Balance brings in $30m, Hypernative collects $16m

Venture capitalists are raising a ton more money for crypto-related funds this year compared to last year’s dismal downturn.

According to the latest report from PitchBook, published on Sept. 5, the median fund size is up 65.1% to $41.3 million in 2024.

Nowadays, it’s common for crypto-savvy investors to put together midsized crypto VC funds — coffers ranging from $100 million to $500 million. “These funds are large enough to support industry growth but small enough to avoid the deployment challenges faced by megafunds, making them crucial to the current ecosystem,” PitchBook Senior Analyst Robert Le writes.

But just because the money is there doesn’t mean VCs aren’t cautious. According to Le, the time between fundraises and the duration to close funds have both lengthened over the past three years.

“This trend signals a challenging fundraising environment ahead as LPs become more selective and risk-averse in the wake of recent market downturns,” Le adds.

It’s worth noting that, in the second quarter of this year, Galaxy data shows VCs invested just under $3.2 billion (a 28% increase quarter-over-quarter) into crypto and blockchain-focused companies. But, that money was allocated to 577 deals — a 4% decrease quarter-over-quarter. In the prior three-month period, VC investment into crypto and blockchain startups increased by 29% compared to the previous quarter, totaling about $2.49 billion across 603 deals.

In this week’s column, crypto.news is spotlighting some of the startups that grabbed headlines in recent days. According to crypto fundraising tracker, Crypto Fundraising, these companies raised close to $70 million in disclosed VC between Sept. 1 and Sept. 7.

Balance, $30 million

• Gaming platform E-PAL introduced Balance, a new AI-powered blockchain experience platform, following two successful funding rounds led by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) and Galaxy Interactive.
• Animoca Brands, K5, CLF Partners, MK Capital, Heights Fund, AMBER, MarbleX, Mantra, Tuna, Aptos Labs, IOBC, Leland Ventures, Halon, Uphonest, Taisu Ventures, Gate Labs, DWF Ventures, BING, and WAGMI, also contributed to the $30-million total.
• The proceeds will go toward developing the Balance infrastructure — “an open, inclusive, and equitable Web3 ecosystem.”

Hypernative, $16 million

• Hypernative, known for developing an early-detection web3 security solution, raised $16 million to accelerate adoption of its AI-powered security products.
• Investors in the Series A led by Quantstamp include Bloccelerate VC, Boldstart Ventures, Borderless Capital, CMT Digital, IBI Tech Fund, Knollwood Investment Advisory, Re7 Capital, and some notable angels.
• This brings the total raised by Hypernative to $27 million. The startup previously collected $9 million in funding from Boldstart and IBI.

Puffpaw, $6 million

• PuffPaw, a blockchain-based e-cigarette project, clinched $6 million in seed funding led by Lemniscap Ventures.
• The project is geared toward users who wish to quit smoking. It records their smoking habits and rewards them with tokens.

TrendX, $5 million

• TrendX successfully closed its Series A funding round, clinching $5 million.
• AHZ, Promontory, Coinstash, Frontier Research, Coresky, Tido Capital and Bullperks
• The startup previously raised $1 million in seed money, bringing the total to $6 million.

IDA, $6 million

• IDA, a Hong Kong-based digital asset company, secured $6 million in a seed funding round led by CMCC Global, under its Titan Fund, and Hashed.
• The company aims to launch its “first fiat-referenced stablecoin” called HKDA, which is designed to be regulated in Hong Kong.
• Hack VC, Anagram, GSR, Protagonist, Brinc, Chorus One, Kenetic, SNZ, and Yolo Investments also joined the fundraising effort. Raj Gokal, co-founder of Solana (SOL), is a backer.

CryptoHunter World, $2.8 million

• CryptoHunter World, a hybrid gaming service, completed a $2.8 million private sale round.
• Supported by leading venture capital firms, including IOST, HG Ventures, Mindfulness Capital, Bigcandle Capital, Web3Wave, and Layer-OTC, this fundraising will help bring the blockchain-based collectible role-playing game into the web 3.0 space.

Additional funding rounds: undisclosed amounts

• Blabla: Closed a seed round with participation from Nebula Investment, the European Blockchain Association (BCAEU) and Hopechain.
• Dropnest and Cycle Network: Both startups are backed by Manta Network.
• Vanilla Finance: YTWO, UOB Venture, Pluto Capital, Paper Ventures, Openspace, Notcoin, HTX Ventures Logo, Catizen and ABCDE providing seed funds.
• Kroma: The Layer 2 blockchain solution provider completed a Series A funding round with backing from Asia Advisors Korea, Gate Ventures, ICC Venture, Planetarium, Presto, RFD Capital, Taisu Ventures, The Spartan Group, Waterdrip Capital, and other additional partners have also participated in this round.
• Pencils Protocol: The startup raised an undisclosed amount of seed funding from Bing Ventures and at least three other investors.

For last week’s edition of our “Crypto VC” column, click here.