It has not been a good year for the blockchain-based startup business. In addition to one asset price correction During a general downturn in venture capital, Web3-focused tech startups have also had to deal with a series of intra-industry crises that have occasionally made the tech headlines.
The Terra/Luna Disorder comes to mind. As does the collapse of the capital of the three arrows. And that’s not to mention the rapid fall of FTX and its related entities.
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Amidst all of the above, many people building or investing in blockchain-based assets and protocols have kept their heads held high. Evidence of this abounds – startups are still happening founded and scaled in web3 space and venture capitalists keep writing checks. Business as usual then, right?
Maybe.
It’s worth remembering that in 2022, the rate at which venture capital dollars poured into web-focused companies3 – a broad term; I’m not trying to weigh in on the crypto-versus-bitcoin argument – has declined this year. Database Crunch reviewed by my alma mater Crunchbase News recently noted, for example, that after peaking in the fourth quarter of 2021, capital raised by companies dealing with cryptocurrency or blockchains fell in each successive quarter until the third quarter of 2022.