itcoin">Bitcoin startup companies have experienced a remarkable surge in early-stage investment activity, with pre-seed funding rounds increasing by a staggering 767% since 2021, according to a new report from Trammell Venture Partners (TVP). This growth trend continued in 2024, with itcoin">Bitcoin pre-seed transactions climbing 50% year-over-year, while the number of funded startup companies increased by 27.5%. Despite representing only about 6% of total crypto funding deals in 2024, itcoin">Bitcoin-specific startups are attracting increasing interest from investors seeking stability in the volatile crypto landscape.
Christopher Calicott, Managing Director at TVP, attributes this growing interest to itcoin">Bitcoin’s fundamental strengths as a development platform. “Many entrepreneurs across crypto are revisiting the itcoin">Bitcoin stack as the long-term place to build their companies. It makes perfect sense: The objectively most secure, reliable, and decentralized blockchain is the obvious platform of choice,” Calicott stated. However, the total capital raised in these pre-seed rounds tells a more complex story, declining by over 22% in 2024, with median funding round sizes and valuations declining steadily from 2021 through 2023. While 2024 saw some recovery in round values, they failed to reach the heights established during the 2021 bull market.
This funding landscape reflects broader challenges in the crypto investment ecosystem, including regulatory uncertainty during the previous SEC administration and current macroeconomic pressures. Recent developments under President Trump, including the April 2nd sweeping tariff order establishing a 10% baseline on imported goods, have sent financial markets tumbling and dampened risk appetite for speculative assets. Venture capital activity across the crypto sector mirrors these trends, with major players like Haun Ventures scaling back expectations. After investing $1.5 billion in crypto firms in 2022, the firm now aims to raise just $1 billion in the first half of 2025. Similarly, Galaxy Digital analysts predict a 50% year-over-year increase in VC-led crypto investments in 2025 but caution that funding will not reach the levels seen in 2021-2022, suggesting an industry adjusting to a new normal of more measured growth amid continuing economic uncertainties.
