RootData: Which institutions prefer to lead investments? Which institutions have been most active this year?

Author: Gu Yu & Biscuit, RootData

For venture capital firms, the number of investments is one of the important criteria for measuring their activity level, while leading investments are a core element in assessing their financial strength and conviction, which is crucial for promoting the development progress of projects.

In this article, RootData will provide statistics on the number of investments and leading investments made by venture capital firms this year based on its database, to help readers better understand the current state of crypto venture capital firms.

Historical Top 10 Leading Investors, Data Source: RootData

As of 2023, RootData has recorded 13 crypto venture capital firms that have led more than 5 rounds, including a16z Crypto, Polychain, Dragonfly, Blockchain Capital, Shima Capital, Hack VC, Binance Labs, Bitkraft Ventures, Jump Crypto, Blockchange Ventures, Hashed, Foresight Ventures, and Greenfield Capital.

Unfortunately, Pantera Capital, Paradigm, Multicoin Capital, and Framework Ventures no longer appear on this list. Meanwhile, firms like Foresight Ventures, Hack VC, and Bitkraft Ventures have shown a more active attitude.

This article will interpret the influence and activity level of crypto firms based on cumulative leading investments and number of investments in 2023.

Crypto Venture Capital Firms Leading More Than 5 Times in 2023

Crypto venture capital firms leading more than 5 times in 2023, Data Source: RootData

a16z Crypto

a16z Crypto, as a dedicated fund of Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), focuses on investments at various stages of Web3, with a total asset management scale exceeding $7.6 billion. Notable projects include Uniswap, Opensea, Optimism, Lido, Yuga Labs, and more. Before the emergence of cryptocurrencies, a16z achieved great success by investing in companies like Airbnb, GitHub, Skype, Stripe, and Twitter.

a16z Crypto has cumulatively led 109 times, investing in 15 projects this year, including 11 leading investments in projects like LayerZero, Worldcoin, and YGG.

Polychain

Polychain is a major global investor in cryptocurrency protocols and companies. In a Forbes interview with its founder in 2022, it was noted that Polychain's asset scale reached $5 billion within 6 years, growing 1250 times. Polychain is also an early investor in DeFi, with investments in projects like Uniswap, Compound, MakerDAO, and dYdX.

Polychain has cumulatively led 90 times, investing in 15 projects this year, including 11 leading investments in well-known projects like Scroll, EigenLayer, PolyHedra, Berachain, and Connext.

Dragonfly

Dragonfly is a globally leading investment firm focused on crypto technology, encompassing Dragonfly Ventures, Dragonfly Liquid, and Metastable. Dragonfly has launched three crypto funds, raising $100 million, $200 million, and $650 million, with a primary investment style in DeFi. Its founder, Feng Bo, is a well-known investor in China.

Dragonfly has cumulatively led 53 times, investing in 13 projects this year, including 9 leading investments in projects like Bitget, OP3N, Caldera, and Mahjong Meta.

Blockchain Capital

Blockchain Capital was established in 2013 with the mission of helping entrepreneurs build world-class companies and projects based on blockchain technology. Blockchain Capital invests in equity and tokens and is a multi-stage investor. It has launched several crypto funds, with the latest fund size being $300 million.

Blockchain Capital has cumulatively led 31 times, investing in 10 projects this year, including 7 leading investments in well-known projects like EigenLayer, Worldcoin, RISC Zero, and Lens Protocol.

Shima Capital

Shima Capital is an investment fund focused on supporting cutting-edge blockchain startups, with its first fund, Fund I, completing a $200 million raise last August. Shima Capital typically invests between $500,000 and $2 million per project. It has cumulatively led 30 times, investing in 25 projects this year, including 6 leading investments in projects like Berachain, TinyTap, Web3Go, and Releap Protocol.

Hack VC

Hack VC was founded in 2017 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California. Hack VC has a dedicated team of crypto engineers and quantitative researchers providing institutional-level support for crypto networks, liquidity provision in DeFi, and DAO governance. It also has its own developer community, hack.summit().

According to RootData, Hack VC has cumulatively led 12 times, with 6 of those occurring this year, showing a more active stance during this bear market. Projects invested by Hack VC include AlloyX, Hourglass, Berachain, and Leo Wallet.

Binance Labs

Binance Labs was established in 2018 and is the venture capital and incubation arm of Binance, managed by He Yi. In October 2021, Binance Labs launched a $1 billion crypto growth fund. In June 2022, Binance Labs completed a $500 million raise, bringing its total asset scale to $9 billion.

Binance Labs has cumulatively led 38 times, investing in 17 projects this year, including 6 leading investments in projects like AltLayer, zkPass, Web3Go, DappOS, PolyHedra, and Tabi.

Bitkraft Ventures

Bitkraft Ventures is a global investment platform focused on gaming, Web3, and immersive technologies, specializing in seed, Series A, and Series B investments in gaming studios, platforms, and related technologies. RootData has recorded 35 investment rounds by Bitkraft Ventures, with 65.7% in the gaming sector.

Bitkraft Ventures has cumulatively led 16 times, investing in 8 projects this year, including 6 leading investments in projects like the Web3 loyalty platform Cub3, the Web3 game publisher Jungle, CCP Games, and the Web3 loot box platform Boxed.

Jump Crypto

Jump Trading Group is a trading firm that started from the CME trading pool and has grown into a research-driven quantitative trading company. Jump Crypto is the crypto investment division of Jump Trading Group, with an investment style leaning towards DeFi and infrastructure.

Jump Crypto has cumulatively led 24 times, investing in 9 projects this year, including 5 leading investments in projects like the Web3 social data gateway Port3, payment solution Coinflow, and privacy ID verification system OutDID.

Blockchange Ventures

Blockchange Ventures is a venture capital fund founded by Gavin Wood. According to RootData, Blockchange Ventures has made a total of 45 investments, primarily focused on infrastructure.

Blockchange Ventures has cumulatively led 14 times, investing in 9 projects this year, including 5 leading investments in projects like the dynamic security blockchain Odsy Network, camera network Natix Network, and on-chain bond platform Obligate.

Hashed

Hashed is headquartered in San Francisco and Seoul and is the largest crypto asset fund and community builder in South Korea. Founded in 2017, Hashed was initiated by four engineers from Korea who raised $700,000, and currently manages over $4 billion without any external LPs. Hashed's investment style focuses on infrastructure, DeFi, and gaming.

Hashed has cumulatively led 39 times, investing in 8 projects this year, including 5 leading investments in projects like the cross-chain communication protocol Connext, Story Protocol, KTX.Finance, and CCP Games.

Foresight Ventures

Foresight Ventures is an emerging venture capital firm established in 2021, managing over $400 million in AUM. Foresight Ventures adheres to the belief of "unique, independent, enterprising, long-term," providing extensive support for portfolio companies in a constantly evolving ecosystem. The team consists of senior professionals from top financial and tech companies like Sequoia Capital, CICC, Google, and Bitmain.

Foresight Ventures has cumulatively led 42 times, investing in 17 projects this year, including 5 leading investments in projects like the zk parallel architecture virtual machine Ola, Sei Network, dappOS, PolyHedra, and Lifeform.

Greenfield Capital

Greenfield is an early-stage crypto fund based in Berlin, established in 2018. The fund invests early in teams developing crypto infrastructure, DeFi, and NFT technologies.

Greenfield has cumulatively led 20 times, investing in 5 projects this year, all of which are leading investments, including order book DEX Mangrove, digital fashion product DressX, Web3 loyalty platform DappBack, DeFi management platform Brahma, and digital employment community Opolis.

Well-Known Venture Capital Firms with a Significant Drop in Investment Frequency in 2023

Pantera Capital

Pantera Capital is a venture capital fund founded by Dan Morehead in 2003, which transformed into a cryptocurrency investment firm 10 years later. Pantera Capital's investment style leans towards infrastructure (Arbitrum, Cosmos, Polkadot, Alchemy, Flashbots, Ripple…), DeFi (Injective, NEAR Protocol, Mina, 1inch Network), and CeFi (Coinbase, Amber Group, Gemini, Circle…).

According to RootData, Pantera Capital has historically led 70 times but has only made 9 investments this year, with only 3 leading investments: Ethereum POS consensus protocol Obol Network, NEAR protocol NFT marketplace Few and Far, and decentralized network M^ZERO Labs.

At the beginning of 2023, Pantera Capital released an open letter to investors, stating that 2023 is the bottoming moment for the crypto field. In addition to maintaining focus on DeFi, Pantera will also pay attention to user wallet experience, fiat currency entry, Layer3, and other areas.

Paradigm

Paradigm was established in 2018 and is an investment firm focused on the cryptocurrency field. Paradigm's initial investors included the endowment funds of Yale University, Harvard University, and Stanford University. Paradigm often participates in projects at an early stage and provides additional support over time.

According to RootData, Paradigm has historically led 54 times but has only invested in 3 projects this year: the crypto-native infrastructure platform Conduit, the Web3 security audit alliance Code4rena, and Flashbots (leading investment).

This year, Paradigm was embroiled in the controversy of "defecting from the Web3 revolution" due to changes in its website description, with insiders claiming that Paradigm shifted its focus from solely cryptocurrency to also include "cutting-edge" technologies like artificial intelligence. Subsequently, Paradigm co-founder Matt Huang clarified on Twitter and recently released the latest focus on ten areas.

Multicoin Capital

Multicoin Capital is a theme-oriented investment firm that has launched three crypto funds with sizes of $250 million, $100 million, and $430 million, respectively. Its investment focus leans towards infrastructure and DeFi, with well-known projects including Solana and Helium. Recommended reading: "In-Depth Study: Why Multicoin Capital Can Succeed?"

According to RootData, Multicoin Capital has historically led 50 times, but this year has only invested in 6 projects: Sei Network, the Web3 security research company sec3, lightweight wallet TipLink, Web3 ownership platform Lore, Web3 relational data structuring protocol Tableland, and hybrid MEV protocol FastLane.

Framework Ventures

Framework Ventures is a theory-driven crypto venture capital firm that builds alongside founders. Its affiliate, Framework Labs, has long been involved in building, operating nodes, participating in on-chain governance, building tools, and staking to help protocols achieve their goals and cultivate communities. Due to early investments and participation in building DeFi, Framework Ventures is considered a behind-the-scenes driver of the DeFi boom. Framework Ventures has a 41.6% focus on DeFi, followed by infrastructure and gaming.

According to RootData, Framework Ventures has historically led 49 times, but this year has only invested in 6 projects: the blockchain game Illuvium, Web3 infrastructure Parfin, social application Towns, zk-based trust layer Proven, decentralized DEX DFlow, and financial media brand Blockworks.

Recommended reading: "Framework Ventures: What Will the Crypto Market Look Like in 2030?"

Institutions with More Than 20 Investments in 2023

Institutions with more than 20 investments in 2023, Data Source: RootData

Coinbase Ventures

Coinbase Ventures has historically participated in a total of 354 rounds, focusing on multiple sectors including infrastructure, DeFi, CeFi, tools, social, and NFTs. Notable projects previously invested in include Uniswap, Animoca Brands, ConsenSys, Polygon, Alchemy, and Immutable.

This year, Coinbase Ventures has made 29 investments, with notable projects including EigenLayer, Connext, Leo Wallet, Hourglass, zkLink, and Rocket Pool.

HashKey Capital

HashKey Capital has historically participated in a total of 236 rounds, focusing on infrastructure, DeFi, CeFi, gaming, and NFTs. Notable projects previously invested in include Animoca Brands, Pendle, Aztec Network, Celestia, Mina, Galxe, 1inch Network, CoinList, dYdX, Secret Network, Acala, and Stacks.

This year, HashKey Capital has made 28 investments, with notable projects including dappOS, Web3Go, Tabi, Catalyst, Intmax, and PolyHedra.

Polygon Ventures

Polygon Ventures has historically participated in a total of 88 rounds, focusing on infrastructure, DeFi, NFTs, and gaming. Notable projects previously invested in include EigenLayer, LayerZero, Connext, YGG, Safe, and Magic Eden.

This year, Polygon Ventures has made 27 investments, with notable projects including the cross-chain communication protocol Connext, the Web3 educational technology platform TinyTap, and the social gaming metaverse Phi.

Shima Capital

Shima Capital has historically participated in a total of 181 rounds, focusing on infrastructure, DeFi, NFTs, and gaming. Notable projects previously invested in include Zebec Protocol, Coin98 Finance, Lit Protocol, EthSign, and CreatorDAO.

This year, Shima Capital has made 25 investments, with notable projects including the EVM-compatible chain Berachain, the data intelligence network Web3Go, Layer1 blockchain Monad, and the NFT ecosystem Flow.

Big Brain Holdings

Big Brain Holdings has historically participated in a total of 146 rounds, focusing on infrastructure, DeFi, NFTs, and gaming. Notable projects previously invested in include Solana, Cosmos, Sui, NEAR Protocol, The Graph, and Secret Network.

This year, Big Brain Holdings has made 23 investments, with notable projects including the multi-chain L2 network zkLink, the data intelligence network Web3Go, and the modular settlement layer dYmension.

NGC Ventures

NGC Ventures has historically participated in a total of 246 rounds, focusing on infrastructure and DeFi. Notable projects previously invested in include Avalanche, Solana, Polkadot, LayerZero, KuCoin, CertiK, Mina, ConsenSys, Ankr, Agoric, and Coin98 Finance.

This year, NGC Ventures has made 21 investments, with notable projects including the ZK-RaaS network Opside, the full-chain interoperability protocol LayerZero, the Web3 interoperability infrastructure PolyHedra, and wallet infrastructure Openfort.