VCs Pour Money Into Crypto; Q1 Outpaces All Of 2020

Cryptocurrency got more funding from venture capitalists in this quarter than in all of 2020, Bloomberg reported.

In the first quarter, 129 blockchain-focused startups were able to raise around $2.6 billion. That’s an improvement from all of last year, when those companies raised around $2.3 billion over 341 deals, Bloomberg reported, citing numbers from a data analysis company.

Several crypto firms saw large rounds, including crypto lender BlockFi, blockchain-based game maker Dapper Labs and crypto wallet provider Blockchain.com, according to Bloomberg.

As the funding surge is going on, bitcoin has hit record-high prices. Companies including Tesla and Mastercard have bolstered the standing with their support in recent months.

In addition, Coinbase, the largest U.S. crypto exchange, is currently planning a direct listing that is likely to add even more worth for the early investors. It will also most likely entice more venture capitalists to enter the field, Bloomberg reported.

Cryptocurrency has been inching toward the mainstream, PYMNTS reported, and Sean Rolland, director of Product for blockchain payment technology company BitPay, said the mass payouts could be the ultimate point that catapults crypto over the finish line.

Rolland said cryptocurrency “changes the game” and gives users more choice over how they receive funds.

One example he gave was that someone could get paid through a digital wallet and then use the tech to help pay connections through a mass payout service provider. Whatever the situation, affiliates and advertisers need to be paid out, and it often takes days to do so currently.

Cryptocurrency, by contrast, offers a way to do that across an “immediate global rail,” which can prove a benefit to an emerging marketplace or new smaller businesses, with the quicker payments being beneficial for people like freelancers.

“Cryptocurrency doesn’t sleep,” he said. “There are no bank holidays. You could get paid on a Saturday or a Sunday at midnight, your time, across the mass payouts marketplace and use cases.”