November crypto VC roundup: Investors double down on blockchain gaming, NFTs

This article is part of a new monthly series from The Block that takes a closer look at where the most recent venture capital investments have been flowing.

The blockchain gaming category continued to be popular among venture capital (VC) firms in November, similar to October's trend.

According to data compiled by The Block Research, roughly 42% of the $3.84 billion worth of venture capital deals in November involved startups focused on blockchain games, NFTs, or both.

Leading the pack was Forte, a blockchain gaming infrastructure firm that enables developers to integrate features such as NFTs into their games. A wide range of startups in this category received funding, but two sub-categories that stood out are "play-to-earn" games and fractionalized NFT trading platforms. Such startups raised higher amounts of VC funding.

Investment in the DeFi sector is also beginning to pick up again after it hit a low in terms of funding in August. About 27% of all 165 November deals were in DeFi, but most DeFi startups received less than $10 million in funding.

Crypto exchanges, brokers, and lenders were also very popular during November. MoonPay, Gemini, and Celsius, all raised significant funding rounds.

Below is a roundup — organized by category — of all the VC fundraises worth more than $10 million announced in November.

At the fore: NFTs, and gaming and the metaverse

There were 14 fundraises over $10 million for firms focused specifically on NFTs or blockchain gaming.

• Forte, which helps game developers integrate blockchain technology into their games, such as NFTs, raised $725 million in a Series B funding round. Sea Capital and Kora Management co-led the round, with participation from Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), Tiger Global, Solana Ventures, and others.
  
  
• South Korean metaverse platform Zepeto reportedly raised $191 million in a Series B funding round. SoftBank's Vision Fund 2 led the round with a $150 million investment, and the rest of the amount was contributed by a group of South Korean investors, including Hybe Corporation, which manages K-pop boy band BTS.
  
  
• Blockchain gaming studio Mythical Games raised $150 million in a Series C funding round led by a16z and is now valued at $1.25 billion.
  
  
• The Sandbox, a play-to-earn NFT gaming platform owned by Animoca Brands, raised $93 million in a round led by SoftBank's Vision Fund 2. Other investors included Liberty City Ventures, Galaxy Interactive, SCB 10X, Polygon Studios, and Samsung Next.
  
  
• NFT music rights startup Royal raised $55 million in a Series A funding round led by a16z. The startup, founded by music producer Justin Blau, better known by his stage name 3LAU, partners with musicians and allows users to buy NFTs that represent a collective ownership in works from those musicians.
  
  
• Blockchain gaming studio Faraway raised $21 million in a Series A round led by Lightspeed Venture Partners and FTX. Other investors included a16z, Sequoia Capital, Pantera Capital, Jump Capital, and Solana Ventures.
  
  
• Upland, a play-to-earn NFT game developer utilizing the EOS blockchain, raised $18 million at a $300 million valuation. Animoca Brands led the investment, with participation from C3 Management (formerly known as FinLab EOS VC), Block.one, Alumni Ventures and others.
  
  
• Blockchain gaming guild Avocado raised $18 million in a Series A funding round. Animoca Brands and QCP Soteria Node (QSN) co-led the round, with Solana Ventures, Three Arrows Capital, Polygon Studios, and others participating.
  
  
• Faze Technologies, an Indian NFT startup focused on the cricket game, raised $17.4 million in a seed funding round led by Tiger Global Management. Coatue Management, Sequoia Capital India, Dapper Labs, and Samsung Next also participated, among others.
  
  
• Particle, a crypto startup building a fractionalized NFT trading platform on the Avalanche blockchain, raised $15 million in seed funding. Investors included Voyager Digital and private investment firm Atrum.
  
  
• Blockchain gaming studio Core Loop raised $12 million to develop a sandbox massively multiplayer online (MMO) game. A16z led the funding, with Galaxy Digital, 1up Ventures, and Sisu Game Ventures also participating, among others.
  
  
• NFT startup GuardianLink raised $12 million in new funding led by India's Kalaari Capital. GuardianLink offers a proprietary "legitimacy protocol" to ensure NFTs are not getting duped or pirated and a "no-code launchpad" platform that allows creators to build an NFT marketplace across various blockchains.
  
  
• Rct AI, a startup that provides AI solutions to the NFT and video gaming industry, raised over $10 million in a Series A-3 funding round. Yuanyuzhou Ventures and Springwind Ventures co-led the round, with Galaxy Interactive, HashKey Capital, Everest Ventures Group, FBG Capital, and others also participating.
  
  
• Fractionalized NFT trading platform Unicly raised $10 million from several investors, including Blockchain Capital, Animoca Brands, Ascensive Assets, 3Commas Capital and Morningstar Ventures.

Exchanges, brokers, custodians, and lenders

November saw six raises above $10 million by firms specifically focused on cryptocurrency trading. The headliner was MoonPay, the London-based fiat on and off-ramp services provider founded in 2018 by Ivan Soto-Wright and Victor Faramond.

VC firms have backed startups in this category from all over the world, including the U.S., the U.K., Singapore, and Brazil.

• MoonPay, a crypto payments infrastructure firm that provides fiat on and off-ramp services, raised $555 million in a Series A funding round co-led by Coatue Management and Tiger Global. The firm is now valued at $3.4 billion.
  
  
• Crypto exchange Gemini raised $400 million in a growth equity round led by Morgan Creek Digital, with participation from 10T, ParaFi, the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, and others. The exchange is now valued at $7.1 billion.
  
  
• Crypto lending platform Celsius Network raised another $350 million in November. In October, the firm raised $400 million in a Series B funding round. Celsius is now valued at $3.5 billion.
  
  
• 2TM Group, the parent company of Brazilian crypto exchange Mercado Bitcoin, raised $50.3 million in a Series B extension round. 10T Fund and Tribe Capital co-led the round, with Traders Club, Pipo Capital, and Endeavor also participating.
  
  
• Singapore-based crypto exchange AscendEX raised $50 million in a Series B funding round co-led by Polychain Capital and Hack VC. Other investors included Jump Capital, Alameda Research, Uncorrelated Ventures, and Eterna Capital.
  
  
• Woo Network, which provides both centralized and decentralized trading platforms, raised $30 million in Series A funding. Investors included Three Arrows Capital, QCP Capital, ViaBTC Capital, AscendEX, AVATAR (Avalanche Asia Star Fund), and Fenbushi Capital.

Don't forget DeFi

There were five raises larger than $10 million for DeFi projects. Venture investment in DeFi has picked up for a third consecutive month after hitting a low in August.

Lately, VC firms have been backing more non-Ethereum projects, such as Solana and Avalanche.

• Hxro (pronounced "hero") Network, a Solana-based derivatives trading platform, raised $34 million in a token round. SIG DT Investments (a Susquehanna International Group company), Jump Crypto, and Blockchain Capital co-led the round, with Chicago Trading Company, Coinbase Ventures, Commonwealth Asset Management, and others also participating.
  
  
• BetDEX, a startup that is building a Solana-based decentralized sports betting protocol, raised $21 million in a seed funding round. FTX and Paradigm led the round, with Lightspeed Venture Partners, Sino Global Capital, and Solana Ventures also participating.
  
  
• Colony, a crypto project that aims to enable users to invest in Avalanche ecosystem startups, raised $18.5 million in seed funding. The round was led by the Avalanche Foundation and saw participation from Hashkey, GBV Capital, Bixin Ventures and others.
  
  
• Cross-chain aggregator XY Finance raised $12 million in funding from several investors, including Circle Internet Financial, Mechanism Capital, TRON Foundation, Yield Guild Games Ventures, and Animoca Brands.
  
  
• pSTAKE, a liquid staking protocol from blockchain startup Persistence, raised $10 million in a seed funding round. Three Arrows Capital, Galaxy Digital, Sequoia Capital India, and DeFiance Capital co-led the round, with Coinbase Ventures, Tendermint Ventures, Kraken Ventures, and others also participating.

Tools of the trade

The remaining 13 fundraises from November above $10 million don't fit neatly into a category. That said, they tend to involve firms developing various sorts of tools — tools for traders, crypto companies, and blockchain developers. This also includes Ethereum-based Layer 2 developers.

• Ethereum development studio ConsenSys raised $200 million in new funding, bringing its valuation to over $3.2 billion. HSBC, Coinbase Ventures, Marshall Wace, ParaFi, and Third Point all backed the round.
  
  
• Ethereum Layer 2 developer Matter Labs, which utilizes ZK-rollups technology, raised $50 million in a Series B funding round led by a16z. Other investors in the round included Consensys, ByBit, OKEx, Placeholder, and Dragonfly Capital.
  
  
• Ethereum Layer 2 developer StarkWare, which also utilizes ZK-rollups technology, raised $50 million in a Series C funding round and is now valued at $2 billion. Sequoia Capital led the round, with Paradigm, Three Arrows Capital, and Alameda Research also participating, among other investors.
  
  
• Lightnet, a Thailand-based startup using blockchain technology for remittance services, raised $48 million in new funding.
  
  
• Neon Labs, a crypto startup building an Ethereum virtual machine (EVM) on Solana, raised $40 million in a token round. Jump Capital led the round, with Three Arrows Capital, Solana Capital, Ethereal Ventures, and others also participating.
  
  
• Agoric, a JavaScript-based smart contract platform built on the Cosmos SDK, raised $32 million in a private token sale. Investors included Placeholder, NGC Ventures, Compound VC, Figment, and Chorus.One.
  
  
• CoreWeave, a startup that provides crypto mining infrastructure such as data centers, raised $50 million in a new funding round from Magnetar Capital.
  
  
• Iron Fish Network, a blockchain project that is making a private cryptocurrency, raised $27.6 million in a Series A led by a16z. Other investors included Sequoia Capital, LinkedIn executive chairman Jeff Weiner, billionaire Alan Howard, and more.
  
  
• The Anoma Foundation, the team behind the Anoma blockchains that allows users to conduct cryptocurrency-agnostic transactions, raised $26 million in a funding round at a valuation of $260 million. Polychain Capital led the round with participation from Electric Capital, Zola Global, CMCC, Maven 11 Capital, and others.
  
  
• Solidus Labs, a crypto surveillance and risk-monitoring software developer to detect manipulation across trading platforms, raised $15 million in a new funding round. Liberty City Ventures led the round, with participation from Exor Seeds and GSR.
  
  
• Nym Technologies, which is building privacy infrastructure to prevent metadata leakage on the internet, raised $13 million in Series A funding led by a16z. Other investors included Digital Currency Group, Huobi Ventures, HashKey, and Fenbushi Capital.
  
  
• Notabene, a crypto compliance software developer focused on the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) "travel rule," raised $10.2 million in a Series A funding round co-led by F-Prime Capital and Jump Capital. Other investors included Luno, Bitso, BlockFi, Gemini Frontier Fund, and Castle Island Ventures.
  
  
• CyberConnect, a crypto startup developing tools for Web3 social media, gaming, and metaverse applications, raised $10 million in a seed funding round. Multicoin Capital and Sky9 Capital co-led the round, with Animoca Brands, Draper Dragon, Hashed, and others also participating.

New crypto VC funds

Venture capital firms have to raise funds, too. Some significant rounds in November came from firms such as Paradigm and Hivemind Capital Partners. Overall, November saw at least 22 new fund launches by both existing and new VC firms.

• Paradigm announced a new mega $2.5 billion venture fund for crypto companies and protocols.
  
  
• A new crypto venture capital firm called Hivemind Capital Partners debuted with $1.5 billion in funding. Hivemind is founded by Matt Zhang, former head of structured products trading at Citi, and looks to invest in crypto startups across areas, including infrastructure, DeFi, and the metaverse.
  
  
• Pantera Capital, led by Tiger Management alum Dan Morehead, reportedly raised $600 million for its fourth venture fund. About 75% of the fund's capital is said to be from institutional sources such as endowments.
  
  
• Borderless Capital, the Miami-based venture capital firm focused on the Algorand ecosystem, launched a new $500 million fund called ALGO Fund II. The fund will invest in projects building on top of Algorand, including NFTs and DeFi.
  
  
• The Avalanche Foundation, along with notable VCs, launched a new $220 million investment fund called Blizzard. Polychain Capital, Three Arrows Capital, Dragonfly Capital, CMS Holdings, and others contributed to the fund. Blizzard looks to invest in DeFi, NFT, and other projects building on the Avalanche blockchain.
  
  
• Crypto-focused VC firm Greenfield One raised its third fund worth $160 million. The fund will invest in European projects creating tech for Web3 or decentralized web.
  
  
• NFT-focused investment firm Sfermion launched its second venture fund worth $100 million. High-profile investors in the fund included Alan Howard, a16z's Chris Dixon, and Marc Andreessen, Gemini's Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, Digital Currency Group, and Animoca Brands. Sfermion Fund II looks to invest in startups that underpin the development of the metaverse.
  
  
• Justin Sun's Tron Foundation and NFT marketplace APENFT that runs on the Tron blockchain, launched a $100 million fund called Art Dream. The fund will invest in NFT projects and support artists.
  
  
• KuCoin Labs, the investment and research arm of crypto exchange KuCoin, launched the $100 million "KuCoin Metaverse Fund". The fund will invest in early-stage projects in sectors across metaverse, gaming, and NFTs.
  
  
• Crypto asset manager Valkyrie Investments launched a $100 million "On-Chain DeFi Fund" to invest in DeFi projects across blockchains including Ethereum, Avalanche, Solana, Binance Smart Chain, Matic, and Fantom.
  
  
• MEXC Pioneer launched a $100 million growth fund to invest in blockchain projects focused on cross-chain infrastructure, NFTs, gaming, and DeFi.
  
  
• Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian's VC firm Seven Seven Six partnered with Solana Ventures to launch a new $100 million fund to invest in decentralized social media projects building on the Solana blockchain.
  
  
• Solana Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners, and FTX announced a $100 million fund to invest in startups focused on building blockchain gaming studios.
  
  
• Enjin launched a $100 million "Efinity Metaverse Fund" to invest in NFT and gaming startups. Enjin launched the Efinity ecosystem as a blockchain for NFTs on the Polkadot network in March.
  
  
• Gaming VC firm Play Ventures launched a new fund worth $75 million. The Play Future Fund will invest in blockchain gaming and metaverse projects.
  
  
• Cadenza Ventures raised a $50 million early-stage venture fund to invest in the blockchain space. Van Eck Associates, Dapper Labs, TRON, Babel Finance, and several others participated in the raise.
  
  
• Vietnamese VC firm Next100 Ventures launched a $50 million fund to invest in blockchain firms in Asia.
  
  
• Crypto asset management firm Arca launched a new $30 million fund dedicated to NFT startups. Last month, the firm launched the Arca Endeavor Fund that invests across sectors, including DeFi and NFTs.
  
  
• A new crypto venture capital firm called Starbloom Ventures debuted with $30 million in funding. The firm is founded by Ethereum researcher Evan Van Ness and will invest in Web3 startups.
  
  
• Pluto Capital, a Singapore-based blockchain venture capital firm, raised a $30 million fund to invest in early-stage projects.
  
  
• A new crypto VC firm named Hutt Capital launched its first fund worth $23.4 million. Several notable investors, including Blockchain Capital, Forte, BlockFi, Framework Ventures, and Castle Island Ventures, contributed to the fund. The fund's investment focus is broad across CeFi, DeFi, NFTs, gaming, and DAOs.
• Sanctor Capital, founded by Crypto Briefing's founder and former CEO Han Kao, launched its inaugural fund worth $20 million. The fund looks to invest in GameFi, DeFi, and cross-chain infrastructure projects.