Blockchain is all the rave in today’s early-stage investing world. If you are in any way interested in the future of money or accounting or ledgers, it is impossible to avoid a discussion about blockchain.
Given the popularity of blockchain, can you guess which entities are the top 10 venture capital (VC) investors in blockchain?
Would you guess the list includes the big VC companies like Accel, Sequoia Capital, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Benchmark, Greylock Partners, Andreessen Horowitz, or Bessemer Venture Partners?
Take your guess now because the top 10 list follows shortly.
The List
Interestingly, the top blockchain investor in the world is Digital Currency Group. The VC firm has made an incredible 127 deals according to Pitchbook.
In second place is Blockchain Capital at 57 deals. Surprisingly, there’s a large difference between first and second place.
The other members of the top five include Pantera Capital at 56, Digital Horizon Capital at 38, and Fenbushi Capital at 36.
Places six through 10 belong to Plug and Play Tech Center (32 deals), 500 Startups (31 deals), Andreessen Horowitz (30 deals), NEO Global Capital (27 deals), and Boost VC (25 deals).
Are you surprised by the list? Curiously, only one of the supposedly top VC firms shows up on the list – Andreessen Horowitz in eighth place.
What are the Biggest Blockchain VC Deals?
With the list established, let’s take a look at the biggest VC blockchain deals.
Can you guess which deals show up on top?
As before, take your guess now because the list follows.
The largest blockchain deal ever, according to Pitchbook, is a $300 million investment in October 2018 in Coinbase. The Series E investment gave the cryptocurrency company a massive $8 billion valuation.
In second place is Bakkt, a fellow cryptocurrency exchange. A couple months after Coinbase’s $300 million funding round, Bakkt came in with a $183 million funding round.
In third place is BlackTower, a hedge fund investing entirely in cryptocurrencies and digital assets. The company announced in October 2018 that it had attracted a $140 million VC investment.
Rounding out the top five are r3 at $122 million in May 2018 and Circle at $110 million in May 2018.
The other four companies on Pitchbook’s list include a previous investment in Coinbase in August 2017 at $108 million, a $103 million investment in Finova Financial in October 2017, a $101 million investment in Hedera Hashgraph in August 2018, and a $88 million investment in Forgerock in September 2017.
Conclusion
In an interesting review produced by Pitchbook, the top 10 investors in blockchain includes only one of the supposed top VC investing firms. Overall, the top 10 investors have made a combined 459 deals.
It’s a wonderful time to be interested in blockchain technology.
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