PitchBook-2023年二季度加密报告（英）-2023.8-12页_8mb

Crypto Q2 2023 VC Trends Summary

Overview

In Q2 2023, the cryptocurrency venture capital market saw a significant downturn with $2.3 billion invested across 371 deals, representing a 14.7% quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) decrease and a 70.9% year-on-year (YoY) decline from the previous year. This accounted for the lowest level of investment and deal activity since Q4 2020, marking five consecutive quarters of declining activity. Despite this, blockchain infrastructure and interoperability remained prominent, while regulatory scrutiny and specific events influenced the landscape.

Key Deal Highlights

• LayerZero: Secured a $120 million Series B funding at a $3.0 billion valuation for cross-chain messaging infrastructure.
• WorldCoin: Raised $115 million in a Series C round at a $2.2 billion valuation (a down round) for digital identity development, part of the broader DePIN ecosystem.

Major Events and Regulatory Actions

• Regulatory News: The SEC filed lawsuits against Binance and Coinbase, alleging unregistered operations and other violations, with no settlement indicated.
• Blockchain Upgrades: Ethereum completed the Shapella upgrade, enabling unstaking and marking a new era for staking withdrawals.
• Acquisition: Metaco, a platform for institutional crypto services, was acquired by Ripple for $250 million, highlighting strong growth in institutional crypto offerings.

Investment Trends

• Q2 2023 showed mixed valuation trends: seed rounds were up 18.1% YoY, while early-stage rounds fell 20.3% and late-stage rounds decreased 15.8%. Median seed deal size was $2.3 million, early-stage $5.1 million, and late-stage $10.0 million, reflecting overall reduced deal sizes compared to full-year 2022.
• DePIN-related companies (e.g., WorldCoin, Gensyn) and interoperability protocols (e.g., LayerZero) dominated funding rounds, but most mega-rounds were concentrated in Q1 2023, with Q2 showing fewer large deals.

Emerging Opportunities

• Stablecoins and MEV: Focus on stablecoins for volatility reduction and MEV (Maximal Extractable Value) solutions to optimize transaction profits in a regulated environment.
• Infrastructure and Innovation: Continued development in blockchain scalability, security, and institutional services, with companies leveraging post-Merge Ethereum risks through solutions like distributed validator technology.

Company Highlights

• Obol: A developer of point-of-stake infrastructure aiming to decentralize Ethereum validation through Distributed Validator Technology (DVT), reducing risks like 33% attacks and slashing penalties. Obol has raised $18.7 million with an 81% predicted exit probability via M&A.
• Intmax: Not explicitly detailed in the text, but represents broader VC-backed opportunities in crypto scaling and security.

Concluding Analysis

Q2 2023 indicated a cooling in crypto VC enthusiasm, yet key innovations persist. Valuations normalized after a period of skewed up-rounds, with emerging areas like interoperability and identity solutions showing resilience. Overall, the quarter featured a balance of innovation and regulatory pressure, setting the stage for future market dynamics.