Venture capital funding for blockchain startups reached $25.2 billion last year, up 713% from $3.1 billion in 2020, according to CB Insights’ “2021 State of Blockchain” report.
In the fourth quarter of 2021, global funding rose to over $9 billion, up from over $7 billion in the prior quarter, the market intelligence firm added.
Funding for blockchain start-ups accounted for 4% of global venture dollars, up from 1% in 2020. CB Insights sees this percentage rising further in 2022 given the growth in crypto, NFT and Web 3 startups.
Venture funding for NFT firms jumped to $4.8 billion in 2021, up from just $37 million in 2020. Meanwhile, global DeFi deals executed reached 240, almost doubling from 124 in 2020.
Overall, over 1,000 blockchain deals were executed in 2021, surpassing 2020’s level of 662. Of those 2021 deals, 79% were early-stage investments, CB Insights said.
Coinbase Ventures was the top blockchain investor in 2021, with investments in 68 companies, followed by China-based AU21 Capital with 51 and Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) with 48.
Overall funding into U.S.-based blockchain companies reached $14.1 billion in 2021, up from $1.7 billion in 2020. New York metro-based companies led the way with $6.5 billion in funding, followed by Silicon Valley at $3.9 billion.
Read more: Will DAO’s Replace Crypto Venture Capital?