoption, fueled October's impressive results.
The month’s standout was Bridge, raising $1.10B, while the most active sector was Blockchain Services. Animoca Brands emerged as the top investor, reinforcing its commitment to blockchain innovation.
Categories
Introduction
This month marked a significant shift in blockchain investments, with Blockchain Services leading at $1.25B, up from $141.44M last month. The Social category also saw a remarkable increase to $603.65M from $55.00M. Conversely, Chain funding fell to $80.00M from $164.70M, while NFT fundraising dropped to zero. These trends indicate a strong focus on service-oriented platforms and social decentralized initiatives, reflecting heightened investor confidence and shifting market priorities.
Blockchain Service
This month, the Blockchain Service category raised $1.25B through 33 rounds. In comparison, last month, it raised $141.44M in 30 rounds. The significant increase in both volume and rounds suggests a robust upward trend for this category.
Bridge leads the pack, raising $1.10B from Stripe. Bridge is innovating with a stablecoin-powered platform that facilitates money movement, including cross-border payments and currency exchanges. Glow follows with $30.00M from Framework Ventures and Union Square Ventures, focusing on renewable energy through a decentralized network of solar farms. zkPass, Opacity Network, and Validation Cloud also made notable contributions, raising $12.50M, $12.00M, and $10.00M, respectively, each targeting privacy and secure data sharing solutions.
Social
In the Social category, funding skyrocketed to $603.65M this month from just $55.00M last month, marking a significant leap in activity. The number of rounds increased from 6 to 12, indicating a strong interest in social decentralized platforms.
Praxis Society was the standout project, raising $525.00M from a diverse group of investors, including Dan Romero and Will Price. This community-driven initiative aims to shape the future of city living. Towns and Nillion also contributed with $25.50M and $25.00M, respectively, focusing on decentralized community interactions and novel cryptographic networks.
Blockchain Infrastructure
The Blockchain Infrastructure category raised $265.30M this month, a substantial rise from last month's $14.64M. Rounds also increased from 7 to 11, reflecting growing confidence in this sector.
Blockstream led with a massive $210.00M investment, focusing on Bitcoin sidechains and infrastructure development. Gelato and delta followed, each raising $11.00M, automating smart contract executions and enhancing developer capabilities, respectively.
DeFi
DeFi saw a total of $143.20M raised across 26 rounds this month, slightly down from $172.74M last month, though the number of rounds remained stable.
Bitnomial emerged as a leader with $25.00M aimed at institutional traders, offering a regulated futures and options exchange. Other notable projects included Ellipsis Labs and Solv Protocol, raising $21.00M and $11.00M, respectively, focusing on sustainable DeFi protocols and liquidity solutions.
GameFi
GameFi raised $97.95M this month, a jump from $79.35M last month, despite a decrease in rounds from 14 to 11.
Azra Games topped the list with $42.70M, developing a high-quality RPG that incorporates blockchain technology. PiP World and Party Icons followed, raising $10.00M and $9.00M, respectively, focusing on educational gaming and social interactions.
Chain
The Chain category saw $80.00M raised across 10 rounds, a decrease from $164.70M last month. However, the number of rounds remained unchanged.
Ithaca led with $20.00M, working on Layer 2 blockchain solutions. Citrea and Toncoin each raised $14.00M and $10.00M, focusing on enhancing Bitcoin's capabilities and scalability.
CeFi
CeFi raised $33.00M in just 2 rounds this month, showing an increase from $18.80M in 6 rounds last month.
Yellow Card led with a significant $33.00M, enhancing its cryptocurrency exchange services. TSFC did not raise any funds this month, marking a contrast in activity within the sector.
Unknown
The Unknown category raised $4.20M in a single round this month, up from zero last month.
Hata raised $4.20M, offering a global cryptocurrency exchange platform for fiat and digital asset trading.
NFT
The NFT category experienced no funds raised this month across 2 rounds, a stark decline from $8.00M in 1 round last month.
BlueMove and Ordzaar reported no fundraising this month, focusing on NFT marketplace functionalities and trading inscriptions.
Most Active Investors
Animoca Brands led with participation in 11 rounds, focusing on Blockchain Infrastructure, DeFi, and GameFi projects. Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) followed with 7 rounds, concentrating on Blockchain Infrastructure and Social initiatives. CMS Holdings was active in 6 rounds, primarily within DeFi and Blockchain Service sectors.
